Nouvelle Vague @ The Liquid Room, 7 Aug

One can't help but wonder if Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux, the creative forces behind Nouvelle Vague, began their collaboration intending to appeal to advertisers worldwide. Their Bossa Nova, calypso and reggae covers of 1980s New Wave tunes have been featured in several adverts and films; the indifferent vocals and Latin beats of songs like I Melt With You seem a perfect accompaniment to flogging cars and mobile phones. Unsurprisingly, before Nouvelle Vague, Collin composed ads for Ford and Cartier, so the band at least comes by their commercial success honestly. The Parisian ensemble, with its steady rotation of chanteuses, has potential for the kind of HR confusion that can only accompany multi-instrumental bands with larger numbers (see Broken Social Scene): sounds great in the studio but live can be rife with cacophony if the group don't gel. Fortunately, their track record thus far shows that this is not the case for Nouvelle Vague. But if you miss them at this gig you're sure to hear them soundtracking the next move Volkswagen make. [Marta Nelson]