Despite the title, this is not a song-by-song remake of the Talking Heads’ classic album of the same name, although I can only imagine what this trio’s takes on Burning Down The House or This Must Be The Place would sound like. Much like The Dirty Three, these musicians play percussion, violin, and guitar; unlike those Australians, these Canadians have little use for melody or song structure. The eight (mostly lengthy) compositions here blend Indian music-inspired open tunings with dissonant free jazz improvisations, but this sort of culture clash isn’t as outwardly engaging as you would hope. While the talent and skill that went into making the album is readily apparent, any pleasure derived from these difficult, subtle pieces requires a lot of close listening. It’s like staring at an impenetrably dense painting in a museum and admiring what you see but wondering, “What’s the point?” The trio come closest to answering that question on Fra Ma Ga Ra, where saxophonist Frank Lozano adds some lively, tense honking to a traffic jam of equally frenetic violin freakouts and shards of broken bottle percussive effects.

Le compositeur et contrebassiste Pierre Cartier présente ses Chansons de la belle espérance le vendredi 12 mars 2004 à la Maison de la culture Frontenac et le samedi 13 mars à la Maison de la culture Côte-des-Neiges (Montréal).

Cinq ans plus tard, L’Orkestre des pas perdus lance un nouvel album, «Mondo Cuivro». L’Orkestre et ses membres, sous la direction artistique du tromboniste Claude St-Jean, seront en spectacle à La Sala Rossa (Montréal) samedi le 28 février 2004.

This compendium features twenty new artists pushing the boundaries of musique actuelle. The Ambiances Magnétiques label (a.k.a. DAME), has a strong roster in the genre stalwarts Robert Marcel Lepage, Jean Derome, Martin Tétreault and more, but this collection shows the future is bright with a spectrum of new, fresh talent. The assembly of talent runs the gamut from electroacoustic to astro-jazz and from third stream to rock in opposition. Fresh and exciting, it is post-all so very much and a highly promising cornucopia of fresh ideas. (4)

Avant-garde reeds man Pierre Labbé plays tenor saxophone and flute on this, his first album as a leader. Labbé has also worked with Papa Boa, Claude St-Jean, Pierre Dumont and more. This music draws from the third stream of free jazz blended with chamber music. He leads his ensemble through wild but precise romps featuring violin, viola, electric guitar, acoustic bass and traps. It is Bernard Falaise (Miriodor) that plays the guitar and some of the music recalls Miriodor. While some of this instrumental music never seems to fulfill its promise (Combat de Coqs), the album is itself a very promising debut. (4)

Depuis vendredi dernier, la chanson «Des iguanes et des cochons» de Frank Martel et l’Ouest céleste est inscrite au palmares interactif Baposcope de l’émission Bande à part de Radio-Canada. Cinq extraits sont en écoute et les internautes votent pour leur chanson préférée. Nous vous invitons donc à voter pour Frank Martel! La première position du top 5 sera dévoilée lors de l’émission hebdomadaire du vendredi soir, 20h, sur la Première chaîne de Radio-Canada (95,1 FM à Montréal).