Just doin' The Dø

Above is a picture of The Dø, an oddball musical duo who hail from France. They are very good.

The Telegraph also thinks they are very good. It recently carried an article about the band, headlined "Has France finally stopped making the most execrable music the world has ever heard?" - which makes you wonder whether the writer has been paying attention, given the likes of Daft Punk and Air and Camille and Madeon and The Plasticines and Cassius and Nouvelle Vague and David "bloody" Guetta.

Still, you shouldn't let a decade of brilliant music get in the way of a cheap joke about Johnny Hallyday and Joe Le Taxi. Zut and indeed Alors.

But let's get back to the point. The Dø are Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy. They excel at that brand of rickety indie pop that constantly threatens to collapse on itself like a flat-pack wardrobe. I first spotted them on a free compilation CD a couple of years ago, which featured the jangly PJ Harvey-esque On My Shoulders.

The Dø - Weight On My Shoulders

That song led to a number one album in France - the first ever English-language number one by a native band, according to Wikipedia.

For their second album, the duo are making a concerted effort to "conquérir les rosbifs" and achieve the same success over in the UK. So far, this means a slew of four-star reviews in the music press, and an ear-catching but mentally deranged cover of Janelle Monae's Tightrope for the blogs.



My point is that you should check this band out. They're challenging, sometimes off-putting, but ultimately rewarding. If you like Bjork or The Cardigans (or even Joe Le Taxi) you might like this.

Here is their current single, which is about vomiting. Nice.

The Dø - Gonna Be Sick!

The album, Both Ways Open Jaws, is out now.

Tweet