REVIEW: Noir Desir, Noir Desir (Barclay - Germany)
- Tim Mohr
One look at the cover photo of this compilation will reveal that Noir Desir isn't exactly a dream band for marketing in today's fashion-conscious, commercialized-alternative world. To purveyors of indie rock, however, this is a highly desirable characteristic and one often found in strange places. A disjointed guitar riff opens this record, then a voice starts intoning in a voice reminiscent of the artist formerly known as Black Francis. But the manic energy and raw guitars are coming from a very unusual source: four French guys.
As if it wasn't shocking enough for France's MC Solaar to be producing some of the world's best hip-hop, this record covering the nascent career of Noir Desir proves that the country has also become an exporter of ferocious alternative rock. The sound is very rudimentary and harkens back to classic garage material like the Troggs, the Standells, a host of punky mid-60s outfits, late-70s punk bands, or Fugazi. Fans of other hard garage bands like Australia's Lime Spiders or Pennsylvania's Stump Wizards will certainly be pleased with Noir Desir.
Which is to say: there is something retro about Noir Desir. This could sound like a problem in a band from the country where Lenny Kravitz is widely loved. Fortunately, the retro element has more to do with the caveman- like production quality than any kind of studied imitation. Where Kravitz looks back to big-budget work - late Beatles, Hendrix - and painstakingly, perhaps embarassingly, duplicates all the elements in his own big-budget records, Noir Desir has cut several records (highlighted on this release) of fast, raucous songs and inadvertently conjures up images of the past with their combination of speed, noise, and cheap production. The album compiles both studio material and live tracks; the consistency is striking because of the neanderthal studio production and good live mixing courtesy of Ted Niceley (Velocity Girl, Girls Against Boys).
The retro feel is more Flat Duo Jets than Stray Cats, more Cynics than Black Crowes. With loud, frequently-distorted guitars and urgent, Mark Arm- style screaching, Noir Desir pick up where early Mudhoney left off. Before shadows of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin re-enveloped alternative guitar rock, Mudhoney sounded like a slew of garage bands who had all disappeared before Ozzy wrote his first satanic lyrics. Somehow, Mudhoney's grunge revolution was hijacked by the posturing and operatic arena-rock that has always ruled post- Zeppelin American airwaves: Journey, Queensryche, Pearl Jam, and so forth. Noir Desir has the luxury of coming from a country with fewer constraints on rock: less history, fewer influences and trends, and less careerism. In their case this has allowed them to create a rollicking, unself-conscious sound.
This ahistorical approach to rock makes Noir Desir seem somehow fresh. There are no slow songs on this record. The instrumentation does not vary. The energy level never abates. The French texts, spiced with dashes of Spanish and English, lash out under cover of the intense but simple musical backdrop. It's like the charred remains of a torched, second-hand record shop: there are some old vinyl platters in there but they have been melted into writhing, amorphous shapes; the old records are vaguely recognizable but the most intriguing aspect of the scene is speculating about the heat and energy necessary to create such havoc.
