M for Montreal 2024: Ten Artists to Check Out

We head to this year's M for Montreal festival and celebrate ten standout artists from the 19th edition of the Quebec showcase

Feature by Tallah Brash | 10 Dec 2024
  • Grand Eugene at M for Montreal

Celebrating the music of grassroots Canadian artists, with a focus on the wider Quebec scene, M for Montreal’s 19th edition is another knockout. The festival took place all over the city, from the beautiful coworking space of NOMAD on Avenue Van Horne that serves as the crossing poing between the Mile End and Little Italy neighbourhoods of the city, right the way towards the bustling downtown area, taking over more traditional concert venues in the entertainment district (aka Quartier des Spectacles) like Club Soda, Les Foufounes Electriques, Mtelus, and the slightly more risqué Café Cléopâtre, a strip club opposite Club Soda.

While we’re in the city, a lot happens besides the festival; a pro-Palestinian, anti-NATO protest turns into chaos on Friday evening, while in complete contrast a family-friendly Santa Parade takes place the following afternoon. The two events, both in close proximity to our hotel, show very different sides to the city in quick succession, but we’re here to celebrate Canada's diverse and exciting music scene. The programme ranges from M for Montreal's official selection artists to the wider Marathon portion of the festival which includes some bigger local names alongside some international talent like Ogun and Macy, presented by Focus Wales, and Marta Knight joining from Barcelona.  Local label showcases form a big part of the festival too, with lineups curated across the city from the likes of Lisbon Lux, Indica Records, Cult Nation and Mothland among others. Here's some of our M for Montreal 2024 highlights.


Photo of DVTR on stage at M for Montreal.

DVTR

We’ll start with Montreal egg-punk francophones DVTR. Back for this year's festival as part of the official selection, they play two shows over the course of the festival's four-day run. Following the release of their spritely BONJOUR (BIS) EP in October, the pairing of Demi Lune and Jean Divorce are fired up. First we catch them in the upstairs of Café Cléopâtre, and accompanied by balaclava-clad additional band members, the show is raucous.

Thrashing across the stage, their playing is scrappy but tight, rambunctious and full of heart as their songs touch on all manner of social commentary, from their loathing of the Olympics to ACAB-themed tracks. “Cops are shit,” Divorce exclaims before they launch into Les flics (sont des sacs à merde), which loosely translates to ‘The cops are shitbags’. It’s an exuberant show that features Lune and Divorce running amok in the crowd, ending with a giant fake sushi roll held overhead for some reason.

When we catch them later in the week, they’re playing for Range magazine, their fast-paced punk soundtracking a fashion show at Le Ritz PDB – on paper it shouldn’t work, but the pair are dressed to the nines, with Lune getting involved on the runway herself and the models seem to be lapping it up too. A rare treat. instagram.com/dvtr.band


Slash Need

“Slash Need aim to intrigue and disgust” is the threat posed in the Toronto outfit’s bio. While we’re at no point disgusted, intrigue is high from the moment Dusty Lee and Alex Low arrive onstage, Lee silhouetted behind a piece of fabric held at the front of the stage by two dancers with tights pulled over their heads, clown-like make-up where their eyes and mouths should be. 

Forming part of the Mothland takeover of the gig space in the upstairs of a Spanish tapas restaurant on Boulevard St Laurent, the room is set up with the usual main stage at the far end of the room, but also a central-in-the-round stage, making for swift back-to-backs from Alix Fernz, Hot Garbage, TVOD and Slash Need throughout the course of the night. 

While the latter open on the main stage, it’s not long before Low is left to his own devices as Lee and the dancers take full advantage of the layout, making a beeline for the central stage. The beats are hefty, scuzzy, industrial, filthy and pounding; Lee’s aesthetic lies somewhere between Kim Petras and Marilyn Manson, and watching her is utterly mesmerising as she commands the stage, all eyes on her as she struts and barks, clad in what looks like a latex leotard, mid-thigh fishnet stockings and one arm gloved as if ready to help birth a calf. Our eyes go where she goes. instagram.com/slashneed


Photo of Population II on stage at M for Montreal.

Population II

Last year we caught Montreal psych rockers Population II playing as part of the Mothland showcase, but this year they’re part of the official selection, following their latest album – Électrons libres du Québec – making the longlist for this year's Canadian Polaris Prize. We catch them in Café Cléopâtre, pushing the sound system to its limits as their rubbery and flanging riffs fill every nook and cranny of the room. 

As well as being loud with a capital L, Population II aren't short on energy, to the point it feels miraculous that they never seem to miss a note, a pedal smash, a synth squall or a drum fill. Live, they definitely sound less vintage than on record, but the dynamic nature of their playing, moving through softer moments to explosive blasts, is unmatched as they provide a true get-lost-in-the-music, bend-over-backwards, headbanging psych-rock experience that gets the heart racing. instagram.com/populationii


Photo of Begonia performing at M for Montreal.

Begonia

'Charismatic' is the word that immediately springs to mind whilst watching Begonia. She’s hilarious, utterly charming, and when she starts to sing, wow – she is captivating to the point of that old adage that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone is gripped. The relationship she has with her keyboard player is a delight, and Begonia’s laugh is infectious as chuckles ripple around the room following a comment she makes about the hairdresser working away in the back of the room at NOMAD – “shave my head!!” she squeals, before giggling uncontrollably at the not classic gig space she finds herself in.

