Last time, in 2019, it sounded like he stepped off a ship from a folk-psych-prog parallel universe. Surprising place for a Gaspé singer, but a fabulous trip. Here is our man back on Earth, with a batch of folk songs without too much instrumentation, bluntly expressing trials common to humans: relationships that are fading (Echoing), pangs of old age (Don’t take away my tools), general discomfort (It’s not going well). It’s less fabulous, but the artisan’s guitars carry truths worth telling, which he sings without wallowing in self-flagellation. It’s beautiful to say the difficult, that’s all. Beauty from yesteryear. Yes, Echoing reminds For What It’s Worth of Buffalo Springfield. Yes, the banjo in Vague refers to Neil Young as much as the melody to the Beatles, but we understand that it illustrates a look at the past. Why seek originality at all costs? These are legitimate avenues of access. Let us follow them with empathy.
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Plants continue to grow even when you sleep. In front of
★★★ 1/2
Guillaume Arsenault, COOP Les Faux-Monnayeurs
To watch on video