RIYL: Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, Broken Social Scene, Bon Iver
At the time of this review, all indications are that the French Kicks are no longer kicking. There’s been no official confirmation of the bands dissolution, but with guitarist Josh Wise pursuing his solo project A>G>E> and vocalist Nick Stumpf moving towards producing, its unlikely fans will be getting new material anytime soon. That’s a shame, because the French Kicks last album, 2008’s Swimming, definitely leaves you wanting more. Originally formed in Brooklyn, their sound expertly weaves innovative guitar riffing, danceable rhythms and enchanting (if often indecipherable) vocals.
The album as a whole is quite moody, but a few tracks, notably “Abandon” and “New Man” have a more up-beat feel. “Abandon” feels more mainstream than the albums general bent and was consequently released as a single. With a hand-clapping chorus, soaring vocals and a strings section, you might call it the indie-rock version of U2’s “Beautiful Day”. Watching the video on You Tube, which features a recurrent hula hooping woman and a piñata, is definitely time well spent.
Even more rewarding is “Said So What”, which adds snapping fingers to the mix and rides an evocative riff and ultra-catchy chorus straight to your heart. “Why?/ Tell me Why?” Stumpf sings in the chorus, and answers himself “I don’t know.”
There’s a subtle 60’s feel to a number of tracks on the back end of Swimming, but what’s more noticeable is how many of the songs start to sound like Grizzly Bear, another excellent Brooklyn band with a considerably larger following. The octave-scaling vocal harmonies on “Atlanta” are trademark Grizzly Bear and just as gorgeous.
“With the Fishes” fits this mold as well, and finds Stumpf singing perhaps his clearest lines of the album. “I remember when/ Everything looked all but lost/ How the river bent/ That we could have crossed.” And in a possibly inadvertent reference to his bands impending denouement, he considers that “Maybe well never know/ what comes after/ When we say ‘so long’.”
The song is a powerful and poignant statement, and a fine approximation of what it feels like to lose a band you love.
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More Information
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http://www.frenchkicks.com
http://www.vagrant.com
