marie et les garcons: s/t

Originally released by Ze Records in 1980, the sole album by Marie et les Garçons is not really what one might call an album. It collects tracks from two singles from 1977 and 1978, live recordings from 1977, and modernist songs that the band recorded in 1979 in New York. It took only three years for the band to switch their style from early punk to something more aligned with new wave. The A-side of Marie et les Garçons traces this transition, from the opening riff of "Rien a Dire"; through the band's biggest hit, "Rebop," produced by John Cale; to the discoid "P 4 Nº 2." The B-side includes live recordings of the band playing their Velvets-esque art-punk in 1977. Marie et les Garçons was one of the most exciting late '70s French bands, especially because of Patrick Vidal's twisted and repetitive French lyrics, in a unique style that many songwriters would later imitate. With so many bands citing Marie et les Garçons as a significant influence, this first-ever reissue is long overdue. RIYL Television, The Velvet Underground, Wire, PiL, Teenage Jesus and The Jerks.