On Monday night, Texas natives Nothing More came back to Montreal after opening for Bush in 2024, this time to promote their latest album, CARNAL. As I dragged my boots through the snow, annoyed as hell at this point by the long winter and having read the interview our Editor-in-Chief did only a couple of weeks ago (check it out here), I couldn’t help but think about how Mark, their guitarist, mentioned he was excited to experience the cold.
Ah yes, as someone who grew up only two hours away from Texas, I remember when I first moved here. Being excited for the snow and the cold, being used to the scorching heat. After 10 years, though? I’m ready to wrap this season up. Fortunately, inside the legendary L’Olympia, probably my favourite venue in the city, the heat of roughly 2,500 people and a stacked lineup of alt-metal helped me forget about it for a couple of hours.
Unfortunately, due to some STM shenanigans, I couldn’t make it in time for the first band, Archers. But listening to a couple of their songs, you can definitely feel them under the same branch as Nothing More, just maybe a little closer to that Sleep Token sound, especially with the vocals and guitars.
Second on the bill was Catch Your Breath, also from Texas. Judging by how many people in the crowd were wearing their merch and going absolutely crazy when their set started, the overlap between them and Nothing More’s fandom is huge. Their style is a bit closer to metalcore and honestly felt like the heaviest of the three sets. Their singer, Josh Mowery, was rocking an all-black hoodie and Adidas Originals with a black beanie. With his long blonde mane hanging out, it was a real “Imagine if Dave Mustaine took style tips from Fred Durst” kind of vibe. They were great on stage, with Josh jumping around throughout the set, getting right in the crowd’s faces and just knowing how to keep everyone moving. Honestly, if you told me they were the headliners, I would’ve believed you.
But we weren’t close to being done. I have to admit, I wasn’t super familiar with Nothing More before the show and it was my first time seeing them. I got the tip from several friends (shoutout to Eric, one of our other photogs) that Jonny and company were a “must-see” and that I should jump on the chance to go. They were not wrong.
The set started at 9:30 sharp and you can immediately tell, even without knowing their music, that Jonny Hawkins just has “It.” It’s that weird pull some frontmen have where you just can’t look away. He walked on stage with his arms up, shirtless, with half his torso painted black, and they kicked things off with a heavy dose of the new album: “Carnal,” “House on Sand,” and “Angel Song.” He stopped shortly after to thank the crowd for showing up and selling out the show on a random Monday in the middle of winter.
The night moved along, and during the crowd favourite “IF IT DOESN’T HURT,” a bunch of balloons suddenly started floating over the pit while purple light flooded the venue. At first, I thought balloons on the fifth song was a bit random, until I saw the IGA logo on them. I guess an IGA employee was having too much fun at the show! Either way, it was a very cool scene. Jonny was constantly pointing at them like, “Punch them to me, I wanna kick one!” like a hyped-up 8-year-old just having a blast. For a moment, he seemed to totally forget he had more than 2,000 people screaming in front of him.
They kept the energy high with tracks like “Jenny,” which clearly hit home for a lot of people in the room, before finally rounding things out with “This Is the Time (Ballast).” By the time that final chorus hit and the lights came up, I realized my friends were right, this is a band you just have to see live to get. I walked back out into the Montreal slush feeling a lot less annoyed by the winter and a lot more glad I made the trek to L’Olympia. If they’re coming through your city, don’t miss them.
Review & photos – Andres Amaya
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