CD Review: Duchess Says, Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs (Alien8)

Sep 16, 2008 3:02 PM

A furious bombast descends from Canada
It's all awkward edges and tight squeezes on the debut from this Montreal quartet. Opener "Tenen non neu" sets the tone with vocalist Annie-Claude Deschenes leading quick-fire drums, tormented guitars, buzzing Moogs and a ropey bass line through jarring starts and stops. Her unrestrained raspy groans and growls are the center of attention even when caught in the storm of distorted noise on the caustic "Ccut Up" or leading the synth-rock charge as "Black Flag" bashes its way into the club. Longer cuts "I've got the Flu" and "Gilbert" lose focus with extended instrumental codas, but the album's fiercely screaming and squelching core of never wavers.—Noah Levine [3.5 out of 5 stars]

Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus

Want to use this article? Click here for options!