A collection of U.S. garage band reworkings of UK indie melodies c.1990, this long-player from THE FRENCH SEMESTER is a downbeat delight.
Though California-based, with a sound that reflects their location, the band members hail from anywhere but. Named after the Parisian studies of New York Indian Riaz Tejani, the group also boasts an English drummer in Mark Bullivant as well as a Mexican percussionist and Vietnamese bass player.
The surf is never far from the jam either. It’s here upon the shifting sands of retro beach that this international collective unleash their makeshift harmonies, borrowing increasingly from the Slowdive-era shoegazers’ past. As their dreamy, out-of-focus slacker soundtrack begins to unfold, single release ‘Arrowheadings’ blazes a trail Sarah-records style, the absent-minded melody wound around some messy yet alluring percussion.
‘Your Master Plan’ is delightfully shambolic and stripped utterly free of cut-throat ambition. Snare driven and bass repetitive, the diluted thread of electric guitar carries the understated melody alone.
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Elsewhere, the D.I.Y. three-chord power of sub-pop classic ‘The Red, The Black & The Blue’ loops out into cosmic realms, but always reverts to its’ shaky beginnings and simplistic appeal.
Lyrically, this is either surreal or out to subvert, with Tejani’s misfiring lines often resembling word association as you dip below the superficial in order to translate meaning from his detached monotone.
‘Paradise’ is the album’s thumping heartbeat. Distracted bassline and DIY handclaps taking you on to the distant tambourine rattles of ‘Don’t Be A Magistrate’.
‘Open Letter To The Disappeared’ is like innocence recalled, especially to a disillusioned thirtysomething like me. The long-forgotten places from where it draws inspiration are rejuvenated in sparkling style. The results are deliciously vacant. Get a listen!
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