Amandine Maissiat

  • Posted on 21/11/2012
  • /Under Musique

Guestpost! David on Amandine Maissiat and her former band, Subway.


Sometimes it’s just a bit of luck. Going through a bunch of older CD’s in the music bins, I came across “L’Intranquille” by Subway. I couldn’t find much on the group initially (it didn’t help that several groups have the same name), but eventually found a couple of videos (Paris, Nos Nuits d’Opaline), and after giving them a listen went and bought the album…

Pretty girl, strong guitar, strong voice, with a bit of an edge…there’s never enough of that. In the comments, Amandine Maissiat was mentioned (yep, it’s her), which led me to the video (whoa) that sounded so familiar, the one posted here back in January.

So, it turns out after making “L’Intraquille” Amandine and Subway parted ways. A pity. Here’s an interview where Amandine discusses the reasons why. Subway originally was formed by four friends, all the way back in 1991, eventually putting out a first album, Rien ne se voit in 2003. The instrumentals in “L’Intranquille” are strong so I will probably seek out their first CD eventually. According to this, the group has finally called it quits this year.
Amandine plays on, with her EP “Maissiat” released early this year, also well worth it as you might guess from the video.

Here are two of my favorites from “L’Intraquille”.

Subway – Ces Mots Là
Subway – Sauvez-moi

Benjamin Biolay

  • Posted on 05/11/2012
  • /Under Musique


Benjamin Biolay‘s new album Vengeance is out today, featuring duets with Vanessa Paradis, Julia Stone, Carl Barat and rappers Oxmo Puccino and OrelSan. It’s the follow up to the, err, superbe La Superbe, the ambitious, versatile and amazing double album from 2010. This time, it sounds like Benjamin got stuck in writer’s block. Vengeance lacks good ideas, memorable melodies. Ben reaches back to the 80s, referring to The Cure and other new wave act with their bleak drums and reverb-drenched guitars. The song with Carl Barat, in which Ben tries to sing in English, is frankly godawful. Julia en ‘Nessa can’t don’t make any juices running with their guest-vocals. The Spanish track makes me cringe as well. I’ve read favourable reviews, but to me Vengeance falls flat on it’s face. When you’ve set the bar as high as Ben has in the past, with masterpieces like La Superbe, HOME and Négatif, gold is expected from you. Not gold dust.

Benjamin Biolay & Vanessa Paradis – Profite

Metal Gainsbourg

  • Posted on 03/11/2012
  • /Under Musique

No, it’s not a joke. Swedish goth metalband Therion just released an album with covers of French 60s and 70s popsongs. Featuring a few Gainsbourg-tracks: Poupée de cire, Initials BB and Les Sucettes. Among tracks made famouse by Sylvie Vartan, Marie Laforet and others (see tracklist here). Therion’s not the first loud band to cover Gainsbourg (see FN Guns’ Les Sucettes, Rummelsnuff’s Bonnie & Clyde, for instance), but Therion’s versions are hilarious. Unintentionally, I guess, but still. Their ‘Initials BB’ is okay, but try ‘n keep a straight face while listening to this. Then imagine a corpsepainted, leather-clad crowd banging their heads to it. Even their fans aren’t sure what to think of it.
As a teen I listened to a lot of hardrock and metal (Judas Priest, Motörhead, Metallica, etc), but when I hear Therion, I think of the bestest metalparody ever.

Therion – Initials BB

Daphné chante Barbara

  • Posted on 30/10/2012
  • /Under Musique

‘Singing Barbara is like an actor playing Don Juan, or Le Misanthrope’, writes Daphné about her new album with 13 covers of the legendary lady in brown. Her dark chansons are classic material, Daphné’s not the first to do a cover, and certainly not the last. She has two duet-partners, Benjamin Biolay (who helped start her career) is sprinkling his Casanovian charm all over Dis, Quand Reviendras-Tu, while Dominique A. backs her up in Göttingen. I’m a fan of Daphné, not that familiar with Barbara’s back catalogue (though I adore Nantes). I guess D.’s adding a tad more hope, or light at the end of the tunnel, than Barbara in the original versions. I never thought of Dis… being a sexy song, Daphné and Ben pull it off.
Speaking of Biolay, I wouldn’t hold my breath about his upcoming album. BIG disappointment. Lacks ideas, lacks memorable melodies, under par production. Even Vanesse Paradis, Carl Barat and La Grande Sophie Julia Stone can’t lift this out of muddy mediocrity. More on Vengeance later.

Daphné & Biolay – Dis, Quand Reviendras-Tu?
Original version (video)

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