FME 2025: Ada Lea Soaks in the Summer

by Jake Friesen

In a hot cafe turned performance venue, Montreal-based singer-songwriter Ada Lea and her band draw a quiet, attentive crowd. Her sound is sweet singer-songwriter fare with twinkling guitar, warm bass and grounded percussion. Ada Lea’s voice, with a slight western twinge, is as warm and breathy as the last exhalations of summer itself.

During the performance, her band is exceedingly stoic while she nervously attempts the task of stage banter. The nerves, however, do not translate to her performance in any way. She easily regains her footing once the music starts again, a brief intermission in her sonic landscape. Drawing us into vignettes of dappled sunlight and dusty roads with songs like “Diner.” In many ways, Ada Lea’s performance felt like an outlier compared to the exposition of oddities that is FME. That being said, the crowd that had gathered for her was undivided in their attention to her low-key and consummate performance. A break from the cacophonous offerings of the festival, Ada Lea invites you to take a seat and soak in the final precious moments of summer.

Club / Darkwave / Synth-Pop / Synthwave

FME 2025: Automelodi Reads the Room

by Lyle Hendriks

In FME’s past, my memory of the final show of the weekend is always one of being dead on my feet, swaying gently in a basement as I fight to maintain my final, vestigial brain cells against an onslaught of some sort of trancy, droning music.

So as you can imagine, I was thrilled to find out the final show of the weekend this year was not only outside, but featured Automelodi, an outstanding, energetic synthpop performer who came to party. Automelodi, also known as Xavier Paradis, is a lone figure onstage surrounded by synths, beatpads, and mic stands. Having gotten his start in 2006, we’re now seeing a renaissance for the Montreal musician, as he returns to the stage in sync with many upcoming releases in 2025. With distorted, reverb-soaked vocals, breakneck change-ups, and an unrelenting danceability to every moment, the music is urgent, lively, and compels—even my sorry, hungover ass—to dance one last time to close out the weekend.

We few who remained by the end of the night, were crushed to see him finish the set, begging for just one more dirty, crime spree club hit to close out the night. While we weren’t granted this encore, I was still glad that FME decided to round out this year’s programming with such an obvious, universally enjoyable smash hit of an act.

Psych-Rock / Psychedelia / Surf

FME 2025: TEKE::TEKE Spirit Us Away

by Lyle Hendriks

Many bands claim to transport you to another world. Few achieve it so quickly and profoundly as Montreal’s Japanese psych surf rock legends TEKE::TEKE.

Whether it’s vocalist Maya Kuroki taking the stage at the beginning to deliver a melodramatic monologue while shedding mask after mask to reveal an even more unsettling one beneath, flautist Yuki Isami and her glamorous, ’70s go-go dancer look, or simply the restless, constantly shapeshifting compositions that make up this group’s catalogue, it’s impossible to not find yourself spirited away by this impeccable six-piece before long.

Dressed in loud, clashing patterns that mirror the disparate musical influences driving the group, TEKE::TEKE took us on a truly epic 90-odd-minute journey through the better part of their catalogue, from their earliest releases all the way to some of their more recent work created for a recent Assassin’s Creed soundtrack. Sometimes, it’s raucous and upbeat, the perfect thing for a day on the breakwater. Other times, it’s a high-octane parkour chase theme that grips us and never lets go, every hairpin turn catching us off-guard to create a dense, intricate weave of sonic threads that feel impossible to parse.

Songs may have five, six, ten different sections a piece, and the group is beyond solid as they deftly swing into abrupt turns, sink into the quiet moments, and explode back out into dramatic climaxes with little to no warning. With an unmatched energy and a sound unlike any other, TEKE::TEKE continues to be a force to be reckoned with.

FME 2025: Frannie Holder debuts her artsy solo project

by Stephan Boissonneault

There is some old FME lore behind the name Frannie Holder. I only know the name because one of her band’s, Random Recipe, played FME’s first secret show inside the famed late-night Morasse Poutine shop some 20 years ago. Now at this year’s FME, Frannie debuted her solo project in the seated Agora Des Spectacles. The bits that I saw were a combination of experimental pop, trip-hop and French art house vibes.

As Frannie sang in operatic tone in French, a bass player and drummer created a hazy wall of sound, allowing Frannie to hop on the synthesizer. It was a bit Regina Spektor meets Björk, with a dash of Montreal’s N NAO— a calming way to start the day at 4 pm. I noticed that it was in fact the drummer leading many of the more complex changes, calling out “un, deux, trois, quatre,” before ending a song or signalling the next jam. It will be interesting to see what shape these songs take on record, but only time will tell.

