
Spleen II cassette
With members of PUFFER and BETON ARME, and especially being released on Roachleg, I came into this tape with preconceptions. How delightfully shocked was I, then, to have expectations totally subverted by a collection of songs that don’t bludgeon so much as coax you into their plaintive landscape. The group is evocative of a broad palette of influences, from dream pop to cowpunk, and it all works. I’m always impressed by a band that can explore while still sounding confident, keeping to a center that holds strong regardless of what genre they dip into. There’s no one corner to paint these songs into, and that’s what makes the release so potent. On the outright classically rocking “Rien Ne T’empechêra,” you end up with something akin to THIN LIZZY with Bernard Sumner on guitar. I might be reaching, but that’s the sort of abstract pairing the music conjures. All in all, it’s an immensely satisfying and beguiling grip of tracks from some of Montreal’s top players.