Braids have changed

Braids at Casa del Popolo. Photos by Cindy Lopez

When I spoke to Braids in 2010, they’d finally finished their record Native Speaker, which was a long time coming. In 2008, all four members had moved to Montreal from Calgary, where their band had been called the Neighbourhood Council. They came here, changed their name, home-recorded their album and told me they’d probably be moving in a more electronic direction.

Judging from their first Montreal show in over a year, last night at Casa del Popolo, I can confirm that that has happened. Looking back at their evolution now, it appears that Native Speaker was a transitional record for the band, from slow-burning soundscapes topped with Raphaelle Standell-Preston’s soaring voice to beat-driven electronic creations with vocals woven in like tapestry.

They’re also a trio now, having lost keyboardist Katie Lee somewhere along the way.

You can hear one of the band’s new songs, the title track from their In Kind EP, here. The studio version is more akin to Native Speaker than most of the all-new set I heard last night. A new album, Flourish // Perish, will be out Aug. 20 on Flemish Eye.

Check out these images from last night’s show:

[lg_folder folder=”130612-braids-cl”]