Montreals Les Georges Leningrad return sounding like vocalist Poney P has been swallowing daggers and their synthesisers are drowning in a swampy murk. Mastered by Peter J. Moore (the Sadies, Ugly Ducklings, Dee Dee Ramone), Sangue Puro, the bands third full-length, sees this trio delving into a more complex, layered realm of darker and often more experimental fixings. Cavernous and dank, these songs rise up in fevered tribal thrashings and doomed dance floor meltdowns. Les Georges have spun themselves into vast new territory this time around. But for all the darker elements that are creeping around, the bands quirky sensibilities still poke through, hence the hole punched "bat bites on the back of the album. Vocalist Poney P concedes that Sangue Puro is almost like a Halloween record, so the bat-themed artwork is fitting. Its an animal people love to hate, which is something Les Georges feel they have in common with the furry, flying mammal. Sangue Puro is certainly more vicious and rabid than it is cute and cuddly. Dominated by deep, throaty snarls and flails of abrasive noise, this is an album that doesnt sound like it has visited the dark side so much as swallowed it whole.
How do you think your fans will connect with this new record? Poney: We are really proud of this record. I think its the most major thing we did so far. I feel like its really still Les Georges but now we are real musicians. Its still spontaneous but its not naïve. The two first records were done really quickly. I think its a darker record and more powerful and strong in some ways.
What kind of headspace did you put yourselves into when writing the album? We went outside of the city. We went into some bat caves and studied bats a lot. I dont know if thats the reason the lyrics were darker, about death and murder and blood.
Where did the interest in bats come from? I think all human beings look like an animal. Personally, I look like a penguin. Bobo [Boutin] looks like a gorilla and Mingo [LIndien] looks like a toad. But the band itself would be a bat, definitely, because bats are a very ambiguous animal. In some countries, like in China, theyre a sign of good luck, but in England theyre related to witches So I think it represents our band well. Its both ugly and mysterious and beautiful at the same time.
(Dare To Care)How do you think your fans will connect with this new record? Poney: We are really proud of this record. I think its the most major thing we did so far. I feel like its really still Les Georges but now we are real musicians. Its still spontaneous but its not naïve. The two first records were done really quickly. I think its a darker record and more powerful and strong in some ways.
What kind of headspace did you put yourselves into when writing the album? We went outside of the city. We went into some bat caves and studied bats a lot. I dont know if thats the reason the lyrics were darker, about death and murder and blood.
Where did the interest in bats come from? I think all human beings look like an animal. Personally, I look like a penguin. Bobo [Boutin] looks like a gorilla and Mingo [LIndien] looks like a toad. But the band itself would be a bat, definitely, because bats are a very ambiguous animal. In some countries, like in China, theyre a sign of good luck, but in England theyre related to witches So I think it represents our band well. Its both ugly and mysterious and beautiful at the same time.