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Have you always wished that King Gizzard were French-Canadians with an affinity for anonymity and Dadaist performance art? The ultra-specific vibe that this audacious duo captures is not too far off, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anything even remotely similar in the year of our lord. Loaded with a double guitar (an electric mounted atop a bass), the melodic element of Angine De Poitrine is driven by Khn’s seriously ingenious use of a looper, and snaking riffage that contorts itself impossibly around Klek’s propulsive drumming. Their style of jam typically relies on an established motif, angular in shape, pushed to oblivion as jerky additions reshape the original groove. The final piece is always a sour collage of giddy musicality, and their latest set of tracks is a further digging in of the heels within their microtonal bent.
In a live performance context, a certain memetic magic is added to the already eclectic mix. Their paper maché masks and polka dot smatterings offer an alien universe in which these performances can live. The human element drives the music itself, and the costumes make up this strange 4th dimension. It’s how Angine De Poitrine took off in the first place. They understood the gimmick-driven nature of social media, where everything you see and hear is a hook, and they’ve stacked their content with talking points. Their songs are making the rounds on music theory TikTok for their aforementioned microtonality, they’re finding themselves on Instagram music meme pages for their oddball presentation, and it’s giving the music world a breath of fresh air as we drown in the throes of both generative AI-obsessed late-stage capitalism and increasingly fascist political rhetoric.
Whether it’s the Eastern bloc of “Utzp”, the eternal, krautrockean momentum of “Mata Zyklek”, the danceable revelations in the back half of “Fabienk”, or even the linear, fuzzed-out psychedelia of “Yor Zarad”. Angine De Poitrine satisfies on more than one account. They use their limitations to their full advantage, daring themselves to keep the listener guessing in the process. Because if you sit with them for a tiny bit longer, you can very easily see beyond the floppy-nosed spacesuits and initially novel artistic concept to hear some of the most gripping rock music this year is likely to offer. These two, all reviewer pretense aside, are extraordinary musicians, and that shows with even just a mild analysis of their songwriting. There is a not-too-distant future where they will be dominating year-end lists and continually baffling fans and critics alike. They’ve proven that there is truly no ceiling for them, and that prospect alone makes them a band worth locking into.
Dan Will Review 