Alexandre St. Onge

Montreal sonic manipulator Alexandre St-Onge has been releasing music under his own name since 1999, but Mon Animal Est Possible constitutes his first solo full-length effort since 2002’s Océan Pour La Suite. St-Onge has spent the five years in-between contributing to borderless Krautrock-inflected local bands like Shalabi Effect and Et Sans. But this return to his own recordings finds St-Onge in a less abrasive and more contemplative mood than previously. On these eight compositions, St-Onge focuses his efforts on the ethereal qualities of voice, recruiting his partner Fanny for an effects-laden counterpoint of male and female vocal experiments that at times, resemble the earlier works of Christina and Tom Carter of the Charalambides. The difference here is the base of analog electronics and chaos pads, which push the recordings into more haunting territories reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti soundtracks. Mon Animal Est Possible is a brooding and subtle album with a primal core. For St-Onge, this provides a welcome return to solo efforts.