French rock duo Equipe de foot (Alex and Mike) released their third album Geranium in June, teaming up with producer and sound engineer (and fellow Beatles fan) Johannes Buff at Shorebreaker studio in Tarnos, France. A meaningful choice in technical and artistic terms, Johannes was able to blend the wall of guitars-sound that is associated with Equipe de Foot as well as reaching the emotional heart at the centre of each song. The result is a glorious blend of power ballads and lo-fi anthems that still retain their demo like vibe.
Geranium kicks off with the lo-fi, laid back ‘An empty Space is Not Just Filled with Air‘, a song that leads the way for the rest of the album – there’s a very definite Beatles vibe throughout the eleven tracks. ‘Cosy Nothing, Moving Coffin‘ begins with acoustic guitars before morphing into the familiar Equipe rockier punk sound.
My favourite track is ‘Love, Beers and a Queen Size Bed‘ – musically and lyrically it works, bringing the disparate parts of the album together, although the toe tapping ‘Melancholy Eyes‘ is not far behind. At times, the approach verges on the child like, but this is a deliberate choice, looking at and toying with the thin line that separates irony and depression, though constantly keeping smiles on their faces – be they sincere, melancholic, or just sad.
Alex and Mike’s advice is all about the writing:
“On one hand, never try to copy someone else’s music because that person will always make it better than you. On the other hand, never wonder where the music you are writing is coming from. It has to be yours.”
Geranium was released on 10 June. Get your copy here.
Follow the band at:
