Hailing from Melbourne (Australia) Rouge Foncé bill themselves as "dark cabaret rock" and on the second song on their recent single (a lovely little acoustic version of their ditty "The Traveller") they hit all the marks to make that description come true.
It's a tasty bit of noir-gypsy-cabaret-pop that has a sinister heart but a beautiful and wickedly gleeful delivery. The acoustic guitars work well with the piano as the tune gathers energy pushing on to a wonderful fruition. This song is worth downloading all by itself and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
The lead off track, "Devious Eyes", is really quite good but feels less cabaret and more lounge. As soon as the bass kicks in there's a smokey jazz club vibe a la The Doors that rules this song... until the searing guitar takes the forefront intent on proving that the band has a rocknroll soul. I dig "Devious Eyes", and it may be more accessible for some folks, but "The Traveller (acoustic)" is the reason I keep coming back to this release.
