Welcome to my French pop and rock section... Here are a few recommendations to albums I've enjoyed that I think you might like as well, ranging from 1960s ye-ye to a few more contemporary albums from France's blossoming indie and electronica scenes. There is also a separate section for older musical styles, such as chanson and musette, if you like the old stuff, too!
Marie Laforet "Tendres: Annees 60" (Universal, 2004)
Meh. Color me unimpressed. I mean, yeah, I know she's had a long, many-storied career, but this set of fluffy, chirpy pop from the mid-1960s is pretty lightweight... Didn't make much impression on me, and seems of limited camp value. I just didn't have much fun listening to it, and felt that many of the performances were bland and insincere. Maybe you just had to be there, or maybe it makes better sense seen in the context of her full career. I doubt I'll ever really figure it out.
Bastien Lallemant "Les Premiers Instants" (Tot Ou Tard, 2003)
Bastien Lallemant "Les Erotiques" (Tot Ou Tard, 2005)
Bastien Lallemant "Cowboy" (2007)
Valerie Lemercier "Chante" (March, 1997)
Cute, but glib. To my way of thinking, this retrofest is a bit too glib and self-congratulatory... 'Sixties easy listening kitsch is referenced to a fare-thee-well, as producer Bertrand Burgulat meticulously recreates riff after riff, and actress-cum-vocalist Lemercier dutifully sings as flatly and in as blase a manner as possible. I suppose as a technical exercise this is quite impressive, but as a work or art -- or even a work of play -- this doesn't offer much in the way of emotional immediacy or depth. It's just a protracted in-joke, a too-cute, too-coy going-through-the-motions pop pastiche that wears thin pretty quickly. Then again, maybe my uptight, Anglo-Saxon, stick-up-the-butt humorlessness is ill-suited to appreciate something so frothy and unapologetically just-for-fun. Anyway, I remember feeling nonplussed when my pals at my college radio station went ga-ga over this disc when it first came out, and I'm still not that into it, returing to the record nearly a decade later. Results may vary.
Valerie Leulliot "Caldeira" (Wagram, 2007) +
A warm, mellow solo album from the lead singer of Autour de Lucie, who drapes herself here in a gauzy, acoustic reverie... If, perhaps, you thought Autour de Lucie had gone a bit overboard with the pop production on their last few albums, you'll find welcome relief in this unabashedly unchallenging, dreamy, laid-back set. All the songs sound the same - whispery, reserved, come-hither vocals and light orchestrations around a decidedly sparse acoustic background. It's lovely though. If you like how it sounds on paper, you'll love how it sounds in your ears.
Lhasa "La Llorona" (Tot Ou Tard, 1997)~
Odd, arty stuff from Lhasa De Sela, a French Canadian gal with a Mexican father... Lhasa mixes American folk, blues, Latin American themes, French chanson and other disparate elements to craft an odd, haunting style... Folks who like Jolie Holland's genre-warping style will find a kindred spirit here... Very distinctive and arresting. (Even if the album art is completely butt-ugly...)
Lhasa "The Living Road" (Tot Ou Tard, 2003)
Les Lionceaux "Twistin' The Rock" (Universal, 2002)
Long Chris & Les Daltons "Twistin' The Rock" (Universal, 2002)
Louise Attaque "Louise Attaque" (Sony/Atmospheriques, 1997)
Apparently, French indie rockers are not immune from the irritating trend in which all-male bands give themselves names which make it sound as though they are female artists, and drape their albums in nondescript, photo-less artwork which contribute to the misdirection. So... that's one strike against these guys, although far less disappointing is the music itself. This is a lively, likeable set of clattersome, rambunctious acoustic rock -- sort of a French version of Camper Van Beethoven, with a few unexpected passages of long, proclamatory, half-spoken monologues... Honestly, I wasn't really that moved by these guys, but I recognize their energy and good humor: apparently so did the French record-buying public, as this debut record sold over two million copies (!), which is a pretty impressive sales figure for such a small, backwater country. So, why listen to me? I'm sure after a few more listens, I'll be singing their praise as well...
Louise Attaque "Comme On A Dit" (Sony/Atmospheriques, 2000)
Louise Attaque "A Plus Tard Crocodile" (Musicor, 2005)
Luke "La Vie Presque" (RCA, 2001)
Languid, electronica-tinged alt-rock, rather similar to Autour De Lucie's later albums, but with male vocals. It's okay, pretty at times, easy on the ears, although it sounds a little drab and prefab after a while.
Luke "La Tete En Arriere" (RCA, 2004)
A transitional album that finds the band moving into some fairly tedious alt-rock/postpunk/punk. It just sounds too studied and contrived, like the band felt it had to move into a more "punk" direction, and did. Some of the softer songs are nice, though, particularly "L'Esp¸ce Humaine" and "Seveso." The more aggro rock numbers fall flat, though. Maybe if they're recorded this twenty years earlier (and been Ted Destroyer) it would have been more impressive. As it is, this seems like an exercise in corporate marketing, rather than an album you'd really want to crank up loud.
Luke "Les Enfants De Saturne" (RCA, 2007)
Well, it seems like they got where they were going... Here's some loud, slashing, impassioned punk, with clear echoes of early Wire. The intensity is there, the wall of noise as well. Seems pretty believable, if you're into it.
More French Rock & Pop >
Letter "M"
French Music Index
French Chanson & Musette
