Mademoiselle Caro & Franck Garcia/  Left

Mademoiselle Caro & Franck Garcia
Left
(Buzzin’ Fly)

Parisian DJ Mademoiselle Caro and collaborator Franck Garcia have eschewed the riff-driven tech-house the city is famous for in the wake of Daft Punk, Justice et al, and made a collection of subtle, slow burners.
The chiming guitar line and chugging beat which introduce the album collide with polished synthesiser touches to produce a familiar sound, designed more for the hips than the head.
The pulsing ‘Soldiers’ best encapsulates their sound. It features a cleverly constructed melody delivered in a deadpan duet which lurks in the peripheries of a hypnotic, pulsing groove - taking hold of your limbs and refusing to let go. The slinky electronics of 'Faith' manage to retain an air of sensuality despite the questionable voice-over, which sounds like Serge Gainsbourg attempting one last seduction from beyond the grave.
Electro-rock rhythms crash in from the offset on ‘Drive’, which is one example of Caro and Garcia pushing the album into awkward territory, with Hammond organ and crashing drums at odds with the more balanced tracks before.
Caro’s roots, playing Joy Division and Bauhaus records at the legendary Rex Club are evident on the post-punk influenced ‘Smile’ where the boy-girl vocal interplay recalls ‘Being Boiled’-era Human League. Left is not going to change anyone’s life but is an effective lesson in getting physical.