“Ever wonder how we got it started, felt like something drew us in?” lead singer of Noise Hotel Eric Montpool sings in the opening line of “Here We Go.”
It’s the first track off of the band’s debut album, Poolside Fantasy. Like jumping into a pool without initially dipping your toes in to test the waters, the album comes in waves that you slowly but surely accustom to.
Once one settles into the five-piece band’s music, Poolside — through 70s-esque guitar riffs, thrilling saxophone solos and intoxicating basslines — becomes a warming, nostalgia-seeped experience of love, angst and the grueling journey of young-adult life.
Not to say Noise Hotel requires much introduction. Since 2022, the band, consisting of Carleton alumni, have released a 2023 EP and performed across Ottawa music venues to become a prolific entity in the city’s indie scene.
Poolside’s lyrics invite their listeners to join the party.
“Grab a coffee and let’s talk about it,” the opening track beckons, backed with Christian Strong’s plucky bassline and Montpool’s comforting-but-edgy vocal tinge.
After the eagerness that kicks off in the opener, “Pool of Favours” dips more into malaise: “friends won’t help you no more, you’re drowning in a pool of favours.” Another run of Strong’s enthralling bass grumbles below myriad instrumentals, including Matthew Evans’s free-flowing, jazzy saxophone solo.
Noise Hotel’s effortlessly smooth rhythms are rampant throughout the album without succumbing to dull familiarity. “My Last Girl” dips into a laid back, electric guitar-driven melody as Montpool sings about the comforts of an uncomplicated relationship: “My calendar’s booked, I’ve made you my world / You’re my last girl.”
At the opposite end, “Caroline” revisits more tumultuous feelings while Montpool sings with aggression and annoyance. “The City Fun Forgot” picks up with a more driving beat, the melody building toward an explosive chorus with Boshko Maric’s* pulsing drum beats as powerful and commanding as ever.
Sonic sentiment becomes more modern in “All The Things,” with an airy vacuum-like distortion noise in the chorus that roils beneath Montpool’s floating vocals, while the other instrumentals compete to be heard.
“Dear Annie” featuring hannah vig, however, settles into a downcast longing against a comforting sound. Opening with campfire-guitar strumming which builds alongside vig and Montpool’s harmonizations, the song has an edgier feel to complement its self-deprecative lyrics: “Dear Annie, I’m your dirty old son-of-a-gun / Dear Annie, I’m your outlaw on the run.”
On the similar wavelength of sadness, “Picking Up the Pieces” explores feelings post-separation. “She walked away to the arms of another,” sings out with notes of distress hanging from Montpool’s tone, until the same line builds to angrier cries with distorted voice-overs and more ethereal saxophone runs.
Album closer “Take Care” is similarly downcast, instead using a low-tempo, guitar-plucking melody to usher a more sorrowful goodbye in its short one minute and 43 second runtime.
In all of Poolside’s exploration of human emotion — sadness, anger, annoyance and love — Noise Hotel makes sure to never stray too far into melancholia. Like any good host, the band ensures listeners’ comfort through 70s nostalgic melodies that occasionally dip into modernized techniques.
At the end of it all, Poolside Fantasy offers a welcoming stay.
*Boshko Maric has previously contributed to the Charlatan.
Featured image by Adel Manji.
