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View ProfilesPublished September 18, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.
(Bonbonbon, vinyl, digital)
One of my favorite things about living near the Canadian border is catching stray Québécois radio stations as I drive north. Maybe it triggers a sense of exoticism to hear songs in French, or maybe I'm just excited to be free from American corporate radio programming.
On a recent such drive, one of the stations offered up a song so good I had to take the next exit and do some internet sleuthing. A dreamy, folk-leaning tune with vocals that seemed suspended in midair, "Un criss de beau beam" hit me right between the eyes and settled into my brain like early morning fog. The band was called Larynx and hailed from Montréal, so I made a note to investigate further. And then, as a music editor juggling a lot of albums, I forgot all about revisiting the Canadian record.
Fortunately, good music often gives you a second chance. While scrolling the lineup of this year's POP Montréal (see our festival guide, page 56), I spotted Larynx's name. And they weren't just performing; they were celebrating the release of their new record, Ma troisième émergence ("my third emergence"), which dropped on September 13. Très magnifique!
While "Un criss de beau beam," from Larynx's 2022 record J'aimais mieux les maquettes, was thoroughly charming, it didn't prepare me for the gorgeous pop-meets-folk-meets-indie-rock grandeur that is Ma troisième émergence.
Opening track "Rêve le fun" is an explosion of melody and swirling colors, dreamlike with that late-career Beatles mix of whimsy and rawness. It sets the stage for the next 10 tracks, which form a record as complete and flowing as I've heard in a while. It's a truly moving listen from start to finish that, stylistically, rarely stays in one place.
Second track "La course folle" has elements of late '70s English folk, like a French-speaking Pentangle, while "Lac Guilbault" crosses a bistro jazz vibe with quirky, Belle and Sebastian-like pop. "Je sais pas comment me tanner" comes in with a distorted push of octave-linked guitars and the tiniest hint of prog rock before dissolving into a soundscape solo. It's a high-wire act of songwriting at times, and the band never so much as twitches as it plays out the record with equal parts invention and grace.
Larynx is the project of guitarist and songwriter Alexandre Larin, who also fronted Montréal rock outfit Rust Eden. Inspired by fellow Montréal acts such as CHOCOLAT, Larin started writing and singing in French on his latest project. Though Larynx skews closer to folk than to the freak rock of CHOCOLAT, both bands share an adventurous side common to Montréal music. Look no further than the series of U-turns and twists in Larynx's "Faire semblant." This eighth track vacillates between a playful verse and a massive indie-rock chorus that wouldn't be out of place on a Radiohead record.
It all makes Ma troisième émergence a captivating listen. As part of POP Montréal, the band celebrates the album's release with a performance on Wednesday, September 25, at La Sala Rossa. Stream it on Bandcamp.
Tags: Album Review, Larynx, Ma troisième émergence
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