REVIEWS
The French Semester Album Release
It pretty much says it all in the headline, doesn't it? Breezy lofi pop group The French Semester have their first album Open Letter To The Disappeared arriving tomorrow, but you can order it online today...
-Radio Free Silverlake May 15, 2008
"The French Semester draws inspiration from the masters of melodic infection, most notably Guided By Voices and early Of Montreal. Open Letter to the Disappeared is allied with frolicking male vocal harmonies and strummy electric guitar sunsets. The lyrics linger with a subtle lip of reverb, pointed choruses and longing poetry. The Los Angeles foursome tinkers with lo-fi and twee pop to craft an album that's joyful and playful, as well as matured and inspired.
A major culprit for its listenability is singer Riaz Tejani's confident, deeper-toned vocals. His pitch never strains, but commands boldly over the thick fuzz, guiding the instruments as opposed to the opposite. "Summer Face," the debut's centerpiece, is an effortless song, smug with an apathetic attitude and sweeping vocals that bridge the melody both deliberately and lazily - an apt quality laced throughout the album. On the track, the imposingly rich-voiced Tejani sings, "But when you get back, I'll dry you / And I will speak your tongue smoothly / And I will be strong / Now you're a humanitarian / But I will eat you someday." Aside from the abnormal imagery, this is the song that will have the listener reaching for the repeat button and asking friends for the tracklist.
The French Semester doesn't just employ a well-suited singer - its musicians are also notably adept at placing just the right kind of emphasis on their instruments. Things like Riaz Tejani's guitar solos and Bryan Sullivan's keys stride with the tempo; they don't intimidate or preach — they groove. It's clear the band has the competency to take its major key melody-driven rock into shoegaze territory, but opts for punchy character instead, protecting the album from pretentiousness. With an enduring carefree/ beach-weather feel and the occasional reference to the ocean floating throughout its lyrics, Open Letter... possesses an undeniable self-awareness that allows the band to drive home the point while being understated, catchy and nostalgic all at once."
-Christopher Petro WC Performer April 20, 2008
Not many bands can claim such a varied international heritage as L.A based The French Semester. Consisting of well travelled New York born Indian, Riaz Tejani, who named the band after his time spent studying in Paris, a Mexican percussionist, a Vietnamese bass player, and and English drummer, The French Semester are proclaiming themselves the start of 'immigrant rock'. And who's gonna argue with them?. . . .You might think a clash of such diverse influences is likely to cause a miss-matched arrangement, a sound that's not sure what it wants to be. But that's delightfully not the case with The French Semester. These boys have absorbed their influences and combined them skilfully into tunes that speak in a recognisable tongue and reference their American indie present, rather than their disparate pasts. . . . The French Semester turn a trade in sun-baked, lo-fi Californian pop melodies, cleverly melded with intelligently abstract lyrics and warm sugary vocals to produce a laidback, cobbled-together sound that hides the complexity of their songs and sounds like The Beach Boys got young again and invited Grandaddy round to play."
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