Every month, our music journalists add around 20 songs to the La Presse playlist on Spotify. These current titles can be found in our selection.
Updated yesterday at 5:04pm.
Alanis Morissette, No Return
This is a track that seemed tailor-made for Alanis Morissette, the kind of song she could have composed herself. So here it is, the Canadian rocker has been invited to make her own the song No Return, the subject of the hit series Yellowjackets, composed by Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker and notably starring Quebec actress Sophie Nélisse. It’s actually Alanis Morissette’s version, which has been used since the fourth episode of season two, but an extended version is now available on streaming platforms. “It was a little intimidating to be asked for a reinterpretation [No Return]but I see parallels between Yellowjackets and my perspective on composing,” said the Ottawa singer, who admitted to being a fan of the show.
Yerly, Slum and Daniel Quirion, Trifluvie
PICTURE PROVIDED FROM EXIT PLAZA
Loop Sessions: Quebec Connection
The province is full of talented beatmakers. The Plaza outlet, a Montreal performance hall and cultural venue, wanted to highlight some of these through the Loop Sessions: Quebec Connection web series. In the past few months, groups of artists from five cities have each produced a piece that demonstrates the quality and diversity of hip-hop made here. The songs have been compiled into an EP which is now available on streaming platforms. You can hear productions from the renowned High Classified, VLooper, Foxtrott and Nicholas Craven. We chose the last song Trifluvie by Yerly, Slumm and Daniel Quirion. This instrumental piece is perfect for the first few days when you really have spring fever.
Angel Olsen, Forever Means
PHOTO FROM ARTIST’S WEBSITE
Angel Olsen
While the muted blues shone brightly thanks to the presence of a lively saxophone on the first track of his forthcoming EP, Angel Olsen returns to his favorite accompaniment for the unveiling of this second track, electric guitar. The EP’s title track once again makes the American singer amaze with the simple playing of her vocalization, so clear and precise, placed in front of a few subtle and soft chords of an electric guitar. Nothing explosive here: we prefer to be rocked as she tells us, “Every moment comes and then goes, but the search goes on, forever.” » Very true angel.
Wild things scared to death
PHOTOGRAPH BY KARELLE GOGUEN, SUPPLIED BY AUDIOGRAM
wild things
A year and a half after the release of their second album, electronic group Choses Sauvages comes out with a brand new track called Mort de Peur. A pop track that highlights the particular voice of singer Félix Bélisle, always carried by the torrid groove and the rhythmic loops typical of the group. With some dissonant guitar riffs and surprising saxophone hits arriving mid-song, the atmosphere is as disturbing as it is danceable. It is successful, but it must be done nonetheless.
Dominique Fils-Aimé, Cheers to New Beginnings
PHOTO JETRO EMILCAR PROVIDED BY ENSOUL RECORDS
Dominique Fils-Aime
The release of Dominique Fils-Aimé’s previous album is dated February 2021. Here comes a new song from the Montreal singer-songwriter, with spring and a fitting title: Cheers to New Beginnings, a great song of hope in which we are happy to find his subdued voice and his new soul on a high level. And good news, we’re also announcing a new album, Our Roots Run Deep, for the fall.
Émile Bilodeau, Love in the End Times
PHOTO CAMILLE GLADU-DROUIN PROVIDED BY BRAVO
Emile Bilodeau
Last fall, Émile Bilodeau almost secretly released an album, All Alone Like a Big One, that sounded a bit garrulous. We therefore welcome this new rock song, which is also more mature but in which we have the impression of reconnecting with the Émile of the early days, both clear and melancholic, funny but also moving. Which bodes well for the future as the singer-songwriter announces the release of his fifth album Au bar des espoirs, which will be produced by Simon Kearny, in the fall. A friendly and artistic meeting that seems to have produced very nice results.
Lana Del Rey, The Grants
PHOTO CHRIS PIZZELLO, CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP
Lana del Rey
A ballad she adds a melancholy and languor to which she alone holds the secret, Lana Del Rey has us waiting a few more days for the release of her ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. March 24th. The offer promises to be generous with 16 songs and 77 minutes of music. The elegant piano arrangements of the excerpt from The Grants leave plenty of room for gospel-inspired vocal harmonies. The three singers accompanying Lana Del Rey are none other than Melodye Perry, Pattie Howard and Shikena Jones, who appeared in the excellent documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, which focuses on great singers in popular music history who have become have remained very obscure.
