When the French Kicks kicked off their career in the late ‘90s, the New York music scene was just starting to rise from the dead. Soon, acts like the The Strokes, Interpol and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would focus the music world’s attention here in a way not seen since CBGB’s 1970s heyday. Before those bands became internationally-known, the Kicks shared bills with many of them at downtown institutions like the Mercury Lounge, Luna Lounge (relocated to Brooklyn) and Brownies (now bar Hi-Fi).

But if The Strokes can be seen as this decade’s Ramones (epitomizing New York cool) and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs this generation’s Blondie, (complete with fashion plate front woman), the French Kicks wound up more like, say, The Dictators, gaining a certain level of name recognition in their hometown, but limited success elsewhere.

So, why didn’t they make it as big as those other bands? Some of it’s luck or perhaps it had something to do with the French Kicks being self-described homebodies who never really considered themselves part of a movement. “We’ve always been in our own world,” says singer Nick Stumpf.  “We didn’t do much on the scene in terms of going out a lot at night in New York. We’re somewhat domestic when we’re home and not on tour.”

While the Brooklyn quartet surely didn’t plan it that way, the lack of initial success had an upside in the sense that it allowed the band to evolve and find its own niche. The Kinks were always a big influence, and the group’s latest album, “Swimming,” is the latest step in the band’s transition from “You Really Got Me” to “Waterloo Sunset.”  

To celebrate the release, the band is revisiting the Mercury Lounge for a three-week residency (April 1, 18 and 16). Stumpf talked to us about the shows, the evolution of the band’s music and the current state of the New York scene.

You guys started off as a garage rock band, but with each successive album you moved further away from that into more of a pop direction. Why?
From the beginning the whole thing was very much an experiment. We were trying things out. At the beginning, when we were younger and drunker, louder sounds appealed to us more. It’s always been about experimenting with sounds and combinations of sounds, but your tastes naturally evolve.

Do you ever miss just rocking out like you did in the old days?
Yeah, sometimes. But if we missed it a lot we would just do it.

You got started during an exciting time for music in New York. Did you feel like you were part of something big that was happening?  
When we started the band we had a feeling of "everything is such shit let’s try to do something good." Those other bands may have had a similar feeling. At the time, there was a palpable sense of people trying to make something cool happen in a void where there wasn’t much of it.

Back then, you frequently were compared to The Strokes, Interpol and The Walkmen. Do you feel like that grouping hurt you by giving people a false impression of what you're about?
I do. I guess it works both ways. If people are provoked to listen to you for any reason and they like it and stick around that’s great. But people are listening with a filter. [They’re thinking] “How good is this band at fitting into category they’re supposed to fit into?” You get graded on weird stuff, as if you’re in a competition you had not entered. We had to get out from under that. When “Trial of the Century” came out, it made people realize we were doing something of our own and not making the same kind of music as other people.  

What do you think of today’s New York music scene?
There’s a lot going on. Grizzly Bear is great. So are Animal Collective and Beirut. I feel like it’s gotten past people trying to be cool. The music being made now seems much more to be about music and art rather than trying to have a look.

Your new album is called Swimming. Why?
It’s somewhat abstract. We were trying to come up with something that spoke to various themes on the record but not overtly. To us, there are a lot of images provoked by that word. You can think of swimming as an activity that’s light and pleasurable, but it also hints at a struggle.

To celebrate the release, you're playing at the Mercury Lounge three Tuesdays in a row. Why do that instead of one big album release party?
We’re trying to introduce new stuff to people, so it’s good to be able to do that over a period of time. We want to make sure that everyone who wants to has the opportunity to come. It’s also a fun way to do it. We’ll do a different set each night, play some covers, have some friends play with us and DJ. We’ll sort of curate the night.

French Kicks play April 1, 8 and 15 at Mercury Lounge