Francis of Delirium

Every now and then, a debut album comes along that sounds like the start of an exciting career. That was the case with Lighthouse, the 2024 debut from Francis of Delirium, led by Jana Bahrich, a young Canadian-born singer and guitarist now based in Luxembourg.

The singles Blue Tuesday and First Touch first caught my attention. Both blend dream pop and indie rock, with plenty of little details and clear influences ranging from Weezer to Alanis Morissette. Comparisons to boygenius make sense too: two tracks on Lighthouse were produced by Catherine Marks, who also produced the supergroup’s debut. There’s something of Lucy Dacus in Jana’s voice as well. The rich, wide-reaching melodies and her distinctive singing, moving between softness and screams, made Lighthouse one of my favourite albums of 2024.

I had high hopes for Francis of Delirium, but I also felt that one album wasn’t quite enough. I needed a second, equally good record to fully believe in their talent.

While waiting for new music, I started digging a little deeper. I kept wondering how a young band from Luxembourg could sound so mature and so American. The answer turned out to be quite simple. Francis of Delirium began around 2020 as a project started by Jana and drummer and producer Chris Hewett, who is 30 years older and moved to Luxembourg from… Seattle. Hewett, whose daughters went to school with Jana, spotted her at a local band showcase and suggested they work together.

The two have been writing and recording songs in Chris’s home studio from the start. He doesn’t join Jana on stage, though. Live, Francis of Delirium play as a classic rock trio, and they’ve spent plenty of time on the road since their early days. They’ve toured Europe and the US and supported major acts visiting Luxembourg, including Alanis Morissette and Kings of Leon. Hewett also stresses that Jana is the one bringing in ideas, constantly experimenting and spending long hours in the studio getting the songs just right.

Listening to Francis of Delirium’s second album, Run, Run Pure Beauty, I can easily believe it. This is a step forward: the songs are more varied, the production and mixes more polished, and Jana’s voice sounds more mature. Nicolas Vernhes, who has worked with Animal Collective, Spoon and The War on Drugs, is behind the album’s sound.

Opener Aliens starts with a brass section before a noisy, Weezer-style guitar kicks in. The vocals move from choir-like harmonies to a whisper. It’s a great two-minute introduction, and Jana has her hands full, singing and playing guitar, violin and French horn. You can hear how much work she’s put into this record. What follows is a run of songs that could easily be singles. Highlights include Out Tonight, where her gentle voice contrasts beautifully with the noisy guitars in the chorus, and Higher, which sounds made for stadium shows.

Lyrically, Jana sings about relationships with the people close to her, life changes and bad decisions. These are the honest reflections of a 25-year-old. There are also snapshots of people and places seen on tour: Lovers on a park bench at the end of a fight / Packing up their things, no kiss goodnight / Piano playing Philip Glass.

Interestingly, the actual singles appear on side B, mixed in with looser, more experimental tracks. Two songs deserve special attention: Open Up Your Mouth to Love and Requiem for a Dying Day. In both, the most interesting things happen right at the end, when the verse-chorus structure falls away. It feels like listening to an exciting rehearsal recording, with the band getting carried away, starting to improvise and showing no sign of wanting to stop. The first gradually builds towards a final burst of distortion. The second goes in the opposite direction, slowly growing quieter.

This is a solid seven out of ten: it doesn’t break much new ground, but it has several fantastic songs rooted in the ’90s. Beautifully played and produced, it offers enough variety to keep you hooked right to the end.