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Cause for applauseOui, yes, ja, it’s les Handclaps’ Ouh Ouh Ah!
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There’s plenty with which to peg Montreal’s les Handclaps as a French band—the definite article in their band name, the two French teachers in the band (guitarist Hugo Clermont and keyboardist Daniel Saucier) and the French-sounding onomatopoeias of their debut album’s title, Ouh Ouh Ah! (launched at FrancoFolies for bonus points). Singer/sax player Lorraine Muller calls their sound “electro-pop yéyé,” a blend of Gallic ’60s garage rock and the specifically French strain of ’80s new wave. Mais oui, they’re a thoroughly French band—except when they’re not. Like when Muller’s tenure with ska band the Kingpins is reflected in the reggae roll of “What’s Coming Up” (“It’s funny,” she says, “I thought I’d finally have a record without an upbeat, but I couldn’t get away with it. Not that I wanted to”). Or when Shades of Culture MC Orion “Re-Evolution” Curiel lets a rap rip on “My New 135” (other album guests include Stuart Zender of Jamiroquai, les Breastfeeders’ Sunny Duval and Creature’s Kim Ho). Or when they trot out tunes in English and even a pair, “Liebe Macht Frei” and “Ein gutes Jahr,” in German. “The funny thing is, it may be my background,” says Muller, “but the lyrics for those two songs were written by [Saucier]. Then I went through them, a little nip and cut, and passed them to a friend in Germany just to be sure. It’s a natural thing for us to play with languages and sound, and those songs called for the kind of intonation and sounds you can get from the German language.” Three tongues—and room for one more. “Barbarella Pop Club” sports lyrics c/o Amylu Meneses, a globetrotting Latina DJ friend. “I could write a song in Spanish,” says Muller, “but this was actually inspired by a place in Madrid that she went to, but now it’s closed. So it’s a little like CBGBs—after the fact, it becomes a tribute to something that no longer exists.” One thing about les Handclaps needs no translation. “About a year and a half ago, we added two dancers, because a lot our music is inspired by the yéyé era, when they had gogo dancers. One of them is a choreographer, and she did some great contemporary choreography, but very inspired by gogo movements. It totally fits with our sound.” AT THE ZONE MOLSON DRY STAGE |
