Christian Sean performed a brief but impactful opening act this Thursday night. Playing in a stripped down duo setup, layers of synths, Moog bass, samplers an clicky drum machines came together to create his specific brand of dance pop. His set was etherial, oneiric, vaguely unsettled, with Christian dominating the stage, obviously pouring his heart into every word.
The reduced setup lent itself well to Christian’s airy synth-based music – songs deconstructed and were rebuilt into the next track, more like a DJ set rather than a band performance. The effect was an immersive artistic experience, although an unfortunate downside to this style of act is that the crowd doesn’t know when to clap.
photo credit: Cassandra Lacroix
The occasion was an album launch for Jordann’s first EP, “Connecting Visitors to Fun”. His 90s infomercial aesthetic was in full display: manilla folders, branded pens and a fax machine at the merch table, fake plants and a full-sized water cooler onstage. Jordann himself was decked up in a fitted cap, a vinage sweatshirt, cuffed jeans, scuffed white Nikes and tube socks — the epitome of dad-core.
This 90s dot com office look carried over into the performance itself: the set opened with a DVD infomercial, presented on a real CRT TV onstage. The analog synth arpeggio from the video turned into the accompaniment to the first song — a nice touch.
photo credit: Cassandra Lacroix
Unfortunately, a technical problem caused a delay after the opening number. Jordann seemed to get increasingly frustrated as every subsequent troubleshooting attempt failed to solve the problem, though the crowd were in high spirits and didn’t mind the wait. Once the issue was resolved, the band launched into “Poll Line”. Within a few bars, Jordann was back in the dreamy vibes he has meticulously constructed, smiling at his band as he sang into a modded telephone.
The first quarter of the set saw the crowd as aloof as any Montreal group is wont to be, hanging back from the stage, arms crossed, drink in hand. However, by the fourth track a small dance floor had formed just in front of stage, a dance floor that steadily grew throughout the night. Fuelled by the dancers’ energy, the band started giving more, though Jordann’s voice never raised past his calculatedly detached whisper.
photo credit: Cassandra Lacroix
Overall, it was a solid night of well-executed dreamy pop, though I couldn’t help but feel this music would be better suited for a makeout playlist than onstage. Something about the intimacy of bedroom pop is lost when presented as if the artist were a rock band. By no means is this an inditement of Jordann’s music though. Pop on “Connecting Visitors to Fun” and kiss someone cute until the winter fades away.
Stream Connecting Visitors to Fun below.