Concert Reviews

The Allah-Las, alongside their opener Maston - who is also their keyboardist - brought over some soothing and nostalgic sounds to a receptive crowd at the Beanfield Theatre. On a chilly Monday night in Montreal, the audience immersed themselves into the Californian psychedelic rock band’s one-hour set. A musical oasis for those who have been lucky enough to stumble upon them, the Allah-Las leaves their listeners with a sense of nostalgia for a time and place most have never experienced, but long for through the band’s music.

Pop music seems to be in the midst of a revival of sorts. Every month, a new “internet queen of pop” seems to emerge from the constant content explosion that is TikTok, from Renee Rapp to Chappell Roan. While these artists are all pumping out fantastic back-to-back cuts, one consistently stands out from the crowd: PinkPantheress. I was introduced to PinkPantheress, as much of her fanbase was, in the summer of 2021. Breaking onto the scene with a generational run of five back-to-back singles within 3 months, it felt like nowhere on the internet was safe from her frightfully catchy hooks.

Dan Bejar’s Destoryer is one of Western Canada’s biggest names in indie rock. Recording music for over twenty five years, Destroyer’s lush instrumentation and whimsical lyricism has seen many different genre shifts over the years, spanning from indie-folk to synth-heavy art pop, as Bejar and band navigate shifting inspirations and moods. 

Not much can convince me to go out on a Sunday night, let alone out of my immediate neighbourhood, and above that, after I spent the day moving all my belongings to a new apartment. However, this particular late March Sunday promised a truly jam-packed show of slowcore legends, exhilarating DJs, and up-and-coming rock bands. So, trying to ignore my lumbar pain, I headed out for the night to witness Ciel Noir, a one-day festival produced by Blue Skies Turn Black, featuring five acts you’ll likely never see on the same bill again.

“It's so cruel what your mind can do,” a deep-cut lyric sung by R&B and Soul singer Arlo Parks, has been one of many phrases from the artists’ discography that has vastly resonated with Gen Z’s complex lives. In pure honesty and comfort, Park’s music crafts hardships and catastrophe in a mosaic of connection to one’s body and mind, emphasizing a message of collectivity, originality and self-empowerment.

Otoboke Beaver is a Japanese Punk band from Kyoto and one of my favourite bands of all time. According to its members, the band performs a "fast-paced and aggressive style of punk-rock" with "frequent changes in rhythm and tempo" and "gang vocals". They have a plethora of personal music influences, including Japanese rock, hardcore punk, and Japanese pop music. Their music features a combination of all of them, representing musical innovation.