The QUB musique playlist of January 27, 2023

UPDATE DAY

What to listen to through all the news? Stéphane Plante and Mélissa Pelletier from QUB musique point out 5 essentials!

Cosmology – Dumas ****

It was without realizing it that Dumas started working on Cosmologiewith his running companion and friend, director Philippe Brault. Conversations quickly became encounters around Dumas' models, and these, electro-pop songs that point a magnifying glass to the present. It is this very natural creative thread that we follow on Cosmologie. We could already feel it when listening to his instrumental project with a “grunge of the future” flavor, Axlaustade, alongside Francis Mineau and Jonathan Dauphinais: the 43-year-old artist gives himself more freedom to create outside his frames. Far from being pompous, Cosmologyis distinguished by a skilful and confident simplicity. And confirms, by the way, that Dumas always knows how to catch his ear and tap his feet. Some proofs, notably, in the catchy rhythm of Leitmotiv and the groovy intro of Movement. Despite the existential questions that run through the lyrics co-written with Jonathan Harnois, the album is lulled here and there by a warm and beneficial breeze, which takes all its strength in the instrumental pieces Bermudes and < em>The sea. A solid and balanced whole for a well-conducted twelfth album. (Mélissa Pelletier) 

Flickering Lights – Mirabelle ****

Anxiety can feel like a flickering flame. Mirabelle shows it well with Flickering Lights, five pop guitar songs written in response to the stress of the pandemic. From childhood memories to a quest for peace and space, the dark and spacey pieces – and even imbued with beautiful magic on the particularly successful Is It Karma?– also bear the touches of precious collaborators: Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux (Feu douce), Warren Spicer (Plants And Animals) and his childhood friend Navet Confit. The rich and hushed voice of the artist perfectly conveys these states of anguish, even transforming them into an open door to appeasement. (Mélissa Pelletier)

One Day – Fucked Up *** *

The hardcore combo from Toronto strikes us with a row of scorching fires at full throttle, stuffed with unsuspected rhythmic nuances. Damian Abraham even sings authentic melodies on I Think I Might Be Weird without giving up the hoarseness of his voice. In short, a cavalcade at the confluence of post-hardcore and sometimes accessible rock. As in Broken Little Boys. But no single musical genre can sum up One Day on its own. The main auditory cohesion of the whole is found in the scratchy howls of the vocal. (Stephane Plante)

Electrophonic Chronic – The Arcs ***1/2

This new album from the side project of Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys presents itself as a rather successful accumulation of the most varied instrumentations. All resulting in a scattershot punch to further explore ethereal pop. Especially on Eyez, particularly trippy. And interstellar travel continues with Heaven Is A Place. It would have been interesting to hear this sonic arsenal unfolding at a rate going beyond the midtempo to make room for more tone. (Stéphane Plante)

Farrago – The Battue *** 1/2

The trio from Rennes offers us indie-pop wrapped in sweet flights of keyboards set with atmospheric arrangements. This recipe can get repetitive from one tune to the next, but luckily The Little Joys enhances the proposal a bit with a more bouncy verse-chorus combination. Certain passages (on Higher) are punctuated by stripped-down, but fully controlled vocal harmonies. La Battue also claims his admiration for the Beach Boys and it shows. Caroline sounds like an electro lullaby carried by the reverberation of vintage synths. (Stéphane Plante)

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