Francois - Virot - Yes or No

Francois Virot
Yes or No
(09.2008, Frenetic)
Verdict = Sung Tongs-lite with added accessibility

What to say about Francois Virot? Um, he’s French…er, he plays guitar and, uh, sheesh, you know what? I really don't know a whole lot about Mr. Virot. From what I understand he also plays drums in some band or something, but really I don’t know. However, something I have come to find out is that his debut album, Yes or No, is awesome. What I know about you is that you’d like it if you heard it. Ok, I don’t know that for sure. In fact, I probably don’t even know you. But if you were me, yeah, you would love it because Francois Virot enjoys playing music and you can tell. I would too if I had songs like Virot’s. Yes or No is a relatively breezy affair that is instantly likable and insidiously addictive. Taking vocal cues from Thao Nguyen and Avey Tare, Virot’s vocal delivery holds a hook like nobody’s business as it warbles and transforms to fit every conceivable concoction he dreams up. The instrumentation is spare. Pretty much just an acoustic guitar, but that doesn’t mean that the songs are necessarily sparse. Virot layers his vocals and incorporates beautiful rhythms out of hand claps and beating on his guitar to fill each song. His repetitive acoustic strumming and distinctive vocal intonations, carries a sort of Sung Tongs-lite feel. It is just really great outsider pop and a truly satisfying listen. So, I don’t really know you Francois Virot. I mean, we’ve never really met or anything, but you’re pretty cool…we should be friends. Maybe on MySpace? Who wants to join me? http://www.myspace.com/francoisvirot

-Mr. Thistle

Francois Virot - "Not The One"