JEUNESSE APATRIDE - Larmes aux poings

By Jackie Hall - Bridge the Gap - 05/16/2008

I have a superstitious Irish granny. She believes that all bad things come in sets of three.  However, I think that her belief in the number three may also be the case for good things happening in sets of three. In the last month, I’ve been to three record release shows for three local acts and have been pleasantly surprised on all three occasions. 

One Montreal band to have released a new record in the month of May is Jeunesse Apatride. If you haven’t heard of them, it’s ok -- the odds are you haven’t heard them before, as their shows still only draw a few dozen people, even if they have been around for a decade. On May 16^th, Jeunesse released their fourth full-length. Their three previous records, Pas de compte à rendre à personne, Black Block ‘n Roll, and La victoire sommeille, are all relatively generic franco-punk rock records. I don’t say this is a negative way -- I am a fan of much generic punk rock. But, at the same time, you can only listen to this stuff for so long before you ask yourself which record you’re listening to because you can’t tell the difference between them.

Larmes aux poings does not leave me with the feeling that I’m hearing the fourth installment of the same series. Like other local artists of some experience, Jeunesse Apatride seem to have grown up. I realize that this is a new trend in Montreal.  For a long-time in this city, very few bands toughed out long enough to put out more than one or two albums, with very few exceptions. Finally, we are seeing bands stick around long enough that we have the time to hear them mature. Jeunesse took a very temporary break last year, as the singer was off on a maternity leave (I imagine screaming can be tiring in the third trimester). Perhaps this was the kind of break they would need to literally sever their present sound from their past.

The vocals are a lot more melodic and more feminine. The guitar is more technical, although still far from being professional. The only thing that has stayed the same is the anger towards existing political, social and economic structures. Yes, as the name of the band implies, Jeunesse Apatride are anarchists. That has not changed. They’ve taken time, even if forced by outside circumstances, to write better songs with better lyrics, and more time to record in a better studio. All this extra time has made for one better record.

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