When they released
Should I Stay or Should I Go?,
Nouvelle Vague were as seasoned as the 1980s new wave hits they turned into bossa nova-flavored pop on their 2004 self-titled debut album. They celebrate the 20th anniversary of
Nouvelle Vague's release by steering away from the experiments with original material on
I Could Be Happy -- their last album with late founding member
Marc Collin -- and getting back to basics. They do this cleverly on a reworking of
the Specials' "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend," transforming the original's creeping jealousy into flirtatious cocktail-party banter backed by a swaying bossa nova rhythm and synths that sparkle like champagne.
Should I Stay or Should I Go?'s theatricality also reflects the years the group spent touring after
I Could Be Happy.
Nouvelle Vague spotlight the camp in
Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round" and
Duran Duran's "Girls on Film," giving them a winking, cabaret-like shimmy. Their flair for the dramatic shines on "Breakfast," which magnifies the brooding of
the Associates' original to gothic grandiosity, and on the James Bond theme-worthy version of
Bauhaus' "She's in Parties." Along with the candy-coated '60s girl group pop makeover of
Yaz's "Only You" and the silky,
Bacharach-meets-bossa nova reinvention of
ABC's "The Look of Love," these are some of the finest examples of how
Nouvelle Vague can bring out something special in well-known songs. ~ Heather Phares
