This is also garage rock, but not really as we know it. The band name – Technicolor Noir as in an imaginary movie subgenre where the film noir is shot in technicolor – reveals that everything here revolves around opposites and unexpected combinations. We’re talking about an attention-worthy project by French garage/indie rock/power pop veterans Astro (The Tribe, Bang!, Scope, Bouton Rouge) on vocals & guitars, Yves Choisy (Les Guillotines) on bass, keys, mouth harp & vocals and Eric Barbarin (La Moutarde Me Monte Au Nez) on drums & vocals, and Russian expat Seva Slepushkin (Karovas Milkshake) on guitars, harmonica & vocals as a new member, with the help of some atypical instruments (backward guitar, harpsichord, sitar, marracas, sound effects, etc.) and special guests (Franck “Muskrat” Musard, Martin Kubasik, Adèle Barbarin). On this self-titled full-length album you’ll hear twelve varied songs that clearly seem to stem from the psychedelic 60s, with original hooks, fine melodies and a vintage sound. The lyrics fluctuate between straightforward (“Clapping hands, shaking hips // It’s alright… What’s going on?”) and hallucinatory (“Baa baa black sheep, have you any cool?”), the music moves from swinging rhythm & beat to mesmerizing folk pop. It’s a rich record that feels like an ode to music history, a successful soundtrack for what could be the imagination of a dark story in Hollywood colors.
Technicolor Noir is out now digitally (self-released). Add to wantlist: Bandcamp