French Bands Who Sing in English

Pony Pony Run Run, Photo by Mathieu Zazzo

I get a lot of queries about French bands who sing in English. I haven’t posted about it before now because I don’t really consider it French music if it’s not sung in French. But I’ll oblige since some of my faithful readers are interested.

It’s a little weird to me that people are specifically seeking bands that don’t sing in their native tongue. To me, a good band is a good band – I don’t get why the band’s nationality even matters if they’re just gonna sing in English anyway. Perhaps people are simply looking for the next Phoenix.

Whatever the case, there are a lot of great bands that fit the bill, and I’ll profile a few of them at your request. Here are few to start with:

The Tellers

Hands Full of Ink

The Tellers are technically Belgian, but they’re French speaking, so I’m throwing them on the list. They draw a lot of comparisons to The Libertines (their main influence), The Kooks, and other Brit rockers.

Here’s “Second Category,” from their debut album Hands Full of Ink. And yes, it sounds like it could be a Vampire Weekend song to me, too.

Close the Evil Eye

The Tellers’ sophomore album, Close the Evil Eye (produced by The Strokes’ producer, Gordon Raphael) got rave reviews in France and Belgium. From that album, here’s “I’ve Got a World.” It definitely sounds very “Stroke-y.” Or “Stroke-sy.” Oh, whatever…you know what I mean.

Pony Pony Run Run

You Need Pony Pony Run Run

This is a French electro-pop band in the tradition of Daft Punk. They perform in English, and their fun, danceable songs really get the feet moving. (“Hey You” even made it onto my workout playlist.) Though 2009 saw the reign of another French band, Phoenix, the dance crowd took notice of the band and embraced their infectious album, You Need Pony Pony Run Run. “Walking on a Line” was another popular single from the band.

Here’s the single “Out of Control”:

The funky track “Just a Song” was made for the dance floor. It’s from their sophomore album, Pony Pony Run Run Vol. 2.

PMs Better

Animals’ Wasted Youth

PMs Better (Pop Music is Better) is a bouncy young band from Lyon, France, that sings in English. Barely out of their teens when this was recorded (actually, I’m not sure if all of them were), they have two EPs under their belt full of catchy, melodic Rock songs. Here’s “Little Little Choirs” from their EP, Animals’ Wasted Youth.

Hey Hey My My

A Sudden Change of Mood

The French band Hey Hey My My was founded by Paris natives Julien Garnier and Julien Gaulier, who met in Business school in Bordeaux. The band is heavily influenced by the Beatles and Neil Young (whose famous song the band takes their name from).

Check out the bouncy bar-hopping anthem, “The Next Bar,” which is just the kind of Indie Rock I like. The video is in 3D (it’s the only version I could find), but just ignore that and listen to the song.

Want more? Don’t miss French Bands Who Sing in English, Part 2 >>

What do you think of these bands? Leave a comment below.