So French Kicks are not from Los Angeles - they're from Brooklyn - but they were HUGE in my teen years. I suppose I got into them with the help of the New York City bands that came out in the wake of the Strokes and my dear friend, Katy. In fact, I think Katy might've got me into French Kicks? Who knows but they were Our Band and remain so.
French Kicks were, looking back, a quintessential NYC HIpster Band: disheveled, underfed, unshaven, educated (three of the members are alumni of Oberlin College) so it was destined for the four original members to start a band. However, unlike most bands and more like The Eagles, their frontman was their drummer, which meant that they didn't have a permanent drummer for a few years.
The band started off meagre; they had a self-titled EP in 1998 and a song on a compilation ("Alabaster City" on My Pal God Holiday Record 2. 2001 brought the Young Lawyer EP which was the start of what they're known for now: slightly avant-garde, often delicate, and occasionally noisy pop. However, my absolute favorite and definitely the start of my fondness for French Kicks came with 2002's One Time Bells.
To me, One Time Bells was just perfect. It started off bass heavy and a clanky keyboard? guitar? song called "Wrong Side" that remains in my top 5 French Kicks songs. The album had weird time signatures, absurd guitar tones and effects, and a tinny sounding keyboard. I guess that doesn't sound too appealing to most but, to me, it was just what I needed.
The band put out three more albums (The Trial of the Century in 2004, Two Thousand in 2006 and Swimming in 2008) and while I enjoyed them, they didn't hold the same impact like their debut. In fact, like I've stated here before, I suppose French Kicks had the same 2000s Band Sickness, where their debut album is so fucking good you can't think straight but the albums they manage to put out bore you to death. Whenever I listen to French Kicks, it's always One Time Bells.
And I guess, like this blog title suggests, their first album holds so much nostalgia for me. It reminds me of Katy and how she'd fly out to L.A. from Phoenix to see a show with me; it reminds me of Katy and I making fun of Kings of Leon at a French Kicks show and KOL giving us dirty looks the rest of the night; it reminds me of the last year and a half of high school when I had completely messy hair and wore blazers and pearls and badges all over my clothing; and I guess it reminds me of the first boy to chip away at my heart. In fact, I got him into French Kicks and most of what he listened to when we caught up a few years later and we had our first kiss to "1985." I have no ill feelings towards him but only fond memories of running around L.A. with Katy and slyly holdings hands for the first time with someone.
Whenever I put French Kicks on a mix, I always seem to introduce the recipient to "Close To Modern." Arguably their best song, it's also the most commercial and embodies what French Kicks are about.
I recently put this song on a mix for my boyfriend and he thoroughly enjoyed the song but I don't think he'll delve further into their catalogue, and I'm okay with that. And as I finish this post up, I'm listening to "Crying Just For Show" and I'm getting that dreamy feeling. I guess I'll lie back now and remember what an emotional rollercoaster this album is for me.
Gah! Those cheekbones!
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