Nouvelle Vague
Hugh Coltman
Sept. 30, 2011
The Regency Ballroom
Better than: La Femme Nikita, the television show, but as good as La Femme Nikita, the Luc Besson film.
When French musicians Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux assembled their culturally eclectic group of female vocalists under the witty moniker of Nouvelle Vague and released Bande a Part in 2006, their Bossa Nova-inflected lounge covers of New Wave and post-punk classics seemed like an ironic novelty. However, it seems there was enough charm and sultry playfulness to make their shtick catch on. Now, with five albums to boast, their technique and performance have risen to match the sheer style they have always possessed. Their performance of director Jean-Charles de Castelbajac's musical, The Dawn of Innocence, at the Regency Ballroom Friday night clearly illustrated their aesthetic and practical mastery of a genre they created and occupy alone.
