Population II

Been a couple of years since Population II were on the site, smoldering off of their debut for Castle Face Records. The band’s been weaving their way through the psychedelic caverns ever since, and on their third album, the they’ve found their stride. Mixing towering riffs with a pungent, supple strain of prog, the band’s latest album leaves a few contusions on the listener as the album creeps out of sight. Under the arc of darkness, the songs on Maintenant Jamais, slither through the speakers. They coil and uncoil, wind around bass and aqueous atmospheres before bubbling up into seismic riffs. Keys break through the dampness, but can’t shake the humidity that hovers around songs like “Haut-fond’ and “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai).” The record retains this atmosphere until it begins to peak, breaking through the haze with fevered clarity.

There’s a spark of pop somewhere in the mix, but it’s submerged in the band’s liquid light lacing. As the album pushes towards its mid-point emergence, the rhythms grow thicker and the haze burns off enough that the psychedelics soak into the skin as “I + I” becomes a heady, tranced delusion that breaks through the surface soaked in sweat. The band kicks back into the ether for single standout “Le thé est prêt,” and they lay back into the arms of prog once again. The first couple of albums certainly had their standouts, but on Maintenant Jamais the band creates an elaborately unfolding journey for the listener. It comes as no surprise that the band has been touring with folks like Frankie and the Witch Fingers and OSEES, turning the tension on tape into heady landscapes of darkness and light. If you’ve dabbled with the band in the past, now’s the time to dive in.

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