Here to bring us some serious grooves during these bleak times is Bathurst, New Brunswick’s Francophone four-piece Ananas with their debut, 6-track release, Fausse réalité.
Originally formed for the 2019 Accros de la chanson songwriting competition, the band consisted of Samuel Mallais on vocals and guitar, Sam Newman on bass guitar, keys and backing vocals, and Guillaume Pitre-Gaudin on drums. After winning the competition’s semi-finals that February, however, the group decided to expand with the addition of Ayden Hutchinson, who brought more guitar along with saxophone and trumpet to the mix.
The group’s wide range of instrumental talent affords them the ability to genre hop, which is not something they take for granted. Fausse réalité opens with the funk-heavy “New Kids,” the album’s first single, but it quickly shifts to a more bluesy and soulful sound in the second track, “Crosspoint.” Following that, the album continues to shift through more contemporary, psychedelic, and alternative rock sounds with sprinklings of punk, jazz and classic rock throughout. For the final track, “Brigitte,” the band even ventures into country territory.
It’s the experimental, jazzier and more psychedelic moments that tie the whole release together. Mallais’ vocals and consistent pacing don’t lead the listener astray.
When asked about the lyrical content of the tracks, the band says that is where the album gets its title; each track has a narrative of its own. But while all tracks on the album spin fictional tales, or fausse réalités, some have deeper meanings to the band than others.
“All the songs on the album are about their own individual topics, but they’re all related by one aspect, being that they’re mostly fictional stories . . .,” says Hutchinson. “The fictional stories sometimes tackle more lighthearted, everyday things, and some of them tackle deeper, more serious topics. Most of them are inspired by life events and people that we meet or hear about.”
And all members get to have their say in the writing process. While the lyrics are primarily written by lead singer Mallais, the rest of the group chime in with their ideas to round off the narratives.
“Our singer Samuel Mallais does most of the physical writing, but we all share our ideas and points of view to create lyrics that we can all identify with,” says Hutchinson.
Probably the most relatable story on the release is “Brigitte,” the tale of a newly retired woman who wins the bingo lottery and, needing more excitement in her life, buys herself a brand new Honda Civic. She hopes the car will bring her opportunity for enjoyment. In the track, Ananas outlines the mundane nature of modern life and our constant need for material fulfillment and distraction in a way that somehow uplifts the listener. The picture the band paints of Brigitte is clear. She is so many people we have all met before, and she is someone we see a little bit of in ourselves.
If nothing else, the song is a reminder that material wealth does not cure loneliness and that there is more to life than money and a brand new car.
Ananas brings many flavours to the table in Fausse réalité, but still one burning question remains: do Ananas go well with pizza?