Have you ever had an experience that felt like a higher power pushing you towards something? Around a year ago, while walking down Rue St. Denis in a truly horrendous snowstorm, I was treated to a wonderful experience, which I now think can only be described as fate. As I walked past the bustling subterranean mecca that is Bar L’Escogriffe, a call came out to me: “Hey you! Do you like The Strokes?” Standing in the dark doorway of L’Esco was a group of 5, bundled to holy hell, beckoning me to come over to them.

Who better to profoundly convey the disquieting turmoil of our recent times than Montreal post-rock legends Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The collective played the second of two nights at Montreal’s venerable MTELUS, in support of their eighth release, the sobering and instantly dated, No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead. A direct reference to the death toll in Palestine at that date, the title is exemplary of Godspeed You!

Dan Snaith of Dundas, Ontario has been consistently pumping out ever-changing electronic sounds for over twenty years. Under the name Manitoba, he started out making shifty, sample-heavy dance music in the vein of Four Tet’s early work.

It should go without saying at this point that 2024 has been a wild year for music. We’ve seen artists like Chappell Roan go from sleeper hitmaker to megastar almost overnight. We’ve seen albums like BRAT absolutely dominate pop culture to the point where its aesthetic has been used in American political campaigns (to varying levels of success).

I’m pretty sure it's physically impossible for JPEGMAFIA ever to disappoint me. Currently riding a monumental wave of productivity, the New York rapper has just wrapped up the North American tour for his 3rd album released this decade, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU. Lucky for us, Peggy’s final stop was here in Montreal, and even with my deep-rooted distaste for MTELUS, it was a show I will brag about for years to come.