Over to France now and the magnificent Howlin Banana label. Fontanarosa are a quartet from Paris led by Paul Verwaerde and Are You There is as good an example of Indie Pop Rock that you could imagine. It is a beacon in the darkness of what used to be a thriving genre.
For all the music here, the music that my other half tells me I should slim down to the point that I have to now sneak stuff in, I have favourite areas that I reach for constantly. One is Psych Pop, the other is intelligent Indie Guitar Pop. Fontanarosa are the latter. Comparing a band to XTC is maybe the laziest comparison that you can make, but there is lots of that first XTC period when the keyboards were ditched here.
It is the unusual chords and the strangely addictive riffs and choruses that hook you. It shows that you don't need a wall of sound or big anthems to hook people. Intelligence inventive songs win you over every time.
The Indie jangle compares with the best of the late 80s / early 90s of the likes of Madchester Guitar bands that were revealing that everything wasn't about Dance. OH id is the closest to early XTC, even Franz Ferdinand in feel with an absolutely hypnotic riff.
Hold On equals anything on the edges of Brit Pop, the type of music that wasn't hyped, that you had to discover or have recommended. You wouldn't hear its like in HMV or Virgin. Final Distance is a bit like Ray Davies fronting Radiohead. Backgrounds is not a million miles away from The Sugarplastic.
Way In Out is a much darker, another great riff, another song that hooks you. Are You There? is the sound of great Indie with a cleverness to admire, but without ever losing sight of the chorus. It is a great listen and a reminder that you don't have to be loud to be heard. Great stuff!
You can listen to and buy the album here.
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