The most alluring thing about Begonia, turned out in a black puffy PVC dress and bejewelled gloves, is how vulnerable she is on stage and in her music. “I’m a chubby queer girl,” she says matter of fact before singing about her bisexuality and choosing herself over God. She confesses that she’s currently trying to write an album about love, but laughs at the absurdity of that. Begonia is a talent as magical as her gloves. instagram.com/hellobegonia


Photo of Naomi on stage at M for Montreal.

Naomi

Some artists just have it – immediate star quality, or for want of a better expression, the X factor. The all-singing, all-dancing Naomi is one such artist. Taking to the stage of the just-shy-of-1000 capacity Club Soda, this is one of the shows the M crowd is really, really up for, and with good reason. Fairly fresh from releasing her debut album Un coin sombre pour danser – which translates to ‘a dark place to dance’ – on Montreal label Bravo Musique, this is a packed 20 minute showcase, with a non-stop party vibe and energy, complete with incredible backing dancers, a DJ giving it 100 and a dance break to Pussycat Dolls' Buttons to boot. Styled in shades of pink and blue, Naomi has the sass and attitude to carry the confident aesthetic and like most in the room, we are gagged. instagram.com/howaboutnao


Photo of KROY on stage at M for Montreal.

KROY

An early highlight for us, Camille Poliquin, aka KROY, appears onstage head to toe in black, with a pair of what looks like bat wings strapped to her back, because... well, why not, I guess!? The look sets us up for something that might err on the side of industrial goth-metal, but what is delivered is very different.

With two Polaris Prize nods for albums as part of duo Milk & Bone, and with her latest solo record MILITIA out in August, KROY's sound is closer to hyperpop. Poliquin's maple syrup-sweet vocals are so dynamic they feel almost balletic, such is the seemingly effortless control she exerts as her lyrics pirouette daintily over thoughtful alt-pop beats, with sudden explosive jétés into eye-opening operatic highs. instagram.com/kroyyyyyyyyyyyy


Housewife

Hailing from Toronto, Brighid Fry, aka Housewife, wraps us up in a hazy coming-of-age dream – think Phoebe Bridgers, Julia Jacklin etc – on Thursday afternoon in Quai des Brumes, complete with a bit of early set drama when there seems to be a disconnect onstage between Fry and her supporting cast. But following the supremely catchy Life of the Party, about not being the life of the party, technical issues are ironed out, and the band look much happier. Now as a complete unit, they launch into the even catchier Fuck Around Phase – which lingers for days – and it’s clear that everyone in the room is fully onboard with this woozy brand of indie-pop. Probably the most polished outfit of this ilk that we see all week, Housewife's strong clutch of catchy singles surely stands them in good stead. instagram.com/housewife_band


Photo of Alias on stage at M for Montreal.

Alias

Fronted by Emmanuel Alias, this Montreal-based outfit have in recent times shared festival stages with artists like LCD Soundsystem and PJ Harvey, and following the release of their EMBRACE THE CHAOS album earlier this year, there’s been a gear shift in their music. Leaning in a more electronic direction than their earlier sound, disco drums, hypnagogic synth lines and non-stop party vibes collide onstage, all wrapped up in a punk energy. On the surface, while press shots suggest they could sound like a budget Kurt Cobain, in reality that couldn’t be further from the truth as Alias grab our attention as they masterfully combine everything from techno, punk, metal, screamo and more for an exhilarating 20 minutes; it’s exactly the afternoon jolt we need. instagram.com/aliasbandofficial


La Poexe

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in the case of La Poexe, their picture is worth us running, not walking, to Quai des Brumes in time for their 11.15pm slot on Wednesday night; two men in white shirts with skinny black ties flank some kind of creature from the black lagoon in a dress. Yes, we are onboard! Starting with just the two core band members onstage, baritone guitarist Marc Mackin is smartly turned out, hair immaculately coiffed, but it’s not long before the mostly instrumental power duo of Mackin and Charles Thibeault are joined onstage by their masked pal, and Mackin’s vintage do is pogoing about, as elastic as his guitar playing.

The creature from the deep slowly promenades through the crowd and takes to the stage. Standing between the two musicians, the creature removes their headpiece, unveiling a disco-lit balaclava beneath, like a budget Dynamo from The Running Man, and then chaos ensues, as they headbang, thrash and run a riot through the venue, their headgear flashing on and off throughout. It’s certainly quite the show, but at points distracts from the otherwise excellent playing of the band who work through tricky time signatures, never once letting up. La Poexe certainly know how to rock. instagram.com/la.poexe


Photo of Grand Eugene on stage at M for Montreal.

Grand Eugène

We catch Montreal outfit Grand Eugène in the smaller room at Les Foufounes Electriques and they deliver by far one of the stand-out performances of the festival’s opening night. Their woozy, dream pop sound evokes vintage home videos of family holidays or coming-of-age moments with friends, two things hard not to visualise when listening such is the dreamlike bubble their music wraps you up in, Melyssa Lemieux’s whimsical vocals like a warm embrace. It’s unsurprising to discover that their latest EP was titled Les vacances d’été, which translates to ‘summer vacation’ as that’s exactly what Grand Eugène sound like, perfect for the ensuing colder months. instagram.com/grand.eugene


M for Montreal took place in Montreal, Canada, 20-23 Nov
mpourmontreal.com
Photos by Camille Gladu-Drouin