Hard Rock / Metal

FME 2025: A tribute to Aut’Chose with young rock n’ roll blood

by Stephan Boissonneault

Being from Alberta, I had no idea who Aut’Chose was before this tribute show on the last day of FME, but I did recall the name from a conversation with rock and metal historian Felix Desfosses some years ago. He also references them a few times in his 2014 book, L’évolution du métal: No Speed Limit 1964-1989.

Singer/poet Lucien Francoeur (who passed last year at age 76) guitarist, Jacques Racine (who also passed in 2024) and Aut’Chose were a legendary force in the hard rock Quebecois music scene, releasing three albums in the mid ’70s. This FME Les Freaks de Montreal tribute show had new and younger artists: Rose Cormier of Mulch, Alix Fernz, N Nao, Pierre-Luc Gratton of Population II, and others, taking over the vocal duties and eulogizing Francoeur in between songs. The band was somewhat of a supergroup; on drums was Michel “Away” Langevin (Voïvod), guitars and synths were members of GrimSkunk, Groovy Aardvark, and Tricky Woo.

Again, I had never heard Aut’Chose songs before this show, but to me it felt like the best parts of RUSH, ZZ Top, Black Sabbath, and a bit of Lou Reed vocal delivery. There were moments of straight hard rock and moments of strange, fuzzy prog. It was fun and interesting to hear and see each vocalist in a different light: N Nao screaming, Alix Fernz without many vocal effects, sounding as clear as he ever has, and Pierre-Luc Gratton standing while singing, as he usually mans the throne and sings in Population II. Another standout has to be the double bass guitar action as Population II took the stage a second time.

Garage Punk / Hard Rock / Pop-Punk / Punk

FME 2025: The OBGMS are Celine Dion??

by Jake Friesen

The OBGMs return to FME for the first time since 2021, where they played to a COVID-restricted, seated audience. They take the main stage and declare themselves a Celine Dion cover band. Despite a lukewarm reception from the audience, they launch headlong into an unrelentingly energetic set. Vocalist Densil MacFarlane charismatically provokes the audience at every turn, challenging them to go harder. The OBGMs are sonically dialled, catchy melodies, impassioned vocals, furious percussion, and no shortage of shredding. They are a magnetic force to be reckoned with as they straddle the line between needle-point precision and thrashing punk sensibilities. After a hard-won battle for the audience’s full commitment, MacFarlane brings them in by asking if anyone in the audience has an ex they really hate.

Applause rings out as everyone chants “Fuck Robbie” and Macfarlane dedicates the next song to an audience member’s ex, Robbie. Even though The OBGMs stand before an audience of hundreds of people, they effortlessly cultivate the feeling of community found at an underground punk show. They stand wholeheartedly in their artistry and principles as MacFarlane gives an impassioned reminder to make space for each other in both the physical and communal sense.

After seeing their show on Saturday night, I am convinced the OBGMS are well on their way to taking over the world, and that’s just fine by me.

Photos by Julia Mela

Alternative Rock / Indie Rock

FME 2025: Inflatable Poolgirl party in the alley

by Jake Friesen

Montreal garage rock outfit Poolgirl makes their FME debut to an enthusiastic crowd huddled around the stage. With the crowd hopping around like popcorn kernels and inflatable pool paraphernalia being flung left and right, Poolgirl is in their element.

Grungy guitars, clamorous percussion and charged, throaty vocals fill the air. Unpretentious and sincere, the raw quality of their sound is endearing—Poolgirl trades seriousness in their performance for the raucous fanfare of youth. They inhabit a sonic space previously reserved for suburban teenage boys. Still, under the lights of the FME Fizz Stage, it is refreshing to bear witness to easy breezy bratty garage rock on full display from a band comprised primarily of femme-presenting musicians.

A constant bounciness carries Poolgirl through their set as though they themselves are as buoyant as the beach balls ricocheting off the heads of the audience. The roiling, grimy bass propelling them ever forward into their final song, and in true garage rock fashion, they disappear into the night like teenagers fleeing the scene of an illicit houseshow.

Hip Hop / Trip Hop

FME 2025: Transcendental Alleywork with Boutique Feelings

by Stephan Boissonneault

Catching Boutique Feelings in that intimate alley setting at FME was exactly what we needed, especially my friend on a wicked dose of LSD. Karim Lakhdar’s genre-bending project delivered everything—a mesmerizing blend of psychedelic hip-hop that felt both introspective and energizing, enough to bring back the dead.

My friends and I were in a pretty spaced-out headspace and completely captivated by the distortion-mangled hooks and offbeat storytelling. The socio-political messaging had this grounding effect that brought everyone in the crowd for one moment, jsut for Lakhdar to destroy it and create it again.

Karim Lakhdar is doing something wild with this project – like if Madlib and Kim Gordon had a baby and raised it on krautrock records. All of Atsuko Chiba is now in this project. Absolutely subliminally, sublime.

