Posted on: October 1, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Lollipop Is Burning Festival / 2006 Lollipop / 25 Tracks / http://lollipoprecords.free.fr / 

Although many individuals will not be familiar with about 40% of the music on this disc due to the fact that Jerry Spider Gang and Petit Vodo have not made it big on American shores yet, the production of this show and the talent of the bands present should be enough to merit picking up an album or two from all of these acts. The DVD starts in a strong way with The Hatepinks (distributed in the States by TKO) with their “Sehr Gut Rock Und Roll”; this roll is continued with “I’m A Divorce”, a sub minute and a half track that has influences ranging from The Vandals and Offspring before the band cuts it off.

To be honest, there are sections on this disc that will not really be that much use to American viewers; as the bands are mostly from France, it should be no surprise that much of the interview sections here are spoken completely in French. I suppose if individuals were really interested in the band they could conceivably look through gestures and see what would be discernible from that, but I could not decipher much of anything. Jerry Spider and has a very vocal style which is mixed with a brand of rock/metal that seems to be more tied to acts like Gluecifer and the Hellacopters than anything else. “Chemicals” is a track that has a very catchy component to it even if one cannot make a connection to the band via their vocals. Something that can be seen as a limitation here is the production values during the solo-friendly Jerry Spider Gang; at times (specifically during “Chemicals”), the solo is barely picked up by the board. Petit Vodo has to be one of the most interesting bands on the Lollipop Is Burning Festival DVD.

This is due to the fact that the band is tremendously influenced by seventies rock, so that a song like “Big Star” has more than a passing similarity in guitars to Ted Nugent’s “Free For All”. Throwing in a harmonica for “Five Men”, the seventies rock comparison holds up; what is really great about the track is that Petit Vodo actually contextualizes the harmonica in a way that does not have it stick out like a sore thumb. By far, it may just be The Briefs that take the day; even through the minor limitations of the sound on the DVD, the band shines through in their pop-punk sound and brilliant technical skill. The ability for the band to come up with something that sounds like The Dickies but fresh in 2006 (or 2004 when this disc was cut) should be enough of a reason to pick up this disc alone. With interesting camera angles and a fun selection of songs, Lollipop is Burning Festival should be a DVD to pick up if individuals are looking for some of France’s greatest exports and one of the most fun United States bands. Hopefully Lollipop will continue to do this show and record it in much the same way.

Top Tracks; The Briefs “Where Did He Go?” / The Hatepinks “Sehr Gut Rock Und Roll”

Rating: 6.5/10

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