Joyful Noises
posted in: Artist Features • Pop
Which one's the squirrel?
There is quirky, and then there is You Say France & I Whistle, a band from Stockholm who play toys as instruments, sing inexhaustibly of cats and consult an imaginary squirrel band member.
Though there may not necessarily be method to the group’s madness, there’s definitely melody. In fact, You Say France & I Whistle may have produced some of the finest indie pop since MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular. No joke.
The band’s manic melody When Lovers Die is dance-party ready with bubbly keys, jangling guitars and uber-sweet boy/girl harmonies cranking up the serotonin level like Arcade Fire on ecstasy. But it’s Take My Shoes that provides the biggest emotional bang. At first singer Patrik Marcus’ narrative sounds like the mutterings of a madman set against a chorus of xylophones, washboards and pots and pans. But as the melody builds, so does clarity: Everyone’s barking when we could be howling like wolves. By the time You Say France reaches this explosive, transcendent climax, you’ll be howling alongside them.
