The confirmation that this merry bunch of Canadians was going to be swing by for a recording session with us in Austin was one of the early highlights of the arduous planning process that went into making our trip south happen. They were originally going to visit us in Rock Island on their way down to Texas, but the logistics were a bit more complicated than both sides could manage and we opted to host them in Big Orange. They arrived at the studio as Swedish pop sensation Marit Bergman – with curlers still in her hair – sat on the “patio” working through a new song with Kyle and Gary of The Ladybug Transistor, who had just been in for a session on this, the 15th of March. Man, did they ever look like Canadians! Jokes. Lead singer Julien Mineau donned a fluorescent orange cap that could have lit the way for miners in a coal mine as black as the ace of spades. They recorded two all-new instrumental songs that are likely just works in progress. Soon they’ll add the French lyrics that most of us anglophiles don’t understand a lick of. How they can amaze with so little texture – so little to go on but the simple blush of a song, the dangerous beauty of sounds gone right. – Sean Moeller

First song
Cristobal [previously 'Crystal Ball'] (Malajube) [4.84MB] [4353 downloads]


– unreleased
This, in my opinion, is Malajube sounding as similar to The Hold Steady as they ever will in their lives. There’s a sweet rawness to the energy in this song that reminds of a beer bash. [When the guys from Malajube told us that this song was called “Cristobal” we heard “Cyrstal Ball” and wrote down the title incorrectly. The mistake was not caught until the song was posted here for download. Our apologies.]

Second song
Etienne d'Aout (Malajube) [5.65MB] [2785 downloads]


– original version appears on Trompe l’oeil
The one chance to hear Mineau in this set and he seems to be singing about birds and loving them madly. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Third song
la Contrôleuse (Malajube) [4.93MB] [3696 downloads]


– unreleased
Like the tail of a kite.