Plastiscines are even better than the real thing

By Erin Lyndal Martin
Published: July 7th, 2009 | 7:00am

From ye-ye girls to Stereolab, France has always left a cedilla on American culture. Plastiscines are among the newest exports, and we are enchanté.

Playing on the NYLON Summer Music Tour alongside artists like Patrick Wolf and Jaguar Love, these belles are earning themselves a greater listening audience. And the timing couldn't be better. After their 2007 debut, LP1 (Virgin France), Plastiscines have released a catchy follow-up, About Love (NYLON Records) — currently available digitally and set for a U.S. release in August.

Drummer Anaïs describes the album as a "mix between basic rocknroll, a bit of pop, a slight touch of grunge. It's a mix of everything with a lot of production and background vocals because we're bringing back the ‘60s thing." She credits producer Butch Walker with much of the album's big production sound, saying he made small changes like "he quit the bass and put handclaps instead, and changed the arrangements [to] make it sound bigger and more original than normal rock songs." This gives a fuller sound to the album and extra cheer to already lighthearted numbers like "Bitch," in which the title is spelled out in the chorus. "It's so girly and so bitchy," Anaïs says, citing it as a crowd favorite.

The crowds on the NYLON tour have found a lot to love about Plastiscines. In some ways, they've received more love there than in their native France. This is partly due to French radio restrictions and society being relatively slow to embrace and foster bands without big reputations. Although many French bands sing in English, French radio features 70% Francophone music, says Anaïs. It’s obvious that many local musicians are being left out. “I think French radio is kind of small, so it's fine for us, really," she remarks, mentioning that Plastiscines work at promoting themselves through other media outlets.

Using other media has also enabled the band to distance themselves from being called les bébés rockers, a term the press began using several years ago to describe rock bands comprised of young French people, particularly females. Asked if she finds the moniker sexist, Anaïs is undecided. "The press made that up to give a name to the new scene that was being created in France by small rocknroll bands that were really young and were touring together. And it's the name the press gave us — I don't know if I like this name or not."

Anaïs does add that Paris is "just starting actually to have a place for small bands and small venues." Perhaps more French citizens will be able to see what the fuss is about, since a Plastiscines' live performance is the ideal way to experience the band. Their enthusiasm and stage presence are so powerful that people wandering back from Patrick Wolf's set have found themselves not only staying for Plastiscines', but eager to meet the band afterwards. Anaïs attributes this to the dynamism that the band brings to their concerts. "We give everything we have on stage, we move a lot — we have a lot of energy!"

Listening to About Love, it's clear that Plastiscines have a lot of energy everywhere, and giving everything is nothing new for them.

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