FEU! CHATTERTON
Among French bands, Feu! Chatterton comes across as a bit of an oddity. They sing in French, for one thing. And there is some kind of wonderful gap between their dandy looks, poetic lyrics and the rawness of their new wave music.
The Parisian quintet was created after the members of Feu! Chatterton met in high school. After performing as an opening act for Fauve, they finally released their first EP in Septembre 2014. Their influences are both French and British, borrowing from Gainsbourg and Alain Bashung as well as Radiohead and Joy Division.
What makes their music so different, however, is that they sing in French, writing lyrics that seem to come straight from the 18th century. Their first song, released on Youtube in 2012, set the tone: "La Mort dans la Pinède" is all about teenage, clumsy relationships told through the eyes of courtly love. Medieval courtships meet electric guitars. No wonder they chose their name from a painting of Henry Wallis representing the death of Romantic English poet Thomas Chatterton...
Links:
La Malinche
À l'aube
La Mort dans la Pinède