Florence + The Machine, just a girl
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, ARCHIVE PRESS
Florence+The Machine
Admittedly, this is a recovery… But what a recovery! Florence+the Machine brilliantly explores the song that catapulted the group No Doubt into the stratosphere of listening groups in the 1990s… Twenty-eight years later, this track comes alive again thanks to the Yellowjackets series, by bringing the accompanies trailers for the second season. Florence drains his original ska essence from him to give us… well, Florence + the Machine! Steamy opening, tempo changes, great location for percussion, a choir and shrill notes from a piano acting as a common thread. We repeat, a great rest.
KNLO, BOSSLAB
PHOTOGRAPH BY ÉTIENNE BOSSÉ SUPPLIED BY 7E CIEL DISCS
KNLO
The inspiration for the title of KNLO’s new piece comes from his longtime friend Étienne Bossé, aka Bosslab. As a graphic designer, the latter has collaborated on numerous occasions with the rapper, as well as with his group Alaclair Ensemble and Souldia, among others. The piece is described as a “still life” that explores the challenges of art and the state of our society. The canvas is a VLooper creation that delivers the sounds of Alaclair’s albums. The result is a catchy and bouncy track. The versatility of KNLO’s flow is highlighted once again, as is the intelligence of his pen.
Laurence-Anne, Polymorph
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANNA ARROBAS SUPPLIED BY BOUNSOUND
Laurence Anne
The singer-songwriter offers a new song, Polymorphe, which is the exact follow-up to her 2021 sophomore album Musivision. We find their ethereal and mysterious universe, always on the border between dream and reality, more dream pop than ever and lies on a soft bed of synthesizers. The rocking melody, the caressing voice all contribute to the dreamlike character of Laurence-Anne’s music, and it’s always a pleasure to snuggle into it.
Like Debord, same as Blood
PHOTO FRANCIS LEDUC, PROVIDED BY AUDIOGRAM
The Band Comment Debord
Septet Comment Debord had released their superb first record in the middle of a pandemic and we have to admit we feared it wouldn’t make it through this difficult time. What a joy, then, to rediscover the folksy poetry and irresistible groove of the city’s most laid-back group, as they hit the dance floor and party hard in this new disco-funk song! Comment Debord also announces shows in November, so we can expect a new album in the coming months.
Leal Neale, I am the river
PHOTO FROM ARTIST’S WEBSITE
i am the river
A first sub-pop album released in 2021 that we quickly forgot, shall we say, but now Leal Neale is back in force and could make a mark on the pop-rock scene this year, she who ends the month star Eaters Delight will be offering April. Listening to this track portends a beautiful sunny spring for the American. We’re here in the easy refrain, the catchy rhythms, tapped for the radio waves… and for the cerebral cortex: indeed hard to forget and not dance to the notes of guitars and organ (yes, yes, of ‘organ) . And what a beautiful bass line!
Elisapie, Uummati Attarnarsimat
PHOTO LEEOR WILD PROVIDED BY BONSOUND
Elisapie
Almost four years since the release of their amazing third album The Ballad of the Runaway Girl. Now the Inuk singer gives us a lovely end-of-winter gift with Uummati Attarnarsimat, her very own take on Blondie’s classic Heart of Glass. Translated into Innuktituk by Elisapie herself and produced by her accomplice Joe Grass, the song born in 1979 in the heart of the disco wave takes on a much more melancholic dimension here. Nice.
Claudia Bouvette, highly not recommended
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Claudia Bouvette on the set of the Zénith show
Less than a year after the release of her first album The Paradise Club, Claudia Bouvette is already releasing a new song. Still interested in the movements of the heart and body, Highly Unrecommended offers a prolific singer-songwriter a frankly well-crafted melancholic pop song about forbidden loves. One has found its place here.
