French Bands
 Oui, oui, the French can Rock. Here are some of the French bands who do it best.
From Alt Rock to Surf Rock to New Wave Revival, bands from France are making their mark. While the biggest bands you may have heard of sing in English, there are still plenty of French language bands rocking out in their native tongue. Here are some French bands you should know. Now THIS Is How You Do Americana  The best French bands seem to have a hook that sets them apart from the rest. For La Maision Tellier, the hook is that they make bilingual "Americana" music. If you like Folk Rock bands like Mumford and Sons, Wilco, The Decemberists, and The Shins, then you'll enjoy La Maison Tellier. The band is named after a brothel in Guy de Maupassant's famous short story of the same name. They hail from Normandy -- the location of their fictional namesake brothel -- and each member of the group has…Is Archimede the French Oasis? Definitely Maybe  With a sound that seamlessly combines British Pop with French Rock, the band Archimède bridges the gap between the musical past and present and between the two nations that inspire their music. Brothers Nicolas and Frédéric Boisnard create songs imbued with The Beatles' Pop melodies, the catchy guitar Rock of Oasis, the Yéyé vibe of Jacques Dutronc, and Renaud's irreverent lyrics. Nico sings, plays harmonica, and writes the lyrics (in French, thank you very much), and Fred composes the music and plays guitar. The duo began writing songs as teens in their…La Femme: Trippy French Surf Rock Band  The band La Femme brings us New Wave Surf Rock, French style. Their hazy vocals, pulsating synths, Yé-yé vibes, and lo-fi aesthetic combine for an eclectic signature sound.
The haze also extends to the band members themselves, who are deliberately shrouded in mystery through costumes and camouflage.
Even the band's name is an enigma. We know it translates as "the woman," but what woman? Not to mention, we only seem to get passing glances at their faces in their head-scratching videos.
They say…BB Brunes: A French Band You Might Actually Like  BB Brunes is at the forefront of the new French Rock scene.They're one among a gaggle of Punk-loving bands barely out of their teens that emerged in the mid-to-late 2000's. They're also one of the few contemporary French bands to achieve commercial success singing in their native tongue.
English-speakers will find much to like in their music, as they're primarily influenced by the seminal punk bands of the 70's (The Clash, The Ramones, etc.) and the American and British Post-Punk revival bands of the early 2000's (The Strokes,…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.
. . . → Continue Reading: Chinatown: French Indie Rock from Canada’s ‘Brooklyn’Retro French Rock from Mustang  The French band Mustang keeps it old school. A band obsessed with the origins of Rock 'n' Roll, they incorporate Tennessee Honky Tonk and Rockabilly, Punk, Surf Rock, and New Wave into their retro sound and add a uniquely French twist.
The French have done Rock before, of course, and it's often an awkward pairing. But like their peers BB Brunes, Mustang has managed to make it seem like a natural fit.
. . . → Continue Reading: Retro French Rock…French Bands Who Sing in English, Pt. 2  Here are a few more French bands who sing in English. If you like your Rock with Frenchified, or just want to hear a different interpretation of music, then check out these bands. This time, I'm bringing you some chamber pop, an all-girl band, and some synth-pop, served different ways.
For whatever reasons (a wider audience, they think it sounds better to the ear, etc.), they've chosen to sing in English instead of their native tongue. You'll hear the influences of The Beatles and The Go-Go's,…Marie-Pierre Arthur: French Folk Rocker  Fall in love with the charming Folk Rock of Indie darling Marie-Pierre Arthur. In the footsteps of Coeur de Pirate comes another French singer out of Quebec worthy of international crossover success. Your music collection will be better for having this singer / songwriter in it.
She's the kind of uber-talented, not yet mainstream (outside of Canada) artist that Paste magazine would fawn over. You could put her on a playlist with Neko Case, Sharon Van Etten, and a much more famous Canuck, Feist.
Suarez: An Ethnic Fusion French Band  The band Suarez is an unlikely combination of members and global music influences. The lead singer was born to an Italian mother and a Spanish father and raised in Belgium, while three of the other musicians are former members of a renowned World Music band from Madagascar.
The group takes its name from the 16th century Portuguese explorer, Diego Suarez. What they play is a distinctive melange of American and British-inspired Pop and Rock, traditional Malagasy (Madagascar) music, Cape Verdean folk, and Soul -- all sung in French. It's…Yelle: Sassy French Electro Pop  Yelle has captured fans around the world with a winning formula of danceable music, sassy French lyrics (for the exotic factor), and a swagger reminiscent of M.I.A.
Both the name of the band and the stage name of its lead singer (née Julie Budet), Yelle is rounded out by drummer GrandMarnier and keyboardist Tepr. The trio got its start under the name YEL, when it posted a brutal diss song about a misogynistic French rapper on MySpace.
The NSFW song was renamed and became the hit song…French Bands Who Sing in English  I get a lot of queries on the French Music Blog about French bands who sing in English. I haven’t posted about it before now because I don’t really consider it French music if it’s not in French. But I'll oblige since some of my faithful readers are interested.
. . . → Continue Reading: French Bands Who Sing in English
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