Malajube are an oddity in the Canadian and North American music scene. They manage to be indie music critics darlings while at the same time amazing everyone because all their songs are sung in French.

 I think everyone is wondering, "Why the hell are we listening to this when we have no idea what they are saying." Completely ignoring the fact that many bands screech out their songs and it doesn't much matter what language they are waling in. 

When Malajube first burst on the scene in 2004, everyone was wowed by the energy in their punk-ish indie pop. Most reviews have mourned a bit of a loss of that bombastic energy in the band's latest release La Caverne. So I set out to WISE Hall to discover for myself if those critics were right. (Much like weathermen, you just can't trust em all the time.)

I caught up with the boys from Malajube outside the concert hall. They were smoking outside their van. No one smokes cigarettes on the Drive, so they stood out even without speaking. They told me that most of the stories about the strange translatios for the word "Malajube" are just them fucking with reporters. I am nervous and hope to get them drunk before we talk. 

This was my first show in the mighty WISE Hall. Nestled at the end of The Drive, the space evokes an old Barn where people might hang patio lanterns for a harvest ball. Floors creak under feet and I tried to imagine my cheap beer in a can was scooped from a punch bowl. 

Then Malajube stormed the stage. The band has matured since the last record and the music has lost some of that something-to-prove energy. The guys in the band told me that the record was created in an isolated domed cabin, so I wonder if those kind of serene surroundings can lend themselves to music and discord. 

The real treasure of the night was The Besnard Lakes. Another critic darling, this band is the perfect meshing of indie rock and classic rock elements. Very glad to have caught their Harvest Dance at WISE Hall. 

Stay tuned for my interview with Malajube on the interview show.