La Femme

Psycho Tropical Berlin (Born Bad)

Unlike their American counterparts, France’s famed beaches are lined with rocks rather than sand, often to the shock of tourists hoping to sip Cab comfortably. This explains why Biarritz sixpiece La Femme’s debut album, Psycho Tropical Berlin, offers a different interpretation on wave-ready surf rock. Influenced equally by the swirling annals of psych and shiny, now-in-technicolor yé-yé pop, La Femme bursts with an irresistible energy tout en français. The band balances a penchant for Halloween-grade organ frenzies with serious guitar prowess in “Antitaxi,” a wicked promotion of mass transit. Hefty six-minute joint “Nous Étions Deux” ignites Eighties dance beats and quick-fire prose. The pace of Psycho Tropical Berlin‘s ambitious 15 tracks are equally stoked by throbbing, midtempo jams including “It’s Time to Wake Up (2023)” and “Hypsoline.” La Femme deviates from the Gidget formula with infectious results. (9pm, Lucille; Thu., Iron Bear, 1am)

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This article appears in March 14 • 2014.

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