This Montreal supergroup is called PYPY (π π) and their music is a concoction of sinister wah-wah freakouts, littered with distortion and the necromantic screams of co-vocalist Annie-Claude Deschênes. A surreal and trash-futuristic universe created by the lunatic minds behind CPC Gangbangs, Red Mass and Duchess Says.
RIYL: Bush Tetras, Ze Records, early Comets on Fire, Au Pairs, Brainiac, B-52s, Slits, Delta 5 , Oh Sees.
With Super disco breaks reminiscent of dance punk from NYC's legendary 99 Records (ESG/Liquid Liquid) weaved through psych rock hymns. The thunderous pop of their banger "She's Gone" even carved out a place for itself in the high-end fashion world, becoming the soundtrack to Yves Saint Laurent's 2016 show. Becoming favourites in the European festival circuit, PYPY offers crazy oddball performances that break the standards of the traditional rock show. Their new album “Sacred Times” will be released this fall 2024 on the legendary company GONER RECORDS, stay tuned!
"Lonely Striped Sock" grooves along like "Earthbeat"-era Slits/ESG until the chorus transforms PYPY into something else entirely. Something huge. Something with monster riffs and wah wah that pins you to the back wall. So there is clearly a brilliance with dynamics here, and it proves to be a not-so-secret-weapon that repays the "ear-vestment" in dividends throughout. "Ear-vestment"? Yikes. Then it's time for "She's Back," a sort of part 2/continuation (maybe a trilogy is in the works?) of Pagan Day's best-known gem (the aforementioned "She's Gone"). This one packs a hook that'll make your brain take out a restraining order. Looking for lost keys? Jury duty? Underwater welding? Negotiating a hostage situation? It doesn't matter...nothing will stop it from invading your thoughts. They say the only way to get a song unstuck from the noodle is to listen to it from start to finish, but you'll be doing that anyway. A lot.
"Erase" is a (synth) noise-punk nugget; revealing a need for Brainiac-meets-Blondie we didn't know we had...deceptively kicking off with a no-fi drum machine that is immediately lost in the massive pop din that seemingly includes everything within reach. "Poodle Escape" is two minutes of perfect (and perfectly distorted) synth-punk and "I Am A Simulation" – with lead vox from Vucino – is yet another hit that deviates from the noise a bit and pays homage to both Devo and classic late-70's (big) power-pop (ex: the first Cars LP), but with a manic nature that is 150% circa right now. "15 Sec" (actually 3:38 in duration, thankfully) serves up a stanky-brown bass line, Deschênes' gorgeous vocals, wonderfully combative white hot, pin-the-meters Oh Sees/early Comets on Fire guitar rips, and a stunning coda that seems to utilize everything great about this band over its final minute. The album's title track is a love letter to Hawkwind in the musical language already established here. "Vanishing Blinds" is like being chased through the rain-soaked streets in an unknown dystopian nightmare from 40+ years ago. The album closes with the brooding if not playful menace of "Poodle Escape,” which, like its predecessors, is completely unlike every track before it.
