Angine de Poitrine - Vol. II
Experimental Rock – Released April 3, 2026 – 6 songs, 37 mins
ROZ
This week, Too Sweet Reviews has decided to support Canadian and peer into the wonderfully weird world constructed by the Quebec experimental rock duo Angine de Poitrine. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, there is no doubt in my mind that you’ve seen this band pop up on social media in some way or another. Remember that ten-second clip of two polka dot covered creatures with giant noses and elongated heads rocking out on polka dot covered drum kits and double-stacked guitars? If you don’t, please do yourself a favor and get yourself up to speed before we move on any further. Now that we’re all acclimated to the silliness that stands before us, we can properly move on and review this band's second studio effort and its very appropriate name: Vol. II.
Although it gets overshadowed by the band's physical aesthetic when visuals are at play, the technical ability displayed across Vol. II’s 36-minute runtime is nothing short of incredible. To a lesser talent, it would be damn near impossible to take the creative compositions of Vol. II and turn them into something even remotely digestible to the common listener. Instead, it would only fall upon the ears of hardcore music nerds who sit within the micro-genre niche that enjoy highly intricate and complicated patterns and sounds on the guitar and bass. This is where the magic truly lies; Angine de Poitrine’s innate ability to emit a cacophony of noise while also dialing in a groove that would make anyone bounce along to their sound. Look no further than the second half of Fabienk or the introduction of Sarniezzto to see how the duo is able to contain the madness and control the overall tonal balance in order to appeal to a broader audience – a factor that turned a fun Tik Tok meme into a full-on touring act across North America, Europe, and beyond.
With all the shine that I’ve given this act for their ability to make something more out of their gimmick – funny outfits and incredible guitar skills – the gimmick itself does tend to work against them once you take away the smoke and mirrors. Now and then one of the creatures will blurt out an abomination (that one can only assume is an attempt at singing) which may fall in line with the band's character, but for the listener is something that would be better off not existing at all. At a higher level, the free flowing stream-of-consciousness style arrangements do not make for repetitive listening, nor do they allow for any sort of ear worm to burrow in (hell even after listening to this album a dozen times I still wouldn’t be able to hum something along for you right now). Let’s just face it: in the best way possible, Angine de Poitrine is what you get when you crossbreed King Gizzard and the Lizard with the Muppets. So simply enjoy the show and try not to wrap your head around it too much – you can leave that responsibility to the guys here at TSR.
To embrace Angine de Poitrine is to embrace the absurd. The duo has mesmerized the masses with their bizarre getups and complex math rock style – yet as fun as it is to watch them go about their craft, Vol. II fails to catch the imagination as effectively when constrained to only playing out on a speaker.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Song: Yor Zarad
LUNDI
Five plus TSR years later and along comes a new task. I’m not sure we’d have ever taken on this week’s band if left to our own system, but it’s become damn near impossible to ignore the hype. Costumes and microtonal instrumentals with an added Canadian bonus. If you’re not under a rock, you already know it’s Angine de Poitrine and their appropriately titled sophomore album Vol. II.
It is no secret in the music world that KEXP hard launched AdP. The funky outfits and hidden persona combined with a duo looping and pedalling their way to a full rock band output were an immediate hit. Instantly entertaining with a mesmerizing display of exceptional musical talent. The band went from toiling in the Quebec club scene to viral within seconds. Getting your big break is near impossible so big shout out to radio stations like KEXP hunting for hidden gems to give a platform to. We here at TSR are doing our best along with you.
AdP utilize a custom combo microtonal guitar and bass focusing their output on notes outside the typical western 12 note scale. It’s very technical yet unsettling but underneath its chaos are very tight drum rhythms compiled of abrupt timing and signature changes. Math rock will often feel too layered and complex to attract a normal mainstream listener but injections of funky looped patterns from the duo keep the product surface level light and danceable, helping them breakthrough.
The album unfortunately features almost no lyricism creating a ceiling to the music. For all its technical prowess there’s near zero substance to emotionally connect to. Ultimately for all the praise heaped on the band, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are a very on the nose musical influence. The King Gizz cult is not happy with AdP’s rise to fame either, and it’s a bit hard to blame them. It’s so close in nature that when you search KG on Spotify the top result is AdP. It’s certainly not a bad thing to be influenced, particularly in a genre that isn’t overly popular but in the end I find it hard to get behind the insane hype. Vol. II is fun and technically excellent music that I’d love to see live, but not an album that will live on in my library.
Angine de Poitrine turn the degree of difficulty up to a whole new level on Vol. II but the musicianship and artistic display gains them immense respect more so than delivers a high end album. The skillset is undeniable but instrumentals only get you so far.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Song: Fabienk
REID
The music industry is such a cruel business. Millions of artists bust their balls annually to be heard and to make a living. The competition is endless and the probability of climbing that ladder is slim to none. Then one day you start seeing two characters in long-nosed, polka dot, paper-mache costumes all over your social media. They’re performing on TV, Hockey Night in Canada has them on repeat, Dave Grohl is talking about them and you find yourself in the middle of a viral explosion. That’s right, today we’re going to chat about the latest internet sensation, Angine de Poitrine (AdP) and their sophomore album, Vol.II.
Just two reviews ago, I compared the frontman of The Sophs to a wrestling heel for his morbid lyrics. In the same breath, I commended him for attempting to stand out to get some eyes and ears on his band. Ethan Ramon can take notes from this duo. Khn and Klek have embraced the route of anonymity with totally fabricated personas. Fake names and language to go along with the outrageous outfits which have garnered all the attention and deservedly so. How exactly did this idea come about? Eric Spitznagel wrote an article for Spitzmix with the answers to all your frequently asked questions on the group from Saguenay, Quebec.
“They started wearing masks in 2019 because they got double-booked at the same venue in the same week and didn’t think anyone would show up to see the same band twice in seven days. So they covered their faces as a practical joke. The joke became a costume, the costume became an identity, and the identity became mythology…”.
That’s objectively hilarious. Listen, this may come off as if I’m being negative or unappreciative of the band’s talent but it’s nothing more than reality. We wouldn’t have ever heard of AdP without the masks. It’s a fact. There are countless extremely talented artists worldwide that’d give this duo a run for their money. But they have a marketable shtick and they’re playing it to perfection. You can’t blame them for that!
The music itself, in a word, is tumultuous. Khn had his guitar specially made so he could build guitar over bass loops in real time. Klek is at the throne on drums adapting to and delivering a discernable beat amongst the chaos. It’s an act that’s meant to be experienced live to truly admire the artistry. That argument can be applied to many musical acts but just watch these guys for one minute and it will drive the point home.
The interesting thing about instrumentals is the listener isn’t caught up on the message delivered by the vocals. You can consume and let your imagination wander however your heart desires. For me, songs like Fabienk and Angor took me on a journey where the protagonist experiences resilience and triumph. On the flip side, the plucky nature of Utzp brought out the millennial child in me with images of Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck from the Loony Tunes.
2026 gets weirder by the day and Angine de Poitrine’s ascent to mainstream is a case in point. Rarely does a technically excellent group blow up like this. It just goes to show the value of a good shtick. That’s showbiz baby!
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Song: Fabienk