Les Calamites - Encore! 1983/1987

18 track compilation of cult '80s French rock band Les Calamit�s, includes their biggest hit V�lomoteur and tracks with the bands the Dogs and The Barracudas. Available as a digipak CD with 36-page booklet and vinyl with 8 page booklet and download code, with liner notes in French and English.

Wouldn't it do them justice to rid Les Calamit�s (literally the calamities) of the embarrassing phrase girl band, durably stuck to their skins and plaited skirts? It's nothing but a pink puffy cloud obscuring their true importance as a band full stop, as well as their fleeting though mind-bending trajectory. In just a few months after going on stage with a handful of original songs recorded here and there, they became, from Dijon to Rouen, Paris to Toulouse, Bordeaux to Strasbourg, the darlings of an uncompromising rockers' demanding scene. Tolerated by some, maybe, they were also consecrated, certainly (should they have needed the accolade). The trade-off was a succession of quick and distinctive verse-choruses for which the adjectives fresh and light seemed to have been invented again.

They delivered just as many covers, which gave an idea of the origins of their songwriting: one foot in the fifties (on the dancefloor), the other in the sixties (in the garage). All of this leading to their final hit, a successful incursion in the top sales with a popular song for everyone to hum at ease, from seaside campsites to the cool kids of the capital. Everything the Calamit�s touched, with their classy, rigorous, casual ways - plus just enough amused detachment - turned into gold.