Montreal/L.A. bilingual alt-pop singer Maryze and L.A. indie-pop artist and producer Skyler Cocco have teamed up to cover “Cool” by Gwen Stefani. What they’re calling a sapphic fairy tale version of the song from the 2000s — one that’s “ready to take up space in the queer pop world” — is at once modernized and steeped in ’80s nostalgia. Maryze explained the appeal of the Gwen Stefani song. “There’s something about ‘Cool’ that always felt evocative to me. It wasn’t necessarily Gwen’s biggest hit, but the melancholy of a past relationship that didn’t go up in flames — where there’s still a lot o ..read more

The POP Montreal music festival is hosting a fundraiser for Palestine at Casa del Popolo tonight. The event will feature a screening of Sami Alalul’s 22-minute documentary From Beneath the Earth, made in 2017, followed by live music by irl and a DJ set by Badgalquirit. Funds raised from the event will be split between Medical Aid for Palestinians, “which deploys medical supplies, supports health services and ensures the long-term development of healthcare in the occupied Palestinian territories and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon,” and Samar “Summer” Alkhdour, an activ ..read more

After headlining the Osheaga music festival in Montreal last summer, U.S. pop star Billie Eilish will skip the city on her fall tour, which will kick off nearby in Quebec City. As announced today, the Hit Me Hard and Soft tour is scheduled to begin at Centre Vidéotron in Quebec City — her first show in the provincial capital — on Sept. 29. Her forthcoming album of the same name will be released on May 17. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BILLIE EILISH (@billieeilish) Billie Eilish is going to kick off her fall tour in Quebec City, and skip Montreal For more on Billie Eilish ..read more

It’s not often you hear a krautrocky psychedelic jazz-funk band making references to phrases like “tokébec icitte” in their lyrics — but Population II are not your average psychedelic jazz-funk band. The trio, comprised of singing drummer Pierre-Luc Gratton, guitarist/keyboardist Tristan Lacombe and bassist Sébastien Provençal have generated plenty of buzz through their dizzying, jammy, musically complex (and heavily improvisational) tracks, as well as their ferociously energetic and airtight live shows. Their band name comes from Randy Holden’s same-named 1970 psychedelic metal album. Their s ..read more

Justice, Hyperdrama (Ed Banger/Because/Universal) After making an instant-classic debut in 2007 with Cross, Justice have spent years struggling to build on that momentum. Follow-ups Audio, Video, Disco and Woman both failed to show more than just occasional flashes of brilliance. Luckily, the French duo’s new effort is easily their most consistently enjoyable project since Cross. Part of that is down to their tasteful usage of guests: Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, Thundercat, Miguel and Dutch singer Rimon all add their own touch to Justice’s energizing, bass-slappy musical universe. The fact tha ..read more

Some artists never stop challenging themselves with each new release. Annie-Claude Deschênes has done it this time by combining her love of music and gastronomy into a uniquely thrilling body of work. After years of becoming a force to be reckoned with on wax and especially during live shows with her bands Duchess Says and PyPy (pronounced “pie pie”), Deschênes has delivered her debut solo LP, Les manières de table (“table manners” en français). Released digitally on April 5 via Bonsound and Italians Do It Better, with physical editions to follow this Friday (accompanied by a launch show at PH ..read more

As voted by our readers in the Best of MTL readers poll, these are the best LGBT bars and clubs in Montreal. For more results from the Best of MTL, please click here. Best LGBT Bars and Clubs in Montreal 1. Champs Sports Bar View this post on Instagram A post shared by Champs Sports Bar (@champs_montreal) 3956 St-Laurent2. Notre Dame des Quilles View this post on Instagram A post shared by HighTea with Woody Fungi (@fungi_hightea) 32 Beaubien E.3. Club Unity View this post on Instagram A post shared by Karel Chladek (@karelchladek) 1171 Ste-Catherine E.4. Cabaret Mado ..read more

Les Cowboys Fringants announced this evening that they are releasing their new album Pub Royal tonight at midnight. The Montreal band had previously published photos of recording sessions that took place prior to the death of their singer Karl Tremblay, who passed away from cancer at the age of 47 in November. Cowboys Fringants guitarist Jean-François Pauzé wrote a statement on Facebook about the forthcoming album release. “It’s hard to say what state of mind I’m in a few hours before the release of this final album made with Karl. Tangled emotions, I would say. But I think my old friend would ..read more

DahL, That’s It (independent) It’s rare to find a band that sounds and feels completely distinctive, but DahL, an experimental trip-hop/post-punk group from Montreal, is one such band. This debut album nails the darkened and chaotic atmosphere, backed by heavy synth work and sporadic guitar and bass riffs under a blanket of drum machine noise. But the vocals, usually only spoken or quietly sung like a mantra (sometimes as if it’s been put through a dirty mic or hushed megaphone), give the whole album an uncanny-valley feel. These songs seem to follow you, almost like a drugged-out jinn on the ..read more

As voted by our readers in the Best of MTL readers poll, these are the best festivals in Montreal. For more results from the Best of MTL, please click here. Best Festivals in Montreal 1. Montreal International Jazz Festival View this post on Instagram A post shared by Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (@festivaljazzmtl) 2. Just for Laughs (temporarily suspended) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Just For Laughs (@justforlaughs) 3. OSHEAGA View this post on Instagram A post shared by OSHEAGA (@osheaga) 4. POP Montreal View this post on Instagram A ..read more