Armen at the Bazaar

Montreal one-man band Armen Bazarian lets us in on the delicate details on this five-song EP. Full of looping, cut-and-paste outbursts and more, each of the 22 minutes is a discovery. "Fire" begins the experience, with sweet, soulful hooks and a confident chorus. "Drive with Me" is easily the EP's strangest piece of work ― Bazarian basically makes monkey noises for the rhythm and overtop sings about being high on speed. But try getting it out of your head after. "The Static White" and "Anna's Song" are softer, yet just as contagious expeditions. At this point, you've made your mind up about Bazarian. And then the last song kicks in: a cover of "Over the Rainbow." Your original reaction might be, "oh, come on," but honestly, it's fun and trippy, giving new essence to that memory, leaving you wanting more.