Five years after their last album, Brûlensemble, Gazoline’s almost-self-titled third LP finds the Montreal-based indie-rock quartet looking back. “We returned to our roots with a more direct approach, more garage rock, with less synthesizers and less work at the production stage,” multi-instrumentalist Jean-Cimon Tellier tells Apple Music. “I think you can hear it in the end result, which is a bit more rock.” But the influence of ’80s R&B and hip-hop has also seeped into their sound. “We listened to lots of stuff like New Edition, Milli Vanilli, and Jody Watley,” adds lead singer Xavier Dufour-Thériault. “A few of our songs were shaped by that phase we went through.” Here, the two of them run down how each of Gazoline III’s songs came together.
“2021-02-25 9:32”
Jean-Cimon Tellier: “For this short intro—which is, in fact, a joke—we simulated a voicemail message from our manager. We announce our return as though we’re teenagers again, giving their music one last chance. It sets the humorous tone that runs through the entire album.”
“3 minutes 5 secondes”
Xavier Dufour-Thériault: “It’s a track where we discuss our writing and composing process. We decided to put it first because, after a while, you can get the impression you’re repeating yourself, that you’re always talking about the same things in your songs. But this subject, namely playing music, is one we’d never explored before. As for the music, it’s a bit more complicated than usual, with several tricky rhythms. We show our true colors, and we say it clearly in the lyrics.”
“Dragueur kamikaze”
JCT: “We worked on this song just after we’d decided to put the guitars back in the foreground, but took a funkier, more dance, more pop direction. You can also hear our producer, Gus van Go, giving us instructions. We wanted to give a friendly nod to the dynamic between artists and their producer, like the one between Justin Timberlake and Timbaland.”
“Jessica”
XDT: “There are several incarnations of this song, which we’d had on the back burner for a long time. It was written in honor of a girl I had a crush on in high school. The feeling has obviously faded over the years, but her first name stayed. And also the desire to make a song about it with a lot of self-mockery and backed by very catchy music, almost like Bruce Springsteen-style arena rock.”
“French Kiss”
XDT: “It’s a song that talks about a one-night stand that wasn’t all that cool. I had written it for my solo project Zoo Baby, but I quickly realized that it sounded just like Gazoline. It’s closer to the stuff on our two previous albums, with its blend of dance and rock. At the end, it rises in intensity, a bit like The Rolling Stones, with a buildup of sensuality and young sexual energy.”
“Dis Stacey”
JCT: “Even if it’s quite energetic with its garage rock vibe, it’s the album’s ballad. It’s one of the most sensitive and meaningful tracks we’ve ever done. Although it’s based on a true story that happened to one of us, it talks about failed relationships in general.”
“2021-05-03 19:55” (feat. Simon des Lutins)
JCT: “Once again, it’s an interlude that imitates a voicemail message. You can hear Simon Brouillard from the ’60s band Les Lutins, a Quebec garage-rock icon, who’s talking to his girlfriend.”
“Cassée”
JCT: “Simon Brouillard also features on this song, the first one composed by our drummer, Jean-Philippe Godbout. It brought a new kind of energy. It’s a super-dynamic track. When we finish playing it, we’re all out of breath!”
“Comeback Baby”
XDT: “This one’s very new jack swing, with allusions to Prince’s fusion period and his album The Rainbow Children. We show that, yes, we like to do pop music, but we’re also damn good musicians! Jazz keyboardist Jonathan Turgeon also came and played with us on it.”
“Jessica #2”
XDT: “This one’s the result of an impulse to do a bona fide rock song, but from a fairly modern perspective. Even if the sound of the guitars is still pretty clean, we have rarely been as brutal as this. There’s also a slightly funky dimension to it.”
“Les partys de l’industrie du disque”
JCT: “This is one we didn’t really think we’d put on the album, because it’s a bitter and disillusioned track, but our drummer insisted we include it. And it does, indeed, have its place. We take a cynical look at the world we’re part of, the music scene. Once again, there’s a bit of humor, but in substance it’s serious and honest.”