Just one year in and Canadian punk duo DVTR have already toured Europe, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, US, and Canada with just 15 minutes of released music. DVTR comprise Jean Divorce (guitar) and Demi Lune (vocals) and they release the extended version of their EP Bonjour (BIS) on Friday 11 October. Clocking in at a whopping 11 tracks there’s no doubt it’s crazy value for money. The pair are members of le Couleur and DVTR began simply to have fun. “We were just thinking about songs drunk at 3 a.m. and plugged in guitars and started” shares Divorce.
That joie de vivre is evident by the bucket load on Bonjour (BIS). The track’s durations vary from 34 seconds for ‘Anu Cuni‘ to 4 minutes and 26 seconds on ‘Pied du Poule’, the latter being a cover of a new wave Québécois classic, from the cult musical of the same name. Thus the ethos is clear, anything goes and the result is an unpredictable, rough and ready rattle through a collection of songs which provide a wild ride, raucous and ferocious yet catchy and danceable – in other words a winning combination.
Opening with ‘DVTR‘ the pace is frantic and with crisp vocals. The lyrics are sung in French, as is the majority of their songs, and canters along with warped soundscapes weaving in and out and the increasingly frenzied soundscape taking hold. DVTR are punks and employ a “fuck it” attitude to their music. However Bonjour (BIS) is not one trick pony on repeat, quite the opposite. The versatility throughout is exhilarating.
‘Rhum cokeMD’ is a highlight, launching straight into a 400 miles an hour pace which is accompanied by vocals for the first half of the track – how is it possible to sing that fast! The instrumentation then takes over, snappy guitar riffs and punchy drums build to the end. Divorce shares:
“We don’t reflect on anything or consider the results very much. We avoid the long, drawn out and annoying process that a lot of bands put themselves through and keep the rawness.”
This is reflected throughout the entire EP. ‘Les flics (sont des sacs à merde)’ is dominated by a a pounding drumbeat, layered with the urgent vocals of Lune. The off kilter guitars mid-track are an utter joy before the drums and vocals resume. By the way the translation here is “The cops (are shit)” and a blast of English is heard with “three strikes and you’re out.“. This is followed by the funky punky ‘Fruits frais’, all bouncey, shouty lyrics and screechy guitars.
‘Les Olympiques’ draws inspiration from the millions of French people who were so bored with the Olympics, particularly as the country was in total disarray. The track is a banger bursting with exuberance and the gist is obvious with opening lyrics:“Je me fiche fiche fiche des Olympiques” (“I don’t care about the Olympics”).
The EP closes with ‘Bye’ an electronic instrumental which is both hynotising and mesmirising. Twitchy and unrefined it serves to confirm that DVTR are their own masters. It ties up the end of this EP, not with a blast of punk mayhem but with a swirling electronic soundscape. The lesson is obvious, expect the unexpected with DVTR. One final word from Divorce:
“You can have all kinds of rules for a band to have decorum and be nice and that’s all fine. But with DVTR, we just talk all kinds of shit in our tunes and spit poison and move on to the next thing. We don’t do anything without integrity.” Thank heavens.
For more information on DVTR please check their facebook and instagram.
