BY ANNA ZALOKOSTAS

In print | November 29, 2007

Blistering with exuberance, avant-pop Montreal-based band Malajube took the stage of Olde Club Friday night, Nov. 16, rapturously strumming, drumming, stomping and pounding out songs off of their 2006 album, “Trompe-l’oeil.” Guttural, screamy vocals, a majestic tangle of glittering keyboard, a softly reverberating bass, gently rattling drums and deliriously poppy guitar chords made Malajube’s French dance songs feel like dizzy explosions of sparkling cheap pink champagne, capturing all the youthful energy and happy magnificence of good times with good friends.

Though lead singer Julien Mineau sings only in French, the language barrier (for those of us who don’t speak a single word of the lovely language) did not keep the crowd from getting swept up in the vibrant pop music; throughout Malajube’s bold and upbeat set, small circles of friends bounced and bopped and danced around like (perhaps slightly intoxicated) silly college students, and even those who swear they “don’t dance” could be caught doing a rather upbeat hipster sway.

“Even though the songs were in a language I didn’t understand, I didn’t feel embarrassed to sing along or rock out,” Jeff Sloan ’09 said.

Malajube’s performance was like a well-kept secret dance party, a much better (and more fun) alternative to the UK Massive party at Paces.

While Pitchfork does some serious name-dropping when describing Malajube’s new album (Broken Social Scene, Wolf Parade, Animal Collective, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Tilly and the Wall were all referred to in one CD review), I’d argue that Pitchfork is a little too generous in its comparisons. Malajube did sound good, but I don’t think their sound was anything particularly memorable or unique — if anything, those comparisons are only accurate in so far as they suggest that Malajube is doing what so many other bands are also doing by trying to imitate the sound of the bands the review mentions.

But, what I think sets Malajube apart from every other French-Canadian band is the exuberance, happiness and wonder of their live performances, the youthful, jaunty, driving energy, the overwhelming, inescapable desire to dance around like a drunkard, the inability to keep your arms to your sides and your feet firmly planted on the floor.

That is what makes their music so engaging; the truth and beauty bombs that explode and make you feel like it’s high school or what you imagined high school was like for the cool kids (cool uncool kids, in my case). And that is what Friday at Olde Club felt like — people filtering in and out of a casual gathering with friends with everyone having fun. If not necessarily memorable, Malajube is undeniably fun to see perform and they most certainly pleased the crowd.

“I thought they were the best band so far, along with Sam Champion, to come to Olde Club this semester,” Blaine O’Neill ’11 said.

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