Lysistrata

Whoever said that was rock was dead hasn’t heard Lysistrata, a young band from the West Coast. We’re not talking about California here, but about Charente-Maritime, a region on the West Coast of France where this three-piece band was created in 2013. To find out who they are and what they do, the first modern impulse is to check out their Facebook page, with which you’re more likely to have a laugh than to read true facts. In the contacts section, they give a phone number which actually belongs to the national unemployment agency. The band members section humorously lists a French politician and a former TV host, who obviously aren’t in the band.

The real boys in Lysistrata are Max Roy (bass player and singer), Théo Guéneau (guitar player and singer) and Ben Amos Cooper (drummer and singer). All of them are in their early 20s. They have won several prizes awarded by professionals in the French music industry (Prix Ricard S.A Live Music 2017, Prix du Jury des Inouïs 2017) and were selected in the FAIR program, which helps a dozen rising bands in their early careers each year. Last summer, they had the honor of being photographed by Hedi Slimane while they were performing a loud, fiery show at Rock en Seine festival, near Paris. Following the footsteps of their all-time heroes (Sonic Youth, At The Drive-In, Fugazi…), their amazing live energy is reflected on their first album, The Thread, released last October. Get ready for a thunderstorm.