Véronique Diabolique- Carte Postale

North Carolina's premiere French band (you read that correctly), Véronique Diabolique weave an interesting web of sparse yet theatrical post-punk beneath French lyrics, both spoken and sung by vocalist Dominique, on their 5-song debut EP, Carte Postale. Void of keyboards, the band's guitar/bass/drum/vocal delivery certainly evokes memories of the late 70s and early 80s post-punk scene, sometimes recalling the punchy sound of The Cure's debut, particularly on "Spleen", and, at other times, channeling Bauhaus, early Siouxsie & the Banshees, Skeletal Family, and early Cocteau Twins.

The aforementioned "Spleen", with musical shades of The Cure's "Killing an Arab", is, notably, based around a spoken Baudelaire recitation. Two lighter offerings form the EP's center, "Une torche pour Orphée" and "Clarimonde", the former a lounge ballad with moments of slightly dissonant intensity and the latter a lilting ballad with an early Cocteau Twins-esque chorus. "Derrida" is a standout, built around a nice bass melody doubled on guitar, while the closing "L'aboattoir" is an up-tempo, bass driven number, its opening bathed in swirling flange and its remainder featuring nice goth rock lead guitar work.

While their sound may actually be a bit too sparse and lo-fi for some, Véronique Diabolique's Carte Postale EP is a nice throwback to the early days of post-punk in terms of both songwriting and production. It'll be interesting to see what they have in store for their next CD, due out this fall. For now, their debut EP is a nice taster and a refreshing counterpoint to the more electronic offerings and layered production comprising much of today's scene.