FELP (with Klô Pelgag), table football
PHOTO LOUIS ROBITAILLE PROVIDED BY BONSOUND
Loo Pelgag and Felix Petit
Director and multi-instrumentalist Félix Petit relaunches his FELP project with a new song in collaboration with singer-songwriter Klô Pelgag. Félix Petit is usually less in the foreground, since he works as a producer and musician with artists such as Les Louanges, Hubert Lenoir or Safia Nolin. On Babyfoot, a jazzy and frenetic song, Klô Pelgag sings with a flow that’s close to rap. Good news: the song is the first excerpt from an upcoming album by FELP, which is expected later this year.
The Franklin Electric, call me
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Jon Matte of The Franklin Electric
The prolific Jon Matte, singer-songwriter behind The Franklin Electric project, seems to have endless songs on his mind which he never hesitates in releasing new singles on a regular basis. This time he enchants us with the track Call Me. An acoustic only track with a repeating riff where he tells a person he loves through repetition that he doesn’t want to see them go. Its folk touches, Call Me is heard like a lullaby.
RobertRobert, Alex
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVE
RobertRobert
Montreal director and DJ Robert Robert’s first song album, Silicone Villeray, wowed us two years ago. We find him again in Alex, a slightly disillusioned new pop song as odd as it is danceable. We’re delighted to note that the new singer-songwriter hasn’t lost touch, and if Alex also announced the arrival of a new album to brighten up our summer, we couldn’t be happier.
Violet Pi, he who waits
PHOTO BENOIT PAILLÉ PROVIDED BY LA-BE
VioletTT Pi
VioleTT Pi is the project of singer-songwriter Karl Gagnon, who hadn’t released an album since Manifeste contre la fear in 2016. Good news, He Who Waits, the new song he has just released, very melodic and catchy, announces a new album out April 21st Baloney Suicide – by the way, that’s the title of his 2019 book of poetry. Surprisingly, whoever waits is less punk than what they tell us regulars, but we have no doubt that VioleTT Pi has some surprises in store for us in the future.
Fuudge, shut up, it’s okay
PHOTO FROM THE GROUP’S FACEBOOK PAGE
The members of the Fuudge group
David Bujold says it – or rather shouts it – and after listening we confirm: Yes, everything is fine on this new track from the Montreal stoner rock band. The guitars are shrill, the drums are heavy and the bass is fat, while the jerky rhythm that plays allows you to tap your feet and multiply your headbutts. The irony of the lyrics adds to the – not guilty – pleasure of listening to this song, a prelude to an album expected in May. In this era of economic austerity and political gloom, we’re happy to let a Bujold in great vocal form call us “Ta yeule tout va ben” at the top of his lungs.
Slowly Rolling Camera and Verneri Pohjola, Cue: State of Mind
PHOTO FROM THE GROUP’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Slowly Rolling Camera members
The jazz trio Slowly Rolling Camera, founded in 2013, has been slowing down the beat for several years. After three albums and an EP, Galois Dave Stapleton, Elliot Bennett and Deri Roberts announced in late 2022 their intention to release fewer albums… but more singles. And here comes this piece, the second collaboration within a few weeks with Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola. The atmosphere is warm, calm and conducive to a glass of wine while watching the sunset. Now all that’s missing is summer…
Philippe B, New Administration
A new song by Philippe B, six years after La grande nuit vidéo, is already good news. That we are announcing the impending arrival of a new album at the same time is joy and joy! In Nouvelle Administration, a song about change and new beginnings, we find the essence of what we love about the singer-songwriter: perfectly chiseled lyrics, an intoxicating melody, a sober touch that makes the song even more moving. We didn’t realize we missed him so much.
Hauterive, round trip
PHOTO CAMILLE GLADU-DROUIN PROVIDED BY KATMUSIK
Catherine Durand and Mara Tremblay
Hauterive is the name of a brand new duo made up of longtime musicians and friends Catherine Durand and Mara Tremblay. The two singer-songwriters, who have been pursuing solo careers for the past twenty years, have combined their talents to create an album that will be released in late April. Reminiscent of the road and life on tour, this first song, Aller-retour, is a joy of harmonies and pure and light folk. If the sequel is at the same level, these two are about to take a hit.