REVIEW: Erica Pomerance, En concert au Petit Québec Libre

“A pared-down, righteous set sung entirely in French that crackles with electric fury.”

Erica Pomerance, En concert au Petit Québec Libre (Tour de bras/Trésor National)

Montreal filmmaker and folk singer Erica Pomerance had only released one record before this session was unearthed by the fine folks at Trésor National. 1973’s En concert is a pretty different experience from her 1969 free-folk freakout on ESP. It’s a pared-down, righteous set sung entirely in French that crackles with electric fury. As Pomerance herself insists, she’s no Joni Mitchell — the songs are closer to raw talking blues mixed by East Village hippie experimentalism (i.e. the Fugs) and a dash of Patti Smith. Though the recording itself is fairly barebones and lo-fi, En concert au Petit Québec Libre is an inestimable document of a singular voice in the Quebec musical landscape. 7/10 Trial Track: “J’ai mon voyage”

For more on Erica Pomerance, please visit Bandcamp. This review was originally published in the May issue of Cult MTL.


For more Montreal music coverage, please visit the Music section.