POP Montréal | Edith Nylon, Reappearance? Appearance!

Édith Nylon and her pals from that era have a keen interest in making their presence last. The third card in the resurrection line-up at POP Montréal, the French singer was of interest only to collectors of memories.

Anyone interested in France’s punk rock and new wave scene 45 years ago would have listened to Edith Nylon, her cheapskate keyboards and razor-sharp guitars spread over four albums.

And then others took over, and Edith Nylon disappeared. It seems that the adventure continued elsewhere than in our ears, on the other side of the puddle, especially since Edith Nylon had never crossed it to perform in Montreal. So was this a reappearance or an outright apparition? More precisely, the band reformed in 2020, after a 37-year hiatus! One album was released in 2021, and it seems that others will follow La fin de la vie sauvage, and the newest one Echo, Bravo.

And so, the ageless punkette, Mylène Khaski, arrives after her colleagues have warmed up their instruments and started the groove. These cheerful, grizzled bards may be in the 55-65 bracket, but they haven’t lost their fire.

Yes, the drums are a little thin, but they hold the tempo well. Yes, the guitars are less razor-sharp than they used to be and dominate the keyboards. Yes, the soloist doesn’t have the voice of the century, but she’s got it. And yes, you can certainly feel the band’s esprit de corps. We feel their joy in playing, we appreciate their cohesion, and we observe their inclination more rock than punk, more classical than disheveled. All in all, it was a delight, even if the old hits weren’t as plentiful as nostalgic fans might have wished. Of course, in addition to “Avorton,” La Fin de la vie sauvage and Ne dis pas oui ne dis pas non, Khaski sang the essential “Edith Nylon.” It goes without saying that the audience reached a climax.