The French-American married duo Freedom Fry has long been on our radar for their danceable, indie pop gems. While pumping out tons of hits and seeing songs placed in multiple hit shows and movies, the group also released a stunning EP entitled La Soire.Now trying to close out the summer with a potential song of the season jam, Freedom Fry just released the new single “YOLO” earlier this morning. If you weren’t up and on your feet already, this jam is sure to get you moving along to the beat.
Woke up a bit bleary-eyed this morning, so sliding into this track from France’s Trainfantome was made really easy on my end. The song takes on a down-trodden tone from the get-go, almost like rubbing sleep from your eyes as you crawl out of bed. Once you’ve wiped away the sleep, you start to hear the deeper textures working beneath the song, with the mix doing wonders, as you can hear the distinctive elements that course through the song in both the front and the back. Those in search of that slow-burning headspace need only check out the tune below.
If you travel back in time, you might be able to get the secret Th Da Freak album that was briefly available on Bandcamp. But, it was pulled and then reshuffled and redone, thus where we are today with a fresh single and video from the French songwriter. I’ve always appreciated the songwriting, and there’s something here that’s really refreshing. In a sense, the video and song both have this sort of intimacy that recalls bedroom pop, but there’s this driving hook that courses through the track, elevating the song just enough to have this hook-laden pop rocker. If you dig it, you better grab Indie Rock from Flippin Freaks before it disappears again; it’s out June 16th!
French songwriter Thoineau has a complex and varied discography, but if you were paying attention in 2022, there was a brief 48 hour April Fools release titled Indie Rock. Well, Thoineau, or TH da Freak as he goes by in the music biz, has decided to revisit those old songs and finally get them out into the world. This delicious little pop ditty below is precisely why I’ve been attracted to the artist; there’s some sonic Tony Molina similarities in the voice that provide the natural hooks. Fuzzy guitars with a super lo-fi recording style add the sugar and sprinkles to this pop cookie, so you’re going to want your ears to gobble it up! If you dig, Les Disques du Paradis, Howlin Banana and Flippin Freaks Records will all help get Indie Rock back into the world on June 16th.
Not much left for us to say at this point other than, are you ready for chaos, music, and fun? Hopefully you are, as the events of SXSW are mere days away at this point with tons of things going down this weekend. If you’ve been enjoying our interview sessions, this one is sure to be of interest as the French band You Said Strange really took some time and care with detailed and well thought responses. Great to see a perspective from a European band coming to the States and being exposed to our insane way of life. Hit the jump for deets.
Honestly, I don’t know too much about The Psychotic Monks, but when listening through to their new single “Gamble and Dangle,” I thought it was just enough outside of what I’ve been posting today, so felt fitting to kind of end there. In it’s crawling pace, the song maneuvers over a thumping, rolling drum, almost meditating on this sort of anti-pop style. At times, the vocals and the guitars flirt with noisy experimentation, ultimately weaving this tapestry of darkened post-pop that evades the trappings of modern indie rock. This tune appears on their new LP, Pink Colour Surgery, so I look forward to diving further into what the French outfit are constructing.
Following on the heels of the ATH approved Juillet, French outfit En Attendant Ana announce their third long-player, Principia. With that news, we’ve got the album’s first single (and title track); it gives us a slight departure from previous singles, though deep dives into the band’s catalog illustrates the magic that’s been there all along. Mostly, this song is a drifter of sorts, floating back and forth between your speakers, matched by the slow-motion video footage accompanying the tune; it’s carefully plotted around the melody, letting the song rise towards a climactic moment, which may or may not be out of reach. What’s interesting is the way one decides to interpret the title, both of the album and the tune. In Spanish, it could mean begin or beginning, referencing the fact that it’s a slightly new evolution of the group, or the first track. It could also look to French where it mostly likely means principle, establishing a new way of viewing the band. Either way, we’re hearing something fresh from the group, and that’s never bad thing. Principia is out February 24th via Trouble in Mind.
Levitation kicks off next week, and one of the acts we’re really excited to see again is French outfit, La Femme. They’ve got a brand new record titled Teatro Lucido coming our way in November, and it takes a little bit of a departure from their previous album, using vocals all in Spanish this round. It also has a bit more of a pop sound, which is one of the ways Levitation has continued to grow their brand since the early days as Psych Fest. So, we reached out to band and asked a few fun questions to see what was coming our way from the group on their trip to the States.
Bordeaux’s TH da Freak has been on my radar for a bit now, mostly as Howlin Banana Records began working with the artist, so I knew it was something I could certainly trust. He just released a brand new record titled Coyote on the label, and I can’t get this single out of my head. It’s all sorts of playful in all the right places. The guitars feel heavy, though in that sort of poppy surf rock fashion; they feel like they’re made for perfect driving soundtracks. You get an added melodic bonus built in from backing vocals to uplift the main vocal…which is the immediate selling point of this track. If you’re digging it, check out the whole album!
French group Sinaive are crafting this perfectly fuzzy brand of pop that has me on the edge of my seat as I wait for their new Super 45 t. EP. Opening up with this wall of scuzzy fuzzy guitars immediately captures my attention. From there it turns right into something cozy and warm, with the melodies mingling together to create this wonder-world of daydreaming. Few band really capture the perfect balance between noise and pop elements as perfectly as this French quartet do. Plus, they’re releasing their EP with one of my favorite labels, Hidden Bay Records (also Arvo Disques/Hellzapoppin Records); the whole EP drops at the end of May, but you can get seduced right below!