ALBUM OF THE MONTH - NOUVELLE VAGUE - NOUVELLE VAGUE (2004)

Take punk and new wave classics and cover them in a bossa nova style with female vocalists who’ve never heard the originals, and you get Nouvelle Vague.

The name means “new wave” in French, referring to the post punk music it covers, the French 60s cinema movement, and the Brazillian bossa nova genre (which also translates to “new wave”).

The French cover band was created by by musicians and producers Oliver Libaux and Marc Collin, and features eight different vocalists, including Eloisia, Camille, and Mélanie Pain. All of these singers began their careers with the band, and in 2010, Nouvelle Vague released a compilation album, Nouvelle Vague: The Singers, showcasing solo works by some of these artists.

The debut album features covers of songs by XTC, Killing Joke, Joy Division, The Cure, and The Undertones, among others. These raw, agressive songs are softened and completely transformed by the soft french-girl voices and bossa backing. For example, Dead Kennedys’ messy, chaotic, track, Too Drunk to Fuck (through which I discovered this album) becomes a sultry, playful tune, while while Sisters of Mercy’s Marian is rendered delicate and intimate.

These covers don’t compete with the originals — they’re so distinct that comparison feels irrelevant. Each version stands on its own merit, offering a unique and equally compelling parallel experience. This is how cover songs should be done.

For their third record, 3, the band shifted to country and bluegrass on covers of Depeche Mode’s Master and Servant (featuring Martin Gore himself), Talking Heads’ Road to Nowhere, and Plastic Bertrand’s Ca Plane Pour Moi.

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