by LORRAINE CARPENTER

Semi-sweet chocolate, juicy, lumpy ganglions and self-washing dishes are just some of the subjects joyously tackled in song by Montreal’s mistress of keyboard-driven pop Krautery, Lederhosen Lucil. Following her second annual Soiro Bizarro in July—which was such a success, she’s already planning an outdoor, all-day festival for next year—Lucil is launching her trilingual sophomore record, Tales From the Pantry, a ritzy set of classic pop bubbling with cool new wave, dreamy waltzes, funky basslines and party rap. And as the album title implies, the fairyland fraülein draws lyrical inspiration from her dry, cramped living quarters among boxes of pudding mix, cornstarch and graham crackers.

“It’s one of those classic sci-fi fantasy ideas of portals to other worlds being based in reality,” explains Lucil’s pantrylord and other half, Krista Muir. Like the closet to Narnia or the dwarf door to John Malkovitch, Muir’s pantry leads to Lucil, but two larger and less quaint portals have proved invaluable for Muir and her new album.

The first is that mystic invention called the Internet, where an L.A.-based graphic designer named Parker Jacobs stumbled upon her Web site, shared the “hosemusik” with anyone who would listen and subsequently booked Lucil as the opening act for his band (Gogol 13) and his brother’s band (the Aquabats), designed her CD sleeve and incorporated her likeness into a little T-shirt for his company, Paul Frank Industries.

“Of course, the Internet is pretty amazing and powerful, but I never expected it to take me to L.A. to play big shows with these cult bands and make crazy new friends. It’s been a dream!”

Portal two is one McGill University, where Muir studied cultural studies nearly a decade ago with a kid from Edmonton named Terence Bernardo. The sound recording technology student now lives in Brooklyn, where Muir recorded Tales From the Pantry with more than a little help from her producer, co-arranger and bassist buddy.

“He definitely challenged me more than the Fembots, who recorded [LL’s first album] Hosemusik. They didn’t have much input, but this was [Bernardo’s] first big project, so it was a serious investment of his creative energy and time.”

And after a mini-tour of Ontario and a stop at Halifax’s Ladyfest, Muir is investing the remainder of the fall in her first major North American tour. Already backed by ample college radio airplay in the States, Lucil will spend 40-odd days on the road with her other McGill buddy, former roommate and future remixer, superstar DJ Kid Koala.

“He actually lived in a room much like a pantry for a whole year. I remember he could just fit his double futon on the floor, his dresser was on half of the bed. I felt terrible ’cause he had given me his room when I moved in, but he said, ‘No, no it’s cool, I’ll stay at my girlfriend’s house most of the time, whatever.’ He was the best roommate. Whenever I was in a foul mood over exams, he’d make a fridge full of sushi or leave Oreo ice cream in the freezer for me. I mean, who does that?”

CD launch with Parka 3 and the We Are Molecules DJ team at Cabaret on Wednesday, September 17, 9pm, $10

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