Last year, Papooz released their first album, full of sunny melodies and sugary pop.
“Green Juice” will definitely extend the summer, like the pretty and light single “Ann Wants to Dance”, a good introduction to the whole record.
♪♫ Listen: “Ann Wants to Dance” + album stream
Papooz on Soundcloud, Facebook.
Signed on the famous Howlin’ Banana Records, the second album by Kaviar Special brings all the French label’s qualities together, mixing garage rock power and effective melodies with 60’s psychedelia.
♪♫ Listen: “Starving” + album stream (Bandcamp)
Kaviar Special on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook.
Mixed by Ben Greenberg, bassist and singer of The Men, this new EP by the French band Rendez-Vous is a powerful add to their catalogue.
Exploring the dark atmospheres of their English mentors like Joy Division, the six tracks hit really hard, as may suggest the violent video clip of “Distance”.
♪♫ Listen: “Distance” + album stream
Rendez-Vous on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram.
With the wonderful “Loveland”, Wall of Death just released one of the best French psychedelic albums of 2016.
The fuzzy guitars invoke those of the great American bands of the genre, sounding like they crossed the arid plains of the far west, but are enlightened by a moving echo in the voice and mind-blowing sounds reminiscent of shoegaze.
On the centerpiece “Dreamland”, Wall of Death are at the height of its power: the chorus is like The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes” covered by My Bloody Valentine.
♪♫ Listen: “Dreamland” + album stream (Bandcamp)
Wall of Death on Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
Mixing French chanson and synth-pop in the Etienne Daho’s nonchalant style with a more surprising jazzy house sound makes of Paradis a singular band.
“Recto Verso” keeps all the purity and freshness of the two genres to create something strangely cohesive and definitely exciting.
♪♫ Listen: “Toi Et Moi” + album stream (Spotify)
Paradis on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, www.
Taking her inspirations from Keiji Haino, Sonic Youth and Silver Mt. Zion, the singer behind the Eskimo moniker goes through dark and melancholic experimentations, sounding like a pastoral kind of post-rock.
On “Dancing Shadows” EP, her powerful and warming voice contrasts deeply with the nordic landscapes that her music makes us travel through.
♪♫ Listen: “Run Mind” + album stream
Eskimo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bandcamp, www + beehype.
Founded in 2010, the label Highlife Recordings just released a new compilation, gathering some of the finest French electronic tracks of the year.
The album titled “Chimique” (“Chemical”) covers bass music through a wide range of styles, while remaining very cohesive.
♪♫ Listen: Puzupuzu – “The Eyes” + album stream (Soundcloud)
Highlife Recordings on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, www.
On a new wave and post-punk tone inspired by The Cure, Colombey sings the landscapes of the Haute-Marne region, located in north-eastern France.
Under his gloomy atmospheres, the industrial past of the little cities and villages becomes like a revival of the Manchester working-class suburbs, and its music scene.
♪♫ Listen: “La Clef” + album stream (Soundcloud)
Colombey on Soundcloud, Facebook, www.
The ex-singer of the Bewitched Hands goes back in solo, under the pretty nickname of Angel.
As generous as its band’s music was, the orchestral pop of his new self-titled EP lets us feel every kind of emotions at once, like a colorfoul and excentric fanfare.
And it’s hard not to fall in love since the first track, the grandiose “Angels Turned Around”, whose bright folk melody reminds us of the masterpiece “Let England Shake” by PJ Harvey.
♪♫ Listen: “Angels Turned Around” + album stream (Bandcamp)
Angel on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter.
After three lo-fi electro-pop EPs, Lucas Nedellec made his return last year with the surprising
EP titled “L F E L G”, turning to RnB and trap sounds, with the help of producer Gabriel Loridon.
Les Filles Et Les Garçons plays with the genre’s codes to build a very distinctive world, full of humour and second-grade lyrics, but nonetheless without loosing any of his songwriting skills.
At first, you might be put off by the cheesy vocoder but one has to admit that after a few listens, the melodies and the electronic details are simply as addictive as Nedellec’s first songs “Liar Tonight” or “Uh Uh Uh”.
♪♫ Listen: “Kdanse” + album stream (Soundcloud)
Les Filles Et Les Garçons on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, www.