Onstage and online, Veronique Diabolique is a family of four French orphans who, following a trail of mysterious pictures, have come to Durham to investigate the disappearance of their fifth sibling, Veronique.

Perhaps as a beacon, maybe just to pass the time, sister Dominique and her three brothers, Didier, Jean-Luc and Solange don S&M attire straight out of Hot Topic, croon woeful melodies inspired by Charles Baudelaire and Jacques Derrida, and end each song with a polite " 'sank you."

Offstage, they'll insist that they're French at heart. But their accents tend to lapse suspiciously.

Vampires, dead poets and doomed relationships turn up throughout Veronique Diabolique's music, but a casual English-speaking listener would probably never know it. The band members write and sing all lyrics in their "native" tongue. Singer Dominique stares intently at the floor, rarely glancing at the audience. And once the group goes on-stage, expect each member to stay firmly planted.

But don't think for a moment that they aren't having fun. They keep their distance in a way that captures the best moments of a few of their more obvious inspirations such as The Cure and Bauhaus. And the rolling guitar riff of "Spleen" is seductive enough to make your head bounce in spite of itself.

When I recently met with the band, all four began the conversation as their European selves. Only sister Dominique managed to maintain the French facade throughout our chat.

N&O: You guys seem to have a stage persona, beyond acting French. What made you decide to adopt this gothic personas?

Dominique: "Well, Jean-Luc here, he has, uh, played in bands in the past and he thought it would be fun to play for Halloween last year."

Solange: "I think this is just part of who we are, you know? I mean, I would dress this way every day if it were possible."

Jean-Luc: "I mean, it's a self-selected group. So the people who come out, they really like it."

Solange: "They love us in Australia." He laughs.

N&O: Your 506 performance is going to be on Valentine's Day. Do you guys have any special plans?

Jean-Luc: "We're doing a very special cover. The cover is 'Love Will... Keep Us Together and Tear Us Apart.' "

Dominique: "'The Captain and Tennille and Joy Division."

Solange: "It won't be strictly a mash-up. It'll be some unholy combination of the two."

N&O: Would you mind giving the gist of a few of your songs?

Dominique: "The song 'Spleen' is a poem by Baudelaire. He talks about the heavy rain bearing down, and being in a cave with bats, and corpses coming up from the ground to drag him into black despair. 'Clarimonde'... is a short story about a priest that falls in love with a vampire. She seduces him on the night he takes his priesthood, and the story is about his double-life."

N&O: Name your favorite albums.

Solange: "It's not favorite, but 'London Calling' by The Clash changed my life."

Dominique: "I'm a huge Throwing Muses fan."

Didier: " 'Treasure' by the Cocteau Twins."

Jean-Luc: "Radiohead, 'O.K. Computer.' "

So if you like dark chocolate, black hearts and slow-dancing in a minor key, Veronique Diabolique might be the unconventional Valentine's Day date you're looking for.

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