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FME Review: Population II, August 29, Bonsound House

Posted on
30 Aug 2025
by
Paul

Regular readers of this site will be well aware of Panic Manual’s love of SXSW, the annual festival held in Austin each March showcasing acts from around the world. One of our favourite things about SXSW is the day parties where, aside from the chance to check out great bands, there’s also plenty of opportunities to grab some free food and drink. And I’m happy to say that FME also found room for some day parties, with Friday kicking off on a strong note at the Bonsound BBQ – a gathering where, in addition to beer, hot dogs, and potato salad, we were treated to an incredible set from Population II.

The venue itself was the perfect setting for the Montreal trio’s heavy, exploratory psych rock, with attendees gathered poolside by a house on the lake surrounded by a beautiful garden while hotdogs were grilled nearby.

While I’ll admit that, as an Anglophone, much of the band’s stage banter was lost on me, I did enjoy one song intro that made for an amusing and perfectly nonchalant way to introduce the next track: “La prochaine chanson … c’est la prochaine chanson.” But while their onstage banter and general demeanor may have seemed laid-back, the music itself was anything but. I’ve seen the band a handful of times now, and every time their heavy, trippy psych sound just seems to keep getting better and better.

PrevPreviousFME Review: Billie du Page, Crasher, UTO, August 28

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