music and notes : : notes and music

Back in the day, and stuck as we were (are?) at the arse end of the world, Kiwi listening tastes were very much dictated by what was going on in the UK, America and Australia.

Very little from Europe filtered down to us.

Consequently I was introduced to the myriad joys of bands like Rita Mitsouko, Plastic Bertrand and Indochine rather late in life.

I certainly made up for lost time, and consumed these icons of trashy pop greatness like a girl starving. (I am pretty much a sucker for anything sounding remotely 80s.)

It's only quite recently I became aware that, for Indochine at least, there was life beyond the eighties.

Indochine are the ultimate purveyors of driving melodic pop: their music is like candy.

It gives you a massive sugar rush, spiking you high into the stratosphere. And although it's true that too much in one sitting has the potential to leave you with a tension headache, taken in small doses, Indochine are almost guaranteed to put a smile on your dial.

Here's "Adora" from Alice et June:




[Indochine - MySpace] [Amazon]

Labels: 80s, Eurorock, Pop

Formed in Belgium in 1999, Ghinzu are a bit like Muse, but without the overblown theatrics.

Not that they're not prone to a little drama. Their best songs are slow burners, beginning with dark, melodic piano lines woven into tense, driving rhythms that culminate in propulsive, muscular (very satisfying) crescendos of noise.

There is something vaguely reminiscent of Noir Désir in their sound, as well, although their English is not quite so heavily (or hilariously) accented.

Here's the eponymous track off their album Blow:



[Ghinzu - MySpace]

Labels: Eurorock, Pop, Rock