NOUVELLE VAGUE
at the Guggenheim Museum, NYC
6.1.07
Words by Cameron Cook
Photos by Abbey Braden

Having shows in unfamiliar settings can either be completely exhilarating (Todd P-style) or fall utterly flat (too many instances to cite). In theory, hosting a show by French lounge act Nouvelle Vague at the Guggenheim Museum seems like a good idea to host , however, in practice, the cavernous architecture one so breath-takingly admires when checking out a post-modern photography exhibit turned out to have the worst sort of acoustics possible: the kind that carries voices for miles, yet the audience has to strain to hear the slightest guitar strum. Luckily, Nouvelle Vague are fucking brilliant, and within moments of their fantastic set at the museum's "First Fridays" series of events, the entire packed ground floor was having too good of a time to notice anything wrong with things as trivial as sound and you know, that sort of shit.

Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux, the composers behind Nouvelle Vague, are geniuses. Doing lounge covers of new wave standards is a no-brainer, and though many have tried it before (and failed, oh Lord, failed ever so miserably) Nouvelle Vague nail it with such plucky French aplomb that you have a hard time even realizing they're playing covers, until your ears perk up and your heart races and oh yeah, that's "A Forest", the best Cure song ever being sung by two beautiful women, who are so cute and sultry and sexy they make Catherine Deneuve crica Belle De Jour look like Rosie O'Donnell.

Every single second is a treat, from "Ever Fallen in Love", to their haunting, goose-bump-raising version of Echo and the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon" (how did they make it sound even spookier?), to a reendition of the Dead Kennedys' "Too Drunk To Fuck" that rivaled the original. You guys. Seriously. It was that good. AND they encored with a rock 'n' roll version.

We all had our doubts when Nouvelle Vague first came on the scene, but time has showed us that, far from being a flash-in-the-pan trend, this band are accomplished musicians paying homage to one of the greatest eras of pop music, and our ears couldn't be happier.

Video:
Nouvelle Vague, "Dancing With Myself" (Live)