Sunday Spotlight: The French Semester

Buzz Staff loves local music. We love seeing it. We love hearing it. We love supporting it. So when we got an email from this band, we went on over to their myspace page to quietly judge them, and voila! we liked it!
The French Semester hails from Los Angeles, but its four members are a bit more diverse than that. One Indian-American, one Mexican-American, one Vietnamese-American, and one Englishman, the group defines itself as 'immigrant rock.' And they do rock! Buzz Staff detects hints of Velvet Underground, Will Oldham, or Pavement. To be sure, TFS shares some elements of those bands; mainly the sloppy guitar swagger that we find oh so catchy. But luckily they have left out the nonsensical, overly contrived stupidity that makes Buzz Staff hate a band like Pavement. The French Semester actually has something to say. And if they say it in a way that makes you want to go out and shake all your limbs to their indie-pop goodness? well, even better.
Check out their myspace page for info on upcoming shows in the Los Angeles area and for info on their new E.P. "Tossed by the Waves she Does not Sink"