Angine de Poitrine – ‘Vol II’ album review: alien music beyond AI’s comprehension
Alien virtuosos Angine de Poitrine return with the timely follow-up to 2024’s hype-driving Vol I. With microtonal meditations on hotdogs, the extraterrestrial duo – who may or may not dwell in Quebec – offer jazz funk in the form of musical maths equations, proving looping can be the antithesis of repetitive if you’re from another planet.
The Skinny: There’s a lot of bullshit art that hides behind masks and the myth of ‘doing something different’. But usually, after the initial dazzle of the engineered ‘originality’, you delve into the music and find the same typical tenets of pop, perverted by forced quirks, and think, ‘Ah well, I may as well listen to Tyler Ballgame who has taken the effort to do this properly’. That’s not the case with Angine de Poitrine.
The microtonal intervals on display in their music haven’t really been heard before… anywhere. It adds credence to their claim that they are, in fact, aliens, elevating the outfits and press releases urging muckrakers not to unmask them, from an eccentric USP (horrid industry speak for ‘Unique Selling Point’) to a fully realised act. As the many iterations of essentially the same YouTube comment on their videos state: ‘Try replicating that, AI!’.
The myriad layered time signatures and atonal Pythagoreanism on display in their funky jams warp the brain of any listener, literally. The pop-accustomed Western mind simply isn’t used to the musicality that they employ. So, for those who find themselves drifting towards a headache after an extended bout of Angine de Poitrine, that’s actually an appropriate response. But for the first time in human history, being headache-inducing to the uninitiated masses is a monumentally lofty compliment. It proves that not only is there newness to be found under the sun, but sometimes that newness can still prove so revolutionary that it challenges the current capacity of the cerebral cortex.
While it might not tug on the heartstrings or evoke beloved affection, the startling mix of Miles Davis’ virtuosity, Dada silliness, and defiant originality offers something rarer than emotional immediacy and just as vital in the modern age. While the rare stimulation of Vol II can’t be easily pinpointed, perhaps that’s the pinnacle of this puzzling triumph.
The greatest moments on this six-song suite’s jamming journey are when the interpolated time-signatures just about coalesce into something recognisable. For a split second, the melodies almost become danceable. Rhythms nearly resolve. And before you’re yanked sideways into another dimension, these brushes with normality make you realise the ingenious duo understand pop enough to continually dodge it. And they’ve funked you just to see the look on your face.
Standout Track: ‘Sarniezz’
The Verdict: Plenty of people will claim that Angine de Poitrine’s second outing is good for Paracetamol sales and nothing more. Even the folks who adore it are likely to enjoy it with a pen and music notation notebook in hand. But amid the microtonal menagerie is searing originality that deserves to be applauded in an age where human ingenuity is supposedly under threat. Vol II knocks that notion to the moon with startling silliness and laughable virtuosity.
Release Date:March 27th, 2026 | Producer: Angine de Poitrine & Fabien Peterson | Label: Les Cassettes Magiques
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.