Le Vent Nous Portera
If what you’re craving is a vertiginous plunge into a downward spiral of 80s experimental guitar riffs and 90s on-the-road nostalgia, look no further than French alternative rock band Noir Désir.
Formed in Bordeaux in the first years of the 1980s thanks to teenagers Bertrand Cantat and Serge Teyssot-Gay, the band immediately showed signs of early inspiration drawn from the likes of Led Zeppelin and The Who, which took the soon-to-become-quartet duo into a musical direction teeming with pure rock bravado and experimental singing, characteristic of indie artists. Poetry, love, hate, anger and an often anti-commercial stance in the music industry; this is how Noir Désir left their imprint in the last two decades of the twentieth century. It’s not rock commonplaces and predictable lyrics that you’ll find when navigating their chaotic tracks, but a whole different world of French poignancy and a musicality derived from the English post-punk and new wave scene, which Noir Desir were legitimate, biological sons of. This clearly crops up in the band’s debut album, Où Veux-Tu Qu'Je R'Garde?, released in January 1987; here it is possible to hear the main influences that played a role in the making of the album, such as the melancholic electro-melodies of Echo And The Bunnymen or the dark sounds of Joy Division.
Noir Desir during a live - archive picture via Project Revolver © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
However, the major influence seems to have been that of Gun Club, whose She’s Like Heroin To Me marks a clear archetype for the first couple tracks of the French album. Où Veux-Tu Qu'Je R'Garde? is imbued with maladies of love, anger, mal de vivre and roaring electric melodies; folk-western armonica touches, rich electric guitar power chords and Cantat’s raspy and hauntingly elaborate vocals create a unique ensemble that made the band extremely well received within its niche retinue of fans and music critics. It is quite a melting pot of an audience that ND managed to pull together, as their accessible yet intricate blend of lyrics and melodies can attract the most cantankerous and fussiest music critics as well as the guy that would literally listen to anything, including buying tickets to a Yoko concert.
It would be understandable to infer that French lyrics (apart from a handful songs written in English) could present some sort of cultural and linguistic barrier, leading to a sort of gatekeeping fully held by French speakers, however, despite the fact, the band attracted listeners from all over Europe, though not successfully reaching the States, one of the largest music consumers in the world. Noir Desir, despite not performing anymore, have a great shot at resurfacing on digital streaming platforms, as their alternative/progressive rock style is somewhat coming back in hot, as did the 80s synthwave melodies through huge artists such as Dua Lipa and The Weeknd. All their albums and special releases are available to stream and download on the main streaming platforms, and the old school alternative French spice is out there ready to be savoured as you’re driving down the coastline accompanied by the gentle caress of the sunset oozing from your right window.
