The French Kicks
One Time Bells
[StarTime; 2002]
Rating: 6.6
I'm no fan of geographical stereotypes, residing as I do in the
South. Though at a given point of cultural fascination, a band's
locality may help them sell records (think Seattle, 1992), there's no
guaranteeing they'll sound the way you want them to, as all those who
bought Sub Pop albums on the off chance that the bands sounded like
Nirvana can attest. We live in culture of near-universal ADD, where
an 'it' band and a to-the-minute sound have a habit of disappearing
from public consciousness with a vicious quickness. We get bored
(raise your hand if you groan at the thought of another Chicago-based
post-rock band), the music sounds passe (anyone remember the ska
revival?), and in most of the above scenarios bands are trapped
riding the coattails of the initial breakthrough act, hoping to catch
some vicarious limelight before the fashion moment ends.
The French Kicks originated out of a high school friendship in
Washington, D.C., separated during college, and reunited in the
not-too-distant past in New York City. By their location alone,
their sound is about what you'd expect. If you've ever wondered what
a J. Robbins partnership with the Strokes would sound like, your
prayers have been answered, sort of. Some tracks, like the melodic,
streamlined "When You Heard You" sound quite a bit like Burning
Airlines. Some of the more uptempo songs, such as "Crying Just For
Show" and "Right in Time" in particular, sound a lot like the
Strokes. The Kicks also look a little like the Strokes, have a catchy
name, and walk a stylistic path that places them somewhere between
New Wave-influenced, radio friendly rock and roll and dissonant
post-punk.
And the results aren't that bad, actually kind of tantalizing at
times. Super-clean, methodical music undercut with spare keyboards
and drummer/vocalist Nick Stumpf's self-conscious crooning. It seems
like a recipe for at least marginal success, so long as the public
fascination with this sort of thing doesn't fade into oblivion before
One Time Bells has a chance to make the rounds.
But that said, I'm still not sure I like this album. It's not just a
question of good songs and bad songs, though there are a few of each.
The primary candidates for loser status are the two tracks ("Down
Now" and "Close To Modern") in which the French Kicks venture into
dangerous blue-eyed soul territory and come off sounding
(unintentionally, I hope) like Hall and Oates. I admire the bravery
required for including such eclectic material, and the harmonies are
nice, guys, really pretty, but...
Likewise, I would recommend that the French Kicks be wary of
continuing in the vein of their opening track, "Wrong Side." It's
poppy and polished, could be a candidate for rotation on MTV2, but
it's a bit boring, like a slightly above-average bar band. Just
listening to it makes me want to order a beer. (Note to Miller
execs: The French Kicks would be ideal
for one of your indie rock beer commercials. Much better than Smog.
Smog doesn't make me want to party and drink MGD. I mean, I don't
really drink Miller beer, but if I did, I would drink it to The
French Kicks.)
The New Wave-inspired numbers are a more interesting. "1985"
(strictly speaking, it sounds a bit more like 1983, but no
matter) fuses the French Kicks' fascination with early period Wire
with an 80s pop sensibility. Like most of the songs on this album,
there are elements here I really like-- the sparse guitar, the
atmosphere-- but it's almost like they went back and tried to make
the song more accessible after the fact. The harmonies don't fit,
for one. The heavier guitars on the choruses
sounds contrived. Seldom do I ever think music sounds patronizing,
but it comes off like the French Kicks are talented musicians who
just don't trust their good instincts. Or maybe they can't decide
what sort of band they want to be.
"One Time Bells," the title track, with its chiming guitars and
consistent melody, is probably the album's best cut. In some ways, it
best exemplifies their sound, without all the overt influences and
identity crises. So, what I've come up with is this:
While better than some of their previous releases, One Time Bells
still isn't a mind-blowing album. But I do think the French Kicks are
a good band, and I won't be surprised if, an album or two down the
road, they're a great one.
-Alison Fields, April 26th, 2002