ANGINE DE POITRINE
Vol. II (Spectacles Bonzai)
Seattle radio station KEXP has been doing the Lord’s work for years, broadcasting studio sessions that often sound superior to the albums, but it really struck gold in early February with a set by Angine De Poitrine. The YouTube footage of the Quebecois duo’s performance has now been viewed more than six million times – extraordinary when you consider quite how niche a proposition they are on paper: microtonal math rock that draws on jazz and all manner of esoteric music from Asia.
The acid test, though, is whether it comes across as effectively on record, stripped of the arresting kids’ TV fever dream visual spectacle of the double-necked guitar/bass, the costumes, the body paint and the papier-mâché masks – Lightning Bolt as reimagined by Mr Blobby.
The answer is a resounding yes. Nerds will no doubt geek out over the guitar technique, looping skills and overall musicianship on display, but despite the dazzling complexity, the songs are never allowed to lose laser-guided focus or become style over substance. Mata Zyklek and Sarniezz are propulsive, nimble, spectacularly tight and precise, while UTZP begins with a polka beat in keeping with the pattern of their outfits before escalating/descending into panic-attack freakery.
Legend has it that the pair – Khn and Klek – are not of this earth. Unlike most myths that bands like to peddle, I can well believe it.
words BEN WOOLHEAD
