Very cool work from Belgian artist Jacques Charlier – music that almost brings a cold wave style into play with some more familiar French song styles – but with this dark edge that almost feels like work on Factory Records or Disques Du Crepuscule! A good deal of these tracks are unreleased, and fit nicely to the few that came out on albums in the mid 80s – almost all with a spare drum machine rhythm behind Charlier's effects-laden guitar and stark vocals – sometimes coming across like Vini Riley of Durutti Column in an angry mood on a bad day! We'd not heard any of this work when it was release, which makes the whole thing a great discovery, especially given the unreleased tracks – a set with titles that include "Vampirella", "Perki Show", "Check Up", "L'Amour Dans Les Chansons", "Sambas", "Passing Time", "Tout Va Bien", "Un Chat Dans Mon Lit", and "End Of WE". (Rock, French) LP, Vinyl record album

Dreamy sounds from the legendary Michel Legrand – working here in a mode that's maybe a bit more lush and romantic than some of his later soundtrack work – yet at a level that's still head and shoulders above most of his 50s instrumental contemporaries! The set's got a melancholy vibe throughout – that sense of leaving that not only evokes a visitor having to head home after a trip in Paris, but also all the sadness and loss that the city experienced during the wartime years as well – even later, as American Gis had to head home – and were an obvious market for a record like this in the US! Tracks include "Bonjour Paris", "French Can Can", "Le Mer", "Two Loves Have I", and "A Paris Dans Chaque Faubourg". CD features lots of bonus tracks – including Yves Montand singing "Joli Maie", plus the tracks "Domino", "Pigalle", "Clopin Clopant", "Le Gars De Rochechouart", and "Boum". (Jazz, French) CD

Groovy girl pop from late 60s France – a treasure trove of under-discovered numbers from the lovely Clothilde! Clothilde's from the same vintage as France Gall and Francoise Hardy – but she's got a style that's a bit sweeter vocally, yet still set to the mod-styled backings that really make 60s French pop so great! Tunes are plenty groovy, with a few trippy touches from time to time – and most numbers have a bouncy groove that really keeps things interesting – especially when odd instrumentation creeps into the mix – like bits of musical saw, oddball percussion, and bells and whistles! Titles include "Fallait Pas Ecraser Lau Queue Du Chat", "La Chanson Bete Et Mechante", "Le Boa", " "Saperlipopette", "102-103", "La Ballade Du Bossu", "A Ora Sos'e", and "Qualcosa Che Non Va". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic pairing of these two contemporary French acts – coming together here in a style that's even greater than the sum of their parts! The set is full on with all sorts of fuzzy elements and funky rhythms – a range of keyboards and other instruments from Pascal Comelade, more guitars and fuzz from Lionel Liminana, and drums from Marie Liminana – the latter two of whom also provide vocals! The set is heavy on the kind of tripped-out sounds that we love from both acts – who seem to whip each other into a frenzy here, with lots of other cool elements added into the mix – theremin, plastic guitars, and plenty more – on titles that include "Playitloudornotatall", "Le Retour De Black Sabata", "Concinacion", "Solo De Boxe En Conserve", "Contortionne Toi Toi Meme", and "Elvis Has Left The Building". CD

