Until this week, Corridor hadn’t released an album in half a decade. They’ve made good use of that time. The Montréal band have always put their own spin on post-punk, mixing a tight, jittery rhythm section with a florid and expansive melodic palette and the firepower to really and truly rock out. Those tendencies remain on new album Mimi, but it’s all elevated into a holographic state, sometimes smeared and blurry, sometimes stunningly crystalline.
Corridor introduced Mimi by talking about how they didn’t want to be as much of a guitar-centric band this time. They’re definitely still guitar-centric, which is a good thing; snaking, slicing six-string action is a major part of their appeal. Corridor wouldn’t be the same band without riffs that crack like whips. But if the guitars are still central to Mimi’s sound, they’re accented by a wide range of other beautiful sounds. The hyperactive keyboards on “Jump Cut” should come with an epilepsy warning. “Chenil” and “Porte Ouverte” are full of moody vibes that gorgeously accent the sharp edges of Corridor’s sound. “Mourir Demain” roars out of the gate with the high pageantry of a prog-psych band, then glides toward the horizon with a gracefulness worthy of Dungen or Alcest.