POP-CULTURE COLUMN: The Summer Angine de Poitrine Exploded
By Dan Brown DC, the venerable comics publisher, wanted the warmer months of 2026 to be the summer of Supergirl. FIFA, the international governing body of the so-called beautiful game, wanted this to be the summer of soccer. But the way June and July have unfolded so far, 2026 could go down in the history books as the summer of Angine de Poitrine instead. That’s right. I’m saying an obscure math-rock duo from Quebec is more important to the cultural conversation right now than Superman’s cousin, and even footy. Plus, I predict the buzz around Angine de Poitrine is only going to grow. If you haven’t heard of this band until now, consider the following an explainer written by someone who only recently discovered them himself. Angine de Poitrine is approximately what you would get if you added Cirque du Soleil to Pink Floyd and then multiplied by Monty Python. It’s no wonder their two members come from Saguenay, because Quebec is the land where prog rock never died. La belle province has always gone its own way musically. And Canada is fertile ground for new and weird approaches to pop music, being the nation that produced both RUSH and Men Without Hats. Angine de Poitrine excites, confuses, and scares me all at the same time. It’s an intoxicating mix. They claim they’re really from outer space and don’t actually communicate in French, or English, or any other Earth language. That’s right, their discography is entirely instrumental numbers. Their songs have names like Sherpa, Fabienk, Ababa Hotel, and Sarniezz. Their name translates very roughly as “chest pain.” And no, they’re not a cult. The gimmick is the way they specialize in microtones and looping. YouTube music guru Rick Beato says he was fully expecting this kind of experimentation with tones when the internet exploded as a platform for making and marketing new songs. Now, I’m no musician, but to my untrained ear, they sound a bit like Greta Van Fleet. At least one expert I saw online calls them an experimental jazz band. I’ve also seen a guitar teacher in an online video throwing up his hands while trying to explain how they get those sounds from their instruments. The two members are named Khn and Klek. Khn plays a double-neck fused guitar and bass. He wears a black top with white polka dots. Klek plays drums, and has the opposite outfit. He looks a bit like a Knight Who Says “Ni!” The two of them both have huge costume noses, fashioned by means of papier mache. What does it all mean? I don’t know. But remember how I said it’s an intoxicating melange? The proof came late last month when they closed the Montreal International Jazz Festival with a performance that saw the city’s streets flooded with more than 200,000 fans. Since then, other upcoming festivals across Canada have promoted them from side-stage oddity to main-stage draw. From afar, their success might seem unlikely. Their vibe is strange and chaotic. But that’s their old-school charm. Just as a performance in a puppet show will always feel more human than CGI movie effects, they bring a weird warmth to the stage. Maybe it makes no sense. They follow no formula I can discern. In an age of slick packaging and cold algorithms, that’s why they stand out: They are as far removed from AI as you can get. The much-hyped Supergirl bombed at the box office. And the World Cup is great, if you can look past the corporate overkill that infuses every minute of every match that’s broadcast. I don’t know who will emerge as the best soccer team on the planet, however I’m betting we’ll look back years from now on 2026 as the moment when Angine de Poitrine shook the world. Agree? Disagree? Am I on the money? Have I called it wrong? I’d love to read your thoughts and counter-predictions in the comments! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly Graphic-Novel Group book club.
POP-CULTURE COLUMN: Oh, Canada!
By Dan Brown I love Canada. A lot. There are, of course, things I would change about our homeland if I was in charge. I’m guessing you feel the same way. For instance, I wish we flew the maple leaf all year around, not just on our national birthday which I like to call by its old name, Dominion Day – see, I told you there are things that bug me! I wish Canadians weren’t so hesitant to celebrate our shared national culture. I wish we did more to promote our values around the world. Canadian values are good values, and we shouldn’t be ashamed about trumpeting what we believe in to the rest of humankind. I’ve even heard some people are ashamed to make patriotic gestures like flying the flag, even on July 1. I started noticing this a few years ago. People would say to me, “________has co-opted the flag,” meaning a group or movement or organization or political party or individual they didn’t agree with. So these people won’t display the maple leaf because they see it being flown on pickup trucks. And other people won’t display it because they see flags in parades with the red parts replaced with a rainbow. I’m here to remind you it belongs to all Canadians. That means the folks on the right, folks on the left, and those of us who don’t identify with either of those positions. If you think the red-and-white has been taken from you, and you want a way to fight back, the way to do that most effectively is to hoist the flag yourself. Fly one on the front door of your house. Put it on your car. Get a maple-leaf T-shirt. Strap a miniature version on your dog. Trust me. You can’t offend me because I will never tire of seeing it. This column is scheduled to be posted the day after Canada Day, but I would love if we could make a national habit of displaying the flag proudly all year long. Don’t take your Canadian flag down when this column goes up. Oh, and let me know how you spent your Canada Day in the comments. Also, let us know what aspect of Canada you love the most. Is it the landscape? The Rockies? Cottage country? The people? Your neighbours? Our amazing writers and other artists? Canada’s talented athletes? Maybe it’s hockey, or poutine? Is it Wolverine? RUSH? Something else? As I write this sentence, the hottest musical act on the planet right now, Quebec’s Angine de Poitrine, is playing on YouTube. The duo are from Saguenay, Quebec (or possibly another planet), but to me they represent the kind of culture and daring attitude that could have only happened in this country. They’re kind of like the Cirque du Soleil of rock music. Purely Canadian. They are just the latest example of our nation’s creativity and excellence. We are a young dominion, bursting with natural resources, that is home to a resilient, forward-thinking people. If we play our cards right, the future will belong to us. All the best to you, my fellow Canadians! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly Graphic-Novel Group book club.
