Search - Heloise & The Savoir Faire :: Trash, Rats and Microphones

Your body looks so good, you should be dancin' all night!

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 05/03/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Imagine sitting in a New York City underground nightclub, gorging yourself on sugary drinks and lots of vintage new wave. Then you lose yourself in the party around you, exhausting yourself in a blur of color and insane dancing



That, my friends, more or less sums up the debut album by Heloise and the Savoir Faire, which turns out to be a polished and colorful little creation called "Trash Rats and Microphones." This fledgling band belts out a solid string of electro-rock, saturated in brilliant color, glitz and raucous energy that don't stop until the music does. And I get the feeling they're even better live.



It kicks off with a bang -- "Illusion" is a gloriously chaotic tangle of new-wavy synth and spurting riffs. And the lyrics sort of indicate what the mood is supposed to be: "You're feeling hot tonight/cause your body looks so good you should be dancin' all night!... I'll keep on dancing baby, yeah yeah/sell it sell it sell it sister, stories to tell!" Heloise Williams drawls in her throaty, smooth voice.



And fear not, for they don't slow down at all after that.



Instead, Williams and Co. segue smoothly into the funky, finger-snapping new-wave of "Members Only," where Williams cranks up the charm and the danger ("If you come into our area/we'll put you to the rest/cuz we're M-E-M-B-E-R-S... members only!"), and follow it up with the driving riffs and sinuous keyboard of "Pick'N'Choose."



And with that, Heloise and the Savoir Faire seem to have chosen their sound -- driving rock'n'roll blended with wild, raucous, colorful electronica. As the album goes on, they present us with stompy dance tunes, blippy powerpop, electro-rock splattered with fragmented Mariachi, and some deliciously wild, raucous dancepop with just enough griminess around the edges. The closest thing they have to a "slow song" would be the sprightly electronic poppiness of "Canadian Changs."



In fact, it really blossoms right at the end with the deliciously dirty-minded, electro-punk rhythms of "Givin' U the Bizness" (which uses "burn a DVD" as a sexual euphemism... never mind). But after the maddened Casiotone undulations of "Odyle," I was left with one overhanging thought: Wait, it can't be over yet!



Heloise and the Savoir Faire have been getting a lot of buzz around blogs and underground music circles. But word-of-mouth can't really prepare you for just how dynamic, energetic and wild their music is -- this band soaks their music in vintage keyboards, sex, booze, glamour and more than a hint of party-time hedonism. You might actually wake up with a hangover after hearing this.



And the entire album is driven along by Heloise Williams herself -- she sounds like a mildly deranged Debbie Harry. Same kind of smooth, strong vocals, but with more yelping, yowling, cooing, punky squeals, and a focus on sex and rock'n'roll. And a wealth of sexy double-entendres. Let's just say that you'll never see office supplies or Memorial Day quite the same way again.



But Heloise's charisma wouldn't make this album good, if the music weren't also brilliant. And the band turns out some pretty astounding instrumentals -- everything is led by the fast-moving, grimy-edged riffs and lots of twisting, new-wavey keyboard, with the occasional blips and bubbles. Rounding off their sound: rapid-fire drums, and blasts of triumphant brass here and there.



Heloise and the Savoir Faire are definitely worth the buzz. "Trash Rats and Microphones" is a triumphant debut, brimming over with the kind of energy and charisma you just can't fake."