BAEBLE CONCERTS: Turzi at The FADER Sideshow

Taking inventory of the most popular French bands, it might seem appropriate to assume an entire nation's contribution to pop music is, more or less, centered around a collective obsession with sexy, out of body anthems. Air, Daft Punk, Justice – all seem to employ hazy headed hypnotics and improvised bouts of bliss that unwind at a variety of different energy levels and tempos. Taking in the band's spectacle at The FADER CMJ Sideshow, it certainly seems as if Turzi share plenty in common with the fellow countrymen mentioned above. But this performance also reveals a band less concerned with songwriting, and more tuned in to experimenting with a variety of influences all at once.

Showering constant, heartbeat pulses with pill popping pellets of synths and pedal pumping guitar rage, the band's recently released Kemando debut, A, whips up a rather maddening and demented sound. Pump that through a massive PA, and Turzi translate into a high flying, artistic jam band, free basing on plenty of pent up mood and emotion. Like Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky, Turzi settle for nothing less than a sensational assault on their audience. The result is unlike anything else in our catalogue. -David Pitz