A bit of an unusual recording... great indie/alt rock covers done by a French band in (mostly) bossanova style! This one's a fave here at Chez Fhi?n.. it's brilliantly done, IMHO.
More information at http://www.nouvellesvagues.com
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"Nouvelle Vague" is a french project initialized by Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux.
Marc Collin was a genuine "french touch" figure (with his band Ollano).he moved from movie soundtrack ("the kidnapper's theme") to club music (he recorded for Paper recordings) until becoming a creative and eclectic producer (Avril on Fcom ,Volga select on Output records)
Olivier Libaux was involved in many french pop acts all along the nineties and started working with Marc in 1998. He recently released his first solo album "L'h?ro?ne au bain" on french label na?ve.
"Nouvelle Vague" ( means « New Wave « in french, « Bossa Nova » in portuguese) revisits number of both Marc and Olivier's favourite tracks of the early eighties, from Joy Division to XTC.
Their idea was to forget the initial punk or new wave background of each song,keep simple fundamental chords,work with young singers who never heard the orginal versions,and make the quality of original songwriting happen in a completely different way.(bossa nova,jazz style and sixties pop)
Review by Heather Phares
The best compliment that can be paid to Nouvelle Vague's self-titled debut album: it isn't as arch and smirking as a collection of bossa nova versions of new wave classics by fetching French and Brazilian chanteuses would suggest. Based on the concept alone, Nouvelle Vague seems similar to the work of jokesters like the Mike Flowers Pops or Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, but though the album is definitely playful, it works on a sincere level enough of the time to be more than just a goof. In fact, Nouvelle Vague's best moments are a tribute to how well written the words and melodies of these songs are; that they can withstand, and even thrive in, such different arrangements is no small feat. Smooth, smoky ballads, such as the opening track, "Love Will Tear Us Apart," provide many of the album's highlights. The Cure's "A Forest" gets a tropical twist, complete with jungle sound effects, while the Cult's "Marian" remains as dark as ever but is now much more delicate -- call it gotha nova. On the other hand, the cover of the Dead Kennedys' "Too Drunk to Fuck" is a giggly, sassy, mischievous standout that bears virtually no resemblance to the original. Likewise, the serpentine version of Killing Joke's "Psyche" is radically different from the original, nor does it quite fit in with the rest of Nouvelle Vague's bright, breezy feeling, but its spooky vibe makes it one of the album's most interesting tracks. Two of the best covers come from a couple of the least well-known bands on the collection: Tuxedomoon's "In a Manner of Speaking" is transformed into a gorgeous, completely convincing torch song, and Josef K's "Sorry for Laughing" closes the album on a sweetly languid note. Not all of Nouvelle Vague is this inspired -- the version of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" is overly fussy, and while the covers of songs like "I Melt With You" and "Making Plans for Nigel" are nice enough, they don't have the spark of the album's best moments. But even at its worst, Nouvelle Vague is still pleasantly witty background music. This unlikely, but mostly happy, marriage of new wave and bossa nova will probably disappoint or displease purists who believe that every version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" should have the brooding intensity of the original, but everyone else can enjoy the album's playful elegance.
Nouvelle Vague
Nouvelle Vague
[Peacefrog; 2004]
Rating: 7.0
The impetus behind Nouvelle Vague was two French musician/producers, Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux, bringing in various female vocalists who had no knowledge of the songs they'd be covering. Then, hoping to "forget the initial punk or new wave background of each song," they tackled 1980s faves from the likes of the Cure, the Clash, and Joy Division.
The supposed ignorance of the singers plays well for this record's lack of irony, a big part of what makes it succeed as a well-meaning, well-executed novelty. Nouvelle Vague put their most sacrilegious foot forward, opening the album with a cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart". With the sounds of the tide heard behind the strums of a nylon-string guitar and vocalist Eloise adding playful, bouncy accents to Ian Curtis' weighty lyric, this is frothy, effervescent pop with a touristy feel but no trace of the original's weight.
And that's pretty much the MO for the rest of the record, too: The vocalist on "Guns of Brixton" sounds like she's never been near a gun, nor to Brixton, and the singer of the playful romp taken through "Too Drunk to Fuck" sounds as if she learned the operative word the day of recording, her voice veering from coquettish to near-hysterical.
However, the most effective songs re-interpret the originals while maintaining their mood. The Specials' "Friday Night Saturday Morning" starts out with "Space Oddity" acoustic panache and turns the partying ennui of the original into palpable melancholy, making it the stunning highlight of this disc. Tracks like "Marian" and "A Forest" retain bits of their original foreboding and hold up better to repeated listening, as does as the smiling rumble-pop of "Just Can't Get Enough". Nouvelle Vague certainly treat genre with the same casual respect as their source material-- they're unafraid to add French pop, cocktail jazz, or trip-hop overtones to their bossa nova template.
But if Nouvelle Vague intended these versions to be enjoyed without context, doesn't the choice of songs limit their audience? I'm sure there's a small crossover, but there can't be many fans of French bossa nova could possibly be clamoring for covers of Tuxedomoon or Killing Joke.
-Jason Crock, February 17, 2005
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