Feu Thérèse
Feu Thérèse

Fans of Fly Pan Am will find much to like with Feu Thérèse. Channeling the explosive noise-rock collage of their brilliant live performances, this debut album pits a determined, careening rhythm section against a palette of pumping organ chords, shards of electric guitar, vocals often processed beyond recognition, and myriad swoops and squawks. Packed with ideas and sounds, these songs strike a perfect balance of structure and improvisation, making for some very strange – and very catchy – avant rock. The band took shape in Montreal in 2004, headed up by guitarist Jonathan Parant (Fly Pan Am) and bassist/sound artist Alexandre St-Onge (Klaxon Gueule, Shalabi Effect, Et Sans, solo). The group also included sound artist Stephen De Oliveira and visual-artist-turned-drummer Luc Paradis. From the opening electronic squall of “Ferrari en feu” (the album is dedicated to Luc Ferrari) through the controlled psycho-babbling chaos of “Mademoiselle gentleman” to the unsettling, murmuring calm of “Tu n’avais qu’une oreille” (with De Oliveira on lascivious lead vocal), side A demonstrates the range of the band’s influences and syntheses. Side B pushes into more bizarre and playful territory on “L’homme avec coeur avec elle”, which mashes up a sultry saxophone solo and vocal chirps, while the band weaves a simple 2-chord twang underneath. Album closer “Ce n’est pas les jardins du Luxembourg” is a longer instrumental composition built around organ drones and processed field recordings, with rhythmic pulses and melodic accents ebbing and flowing, caught somewhere between Dark Side Of The Moon, Sun Ra, kabuki music and the zoo. Good times all around. 

 

LP is pressed on 180g audiophile vinyl and comes in a thick printed jacket with 12"x12" artwork insert.

CD comes in a custom paperboard mini-gatefold jacket with a printed CD dust sleeve.

 

Stephen De Oliveira: synthesizers and synthesis, guitar, organ, harmonica, digital birds, voice
Luc Paradis: drums, percussion
Jonathan Parant: guitar, pump organ, synthesizer, electronics, voice
Alexandre St-Onge: bass, organ, harpsichord, electronics, voice

FEATURED GUESTS

Philippe Lauzier: saxophone, bass clarinet on Track 4


Recorded and mixed at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal by Thierry Amar.
Track 5 and various other fragments recorded and mixed at Love Streams in Montreal by Stephen De Oliveira.
Mastered at Grey Market in Montreal by Harris Newman.