Les
Shaking Dolls
This article originally appeared in NFH #22.
Les Shaking Dolls are
part of the second wave of French rock and roll bands; they formed in a very loose sense
in Angers and began learning their instruments and figuring out how to play together,
playing songs by other bands that they had seen coming through town that they had liked a
lot. Bands like the Nomads, Died Pretty, the Doughboys; a bit of a mixed bag. They made a
demo cassette before playing any gigs, and they gave a copy of it to the guys who run
Black and Noir records. Black and Noir set up a gig for them to play in Angers, and based
on that proposed to do a single, which turned out to be the excellent "Teenagers Go
Nuts"/"Rock Bed And Chocolate" 45 of a couple years back.
That first single was
a pairing of two rocking, up tempo tracks that still reminds me of Les Thugs, although the
folks at Black and Noir regularly chastise me for comparing too many of their bands to the
pioneering French outfit. But after that, Les Shaking Dolls discovered the SubPop
phenomenon, especially Mudhoney, and this caused their sound to veer off in a different
direction. "Touch Me I'm Sick" is a favorite of theirs which they often play
live and have recorded for a fanzine giveaway.
Says guitarist and
singer Herve: "In France we are often compared to Les Thugs and it's a little bit
tiring because Les Thugs is a very known band in France, but it's not the only one.
Perhaps they sound a little bit like us, but it's not everything in our songs and music,
so it's a little tiring. But when you compare us to a SubPop band it's very agreeable
because SubPop bands are not very well known in France and it shows that people are
beginning to listen to this kind of music and realize that we sound like this kind of
band. We don't want to sound like a French band so we prefer to be compared to SubPop
bands than to Les Thugs."
The thing that sets
Les Shaking Dolls apart is their use of an organ; on their new lp God Is God the
songs are split about fifty fifty between grungier tracks with a pronounced SubPop feel
and faster, more rocking songs, but it's that organ that makes the connection to the Electric
Troubles era of Les Thugs.
It seems like there
ought to be some deep meaning behind the title of the lp, so I had to laugh when I heard
Herve's explanation for it. "Our bassist is so bad in English that he doesn't know
any words in English so when he sings he just makes noises. We tried to find out what was
saying, and what he says seems to sound like "God Is God", and we thought, oh,
that's OK for an lp title. So don't try to find any meaning in this title."
"We chose it
because it doesn't mean something", says drummer Dom. "That's why we like it.
And the front cover doesn't mean anything, either. The little girl represents the low age
of the band and the silliness or craziness of the band."
God Is God was
recorded in Huddersfield, England late in 1990. While over there, Les Shaking Dolls played
a few gigs around Britain to less than overwhelming reaction. They felt that crowds in
London were jaded because they see so many bands that they don't regard anything as
special and in England in general "if you are not MC4 or Ned's Atomic Dustbin you are
not interesting", according to Dom. They left with the feeling that mainstream pop
dominates Britain's consciousness to the point where there isn't much hope for a band like
theirs.
Dom and Herve are
both disappointed by the reaction to the lp. They say that the most common response is
that it isn't as good as the single. This impression probably results from the fact that
there's a blend of styles on the record, with a mix of slower and faster songs. For
myself, this makes the record stronger because there's more to latch onto over time. It is
probably true as Herve says that the production isn't as sharp as the single, and this
hurts it a bit, but it certainly is still a strong record with a driving feel and a
hypnotic, thick guitar sound. They've sold about a thousand, but still not enough for
Black and Noir to recoup their investment, and until they do a second lp for the band is
unfortunately on hold.
Dom and Herve sound
less than optimistic about their situation, because in France the feeling is that only
non-French bands are deserving of attention, while outside of France there is little
interest in French groups. "The band Les Thugs is an exception in France, because
it's very rare for a French band to tour in the United States", says Herve. "I
think that the reason for that is that American people aren't very interested about French
bands because there's a lot of good bands in the US."
Dom:
"After they had come back from their first tour of the US they had many good reviews
about the tour."
Herve:
"So French people realized that in fact Les Thugs were a good band because they were
very appreciated overseas, and they said, "Oh gosh, they're a good band, so let's
listen to them". And I think that French people don't realize that there are quite a
few good bands in France, and it's only when these bands tour overseas that people realize
that they are quite good. It's a shame."
"There are so
many rock bands in the United States that there is no time to be interested in rock bands
from France", says Dom. "That's what we think, but there are exceptions. To tour
in the US would be a dream for us because we are students, so we are obliged to tour
during school holidays. So it's not easy for us to tour more than two weeks."
Despite the lack of
popularity in France, the band does seem to be making some headway. Since the lp came out
they've been able to get more shows in bigger places, as well as some good support slots.
But in general it's still small pubs with capacities around 100 for them. Last year they
played 44 gigs, which is not bad.
From their
perspective there's good signs and bad signs in the French scene. The rate of growth of
bands seems to outstrip the number of fans. "With labels like Black and Noir there
are many rock bands like us", says Dom. "I don't know if you know Davy Jones
Locker, Deity Guns, Mad Monster Party, and this kind of rock bands has the same problem as
us. They are not very known in France and they have a difficult time finding gigs. In
France we can't say that there is much interest in rock bands and it's true that it's very
difficult for these bands to be known and appreciated and be liked by the public. In
Chartres for example we have French rock bands but they sing in French and their music is
not very interesting."
"With the label
Black and Noir, all these kinds of French underground rock bands have a chance to make a
record and to get a little better known in France", says Herve. "But from
another point of view rock in general is not in a very good position in France. There are
only a few interesting French rock bands. I think that the French scene could be
better."
