N NAO, Miroir (Mothland) I’ve probably witnessed the song “Miroir” five times seeing N NAO live, but the recorded version is a completely different beast. Live, this song is inexplicably raw, as songwriter Naomie de Lorimier takes us through an intimate journey akin to reading a piece of magical realism. On the recording, the same happens, but with enough off-kilter bells and whistles — drum crashes, hypnotic looped vocals, a flurry of synths — to take you off balance. N NAO’s vocals on this mix feel like she’s singing to you alone in a darkened room floating on a cloud. It’s a whimsical sound ..read more

Alix Fernz, Bizou (Mothland)  When I first heard this debut album by Alix Fernz, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The topsy-turvy atmosphere felt a bit like Captain Beefheart mixed with Devo, and the general wackiness rung chaotic. But on my second listen, I picked out all of the intricacies within the mixes that added to the lunacy: the in-the-red scratchy guitars, the vintage Moog organ samples, the fuzzy screams layered within the vocals, which are apparently sung through an iPhone. An intentionally challenging listen evoking an artist losing his mind in real time, the album throws co ..read more

It’s no secret that you moved here — or choose to keep living here — because of the vast amount of shows that happen in Montreal every week. But maybe you’re craving more curation, a showcase if you will, or maybe you just like being told what to do. And boy howdy do we music journalists love telling people what to do. Worry not, dear live music fans, for we are nearing the perennial eclectic music festival that owns most of Montreal’s nightlife in June. I’m speaking, of course, about Suoni per il Popolo, the only music festival where you will witness scenes like an experimental paint night wi ..read more

The 2024 edition of the POP Montreal music festival is happening deep into festival season, from Sept. 25 to 29, but here they are in May with an exciting lineup reveal. As is the POP way, there are international music legends from a variety of genres in the mix for the festival’s 23rd edition, including prolific folk gospel singer Iris DeMent, funky Cash Money Records godfather Mannie Fresh, new age folk visionary Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Parisian new wave icons Edith Nylon. Connoisseurs of the local scene have a lot to look forward to at POP Montreal 2024, with Stars and the Dears playing ..read more

Sergio Da Silva can’t catch a break. The beloved, curmudgeonly entrepreneur and owner of Quartier Latin show and cocktail bar Turbo Haüs, as well as its recently added le Café Big Trouble, discovered on March 1 that he had some unwelcome new competition. A temporary, White Claw-branded bar and terrasse had been installed directly in front of Turbo Haüs’s entrance. It was part of the city’s Nuit Blanche festivities, that magical winter night when everything stays open late and citizens are encouraged to shake off their seasonal affective disorder by going out and patronizing their favourite hau ..read more

Five years plus a global pandemic is a mighty long time — but all that time between albums hasn’t slowed Corridor’s creative momentum in the slightest. Consisting of Dominic Berthiaume (vocals/bass), Jonathan Robert (vocals/guitar, also known for his solo project Jonathan Personne), Julian Perreault (guitar), Julien Bakvis (drums) and newly minted official member Samuel Gougoux (multi-instrumentalist), Corridor have just dropped Mimi, one of the band’s tightest, strongest and most challenging projects to date.  Released April 26, the five-piece’s fourth album is a jangly, breezy eight-son ..read more

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