Cœur À L’Index

Reviews

Cœur À L’Index Fatigueé / Mes Héros 7″

There is something special about a great band offering a release and letting everyone know it will be their last; it can make the consumption of said music be accompanied by a little something extra that is more felt than described. That feeling is felt hard with these last two poppy gems courtesy of CŒUR À L’INDEX. The A-side feels like a whimsical French DOLLY MIXTURE, while the flip is a breezy and upbeat number that could stand side by side with your favorite singles from Sarah Records. Each year’s impending solstice gets me wondering what the soundtrack of summer might be, and looks like that question was just answered.

Cœur À L’Index Adieu Minette LP

DOLLY MIXTURE references have been turning up so often in relation to the current wave of punks playing pop music that we might be witnessing the dawn of a new D(OLLY)-beat—the Brussels-based trio CŒUR À L’INDEX falls squarely into that camp, with a debut LP that’s eight sugar-coated servings of girl-group-inspired harmonies and pastel-tinted guitar jangle. Maybe it’s the crystalline French-language vocals and the clean, crisp recording (très power pop), but the ’60s-via-’80s striped-shirt bubblegum beat of “Rattrapez-Moi” and “Loin D’ici” had my thoughts immediately wandering to LES CALAMITÉS rather than DOLLY MIXTURE, while the plaintive “Parler de Toi” and “Ca M’ira” bear the afterimage of late ’00s/early ’10s C86 revivalists BRILLIANT COLORS, or flipping back further in the singles box, TALULAH GOSH. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until this renewed interest in pure pop for punk dreamers is completely run into the ground by lesser bandwagon-jumpers, so savor the sweet treat of Adieu Minette while you can.