The Anals are Commando’s of Love

Anxious synths and a solid beat make up the spacious, simple sound of “Commando of Love,” the new single from French-punks, The Anals. Released on Vacouver, CA imprint Sweet Rot in late June, “Commando” does more with less, employing guitars, synths, drums, and vocals that are all set to attack. Raw and abrasive, growling trance-like drones expand to mesh with agressive drumming and a lyrical delivery that invokes a sense of urgency.

The 7” marks the first (and only?) record from the Metz, France duo who state they’re “here to beat girls and boys with love and passion.” Further information on the band is slim at best, and my French is about as good as that new Hold Steady record, but the label states that half of the band passed away in late 2007 and “The Anals are done.” It’s a fucking great first/last single if that’s the case. Grab the mp3 below and head over to the label’s site to buy the vinyl, which is wrapped in some killer cover art.

[MP3]: The Anals  ”Commando Of Love”
Commando Of Love 7″, Sweet Rot; 2008

Trackback: French Synth-Wave

In the Bastille Mixtape that I posted on Monday, I included tracks from late 70s/early 80s underground French synth-wave acts Ruth and Marie Möör. Following up, I wanted to mention two excellent compilations from that time period, which do a great job of capturing the French electro/no-wave/synth-pop/punk movement and at the same time are easily obtained (unlike some of the artists they contain). As synth-based post punk was on the rise on the other side of the English Channel, with Human League’s single “Don’t You Want Me” beaming over the airwaves, a similar movement of futuristic robot eroticism took hold in France. This movement of synth-based cold-wave acts had prompted punk-musical journalist, Yves Adrien, to write a lengthy essay in 1980 titled, NovöVision, that conjured up a Zamyatin-type of dystopian society focused on drugs, robots, sex, and even robotic sex.

So Young But So Cold: Underground French Music (1977-1983) begins with the steady spacey synth pulses, atmospheric organs, and ethereal French-sung/spoken female vocals of Nini Raviolette’s “Suis-Je Normale.” Forgive me for the comparison, because the movie is fresh in my mind, but the track would have made the perfect accompaniment for a less “Hello Dolly” opening of Wall-E. A lonely robot rolls around a lifeless, abandoned, and eerily unfamiliar Earth set against the stark tone and icy synths of the somber song, while, in almost a robotic tone, female vocals ask “suis-je, suis-je normale? (am I, am I normal?)” The track pretty much sets the cold-wave tone for the rest of the comp which includes the austere robotic grooves of Ruth’s “Polaroid/Roman/Photo,” The Druids rare illustrated concept of “The Force,” and the cyberpunk of Artefact on “Mae.”

[MP3]: Nini Raviolette  ”Suis-Je Normale”
So Cold So Young, Tigersushi; 2004
[MP3]: The Droids  ”The Force (Part 1)”
So Cold So Young, Tigersushi; 2004

If So Young But So Cold was the first-course that aroused your appetite, then BIPPP: French Synth Wave (1979-85) is the gluttonous main course of obscure French synth-wave singles. Initially released by Parisian-imprint Born Bad in 2006, BIPPP was released in the States earlier this year via Everloving Records. Like their European counterparts, The Human League, Depeche Mode, Gary Newman, Soft Cell, and Kraftwerk, the artists compiled on BIPPP share the love of the analog synthesizer. A brief blurb on the album jacket gives an outline of the birth of French synth-wave, which gives credit to the rise of the genre to ex-Stinky Toy member Dennis Quillard (aka Janco) and singer Elli Mederios and their instrumental Kraftwerk-worshipping single “Rectangle.” Like So Young, BIPPP paints an icy-synth laden landscape that covers a six year span. Unlike the perfect pop that some UK artists were churning out, BIPP shows that the synth sounds remained more stripped in France at the time.

