good friday - 16/10/15

week three
the flaming lips
the terror

a slightly belated good friday this week, but you probably didn't notice anyway.
this is an album that was discovered quite late on by us, but it's nonetheless a very underrated psych record. perfect for those of you who like your psychedelia to be sp00ky.

best trax - look... the sun is rising; butterfly, how long it takes to die; sun blows up today

recording

as if treeman wasn't enough for you (which, by its sales record, seems to be the case), we've been recording again.

here's a short documentary giving you the lowdown on all the exciting things we did yesterday.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO / BUY TREEMAN (IF YOU WANT)

good friday - 9/10/15

week two
jai paul
jai paul
welcome back to good friday, the only music review blog in the country that nobody actually reads (apart from the nme)

this week we've an album which was so exclusive that it was never even officially released. the only version that exists is a low-fi unmastered leaked one, but we still adore it. just listen to str8 outta mumbai and you'll know exactly what we mean. also he samples batman punches and harry potter films which is pretty damn cool.

best trax - str8 outta mumbai; genevieve; BTSTU

when a fire starts to burn

there are three websites you should all be on the lookout on, in preparation for our single dropping on saturday.

first, our bandcamp page, because this is where you'll actually be able to buy the song (you don't have to if you don't want to but, y'know, man's gotta eat) 
https://frenchgirlsssss.bandcamp.com

second is our youtube channel (that's right, we have one), because when treeman is released we're gonna be putting up a lyric vidya there so y'all can actually figure out that the fuck ben is singing about
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh2GaJh8yf_th-RkB8PAh0w

third is our facebook page, because after you've showed all your friends and family our new single and they inevitably love it, as well as buying it so we can get to number one they can give us a cheeky like so we can finally crack that 500 barrier and feel of some worth
https://www.facebook.com/frenchgirlsssss


also on an unrelated note, tomorrow we're gonna post another blog about an album we love, and this week's is a MAJOR goodie. recommended.

okay that's all drive safe xox

saturday

good friday - 1/10/15

week one

lcd soundsystem

sound of silver

week one, and we start with this. in one sentence, it's a super fun bouncy dance-indie record that never once dips in quality.

best trax - all my friends; someone great; watch the tapes

girls night ii

in a shocking turn of events, we've got our second important update in two days! and this one's a biggie.

we're very very happy to announce that GIRLS NIGHT will return on december 6th 2015, at the brudenell social club games room.
we've yet to announce all the support acts, but I will say now that at least one and a third of the bands from last year's event are gonna return.
tickets are £5 (the usual price) from all the usual places: jumbo, crash and online at lunatickets and seetickets (links below), as well as from band members themselves.

we're massively looking forward to it, and expect us to have some special plans in place for our set.

it's gonna be massive xox

jumbo
crash
lunatickets
seetickets

coming

treeman on fire is coming soon
here's a sneaky preview
xox

piece of news 3

also also

we're recording this weekend, should be fun.
luka can dust off his sax again.

thd

piece of news 2

also, we played a show on monday with juan wauters and the orielles at the brudenell games room, and it was really fun. we were alright as per, the orielles were banging as (I assume) per, and juan was as sweet and cool as he was when we last saw him. quite a surreal set, but still an excellent one - we got him to play the same song twice, and got some rad pictures with him afterwards.
plus we nearly missed our set because we were getting pizza, espen forgot to bring a bass strap, jeans AND had to borrow jamie's brother's bass, and never got to play our cover of do0o it by miley cyrus. nonetheless, we had great fun.

we also had a few chats with the people at the brude, about some potential secret things that might happen in a few months... [clue - girls' night 2]

thd

piece of news 1

so in exactly a month we're gonna release our song treeman on fire unto the world. it's taken from an EP we're looking to release in a little bit (more details once we think of them), and we can't wait to show you all the fruits of our labours. we really like it and we hope you will too xox

thd

holy shit

holy shit we just realised how busy we are these next few days, and how underprepared.
got Juan Wauters on Monday and so far haven't sold any tickets (they are still available yo, £6), and next weekend we're recording again at Czar Street with Dave Whitaker and the gang.
plus we've still got a ton of stuff to finalise before we can announce anything about the thing we're gonna announce after we've finalised a ton of stuff.
we also haven't played together in about 2 months.
basically, we need to have a band practice tomorrow.
fortunately, we're having a band practice tomorrow.


thd

r a d i o

upon checking the frenchgirls email account earlier today, our (excellent) percussionist thom discovered that one of our tracks had been broadcast on bbc radio leeds.
we missed it so you did too, but don't worry! we've got a link to the show so y'all can listen to CATWALK if you really wanna.
the quality is not perfect, but once we release it proper it'll sound a lot better, trust. for now it'll do, especially as we've never had radio play before.
naturally, of the two songs we submitted to bbc introducing they chose to play the one that isn't an upcoming single, but that works out very well for you lot because you get double the fr3nchgirls... and you know what they say, two frenchgirls songs are better than one frenchgirls song (unless the one song is etra and the other two are our shite ones, like youth).
so yeah, for now you have catwalk, and soon you'll gave something else too.
speaking of which, keep ur eyes peeled for a super cool announcement coming in the next week or so..........

