Can any song be made more beautiful if it's sung in French? I'm thinking of "L'avion" by Zachary Richard, or Nina Simone doing "Ne Me Quitte Pas," or a number of tunes by those Serge and/or Charlotte Gainsbourg weirdos.

What I'm not thinking of is Banal, the quartet from Montreal. This is only because, rather than beautiful, Banal's French-language tunes epitomize the genre known as powerviolence in great and furious fashion. Their flurries of dragon-belch tunes are so succinct and angry they make the Minutemen sound like Glazunov's "Russian Funeral March," and you can see for yourself Friday when they headline at New London's Hive Skate Shop — a recent and welcome addition to the area's live music scene. Also on the bill are Intercourse, Mouthbreather and Kidnapped.

Banal, 7 p.m. Friday, Hive Skate Shop, 176 State St., New London; $6 suggested donation for bands;(860) 367-2650.