RIYL: Witold Gombrowicz, Alphonse Allais, neurchi de Tintin, Deerhoof, Ty Segall, Équipe de foot, Chocolat, Shellac.
French indie rockers Bakakaï have taken DIY to a new level of excellence with their first full-length LP. Maintaining complete creative control throughout the process by writing, recording and mixing themselves – on Vous êtes ici, the three-piece combines the best elements of bedroom pop, psychedelia and grunge rock to create a sound tinged with nostalgia, while being entirely unique.
Full disclosure: by the time I hit the one-minute mark of Vous êtes ici, I was already hooked. Kicking off “Orchis Orchis” with a shrieking guitar line is an absolute power move – one that pays off in spades and helps to lay the groundwork for an album full of surprises. Perhaps I’m a sucker, but there’s something about monotone French lyrics being softly sung over the crunchiest of grunge rock that just does it for me. With this formula, Bakakaï manages to capture the grunge-meets-new wave sound that many bands sought in the ‘90s, but only a select few were able to achieve. It’s like if you told a modern-day math rock band to do their best Stereolab impression and I think they knock it out of the park.
“Bromance” is where Bakakaï really start to stretch their legs and experiment with juxtaposition within a singular track. What starts as a sweet and simple surf-punk tune à la Shannon and the Clams, takes an aggressive turn at 2:14 when all hell breaks loose and the shredding begins. They continue volleying the two seemingly contradictory sounds throughout the entirety of the track and despite the extreme contrast, I think it really works.
Following a similar whiplash-inducing formula, “Kadavreski” is positively WILD. The more than six-minute track begins as a simple alternative rock ballad with a funky bassline, when suddenly, Bakakaï takes hard left down the path to math rock, even flirting with hints of doom/stoner rock by the end.
The next two tracks “Port-Caroline” and “Success” give us some much-needed respite from the intensity by veering into a more experimental psychedelia realm, before closing out the album with the genuinely fun “Monstro,” a song reminiscent of the electronic rock and punk that dominated the scene in the late nineties.
In all, Bakakaï is a fresh band with immense creativity. I’m not sure that I’ve heard such a variety of genres and influences contained in one album and once they hone in on their signature sound, they’ll be unstoppable. Regardless, Vous êtes ici is an ambitious and impressive full-length debut and I can’t wait to hear what comes next. If you’d like to know more about about the band and the inspiration behind the album, check out our Meet the Band interview here: https://bloodmakesnoise.net/blogs/reviews/posts/meet-from-paris-france-indie-rock-band-bakakai/meet-from-paris-france-indie-rock-band-bakakai
Dear Bakakaï, we love you. Please come tour here.
https://bakakai.bandcamp.com/
- By Dana M. English