Quebec’s Population II has followed up on their 2025 release, Maintenant Jamais, with a new EP, definitely plunging the prog rock three-piece into more synthy waters. This new batch of five songs they call the Gimmicks – EP, honestly feels more Tangerine Dream than Black Sabbath (a group the band gets compared to a lot), and drummer/vocalist Pierre-Luc Gratton’s vocals are way quieter than we heard on Maintenant Jamais.
It’s a new flavour, and clearly the boys wanted to experiment with a more electronic focus rather than their twisting prog psych. Both the opener “Angélisme” and “Cha Cha les Mouillés” could fit nicely as a rave sample, as it feels like it’s all building to something, but it never really does and just fizzles out into oblivion. Where is the bass and guitar explosion? The single “Magouilleux” is a more traditional Pop II vibe, but still a muted one, and we get some thick evil bass synth in place of the crushing guitar work on previous releases.
I wasn’t expecting an electro synth ambient album from the Population II boys. Their music has never really felt calming to me, but I guess everyone needs to slow down at some point? Hopefully they don’t run with this vibe for a whole album next or if they do, they filter out the heaviness that makes them great in the first place.
