Who? Something of a rare breed amongst the City of Lights’ longtradition of ace electronic and pop music artists, the four lads inNeïmo — Bruno Dallesandro (vocals), Camille Troillard (guitar),Matthieu Joly (keyboards) and Alexis Hadefi (drums) — have their earsand hearts set on big, danceable rock’n’roll tunes with new waveundercurrents. Their 2005 debut, From Scratch, was recorded in two days and a self-titled EP with cuts from their spring follow up, Modern Incidental, is out now.
What’s the Deal? Toss those Francophile names away and there’snothing in Neïmo’s catchy, sexy songs that give any indication of whatcountry issued their passports. That includes an astonishingly firmgrasp of the English language, a practice that hindered the band inFrance because of broadcast rules that require radio stations to playmusic with at least 40 percent French-language lyrics. Their loss isour gain, however, as Neïmo’s English-sung, Killers and NewOrder-inspired songs transfer perfectly on these shores, from thehedonistic rush of “Hot Girl” to the swaying, gripping “Peter and theWolves,” which might have the least unclunky lyrical reference toRussian composer Sergei Prokofiev ever. After a barrage of lateDecember gigs in New York City, the band will return stateside again inMarch in support of its new release on the Shangri-La label.
Fun Fact: While Neïmo’s name and still-underground status haveinspired lots of headlines inspired by Disney’s animated fish, theproper pronunciation of this Finnish first name is either “nay-mo” or”nay-ee-mo.”
Now Hear This:
Neïmo – “Echoing Pixels” DOWNLOAD MP3
On the Web:
Neïmo at MySpace
Talk: Does Neïmo’s brand of dance floor rock speak your language?
