New York’s Backbeat

The French Kicks’ Pop Rises Above The Rest

originally published March 17, 2004

"The drummer is always the most important thing in a band," says Nick Stumpf. "It's always been that way for me." It makes sense then that Stumpf,

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the singer and main songwriter for French Kicks, also plays all the drums on the band's recordings and, up until recently, at their live shows as well. "I've always loved playing drums," he says. "But this was the first time I had been 'the drummer.'"
It makes perfect sense that Stumpf plays drums behind the songs he writes, because all French Kicks songs have a thick pulse, a steady heartbeat. In the band's past live shows, Stumpf appeared to tower over his kit. He's now outgrown it, stepping up front with the rest of his bandmates: keyboardist-guitarist Josh Wise, who co-writes half the band's material with Stumpf, guitarist Matt Stinchcomb, and bassist Lawrence Stumpf (Nick's brother). Jake Morris of the Joggers is currently manning the drums for the band's tour.
French Kicks is a New York band, and at times the bouncing bass and chopped guitar lines could threaten to get FK lumped in with the late '70s/ early '80s punk and new wave revival. "I think you could take any two New York bands and say there's an overarching aesthetic," says Stumpf, "but they're all doing their own thing." Almost any article about a New York band these days will attempt to distinguish the band from the heap, but the guys in French Kicks do the job themselves. Just listening to the first song on the band's 2002 album One Time Bells, "Wrong Side," shows you that the band's restrained approach to arrangement and focus on classic melodies place it several steps above its less-nuanced peers. Like any French Kicks song, "Wrong Side" sounds like it could have been recorded live; if there are overdubs, they don't stand out or take away from the spare feel. But within the instruments present, you feel that the band has carefully placed each ringing electric piano note and dissonant two-note guitar line; every member skillfully serves the song. Stumpf describes the band's music by pointing out that all the instruments play essentially percussive parts; a French Kicks song is really a jigsaw puzzle of melodic rhythm.
But French Kicks really sucks you in when you hear the harmonies. Stumpf, Wise and Stinchcomb can seemingly do anything with their harmonies; they add a breezy pop feel to songs like "Wrong Side" and "Down Now," a little drama to "When You Heard You," and a lot of soul to "Close to Modern." Most people are surprised when the chorus of "Close to Modern" breaks out into falsetto R&B, but by the time all three vocalists are harmonizing on "ooh ooh ooh... aah" at the end of the song, you don't know how it could be any other way. Stumpf explains that the melodies initially started out as a joke. "I had the track done," he says. "I had the piano part and the beat... I think I stole it from a Cure song. I was frustrated because I couldn't come up with a melody, so I started trying to make myself laugh." Once the lyrics were written and the song was finished, the song ceased being a joke; it was a great pop song far ahead of what FK's New York contemporaries were banging out.
One Time Bells is an unassuming, laid-back record completely void of pretension; in a year when bands like Liars and Interpol were releasing more direct statements of cool that grabbed the press's attention, French Kicks didn't really try to stick its head out too far. However, on the newly completed album, Trial of the Century, Stumpf claims they've let themselves explore a larger sound. "One Time Bells was intentionally understated," he says. "This one is opposite. The new one sounds really deep, really full... there's bass that's going to rattle your windows." While One Time Bells featured a few rockers reminiscent of the songs on the band's 2001 Young Lawyer EP, Trial of the Century features only pop songs, with a much larger keyboard sound. In the band's current live incarnation, Stumpf, Wise and Stinchcomb all have keyboards on-stage. The band recorded the album in Los Angeles with Doug Boehm, an engineer who has worked with Elliott Smith, Guided By Voices and the Vines. Unfortunately, Trial of the Century won't be out until May, and review copies were not available at press time, so Stumpf will have to be taken at his word. "Tempo-wise, it may be faster," he says. "But it continues along the progression of the songs being simpler in a way."
The band recently finished a month-long residency at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan, playing every Wednesday in February with hand-picked openers. French Kicks also recently appeared on Carson Daly's "Last Call" for the second time; for this appearance, French Kicks were Carson's house band, doing their best Doc Gibbs & the "Emeril Live" band impression before and after commercial breaks. With fans in high places and a new record coming out soon, after the New York hype has died down, perhaps French Kicks will finally attract some of the attention that its flashier but less-talented neighbors have already enjoyed. The band will be coming to Athens with equally demure New Yorkers The Walkmen, so come check out another side of the New York Scene.

Sam Gunn

WHO: The Walkmen, French Kicks, The National
WHERE: 40 Watt Club
WHEN: Tuesday, March 23
HOW MUCH: $8

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