Press release - WordPress.com

Band: la Querelle
Title: Welcome to my Battleship
Label: New Romance For Kids Records
Cat #: NRK026
Distribution: FAB
Release Date: 10/08/2010
When long-running Montreal punks Issue Sixteen played their final show to three disaffected kids at an all ages
warehouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia, it was an unfitting and unfair end to a band that spent five years travelling Canada
from coast to coast, through most of Europe and the forests of Russia. The band’s story is a familiar one to any roadworn
Canadian rocker; heroes in their hometown, pockets of dedicated fans across the country, and, eventually, crashing into a
wall and dissolving in uncertainty in an unfamiliar town.
The events of the final Issue Sixteen show in Halifax profoundly inform the start of la Querelle’s debut, Welcome to my
Battleship. Led by the duel vocals of guitarists Mathieu Lachapelle and Jonathan Cadotte, along with bassist Pascal
Rivest, Guillaume Boucher (guitar) and Jean-Philippe St-Laurent (drums), Welcome to my Battleship traces Lachapelle’s
personal journey following that fateful night in Halifax.
Holing up retreat in a basement studio in the woods outside of Montreal, the new group began crafting their sound. The
band built an epic post-rock reminiscent of acts like Mogwai and the Mercury Program with a building, driving rhythm
section. The songs are sung with the heartfelt, poignant lyricism of classic ‘90s emo bands like Elliott and Sunny Day Real
Estate. la Querelle honed in on a massive sound playing as loud as possible in the middle of a forest. With three guitarists
each adding their own distinct instrumental voice to the band’s richly textured songs, cuts like “Montreal, Montreal”
retain a sonic richness that isn’t studio trickery; it’s the honest, unaffected sound of a group of friends cranking up the
decibels and playing as fiercely as they can.
With the release of their epic six-song debut via New Romance for Kids Records, Welcome to my Battleship, as it marks a
band moving past its former troubles and breaking into something new, for themselves and for their audience.
1 – You’re shaking with your smile
Band line up :
2 – My eyes are wide, wet and red
Mathieu Lachapelle - Guitar / vocals
3 – Warm chord and encore * (Sugg. Listening)
Jonathan Cadotte - Guitar / vocals
4 – Shines bright like a shooting star
Guillaume Boucher - Guitar
5 – The hallways are always empty
Pascal Rivest - Bass
6 – Montreal, Montreal
Jean-Philippe St-Laurent - Drums
Interviews / Pictures / Promo request / Press Contact
Mathieu Lachapelle / New Romance For Kids / 3041 Anne-Le-Seigneur / Chambly, (Qc) Canada / J3L 6V8
www.newromanceforkids.com / [email protected]
Follow la querelle @ - myspace.com/laquerelle – twitter/laquerelle – facebook/laquerelle
REVIEWS
Shoot Me Again
By : Erik Collard
Si l’on apprécie facilement cet album dès sa première écoute grâce à un son clair et typiquement post-rock rappelant
Mogwai ou Explosions In The Sky , ce n’est qu’après plusieurs écoutes qu’on commence à réellement aimer ce « Welcome
To My Battleship ». Même si je cite à plusieurs reprises le son post-rock c’est réellement un album emo qu’ils nous servent
ici, par leur approche personnelle de la musique. Par la voix chancelante de Mathieu Lachapelle également, pleine de
vibratos incertains qui peuvent rappeler les vieux Bright Eyes.
Bang bang
By : Étienne Dubuc
L’une comme l’autre, les pièces de ce premier effort fixent bien le son que veut se donner le groupe, pas de demi-mesure
ou bien de tentative ratée. Le rock planant et progressif envahit les haut-parleurs pour ne plus le quitter. Les guitares
seront douces et lentes par moment, puis rapides et agressives à d’autre.
Voir Montréal
By : Olivier Lalande
En bref : Le son est à l’image de la prémisse: full emo, à la belle mode des années 90 (pensez Sunny Day, Real Estate,
Jawbox…), quoique avec un intéressant côté atmosphérique en plus. La Querelle utilise en effet à bon escient son
triumvirat de guitaristes. Plus collé au format au plan mélodique, le groupe fait néanmoins du bon boulot. Pour les
nostalgiques qui voudraient vérifier que l’emo peut survivre en 2010.
Interviews / Pictures / Promo request / Press Contact
Mathieu Lachapelle / New Romance For Kids / 3041 Anne-Le-Seigneur / Chambly, (Qc) Canada / J3L 6V8
www.newromanceforkids.com / [email protected]
Follow la querelle @ - myspace.com/laquerelle – twitter/laquerelle – facebook/laquerelle