The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus Promise That “Beauty Will Save the World”

Back in 2006, I wrote a lengthy article about, in part, how it’s easier than ever to learn about your favorite bands thanks to the Internet — and how it’s difficult to maintain a sense of mystery about music when everything you could ever possibly want to know is available via blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, etc. And yet, one band still remained mysterious in the Age of the Internet: The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus.

For the longest time, I could only find scraps of info about the band, who released one of my favorite albums of all time: The Gift of Tears/Mirror/La Liturgie Pour La Fin Du Temps. However, it’s 2014, and in a world where My Bloody Valentine released a new album and Slowdive has reunited to play shows and record new music, I suppose it only makes sense that the Army re-emerge from the mists of time.

In June of last year, the band released After The End, a box set containing remastered versions of their previous recordings. The band also reformed to play a one-time concert for the release (though they’ve since scheduled additional concerts). And now they’re recording a new album, which they announced earlier this year on their Facebook page.

The new album will be titled Beauty Will Save the World. No other details, such as a release date, have been announced, but a song from the album was posted on the Army’s Soundcloud page earlier this week. Titled “Après le temps,” it’s a bit more straightforward, musically speaking, than the apocalyptic folk and industrial atmospherics heard on the band’s earlier releases. But there’s no denying the haunting beauty in those French vocals ringing out over churning guitars and melancholy drones.

Honestly, I’m still in a bit of shock that I’m actually hearing new music from a new album by The Revolutionary Amy of the Infant Jesus, long that most mysterious of musical ensembles. I’m only slightly less shocked that they’re on Facebook and Soundcloud. But again, this is 2014, and nothing stays offline for long. In this case, though, that’s something I’m very glad about.

I still know next to nothing about the band itself, like how many members it has, but that’s OK. I still appreciate a good enigma in the midst of social media et al., and the music more than stands on its own merits apart from its creators.