Fabulously fun, vibrant, feisty, catchy, wittily droll post-punk, new wave and art-punk in this pacy, vivacious sophomore LP by the Montréal collective with themes from mental health, dysfunctional relationships, food to enjoyable elderly activities, with styles reminiscent of The B-52s and Devo. All 10 punchy tracks across 30 minutes are delivered with aplomb precision by this super tight band of Éliane Viens (vocals, synthesizers, percussion, drums), Félix Bélisle (bass, synthesizers, percussion, piano, production), Kenny Smith (drums, guitar), Laurence Anne Charest-Gagné (guitar, percussion, vocals), and Melissa Di Menna (guitar, synthesizers, vocals, percussion). Packed with infectious energetic delivery and playfulness, their work includes polyrhythms, counter-intuitive chord changes, as well as subtle melodic and harmonic dissonance alongside simply banging tunes, and Bélisle’s thrumming bass lines are particularly outstanding. From food-themed silliness of opener Snack City (“Pizza bread bursting out his shirt”), the droll delivery about dysfunctional relationships on Deny (“So here, we are stuck in a bind/ Standing off with your worst against mine”) bouncy riffing on the slightly unhinged Power Snoozer about mental health, the slightly spooky, spacey sound of Princesse sung in French about the autonomization of women, life’s mundanities addressed also in French in the bass and keyboard heavy closer Ketchup, but most of all a wonderful celebration of the elderly on the title track with thrumming bass, dissonent guitar riffs, wonky keyboards and spoken vocals (“Hoping for a win, I’m three dots away /A plushy with a slushy would have made my day /To the left, B4, sixty-two, 4:00 to 9:00, I6, Bingo!”) it’s a joyous burst of calculated chaos and fizzing jest. Brilliant. Out on Bella Union / Mothland.
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