Electrons Libres Du Quebec

Montreal trio Population IIs 2020 album A la O Terre was a startlingly good introduction to their rambling, heavier-than-a-cannonball psychedelic sound. It tripped across blown-out blues jams, avant-garde jazz wildness, and Stoogian hard rock while delivering just enough melody and lightness to keep it from plummeting through the floor due to its overloaded weight. Its hardly fair to call their 2023 album Electrons Libres du Quebec more of the same, because that might sound like faint praise, or even vague criticism. Its not, however, since in this case thats just about the best thing one could say. The record has all the window-shaking power, ear-shredding volume, and gymnastic nimbleness that the previous album had; it doesnt do much of anything new, and thats fine. Guitarist Tristan Lacombe still wrestles out fire-spitting leads and pairs them with barn-sized power chords, bassist Sebastien Provencal dishes out slippery, super-interesting basslines, and drummer Pierre-Luc Gratton again holds everything together while at the same time pushing the other two to even more frantic and exciting levels. Their interplay is one of the best things about the album. Tracks like the roiling jazz-rocker "C.T.Q.S." and the metallic prog workout "Lune Rouge" have an almost telepathic meeting of the minds that must have been forged through years of basement jamming. The dynamic shifts on "Beau bapteme," which twists and turns through light psychedelic balladry to raging Sabbath-like thunder in the blink of an eye, also speak to the bands sympathetic nature as musicians. The only thing a little different on this record is that theyve continued to refine their formerly super-expansive sound, cutting out almost all of the sometimes meandering jamming. Instead, they hammer the hooks home with a feverish intensity on the uptempo songs and show admirable restraint on tracks that are songs first, like "Reservoir." Within these tightly scripted parameters, Population II still have the freedom to let loose with flights of excessive fancy, only they dont last all that long anymore. Its nice to hear the band shifting focus just a (very) little while keeping the framework the same. Honestly, why would they want to make drastic changes when sticking to their brand of wild and woolly psychedelia works so well? ~ Tim Sendra