French Kicks

In the pathologically self-obsessed mileau of indie rock, the desire to completely separate from whatever sound or scene got you initially invigorated is the record biz version of hubris. And that hubris has always hung over anything the French Kicks do. Not their fault exactly; they had the misfortune to have a Strokes-ly sway, right around the same time A&R weasels stunk up the downtown New York City scene. The French Kicks had the additional audacity to write catchy, commercially approachable songs and work hard touring on them. As that slacker side character on The Simpsonssaid, "It smacks of effort."

Details

Friday, August 18

9 p.m.

Admission is $12

861-5016

www.cafedunord.com

Café du Nord

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The effort on Two Thousand is expressed through more layers of lovely guitar tones and even tighter song structures within the band's romantically relaxed vibe. Delightfully spruced up bedhead 'n' thrift tee rock ("So Far We Are"), sprightly '70s daisy-tripping ("Also Ran"), and some lazy keys and mopey Motown beats ("No Mean Time") all point a way out of the woods of accusatory stares from hipsters who harbor the usual jealousies of the guys who "made it" — which these days means selling 23,000 CDs and 32 more MySpace ads.