          http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02z6rt1


thd

double denim trouble denim

so on september 25th we're gonna be playing our third show with Mick and Chantel AKA Double Denim Live, downstairs at the verve bar in leeds. we like them, they like us, and it's a pleasure to play for them again as always.
support comes from some great local bands like Julia, Arshall Marts and Wetpaintt, so basically the lineup is stacked as fxck and you're gonna have a banging time.
we'll probs be on at like 11 but who knows, you should come down early anyway and catch everybody just to be on the safe side. plus if you come super early (i.e. be one of the first 30 there) you can get yourself a free shot of tequila. 
so come on down, we'll be a few tequila shots in ourselves, and hopefully it'll be a killer show.

who knows, we might actually have written a new tune by then

thd

controversy

BIG SHOUTS 2

kit clark, in a colourful t shirt

BIG SHOUTS this time go to half of our backbeat and frenchgirls' resident black t shirt wearer KIT CLARK.
the kidda's turned 17 today, so if you see him around give him a happy thump for us. he'll be wearing some shitty metal band t shirt (black), a snapback (black) and probably some jeans (black), despite this blistering weather.
for those who have never seen him because we hide him away at the back of the stage, we've included a handy picture for reference.
make the most of him while you can, we're replacing him with a drum machine next week.


thd

art/music/culture/clingfilm

being spread out across europe hasn't stopped the frenchgirls from talking. we've been thinking long and hard about all the things we need to do in the next couple of months, before we can share with you all the fruits of our labours.
we've got artwork to design, a couple of gigs to play, even more gigs to book/finalise (including, maybe, girls night 2), a studio to get back into, new songs to finish and even a cheeky lil music vidya to shoot.
with any luck, all of these things will turn out great, and not doom us to being a sucky teenage indie band forever.

as ever, much love, see you when we next remember to update this bl0g xox


(i'm not sure what's going on in this picture. ben just sent it to us all out of the blue... maybe it's some idea for a new artistic direction, or a potential album cover, but who can really tell.)


thd

frxnchgirls @ the brude

we just announced on our facebook and our twitter that we'll be playing a gig at the mighty brude in september, supporting the lovely fella that is juan wauters.
thom ben and jamie saw juan supporting mac demarco back in november and he was fantastic, so we can say with confidence that he'll be fantastic at this gig too.
you can buy your tickets for £6 from the usual places - seetickets, jumbo etc...
we recommend it though, you get to see frxnchgirls, the orielles and juan wauters for only two pounds each
that's all for now drive safe xox


thd

this wasn't meant to be so long: thoughts from glasgow

half of the fr*nchgirls have been in scotland the past few days, having a casual foray into influencing our future and - ultimately - growing up. glasgow was lovely; edinburgh was lovely. everyone involved had a nice time.
we also had several opportunities to be pensive, questioning and considering. lying in bed, thom and ben discuss as artists, how do we summon the courage to give to the world a product that ultimately will outlast ourselves? once released, we no longer have any control over its fate. we try to keep a grasp on our art during our lives, yet after our death what becomes of it? vincent van gogh, ian curtis, william shakespeare; all became fetishized posthumously, and so their art is reaching new areas of humanity every day, being interpreted in and affecting the individual receiver in more ways than its creator must ever have imagined. there are only two possible ultimate fates that art succumbs to - it either winds up loved and protected for all eternity, studied by scholars and appreciated by all who know of it; or it becomes destroyed through either neglect, malice or accident. take last year's fire at the glasgow collage of art, for example. hundreds of pieces, each one delicately crafted by an artist who hoped for it to be successful, appreciated, all gone in an instant due to one simple, fateful mistake.
yet, somehow even more tragic a fate to me is for art to be left to ruin. that a piece of work one or a group of persons has created in the hope of it being realised by others who saw, heard or otherwise experienced it, could be doomed to spend eternity alone, thrown aside by the unforgiving public in favour of works that are 'better'. there is plenty of shit out there, shit songs written by shit bands. yet it must also be remembered that there is always, always good art that if found would have never been forgotten, yet was never known by enough for it to be revered. this has always been a tragedy of art, yet is becoming increasingly relevant in this internet age: as we become overloaded with so much more information than before and at so much quicker a pace, it is becoming so much easier to ignore great art. soundcloud is home to billions of songs; it is physically impossible to listen to every one in a single lifetime. this means there are an incalculable number of creations that you will never know. most will be forgotten due to their lack of quality, yet a huge number of fantastic songs will also suffer this same, unfair fate.
how many great songs has nobody ever heard? how many great songs will nobody ever hear?


thd

don't believe the hype

we're not on a hiatus, don't worry.
not an official one, anyway.

there's just been a distinct lack of band practice this last month.

nevertheless we do have some things in the pipeline, namely the Double Denim Live 3rd Birthday Bash at Oporto in Leeds, on June 21st; as well as our second year of HOBFEST with those old geezers again, Absent Parachute.
jamie and thom have also been having a play around with some new song ideas, which may or may not come into fruition soon (depending on whether or not they're good).

remain calm.


thd