Nicolas Carette was the lead singer of Canadian band The Vasts. The past tense in this sentence does not apply to the frontman, he’s still very much alive. The band however has been disbanded. Carette will from now on be known as Roquemore.

On its Facebook page, Roquemore is described as ‘a beat-driven, baroque-orchestral rock project’. It was ‘born of a desire to recklessly reframe personal turmoil and world events’. Alrighty then… WTF?!?

I guess the best you can do is listen to Roquemore’s debut single, which is plain wonderful. Entitled Blame, it sounds like a cross of early Arcade Fire and Massive Attack. Expect tragic string arrangements, compact grooves and tormented vocals, but boy, what a beauty. Blame was engineered by Jean Massicotte, who worked with Bran Van 3000 and Patrick Watson before.

I truly can’t wait for more! Until then, Blame by Roquemore is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard.

In the Wildcards 2020 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.

Werner Schlosser

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.