The party continued throughout day four of Halifax Pop Explosion and it was a good one. The Mixtape crew was out on Friday night to catch as much of the festival as possible, and here’s our review. We’ve also got some photos from last night.
Braids 9 p.m. St. Matthew’s United Church
Despite being exhausted, Montreal’s Braids put on a jaw-dropping performance at the historic St. Matthew’s United Church. Arriving in Halifax after a 12 hour flight from Seattle, singer Raphaelle Standell-Preston said they hadn’t slept in “like 48 hours.” The trio worked together like a well oiled machine, filling the church with swelling bass, complicated layers of electronic noise and a mixture of electric and live drumming. The band drew exclusively on material from the new record, Flourish // Perish.
TOPS 9:30 p.m. at The Marquee Ballroom
The band arrived in town from Montreal just a few minutes before their show at the Marquee on Friday but unfortunately their audience was even later. TOPS played to an enthusiastic audience of just a handful of people. Luckily they have another show left at the festival, because their dreamy pop-rock is worth checking out.
HSY 10 p.m. Bus Stop Theatre
In a Q&A with HSY (pronounced Hussy), the band told Mixtape they would prefer to be described as “Industrial New Wave Sludge Punk.” After seeing them perform live, that description definitely fits the music. Especially the sludge part. Playing in a room with next to no lighting, the music unfolding on the stage was anonymous with no time for distraction by physical appearance. All that mattered was the sludge travelling from the instruments, into our ears then around all vital organs.
Aqua Alta 10:30 p.m. at The Marquee Ballroom
The new super secret super group, including Jenn Grant and Charles Austin, played their first-ever set at HPX. They packed the Marquee very quickly and carried the audience away to their land. It was one of the most anticipated shows of the festival and we can’t wait to see their next move.
Young Galaxy 12:30 pm. at The Marquee Ballroom
Young Galaxy haven’t played Halifax since Pop Explosion in 2007. Things have certainly changed since then. Besides a different lineup, the sound has morphed from a dreamy travelling-through-space-and-time whimsy pop to a grounded cold, electronica drenched with more grit, determination and ambition. Stephen Ramsay expressed how much the band loves Halifax. First of all, after breaking a guitar string and asking the audience if anybody had any spare strings, someone in the crowd gave him strings (It helped that there were 5973 guitars in the building with all the bands playing Hell’s Kitchen and the Marquee that night). Second of all, they found a sign near their hotel at local restaurant Flipburger saying “Young Galaxy Eats Free.” Here’s to hoping they return before HPX 2019.
Photo: Mixtape Magazine