Tahiti 80 Puzzle CD

Tahiti 80: Xavier Boyer (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, bass); Mederic Gontier (guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Sylvain Marchand (piano, keyboards, drums, percussion); Pedro Resende (keyboards, bass, percussion, programming, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Andy Chase (guitar, keyboards); Conway Kuo (violin, viola); Krystof Witek (violin); Garo Yellin (cello); Eric Matthews (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Recorded at Stratosphere Rcecording Studios, New York, New York and Recall Recording Studios, Paris, France between November and December 1998.
This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Personnel: Xavier Boyer (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); Mederic Gontier (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Pedro Resende (vocals, keyboards, percussion, programming); Sylvain Marchand (piano, keyboards, drums, percussion).
When does admiration become just a pose? Everyone is probably familiar with whiny American teenagers trying to sound like cockney punks, Tokyo-based musicians trying to sound like hip-hop "gangstas," and nearly every British guitar band of the '90s trying to sound like The Stone Roses; so here with Puzzle, France's Tahiti 80 seems so enamoured with their musical idols that they can barely voice a personal touch of their own. Yes, the band attempts a mix of twee pop and the British Invasion. Which might look good on paper. Yet time and time again, they only appear to avoid rising above such a mathematical formula and resort to sounding like the Who without any balls. The problem might simply lie in their adulation of such bands. "Easy Way Out" is a bouncy guitar pop song that clearly evokes the more lighthearted side of bands like the Small Faces or Blur. "Made First (Never Forget)" even sounds like I Should Coco-era Supergrass but without the visceral guts keeping its simplicity interesting. However, the most blunt ode to Tahiti 80's idols is obviously "Mr. Davies." Not only does it name-check the core of the Kinks, it religiously follows the third-person characterization that Ray Davies stenciled out without a flinch. It all just sounds -- redundant. Thankfully, there are moments of true effectiveness. There's a rhythmic psychedelia in songs like "Revolution 80" and a true Fountains of Wayne-like jubilation in other songs like "Hey Joe." It's just too bad that these moments are few and far between. Case in point: the dreadful title track. It sounds like a Metallica song taken in a fluttery, birds-chirping mindset. Yikes. Overall, though, where Tahiti 80 and most nostalgic Brit-pop bands seem to bow down to the same British Invasion pulpit, Tahiti 80 chooses to infect it all with more of the twee indie sides of bands like Belle and Sebastian than the perceptive hooks of bands like Creation or the Kinks. Puzzle is merely an album that is half-there, half-not. Which proves that while imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, it might be wise for Tahiti 80 to start insulting the crap out their idols. ~ Dean Carlson
Another prime Euro-pop sensation of blissful harmonies and synth soaked support. Tahiti 80 combine a delight of catchy disco riffs, breathy vocals, and lighthearted innocence. Nothing groundbreaking at the least, as Tahiti 80 are on the same label that at one point featured Swedish popsters The Cardigans. But with its catchy, bouncy ballads and happy-go-lucky presence, Puzzle is a nice collection of pop tunes that would be hard not to smile along with. ~ Mike DaRonco

Debut

Entertainment Weekly (8/4/00, p.86) - "...Parlays their love of '60s American music into songs so odd and cheekily gleeful they could be Mentos jingles..." - Rating: A-
Q (8/01, p.141) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...One of the most amiable indie pop releases of the season..."
Uncut (8/01, p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...This is a meadow of delight for those nostalgic for the too-brief, hazy days of sublime nostalgic pop..."
CMJ (7/00, p.64) - "...Pays homage to the baroque '60s pop they adore...with ice-capped, breathy English lyrics and a curiously weak rhythm section...exceedingly pleasant, mildly gorgeous retroactivity..."
Mojo (Publisher) (10/00, p.111) - "...Singer/songwriter Xavier Boyer, has rediscovered a secret history of rock where harmony, big production and 'bah-bah-bah's rule and every lyric id undertowed by a darkness....Bad sunshine for the soul..."
NME (Magazine) (6/30/01, p.40) - 7 out of 10 - "...Basically, if sunshine could be sold in a jewel case, Tahiti 80 would own the patent..."