I'm not sure how or why this happened, but the nation of France has developed its own take on oi, the chant-along street-punk style that once seemed definitively British. French bands like Syndrome 81, Prisonnier Du Temps, Oi Boys, and Rancoeur have developed an echo-drenched take on oi that combines the original music with goth and post-punk, creating a dank, mysterious, and incredibly cool sound. Its influence is spreading, as bands like Quebec's Béton Armé and Edmonton's Home Front seem to be drawing from some of the same same wells.
Last year, The Guardian ran a trend piece about the French oi phenomenon that referred to these bands as "cold oi" and traced its origins to the pioneering French punk band Métal Urbain's decision to use a drum machine instead of a human drummer in the '70s. Sure! Makes sense to me! But at least some of the credit probably belongs to underground legends Rixe, who last surfaces with the 2024 EP Tir Groupé. At least one member of Rixe is also in Squelette, a Paris band with a ver cool new EP that fits right into that style.
Squelette (French for Skeleton) have been around for a decade, and we last heard from them when the released the very cool 2023 album Fin de Partie. Today, they're back with the new EP Soir d'Orage (French for Stormy Evening), a new EP of punchy but atmospheric fight music with occasional bursts of new wave melody. The final track is a haunted instrumental that isn't even remotely oi, a fascinating twist. If you're going to start a drunken brawl in any catacombs anytime soon, this record should be your soundtrack. Listen below.
