Émerik St-Cyr Labbé is a contented man. With Fleur de l’Âge, his group Mon Doux Saigneur’s third release, he even boldly explores sunny lands after two somewhat dreamlike indie folk albums. “I truly felt like doing something different, something more rhythmic and, above all, more cheerful,” the Montrealer tells Apple Music. From the very beginning of the creative process, this intention quickly asserted itself. When the tour for their previous project, Horizon, was curtailed due to the pandemic, he decided to make the best of things. He found love and inspiration, threw open the shutters, and allowed light to flood into his universe. “Music is definitely what has allowed me connect with others, to develop my sociability,” he says. “And the community of artists is so vibrant; I consider myself fortunate to be part of it.” Accustomed to a more cerebral approach, he now readily talks about his art in general—and in particular his “groove folk”—in physical terms. “Above all, I’ve gained a certain degree of maturity. I have more faith in myself, I’m less afraid of ridicule. I feel as though I can finally let myself go and give free rein to the music.” Here St-Cyr Labbé takes us on a guided tour of the tracks on Fleur de l’Âge. Art vivant “I like the idea of starting off an album with a song that’s different from the rest, and that’s why we put this one at the beginning. There’s something more explosive about this track, especially in the way I sing. It’s not whispered as much, it’s less breathy than usual; instead it comes from the stomach. The title may seem a bit pretentious, and I don’t even speak directly of living art in the lyrics, but when I say in the refrain ‘on s’est ratés, viens donc nous voir’ [we missed each other, why not come and see us], to me it feels like a celebration of live music. I’m so happy to be able to go and see live shows again!” Vieux garçons “It’s a song that came about almost on its own, as if it was our muscle memory that prompted us to play it. It’s a kind of blues rock that moves forward and that’s reminiscent of the Stones, a style we’re very familiar with. Same thing with the text: I felt like talking about us, the guys in the band, even though it might sound like it’s a bit of an ‘inside’ story. It’s become our favourite song to play, our anthem, and we all have this little knowing smile when we play it. I think it perfectly sums up the spirit of Mon Doux Saigneur.” Flou “The title [Blurry] is appropriate because there’s something abstract about this song. I think I only realized what this track was really about when I was finishing it: there’s a little bit of anger and acrimony in the text, which addresses the difficulty artists have in obtaining a minimum level of recognition. Oddly enough, their situation is a recurring theme throughout the album. But it’s not depressing: it’s mainly a question of resilience and passion for music, and I wanted to pay tribute to everyone who works in the world of song.” Shoegaze “This one started with the drums, which is unusual for us. We felt like having that sort of somewhat repetitive rhythm, the ‘motorik’ sound associated with krautrock, which you come across with certain groups like Corridor. Although it’s called ‘Shoegaze’, it doesn’t refer to the musical genre; it’s just a link to the refrain where I say ‘checke mes running shoes’ [check out my running shoes]. Most people who’ve heard it noticed that it’s different from the stuff we usually do, but they liked it and understood our desire to take things elsewhere, which is the best reaction we could have hoped for.” Je t’aime “Because I’d never really explored the feeling of love head on, I wanted to write in the simplest terms possible. The images and places, for example: the window, the balcony, the kitchen… it’s the little world we’d been living in since lockdown. I wanted to convey the feeling of bliss I’d felt with my girlfriend during that period. It’s like a release of endorphins and a warm down jacket at the same time. I wasn’t sure I wanted to sing the words ‘je t’aime’ [I love you], but I thought that saying it at the very end of the song was a great way to wind it down. And then it feels so good to say it!” Fleur de l’Âge “To be honest, it provided the title for the album before we’d even finished recording it, and we couldn’t have found better! I wanted to play around a bit with the expression [the prime of life]; it doesn’t refer to a number. That’s why I capitalized the word ‘Âge’; what I’m really talking about is that period, using a Mon Doux Saigneur-style play on words. It’s a broad, open-ended idea, and it’s very befitting of the overall tone.” Jojo “As we often do, we simply drummed with our hands and came up with an underlying rhythm that’s reminiscent of John Prine, an American artist I love. The working title was ‘Jojo Blues’, which was kind of a nod to our drummer who, before the pandemic, often played with blues bands at the Bistro à Jojo bar. It talks about tours, parties, celebrations and the simple pleasure of playing music. It’s a sort of deconstruction: we’ve written a song that talks about making music.” Mélodie “I usually write on the guitar but this one was created on a keyboard and, just to be clear, I’m not very good with that instrument. At first, it sounded like a children’s nursery rhyme, and we put a lot of work into it before we had our final version. It’s crazy how much arrangements can really transform a song. It’s got a danceable, 80s vibe to it that reminds me of The Police. It talks about how I met my girlfriend, whose actual name is Mélodie, and then using the name’s double meaning was too good an opportunity to pass up.” Clou “We created it in the studio and when we decided we had something that resembled a song, I started on the lyrics. It’s called ‘Clou’ [Nail] because it’s the last one we composed; we’d agreed beforehand that we’d stop at 10 tracks. I ask myself the question: what do you do once you’ve found what you’re looking for, when you’re content? Do you go off in search of something else that will make you tick? My drummer says it’s the best song I’ve ever written. I sense a certain maturity in it; I get the impression I’m back in the days of Beau Dommage, even though it’s an era I never knew. I think I’ve managed to put myself in the shoes of an older version of myself.” Rodeo “It’s one of the first songs I composed, but it didn’t immediately find its place in the project. In fact, we tried all kinds of configurations and we ended up agreeing that it had to go at the end. Then I realized that the sentence ‘Où t’étais passé, dis-moi t’es rendu où’ [Where’ve you been, tell me where you are now] was also on ‘Art vivant’ (‘Où t’es passé, tu m’as manqué’ [Where’ve you been, I’ve missed you]), so it brought things full circle. I recalled Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, which begins and ends with songs called ‘The Suburbs,’ and if you listen to it on loop, they string together perfectly. When I realized that, I said to myself: ‘That’s it, we have our album.'”