[MP3]: A Trois Dans Les WC  ”Contagion”
BIPPP: French Synth-Wave 1979/85, Everloving; 2008
[MP3]: Ruth  ”Polaroïd/Roman/Photo”
BIPPP: French Synth-Wave 1979/85, Everloving; 2008

For much more information on French synth-wave, as well as an extensive list of acts, check out the informative French New Wave site.

Previous “Trackback” Posts

M83 Unleashes 21st Century Shoegaze with “Graveyard Girl”

Anthony Gonzales shows even more song structure and pop influences with his new single, “Graveyard Girl,” the second song to be released from his new Saturday’s = Youth album.

The single comes off like Power, Corruption, and Lies-era New Order doped up on hazy shoegaze atmospherics and textures, while uttered female vocals speak of a young girl roaming and aching to be a part of a cemetary. The least cynical of us will struggle from rolling our eyes when hearing the cheesy lines like “And I’ll read poetry to the stones / Maybe one day I can be one of them…I’m 15 years old and I feel it’s already too late to love / Don’t you?” Kitschy lyrics aside, the song is retains its catchy beauty with shimmering synths and addictive melodies, marking one of the most accessible and coherent tracks put out under Gonzales’ M83 moniker.

Pre-order Saturday’s = Youth which is out April 15th on Mute and check out the new single below. Tickets still on sale for live dates.

[MP3]: M83  ”Graveyard Girl”
Saturday’s = Youth, Mute; 2008

M83 Saves Saturday’s for the Youth

A month or so ago I was lucky enough hear most of Saturday’s = Youth, the new album from Anthony Gonzalez, better known as M83. And although I only listened to Gonzalez’s fifth studio album just once through, I can confidently say that Saturday’s = Youth is the best thing I’ve heard so far this year. Keep in mind though, I’m a big fan of M83, so my opinion is somewhat biased.

The hazy shoegaze atmospherics and deep space textures of Gonzales’ past efforts are still present on Saturday’s = Youth, but the Frenchman loses the melodrama of previous records, crafting more structured songs with a pop mentality. M83’s recent composition, the eight-and-a-half minute “Couleurs” is driven by assertive thumping beats and glistening synths with an ambient fog hanging over layers of feedback, which is broken through by a trance-like rhythm as the song picks up in its later minutes. I’m really digging the less rock, more pop/dance aspect of this song and the record.

Saturday’s = Youth drops on April 15th via Mute and was produced by Ken Thomas (Sigur Rós, Suede, Cocteau Twins, Sugarcubes) and Ewan Pearson (The Rapture, Ladytron). The first single set to be relased from the record (following the already released “Couleurs”) is “Graveyard Girl.”

Gonzales and his crew consisting of drummer Loic Maurin, bassist/guitarist Pierre-Marie Maulini, and Morgan Kibby, who did vocals for the album lands in New York City on 6/3 at Music Hall of Williamsburg and 6/4 at Bowery Ballroom, while Philly gets the band on June 6th in the basement of The First Unitarian Church before they head to D.C. the following night for a show at Black Cat. Tickets are on sale now.

[MP3]: M83  ”Couleurs” (via)
Saturday’s = Youth, Mute; 2008

The Depreciation Guild | In Her Gentle Jaws

Didn’t quite get the gift(s) you were hoping for Christmas? Having post holiday blues? Feeling like a whale from the pounds of stuffing, sweet potatoes, ham, turkey, cookies, pie, chocolates, wine, beer, and whatever else you inhaled over the weekend? Well, The Depreciation Guild is here to save you with their debut album, In Her Gentle Jaws. They have made the entire album FREE for download to anyone and everyone.

Whenever one hears that a band is giving away a whole album for free on their website, the gut reaction is to typically raise a speculative eyebrow and question record’s quality. This wasn’t the case with The Depreciation Guild’s 10-track long-player. The Brooklyn duo crafts some blissed-out, swirling, 8-bit shoegaze on their debut, generating all of the percussion, bass, and syths with a Famicom (which they picked up eBay).

