If geek is the new black, then Oui Legionnaires are the poster boys for the new movement. As the internet has turned computer programers into celebrities so geek chic has become the new cool. But whilst any member of the band may look like they have come to fix your laptop, the music they bring with them is a different matter. Their recent e.p. Facts About Stars and Everything Else…is packed full of angular indie anthems and shifting dynamics, the perfect balance between being big and being clever.
It’s artsy, oblique, precocious, volatile, mathletic and even a bit spiky round the edges. But it’s also sharp, intelligent and emotive and it is this balancing act of shade and light, of ernest indie moves and accessibility that forms the appeal of the band. They sound exclusive enough to be picked up by those who want their bands to have cult status but accessible enough to gain mainstream approval, not a bad trick if you can pull it off.
Live they are an even better prospect, ranging from heads down shoegazer isolation to explosive stage swagger and visiting all points in between. It is this vibrant live stance that hopefully will get them noticed and move them into larger venues where their pumped up pop dynamics and post punk guitar weaves will have room to achieve the majesty that is currently shrouded by the confines and technical abilities of the stages they get to play.
Oui Legionnaires are in many ways the sound of the future, a possible new movement to rush the barricades and move the boundary posts and possibly leaving the likes of Bloc Party, Maximo Park, Foals and all the class of 2007 floundering in the wake of this new puzzlepop artnik sound. They already have some great tunes but before long they are going to write that one defining cross over classic that will prick up the ears of the industry and then you won’t see them for dust.
