Je T'aime - Aggressive

French trio JE T’AIME occupy the space between glossy post-punk and cold wave sounds that has produced a lot of great records across the globe in recent years. Like many comparable acts (ACTORS, Creux Lies and House of Harm are reasonable touchstones), the band leverage live bass, workmanlike synth and drum programming and fishhook guitar lines to get over big feelings; the band are down to mope. The second part of their two album cycle, Aggressive (the conceptual follow-up to the Spring’s Passive, natch) shows them at their best, while also highlighting some areas where they could distinguish themselves. When Aggressive works, it does so by getting its hooks over quickly. “Elbow Beach” uses its bass guitar-led verse to get to the chorus in short order, a place where vocalist Dany Boy’s Robert-Smith indebted yelp is matched by toe-tapping guitar arpeggios, suitable for both dancing and moping around one’s room in equal measure. “Tales of Despair” leans further into Goth rock proper from the jump with each successive section of the song echoing or playing off of the big melody-line from its opening moments, wringing every bit of drama they can from it in three short minutes.

It’s when the songs take a little bit too much time to get in gear that the album starts to lose focus and cohesion. The full-on Pornography-homage of “Winter Lake” isn’t without charm, but its most interesting aspect; the funky drum break two thirds of the way through, comes too late to offer the track real distinction. Opener “Out of Sight” has a decent chorus but takes its time to get to it making you wonder if the juice was worth the squeeze. The record is never less than pleasant and well performed, but some of its songs never rise above that level, either for lack of momentum or by having whole sections that fade into the background. That said, the album’s best moment and club contender, “Kiss the Boys (And Make Them Die)” has an interesting angle that shows great potential; between the falsetto vocal performance, cod-disco rhythm programming and immediately hummable chorus (assisted by Alex Svenson of Then Comes Silence), the track is full of glam cheek, recalling any number of Batcave classics. You can hear similar touches in the nervy pre-chorus of “Evil Curves” and the speedy tremolo workout “If Only”. These moments of bright abandon add a lot of colour to Aggressive as a whole, and lend intrigue to what we might hear from JE T’AIME going forward.

Je T'aime – Passive

Je T'aime's Passive is a dark, passionate, 80s-influenced French post-punk album praised for its blend of melancholic synths, driving bass, and emotive vocals, often compared to The Cure, Siouxsie, and early The Smiths, exploring themes of heartbreak, regret, and the struggle to move forward. Reviewers highlight its authentic production, catchy yet dark atmosphere, and standout tracks like "Dirty Tricks," "Give Me More Kohl," and "Another Day in Hell," solidifying Je T'Aime as a key act in modern coldwave. 

Je T'aime - en négatif – REMIXES

Ahh good, it’s Sunday (I do like a good Sunday evening) and when you’re listening to Je T’aime at a reasonable volume you tend to bound along . “en négatif”, is listed as the first volume of remixes from their eponymous album. Yeah, you can get 5 tracks for free download (or minimal price of 1 Euro) where She Pleasures Herself, Ash Code, Ambasador 21 and Zus revisit the tracks of the Post-Punk New Wave album, which was one of the sensations of 2019! Released almost a year after putting out their astonishing debut LP, the French galvanizing outfit is released a new remix EP titled “en négatif – REMIXES”, as a celebration to Valentine’s Day. For those who don’t know, Je T’aime has been growing like fire between the underground European musical scenario since the release of Je T’Aime, an album that is raw, dirty, controversial, but highly addictive and incredible, just like love. 

Je T'aime - Je T'aime

JE T’AIME is a Parisian post-punk, cold wave, danceable hybrid of a band, who released their debut single “The Sound” in the Spring of 2018. dBoy on programming, synth, bass, guitar & vocal, Tall Bastard on bass & guitar and with Crazy Z. on guitar they are “partners in crime”. They released a first eponymous album on May 13^th 2019 coming out from the misty and sinniest (is that even a word?) dark catacombs of Paris. Following the enthusiastic public reception of their debut album the band chose a secluded spot on the Brittany coast to focus on a more major work. Weeks of sleepless summer nights in the pursuit of new sounds resulted in the creation of two works, the first with ten new tracks, with the sound of a darker post-punk cold wave hybrid, reminiscent of the great Mancunian Factory era. Adding Anaïs Novembre & Marion Parfait on vocals they created a two part double album with the first part “Passive” being released on Valentine’s Day 2022, and the second part “Aggressive” following on The Day Of The Dead, November 1^st 2022.