POP Montreal: Ten of The Best

-
Photograph by Ro Cemm

Pop Montreal is the dream festival scenario for punters in a lot of ways. Over five nights, roughly four hundred acts are hosted in venues amongst the city’s charming sprawl. A lot of these are in or very close to the creative enclave of Mile End, where you can easily lose hours meandering in and out of cafes, record stores and vintage shops before the live music even gets going. There is a noticeable lack of tourists so you feel you are experiencing this beguiling city as a native, and also have the rare experience of getting into shows without much hassle.

Montreal’s status as a hub of musical creativity over the past fifteen years or so has grown exponentially, as ever larger numbers of artists incubated within its neighbourhoods come to international acclaim. The late 90’s Constellation scene was kicked off by God Speed You Black Emperor!, another wave of attention followed Arcade Fire’s soar to global acclaim and now Grimes is getting us all hyped, but these are just universally recognised flares that have shot out of an exceptionally fertile and very varied musical populace.

Spending time in the city and talking to musicians, it’s clear to see why Montreal is so incredibly fecund. Artists flock here from all over Canada due to low rents, generous Quebecois art grants and the draw of so many other creatives to collaborate with. This peaceful city also experiences harsh winters which leaves people with little else to do but stay in and create. The DIY mentality, born of noise foundations, allows for freer experimentation where acts can gestate or even have full careers shielded from the industry glare that can prove deeply unhelpful for nascent talents. And it is to those artists we have decided to dedicate our coverage, those from Canada and beyond.

Valleys

DIY boy/girl outfit Valleys’ set has a dreamy, sparkly grunge feel overall but is further enlivened by hints of noise, drone and decent thuds of bass, with occasional mesmerising guitar lines. Alternating lead vocals are underscored by the synths, effects-laden guitar and keys of a band still very much finding their live feet whilst flashes of confidence help establish them as a band we should be keeping our collective eyes on.

DIIV

The Brooklynites took to the stage looking a little like lost schoolboys and bragging about having stolen a case of beer the last time they played this venue. They also complain of feeling like shit. Thankfully the set that follows utterly undermines this statement. They don’t even really seem to be trying as their assured playing of fuzzily warm, softly melodic, post-rock songs envelope the crowd. Following the release of acclaimed record, Oishin, it’s great to see them live and have expectations surpassed.

Myths

Another Canadian two-piece, Myths open for Grimes. Leif Hall and Quinne Rodgers are swathed in glimmering technicolour robes for their performance which is remarkably well-executed for an act that could be an utter shambles in less talented hands. Their tracks layering a range of yelping, chanting and singing over dark, scuzzy, industrial noise. The combination is exhilirating and as they leap around the space their figures are hypnotising.

Elite Gymnastics

The brainchild and solo project of James Brooks, Elite Gymnastics, although not Canadian embody the experimental, DIY Montreal spirit perfectly. He opens with a cover of Spice Girls’ ‘Say You’ll Be There’ for which he’s joined on stage by Majical Cloudz. With self-edited visuals of forest animals and karaoke style lyrics bouncing behind him the set gets even more unpredictable. Brooks has no will to keep any sort of fourth wall intact, not helped by occasional equipment fails, which means he has to project his Ableton set up onto the back of the space, and his almost antagonistic but self-deprecating stage patter is at times confusing although always comical. The show contains flashes of brilliance. A spoken word piece is one highlight, the other the recently released Adult Swim single, ‘Andreja 4-Ever’.

Merchandise

Even though these guys have played together in some way for the past seven years they have been fixed in the eye of an industry hype storm in recent weeks but thankfully these three Floridian post-punks are a solid unit and don’t seem in any way cowed by what could seem a pressured situation. That they are skilled musicians with a wealth of experience is instantly obvious. Guitarist David Vassolotti plays exquisitely and vocalist Carson Cox is a true provacateur, an insanely charismatic lead. His deep voice seductive, his stance intense, occasionally reminding you of reversely aging man-child Benjamin Button, as his boyish looks contrast with contorted posturing by the mic. At other times he louchely strides through the crowd. This is his dominion. We merely get to be seduced.

Metz

Toronto punks Metz, recently signed to Subpop, have also been inducing a hefty amount of excited chatter in past weeks and proved to be very worthy of this intense interest. They are a deeply satisfying, loud noisy band to encounter. The rhythms are engaging and vocals fixate as they flex between screaming and talking. Sick.

Tops

The intimate Arbutus loft bedecked with soft toned materials, glowing with washed out pink light and filled with friends and label mates for Tops’ show. This setting really suits their comforting but raw nostalgic sound. Their charming record comes to life brightly but still keeps its dreamscape tinge. Jane Penny’s lead vocals are a particular delight live.

Mozarts Sister

Montreal’s Caila Thomson-Hannant, aka Mozarts Sister, was a solo act live until fairly recently, now bringing a bassist along to share the stage. Thomson-Hannant’s vocal range and silky tone have always been remarkable, and early tracks showed much promise, so it’s especially wonderful to see her now developing prodigious song-writing talents. Her production skills have also been honed with beats and looping manipulated deftly for the most part, but it is still her angelic voice that is most impressive live.

Headaches

Another local solo act but a purely electronic one this time, Landon Speers produces a well-executed chopped and screwed set as Headaches, one that builds engagingly and sweeps in lush lyrical refrains. He also deftly drops well chosen piano and organ samples amongst harsher beats and more random liquid-sounding effects. His show keeps the crowd fully engaged as it switches from the contemplative to a banging club feel. Another act to look out for should he head our way.

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan

You could never accuse Yamantaka // Sonic Titan of a lack of ambition. After having their debut record YT: ST shortlisted for the Polaris Prize (eventually losing out to Feist), the band put together a 33 minute rock opera. With symbolism in the number, the first section of the startling performance fuses Japanese Noh, prog-pop and stoner metal to tell the story of ‘Brothersister’. The live show isn’t the kind of thing you see every day, and we can only hope that the UK will have the chance to catch the band in full effect sooner rather than later.