Frànçois & the Atlas Mountains are a French-British pop group combining
indie pop and
folk pop.
History
The band is led by French musician François Marry, who has also been a touring member of
Camera Obscura. Other members also play in Petit Fantôme, Jaune!, Archipel and
Babe.[1] After growing up in
Saintes, and studying at La Rochelle, Marry relocated to Bristol in 2003. He lived in the city for six years.[2][3]
The band's first album was the mostly live The People to Forget, released in 2006 on Bristol's micro label Stitch-Stitch.
The band's second album, Plaine Inondable, was released in 2009 on
Fence Records in the UK and on Talitres in France to critical acclaim, receiving a four star review from The Scotsman.[4]
The band's third album, E Volo Love, was released in 2012 on Domino recordings, and was also positively received, with The Skinny writer Chris Buckle giving it four stars out of five and describing it as "unabashedly romantic...a study in understatement delivered with finesse", and Simon Price in The Independent describing it as "gentle indie-pop jangle with echoes of Afropop".[5][6] The album received a 7/10 rating from the NME.[7]
Marry has also released several
lo-fi tapes and records.