French instrumental post-rockers L’Effondras drop new EP »Ethel / Macon Heights« and premiere new music video for »Macon Heights«!

Bourg-en-Bresse, France based instrumental post-rock trio L’Effondras stream their new two-track EP, »Ethel / Macon Heights«, which was just released on October 31st, 2025 via Medication Time Records.

Watch a brand new music video for »Macon Heights« below!

Tracklist:
01. Ethel
02. Macon Heights

Courtesy of Clément Duboscq // Vous Connaissez ? PR:

On October 31st, we’re celebrating a release that’s perfectly timed to coincide with Samhain: the new EP from L’Effondras! »Ethel / Macon Heights« is now available from Medication Time Records. A two-track EP to tide us over before a successor to the sublime »Anabasis«, the band’s third LP released in 2021. This instrumental rock trio already represents more than a decade of dedication to a unique musical aesthetic. A constant intertwining of sounds that are both ambient and powerful, owing as much to grunge as to blues and folk… with a touch of slowcore? They’re truly a one-of-a-kind band that has fascinated me for some time, and that I like to describe as anti-post-rock. And this EP, although infused with a darker intention, promises a beautiful interlude that fits somewhere between Earth, BIG|BRAVE, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, or Slint.

»Ethel« and »Macon Heights« are actually two outtakes from »Anabasis«’ studio sessions. Recorded in 2019, they were reworked in 2021 and finally mixed and mastered in 2024, respectively by Raphaël Léger of 22 Recordings and Lionel Thomas of Yoreill Audio Mastering. So why didn’t they make the final cut? According to L’Effondras, this EP didn’t match the spirit of the aforementioned album, nor the band’s desires for the next one. A unique release, in short. Two tracks as different as they are complementary, but for which the trio’s signature style is immediately recognizable.

On side A, »Ethel« reveals itself as an openly melancholic rock track, sung by Pierre Lejeune and driven by a touch of rhythmic complexity from Nicolas Bernollin on drums. While the guitarist already grabbed the microphone on »Norea« (the closing track of »Anabasis«), but in a discreet and “sprinkled” way, »Ethel« is the first track of L’Effondras built with and around the vocals. Here, we discover a voice that assumes itself more than ever. Its cavernous and spectral aspect contributes even more to the macabre atmosphere that runs through the lyrics, and makes this release for Halloween rather appropriate. Pierre tells us more about this, as well as his writing process:

“Like many singers, my process was first to find a melodic line, like in gibberish, and to find words that approximate these initial sounds. I started with a slightly strange phrase that generates a story, and then makes me think of the unfolding of a narrative. For this composition in particular, it is a somewhat gloomy tale inspired by the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. I wanted to create a contrast with the “pop” melody that we hear. It is the story of a man who collects dead animals, keeps them at home and takes care of them. This to the dismay of his mother, who gets angry and ends up throwing everything away, because of the stench in their house. In the end, this man makes a resolution. We hear him say that he found something that he tries to better preserve at home, until we realize that it is a human corpse… named Ethel.”

A change of register takes place on side B with »Macon Heights«. A short sonic journey where guitar layers and arpeggios rule, inviting introspection. While L’Effondras was already known for their long, even atmospheric instrumental phases, their music has never been this ambient. The trio fills its sonic baggage with lap-steel and Raoul’s mellotron, and adds light, off-beat drum interventions, for a psychedelic trip that always combines with this darker intention. Particularly in its slightly uneasy and tense segment, interrupted by the woody sound of a folk guitar at the end, provided by Pierre. A second track born from a collective tinkering with raw recordings.

Directed by Joan Sabatier (Ni, Alpha Du Centaure, Where Mermaids Drown), the video for »Macon Heights« is a captivating and suspenseful visual journey. Two anonymous figures in white robes and hoods stand amidst the trees and the scant light that filters through them. In a single, continuous shot, the camera performs a 360° vertical rotation, revealing the vastness of this natural space… leading to a completely unpredictable conclusion.

»Ethel / Macon Heights« is available on vinyl and digital on your favorite streaming platform or Bandcamp.

L’Effondras is:
Pierre Lejeune – Guitar
Raoul Vignal – Guitar
Nicolas Bernollin – Drums

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well