Les Wampas

Les Wampas, formed in 1983 around Didier Wampas, still charge ahead full throttle, between punk rock, alternative rock and bursts of psychobilly. Their story, made of biting guitars and choruses to shout along to, mixes humour, self-mockery, wry tenderness and clear-eyed anger. On 25 March 2026 at Stereolux Nantes, the band came to promote Tempête, tempête, their fourteenth album produced by Lionel Limiñana and mixed by Nicolas Quéré, the follow-up to Sauvre le monde.

On stage, “L’avocat” often opens hostilities, sharp and upfront. “L’amour c’est comme le tour d’Italie” slows the tempo and lets Didier’s inhabited voice breathe. “Frontignan Blues” reveals a more delicate side, while “Les vieux à guitare” has fun with generations sizing each other up. “J’aurais moins mal” slides into a post-punk melancholy with shoegaze overtones, then the riffs kick back in with “Les sabotiers” or “Samson.” The title track, “Tempête, tempête,” lines up backing vocals, a solo and major chords in service of a melody that sticks.

Forty years on, Les Wampas play straight, without affectation, with that knack for words that hit the mark. Committed without hammering rhetoric, they favour raw energy, cutting riffs and instinctive dancing. In Nantes you find that blunt, joyful way of going at it, delivered by a band that hasn’t put their guitars away.