Les Séquelles

It goes without saying that tradition and culture are pretty strong elements in the Quebec national character. Keeping alive the groovy, wild and smoky-eyed Bardot-sexy, "yé yé" sound of yesteryear is thus a labour of amour for Montreal garage punk quartet Les Séquelles. Swinging hips, bowl cuts and Rickenbackers are part and parcel of this shakin' and way out 17-track follow-up to their 45 EP. Talk about force de frappe; this is a solid album with songs that rarely clock in at over three minutes and often under two. Nothing hurried or rushed, mind you, but any other way would detract from the perfectly composed and structured pop. The memories of Napoléon (the musician, not the dictator) and Les Lutins, two seminal Quebec 1960s bands, are here revived and celebrated in a deliciously decadent but utterly stylish manner.