DisAgreement Online

In an earlier review, I once wrote that Foggy Bottom were not exactly known for major shifts or reinventions. On their new album Mon Insolence, there is at least a small change, starting with the name itself: the band now officially adds the French plural article, becoming Les Foggy Bottom. Another notable development is the arrival of a second guitarist. With Fred Alera reinforcing the line-up, the band now operates as a quartet for the first time.

Beyond that, the sixth album from the Lorraine outfit delivers the familiar level of quality that has made me a devoted fan of (Les) Foggy Bottom for almost three decades. Their sound has lately been described as distopop, a portmanteau of distortion and pop, which still means the virtues we have come to expect from the band. The blend of indie rock, dream pop, shoegaze and post punk remains a reliable recipe for first-class music, rooted in the unmistakable indie aesthetic of the 1990s, the very decade in which the band originally formed. Lyrically, things feel slightly darker this time, a reflection, perhaps, of the current state of the world.

Choosing a favourite track on Mon Insolence isn't easy. Aside from a short instrumental placed at the album's midpoint, there are seven songs, each hovering around the four-minute mark, and all of them named after guys. Some pieces (Nico, Rob) push forward with more urgency which other tracks (Martin, Pedro) lean towards a calmer mood. Richard is the one track that truly stands apart: considerably more subdued than the rest, it evokes a shadowy, almost eerie version of Étienne Daho.

One could argue that much of Les Foggy Bottom's music follows a similar pattern. I might even agree, if I didn't enjoy what they do so much. For nearly thirty years now, Les Foggy Bottom have been offering exactly that, and Mon Insolence proves they're still doing it with style.