A fantastic pairing of these two contemporary French acts – coming together here in a style that's even greater than the sum of their parts! The set is full on with all sorts of fuzzy elements and funky rhythms – a range of keyboards and other instruments from Pascal Comelade, more guitars and fuzz from Lionel Liminana, and drums from Marie Liminana – the latter two of whom also provide vocals! The set is heavy on the kind of tripped-out sounds that we love from both acts – who seem to whip each other into a frenzy here, with lots of other cool elements added into the mix – theremin, plastic guitars, and plenty more – on titles that include "Playitloudornotatall", "Le Retour De Black Sabata", "Concinacion", "Solo De Boxe En Conserve", "Contortionne Toi Toi Meme", and "Elvis Has Left The Building". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff – and a record that may well be the greatest ever from the mighty Serge Gainsbourg – high praise indeed, considering the greatness of Gainsbourg's other music! The album is one long suite built around a spare, electric bass-driven theme – a slow funk riff that's been sampled countless times over the years, and which has gotten the album continuous play on both sides of the Atlantic for many many years. The mighty Jean-Claude Vannier handles the arrangements, and Serge mutters the lyrics over the top, in a raspy loud whisper – while the funky rhythms dart in and out of odd washes of sound, and unusual eerie sounds. There's a very strong soundtrack feel to the album, as waves of music envelop the lyrics – tripped out in funky beats that have become legendary over the years, thanks to some very famous samples! Titles include "En Melody", "Cargo Culte", "Ballade De Melody Nelson", "Valse De Melody", "Ah! Melody", and "L'Hotel Particulier". Great new LP reissue package – with 180 gram vinyl, notes, an interview, and even lyrics in English & French! LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff – and a record that may well be the greatest ever from the mighty Serge Gainsbourg – high praise indeed, considering the greatness of Gainsbourg's other music! The album is one long suite built around a spare, electric bass-driven theme – a slow funk riff that's been sampled countless times over the years, and which has gotten the album continuous play on both sides of the Atlantic for many many years. The mighty Jean-Claude Vannier handles the arrangements, and Serge mutters the lyrics over the top, in a raspy loud whisper – while the funky rhythms dart in and out of odd washes of sound, and unusual eerie sounds. There's a very strong soundtrack feel to the album, as waves of music envelop the lyrics – tripped out in funky beats that have become legendary over the years, thanks to some very famous samples! Titles include "En Melody", "Cargo Culte", "Ballade De Melody Nelson", "Valse De Melody", "Ah! Melody", and "L'Hotel Particulier". Great new LP reissue package – with 180 gram vinyl, notes, an interview, and even lyrics in English & French! LP, Vinyl record album

A sexy soundtrack to a mid-70s film written and directed by Serge Gainsbourg – and starring Jane Birkin and a young Gerard Depardieu! The feel here is very much in the spirit of Serge's work of the time – especially that recorded with Birkin – but in a way, it's almost even better, because the soundtrack setting has most of the tunes stripped down to their barest elements – with a simplicity not heard in Gainsbourg's music since Melody Nelson! Instrumentation includes some great "watery" piano bits that kind of float over the main rhythmic theme – but other tracks get a bit more rockish, with heavy bunker rock-styled guitar, and a few more use a bit of banjo – but in a weirdly syncopated way. The score features a few great variations on the classic "Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus" – and the "Ballade De Johnny-Jane" is a great instrumental that stands as one of Serge's most compelling themes from the 70s! Other tracks include "Banjo Au Bord Du Styx", "Joe Banjo", "Le Camion Jaune", and "L'Abominale Strip-Tease". CD

Fantastic fuzz from a French Canadian combo of the 60s – one of the coolest garage bands we've ever heard from up north at the time, romping here with a style that's equal parts Sunset Strip and some of the hipper Parisian groups of the time! Lyrics are all in French, and the production has this nice sense of darkness that makes echo out of the organ lines, jangly guitar, and nice touches of fuzz – all flowing together with a style that sounds plenty magic all the way through, even if you can't always understand the lyrics. Some of the guys in the group were still teens at the time of recording, which you can hear in the youthful energy of the songs – and titles include "Je T'Aime", "Abandonne", "La Solitude", "Seul Sur Terre", "Je Ne Veux Plus", "Aimes Proudemment", and "Soyons Differents". (Rock, French) LP, Vinyl record album

An album of fragile beauty and buried darkness – in a space that's somewhere between the work of Nico and Brigitte Fontaine, but a fair bit sweeter overall! Emmanuelle Parrenin sings here in a timeless style that might almost be called folksy – especially in the return to tradition styles of the UK 70s scene – but it's also got a slightly headier feel overall, almost trippy at times, with a sense of crumbling innocence that's further underscored by spare instrumentation that includes hurdy-gurdy, spinet, and dulcimer. Most tunes just feature vocals and some combination of these instruments – and a few numbers feature slightly larger backing, but never a full group mode. Titles include "Ritournelle", "Leiturgie", "Copraze", "Lecharpe De Soie", "Ce Matin A Fremontel", and "Belle Virginie". Amazing vinyl reissue – very heavy cover and vinyl, and beautifully done overall! (Rock, French) LP, Vinyl record album