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Nouvelle and vague

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 08/12/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Take classic post-punk songs, by bands like Joy Division, the Clash, the Cure, and the Dead Kennedys which. Now give them a new sound: bossa nova.



That's the particular gimmick of Nouvelle Vague, whose self-titled debut is an ironic little curiosity. And while it has pretty, tongue-in-cheek covers like a sultry "Love Will Tear Us Apart," it never really rises above the status of "ironic little curiosity."



It opens with the legendary Joy Division song, done to a trippy bossa nova sound, and backed by lifeguard whistles and waves crashing. Then it dips into a chipper cover of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough," a rather plodding acoustic cover of the Clash's "Guns of Brixton," and a mildly engaging version of the Undertones' "Teenage Kicks."



There are sultrier numbers as well -- the Cure get a cover with sultry night noises and slow guitar in "A Forrest," and "Sisters of Mercy" is practically transcendental. But while I love the Dead Kennedys' "Too Drunk to F*ck," it doesn't translate well to an awkward bossa nova rhythm. It doesn't fit in, and is distractingly disjointed even when taken by itself.



Is "Nouvelle Vague" a pretty bossa nova covers album? Oh yes. Will it actually be listened to again? Hard to say. It's an interesting listen, but a novelty rather than an album in its own right.



Certainly Nouvelle Vague has excellent choice in retro rock music, since they chose several excellent groups to cover here, and often their best songs as well. Some are catchy, some are cutely sugary, some are ethereal ballads. They're pretty to listen to, but somehow the individual flavour of each song gets lost in the downtempo sound.



Whatever you think of the music, it can't be denied that Camille Dalmais has an exceptional voice. Except for that painful screech in "Too Drunk To F*ck," she veers between the breathiness of Hope Sandoval to the sultry croon of Beth Gibbons. With a hint of Bjork as well, to be honest.



In or out of Nouvelle Vague, Dalmais has enormous talent, while the rest of the album is merely "okay" or even "just good." Diverting, but not the sort of thing to listen to over and over."

Great concept, and it actually works great

wm | ...onward....thru the fog! | 04/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You're entitled to be skeptical about some French folks doing bossa versions of early 80s new wave songs. Their recent http://www.kcrw.com/show/mb set will turn you into a believer. Here's the mood and setting: It's an early '80s sultry evening on Ipanema beach....crickets chirp in the background, and a lonesome helicopter emerges, then disappears across the skyline.... and a girl sings and strums her guitar. So sit back in your lounge chair, sip your favorite cold and sensuous beverage, and enjoy."

For a long summernight

Bas Van Der Veen | Gent,Belgium | 03/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Imagine a long summernight, when you're sitting outside having a relaxed cooldown after a long, hot day. This music is the perfect companion, just as the original songs were for a cold winternight in a northern town. Some songs are almost unrecognizable from their original recording, so even though you might have listened to these way to often in the 80s, they are still refreshing the way Nouvelle Vague has remastered them."