A Montréal-based trio, first time I see any of these names: Philippe Battikha (trumpet), Mivil Deschênes (bass), Patrick Dion (drums). A power trio playing, skronk-like jazz-punk with a hint of funk rock. Similar to (juste) Claudette and Elephant9 minus the organ. Nice attitude, edgy, not constantly over-the-top. A convincing debut.

Rimouski-based P.O.W.E.R. (Dominic Gagnon, Catherine S Massicotte, Éric Normand) has released a 3” CD on Montréal microlabel 666. Two tracks — feels like a single! — of highly electrified noise improvisation. It shakes, rumbles and screams, it magnetizes the hairs on my forearms. But it’s all well controled, intelligent, subtle even. Impressive.

Guitar man Antoine Berthiaume calls Small Tease a “solo-ish” album and, despite the help he gets from other musicians here, such as drummer Stef Schneider and bassist Rémi-Jean Leblanc, it really does have the feel of a solo album. Playing guitars, banjo and dobro, Berthiaume spins out deceptively simple country-tinged melodies that are immediately accessible. Simple, yes, but the melodies resonate just as surely as the vibrating strings, the notes hanging in the air like unanswered questions and lingering memories.

Lots of balls and promise on this first release by Montréal trumpeter Philippe Battikha’s shredding power trio. Lots of insistence too, good and bad. A unified conception and tireless devotion to repetition of simple materials serve well. A minus is the monochromatic approach to trumpet sound. Played mostly like an overdriven electric guitar, we miss the revealing sound of the open horn. An intriguing engagement between the tender and the ferocious. 7/10