New Music From M For Montreal Festival 2013

M For Montreal is a quirky little affair that has closed the festival season in Canada every late November for the past 8 years. It’s not like most festivals. Firstly, it’s set during the winter so it’s freezing outside (-15 C degrees on the Saturday night) and more interestingly it’s actually closed to the public for the first 2 days – with only a handful of bands performing to select industry professionals from around the world.

It’s essentially a snapshot of new Canadian bands, mostly Montreal based, which the organisers hope to help push on to the rest of the world via small intimate showcases and drunken poutine parties. Delegates come from all over, China, Iceland, Norway, France and the UK (but of course). The second half, the final 2 days of the festival is called M Fest and is open to the public and spread out across many venues around the city. These are the 5 most interesting new Montreal bands I had the pleasure of watching across the entire weekend.

Seoul

Photograph by Ellie Pritts.

9pm at Sala Rossa and Seoul have the honour of playing the very first set of the festival. With only one song up on the interweb to give us a taste of what was to come I was quite excited. The sound is (as my boyfriend describes) “what every band sounds like nowadays”: chilled vibes, cool bass lines, effects on the vocals, soft and easily accessible – inoffensive in other words. What I wasn’t’t expecting though was for four 21-year-olds from Kingston, Ontario to get on stage looking like they could have starred in a Disney teen heartthrob movie. They were the boys next door playing tight polished pop music. It may have been a bit too polished for some but I found their look and sound an interesting change from the normal Montreal lo-fi hipster pop bands we’ve come so accustomed to the city producing.

Black Atlass

One stage, one laptop and one singer looking like a cooler XFactor contestant with ripped skinny jeans. Black Atlass’ singing his style reminds me of the XFactor as well, akin to the fake pop star passion I’ve viewed on the telly so often. I read his bio and realise Montreal native Alex Fleming is 19-years-old, no wonder he looks like he should be on a TV show singing contest. About 80% into the set it starts to dawn on me that the vocals are pretty one dimensional too but what saves Black Atlass is the amazing beats and backing tracks, especially during a track called “Castles” as the samples brought hints of the Pet Shop Boys’ “It’s a Sin” to my mind.

Walter TV

Photograph by Ellie Pritts.

Billed as Mac DeMarco’s other band, Walter TV is essentially the same band but just with musicians on different instruments. Mac is on bass, and Mac’s bass player Pierce McGarry is on guitar and lead vocals. Also originally from Vancouver, just like Mac DeMarco’s other band Makeout Videotape before he went solo. A wall of noise – with two bassists, guitar, drums and a warble effect on the Pierce’s voice throughout – their pure energy and straight up party jams inspire a giant mosh pit and a whole lot of local love. In the most bizarre ending to a set a guy who “just moved here from Edmonton” gets up and dances naked on the stage, then Mac DeMarco (while playing bass) leans over and licks what’s on display before making out with the guy. The song ends and he shouts out to everyone “This is _____(insert name), he just moved here from Edmonton, he’s cool, let’s welcome him” What an introduction to Montreal, eh?

CAMP

Photograph by Chris Clarke/NXNE.

Only a band from Montreal (or possibly Berlin or Brooklyn) would have a shoeless Saxophonist who looks like Jesus dead centre on stage. Of course saxophone seems to be the instrument of choice these days (featuring prominently in live set up from the like of Diana, Pat Jordache, Young Mother – to name a few). I’ve seen these guys before at Pop Montreal and fell in love with their song “Boy Blue”. In typical Montreal-group-sharing-members fashion, the two frontmen of the band can also be found in Pat Jordache’s band, but Karneef, who had been playing drums until a mere few days before, had now quit. This was their first show without a drummer and is little rough around the edges as they played along to hastily made backing track drums. Luckily the hooks could still be heard loud and clear. Sat on his knees, front and centre, is an older bearded man. He’s flailing his arms around in some weird stationary dance to the sooting pop tunes. Again, only in Montreal.

Wake Island

Montreal residents by way of Lebanon and the USA, Wake Island have been on my radar for a while thanks to their excellent song “Submarine”, which is available to download for free on Band Camp. Playing the tiniest (and in my opinion worst – due to small size, low ceiling and no real stage) venues in Montreal L’esco they still manage to pleasantly surprise. With a front row spot, the sound is actually excellent. Crafting brilliantly catchy modern pop music with a ton of electronic gadgets, epic vocals, guitar, bass and live drums (as well as a backing tracked), the quartet could stand their own against the very best of them.