Parlez vous Montreal Musique?

Montreal Music Scene

Ok, so I can't speak French, but it's not necessary to appreciate all the great music coming out of Montreal these days. Thanks in part to the success of The Arcade Fire, the burgeoning music scene of Montreal, Canada has been getting several write-ups this year.

Besides the grand infectous sound of The Arcade Fire, you have the romantic goth-pop of The Dears, the oddball pop of The Unicorns, GodSpeed You! Black Emperor, the catchy lyricism of Sam Roberts, and the up-and-comers: Stars, The High Dials, and Pony Up!. It probably helps having a couple acts already make it in the states, with Simple Plan and Rufus Wainwright going multi-platinum on the major label releases.

Sam Roberts and The Stills share the same rehearsal space, and The Dears practice down the hall in a massive industrial building that once served as the North American headquarters of manufacturing for RCA. Many buildings were vacated following the threat of secession, with English-speaking companies picking up and moving to Toronto, which left a lot of low-rent space. Being able to get by on less in a cultural city of the likes of Montreal translates into folks taking more chances on their art - and, voila! you have a music scene. I suppose it's not that easy, but the elements I mentioned, plus a non-ideal climate, being the biggest destination in a region, and having a major college/university or two is more then enough to foster a decent scene. Many Americans have been moving to Montreal lately as well, stirring the pot even more, as ex-patriates tend to be more artistically oriented.

Montreal Gazette - Indie music explosion (June 4, 2005)
NYTimes - Cold Fusion: Montreal's Explosive Music Scene
The Austin Chronicle - Blame Canada
Hour.ca - Montreal gets Spin doctored
NYU - Canadian Rockers Shrug at Hype
International Herald Tribune - Montreal's Anglo rock crosses the border
maisonneve - Go Away
MontrealMusicScene.com