Music

Pop Montreal Q & A: Dirty Beaches

by Anne T. Donahue

Since we’ll be kicking around Pop Montreal this week, we’re talking to some of our favourite bands playing the festival.

Meet Dirty Beaches.

In case Badlands’ distorted minimalism didn’t initially convince you, artist Alex Zhang Hungtai’s Polaris longlist nod was probably more than enough to introduce you to Dirty Beaches and his poetic pop hooks. Combining avant-garde instrumentals with classically heart-wrenching lyrics, it’s rare for any artist to conjure up that much emotion—especially when alone onstage with a guitar.

You can catch him at midnight on Saturday at Il Motore (179 Rue Jean-Talon Ouest).

AUX: What about Pop Montreal (or Montreal in general) are you most excited about?

Dirty Beaches: Portuguese rotisseries and Italian cafes.

What bands are you determined to see during the festival?

DB: Grand Trine, tonstartssbandht, hot&cold.

Why should people come see your show over anyone else’s?

DB: They don’t. They can do whatever the fuck they want. It’s a free country, ain’t it?

Give us some tips for conquering/surviving the 5-day festival.

DB: Make friends with or seduce people who work for Pop Montreal so you can get access to a bunch of cool shit.

Famous last words?

DB: Work that shit, woooooooooah.