Bande à Part

• Artist: Nouvelle Vague
• Rating:
• Release Date: July 11, 2006
• Genre: Electronica

Review

It was something of a small miracle that the first Nouvelle Vague album managed to avoid the seemingly inherent kitsch of covering new wave classics as slinky bossa nova. Unfortunately, the group doesn't quite pull it off the second time around. Bande a Part has several songs that meet the standard set by Nouvelle Vague: "The Killing Moon," "Dance with Me," and "O Pamela" translate well into bossa nova ballads and manage to keep the songs' and the singers' dignity intact, while the Cramps' "Human Fly" sounds nearly as mischievous -- and a lot more elegant -- in Nouvelle Vague's hands. There are also a few downright silly moments. The version of "Pride (In the Name of Love)" feels like it's trying to be as serious as the original yet flip at the same time, and ends up failing on both counts, while "Dancing with Myself" sounds more like a reinvention of Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5" than of Billy Idol's hit. Mostly, however, Bande a Part just sounds like an uninspired rehash of Nouvelle Vague. The covers of "Ever Fallen in Love," "Heart of Glass," and "Shack Up" aren't embarrassing, but they aren't especially interesting, either. Considering Nouvelle Vague's popularity, it's understandable why the people behind the project would want to try to repeat their success, but it's too bad that it wasn't left as a singular, pleasant surprise. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
The Killing Moon	Ian McCulloch, Les Pattinson, Will Sergeant, Pete de Freitas	Nouvelle Vague	(3:38)
Ever Fallen in Love? (Lyrics)		Nouvelle Vague	(3:20)
Dance with Me	Stiv Bators, B. James	Nouvelle Vague	(3:40)
Don't Go (Lyrics)	Vince Clarke	Nouvelle Vague	(3:43)
Dancing with Myself (Lyrics)	Billy Idol	Nouvelle Vague	(3:09)
Pride (In the Name of Love)	U2, The Edge, Bono	Nouvelle Vague	(4:32)
O Pamela	S. Allen, C. Allen	Nouvelle Vague	(4:23)
Heart of Glass (Lyrics)		Nouvelle Vague	(3:34)
Confusion (Lyrics)	S. Morris, A. Baker, G. Antonio Gilbert	Nouvelle Vague	(3:22)
Human Fly (Lyrics)	Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach	Nouvelle Vague	(2:49)
Bela Lugosi's Dead (Lyrics)	Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins, David Jay	Nouvelle Vague	(4:03)
Shack Up		Nouvelle Vague	(3:46)
Let Me Go (Lyrics)		Nouvelle Vague	(3:52)
Fade to Grey (Lyrics)		Nouvelle Vague	(4:48)

Credits

Phoebe Killdeer (Performer), Olivier Libaux (Mixing), Thomas Ostrowiecki (Drums (Steel)), Thomas Ostrowiecki (Percussion), Avril (Mixing), Avril (Arranger), Dylan Kendle (Art Direction), Olivier Libaux (Producer), Melanie Pain (Vocals (Background)), Gerald Toto (Performer), Melanie Pain (Performer), Silja (Performer), Olivier Libaux (Arranger), Marc Collin (Fender Rhodes), David Venitucci (Accordion), Avril (Bass), Fréderic Loiseau (Guitar), Avril (Guitar), Benoit Rault (Flute), Etienne Wersinger (Clavinet), Birdpaula (Performer), Silia (Performer), Phoebe Tolmer (Performer), Marc Collin (Keyboards), Dylan Kendle (Design), Olivier Libaux (Keyboards), Thibaut Barbillon (Guitar), Marc Collin (Vibraphone), Olivier Libaux (Guitar), Olivier Libaux (Bass), Marc Collin (Mixing), Avril (Producer), Marc Collin (Programming), Marina (Performer), Pete Hutchison (Mastering), Marc Collin (Arranger), Olivier Libaux (Ukulele), Julie Verhoeven (Cover Art), Avril (Fender Rhodes), Marc Collin (Producer), Thibaut Barbillon (Bass)