Oui Love
Lily Le says yes in French
As part of the UK tour, the promotional platform for popular French music stopped off in a tiny room of a Dalston pub for their London date.
First up was Yan Wagner, a handsome young Frenchie with a recently released debut album; slightly reminiscent of acts such as Jimmy Edgar. Being solo, it was difficult to be animated while trying to press buttons, sing, and charm the crowd which probably accounted for some of the awkward and unsure dancing. Being the first up is never so easy. However, it probably can’t be refuted that his whispers of “looovesick…all week” produced a tingly warm feeling deep, deep, deep down which may have also accounted for the awkward and unsure dancing. Although not an overly-impressive act, Wagner’s set was nonetheless enjoyable.
Following were groove and funk-saturated Jupiter. Their joking around and crowd banter managed to get everyone excited and up for, again, awkward and unsure dancing – there seems to be a pattern re-emerging here. The highlight of the set was French beauty Amélie who pranced around in a pretty pink skirt and demonstrated how todance without showing signs of awkwardness. Her vocals, accented by Parisian tones when crooning “I need a boogieman”, were equally as charming. However, there is only so much of French disco that one can take, and sadly their set had to come to an end.
Juveniles finished off the evening with their electro-oriented indie-pop. Classifiable more along the lines of Housse de Racket and Is Tropical, these Kitsuné protégés were more for watching and less for dancing. Their set was slightly disappointing compared to the eagerness that Jupiter managed to rile up in the crowd, and they stuck out a little on the line up compared to their more electro-heavy predecessors of the night. Unless you are 15 or able to maintain love for all things indie-pop for more than five years, Juveniles may not be the band for everyone. However, their ending on most accessible track ‘We Are Young’ in which deep vocals are contrasted against synth (yes, we’ve all heard those Joy division comparisons thank you) was the highlight of the set.
