Heavy, blues-based rock that you can dance to! Quebec rockers Tonnerre emerge with La nuit sauvage, a heavy dose 70s-inspired rock that takes cues from AC/DC and Blue Öyster Cult— complete with French-sung lyrics! There is something in the air in rural Quebec, Canada. Known for its deep, long winters, not to mention its thick, unyielding forests, Quebec’s pastoral beauty evokes the kind of prolonged, deep-into-the-night gatherings by a fire (with some libations, too) that some can only dream about. But for the members of Tonnerre, it is part of the fabric that brought them together to create a timeless form of blues-based rock that bobs the head and shakes the hips. The band’s debut album, La nuit sauvage, was created from the very nights the band spent in the countryside with friends, drinking the aforementioned beer while telling stories and listening to music. And like night itself, La nuit sauvage is an album that gets darker and more mysterious as it unfolds. Most of Tonnerre have known each other for nearly 20 years, including lead guitarist Patrick Pageau and bassist Jeff Laflamme, who played in the now-defunct Bastardator. Patrick, vocalist Annick and rhythm guitarist François are the founding members of Cauchemar, in which Patrick played drums until 2013. Annick and François have continued with Cauchemar, while Patrick started Asile and Durs Coeurs. The missing piece was found in 2022 when they met drummer Arnaud Geoffroy in the rural town of Ripon. Arnaud also plays in S‘cuse and happens to be a
master brewer (!), which further cemented their friendship around such a cherished beverage. That connectivity rings true throughout La nuit sauvage. Recorded in a remarkable six months after the band’s first jam session, the album purveys the kind of undeniable, freewheeling, loose hard rock that first came to be in the 1970s. And, behind Annick’s French-sung vocals, the album perfectly captures the feeling and spirit of La nuit sauvage, which translates to “a night in the wild.” It symbolizes those very nights of Tonnerre partying with their friends but also about the wild spirits that haunt the forest, the animals that hunt at night, the northern lights, the stars, and the long shadows cast by the fire. It’s about all the weird noises that you hear in the dark, but you don’t know what they are.