| Lizzy Mercier Descloux may have come of age in Paris, but it's in New York's Lower East Side that she really came alive. The French punk pioneer, a friend of Patti Smith and Richard Hell, moved to New York in 1977 and soon immersed herself in avant-garde poetry, performance art, and punk music. Closely associated with the founders of ZE Records (home to Was (Not Was) and Kid Creole & The Coconuts), Descloux released her debut album, Press Color, in 1979, revealing a punk-funk sound that positioned her as the French answer to the UK group The Slits or New York's own ESG. Just as The Slits gave "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" a makeover fit for warehouse parties on their celebrated Cut LP, Descloux's album revealed a penchant for the unexpected cover version too. It kicks off with a brilliantly rhythmic take on The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown's Fire-a hit, like Marvin Gaye's in 1968. There's also a version of Lalo Schifrin's theme from Mission Impossible that appears to predate the breakbeat scene by a good twenty years. Elsewhere, we hear echoes of Serge Gainsbourg's Afrobeat-influenced work, Blondie's disco-inflected punk, and Talking Heads' world music-inspired art pop. |
