Marianne Dissard's French Connection

Marianne Dissard sings torchy cabaret pop in French. Her husband, Naim Amor, sings broody ballads in a richly accented French. Their warm Gallic groove picks up traces of Tucson twang -- the duo lives in Arizona. Add to that the gentle influence of Joey Burns, the Calexico vocalist-guitarist who produced their records. It's music that's flush with bluesy overtones and a sultriness that doesn't veer into lounge-cheese territory.

The best way to keep the cheese in check is to aim for a sound that's pristine and moody, the Toulouse-born Dissard says. And she took her cue from Howe Gelb. She first met the musician in 1994 when she was working on a documentary of Gelb's band, Giant Sand. "It was the most amazing way to find out how to put a song together," she says. "I learned song lyrics don't have to make any sense. I learned to de-complexify my French. (Gelb) has such a way of twisting the language and that was a relief for me."

She says it was a respite from her schooling in France, when proper use of the language was a must. Still, her music is rooted in her homeland. "I make reference to the '60s French pop that I grew up with, but transcribing it here is something of a pose," she says. "I feel more French doing it here than doing it in France."

But she says there's no irony or pointed comment in her creations: they are simply the result of a French woman soaking up her Arizona surroundings.

Marianne Dissard and Naim Amor are at Zaphod Beeblebrox, 27 York St., 8 p.m. tonight. Special guest: The Empiricals. $8.

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