Brooklyn gives the French Kicks a warm reception

February 21, 2009, at the Bell House

By Eleanor Whitney
Published: February 24th, 2009 | 9:20pm

A packed house cheered as longtime Brooklyn-indie favorites the French Kicks took the stage at the Bell House, an unassuming yet cavernous venue in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The members of the French Kicks returned in kind by clapping back at the audience. They quickly broke into “The Way You Arrive,” which showcased a carefully crafted guitar riff, overlapping singsong vocals, and three-part harmonies.

Josh Wise’s dreamy, surf-guitar drone, as well as the sweetly shifting harmonies led by lead singer Nick Stumpf, characterized the set. Some songs, such as “The Trial of the Century,” took a dancier approach. With their combination of disco-style drumbeats, tight snare hits, angular guitar work, and searching, reverb-drenched vocals, they evoked an early New Order. Other songs, such as “Carried Away,” veered more toward country and seemed to burst with sincerity, though they fully avoided sounding too twee.

Deep into the middle of the set, Stumpf announced, “We’re going to do our least favorite song from the first record,” and the band began “Trying Whining” from 2002’s One Time Bells (Startime International). The crowd had been looking forward to this one and greeted the opening bars and clear harmonies with applause. This was followed by “Said So What,” from the French Kicks’ most recent record Swimming (Vagrant). The song was mellower than their earlier material and accented with Stumpf playing a pair of bongo drums. There were detectable strains of groups like the Byrds running through the song’s infectious chorus of “Why, tell me why, I don’t know,” sung in harmony by Wise, Stumpf, and his brother Lawrence.

When their first records were released, the French Kicks were lumped in with garagier post-punk bands such as the Walkmen and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. However, the French Kicks’ delicate jangle- and reverb-filled set toned down their post-punk tendencies and showcased their indie and 1960s rock roots. With their drony moments it seems as though the band has even acted as a predecessor to current Brooklyn-indie up-and-comers the Crystal Stilts.

The set ended with two encores that featured two more crowd pleasers, “Abandon” and “One More Time.” The band managed to find an energy that had been lacking throughout the set. Nick Stumpf vampily paced around the stage as he danced like a hip scarecrow, and beseeched the crowd with his plaintive vocals. To finish, he nonchalantly walked off stage and left the rest of the band to follow.

For more photos from this set visit Venus Zine’s Flickr page.