Yelle (the last “e” is silent) is not just another hipster chick in leg warmers and lamé (even though she’s partial both). The French electro hip-pop tart’s got the blogosphere appropriately atwitter over her spazzy live performances, aerobics-inspired videos and intentionally low-budget (think cable-access) ’80s steez, despite the fact that she hasn’t even released an album in the States yet.
When, like us, you don’t speak French, Yelle — think Lily Allen’s snark meets M.I.A.’s wardrobe meets Nelly Furtado’s flirt factor — who’s got the makings of a modern-day European Blondie, sounds like she’s just engaging in universal boy-issue lament set to hyper computerized blips and beeps and Casio beats.
But beneath the retro patina and language barrier lay raunchy, NC-17 lyrics about matters of… “size,” (zut alors!), sex toys, and girl-on-girl action, coated with a sweet gloss of poppy saccharine.
After opening for Mika, and dropping her French debut, Pop-Up, she’s about to release her album stateside and go from music blog footnote to center stage when she plays Coachella this spring.
But first: a week-long stint as this week’s MTV Artist of the Week.
Watch the Tecktonik posterchild’s “A Cause Des Garcons” video, Artist of the Week on-air videos, and check out more Buzzworthy coverage of Yelle here and here, because we’re a little obsessed — c’est vrai.