BeatRoute Magazine [AB] print e-edition - [March 2018]

Essaie Pas
New Path
DFA
Cinematic is certainly an overused adjective when it comes to
music, but it’s near-impossible to avoid when describing Essaie
Pas. The taut marathon of severe synth bludgeoning that made
their previous release, Demain est une autre nuit (“tomorrow
is another night,” 2016), so delightful was that it was partly
indebted to musical innovations made in film scores like Blade
Runner and giallo flicks.
The Montreal duo’s return to DFA with New Path retains
tradition while being aptly named: the dystopian coldwave of
the release still sounds hand-hewn and ruthless, but adopts
a slicker varnish that helps make the menacing medicine go
down. Every sound on the record feels richer, from the fuller
bass to the higher-fidelity synths.
Lead single “Complet brouillé” recalls co-founder Marie Davidson’s
“Naive to the Bone” in its cheekiness, yet has a robust
tonality more suitable for a mega-rave than a sketchy DIY club.
Once that track completes the deliberately-sequenced A-side,
the distinct back half opens with perhaps the duo’s best track
to date, “Les agents des stups.” Its seven-minute tension flex
doubles the power of Demain’s most chaotic muscles, adding
nuance with multi-tracking and dynamism in its passages.
The tactile feel of this record sells the listening experience
on its own, but keener listeners may want to head to Genius or
Google Translate to explore the sometimes French-language,
sometimes just plain inscrutable lyrics. According to promotional
materials, the subject matter is (fittingly) inspired by
Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly, and there are field recording
passages that may take some careful listening to contextualize
properly. But don’t be afraid of a little extra work: sometimes
the best thing a record can do is hook you with its veneer
and implore you to find your own way into the underlying
complexities.
• Colin Gallant
48 | MARCH 2018 • BEATROUTE
Nap Eyes
I’m Bad Now
Paradise Of Bachelors/You’ve Changed Records
Haligonian quartet Nap Eyes are what you would get if you
put Blue Rodeo, the Velvet Underground and a handful of
university professors in a studio together to write songs. Led by
Nigel Chapman, the Nova Scotian band has made a name for
themselves by releasing two stellar albums of Maritime slacker
rock chock full of twangy Canadiana. I’m Bad Now, their third
full-length (and final album in an informal trilogy), expands on
their previous releases while sounding more clear-headed and
full of purpose.
Like on much of the album, early highlight “I’m Bad” is a
Wilco-esque, alt-country dirge that finds Chapman seemingly
singing in second-person, examining inward while floating
above. The song features guitarist Brad Lougheed’s most feedback-laden
solo as a hard-earned climax.
Elsewhere, “Follow Me Down” sounds like a Rankin Family
waltz with a whole lot more weed smoke overtop. It also
features some of Chapman’s finest lyrics as he sing-speaks, “I
went out walking with my headphones on/Classical Indian
raga twenty minutes long/Then I listened to old American folk
song/A little bit shorter, still a lot going on.”
Here, and for just about all the album, Chapman writes
whip smart lyrics that are impenetrable to a fault. Still, with a
little investigation, these songs reveal themselves in time. It’s a
testament to the band that even if they didn’t, Chapman’s still
managed to churn out hooks like, “I can’t tell what’s worse, the
meaninglessness or the negative meaning/I figured out a way
to get on with my life and to keep on dreaming” as he does on
the lead single “Everytime The Feeling.”
• Jamie McNamara
Young Fathers
Cocoa Sugar
Ninja Tune
Young Fathers defy typical genre placement. The Edinburgh
trio is most frequently described as an experimental hip-hop
group, but most vocals are sung, not rapped. The buzzing bassheavy
808s lean heavily on early trip-hop. Prominent organs
along with member Alloysious Massaquoi’s hymn-like crooning
lend their brightest moments a gospel shine. African music,
R&B and soul also lend ingredients to the stew that make up
Massaquoi’s, “G” Hastings’ and Kayus Bankole’s music.
Cocoa Sugar is the band’s third album. It is very much a continued
evolution of their previous work, with songs that can
shift from grimy lo-fi hip-hop verses into soaring harmonized
vocals backed by shimmering instrumentation while exploring
religious, moral and philosophical qualms.
The greatest addition to Young Fathers’ sound is the embrace
of vocal effects to broaden the group’s already extremely
expansive range. On “Toy” all three member’s voices warble in
unison in the bridge before the chorus kicks back in for a final
time with desperate howls dominating the background. “Wire”
pitches up Massaquoi’s voice, contrasting greatly with the ringing
bassline that chugs along, dominating the rest of the track.
These tracks embrace Young Fathers grimier side, while “In
My View,” “Lord” and closer “Picking You” lean into their soul
tendencies that often prove to be the band’s most affecting.
“You’ll never find your way to heaven/but you can follow
me” the group chants on that final track. Where they’re going
is never defined, but Cocoa Sugar provides ample proof that
we should follow.
• Cole Parker