Premiere: Technical Kidman Hears 'A Stranger Voice'

Montreal's Technical Kidman are perfectionists, and it shows in every blistering beat and carefully tweaked tone on their new A Stranger Voice EP. After releasing their self-titled [debut EP](http:// http://technicalkidman.bandcamp.com) in 2011, with four songs that packed more power than a jet engine, they've spent the last three years reinventing their whole approach to music while the city's electronic and indie scenes stood by eagerly wanting more. The wait is over, and the final product was worth it.

On A Stranger Voice, Technical Kidman combine their trademark wall-of-sound drumming with menacing, otherworldly synths and samples. They've set aside the more traditional guitars/keys/bass instrumentation of their previous effort and instead picked up enough electronics to launch a spaceship. Tired of the sounds available to them, they recorded samples from a collection of old VHS tapes from their parents' basements, full of early-90s movies, cartoons, and Québécois commercials. The resulting collage of tones is both futuristic and nostalgic, recalling the big sounds of a vintage action movie while looking to something totally new over the horizon.

It's an odd mixture, but it works - not least because Mathieu Arsenault's singing and Pierre Luc Simon's drumming keep this space-age project on planet Earth, emphasizing the band's energetic, pop-rooted songwriting above all else. This is a band that rises above the glut of Montreal-based electronic acts, sounding completely different from anyone else and bringing a sonic and visual aesthetic to the table that is all their own.

The three songs on A Stranger Voice are only the tip of the iceberg, as the band have written at least a full-album's worth of new material, but anyone interested in hearing more will have to catch one of their shows for now. That's okay, though, because they're ridiculously good live, and they're about to embark on a short Canadian tour.

A Stranger Voice will be available online and in limited edition 12" on Brooklyn-based label No Weapon starting July 17th. Here's where to see them in concert over the next little while:

June 18 – NXNE, Toronto
June 19 – NXNE, Toronto
June 20 – Sled Island, Calgary
July 4 – EP launch, Montreal
July 26 – MEG Fest, Montreal, w/ Suuns & Seoul

Greg Bouchard is a writer living in Toronto. He's on Twitter.