Experimental / Experimental / Contemporary / Experimental Rock / Krautrock / Rock

FME 2025: Krautrock by sunset

by Stephan Boissonneault

I’m too young to have been alive for Pink Floyd’s Live at Pompeii set that was played for no one—save for the camera crew and a few strangers—but witnessing this once in a lifetime You II Avec Nolan Potter performance, at FME is the closest I’ll ever get. This six-piece titan of krautrock, the two core members of Yoo Doo Right, all three of Population II, and Austin’s multi-instrumental mastermind Nolan Potter, played a vibey, hazy and psychedelic set for the halycon age. The venue? Lake Osisko in Rouyn-Noranda, or just off of it on a concrete slab, during sunset. Despite some sound difficulties, which was most likely unavoidable with the legion of gear this sextet produced out of thin air, this show was phenomenal. Two drummers, with full kits, so locked in that their fills were part of a collective imagination. Two synth/guitarists trading off solos, giving each other space as they approached oblivion. Nolan Potter hopping on a quick tenor saxophone, flute flourish, tambourine man interlude, and most importantly, lighting smokes for himself and drummer John Talbot.

Looking back, the sound difficulties seemed rehearsed and part of the jam. You could see the palpable frustration as guitarist/synth wizard Justin Cober’s guitar failed to compute, but it was brought back to life for a secure guitar bend. This show will never be again. The best part? The never-ending finale, signalled by a quick “OUAIS!” by drummer/ vocalist Pierre-Luc Gratton.

Alternative / Alternative Rock / No Wave / Post-Punk

FME 2025: Mary Shelley, a reanimated lifeform

by Lyle Hendriks

Arriving at the dark, liminal space of Bar du Curling, we’re immediately met with Brooklyn punk outfit Mary Shelley. Young, energetic, and full of that signature New York piss and vinegar, it doesn’t take long to start bouncing off the walls alongside this scrappy, genre-fucked four-piece.

Though some bands have had to work hard to earn their dancefloors this FME, this didn’t seem to be an issue at all for Mary Shelley, who commanded our attention and energy from the outset. After grabbing us by the hair, they shredded through an impressively intense set full of hard-punk, literary, IDLES-style lyrics, and jangly indie pop all rolled into one. There’s seemingly no influence or genre out of bounds for Mary Shelley, blending shoegaze, post-punk, and even bits of pieces of hip-hop to produce an altered state that I still can’t quite explain. Swapping instruments, swapping sounds, and crushing beers. Anyone worried about the death of punk is simply unwilling to recognize this reanimated lifeform as the real thing.

Like the author they’re named after, Mary Shelley is a frightening, exhilarating subversion of whatever it is you expect going in—even if you arrive with no idea who they are, both old-fashioned and totally novel.

Photos by Jacob Zweig

Dark Pop / Shoegaze

FME 2025: APACALDA Cracks the Door for Us

by Lyle Hendriks

Bringing together dark tones, bedroom boudoir, and electrifying pop sensibilities, APACALDA was one of the steadiest acts at FME on Saturday. Cassandra Angheluta brought incredible intimacy to the once-sterile environment of L’ordre Loyal des Moose, drawing us in with dark, heavy, yet incredibly restrained and refined tracks. Her band, made up of Raphy Bedard de Vilca (bass) and Caleb LeBel (drums), is right in the pocket alongside her, pulling us through pitch-black waters like ferrymen as we’re treated to maze-like song structures and captivating vocals. Bedard de Vilca plays with poise and a seemingly endless supply of restrained energy, while LeBel’s intricate, subtle drum work provides the perfect energy.

The word for Apacalda is restraint. Like a tight bandage on an old wound, Angheluta can shift effortlessly from breathy, secretive passages to incredible climaxes, dancing on a tightrope in a world of her own while she does.

There’s a deep reservoir of vulnerability and pain behind the initially catchy offerings of Apacalda, something that feels almost too private to look at directly. But still, Angheluta pulls us back every time, inviting us, then demanding us to look at the bloodied parts of her that produce such a visceral, compelling sound. Apacalda is at once instantly approachable and deeply challenging, caught in the middle of two extremes to deliver a beautiful tension unlike anything else we saw this weekend.

Photos by Jacob Zweig

crowd shot: Julia Mela

Neo-Psychedelia / Psych-Funk / Psych-Rock / Rock

FME 2025: La Flemme, a blender for everyone

by Stephan Boissonneault

There have been many hair-brained garage psych rock bands at FME, bands that can definitely list a group like Oh Sees as a main influence, but La Flemme might be among the most genuine. This Franco four-piece from Marseille, France, brings an uncontained intensity for the party, most likely the kind of people you can confide in during a rowdy 4 am rager or start of an unruly business adventure. The visuals from Anthony Piazza were legendary as always, and my favourite had to be the blender cycloning some icing that was actually planet Earth.