La Femme: Quel ‘Mystère’

If you have ever wondered what French students do in their spare time (at least in my case), it’s looking for semi-obscure French music that they can force their friends to listen to to make them seem cooler than they actually are. Of course, sometimes these “friends” aren’t always interested in the really underground music you have discovered (”OMG have you ever heard of Stromae?”). Nevertheless, sometimes you strike gold when you find an artist that your friends enjoy just as much as you do. In my case, this band was La Femme. Following the release of their sixth studio album Rock Machine (2024), the Biarritz-born group announced a tour and naturally, I immediately bought tickets.

I’ve never really been a fan of gigs on a Sunday, let alone ones where I have to travel outside the city where I live (I was very lucky back home in Liverpool to not have to that often), however it was one of my favourite bands playing in one of my favourite venues in Manchester (New Century Hall), so I had to make an exception. We (my friend and I) were quite lucky as New Century Hall is right next to Manchester Victoria train station, which meant that we were able to stay for the full set and not have to rush off to catch the last train back to Leeds. The venue itself is really different to ones I’ve been to before: the ceiling is made up of lights which create the most gorgeous ombre/rainbow effect, so you can actually see your way around before the gig starts.

The whole purpose of the tour was for their latest album, released in October of last year. Rock Machine (2024) is a perfect continuation of the group’s signature sound. Formed in 2010 in Biarritz (SW French Basque coast) and then moving to Paris, the French psych-punk rock band continues to make music heavily influenced by new wave and yéyé (Western and Southern European pop music that emerged in the early 1960s as a form of counterculture to British and American rock and roll). However this time it’s with a twist: the songs are practically all in English. If you’ve ever wondered what Sparks, the Velvet Underground or Kraftwerk would sound like with a French accent, then this album isn’t far off.

If I’m being completely honest, I have a bit of a bias against bands who switch from their native language to English when they begin to take off (think Måneskin following their Eurovision win). I completely understand their motivations, what with the industry already being highly competitive due to (in part) more accessible methods of music production and promotion, but I do think that it sometimes risks losing a degree of authenticity and emotion. Many bands make this transition to appeal to larger audiences, not just native-English speaking ones. Of course, La Femme have been around for a while and have certainly made a name for themselves with their five other albums, however I do think some of the songs on this album lack the usual quality of songwriting (or maybe it’s just because they are actually fully comprehensible to me). Going into this gig, I was worried that these songs would be heavily over-stylised and/or lacking in substance, however I could not have been more wrong.

The atmosphere of the gig and the energy of La Femme’s performance made it so you could not feel a difference between the French and English (and even Spanish!) songs in terms of musicianship and passion. Everyone in the audience was having the best time, dancing and singing along. Between sets, I could overhear such a variety of languages, which I think speaks volumes of the band’s international appeal. Despite the overactive smoke machine, the group were able to demonstrate what great musicians they are, taking turns to play different instruments and sing lead vocals. While some people may have found the synth solos a bit repetitive, I thought that you could really feel their energy being reflected in the audience. La Femme managed to almost transform their sound from the original recorded versions. Although that could appear as a criticism, I felt that these subtle changes made for a more interesting listen. In some ways, it made them sound more authentic, distancing themselves from my initial apprehensions of the new album being potentially over-stylised.

In terms of their set list, La Femme made sure to play all of their hits, perhaps because they were expecting a more English audience. They ticked all the boxes for me, playing all of my favourites (mainly from Mystère (2016)), although I think I may have underestimated how popular their latest album was. They finished the gig with ‘I Believe in Rock and Roll’, which I have to admit was a bit unexpected. Despite this, the crowd clearly enjoyed the set, waving their hands in unison. There was only one mosh pit, and I’m yet to decide if I was expecting more or less than that. One of the members even came into the crowd with his tambourine, which surprisingly remained unscathed.

Upon reflection, I think I was being dramatic about travelling a bit further to go to a gig. If it’s a band you’re really into, I think it’s important to go and support them where possible. The people that know me well will know how much I love La Femme (they’ve been subject to many years of relentless recommendations) and this concert easily takes one of the top stops as one of the best I’ve ever been to. Hearing music live is such a different experience to listening to it via streaming or physical media, and I think that the atmosphere and culture around gig-going is definitely one to not miss out on.

Written by Anya Fernihough