Frenchmen, The

***The Frenchmen formed as a Talulah Gosh cover band in 2002 by Amy Paris, Leon Levy and Niki Ortiz in the cultural nexus that is Sacramento, California. Needing a drummer with real ‘star power’ they ‘discovered’ the man of many bands (and hair styles)–Charles Albright. They practiced, they wrote songs, they played barbeques, played live on local college radio and anywhere people tolerated their plethora of RAT pedals and out-of-pocket French puns (i.e., not many places.) Playing led to recording, recording led to a record. Their first official release was the 7” EP Powdered Blue released by then San Francisco indie label Shelflife Records in 2003. This EP and their incessant gigging (giggling?) got them noticed by Clairecords who offered to release a whole album, to which the Frenchmen emphatically said “Oui!” After several recording sessions (and one ruined party), their album was complete! Sorry We Ruined Your Party is 12 lo-fi indie pop songs that clock in at a brisk 26 minutes. The split female/male vocals sound like a mash-up of Heavenly (Hey Amelia!), and Beat Happening–inexplicably played at a Minor Threat tempo. This clash of seeming opposites (hard/fast/soft/chill) would be a theme for the Frenchmen that is mildly reminiscent of Henry’s Dress. They even let the drummer sing a song! Sorry We Ruined Your Party was recorded in 2004 in Northern California by Chris Woodhouse (Karate Party), Wyatt Cusick (Aislers Set, Track Star), Jeff Melendez and Doug Godsey and mastered by Patrick Haight. The album was originally released as a compact disc on Clairecords and is available for the first time on vinyl LP–remastered for 2024!