Au Revoir Simone Just Want To Play

words by Janine Trinidad
photos by Randy Cremean

All-girl bands are nothing new: the ’60s produced the Supremes, the ’80s had The Go-Gos and The Bangles, and the ’90s had… well, perhaps a lot of one-hit wonders. These days, as the definition of femininity has changed as much as the music scene, any female band is going to have to set itself apart from the crowd one way or another. Enter Brooklyn-based Au Revoir Simone, who reinvent the girl group for this generation by embracing their femininity and innocence, while also playing up their substantial quirks. Au Revoir Simone’s sound is a little twee and a little chamber rock, but mostly, it’s a whole lot of keyboards. (The three members of the band each play keyboards, with vocals and a drum machine added for good measure.) “That’s sort of the concept for the band,” explains keyboardist and vocalist Annie Hart. “The idea was to play just keyboards because it’s really fun.” That simplicity of purpose is refreshing, but don’t be misled—their sweet and cute image belies pretty serious talent.