Je Ne Sais Quoi - We Make Beginnings (Coalition, 2004)

Je Ne Sais Quoi
We Make Beginnings
Coalition
2004

Rating: 6.5 lingenberry pancakes out of 10

Cue Jerry Seinfeld voice – what is the deal with Sweden? Most of the time, you’d think they have an institute set up to try and replicate our bands to the best of their ability. Despite the French name, Je Ne Sais Quoi are yet another group of retro rockers coming out of Sweden, but at least they manage to keep it fairly interesting and entertaining most of the time. They play a dancey new-wave/post punk thing, with a tinge of soul thrown in. For comparisons, you have to look no further than their home shores and The (International) Noise Conspiracy, but without the heavy political discourse and socialist leanings (as much as anyone Swedish can not have socialist leanings, which is probably pretty hard given the setup of their government, but that’s a discussion for a different day). Other musical touchstones or “recommend if you like” might be Les Savy Fav, Pretty Girls Make Graves, and maybe even a little Fugazi for good measure. They aren’t breaking any new ground, but it’s still a pretty damn entertaining record full of catchy hooks and highly danceable if you are into that sort of thing. When I dance I tend to look like Bill Cosby so it might be best if I skipped that part though.