Hélène Barbier's "Panorama" is entrancing, effortless, and artful ft. Hand Habits' Meg Duffy
Hélène Barbier's forthcoming Panorama is utterly entrancing, feels effortless –– recalls the past, looks to the future
The Montreal singer's latest features Meg Duffy (Hand Habits) and showcases Barbier's charismatic take on indie rock
Joy and anxiety come together on Panorama, Hélène Barbier's new album. Characterized by haunting melodies, stripped-down choruses, and a subtle layer of nonchalance that reinforces the magnetism of the songs, this avant-pop album was
crafted over a period of three years. Born in response to the stress caused by certain events that disrupted the daily life of the Montreal singer and bassist, these nine tracks sound as if they were postcards sent at different moments in life, even if their intriguing lyrics leave room for interpretation.
Though it is a very personal album, Panorama is also a collective effort. After taking the time to refine her songs and remove elements she felt were superfluous, Hélène Barbier called on Ben Lalonde and Joe Chamandy (Retail Simps), with whom she has been making music for many years, as well as Claire Paquet, Thomas Molander, Samuel Gougoux (Corridor, Trafic des Airs, Victime), Wes MacNeil (Night Lunch), Mélanie Venditti, Alexandra Levy (Ada Léa), Meg Duffy (Hand Habits), and producer Emmanuel Éthier.
Influences from the past and present mingle in these deliberately hard-to-date
recordings; it's as if The Shaggs had taken guitar lessons from Tom Verlaine in Montreal in 2025, before forming a band by divine accident. The resulting album delivers a symphony of gooey jangle pop riffs, throaty melodies, and tangled grooves that recall a dying jukebox spitting out its last perfect song.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hélène Barbier seeds melodies that ferment in her head, pairing hummable lines with alien tunes conjured in someone else’s psyche across time and space.
Siamese fragments. She creates an imbalance through juxtaposition. Four simple notes become evocative alongside four disorienting, different notes, and this simplistic rule has become a basis for complex play.
Barbier enlists musicians based on willingness to break from tired chords, worn fills, and needless flourish—expertise aside. She switches between English and French atop aggressively anti-complicated avant-pop melodies. Off-kilter beauty ensues. Pretension and contrived professionalism are kept far away as these sketches find mature forms in an album that keeps the tedium of square music at bay.
Following Have You Met Elliot? in 2019 and Regulus in 2021, the Montreal-based singer and bassist’s new album, Panorama, is set to be released in the fall of 2025. With its gooey jangle pop riffs, throaty melodies, and tangled grooves, this third solo album evokes a dying jukebox spitting out its last perfect songs.
Keen to highlight the humour and beauty of everyday life, whether it be a road trip with her dog Toody or gardening in the small flower bed in front of her house, Hélène Barbier has nevertheless written many songs from Panorama in response to anxiety and health problems that surface when everything else seems to be going well. Highly personal yet open to interpretation, these nine songs boast memorable melodies and simple choruses, making them feel like postcards sent at different moments in Hélène's life.
In addition to cultivating her creativity with her musical endeavours, Hélène Barbier is deeply engaged in the Montreal music scene, notably through her involvement with Celluloid Lunch, an innovative independent label she co-founded with her husband Joe Chamandy, who also plays guitar in her band.
LINKS
Hélène Barbier _ Bandcamp || Instagram
Bonsound _ Website
Photo credit: Dominic Berthiaume & Delphine Snyers
