Faucheuse: Bordeaux Adult Oriented D-Beat Returns With Comme Un Poignard

Besides countless demos, niche labels, and bands self-releasing their own records in small runs, I’ve always kept an eye on a couple of established imprints that consistently put out things that fall right into my zone of interest. There are DIY punk labels that specialize in a very narrow orbit of subgenres, and then there are others that don’t really care about a specific sound as long as the music is good and it has passion (yeah, kind of a Kurt Cobain quote there).

Symphony of Destruction, based in the countryside of Brittany, has been one of my favorite labels for a while now, releasing outstanding punk records with great visual identity, including their self screen-printed covers and amazing attention to detail when it comes to lyric-sheets and booklets.

French band Faucheuse debuted with a great demo tape in 2023, followed by their album Rêve Électrique in 2024. I couldn’t be happier that the label sent me an advance listen and asked me to premiere their new album Comme Un Poignard (which translates to “Like a dagger”). Coming like a dagger through the heart (duh!), the record is another surprisingly emotional, introvert and electrifying take on what is usually a fairly rigid kängpunk sound, and I’m sure it will land on many older punks’ end-of-year lists in 2026.

The band humorously describe themselves as “adult oriented d-beat,” and as I find myself feeling more and more adult these days, it’s no surprise I love what they’re doing. I hope this interview with their drummer Luc sparks interest among more people… even younger ones. I’m a huge fanboy of Luc’s drumming style, as he’s been involved in many great bands over the years and also has a deep passion for analogue records. Unfortunately, the other band members were too busy to join us for this interview.

We’re not into gatekeeping, so let’s start with the basics and introduce the band for those who might not know anything about Faucheuse yet. What brought you together, and what does being in a DIY punk band mean to you?

We’ve all known each other for a long time and have played together in bands prior to Faucheuse. Shiran (guitar) used to be in a d-beat punk band called Gasmask Terrör with me, and during the Covid crisis he got the itch to start a fast hardcore band again. He and Stéphane (bass) started writing material and asked me if I was interested in joining on drums.

Émilie had left Bombardement in 2019 due to serious vocal cord issues, but Shiran suggested we try her out on vocals. She’s a good friend and was itching to try singing in a band again, but the challenge for her was not to scream like she used to in order to preserve her vocal cords. That was a gamble, because this music genre requires energy in the vocal department. She’s super talented and managed to make it work wonderfully if you ask me. Sure, it’s not your standard brutal crust vocals or whatever, but it actually gave the band a somewhat unique direction.

To me, being in a DIY punk band means doing things your own way with like-minded people, free from rock’n’roll conventions, sponsorships, contracts, monetary claims, and whatnot. Plus, having a sense of belonging to a very special worldwide underground community.

You come from Bordeaux, which is known for its d-beat bands, and you also share some history and ties to other bands. Can you tell us a bit about the Bordeaux scene? And was there any proper d-beat in the city before bands like Gasmask Terrör formed in the 2000s?

Bordeaux being a “d-beat haven” is a myth! Nobody cares about “d-beat” here save for a handful of people. I often joke about the fact that NOBODY would show up at a “D-Beat Night” here (and I actually have perfect proof of this because it happened once, hahaha).

The best Dis- band in town, Distance (recently featured here), is not even d-beat. Haha. Check them out, though… they’re good!

Maybe the number of d-beat bands per capita is slightly higher than anywhere else in France, but that’s because the genre is nowhere near as popular as Oi! or post-punk in this country. This town is small and the scene is very inbred. Take the same ten people and you have 20 different bands.

I don’t remember any proper d-beat band here before Gasmask Terrör, but there is a long lineage of fast hardcore, thrash, crust, grind, or powerviolence since the ’90s, so the harder edge of punk was always well represented in Bordeaux, I guess.

Your previous album was called Rêve Électrique, and now on Comme Un Poignard you have songs about short circuits, sparks, lightning, etc. It seems like you’re big fans of Nikola Tesla, right? What other influences shaped this record?

We live by the Diamond Head song “It’s Electric”! Hehe.

As for musical inspiration, the four of us have very eclectic taste, and I think the idea with Faucheuse is to let some non-punk influences find their way into the songwriting. We enjoy a wide array of music genres; be it classic rock, ’70s hard rock, death metal, funk, soul, Japanese city pop, electronic music, you name it.

There are tiny bits of these influences thrown into our hardcore punk. In our twisted minds, we would love to pretend we’re a haphazard mix of Totalitär, Deep Purple, and Blondie. Which of course we’re not.

At first it reminded me a bit of bands like Auktion and Black Panda, but there’s clearly much more going on, and the new album feels really original and creative. Did you have a clear vision for the band’s trajectory from the start, or has it been more of a natural progression, reinventing the process with each new record?

I think from the moment Émilie joined the band, the idea was not to stick to a strict formula and to allow unconventional ideas to chime in.

Can’t say we had a clear vision of what we were going to sound like in the beginning, so this is pretty much a natural progression. One thing we had in mind, though, was to have the bass upfront and busy. That’s why we decided from the very start not to add a second guitarist. Stéphane is really good at his instrument, and the bass stands out predominantly and almost acts like a second guitar in Faucheuse.

I’ve always been interested in giving more space to bands that don’t sing in English, and I feel like Faucheuse wouldn’t sound the same if the lyrics weren’t in French. Do you think English fits better for the kind of “war is bad” themes, while French feels like the more natural language when expressing more personal ideas like mental pressure, self-doubt, alienation, or your relationship with your city? Does the language change the rhythm or emotional delivery of the vocals?

