by L.A. Mood Comics and Games

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.