3.15.2007 at Red 7 – SXSW

Prototypes don’t just seem like they’re from another country; it’s more like they’re from another planet. With an amazing brew of New Wave, techno, hip-hop, and (dare I say it) rockabilly elements, these French exports serve up a delicious full course meal of transcendent dance pop in the span of less than a half hour. The hooks to each of the songs are insanely catchy, injecting an IV into the vein which contains nothing short of pure, unfiltered adrenaline. An impressive quality of Prototypes, aside from the obvious caffeinated joy ride of their sound, is that despite the fact that their music is steeped in electronic synth beats, this group is actually a band. They possess an acute ability to perform live instrumentation, a refreshing variation of the sample-based structure of the studio versions that permeate their song catalog, and the array of instruments utilized through the set (from an harmonica to a tambourine, for example) accentuates that they have the potential to experiment outside the electro pop arena. The music is not the only captivating force en-Rapture-ing the audience. Singer Bubble Star struts the stage like a revamped incarnation of Deborah Harry, and the parallels are obvious. She brings a distinctively feminine sense of style to the rock and roll boys club (that French accent doesn’t hurt her sex appeal either), but at the same time she can get down and dirty and sweat profusely along with her male band mates. Star’s enticing looks and indomitable charisma prove to be the only worthy distraction from her band’s infectious groove.

- Justin Thomas