Photo by Aabid Youssef
Scratchy, contrasting and labyrinthine, songs from Alix Fernz venture deep into post-punk’s scalene enclave, also flirting with hypnagogic pop, resulting in a lo-fi hybrid between synthwave and alternative rock, topped with catchy yet kooky melodies. Singing about bar life, psychosocial disorders, addiction, and introspection, while drawing inspiration from fashion, transvestism, and weirdos, the Montrealer lays, along masqued syllabic beats, the accounts of a certain coming-of-age in an era wherein likes and memes are all the rage. “Trading in fuzzed-out riffs and the unapologetic pursuit of raw sound, Alix Fernz is making music shot through with a DIY outsider spirit.” (The Line of Best Fit) His sophomore album, Symphonie publicitaire sous influence, is set to be released on October 17th, 2025 via Mothland.
Bizou (April 19th, 2024 via Mothland)—the first studio effort from singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Alexandre Fournier under the moniker Alix Fernz—is at times immersive and vibrant, at times scathing and shrill, built upon the unlikely accord between candid inspiration and claustrophobic production. "This Bizou defies all categorization, offering a little bit of everything. It's a blend of punk and francophone singer-songwriter music, infused with electronic ingredients that harken back to new wave. A dishevelled, spontaneous, explosive album that, with the frankness of its choruses, sometimes even verges on pop." (Le Devoir) On this introductory album, Fernz voluntarily forgoes the Cartesian formulas of pop music, rather opting for a serpentine prose where progressive musical pieces are seamlessly sequenced, effortlessly transitioning from post-punk to synthwave to hypnagogic pop. Throughout its 32 minutes, the long-player mixed by music wizard Emmanuel Éthier (Choses Sauvages, Corridor, P’tit Belliveau), depicts, through honest and anchored lyrics, a red-lit reality, the backdrop for nocturnal musings ranging from innocuous daydreaming all the way to lurid nightmares.
Live, Alix Fernz and his collaborators—Nicolas Dubé (Stoylov) on guitar, keyboards, and co-production, Vincent Lemay (Vincent Paul, Allô Fantôme) on bass, and Juan Espitia (Rau_Ze, Choses Sauvages) on drums—deliver piercing but infectious melodies atop a punk-infused soundscape adorned with psychedelic flourishes. Speaking about Bizou's release concert, Exclaim! Writes: “The music was twisting and sideways, but perfect for dancing; a bit dangerous, psychoactive and purposefully claustrophobic. There was no straightforward song structure, but the band was tight as sin, so the weird time changes, pauses, and interludes all felt warranted. Everything was tied together by the lurid nightmares and fantasies Fernz conjured up, sticking his microphone directly in his mouth for an intense growl, Karen O-style.” Since his entry onto the Montreal underground scene, Fernz has shared the stage with a host of transcendent artists such as Frankie & the Witch Fingers, This Is Lorelei, Kap Bambino, Deli Girls, Omni, Edith Nylon, Slash Need, Galaxie, and Violett Pi. He has also participated in numerous significant events, including The Great Escape, SXSW, FEQ, Francos de Montréal, Fifty Lab, M for Montreal, Up Here, Project Nowhere, and FME, adding a pair of dates in London, UK. Last but not least, the young multi-instrumentalist was called upon by La Sécurité and Hippie Hourrah, taking on bass and guitar duties during tours of Canada and Europe.
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“Il y a un peu de tout ça dans ce Bizou qui défie toute catégorisation. Mélange de punk, de chanson francophone, avec des ingrédients électroniques renvoyant au new wave. Un disque échevelé, spontané, explosif, qui frise parfois même la pop par la franchise de ses refrains.”
“Oozing sex and a distinctly devil-may-care, diva persona, Alix Fernz was a pleasure to watch Saturday night at Ausgang Plaza. Gritty, angular punk rock married beautifully with Fernz’s irreverent, borderline bratty vocals, which feel almost otherworldly once they’ve been filtered through his eclectic circuit board of synths and effects laid out on the table in front of them. ”
“Il faut reconnaitre que cette mouture est particulièrement rafraîchissante pour le paysage musical francophone actuel. L’univers et la présence de Fernz se démarquent avec une vraie singularité.”
““Rouge à lèvres” is an absolutely thrilling listen. It’s jagged and unsettled, with an underlying groove that still binds everything together in a way that feels like a ton of fun.”
“ [...] Alix Fernz, a post-punk meets weirdo new wave alt-pop menagerie that felt like watching The Residents, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, mixed with a bit of Cleaners From Venus.”
Landmark Events
Shared stage with
Frankie & The Witch Fingers, Deli Girls, Choses Sauvages
Slash Need, Lumerians, Omni, This is Lorelei