If you haven’t heard of her already, you will soon. Lucie Idlout is Canada’s best-kept alt-rock secret, and not just because she has an incredibly great voice or sound, it’s because she’s got just enough of everything-a complete package that comes naturally to her. She showcased her talent at the El Mocambo last Saturday as a part of imagineNATIVE, Toronto’s Aboriginal film and arts festival.
Although Idlout is of Inuk heritage, her music is not simply a testament to being native or being from Nunavut (though her debut album is poignantly titled E5770 – My Mother’s Name), but rather a complete expression of being herself.
This complexity resonates in her music, as she unfolds a story in each of her songs using her deep voice to lead the listener through a dark emotional struggle. Although the repetitive quality of some of her songs could get a bit wearisome after a while, there were many features to Idlout’s performance that kept one listening.
Out of her tiny body came a deep, aggressive voice, with passionate lyrics that took you on a journey full of sad stories and emotional unrest. Idlout’s stage presence allowed her to pull the audience into her world just by making seemingly nonsensical noises in the microphone, such as during the song “Roll the Bone,” where the audience became hypnotized by the actual rolling of her voice between high and low-pitched vocals.
Idlout also maintained a subtle variety in her songs. Whenever her music became too dark, she broke it up with a contrasting sound. “Big Red Chair” became both a blues song about a child losing her father, and an angry rock song venting her frustrations. Her playful and simple lyrical style was reminiscent of Nelly Furtado, with an alternative edge akin to Bif Naked.
The complete “Lucie experience” also encompassed her excellent backup band, with the notable exception of her back-up vocalist-actually her regular bass guitarist who had broken his shoulder and then decided to stay on singing backups instead. Bad idea. While he was able to occasionally pull off a nice contrast to Lucie’s smoky vocals, there were more than a few wrenching moments when he completely went off-key in his attempts at harmony.
Idlout conveys something from the stage that few new artists can-she comes across as very genuine and uninhibited. She freely exposes her conflicted psyche through her voice, energy and passion. She appears to be finding herself through the music, and better yet, inviting her audience to experience this emotional journey with her.
