biographical info
CHOCOLAT delivers a unique genre : Rock Elegant. One of the greatest
new bands coming out of Montreal in 2007, CHOCOLAT makes garage and
chanson française cross-over in a new album out on GrosseBoite (Dare to
Care Records). If Bob Dylan met with Jacques Dutronc, it would not
sound better!
CHOCOLAT formed in 2006 of Jimi Hunt's one-mand
band extravaganza with Demon's Claws' rythm section (In the Red Rds)
and Cockroaches unique guitar playing to make the most surprising Ep of
2007 in Montréal. Grabbing attention of indie stations and exctatic
crowds across Québec and Canada, the Chocolat Ep ranked in the top 10
of Bande-à-Part and many college stations. Their shows got noticed in
every event they took part of (NXNE, Pop Montréal, M for Montréal,
FMEAT, etc). From then on, the band started draw comparisons with
Dylan's electric era or Dutronc's early years. Chocolat was only
getting started!
Now, the studio time is over and Chocolat is
sending your way Piano Elegant, his first Full-lenght album on Grosse
Boite/Dare to Care (Malajube, We Are Wolves, Tricot Machine, etc).
This new effort brings Hunt's songwriting and unique voice to new
levels. Check out Chocolat, you'll hear of them and their Rock Elegant
••••••
«Quite simply, they are one of the highlights. Imagine Bob Dylan fronting The Yardbirds in 1964 at The Crawdaddy Club.»
Danny Eccleston, mojo4music.com, 9 novembre 2007
«With
a forceful swagger that invoked everything from The Stooges to the
blues, Chocolat careened through an infectiously danceable with no
shortage of soul. Mostly the attention was focused on lead
singer/guitarist/harmonica player Jimmy Hunt, who possessed not only
the best, most technically-impressive singing voice of the entire
festival, but likely also the tightest pants, begging the age-old
question "the tighter the pants, the tighter the band?"» Matt Mazur, popmatters.com, november 9 2007
« Everyone, and I mean everyone, is talkin' about the sweet franco soul pop of La Belle Ville's Chocolat. » Steve Guimond, Hour, 4 octobre 2007
«With its stoned grooves, infectious tunefulness and solid musical variety, Chocolat’s EP offers consistently engaging listening.» Rob Nay, EXCLAIM!, Mai 2007
«Like any EP worth its salt, you’ll be salivating for a full-length.»
Johnson Cummins, MIRROR, 26 avril 2007
« The mini-album is over too soon so there's only one thing to do : play it again and again! » Juan Rodriguez, The Gazette, 22 mars 2007
« le grand public pourra découvrir quelque chose d’inconnu au Québec : du vrai rock. »
Olivier Lalande, ICI, 26 juillet 2007
«La troupe francophone trafique sa signature rock-blues-country bien québécoise grâce à des références plus psychédéliques que ne renierait pas le Velvet Underground. Ce maxi prouve une fois de plus toute l'authenticité sentie chez Hunt.»
Olivier Robillard-Laveaux VOIR, 8 mars 2007
«On en a jamais assez et parce que c'est tellement bon, je vous dirais ici de manger la tablette au complet!!!» Élodie Gagnon, BANDE-À-PART, 13 mars 2007
«Chocolat ne fait surtout pas de la musique sucrée ! C'est du gros
rock envoyé cependant avec subtilité. Ca roule, c'est en place et super
efficace, style vieux Dylan énervé, voire Alan Vega, harmonica inclus !
La voix de Jimmy Hunt, le chanteur, est impec, la présence pertinente,
on devrait en reparler. LA découverte du festival !»
Serge Beyer, Longueur d'Ondes - 06/08/2007
influences
Bob Dylan
Jacques Dutronc
Velvet Underground
Claude Dubois (circa 1972)