Brighton review: VIVE LA FRANCE! @ The Green Door Store Thursday 26 January

This year’s Vive La France festival, courtesy of Brighton promoters Melting Vinyl, got started at The Green Door Store with performances by Les Zuts, Mesparrow and Francois and the Atlas Mountains.

Performing under the ‘French Collection’ banner, Les Zuts opened the night with a charming performance of Gallic songs from over the years.

Fronted by the charismatic and charming Laurent Robert, a Brighton-based French entrepreneur, and a collection of local musicians, they delivered a fun and light-hearted performance.

The combination of male and female harmonies and French-style guitar, together with a casual, relaxed delivery gave the band an air of authenticity and was a fitting start to the evening.

Mesparrow followed with something quite different. Armed with just a loop pedal, a unique voice and a keyboard she mesmerised the crowd with her enchanting performance.

Although mimicking a trumpet and birds in between rather creative beat-boxing, her delivery was as intense as it was impressive.

She used the loop pedal to create rich, interwoven harmonies with songs ‘The Symphony’ and ‘On the Borderline’, in between proving that she’s more than just a great voice and a good idea with a couple of numbers at the keyboard.

Encore ‘My Heart Belongs to Daddy’, a cover of the Cole Porter classic, was performed completely accapella, and was just as fascinating, rounding off an altogether exceptional solo set.

The headline act came courtesy of Francois and the Atlas Mountains just days after the release of the well received album ‘E Volo Love’.

Francois Marry’s band, signed to renowned indie-label Domino, breezed through a collection of jingly-jangly melodies over soft tribal beats.

They drifted as effortless between French and English lyrics as they did between understated optimism and gentle pessimism.

Many of their songs were the kind to induce mildly pleasant reactions, that is to say nice, but invoking little emotional emphasis.

However this sense of aloofness actually added to their French charm as they stayed just the right side of up-beat in songs such as ‘Edge of Town’ and new single ‘City Kiss’.

Mentally located somewhere between Riviera and quintessential village, Francois and the Atlas Mountains took the audience all the way to France with their thoroughly enjoyable set.

Originally published on Brighton and Hove Free Press.

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