What You Need to Know About The French In Texas and Francois Lagarde
The French in Texas is an indie pop band from Leeds, England, formed around 2015. The name Francois Lagarde is closely tied to the project as the primary songwriter, vocalist, and frontman. Their sound sits somewhere between dream-pop and melancholic indie, with layered instrumentation and Falco-fronted vocals that have drawn comparisons to bands like Beach House and Cigarettes After Sex, though they've carved out their own space in the genre. If you're looking to access their music, the most straightforward route is through major streaming platforms. Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music all carry their catalog. I found that Spotify's algorithm actually does a decent job of surfacing their deeper cuts if you start with their more popular tracks like "Shame" or "Drowning." The band's discography is compact enough that you won't spend forever digging. Their debut EP "Shame" came out in 2019 and is where most people should start. It established the signature sound — reverb-drenched guitars, steady drum machines, and Lagarde's baritone delivery. Following that was their album "Fever" in 2021, which refined things further. Most fans and critics agree that "Fever" represents their peak, though some argue the later material got a bit too polished for its own good. I personally think the earlier rawer recordings have more character, but that's a preference thing.
Download options exist through platforms like Bandcamp and iTunes, where you can purchase individual tracks or full albums in MP3 or lossless formats depending on the service. Bandcamp tends to be the best value if you're a fan who wants to support the artist directly — they often have exclusive tracks or limited vinyl pressings that don't show up elsewhere. I ran into an issue a while back when trying to source a specific demo track that was only floating around on YouTube in terrible audio quality. The workaround was checking the band's Instagram Stories archives and their official Discord server, where Lagarde occasionally drops unreleased snippets and live session recordings. Not everything is properly catalogued across the streaming platforms, so if you're a serious collector, those social channels and Bandcamp are worth monitoring regularly. One thing beginners miss is that Francois Lagarde has done significant production work outside of The French in Texas. He's contributed to other projects and remixes that sometimes get lumped into his discography on streaming services. If you're building a comprehensive library, keep an eye out for credits — it helps separate his solo work from collaborative efforts. The boundary between his solo output and the band project can get blurry on platforms like Spotify, where they're sometimes listed under slightly different names or with inconsistent metadata.
The main limitation with The French in Texas is availability of physical media. They're not on a major label that can push wide distribution of vinyl or CDs, so stock tends to be inconsistent. I've seen prices for original pressings of "Fever" spike on secondary markets because demand outstrips supply. If you want physical copies, your best bet is direct from Bandcamp when they run sales or to check Discogs for used copies, though patience is required since restocks are unpredictable. For casual listening, streaming is perfectly adequate and honestly what most people end up doing anyway. Their newer releases have shown some shift toward a more synth-forward direction, which splits the fanbase. Some longtime listeners prefer the guitar-heavy early material while others appreciate the evolution. It's worth experiencing both eras to get the full picture of what the project is about.
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