by LORRAINE CARPENTER

"I'm very much obsessed with manipulating the concept of pop music," says Echo Kitty singer Xavier Paradis. "It's a humble task, but we always aim to present it in a three-dimensional way." Between their angular faces, their vivid stage presence and the sassy riffs and strutting synths that power their sprightly electro-pop sound, this band is so animated they threaten to shatter the three-dimensional barrier. They probably won't blind you with science just yet, however, because three seems to be Echo Kitty's lucky number.

Savon Chanté is the band's debut LP, their third release since appearing on the local scene three years ago. Along with the Aimer la moto and Loisirs EPs, their discography includes appearances on three compilations, Lux Catalogue, Pop Montreal 2003 and Kink.

Three's company when it comes to the band's membership too, from their nascent lineup in Quebec City in the middle-late '90s to the present. Paradis conceived the band with Hans Gauthier and Jef Hell, who melted down to Chernobyl Cha-Cha when Paradis moved to Montreal in 2000. Last December, Echo Kitty's longtime keyboardist Sabio Palmarella left the fold, shortly after Hell left Quebec City to pursue a Master's degree in visual arts at UQÀM, and re-joined the band as a bass player. With Paradis and Hell reunited, and guitarist Serge Mustang completing the triad, the band hopes this third incarnation will be the charm.

"We're at a turning point," says Hell. "The songs on the CD have been constantly evolving since I joined."

"The show has a grittier edge," says Paradis, "because Jef only listens to Motörhead."

Counter-Kitty interests aside, the trio mentioned three artists who have informed their fringe approach to pop: The The's Matt Johnson, early Brian Eno and veteran non-conformists Sparks.

"Sparks were associated with glam and they weren't really glam, then they were associated with disco and they weren't really disco, and that's a bit what Echo Kitty is living," says Paradis. Despite their instinctive recoiling at categorization, the band is clearly informed by glam rock, disco, electro and leftfield pop artists from several eras and several countries. Singing in French, with a multilingual array of influences, Echo Kitty's oeuvre suggests a culture clash as well as a stylistic one.

"It's a very Québécois record," says Mustang, referring to homespun songs entitled "Dépanneur 24h" and "CLSC." Local life has been a fruitful muse for Paradis, but his rejection of the Québécois accent, not to mention jouale, has spurred a few vigilante language policemen to shake their fists in the singer's direction and cry, "Pretentious!", an already common accusation for Echo Kitty (note that the Best of Montreal ballot, with its Most Pretentious Band category, is out in April).

"There are some interesting singers using jouale but my French is more European because that's what suits me, sonically," says Paradis. "I'm not pretending that I'm walking around the Tour Eiffel and l'Arc de Triomphe. I live here in Montreal and I'm influenced by my surroundings, but not by cultural or linguistic clichés. We're just pop perverts."

With Dusti, DJ Prions en Église at Petit Campus on Thursday, March 31, 9:30 p.m., $5

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