Photo: Dominic Berthiaume & Delphine Snyers
If Day 1 of FME was about the feverishness that characterizes many festival beginnings, Day 2 was an opportunity to softly land and get into the groove of things, depending on your choice of programming of course. While the masses descended upon L'Abstracto for a chance to see Matt Holubowski's surprise show, those looking for slightly more alternative vibes made their way to Le QG for a gorgeous dose of avant-pop.
After performing at a number of Canadian summer festivals and just as she's about to embark on a tour of the US and France, French-born and Montreal-based Hélène Barbier made the trek to Rouyn-Noranda for a couple of shows. With stage banter kept at a minimum and a no-nonsense style of performing, Barbier makes for a pretty self-effacing frontwoman, which works incredibly well for her style of sparse, folk-tinged jangle pop.
Flanked by her collaborators and touring band, including other Quebec music scene luminaries — such as drummer Samuel Gougoux (Corridor, Victime) and Claire Paquet on the keys, flute and vocals — there's an ease in the way the members interact with each other. Barbier's synchronicity with Paquet is beautiful to witness, with the multi-instrumentalist easily shifting between her keyboard and transverse flute, all while harmonizing and providing background vocals.
Vacillating between French and English, Barbier's live delivery takes a distinctly more laidback approach than on record — which, remarkably, added a certain level of cohesion to the whole performance, but could sometimes act as a disservice to her deft lyricism, such as on the stunningly devastating "Dans l'os."
Despite sprinkling a few English songs into the mix, there also seemed to be a concerted effort to showcase most of her French repertoire, highlighting the FME's distinctive Francophone penchant. Much of the material for the group's short set was pulled from 2025's much lauded third studio release Panorama, ending the set with album centrepiece "Plastique Couch" and blistering closer "Water," which provided latecomers a concise but effective glimpse into Barbier's scenic musical landscape.
