You've probably never heard of Nouvelle Vague, www.nouvellesvagues.com. They're a French collective who specialise in covering eighties punk and new wave classics in a laid back, bossa-nova style. Sounds horrible doesn't it? But surprisingly it works, and their self-titled CD was one of my favourite albums of last year. The different female vocalists reinvent each song into languid, impeccibly cool numbers, thankfully without a hint of cheese wafting over the whole project. I wondered how this would all translate live but I'm pleased to report it worked amazingly well; the two singers alternated vocal duties and came across as chic, gawky, sexy and witty individuals, backed by the Nouvelle Vague industry room of guitar, piano and drums. In addition to the majority of tracks from their album they also included covers of New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle, The Buzzcocks' Ever Fallen In Love, The Cramps' Spanish Fly and Bauhaus's Bela Lugosi Is Dead. Merci, vous etiez magnifique!
I first heard Nouvelle Vague at last year's Frightfest, and this leads me very nicely on to news of this year's premier UK horror and fantasy film festival which has just been confirmed to take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend in central London. Hop over to their website www.frightfest.co.uk for full details and a lively discussion forum.
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