With the aesthetic of Stranger Things meets The End of the F***ing World, Videoclub is a band whose music sounds like it could be straight out of a coming-of-age movie. The French indie duo, made up of Adèle Castillon (a famous French actress and YouTuber) and Matthieu Reynaud, have become highly popular within France and much of Europe, however, they’ve only just begun to make their way to the States. Their first single, “Amour Plastique” was released in 2018 but became famous on TikTok last year. The song, which has a very dreamy, falling-in-love vibe to it, was one of only seven songs the duo had released prior to the release of their first album Euphories. The album released at the end of January and features all of their prior songs, as well as six new ones. While all their songs are sung in French (with the exception of their cover of XXXTentacion’s song “What Are You So Afraid Of”) the tone of the songs transcends language. I myself don’t know any French, but ever since I heard “Amour Plastique” in 2019, I have been following the duo, as I didn’t need to know the words to fall in love with the song.
Both in their sound and in their music videos, Videoclub nails down the atmosphere they want their music to create; a dreamy teenage romance that feels like it’s something out of an 80’s movie. And they do this in a way that feels fresh and authentic. Euphories has many tracks, both new and previously released, that stand out as favorites to me. “Amour Plastique” has been a favorite of mine for a while, but as has their 2019 single “En nuit.” Both songs have a very upbeat, happy tone to them that creates the image of sunny days spent with someone you love. Most songs by Videoclub are more upbeat in tone, encompassing the more Euro-pop style. That’s not to say they don’t have songs that are calmer in nature. One of my favorite new tracks of theirs is the song “Trois jours.” The song feels much more somber than their typical happy tracks. However, as the song progresses, it gradually gets more upbeat, almost like a dark cloud moving to reveal the sun. Probably my favorite new song on the album is the closing track “SMS.” It features bits of what sounds like random moments from their lives—laughter and conversations, in the background of the song. While that gives the track a very cheery and carefree vibe, what really made me love the song were the bits of instrumental synth playing the other tracks on the album. It felt like a really fun way to close the album, as you hear them just being themselves while you also get all these references to the other songs you just heard.
While French indie isn’t necessarily a common genre here in the U.S., Videoclub is a group that should definitely be on your radar. Their songs bring life into gray days, and I promise you’ll be dancing along just a few seconds in.
Emily Imanishi is a first year Writing for Film, TV and Emerging Media major who regularly updates her playlist of viral TikTok songs. They can be reached at [email protected].