Free or not, this is one solid (and surprising) debut from and certainly worth the listen. Check out the warm and uplifting “Sky Ghosts” below and be sure to download the album (for free).

[MP3]: The Depreciation Guild  ”Sky Ghosts”

Looking Ahead to 2008

I guess it’s time for me to start getting together one of those year end list things. While I’m at that I wanted to share a few tracks from some artists that I’m looking forward to hearing a lot more of in 2008. Myself and maybe even Nghia will try to get around to doing another one of these in the coming weeks.

Thanks to the kind peeps over at Death + Taxes Magazine for turning me onto London’s SIAN ALICE GROUP. A promo copy of their debut record, 59.59, literally kept me company on my travels over the weekend. 59.59 is an expansive, sprawling pop effort, some might even say epic. Words like haunting, atmospheric, reflective, lush, dreamy, and experimental all come to mind when listening to the album’s sixteen tracks. Sian Ahern lends the record an ethereal beauty with her unearthly, yet seductive vocals…perfect for that winter night bundled up by the fireplace. 59.59 is due out in February on Brooklyn’s The Social Registry imprint.

[MP3]: Sian Alice Group  ”As The Morning Light”
59.59, The Social Registry; 2008

Expect to be hearing a lot more about Brooklyn duo MGMT when their debut full-length, Oracular Spectacular, sees its proper physical release via Columbia Records in January (currently only available as a digital download now). When I first heard the single “Time To Pretend” I was reminded of the quirky uplifting pop of The Unicorns (who I miss dearly, but also makes a nice spot for MGMT in my heart).

[MP3]: MGMT  ”Time To Pretend”
Oracular Spectacular, Columbia; 2008

I’ve been looking forward to the debut record from APES & ANDROIDS ever since they rocked off our faces at FRICTION back in the day at Sin-e. Nearly a year-and-a-half later and the band has completed their first full-length titled Blood Moon (cover art above), which will hit the streets relatively soon along with a release party at The Mercury Lounge on January 19th. To quote the band (well, actually a Transformers movie review), “it’s long and loud and everything about it is big: from the massive riffs, the pounding score and the band itself, which towers above everything and everyone in this mega-budget sonic explosion.” Check out “Golden Prize” from Blood Moon below. RAD!

[MP3]: Apes & Androids  ”Golden Prize”
Blood Moon, Unsigned; 2008

If you have any love left for punchy energetic dance music after the onslaught we received in 2007, then Lyon, France’s SPITZER is for you. Mathieu and Damien Brégère, the French brothers behind Spitzer have been generating a bit of buzz with a couple of hard-hitting electro singles like “Kapersky,” which is going to be included on their Roller Coaster EP, set to be released in 2008. Currently unsigned, I wouldn’t be surprised if the duo was gobbled up by a label like Kitsune or Ed Banger in the coming months. Check out “Aveda Dollars” from the Roller Coaster EP below.

[MP3]: Spitzer  ”Aveda Dollars”
Roller Coaster EP, Unsigned; 2008

Baltimore’s BEACH HOUSE put out one of my favorite records of 2006 with their self-titled debut on Carpark. The band is set to release their sophomore full-length titled Devotion on February 26th. Sounds like the band is picking up where they left off with “Gila.” Perfect.

[MP3]: Beach House  ”Devotion”
Devotion, Carpark; 2008

video of the week — late of the pier “bathroom gurgle”

I’ve been digging the much buzzed about “Bathroom Gurgle” by Nottingham’s Late Of The Pier for the last couple of weeks. It was released back in September on Moshi Moshi, but I just got around to playing it recently.

Reminds me of The Comsat Angels at times, Devo and Of Montreal at others, topped off with a bit of Bowie. Pretty festive. Snag the mp3 below.

[MP3]: Late Of The Pier  ”Bathroom Gurgle”
Bathroom Gurgle, Moshi Moshi; 2007