by Jonah Evans (@jonahinthesnow)
Technopolice’s debut album, Chien De La Casse, released on Howlin’ Banana Records, Idiotape, and Ganache Records, embodies the energy of a dance hall with wooden floors where everybody’s feet can’t stop moving. The Marseille-based band’s punk-garage and gritty sound infusion is fast paced, dynamic, and will make you want to cut rug.
The album is laced with fuzzy power-chords that move back and forth from distorted power chords, punchy bass, poppy and joyful drums, and scratchy honest vocals. The first song, “Hellastic Mr. Pox,” kicks off the album with a click of the drumsticks, snapping the band in with a one, two, one, two, three, four. It feels like a live show when a band is getting ready to rock, and this clicking is a collective acknowledgment of what’s about to happen. It pumps up that raw and live vibe that the band has and it feels good. The guitars are stabby and upbeat. They’re also wobbly. I don’t know what the pedal is that makes it wobbly, but it feels like part of their signature sound and it gives the band a slight spookiness that reminds me a little bit of Lux Interior of The Cramps. Léo Joussellin’s vocals are shouty, dissonant and carry urgency, which infuse the collaborative explosive energy of the song and the band. There’s beautiful organ-like keys on “Mr. Pox” that sound fun, playful, and provide a lush, dominant melody that gives the song its identity. It’s a way to start a record and it makes me want to dance my ass off.
Technopolice attack the versatility of their songwriting in some interesting ways. Not all of the guitars are distorted, like on “MCB,” where there’s a clean and bright guitar that leads the melodies on the track, and the vocals feel more buoyant, less disheveled, clearer, and calmer. These dynamics are subtle in the grand scheme of the album, while still a nice mix-up of sound and texture. Take the title track; “Chien de La casse” starts with an incessant bass drum kick, followed by a super chunky bass line that set the tone and energy before the keys and the whole band whips in formulating this collective whirlwind that swoops you up into their world.
Another track that comes to mind that bolsters their explorative and bursting sound is “...Regretter après.” The introductory and ongoing guitar riff is an excellent riff that incorporates a few power chord notes that are spaced out well and feel really rock n’ roll, head-boppy. This absolutely wild keyboard comes in that taps all over a discordant yet stunningly bubbly and happy scale that jumps so playfully around the guitar. The instruments crash in, the guitar continues its strong studded riff and the keys hold onto a note and the song zooms forward like the drop of a rollercoaster. It’s surprising, and it’s fun. The verses feel straightforward, again with these wobbly, signature guitars, a pre-chorus with a sick second guitar solo that sounds frail or sickly but assertive, and I can feel the escalation and the excitement of the song getting ready to—so to speak—“drop that beat.” I am there with them and it’s very nice.
It’s easy to feel the sense of humor that the band has through how they write and name their songs. A good look at song titles: “Hellastic Mr. Pox,” “Nuclear,” “Taaaannnnkkk,” and subsequently, “Tank” as well as, “Sortir le soir…” (Going out in the evening) and the following song, “...Regretter après” (Regretting it later). Their humor and their commitment to the absurdities of life come through in the energy of this album. Combined with their songwriting, Technopolice’s Chien De La Casse is a very alive, very fun, very raw garage record that makes me want to live life and dance.