Taking the title of their first album from the once-scandalous Manet painting that
Bow Wow Wow parodied on a 1982 EP cover, Montreal's
Les Breastfeeders debut with the proudly retro
Dejeuner sur l'Herbe. With an unerring eye both for ear-pleasing hooks and which old records to steal them from,
Les Breastfeeders cheerfully plunder everyone from
France Gall and
Johnny Hallyday to
the Hollies and
the Count Five over the course of this knowingly derivative album. It's
Les Breastfeeders knack for transforming the scavenged bits into sprightly pop songs as immediately charming as the breathless "Mini Jupe et Watusi," with its chirpy falsetto backing vocals, and the tougher "Angle Mort" that keeps them from becoming merely garage rock Frankensteins. As a result,
Dejeuner sur l'Herbe is a hugely entertaining way to spend an afternoon. ~ Stewart Mason