I first came to know of the Montreal "folk" band, Avec pas d'casque in 2013 when I came across their third album, Dommage Que Tu Sois Pris. The very notion of a French Canadian cowboy/country band, as perhaps as absurd as it may sound, was intriguing to me. I don't speak a word of French, so I've not a clue as to what any of their songs are about, but for weeks after my return home, every evening wouldn't be complete without this cd finding its way into my player as I sat with a wee dram or two of good ole American whiskey.
The band's name literally means, "with no helmet" referring to hockey players who don't wear helmets! They started out as a duo made up of film directors Stéphane Lafleur and Joël Vaudreuil who recorded a self-produced LP in 2004. Their first "official" release was Trois Chaudières De Sang, which came out in May, 2006. On a subsequent trip to Montreal, I picked up their debut and found it a bit less cowboy and being a duo effort, a bit more sparse in sound and arrangement.
In 2008, they gained a third member, Nicolas Moussette, and released their second album, Dans La Nature Jusqu'au Cou. With the later addition of Mathieu Charbonneau, they became the quartet that has continued, releasing Astronomie in 2012, which was a Juno nominee for Francophone Album of the Year, and features the addition of some horns on a few of the songs.
Since the release of the album that grabbed my attention in 2013, they seem to have released only one other album in 2016 entitled Effets Spèciaux. Ironically, in my opinion it's their strongest release, the most fully realized, a romantic soundtrack to an evening at home in either wistful solitude or as a sweet love-making background soundtrack.
No comments:
Post a Comment