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Montag: Going Places

Contributed By: McKay
Created On: Thursday, 13 December 2007
Hits: 76

Going Places

As the name suggests, Montag, aka Antoine Bedard, creates fizzy montages of a 60's French pop flavour utilising vintage analogue, electronic and acoustic instruments with a delicate precision of doodley sonics. For this, his third album, Montreal's son enlists the help of friends and collaborators with appearances from Victoria Legrand (Beach house), Anthony Gonzales (M83) Amy Millan (Stars), Au Revoir Simone, and a gamut of some 70 artists from 15 countries on the contributory cyber-collaboration project that is the title track, 'Going Places'.

Opening with the spacey, atmospheric montage of 'I Have Sound' with the aid of M83's Anthony Gonzales, 'Going Places' appears to bookend the collections between Lemon Jelly and Stereolab, while the cutesy digi-pop blitz of 'Best Boy Electric' and title track 'Going Places' slaver the kitsch tunes.

'Mechanical Kids' takes Stereolab/High Llamas turns with digi-skewiffery and "...not too much thinking...", and 'Softness, I Forgot Your Name' loops harp amidst squiggly synths on an all too pointless tune, whilst 'Alice', 'Hi-5 Au DJ' and 'Plus Grand Que' feature French-speaking musings on pedestrian, blowing bubbles pop-tunes. 'Safe In Sound' takes a wispy easy-chair, whilst the sonic pastiche of 'Hands Off, Creature!' has a Mighty Math-like technicality, as 'No One Else' skirts with casio-pop and '322 Water' has an ambiance that hangs out to dry.

Amidst the plethora of artists coming out of Canada, Montag is widely recognised as one of Canada's electronic luminaries, creating a meeting of the future-past, yet 'Going Places' comes across simply as a jejune, anaemic, dithering work that doesn't take from its' title and go places, preferring to navel-gaze with sub-Royksopp/Lemon Jelly digi-pop kitsch, inconsequential songs and featherweight sonics. Altogether, a work that could have done with a longer gestation.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."