We're not too enthusiastic about French indie's current flavour of the month, The Dø, back from last weekend's Eurosonic festival to blanket media coverage and radio playlisting in France.
By contrast, we'd much rather rave about The Dodoz (right), who even by their name alone are twice the band that The Dø are. We don't have to cut and paste obscure letters to write their nom de rock, or worry if we're pronouncing it correctly. And that 'z' must count for something too.
From Toulouse, they make a joyous indie-punk-pop racket. The foursome first came to prominence last September when they supported Siouxsie at her album showcase in (of all places) the Eiffel Tower.
Since then they've been snapped up by Nude Records (home of Suede) and their first single will be released in the UK in March. 'Do You Like Boys?' features lead singer Geraldine answering her own question in unequivocal fashion: "I HATE BOYS!" Let all French pop singles in 2008 be as glorious as this.
Tonight in the French capital The Dodoz are supporting those irritating English airplay-squatters The Hoosiers (bleurgh) at La Maroquinerie. Fortunately, in February they'll have better luck with their headliners, for they'll be opening for Babyshambles (whose 'Shotters Nation' was a fine album) in Paris and Lyon. After that, their own headline shows and world domination.
No news yet of Irish releases or dates for The Dodoz; we'll pass on any info ASAP. In the meantime, have a listen to some tracks on their MySpace page. Here they are on video, performing 'Do You Like Boys?' live. Just give them 30 seconds to get ready, okay?