DETAILS

Aids Wolf with Shearing Pinx & The Famines
Broken City
Sunday, April 5 - Sunday, April 5

More in: Rock / Pop

“Honor thy error as a hidden intention.”

“Repetition is a form of change.”

These quotes might sound like Confucius, but they’re actually taken from Oblique Strategies, the series of cards created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt in 1975 to help overcome creative obstruction. Both approaches could easily be extrapolated into the unhinged outbursts of Montreal noise band AIDS Wolf. Without the anchoring of a bass guitar, the band’s dual-guitar skronk storm, squealing vocals and pots-and-pans-falling-down-the-stairs percussion make them one of the most polarizing bands in Canada.

While their music may sound random, the quartet has actually crafted their own set of strategies, plainly entitled The Nine Principles of AIDS Wolf. With tips such as “Allow for sonic fields of nothing,” “When in doubt, bum them out” and the simple “Get in the van,” these are words to live and work by for any artists hoping to avoid normality at all costs. (Read the principles in full at skingraftrecords.com/bandhtmlpages/aidswolf_pg.html).

“A lot of the younger, weirder bands in our city seem to feel a barrier,” says singer Chloe Lum. “We were just trying to inspire them to get out there, tour and do whatever they want to. A lot of us have visual art backgrounds as well, and always have to write statements and manifestos about what we do. We figured, why don’t bands have to do that, too?”

The second principle, “Live esthetic immersion” (subtext: “There is no reason a sonic composition cannot be inspired by or contribute to a drawing, a tasty curry or one's choice of socks”) seems to be the tactic that the band takes the most seriously. On top of their shockingly awesome live sets, equal parts noise rock, No Wave spectacle and performance art, Lum and drummer Yannick Desranleau also co-run the poster company Seripop, known for their vibrant and psychedelic designs. “Apart from making art, making music and maybe working out, there isn’t really anything that any of us do,” she says with a laugh.

From their notorious naked press photos to the Boredoms-style cover art of their many releases (including a new cassette recorded specifically for this tour), AIDS Wolf embody the all-or-nothing approach of extreme music.

“The whole package is important,” Lum says. “Cover art, posters, videos if you have them — all of that stuff contextualizes the music and almost serves as a resumé for it. There’s also a bit of a trend right now with underground or noise-rock bands to have really minimal [album] covers. I’m not really into that. It’s not the minimalism that’s the problem, just the lack of balance and care.”

Following a few too many experiences with uninformed interviewers, AIDS Wolf have also taken music writing into their own hands with the website Thee Outernet (theeouternet.blogspot.com). Shining a spotlight on lesser-known acts, Lum hopes to offer music-nerd-approved coverage with more substance than what newspapers and (irony alert!) alt-weeklies can provide.

“So much of the music that we’re really into doesn’t get written about,” she explains. “Or, if it does, it’s written about by people who don’t have a background in it and don’t really understand the context. As musicians, mega fans and peers of a lot of the people we’re writing about, we feel that gives us far more insight to ask them questions. I’m definitely not a writer, but just felt that there weren’t enough avenues to cover what I’m interested in. Hopefully for other obsessives, it’ll be a little more illuminating.”