Hometown Zero
Felix Tellier Pouliot; Christian Bailet; Martin Auguste
Independent (ftpmusic.bandcamp.com/album/hometown-zero)
Slick production overtop irresistible labyrinthine grooves that ebb, flow, wind and reroute defy any forecast or notion as to where they’ll end up next. One second, the mix is skeletal and airy, driven more than anything by implication of metamorphosis into something much larger. The very next second, Félix Tellier Pouliot’s soaring guitar tremolo balloons into a supernatural feeling akin to the climax of a Godspeed You! Black Emperor (post-rock legends, also of Montreal origin) suite. This rhythm section consistently transcends any preconceived ideas of what a trio can accomplish when it comes to unadulterated expressive range, largely due to how comfortable they are working within radical contrasts.
Pouliot’s solo on 7 O’Clock is a barnstormer of a thing, its every gesture reverberating through the cosmos and back. Shot out of a cannon, Pouliot’s virtuosic display sounds like it would be perfectly at home in a progressive metal piece bursting at the seams with energy whilst overtop a bottom-heavy, cyclonic blast beat. However, that is not what is happening here; it is closer to the inverse, as Christian Bailet’s crisp bass tone nonchalantly outlines a pinpoint 11-pattern and Martin Auguste skates past on his highest, tightest frequencies: the rim of the snare, the bell of the ride. Each member provides something distinct that the others are not, proving you can cover more ground if you aren’t retreading your bandmate’s. Despite being groove-heavy, this album resists stasis at every turn. All systems go.
