Like many people, I had no idea who the band Angine de Poitrine was until about a month ago, when the group performed live for a KEXP session.
I was immediately drawn in by the weirdness of what I was seeing and hearing.
Why the polka dots? And why the massive head and long nose?
After about a minute that didn't matter anymore. Instead, I felt like I'd drank six Red Bulls and had wings — all because of the music.
History has shown us that people love masked anonymous bands (think Orville Peck, Slipknot, Daft Punk — to name just a few). Angine de Poitrine is backing up their mask gimmick with a sound that can't be easily replicated. The technical skill of the duo is undeniable. Not only that, while it's only two people, they sound huge. This is due to the power of looping. The guitarist plays a double neck bass/six string hybrid and loops the bass parts or vice versa.
This is complicated stuff, and in the wrong hands it can be disastrous. However, these polka dot-clad individuals know what they're doing.
There's no easy way to describe their sound. But, to give it a go: Imagine if Tool was cartoon characters out of a Dr. Seuss nightmare, then combine that with the vibes of Horse Lords — or to some extent King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard — and you might get close to the sound of Angine De Poitrine.
After you get over the visual look of the band, you get hooked in by the music. And the music is fun. It's not going to appeal to everyone, but if you like solid grooves and songs that make you say "woah, this is crazy," than chances are you're going to dig their album, Vol II.
This record is best enjoyed loud and listened to in one consecutive sitting. The songs fuel one another and it's a short listen at 36 minutes. Most of the tracks here are instrumentals, but when the vocals appear — however sparsely — they add a fun almost DEVO energy to the craziness of the audio experience.
If you want to hear something unique, give Angine de Poitrine a listen. I guarantee you won't hear anything quite like this, unless you go deep into the experimental void on your own time.