#phern

1/16/26.

I first heard about Hélène Barbier when Emotional Response released her debut LP back in 2019. I didn't connect all the dots until the other day that she also was in Moss Lime, Phern and the co-founder of Celluloid Lunch Records (with her husband Joe Chamandy).

Moss Lime holds a special place in my heart as one of my early blog posts (February 2015) and represented one of my early fixations. Back then I was smitten by Fixture Records (and Canadian indie). Add to that Moss Lime has this line on its Bandcamp page for the "July First" cassette: "RIYL: Young Marble Giants, The Slits, Neo Boys, The Chills".

Couleur Dessin / Couleur Dessin LP [Bandcamp, Vinyl, Digital Release]

//bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=3397849968/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/minimal=true/   Band Name: Couleur Dessin Label: Fixture Records Release Date: June 2, 2017 Tags: canada, experimental, indie folk, indie pop, indie rock, lo-fi, lo-fi pop, montreal, psychedelic pop Links: Bandcamp, Facebook, SoundCloud  

4/30/17.

A Canadian supergroup has formed.  Anne-Lise Griffon and Christian Simmons (Phern, Sheer Agony, Lantern) have combined to make a record that is diverse yet focused on pop (listen to “Find Me Easily”).  To me, this first song sounds like the best that Beulah had to offer.

I’ve listened to the whole album (”Calendar Nights” is a standout) and I can say you’ll hear similar instrumentation, but different songwriting throughout.  Some of this definitely trends to pop experimentation.

Watch: PHERN – “samantha”

We’re past closing time and they‘ll open soon. At this point it’s best to just wait out in the truck, nap or stare at the glow-screen, something to pass the time. Or drift into one of those “Golden Slumbers” like “samantha,” where the pickings are slim and in stereo. Welcome to dreamland. The guitars steer like a student driver and a driver instructor in “Dali’s Car.”The exhaust is blowing out…