Fizz ed

>> Popping the cap of Montreal’s newest music fest, Pop Montreal

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

There’s always room for one more, isn’t there. Dodging the summertime festival crunch, the new Pop Montreal festival aims to be a back-to-school mainstay for this town in the years to come. Modelled after the Halifax Pop Explosion, the fest plays host to an auspicious spread of largely indie music in the pop vein over four days, Sept. 26–29.

The term “pop” is played pretty loose—you won’t be hearing Swollen Members, Blonde Redhead or Stink Mitt on Mix96 any time soon. Built around a number of Canadian label showcases, the roster runs from hip hop to alt-twang, from delicate synth-syrup to bristling rock-out. Any way you slice it, though, Pop Montreal does provide a nice counterbalance to the often excessively academic exercises at Mutek and the FCMM, and the staid, big-ticket material at the Jazz Fest and FrancoFolies.

Above and beyond the shows, the fest also boasts screenings of the Wilco documentary I’m Trying to Break Your Heart at the Parc, a number of late-nite loft parties and as-yet-unconfirmed panel discussions and seminars. What’s for sure are the shows, so here’s a look at the Mirror’s picks for what to pop in for.

Swollen Members: Remember hip hop’s horrorcore movement of the mid-’90s? Gravediggaz and all that? Well, B.C.’s Swollen Members aren’t quite horrifying—MCs Prevail and MadChild are too nice and polite and Canadian to really go for the gorehound gross-out. Maybe creepycore fits better. Their last CD was called Bad Dreams, after all. It’s on their own Battle Axe label, home also to Moka Only, who’s joining them, Obscure Disorder from ’round these parts and Triple Tek Crew. In fact, the original formation of Swollen included Moka Only before he bolted to pursue his solo thing. This is the only hip hop bill proper at Pop Montreal, but it’s one to check out, yes sir.

At Cabaret on Thursday, Sept. 26, 9pm, $17

Hylozoists: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines hylozoism, an ancient Greek term, as “the philosophical doctrine holding that all matter has life, which is a property or derivative of matter.” Which I guess explains the one-time popularity of pet rocks. It might also explain how Haligonian orch-poppers the Hylozoists manage to coax such rich, vivid, complex yet inviting sounds out of mere, inanimate wood, bone, wire and plastic. If you dig the likes of Tortoise, the High Llamas and later Stereolab, you have no excuse for missing the Hylozoists, who join label-mates Bodega and Hopeful Monster at the Brobdingnagian showcase.

At Casa del Popolo on Thursday, Sept. 26, 9pm, price TBA

The Datson Four: Seems Montreal’s merchants of mod got tangled up in a legal kerfuffle over their moniker. No, not with the crappy Japanese car manufacturer. With the New Zealand hair-rockers the Datsuns. The Kiwis won out, but considering that the Montreal trio is now a quartet, and are advancing past the sweaty, blue-eyed R&B rave-up stage to a more expansive, psychedelic sound, the name change is perhaps timely.

At Petit Campus on Friday, Sept. 27, 9pm, price TBA

Shy Child: Yup, they’re from NYC, and yup, they’ve got cheapo electronic keyboards, but electroclash this is not. The drums-and-synth setup suggests the glorious Silver Apples, while the powerful, proggish tunes recall the days of krautrock. They’ve got a Montreal connection—local label Grenadine put out their CD Please Consider Our Time. Please consider also that they’re billed with similarly-inclined electro-reductionists Toog (from France), Montag (from here) and Russian Futurists (from Ontario)—all of which are solo acts. Those with a taste for synth-pop of all flavours, be there.

At Jupiter Room on Friday, Sept. 27, 9pm, price TBA

The Dears, Stars: The latest news is that local heartless romantics the Dears have just wrapped up a gruelling stretch in the studio, putting both an EP (the grimly Floydian Summer of Protest) and their forthcoming album to bed. Likewise, Stars, purveyors of refined, precious pop gems, have also wrapped up recording on their next joint Heart, which is now headed for the mixing room. What this all points to is a wide spread of new material from both acts, who share a bill with Mogilny and J-F Lemieux at the resurrected Rialto, a classy space deserving of such high-end fare.

At the Rialto on Friday, Sept. 27, 9pm, $15

Tangiers: The presence of two ex-Deadly Snakes members here should give a clue as to where this T.O. quartet is coming from. A little bit of strangulated CBGB’s proto-punk, some maximum mod flair and a dose of glittery sleaze in the key of Lou Reed or the Stones, that’s where. Catch them with Stink Mitt (see below) and the Mean Red Spiders. At Barfly on Saturday, Sept. 28, 9pm, price TBA

Stink Mitt: From Toronto’s Teenage USA, the label that first brought us Peaches, comes this fresh dose of harpy-hop. Surrey, B.C.’s MCs Jenni Craige and Betti Forde, in all their white-trash, big-haired, Wal-Mart-chic glory, are gonna get the Princess Superstar comparisons. Thing is, the debaucherous duo have already blown her off stage, and that was what, their second show ever? Flying the cougar flag high, Stink Mitt are responsible for tracks like “The Harder We Cum,” “Bangin’ on my Clit” and “Tubes Tied,” so sensitive, pretty young men beware—they intend to use you, abuse you and spit you out.

At Barfly on Saturday, Sept. 28, 9pm, price TBA

Arthur H: A real score for Pop Montreal, the cornerstone of the French-language programming. As the title of his latest CD, Piano Solo, suggests, this will be an intimate show (at least by Spectrum standards) with monsieur H alone at the keys. Don’t underestimate it—Piano Solo shows him in top form, delivering fabulous, nuanced versions of tunes from throughout his career, and detouring into moments of sly musical comedy. Furthermore, the minimal set-up allows his gravelly but engaging voice to really shine. Arthur H is one of the finest figures in global pop today, so this show’s a real must-see. Yann Perreau opens.

At le Spectrum on Saturday, Sept. 28, 8pm, $26.50

Interpol: Turn on the Bright Lights, indeed. The lights are focused on NYC fashion plates Interpol, primed to follow in the footsteps of the Strokes (if precisely that kind of hype-jive doesn’t jinx them). They pulled the old wow-’em-in-the-U.K.-first routine, followed by a CD with Matador that’s got a whole lotta knickers in a knot. Equally inspired by Joy Division and GQ magazine, but have managed to convince folks that they’re more than just a crappy ’80s retro band. See for yourself when they make their Montreal debut, sure to be one of the highlights of Pop Montreal. They’re joined by Howie Beck and Moufette.

At Jupiter Room on Sunday, Sept. 29, 9pm, $10 :

>> Music Listings