Straight away, Portrait De L’Artiste, the second album from Gatineau’s cheekily-named Album, feels far murkier and slipperier than their self-titled debut. Where Album, issued on Telephone Explosion in 2021, audibly extended the sonic universe established by co-founder Olivier Fairfield in his previous outfit FET.NAT (taut, sliced-up beat collages and smeared samples) their forthcoming successor forges a completely distinct, albeit enigmatic, identity.

Fairfield (also known for his work in Last Ex, Timber Timbre, and H. De Heutz) and his co-conspirator Simone Provencher (of VICTIME infamy) are well aware of how elusiveness can be wielded persuasively. Together they leverage the allure of this music’ss cryptic surface to draw listeners into a verdant landscape of meticulously psychedelic detail.

Since their inception, Album has always drawn upon a wide and peculiar array of influences, making their inimitable sound a difficult one to describe. On Portrait de l’artiste they intentionally embrace aspects of jazz, but contrary to expectation, this only makes their unclassifiable essence more apparent.

Made possible with the support of Ontario Creates & FACTOR