Metro Verlaine ties a French post-punk LP to local pickup, vinyl and CD

ÉVREUX, FRANCE — Metro Verlaine are heading into their fourth album with one foot planted firmly in their Normandy home and the other in the dark, romantic world of post-punk, damaged pop and late-night rock ’n’ roll. The Évreux duo of Raphaëlle on vocals and Axel on guitar release RODEORAMA on October 2 through V2 Records, following Cut-Up (2018), Funeral Party (2022) and Pop Sauvage (2024). V2 describes the pair as having formed in 2013 around a shared attraction to post-punk, the CBGB scene and what the label calls “damaged pop.” Metro Verlaine This time, Metro Verlaine push that foundation toward something broader and more cinematic. RODEORAMA was recorded in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and V2 characterizes the new material as more direct while retaining the dark, elegant and emotionally charged character that has followed the band through its earlier records. The album mixes French-language writing with shimmering guitars and influences drawn from 1960s pop, dream pop and psychedelic rock. Metro Verlaine There are ten tracks: “Rodeo,” “Dernier Jour,” “Mon Visage,” “Série Noire,” “Donostia,” “À L’envers,” “Jaguar,” “Bye Bye Rimbaud,” “Les Sirènes” and “Tempête.” Three — “Rodeo,” “Dernier Jour” and “À L’envers” — are already available through the band's Bandcamp preorder, giving listeners an early look at where Metro Verlaine are taking the record. Metro Verlaine The physical campaign is also tied unusually closely to the band's hometown. Alongside the standard 12-inch vinyl (€25) and CD (€15) editions, Metro Verlaine are offering a special Évreux local-pickup version of the LP. Instead of simply collecting it from a shop, buyers choosing that option are being promised a special pickup event where they can receive the record and meet the band. Metro Verlaine That hometown connection carries straight into release day. Metro Verlaine currently list an October 2 show at Brasserie Spore in Évreux, followed by dates in Strasbourg, Nancy, Reims, Lille, Paris, Lausanne and Lyon during October, with further French dates in November and Berlin scheduled for April. Metro Verlaine For a band that began with an obsession with the darker side of rock culture, RODEORAMA doesn't appear interested in abandoning that identity. Instead, Metro Verlaine are widening the frame around it: French lyrics, psychedelic color, dream-pop atmosphere and a more cinematic approach built around the core chemistry of Raphaëlle and Axel. Metro Verlaine — RODEORAMA V2 Records · October 2, 2026 Listen / preorder RODEORAMA on Metro Verlaine's Bandcamp