Take a road trip to a European countryside on a sunny day with the Quebec-based indie band Corridor and their latest album Junior. Stare at the window and feel the wind on your face as the guitars drive you around town with its jangly flow, accentuated by ethereal vocal melodies that at times can sound straight from a Cathedral. This album is sung entirely in french, but that shouldn’t deter listeners who don’t understand the language, if anything it adds in a romantic flair to the floating and dreamy sound.
Corridor is composed of Jonathan Robert (vocals, guitar), Dominic Berthiaume (vocals, bass), Julien Bakvis (drums), and Julian Perreault (guitar). All hailing from Montreal, the band is Sub Pop’s newest signing.
The openers “Typographe” and “Junior” sets things up with blissful vocal lines accompanied by whimsical bouncy drums and chugging guitar riffs. I guarantee you can’t resist bobbing your head on these two, remembering all those vacations you’ve spent with your best friends without a destination in mind.
The the tempo picks up with “Domino”, where the guitars glide through the concrete, backed up expertly by the rhythm section. A sense of urgency can be felt in this song, a trend that will continue on with the next tracks such as “Goldie” — a catchy tune that starts up light and jumpy and ends in a cinematic dream sequence of ambient synths. In “Microscopie” instruments participate in a call and response session, with each having their part in and out of the conversation.
We take things slower as we move into “Grand cheval” and the vocals take the center stage. The synths and strings give the second half of the song a contemplative and nostalgic feel.
The road trip enters its last leg with “Pow”, an energetic drum and bass jam with glistening synth flourishes. It ends with “Bang” – a slower ballad where we hear the guitar finally getting strummed and the vocal harmonies chill out. The song slowly fades away as it takes us to our final destination.
Junior was said to have recorded this album on a tight deadline, which could explain the immediacy of its tracks. But despite that, it doesn’t feel like it was rushed at all. The overall production is solid, and the interplay between each element is superb. If anything, it made the sound more streamlined.
Overall a great listen if you’re looking to just take off somewhere. Corridor’s members clearly have great chemistry, every instrument plays together perfectly and the scene almost blends. The ideas are perfectly distilled with parts that are both exciting and relaxing. With 10 tracks in a 39 minute run time, listeners can pick apart their favorites on their journey, and they don’t even have to know the words.