Both Fernandez and Orzoni manage to highlight each others’ artistic strengths, even as pounding gabber comes more to the front with the eponymous track, or as the production sways into a sound that is more imbued with glitzy europop such as À L’Inifni. There is always plenty of room for Fernandez’s iconic coo’s and runs, just as there is space for Orzoni’s penchant for heavier electronic construction. This careful meld is well captured through the closing track on the album, Petit Soldad - live, where a loving crowd applauds ascendant vierge’s electric performance, which is as spiky as it is sensual. Embodying the range and playfulness that has defined their respective careers to date, ascendant vierge is evidently a project full of passion, one that is tenderly constructed, finding its footing with Une Nouvelle Chance, which proves itself to be a staunch manifesto of the duo’s newfound artistic pathway.
Outside of their productions, ascendant vierge are memetic and ruthless on Instagram, jumping from their chic album promotion, which featured them in orange jumpsuits next to a burned out plane, to doling out dubbed over horoscopes, to acting out their dreams, or nightmares, such as the quick vine style video where Fernandez gets pasta vocal cord replacement (for real), it’s all there. Ascendant vierge operate on a slick and silly aesthetic plane, one that is a bit untouchable whilst remaining personable. Their video for prior release influenceur, is a strong example of both their sound and their very much online personas, albeit reluctant or decidedly irreverent; a rave unfolds and digi stickers and filters adorn the faces of Orzoni and Fernandez. The lyrics, which bemoan the influencer status and identity, demonstrate ascendant vierge’s simultaneous embrace and rejection of digital culture. They are pop stars, but they are also un-sacrificing and savvy artists, who, with Un Nouvelle Chance, are gleefully seeing their half of the universal gamble through.