Before the ears, the eyes are solicited by the names seen and linked to this intriguing project. This group, YOCTO, a name derived from a micro-unit of measurement, adds the voice of Yuki Berthiaume-Tremblay (Jesuslesfilles), the texts and the guitar of Jean-Michel Coutu (IDALG), the bass of Emmanuel Éthier (Chocolat ), drums by Félix-Antoine Coutu and v-organ by Carl Matthieu Neher. The result of the work of these composers can be heard on Zepta Supernova, the first musical effort of this new “super” Montreal formation.
The 10 pieces heard can live without a binder. In the order determined by the production, where Emmanuel Éthier works in particular (Corridor, Pierre Lapointe, P’tit Belliveau), but not necessarily. The vaporous 33 seconds of the musical – and astral – intro Volteface are moreover misleading, because from the arrival of the nervous guitar heard at the opening of the next piece, Dactylo, we are rather transported to a world already explored. That of the new wave of the 1970s, where Devo and Television reigned at a certain time.
It is therefore no surprise that Berthiaume-Tremblay robotizes a voice well suited to the musical formula used. The distance is therefore created between her and the listener on subjects that are nevertheless hot and emotional (war, consent, male-female relationships, violence, etc.). “More or less than a game, fouls and wrongs / Still not that much: life or death / I won’t spit at your grave / I won’t spit more than once,” she dictates to Lance -flame, ice-thrower, while a very fat bass line is next to a very high-pitched guitar.
At the end of the journey, we also perceive a certain love for progressive (and theatrical) rock, while Procession, Rituel, followed by Procession, Révolution, allows the quintet a successful drift towards this musical style. Exploration of this genre could have been more thorough and thus would have added some timing to this short 10 pieces of less than 30 minutes.
