Leather Temple by Carpenter Brut

Review: Carpenter Brut - Leather Temple

Epic trilogies aren’t exclusive to the film world. Franck Hueso, the man behind Carpenter Brut, is the perfect example of a musician who not only lends a cinematic quality to his music, but who also enjoys releasing works divided into three installments. After all, his first EPs (simply named EP I, EP II, and EP III) were ultimately brought together under a compilation entitled Trilogy (2015). It was in 2018 that Carpenter Brut then set out to tell a story through music destined for three separate albums. After Leather Teeth, released in 2018, and its follow-up Leather Terror in 2022, Leather Temple is the saga’s final chapter. In it, our hero Bret Halford has finally taken on the appearance of a cyborg, evolving within a futuristic city called Midwichpolis.  

On Leather Temple, the main character’s adventure is told solely through instrumental tracks, as this third album doesn’t bring in guests for reinforcement like the previous installments did. This choice instead makes this record feel more similar to Carpenter Brut’s early recordings, featuring that darksynth sound shared by the saga’s first two chapters (less glam than the first and less pop overall, all while maintaining both its impact and its dark side). Hueso seems to narrow his focus in order to get his message across with awe-inspiring ease, like on “Start Your Engines” or “Speed or Perish.” The album’s many sonic layers are hypnotizing in spite of the aggressive synths intended to blindside its listeners. Simultaneously disco on the outside and industrial on the inside, Leather Temple is an album whose keyboards sound as rock as ever, all while maintaining that upbeat quality that gets you on your feet from the very first notes, before evaporating into a more contemplative final voyage (the six-minute-long “The End Complete,” which takes its time in closing off the album). A world-class final chapter to this trilogy. © Guillaume Ley/Qobuz