French Kicks are an American

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

group from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States. Their sound is a mix of garage rock, post-punk, and modded pop.

History

Three of the original four band members, bassist Jamie Krents, vocalist/drummer Nick Stumpf, and vocalist/guitarist Matthew Stinchcomb (currently Etsy's European Director), are from Washington, D.C. They were heavily influenced by the

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

scene that flourished during their youth in the D.C. area. They began playing together in a series of bands while in their teens and then all attended

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

in Ohio, where they continued to play together. The three friends then moved to Brooklyn, New York after college, where the French Kicks were formed with vocalist/guitarist Josh Wise, a Princeton grad who originally hailed from Huntsville, Alabama. Having performed their first shows at

Luna Lounge Luna Lounge was a bar and music club located at 171 Ludlow Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Opened in 1995 by Dianne Galliano and Robert Sacher, it was a popular venue for local bands and stand-up comics (the rock band Interpol played there ...

on Manhattan's Lower East Side, in 1999 they released a self-titled EP ''The French Kicks'' under the label My Pal God. Soon, after a lot of touring, the band signed to Startime International. They soon released the ''Young Lawyer'' EP in 2001. The group then embarked on a tour with fellow garage rockers

The Vue The VUE or The VUE Charlotte is a tall skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was completed in 2010 and has 51 stories. A luxury apartment tower, the VUE is the tallest residential building in the state. The leasing center for The Vue is loc ...

and

The Walkmen The Walkmen is an American indie rock band. Active from 2000 to 2013, they are known as part of the 2000s-era post-punk revival in New York City, particularly for their critically acclaimed single " The Rat." The band is made up of drummer Matt ...

. In 2002 they released their first full-length album, '' One Time Bells''. Jamie Krents departed the band the next year, and was replaced on bass by Lawrence Stumpf, Nick's younger brother. The following year they headlined Sepomana,

WRMC WRMC-FM (91.1 FM) is the full power, student-volunteer-run radio station of Middlebury College. WRMC broadcasts a variety of content types, including talk, news, and radio drama, although the vast majority of the schedule is music of all genres. ...

91.1 FM's annual music festival. In 2004, their next album, ''

The Trial of the Century ''The Trial of the Century'' is the second full-length album by indie rock band French Kicks. It was released in 2004 through Startime Records. The song ''The Trial of the Century'' was featured in the movie, and trailer, ''The Art of Getting ...

'' was released. Another personnel change occurred when Nick stopped playing drums at live shows to concentrate on his lead singing. A series of temporary drummers filled his spot until the band settled on Aaron Thurston, a Massachusetts native. In late 2005, Stinchcomb announced that he was leaving the band. In early 2010, rumors circulated that the band may have broken up or had held off work indefinitely. Their

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...

for their single "So Far We Are" also features actress

Olivia Wilde Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House'' (2007–2012), and has appeared in the ...

. In 2011, they appeared on the soundtrack for the movie ''

The Art of Getting By ''The Art of Getting By'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser, Sam Robards, Rita Wilson and Blair Underwood. It is the first feature by writer-director Gavin ...

''.

Discography

Albums

* '' One Time Bells'' (2002, Startime) * ''

'' (2004, Startime) * ''

Two Thousand ''Two Thousand'' is the third studio album by the indie rock band French Kicks. It was released in 2006. Track listing Personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Two Thousand.'' French Kicks * Lawrence Stumpf * Nick Stumpf * Aa ...

'' (2006, Startime/Vagrant) * ''

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

'' (2008, Vagrant)

EPs

* ''French Kicks'' (1998,

My Pal God Jon Solomon (born April 19, 1973) is an American radio DJ. He has been the host of "Jon Solomon's Annual 25-Hour Holiday Radio Show" at WPRB in Princeton, New Jersey, since 1988, when he was fifteen years old. Solomon's weekly three-hour radio ...

) * ''Young Lawyer'' (2001, Startime) * ''Close to Modern Remixes'' (2003) * ''Roller'' (2006) * ''Covers'' (2008, Vagrant)

Compilation appearances

* ''The My Pal God Holiday Record 2'' "Alabaster City" * '' This Is Next Year: A Brooklyn-Based Compilation'' "1985" (Alt Version)

External links

Official websiteFrench Kicks live on WOXY.com, July 31, 2006
{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City My Pal God Records artists Vagrant Records artists