On the radar: French Wives

Published on 03/06/2009 11:27

Pinning down French Wives should be easy. The Glasgow quintet's instrumentally vast symphonies saunter with a grandeur that can be described in just two words: Arcade Fire.

Yet, perhaps in spite of such predictable pigeonholing, French Wives insist there's more than just an overt set of influences at their core. Frontman Stuart Dougan explains: "We're all into varied genres, ranging from conventional indie through to electronica, but it's probably to our advantage as it gives our music a little bit more depth."

Depth's certainly not something you could accuse French Wives of lacking. Overflowing with melody, their songs flutter the heart strings with grace and vigour; swooshing from dainty canticle to pulsing anthem without the bat of an indie-rock eyelid.

Only a year old, this fledgling outfit create soundscapes that surpass those of more roadtested acts. Their philosophy, however, remains refreshingly spritely: "We want to make our mums proud," half jokes Dougan. "We'd also like to write songs that people will relate to. I know it sounds obvious, but it's more difficult than most people think."

That difficulty lies in proving there's something more than mere bandwagon-hopping. It's a feat Dougan believes his band are more than capable of achieving. "We really enjoy pushing ourselves to write better songs and we love performing our own music to people," he exclaims. "We like to think we put on an entertaining and energetic live show, and feel that compared to other bands our songwriting and arrangements can hold the attention of even the drunkest of hecklers."

Firmly embedded within the Scottish music scene's nurturing bosom, Dougan maintain a sensible head when it comes to grandstanding its rejuvenation. "There's certainly a lot of lovely people and it's good that Scottish music is starting to get a bit more attention," he explains. "That being said there's only a handfull of Scottish band's that I really enjoy."

As for the future, a depleted French Wives are looking forward to finally firing on all cylinders: "Our guitarist Scott has been studying in America for the last five months," says Dougan. "This has hindered us slightly but he'll be back in Glasgow next week which we're very excited about."

It seems it's full steam ahead for French Wives.

Catch them live at the following gigs:

3 Jun @ Captain's Rest, Glasgow

11 Jun @ Go North Festival

13 Jun @ Rockness Festival

17 Jun @ Oran Mor, Glasgow

6 Jul @ King Tuts, Glasgow

• For more music from Scotland's best up and coming bands, visit the Under the Radar blog