by Heather Williams (@heatermeow)
One of the most wild and beautifully exploratory albums released in 2020 came from Population II, a psych-rock trio based out of Montreal. À la Ô Terre, comes to you from powerhouse psych label Castle Face Records, and is the soundtrack for a journey in and out of the chaotic edges as galaxies collide.
“Introspection” starts the album off triumphantly with galloping and cascading guitars and bass, the vocals coming out of the universe like a siren of emergency. It introduces the path of the songs on this album: dynamics of gentleness followed by the gut punch of screaming guitars writhing around in the chaos. Wild build ups to abrupt endings. Haunting, driving bass lines exploding out of the fading cosmos.
There are two triplets of songs on this album that should be listened to without stopping. The first trio are tracks “Les Vents,” “L’Offrande,” and “La Nuit,” with brooding bass and slow build ups, creeping through the field during a maniacal game of hide and seek under a bright giant moon. These songs are masterpieces of frenetic wanderings, of getting lost in the woods and running from an unknown threat in the darkness.
The second trio of songs to listen straight through are tracks “Attraction,” “La Danse,” and “À la Porte de Demain”. “Attraction” starts off like being on a slow moving river and the sounds of aching saxophones are drifting out of the forest. The song feeds directly into “La Danse,” in an expression of being chased out of the chaos of the abyss. “À la Porte de Demain” follows closely after and sounds like frantically trying to solve a rubik’s cube for the universe before it explodes.
The album ends on “Je Laisse le Soleil Briller,” a quiet and uncertain ending. This undetermined ending leaves the listener ready for what comes next, anticipating the next musical gem Population II creates.