Last weekend we had a ripper of a show at Quai Des Brumes in the form of FACS, WORKS, and DahL, all single-word band names, all with their own vibes, dabbling in the “experimental” or abstract rock sound genres. Many in the crowd were here for FACS, but some where just looking to support a live show and had their feeble minds twisted—and better for it.
We begin with the arsty trip-hop rock stylings of DahL, who take us on a psychedelic journey through their 2024 album, That’s It, adding a cerebral live energy during songs like “Edie and Ginger” and the crowd favourite, “Una Minutes.” I’ve seen DahL three or four times and it’s always good. Lead singer and guitar player, Nassir Liselle always seems to go into a trance of swagger, fully taking on the form of the characters he sings about, demanding prasie from the audience. Then we have Bryan Greenfield holding down the funk with his bass, modular synth, and occasional reverb-y backing vocals. William Winston adds another layer on another all-encompassing synth, and drummer Edward Scrimger holds down the chaos with his jazzy drumming, popping in a few ghost notes for more flair.
Next up is another local band, WORKS—whom I was unaware of until this show, with a wave of noisy art rock that immediately feels like the Montreal equivalent of the UK’s Dry Cleaning. Singer Skylar Aung-Thwin puts her own spin on the spoken word post-punk style, occasionally throwing in a weird, falsetto-y vibrato that brings to mind bands like The B-52s—as the WORKS dual guitar players unleash wave after wave of angular guitar riffs. The MVP of WORKS has to be bassist Zakir Jafry, who does not miss a beat during the off-kilter jams. Aung-Thwin’s stage prescence was cool and aloof, and kind of surreal as she offered the crowd apples, not once, but three times.
A few beers in, our heads are on swivels, waiting for FACS to take the stage. For the uninitiated, FACS is a weirdo noise rock three-piece from Chicago, who just released the album Wish Defense—the last album engineered by the legendary Steve Albini before his passing last year. As FACS take the stage, the bass guitar lets out the fuzzy and sludgy opening to “When You Say”—from 2023’s Still Life in Decay, and lead singer/guitarist Brian Case lets out his discordant and bright guitar harmonics. As he riffs, Case falls into the Quai Des Brumes walls, as if he’s being constantly hit by some luring presence. He looks like he’s in a constant fight, elevated by the fact that he raises his head to scream into the mic. Live, FACS’ music feels an inescapable vortex. This was of course, an Analogue Addiction show, so the quality was brimming, meaning the lead up to FACS—a local combiantion of DahL and WORKS—was weirdly perfect.
