J'aime.

This is one of those posts that I’ve spent days thinking about – a review of Karkwa’s latest album, Le volume du vent. I was so excited that I hunted this album down on the very day it came out. And for those of you who have ever tried to find French music in Toronto, it’s no simple task. Meaning that the victorious moment when I finally got my hands on it might have been accompanied by an embarrassing little dance (apologies to the startled HMV employee who witnessed it).

As I’ve mentioned before in the CMW post, Karkwa is a French band from Montreal, one of my favourites. Often dubbed the “French Radiohead”, their brand of rock is truly innovative on the Quebec scene. While their success is relatively new, these guys have been around for a decade. Le volume du vent is their third album and probably their most epic and complex, although each album has had its charm. And if they’re going to maintain the Radiohead comparison, they’re going to have to keep going with constant reinvention. And “pay-what-you-want” type album sales would also be cool, please and thank you.

What to expect: intricate instrumental layering accompanied by lead singer Louis-Jean Cormier’s incredibly versatile vocal stylings. Though I must mention that unlike Thom Yorke, Cormier actually enunciates. Le compteur, a collaboration with Patrick Watson, mixes distant piano, rolling drums and crescendo vocals to give the song a stormy quality, if that even makes sense. Échapper au sort lingers with an amazing drawn-out bridge and a chilling message (see video below), while Le frimas is a short interlude mixing glockenspiel, vibraphone and piano to produce an eerie movie-score type feel. The whole package also mixes in social commentary and smart lyrics, though understanding the message is not that essential to the enjoyment of this album (a note to all of you who are francophonically challenged).

Point being, they are fantastic, please have a taste and go seek out Le volume du vent.

If you're hooked and interested in some of their older stuff, try going here, or even here.

xo, g3.

Karkwa - Oublie pas
Karkwa - Combien

Welcome to Toronto!

So, so tired.

One of the (many) perks of relocating to the big city was that I would get to go to as many shows as my little heart desired. You know, at least once a week or so, I thought. Little did I know, my first week here would coincide with Canadian Music Week. Phew. Even with my “i-work-early-and-it’s-a-new-job-so-i’m-going-to-be-a-grandma” attitude, I still managed to catch about a dozen bands in the span of four days.

To summarize this event, CMW presents 500 artists spread out across 40 venues, starting on Wednesday up to Sunday. Yes. Needless to say, Monday was brutal – I showed up to work late with a nasty cold. I think I ate 4 oranges at my desk today. The big ones. But I digress.

Some CMW highs:

Karkwa – This Québécois band blows me away every time. Even the people around me who had no idea what the band was singing about were completely entranced. With a new album due out April 1^st, their set mixed old songs with some amazing new material. Please give them a listen, I promise they are lovely.

The Acorn – Amazing set at the Horseshoe, made us Ottawaiians proud. Ottawans? Ottawanians? (According to my spellcheck, it’s Ottomans. Obviously.) Still haven’t figured out what a “morning-after burrito” is, but this topic seemed to preoccupy the band quite a bit. Doesn’t Ottawa prefer morning-after shawarma?

White Cowbell Oklahoma – Probably the most terrifying live show I have EVER seen. Big burly bearded boys (men, in fact, but I wanted to complete the alliteration) and sweaty, heavy rock. There were half naked ladies wearing devil horns dancing on the speakers, pyrotechnics (still at the Horseshoe) and a CHAINSAW. Yes – they sawed a Tweetie Bird piñata in two and then used the power tool to project toilet paper into the audience.

Some CMW lows:

Your wrist band does NOT guarantee you access. And this lovely week also turned out to be one of the biggest snow storms of the year. READ: lots of waiting outside in the cold cold snow. And being turned away from the RZA show on Sunday night. Jerks.

Special mention goes out to Ottawa’s Fucked Corpse, who we stumbled upon while trying to find shelter from the cold. They were randomly playing at the XPACE gallery on my street, so we stopped in for a few Grolsch and some sweet art. They weren’t part of CMW, but I think they should have been.

Next time.

xo.