Paupière

Downtown Sudbury Playground, Sudbury ON, August 13

Photo: Eric Noble-Marks

BY Eric Noble-MarksPublished Aug 14, 2016

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Brimming with energy and youthful exuberance, Paupière turned heads at Up Here fest, adding a valuable dash of Quebecois charm to the festival.
 
The Montreal outfit brought slick synths, catchy French vocal harmonies and general pep to a rainy Sudbury Saturday night (August 13), with their streamlined synth-pop tracks largely connecting with the dampened audience. The group played the entirety of their debut EP Jeunes Instants and added in some exciting new tracks for good measure, looking coolly professional throughout. Highlights included the bustling "Elle et Lui" and the subdued, slow-burning "Cinq Heures," which provided a shot of variety to their set of floor-fillers.

Though the show was uniformly fun, it must be said that Paupière have yet to really distinguish themselves from the rest of the synth-pop field, focusing on the same standard issue Day-Glo aesthetic and bouncy arpeggios as most. With only one EP to their name so far, though, they should grow into themselves in time. What was clear from their performance at Up Here is that Paupière have the style down pat; let's see if they can bring the substance next time.
 

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