Aidan Curran posted on January 22, 2009 18:00
As you'd expect, the new U2 single is all over French radio. (Are we the only ones to find it similar to 'Diamond Hoo Ha Man' by Supergrass?) Even non-Anglophone French DJs find 'Get On Your Boots' and 'No Line On The Horizon' to be terrible titles.
The other big single on French rock radio these days is from a home-grown contemporary of U2. 'Little Dolls' is the first track off the forthcoming new album by Indochine.
On the go since the early '80s, Indochine (pronounced "Andosheen") remain enormously popular and respected in France - rare for a French guitar band. They tend to plough a similar furrow to The Cure, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen - that sort of dark, epic alt-rock. We don't find them up to the same quality as those three mighty groups, but that's just us: their upcoming dates in Europe are selling out quickly.
That tour reaches its climax in summer 2010 with a show in the Stade de France, further proof of their enduring popularity. To publicise their concerts, the band have been appearing on posters (right) where singer Nicola (born Nicolas) Sirkis and the bravest of his bandmates are in the nip, modesty preserved by some well-placed type. Giant posters of nudie middle-aged men plastered on billboards and the walls of metro stations: if that doesn't shift tickets then nothing will.
Though Indochine's back catalogue is agreeable yet unspectacular, 'Little Dolls' is quite good. Similar to Muse's 'Starlight', it hangs off a pounding piano riff and swells to an epic chorus. You mightn't pay hard-earned recession euros for it, but it's catchy coming out of your radio. And it's better than the new U2 song.
From a recent French music awards show (the one where Katy Perry was accidentally presented an award meant for Rihanna), here's 'Little Dolls' by Indochine:
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