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| FEMINIST REVIEW Review by Alexandra Jones Tuesday, June 17, 2008 MIOU MIOU - LA LA GRANDE FINALE (Minty Fresh)  The fizzy Czech indie pop group Miou Miou create lush electronic soundscapes accented with breathy, mysterious French vocals. Their debut, Lala Grande Finale, is a pretty-but-dramatic set of songs worthy of a more seasoned group; their melodies breeze by like those of a more sophisticated Belle and Sebastian through My Bloody Valentine-esque atmospherics. In the United States, they share a label with the likes of the Cardigans and Liz Phair, and in Europe, vocalist Karolína Dytrtová has provided music for animation and art installations - which is why I'm ashamed to admit that for a few listens, I couldn't get the image of Bret and Jermaine from Flight of the Conchords riding bikes and singing about baguettes out of my mind. Really, Miou Miou deserve much better than that. The irony is that, as much as their Francophonics distracted me, there's no impulse to scramble for translations, to attach that lyrical layer of meaning to Miou Miou's songs. If Dytrtová isn't singing about nice mornings and dogs in space (two topics she's mentioned in an interview), it's news to me. Lala Grande Finale fairly bubbles with a simple, infectious joy despite its musical complexity. She could croon about rotting corpses and I'd still be dancing around my kitchen. Opener “A Lete De La Saint-Martin 68” sets the tone of the disc as driving, dreamy, and energetic. “Le Petit Punk” is strewn with wobbly electro effects while “Le Globe” has a minimalist, Kings of Convenience feel. “La Chambre Voisine” is the most straightforward rocker, propelled by Kevin Sheilds-esque guitar – imagine Lost in Translation set in France. Placid closer “Le Chaos” is one of only two tunes to drop below 100 bpm, but after such well-crafted effervescence, it's okay to be glad for a bit of a cool down.
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