I had not heard of Francis Théberge, but he hails from Quebec, Canada and is part of the artist collective Global Noise Movement and Adventurous Music. He also does a lot of video work, which explains why the notes describe this as a "Film score for a non-existent film" and explains that "This album is an audio exploration of a film that exists only in fragments—a non-linear narrative constructed in the imagination of the creator... and listener. Inspired by the delicate balance between memory and the passing of time, Siteste Fatale is a film score for an unmade story, where shadows linger longer than light, and the lines between reality and dream blur." Sounds interesting, so let’s see what Théberge is projecting on the silver screen.

“Rituel d'automne sur fréquences nocturnes (micro-climat version)” kicks it off with field recordings (crickets and someone walking through grass) and heavy droning soundscapes that provide not quite an ominous feel, but rather a feeling of melancholy and unease. Nicely done. Now if you're looking for ominous, "les racines du doute (remix1)" is what you have been waiting for. If the previous one was a person walking along a trail contemplating where it all went wrong, this is the person scanning the darkness looking for the unseen eyes that are everywhere watching them. There is a sense of urgency here that was not in the previous track. The kind you get when you realize that you aren't actually alone.... "Les racines du doute (remix2)" provides a bit of respite to the tension by making it a bit more noisy. Lots of reverb gives it a bit of a hallucinatory feel. And the eyes are still following you, until suddenly everything is quiet. "Rituel d'automne sur fréquences nocturnes (catastrophique version)" keeps it noisy and oppressive. There is a general feeling of pressure and weight, like being buried under a massive pile of rubble, but the aftershocks of the earthquake that took down the building you were in keep coming. This would appeal to fans of noisy ambient like Inade. "Organes vitales" provides a kind of denouement to the drama that we have just experienced, while maintaining a lot of loose ends. The protagonist may have escaped the woods alive, but perhaps not unscathed, and is still looking back over their shoulder, unsure of the eyes they can still feel upon them. Waiting. For next time.

In The Nursery had a series called "Optical Music," and I think that Théberge is operating with the same impulse: the Aristotelian sense of phantasia, or “that in virtue of which an image occurs in us” (De Anima iii 3, 428aa1–2). One can easily imagine the non-existent film that we create with Théberge, and this keeps the listener engaged. The music itself is enjoyable on its own merits, and is well put together and flows well as a cohesive whole. Well worth checking out. This album weighs in at around 39 minutes.