Faux Départ - Ep (Mutant, Hidden Bay, Tranzophobia, AndaluciaÜber Alles, Tocsin, Rollmops)
This is the latest Ep by Faux Départ. I've known
their drummer Vinnie for years. We used to exchange thoughts about doing
a mailorder a lot when gmail chat was still a thing. I've met Vinnie a
handful of times when he was on tour with either his band or one of the
bands he's released on Mutant Records. He once lend me his Ultimo
Resorte T-shirt at a Lebakko show in The Hague, because I was soaked
after a long walk through the rain. The wheather was terrible and I'm
pretty sure I had pissed on myself on the way there during an attempt to
urinate into a canal. Unfortunately the wind had a different plan. So I
spent the show covered in piss wearing a shirt that was too small for
me. An old guy with a mohawk praised me for wearing the shirt that
wasn't mine, bringing me in the awkward position to talk about Ultimo
Resorte who I like, but know close to nothing about. I also remember
there was an entertaining conversation about nudity amongst the Finns
after the show. They were arguing it did not have a sexual connotation
for them, because of the sauna culture in Finland. The Finns were trying
to convince us that there was nothing sexual about nude men and women
sitting in a hot room together. The prudish and therefor perverted Dutch
of course would have nothing of it.
Oh, the memories...
What I'm tyring to get across is that Faux Départ in my mind is
connected to people, stories and experiences I've had. These kind of
things make a culture an exciting thing. It makes you feel like you are
part of something.
But the most important reason to
give this record some special attention is that it is really good. Faux
Départ has been around for a while now, but this is their first 7". I
really like the look of this release. It makes me think of the artwork
on the Collate 7"s. Simple yet classy. The record delivers four new
songs by the band. The vibe is mostly playful and friendly, the songs
are well written. I know these guys love to play themselves down, but
there's no denying they can craft a song. The recording is clean and all
the instruments have their own place in the mix. The organ in opening
song Si tu disparais came as a surpise to me, but is a cool
extra. There's something both melancholic and beautiful about the organ's
interaction with the bass lines. The title translates to 'if you
dispair' and I think it's about enjoying the simple things in life as
the world seems to be falling apart around you. It's probably the best
song on the Ep, definitely the sweetest. The other tracks have a bit
more stomp. Drone has a cool build up. The lyrics have a cool take on things. In Drone Pascal argues that the's always being watched by a drone in his own mind, a feeling that rings close to home. In Toujours La he makes the observation that he's a 'quarantenaire punk',
someone who lives mostly in isolation, perhaps mostly in his head? All
songs are in French, which I love, because it means I can understand
half of the lyrics and have to guess the rest. So maybe I'm missing
certain points, but overall the subject of these songs seem very
personal and honest, which I appreciate especially in a time where image
seems to be more imporant than character. Those looking for posers,
should check out the socials! I think they call them influencers.
Anyway, Faux Départ are a simple band, not here to influence anybody.
They just want to play their songs. There's zero pretense to what this
band is doing, which eradicates the option to pitch this record as
innovating or something you need. Thing is, that's part of what
makes this record so goddamn cool. It's just about the songs and they
are good, baby.
