Glammy Garage Pop From Toronto Will Amp Up Beat Kitchen This Weekend

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 23, 2015 5:15PM

Michael Rault, photo by Meg Remy

Michael Rault cooked up quite the stew for his Burger Records debut from his home base of Toronto. Living Daylight is a collection of lightly scuzzy power pop sprinkled with glammy touches throughout.

Burger Record is building a fine roster of acts that seem to slip comfortably between different musical eras, and Rault continues that tradition through his recordings. There are bongo flourishes on top of what at first sounds like a lo-fi indie attack on a song like "Real Love (Yeah)," that then get sucked into a grandiloquent chorus straight out of some late '60s Flower Power anthem. Admittedly that kind of a move could come off as pretentious, but Rault's straightforward delivery is wide-eyed and unwinking, so the effect is gleeful, not tongue in cheek.

Rault is bringing his act to Beat Kitchen this weekend, and it will be interesting to see what Living Daylight's tracks sound amped up and on stage. The LP has a rough energy cruising just underneath its grooves, and we can see that translating into a raucous stage show. This glam has enough grit in it to pack a punch, and we're looking forward to getting knocked out, come Friday night.

Michael Rault opens for Happyness on Friday, July 24, at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W Belmont, 10 p.m., $10-$12, 17+