Chinatown: French Indie Rock from Canada’s ‘Brooklyn’

Let’s just be honest for a moment: Quebec is far ahead of France when it comes to making quality French Rock. Could it be its closer proximity to Brooklyn? (Just kidding.) The Montreal band Chinatown, named after Roman Polanski’s classic film noir, is one band leading the way.

Speaking of the silver screen, the band initially supported itself with funding from their contribution to a movie soundtrack. When a song written by the group’s founding members appeared on the Wicker Park soundtrack and got some college radio airplay, the band was on its way. (That song was “Retour à Vega,” performed by The Stills.)

Chinatown’s members are lead singer and guitarist Felix Dyotte, keyboardist Pierre-Alain Faucon, guitarist and vocalist Julien Fargo, bassist Toby Cayouette, and drummer Gabriel Rousseau, who came together in 2007. In 2008, the band self-produced its debut EP, L’amour, le rêve et le whisky, with songs that would later appear on their debut album.

Cite d’or

That album, 2009’s Cite d’or, is a rocked-out, modern take on Francophone pop from the 60’s. It won the band critical praise and Canadian music award nods. The singles included “Apprendre à danser,” “Perdre son temps,” “Bateau de querelle,” “La Vrille,” and the kitschy single “Penelope.” The project won the band nominations for Best Album and Best New Artist at the ADISQ Awards (Quebec’s version of the Grammys), and numerous songwriting and music prizes and awards. Not a bad start.

Here’s the video for Penelope.

Comment J’ai Explosé

In 2012, the quintet released their follow-up, experimental album called Comment J’ai Explosé. The album is a fun, rollicking good time. The persistent piano riffs and harmonized vocals of “Adeline” remind me a lot of Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks.” In fact, if you like lo-fi Indie Rock and Brooklyn bands (Vampire Weekend, Animal Collective, and the like), you’ll really like this album.

I love the way “Culpabilité” makes my head bop and then goes all quiet and acoustic at the end:

Check out their bouncy track, “Cassez moi la tête.”

I really like the indie Rock coming out of Quebec these days (both French and English), and Chinatown is definitely a Francophone band to watch. No word on a new album yet, but you can visit their official site (in French) for more on the band.

What do you think of Chinatown? Do they remind you of an American or British bands? Leave a comment.