French Cuffs
Audio By Carbonatix
The founding members of Denver band French Cuffs are not quite sure how they met. Singer Ashley Niven and drummer George Horn have known each other for so long, and crossed paths so often while playing the same local gigs, that their initial meeting has been lost to time.
However, anyone who talks to the group for five minutes could guess that they were all brought together by their passion for rock music. French Cuffs’ members are not the type to hide who they are or be bashful about what they love, and their fierce authenticity shines through the band’s fresh take on the genre.
The group originally formed in 2019. “We were all in a lot of other people’s bands at the time,” Horn recalls. “There was not a ton of opportunity for us to… produce this sound and style specifically.”
“We were so sick of playing the way that other people wanted us to play,” Niven adds.“And George and I had similar tastes in music, so that’s really how the band got started.” In time, bassist Tim Philpott and guitarist Connor Terrones would also join the lineup.
French Cuffs
Fueled by a love for outfits like The Pixies and Nirvana, French Cuffs developed its own distinct, gritty sound that remains a constant throughout their discography while they journey across varied subgenres. Although the range in the band’s style may seem to make for a difficult writing process, a big part of French Cuffs’ outlook on production is keeping the development of each song brief, fresh and fun.
“If something is becoming a giant pain in the ass to write, it might not be worth the time,” Horn explains. “A lot of our best stuff comes quicker. Sometimes stylistically [our music] is a little all over the place… But since it’s us playing it, it sounds like us, so we can kind of do whatever we want.”
“There’s very few times where we’re writing something and someone says, ‘This isn’t a good fit for us,’” Terrones adds. “We’re pretty open to whatever’s going to be a good song.”
French Cuffs’ debut album, Half Nice, which was released earlier this week, is composed exclusively of good songs, and you can hear it at the Skylark Lounge for a release show on Friday, May 15. Lead single “Give Up” took about twenty minutes to write, but it’s a band favorite for a reason. It’s an explosive showcase of each musician’s individual talents, colliding to create an irresistible rock anthem.
The album captures emotions ranging from anger to whimsy to yearning, but Niven’s lyrics explore a common theme. “It’s [about] trying to understand other people, and how people are always saying the opposite of what they mean,” she explains. “A lot of my songs are about hiding from yourself, self-discovery, and continuing to ask yourself questions about who you are and who other people are.”
French Cuffs
No song explores that concept more than “Sorry”, where Niven reflects on the ways people present themselves with cool humor and hard-won wisdom. Other singles include “Mandy”, an account of Niven’s dubious session with a New York psychic, and “Mona Lisa”, which laments the endless cycle of trying and failing.
“I started that one as a teenager… I just never made it work when I did it by myself,” Terrones says of the latter track. “So at some point I brought it in and asked, ‘Do you guys want to try?’ And it turned out great.”
The members agree that this is the best work they’ve made. “In terms of the production and the recording process, we really got that dialed in,” Terrones says. “I’ve played in rock bands my entire life, and this is easily the most high-fidelity rock album I’ve ever been a part of.”
In striving to create unique music and release it into the wild, the members are declaring that they will not hide themselves or their art away, even when it’s tempting to. “The hardest part of all this is just committing to doing it,” Horn says. “I think about how many great songs are just sitting on hard drives somewhere… In theory, you could mess with this stuff forever, but no one would ever hear it.”
Niven agrees. “You can’t be too precious with anything. You just have to make it and keep going and let it go. Let it be what it is.”
French Cuffs album-release show with Halle Tomlinson and The Etiquettes, 8 p.m. Friday, May 15, Skylark Lounge, 140 S Broadway. Get tickets at skylarklounge.com.
