“Grave” by Juniore

It’s been two years since PopLib came across hyper-active Gallic garage-pop ensemble Juniore in the form of their inscrutable “Ah Bah D’Accord” single. Failure to pay attention in the intervening two years mean it’s only now their 2020 album “UN DEUX TROIS” has appeared on the PopLib radar. Here’s “Grave” from the album:

“Grave” (as in “serious”) gives a good sense of Juniore’s intoxicating combination of dark brooding French yé-yé styled 60s garage/ surf pop with a coolly dismissive vocals and a Gainsbourg-inspired palette of vibrant musical arrangements and general Gallic grooviness. The album packs in a lot of stylistic shifts and combinations of familiar 60s pop styles with more adventurous and unconventional ideas.

Juniore are guitarist/ vocalist Anna Jean, drummer Swanny Elzingre and bassist/ etc. Samy Osta. “UN DEUX TROIS” is available on LP and with postal rates from the EU to the rest of the world still very reasonable, buying the LP won’t break the bank.

“Ah Bah D’Accord” by Juniore

Time for some hyper-active Gallic garage-pop from Juniore in the form of the inscrutable “Ah Bah D’Accord” –

“Ah Bah D’Accord” is from a 7″ single released on Outre Disque in June. The pulsing bassline and buzzing farfisa organ topped with a coolly dismissive vocal updates that peculiarly French style of late 1960s pulp garage pop associated with Serge Gainsbourg particularly the colourful run of singles featuring Brigitte Bardot.

Juniore are Anna Jean, Samy Osta, and Swanny Elzingre and there are rumours of a second album due later this year. On the strength of this single (and their back catalogue of reverb-rich garage-pop, including their splendidly retro-noir debut album) Juniore is a name to take note of.

“All I Need To Do” by Princess Chelsea

NZ Music Every Godzone Month! sign from Too Tone Records in Dunedin.

Our New Zealand Music Month day #29 song is the closing track from Princess Chelsea’s “The Loneliest Girl” album – an examination of the musician’s life called “All I Need To Do”:

“All I Need To Do”  is a reflection on a musician’s life: “I’ve been making music for about 11 years/ I stay inside on summer days/ I’ve drifted from my friends/ my parents, they are so polite/ They want me to have kids/ I’m working in a record store/ to try and pay my bills/ All I need to do/ is make the music and try to be true…”

“The Loneliest Girl” is the fourth album by globe-trotting Chelsea Nikkel, following “Lil’ Golden Book” and “The Great Cybernetic Depression” and a recent album of cover versions. It’s the best of the lot. It’s a more expansive, varied and exploratory collection of great pop songs. Those songs are beautifully crafted and often wry reflections on life, mixed with somewhat dark and melancholy fantasy, wrapped up in a set of glorious Serge Gainsbourg-esque arrangements.

 

“Growing Older” by Princess Chelsea

Here’s more “Music For Christmas” #2 in the form of the latest Princess Chelsea album “The Loneliest Girl”.  Most likely all Princess Chelsea – and Lil’ Chief Records – fans will have the album. But it’s a great gift idea for anyone who loves a bit of dark alternative pop music. Here’s the self-explanatory “Growing Older” from the album to get your exploration underway.

“The Loneliest Girl” is the fourth album by globe-trotting Chelsea Nikkel, following “Lil’ Golden Book” and “The Great Cybernetic Depression” and a recent album of cover versions. It’s the best of the lot. It’s much less stylised synth pop than the previous albums, and, a more expansive, varied and exploratory collection of great pop songs.

“The Loneliest Girl” is a knowing and emotionally brave collection of reflections on real life, mixed with somewhat dark and melancholy fantasy, and all wrapped up in a set of glorious Serge Gainsbourg-esque arrangements. As you can hear on this track “Respect The Labourers”, complete with strings and sax solo outro: