The Latest: Blacklist by Kap Bambino

Great music can come from anywhere. You know this already. The weird band from off the beaten path is always gonna be far more interesting than scenester-clones. So, I guess it stands to reason that France is going to cough up a good band eventually. C'est vrai, oui?

And believe it or not, there are actually deux bandes* worth talking about these days. Kap Bambino is straight outta Paris with some crazy electro-punk, and as you might expect, it doesn't make much sense, even though it's mostly in English. ("I want to see dead lazers in the night. I don't care about the distance." Well, alright then!)

Who cares, though, when the sound is this powerful? It's definitely cybernetic. Lots of synths and beats, although they are pretty messed up, so don't expect a clean, robotic synth-pop thing. The keyboards are overdriven and glitchy, the drum machines are jacked up, and the songs shift structure. Dead Lazers, for example, goes from a goth-y anthem into a stadium techno bridge, 11:58 is a pulsing throb that has frequent breakdowns, and Red Sign feels like indie-pop dressed up in buzzsaw synths..

It's all a bit reminiscent of the Robots In Disguise (the electro girls from the Mighty Boosh) but it's also a bit like a much more aggressive Berlin or New Traditionalists-era Devo in places. Aggressive is the key word here. You probably want petite doses at first, since it can definitely wear you out, but it is loud fun, too.

*Le bande deuxieme de Paris is called This Is Pop which is more like a Francophone riot-grrl indie sound. They are incredibly low-profile online, so I can't share anything here apart from my respect and admiration.