The most rapidly growing genre in music today, in my opinion, has to be indie/electro. I mean, you go anywhere in Dublin now its indie/electro/dance clubs that are full to the brim with heads bopping to the sound of The Smiths one minute and Swedish House Mafia the next. “Hipster Music” as it’s being branded these days, but its damn good, damn catchy, and if you’ve listened to Housse De Racket before you know what I mean.
Housse De Racket are possibly the quietest band on the indie scene at the moment, in comparison to say, Phoenix, whom Housse De Racket practically mirror in sound. That’s probably because they come from the same part of France as Phoenix, and they also worked along side one of Phoenix’s former producers on this current album “Alesia”.
Only the band’s second album, it’s the perfect blend of indie/electro. The vocal sounds are sometimes off putting, especially when you’re not French and trying to understand one verse that’s in English and one that’s in French, at least I think that’s what’s happening, but mostly it doesn’t matter. The melodies, beats and catchy guitar lines are enough to keep these songs lodged in your head for days and dancing aimlessly while you listen.
The album opens with, “Human Nature”, an electro start to the album which opens with some powerful synths and a bouncing drum beat. This is one of the more dance tracks on the album and has a very Digitalism sound to it. “Roman” is the second track on the album and how it hasn’t been nicked for the backing music to an 02 add yet is beyond me. The Phoenix influence is here and the synth part takes the lead through the chorus backed by some melodic chords. By then the indie/dance train has taken off and songs such as “Château”, “Aquarium” and title track “Alesia” keep the momentum going.
“Apocalypso” is a bit more math rocky showing the bands talent on guitar and drums off to great effect. “Les Hommes et Les Femmes” is a song totally in French but is arguably one of the most melodic and dance tracks on the album, totally making up for the lack of understanding lyrics-wise, when listening to it.
I first heard this band when I saw one of their old music video’s on the NME channel at 2am one Saturday morning but I really hope I hear them on a bigger platform next time. Until then it will be playing over and over on my Ipod.