Nouvelle Vague

“Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division is one of the greatest heartbreak songs ever. It stands shoulder-to-shoulder with “Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)” by Stevie. So, for a band to be daring enough to do a cover of it, I would hope they know how high the bar is set. Nouvelle Vague rise to the occasion. Nouvelle Vague is a French group who do nothing but covers of punk, post-punk, and new wave songs. The flip is that they do them all is a sort of Lounge/Bossa Nova style. The singers only sing songs, whose lyrics they’ve never heard before to ensure that they put their own spin on them. The end result is this incredible blend of genres and emotions. “Heart of Glass,” “Too Drunk to Fuck,” “I Melt with You,” “Just Can’t Get Enough,” “Dancing With Myself,” “A Forest,” there is seemingly nothing they can’t reshape and yet still preserve. Not only that but if you’re looking for new old artists to get into, all you really need to do is just look up the sources for their songs. My ex put me onto Nouvelle Vague after a fight to San Francisco where she heard them on the plane. If you like Bossa Nova then you should be listening to Nouvelle Vague.