Night Lunch
Photo by Aabid Youssef
The musical escapades of Night Lunch (Montréal, QC) elegantly evade the standard tropes of modern indie music by dint of a verve that’s just quirky enough to deceive the unsuspecting ear. In the shadowy corners of a city where sin never sleeps, the bunch writes clair-obscur pop songs, in essence, engaging with romantic themes as well as with phantasmagorical imagery. In practice, their perfectly anachronistic melodies are nestled atop spiffy arrangements rooted in early R&B, soul, AM gold and new wave.
The punk-dented ensemble known for their lascivious rock sound first released two EPs – Space Dementia (2016) and Self-Titled (2018) – before unearthing in 2020 a debut long-player entitled Wall of Love via boutique labels Celluloid Lunch Records in North America and Black Hole in Japan. Well-received by musical critics, this first album by the four-piece was described by renowned Québec publication Le Devoir as “full of candor and naive fascination for the simple beauty of a well-built chorus, a perfect and efficient pop melody.”
First with a myriad of projects such as Baked Goods or The Marlees, and now under the moniker Night Lunch, the four nightly figures have been enriching Montréal’s underground scene for the better part of a decade, performing at a steady rate. Since forming in 2016, the band has toured in Canada and the United States, sharing the stage with transcendent artists, the likes of Adam Green, Orville Peck, Lucy, Tops, Paul Jacobs, She-Devils, Nyssa and Backxwash, while also performing at Festival international de jazz de Montréal, Pop Montréal and Suoni Per Il Popolo, amongst others.
For things to come, the quartet kneels at the altar of the almighty deities of D.I.Y., crafting with leather-wearing, black varnish-sporting hands a sophomore full-length that is perfectly sumptuous, informed by multi-generational streams of cascading mismatched influences. Fire in the Rose Garden (October 20th, 2023 via Mothland) is a love letter written in timeless ink, a marvelous melodic elegy; bright indie pop with a somber twist.
Albums
Videos
Concerts
Press
“Ce « mur d’amour » est, lui, plein de candeur et de fascination naïve pour la beauté d’un refrain bien construit, d’une parfaite mélodie pop efficace. ”
“Music has the power to transport you to a different time. On Friday, both opening acts, Kristian North, and Night Lunch manage to take me to the thrilling ecstasy-induced era of rock and roll that I’ve otherwise only read about in biographies like I’m with the Band. Their short but powerful sets at times feel like the backdrop of a sepia-tinted 70s porno.”
“Montreal’s Night Lunch sound like they are soundtracking a nightlife scene in 1976. Their new album, Fire in the Rose Garden, is their catchiest set of songs yet, with arrangements and flair that call to mind Rocky Horror and Phantom of the Paradise.”
“Montreal band Night Lunch makes music that is described as anachronistic atop arrangements rooted in early R&B, soul, AM gold and new wave.”
Landmark Events
Shared The Stage With
Adam Green, TOPS, Fly Pan Am,
Paul Jacobs, Wolf Eyes, Orville Peck
Lucy, She-Devils, Nyssa, Backxwash
The Brian Jonestown Massacre