France Has The Bomb
Encyclopedia
France Has The Bomb is an alternative rock
band from Minneapolis, Minnesota
, described as "The new sound of Minneapolis!" in 2009 by Rolling Stone
magazine. The group consists of Srini Radhakrishna (vocals, guitar), Hideo Takahashi (guitar), David Storberg (bass) and Mike Rose (drums). The group has received considerable airplay on Minneapolis' Radio K.
The band was quickly signed by Dusty Medical Records who released their debut 45 "World Of Mirrors". They were next picked up by HoZac Records who released their next 45 "Invisible Angle". A split 45 with the band Tiger Bones followed on Shit Sandwich Records.
, The Folk Implosion
, Wire
and Guided by Voices
as influences. Jacques Wait described the band's sound as "dance-y, garage-y indie rock that kicks ass but is also fun" Journalist David Hansen described the sound as "jagged-edged pop-rock".
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, described as "The new sound of Minneapolis!" in 2009 by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine. The group consists of Srini Radhakrishna (vocals, guitar), Hideo Takahashi (guitar), David Storberg (bass) and Mike Rose (drums). The group has received considerable airplay on Minneapolis' Radio K.
History
The group was formed by Srini Radhakrishna in 2007 when he moved back to Minneapolis after attending grad school in Chicago, Illinois. He originally recruited Danny Henry and Brian Shuey to help him record some songs that he had written while in Chicago. The original intention was for the band to just be a recording project, but when Jered Gummere, a former bandmate from the Guilty Pleasures, invited Srini to open for his current band, the Ponys, additional members were recruited to form a live band.The band was quickly signed by Dusty Medical Records who released their debut 45 "World Of Mirrors". They were next picked up by HoZac Records who released their next 45 "Invisible Angle". A split 45 with the band Tiger Bones followed on Shit Sandwich Records.
The Band's Name
Srini stated that he didn't want a band name like "The Somethings" or a name that gave an indication as to the genre of the band. The band's name was coined by Brian Shuey.Influences
Srini cites bands such as The CleanThe Clean
The Clean are an influential Indie rock band that formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1978. Led through a number of early rotating line-ups by brothers Hamish and David Kilgour, the band settled down to their well-known and current line-up with bassist Robert Scott...
, The Folk Implosion
The Folk Implosion
The Folk Implosion was an American indie rock/lo-fi band founded in the early 1990s by Lou Barlow and John Davis. It was initially a side-project started by Barlow to explore different territory than that being canvassed with his primary band at the time, Sebadoh...
, Wire
Wire (band)
Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
and Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band's formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard...
as influences. Jacques Wait described the band's sound as "dance-y, garage-y indie rock that kicks ass but is also fun" Journalist David Hansen described the sound as "jagged-edged pop-rock".
Reception
- Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine described the band as "Rocketing tempos, right-angle guitars and ragged-throated vocals." - Christopher Matthew Jensen, of the City PagesCity PagesCity Pages is an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It features news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews, and music criticism. It is printed in a tabloid format, and is available free every Wednesday...
, described the band's sound as "an aural painting of the rock 'n' roll canon". - David Hansen, also from the City Pages, described their songs as "four-minute nuggets gleam like uncut gems".
- Brett Cross, from Victim of Time magazine, said the band "play a brilliant concoction of pop-tinged rock that straddles the lines between a number of genres and refreshingly defies the one word categorizations often used to describe a certain sound".
- In another review, Brett Cross said the band "lay out cagey, self-conscious tunes that sprawl a sonic map that their peers would have a hard time keeping up with".
- David Hansen, writing for vita.mn, said the band "manages all the explosiveness of our thermonuclear allies across the pond, without all the snooty posturing".
- Brian Banks, editor for the UK's "Music Vice" magazine, described the band as being "rich in garage and post-punk flavours".
Current members
- Srini Radhakrishna (vocals, guitar) - Guilty Pleasures, White Outs
- Hideo Takahashi (guitar) - Birthday Suits, Sweet JAP
- David Storberg (bass) - the Misfires, Double Bird, Signal to Trust
- Alex Rose (drums) - Vampire Hands, the Chambermaids
Past members
- Danny Henry (drums) - The SoviettesThe SoviettesThe Soviettes are a punk rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, founded in 2001. The group was composed of Annie , Sturgeon , Susy , and Danny , all of whom switched off singing duties.-History:...
, Awesome Snakes, International RobotInternational RobotInternational Robot were a punk rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, founded in 2000. All of the groups members went onto form other notable bands on the Minneapolis punk scene, including the Soviettes, Awesome Snakes, France Has The Bomb, the Dummies, the Prostitutes, the Voltz, the Dynamiters,... - Jacques Wait (bass) - Rank Strangers, Pink Mink, Mark MallmanMark MallmanMark Mallman is a Minnesota musician and composer for film.-Education:Mallman graduated from Waukesha South High School in 1991. He studied jazz piano at The Milwaukee Conservatory of Music then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1991...
, Ouija RadioOuija RadioOuija Radio is a Minneapolis, MN based indie rock band. The core members consist of lead singer songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist Christy Hunt, drummer/percussionist Charles Gehr, and bassist Matt “Helz” Belz. The group has had many line up changes with Hunt remaining as the only founding member...
(producer), The SoviettesThe SoviettesThe Soviettes are a punk rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, founded in 2001. The group was composed of Annie , Sturgeon , Susy , and Danny , all of whom switched off singing duties.-History:...
(producer) - Brian Shuey (guitar) - International RobotInternational RobotInternational Robot were a punk rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, founded in 2000. All of the groups members went onto form other notable bands on the Minneapolis punk scene, including the Soviettes, Awesome Snakes, France Has The Bomb, the Dummies, the Prostitutes, the Voltz, the Dynamiters,...
, the Dynamiters
Discography
- "World Of Mirrors" / "Cold Hands" (Dusty Medical Records - DMR-11) 7" 2008
- "Invisible Angle" / "Grim Trigger" (HoZac RecordsHoZac RecordsHoZac Records is a record label formed in Chicago, Illinois, USA in late 2006 by Todd Killings and Brett Cross after the demise of Horizontal Action Magazine...
- HZR-025) 7" 2008 - "Open Wound" / "Walk Right" (Tiger Bones) (Shit Sandwich Records - SS-180 7" 2009