The music industry is riddled with tragedy. Time after time, young legends and struggling nobodies devote their undying effort to their craft only to be stripped away from the world far too early. This Sunday evening, France’s indie sensation Her lost a blossoming phenom in co-frontman Simon Carpentier, who passed away after a long battle with cancer at the young age of 27. His unorthodox style of composition paralleled with partner Victor Solf’s eccentric support created a new-age band with rare inspiration and an incredibly distinctive, sensually electronic sound. Solf expressed his condolences to Carpentier’s family and loved ones in a public statement on behalf of the band on Tuesday morning, but he also expressed the fact that their expedition cannot end so soon. Solf told the band’s fans that, “Today I carry his legacy within me and it is my wish as well as the wish of the entire Her team to continue to bring our music along as far as possible.”

At its core, “Five minutes” is a polarizing account of uncertainty. Carpentier’s monotone vocals establish an ominousness that is only interrupted abrupt and amplified shrieks of the guitar. The chorus wins the audience’s trust as the menacing shrieks turn into sonic oscillations and Carpentier’s uniform tone gains authority within the commanding hook. Even as his status becomes more confident and assertive, Carpentier still doesn’t reveal what it is that he only needs 5 minutes to accomplish. The female figures fading in and out of the music video may suggest that the time lapse relates to their connections. At the same time, the women that appear at the end of the video may convey that “Five Minutes” refers to the amount of time needed to mend a severed relationship broken by trust strung throughout the heap of involved parties. Still, no one has come to a justifiable conclusion beyond those surface level assumptions.

It’s the odd musicians that create the most original tracks, and losing the unusual talent of Simon Carpentier will surely put a ripple through the French-indie scene and Her’s future work for years to come.