Swimming [Slipcase]

Performer: The French Kicks
Engineer: Alex Pasco; Alex Pasco
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Recording information: The Saltlands, Brooklyn, NY. Four albums and several years into their career, the French Kicks have undergone a dramatic shift in both their personnel and their sound. Frontman Nick Stumpf is the only member left from the original lineup, and the sound of the band has undergone an equally impressive transformation, from the energetic new wave revivalism of early albums such as THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY and ONE TIME BELLS to a more individual, low-key approach. Based primarily on richly textured keyboards and layers of subtle production touches, the 12 songs on SWIMMING are as aquatic as the album's title. Highlights include the dreamy "All Our Weekends" and the Brian Eno-like disorientation of the troubling closer, "This Could Go Wrong."

Spin (p.110) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "By recycling and loosening up TWO THOUSAND's best elements -- inventive instrumental passages, rich harmonies, across-the-board emoting -- French Kicks get both poppier and deeper." CMJ - "[I]t's Stumpf's booming beats that gives the set the energetic dose of Saturday-night mischief necessary to keep things moving." Paste (magazine) (p.75) - "[They] have finally located the pulse of their hometown. The songs float in a haze of manhole steam, steeped in the decadent lethargy that NYC's hipster set has perfected."

They were never as trendy as the Strokes or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but nonetheless, New York City's French Kicks were a mainstay of the early 2000s Big Apple rock renaissance. Originally known for being the band with a singing drummer, the French Kicks underwent several line-up changes that led to drummer Nick Stumpf taking over traditional frontman duties. A certain coulda/shoulda tag always dogged the band, but one listen to their sharp, hip mod-pop is proof that the boys did just fine for themselves.

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