Louise Attaque

Louise Attaque is a French chanson/folk rock group founded in 1994. The name means "Louise Attacks" in French and refers to Louise Michel, a 19th-century anarchist, and to the American rock band The Violent Femmes (which loosely translates from French as "violent women"). The Violent Femmes leader, Gordon Gano, produced Louise Attaque's self-titled debut album. Louise Attaque was released in April 1997 to a positive critical response. Despite low initial radio airplay, the reputation of the group spread rapidly, garnering particular praise for its innovative violin-based folk/rock compositions and witty lyrics. Louise Attaque sold 2.5 million copies in France, a record for a French rock album. It took almost three years until Louise Attaque's second album Comme On A Dit was released (in January 2000), again produced by Gordon Gano. The album sold 700,000 copies in France. In 2001, after touring for five months and appearing at various rock festivals, the band split up, explaining that they were temporarily out of inspiration and tired of the hype and pressure surrounding them.