Population II is the Montreal-based combo of singer/drummer Pierre-Luc Gratton, guitarist/keyboardist Tristan Lacombe, and bassist Sébastien Provençal. They play a poppy and propulsive yet adventurous brand of psych-rock that has landed them tour dates with the OSEES and strikes me as a nice pairing with fellow francophone locals Corridor. (Dungen and Tame Impala also come to mind.) Today they’re announcing Maintenant Jamais, the follow-up to 2023’s Électrons libres du qu​é​bec, and sharing its excellent lead single.

At various moments throughout “Le thé est prêt,” the music shimmers, shakes, and soars. It’s got me excited to check out the full album; maybe you’ll feel the same when you listen below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Maintenant et Jamais”
02 “Prévisions”
03 “Macavélique rock”
04 “Haut-fond”
05 “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)”
06 “La Trippance”
07 “Poudreuse Blues”
08 “i + i”
09 “Le thé est prêt”
10 “homme étoilé”
11 “Rédemption naturelle”
12 “13 1 3 1”
13 “La Cache”
14 “Cardinaux”

Maintenant Jamais is out 3/28 via Bonsound.