VOLAGE - EP REVIEW

Volage - Maddie EP (Howlin Banana Records) 
Volage - Maddie EP

Release Date: 1st November

According to their Facebook page, Volage's interests amount to just two things; Fuzz and Flowers. Considering their EP cover features flowers and every one of the six tunes is fuzzed up to the max, I'd say that's a pretty accurate description even if it's not very useful for a blogger trying to find an angle on a band! Nevertheless, we'll let the music do the talking and dive straight in, non? Oui. Y'see, Volage are a Parisian quintet who kick things off with the jaunty, jangly 60s infused 'Not Enuff' which has punk sensibilities but the melodies of Hermans Hermits or Manfred Mann. Meanwhile, 'Wall Of Smoke' feels like somewhere between early Dandy Warhols and Redd Kross  and 'Many Hopes' has hints f early Arctic Monkeys but only if they'd been more influenced by Beach Boys records and a recent French exchange trip.    

The deceptive acoustic openings of 'I'm A Fool' soon give way to oh-so-cool, fuzzy guitars and dirty, growling bass that would have many a hipster shaking their bobbed hair cut in approval. 'Bob Is Alive' (presumably named after that brief period when everyone though Bob Hoskins was dead and then realised he wasn't) is a dark, almost incomprehensible change in direction for Volage, much like that moment when a fun, drink fuelled night takes a sobering turn for the worst upon the realisation that your wallet has been stolen and you dropped your phone down a toilet. Finishing up with 'Heart Healing (Take 1)', it's obvious that Volage have slowly been getting more and more inebriated throughout the recording of this EP as they finish up with an impish, Lennon being Bowie being Bolan style tune that, if the needle got stuck in the wrong place, could drive you insane extremely quickly. And that is a very real possibility as this EP is being released on delicious white 10" vinyl for your delectation and I wholeheartedly recommend that you tuck in. Bon appétit!

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