“These Waters Are Lonely” by Handful of Snowdrops

Back in 2020, Jean-Pierre Mercier all but conceded that his “postwave” band Handful of Snowdrops was calling it quits, citing the stress and frustration of trying to fund and produce new releases. Which was a shame, because his blend of haunting post-punk and high-energy electronic music was some of the best around.

Fortunately, it seems that all setbacks aside, Mercier can’t stop making music, as evidenced by the recently released Any Moment Now, which he describes as “a makeshift/compilation/compromise album for the few hardcore HoS fans still out there.” Arising out of the ashes of another album that Mercier tried to crowdfund, that might give you the impression that Any Moment Now is just a collection of cast-offs. But if you’ve ever listened to Handful of Snowdrops, then you know that Mercier’s cast-offs are better and more ambitious than many band’s efforts.

“These Waters Are Lonely” is one of the funkier tracks in the Handful of Snowdrops repertoire, with scintillating guitar textures, synth horns, and disembodied voices creating the song’s rich sonic texture. Meanwhile, Mercier waxes existential — “The moment stars will align/Then nothing else will matter/We’ll fall like verses and rhymes/As the dust and light we’ll scatter” — while some well-placed guitar riffs drive home the emotional import.

Any Moment Now is currently available on Bandcamp.