I don’t think a language in particular fits specific topics or emotions. But singing in your native tongue makes it sound more natural and is so much more effective and convincing in conveying thoughts, that’s for sure.

From a musical standpoint, French is more intricate than English and may be less prone to rock music as a whole, so it requires more thought to adjust and make it sound good. At this point I can’t see myself playing in a band with English lyrics anymore (unless the singer is a native English speaker, of course).

I’ve always been interested in international hardcore punk, and the tradition of singing in your own language gives bands a strong identity and a unique sound. Listen to any classic band from the ’80s, be it Mellakka, Olho Seco, Siekiera, or Wretched, and you can immediately tell where they’re from by the sound of the vocals alone. And I’m convinced none of them would sound half as good had their lyrics been in English.

It’s great to see a lot of bands getting back to singing in their own language. Decolonize punk!

I have huge admiration for your incredible collection of punk, metal, d-beat, and Japanese hardcore records. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on how people consume music today, with all the digital and streaming platforms, and what you see as the positives and negatives of releasing punk music on vinyl and tapes nowadays?

I’m sure my bandmates think otherwise, but I’m such a boomer when it comes to these things. I feel like I live in a totally different universe from newer generations.

Physical media has become a niche, but it’s still prevalent in specific subgenres like metal and punk, which I’m grateful for. I don’t use any streaming apps and don’t feel the need to. However, I’m not going to lie, I really appreciate the availability and convenience of online music, and I do use Bandcamp and YouTube a lot to check out old or new bands.

My favorite way to discover music is still good old mixtapes on cassette. I like to be surprised the old-school way, free from any algorithm. If someone reading this is into swapping mixtapes, I’m game—hit me up!

I’ve written about many of Symphony of Destruction’s releases, and Jon is not only doing a great selection when choosing which DIY punk bands and records to release, but they also look amazing with the screen-printed covers and all that. I know you also care a lot about visual identity, typography, and design. How important is that side of things for Faucheuse?

We spend a lot of time discussing visual matters, it is undoubtedly an important part of the band’s identity. We love to nerd out about design, photography, and typography!

I usually take care of most of the visual aspects, but this time around we hired the talented Aritz Aranburu (Flash, Oki Moki, Arrotzak, Gizon Berria…) to draw the cover art for the new LP because we love his work. Plus he’s Basque, which makes even more sense since all four members of Faucheuse grew up on the French side of the Basque Country before we moved to Bordeaux; a mere two-hour drive north.

Members of the band are also involved in Alarme! Fest, which you’re playing this year alongside some great bands. Can you tell us a bit more about the festival and also mention some other good DIY fests people could check out in France?

Stéphane and I (Luc) are involved in Alarme! Fest, which was initially a one-off event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our other band Bombardement. The experience was so fun and rewarding last year that we decided to organize a second edition in 2026 by popular demand.

Booking it was a tad more headache-inducing than last year due to the insane number of other fests happening around the same time, so many bands were already booked elsewhere, etc. But we’re psyched to have come up with an interesting and slightly more diverse line-up this time around.

Interestingly enough, just like last year, two of the foreign bands on the bill happen to be Finnish (including G.A.Z.E., who were featured in DIY Conspiracy recently). For some reason the Finnish scene has been following us closely lately, so to speak. And we love that!

Anyway, it’s a small one-day open-air fest in the coolest location right by the river, taking place on May 23. Follow our Instagram page (@alarme.fest) for info and updates.

Other DIY fests I would recommend in France include Ol’ Dirty Beat Fest (Brittany), Kick Rock Fest (Saint-Étienne), Hold Up (Toulouse), and L’Ouïe Pleure (near Lille, never attended but it sounds like a great event from all accounts), and probably more that I’m forgetting.

The political discourse in France has become increasingly polarized recently, especially after the far-right attack in Lyon, which resulted in antifascists being framed as the violent side rather than acting in self and community defense. How has this event changed the narrative in the media and in French society?

The Lyon incident was a godsend for the far-right to strengthen the recent media narrative that’s been turning everything left-wing into evil and “fascist” in the eyes of the audience.

In the past few years, fascists and the alt-right have been really good at blurring the lines, often by reappropriating left-wing speech and aesthetics and twisting them into their own. It’s insane and it fucks with people’s brains, which is obviously their purpose.

In recent years, the ruling class has been controlling the mainstream media, with billionaires now owning many of the most popular TV channels, publishing companies, etc., enforcing their far-right agenda step by step. This was greatly helped by the government in power.

President Macron, formerly a banker and friend of the ruling elite, and his government have done everything to help RN (Rassemblement National, the main fascist party, formerly named Front National) in their endeavor to de-demonize their party.

The fear of the main left-wing party (LFI) winning the next presidential election propels their urge to discredit it, and the left in general, in the eyes of the people by any means necessary. It’s scary because it works.

The world feels pretty bleak these days, and it often seems like people have been stripped of all their agency when everything is decided by geopolitics, Big Tech, and authoritarian leaders. What do you think could be the spark that ignites meaningful change?

I genuinely have no idea what could spark a global change at this point. I’m just a dumb punk drummer, not a very smart geopolitician.

The old motto “Act locally, think globally” still strikes me as relevant. Start with yourself, learn from your mistakes, strive to be a better person, be kind to others, and treat people the way you want to be treated. Get involved in your local community. Don’t support evil corporations (legal or not).

I concur, it’s really hard to keep the faith given the current state of the world.

Comme Un Poignard is available on vinyl from Symphony of Destruction Records, alongside many other excellent releases. In North America, the record will be available through Blackwater Records.