REVIEWS
(take me back to heaven)

Indiepages: This French group released an excellent cassette on Best Kept Secret a couple years back, and this EP finds the band still going strong. There was no useful information on the sleeve, so I'm assuming these are recent recordings, but I can say that none of them are taken from that cassette. They do follow the same musical style of Teenage Fanclub meets Pernice Brothers-ish melodic jangle. The first half of the disc contains the best two songs, "Faux-Semblants" and "(Things To Do) Before You Leave Me", both upbeat and quite memorable tunes. I kind of liked "Une Saison Particulière", but felt that it went on a minute or two too long. The EP closes with a very interesting version of Joy Division's "Atmosphere", which the band transforms from dark and ambient into driving and almost cheery, thanks to a steady drumbeat and male/female co-lead vocals. Let's hope to hear a full-length from these guys soon! 

Fensepost: Aujourd’Hui Madame split their songwriting between English and French vocals, but the instrumentation is always pop. El Americano EP is the perfect representation of what makes international indie pop music great - it’s upbeat in all the right ways, and while there’s an obvious predilection toward France, it’s not really distinct to any particular nation.

El Americano EP begins with “Faux-Semblants”, a French track that opens the album on a clear high point. In its follow up, “(Thigns To Do) Before You Leave Me”, the English vocals mashed with a slightly different European sound takes the EP in a slightly different direction. The song would fit well associated next to Swedish and English indie pop tunes.

The album closes with another major high point: “Atmosphere”. The song, while still a full-fledged pop tune, has a much heavier sound than its predecessors. The percussive beats and powerfully distorted guitars add a hefty rock element unheard in the other tracks. Still, the chord progressions and vocal hooks keep it consistent with the EP.

Despite blatantly notable changes between songs - flipping back and forth between languages, adding heavier rock elements while downplaying the pop, etc. - El Americano EP is quite cohesive as a whole. And, above all, it’s a great introduction to a wonderful new pop artist by a pretty amazing new pop label, Peru’s Susy Records. Keep an eye on Aujourd’Hui Madame!

Eardrums: A small 3” cd with a red and stylish paper cover arrived in my post-box some weeks ago, and it has been on constant rotation in my player ever since. It’s the fine Peruvian label Susy Records who has released this gem, and the band is called Aujourd’Hui Madame.

The 4 song EP is filled with jangly pop songs mostly sung in French, and comparisons may be bands like Teenage Fanclub or BMX Bandits, – highly melodic and harmony-filled in other words.

The EP closes with a very unexpected cover song, “Atmosphere” by Joy Division. Aujourd’Hui Madame show me new sides of the classic song, and they do it with respect. You can buy the EP from Susy Records.

360º de Separación: Nuevo y certero tiro al centro de la diana con esta estupenda banda francesa que protagoniza la que probablemente sea la mejor referencia publicada hasta la fecha pro Susy Records. Cantando en su idioma natal Philippe Lavergne entusiasma con algunos cortes que saben por igual a Indie Pop de inspiración C-86, como a la línea más amable del NRA. Faux-Semblants es una gozada, con una melodía memorable y un aire powerpopero irresistible que hacen de sus cuatro minutos un verdadero suspiro. (Things To Doo) Befote You Leave Me parece apostar por los primeros tiempos del cuarteto más famoso de Athens, resultando otro pildorazo de esos que nos lanzan a la pista de baile. Une Saison Particuliére es un medio tiempo que invita a recrearse en su escuchar para descubrir con sorpresa que goza de una producción y cuerpo digno de un trabajo de mayor entidad. Cerrando este estupendo Ep. una particular y deliberadamente luminosa versión del Atmosphere de Joy Division. Sobresaliente trabajo y un diseño que ya se encuentra a años luz de anteriores referencias de Susy Records.

Pop n' Cherries: After Cloudberry, Weepop! and Edition 59, here's a brand new 3" CD label hailing this time from Peru and run by a young POP lover called Pancho ! Releases include Desmond Reed, PaddlePOP (a funny band from Singapore) and... Aujourd'hui Madame.

After his "Italian cassette", and despite being dropped in the middle of nowhere (US countryside), french POP aesthete Philippe Lavergne has indeed succeeded in quickly releasing some new material in Paris with his fellow bandmates (a new album is also ready) in the purest "Aujourd'hui Madame" style : heavy Fenders at the service of a heavy POP sensibility with heavy french ingredients on top.

The EP starts gently with the Rivers Cuomo-esque "Faux-semblants" and its realistico-naïve french lyrics, then follows up with the charming "Before You leave me" and its rhythmed guitar reverbs, continues with "Une saison Particulière" as if Fugu was having a session with Peter Buck, then finishes by giving Joy Division's "Atmosphere" a new POP dimension. Welcome back Mr Lavergne !!

Autres Directions: Alors que la dématérialisation de la musique semble de plus en plus inéluctable, il est rassurant de tenir l’objet dans les mains : un petit cd au format 3", avec une pochette artisanale. Et pour accroitre l’exotisme, soulignons que El Amercano parait sur Susy Records, un label basé au Pérou ! Manifestement un eldorado pour les rescapés de la scène pop hexagonale des années 90. Et oui, car dès les premières notes de ce disque d’Aujourd’hui Madame, on retrouve le talent de Philippe Lavergne, dont les aspirations et inspirations (en atteste une version popisante de Joy Division ci-présente) n’ont guère évolué depuis ses aventures précédentes : Les Freluquets et Qu4tre - voilà qui ne nous rajeunit pas - et plus récemment Bassmati. Aujourd’hui Madame s’applique ainsi à faire rimer les canons de la pop britanniques dans une version francophone. Le quatuor laisse la place belle au chant et aux guitares énergiques, sans autre ambition que de trousser des chansons qui font dodeliner de la tête, battre du pied. Une rythmique souple, des refrains immédiats soutenus par des chœurs à la tierce, une mélodie qui re