Somewhere near the southern French metropolitan home of Daft Punk, Air, and Mirwais, a little band of academic psychologists-cum-rockers dreamt of becoming guitar gods. The band, Rinocerose, released their deep-house-meets-rock-riffs debut in 1999 and rode a wave of French techno buzz to critical acclaim. Rinocerose’s Jean-Philippe likens his band’s second full-length effort, Music Kills Me, to Andy Warhol’s “Catastrophes”; it’s a neo-disco concept album that might have sounded a bit more relevant in the decadent days of Studio 54. Yes, Music Kills Me is about “death”—or at least that’s what the album’s song titles will have you believe. But for all its references to suicide, funerals and paths to heaven, Music Kills Me is a rather upbeat record. The first single, “Le Summer Rock” (“Rock Is Dying”), is a synth-laden disco-funk workout with a bright, albeit lyricless, hook. The title track fuses a “Hungry Like the Wolf” guitar riff with AC/DC-inspired power chords while the sleazy house track “Dead Flowers” pays multi-layered homage to the Stones. Live flutes float above the bubbly house excursions “It’s Time to Go Now!” and “Resurrection D’Une Idole Pop,” which features sampled vocals by the late Steve Marriot of the Small Faces fame. The songs are scrumptious morsels but the album as a whole is quite redundant, stuffed with P-Funk-lite dressed up in showy French techno.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.