‎...Expwy has definitely cornered a sound that no one else is playing at, in Canada or otherwise. It’s the polar opposite of mediocre. The summery strings and pacifying percussions on “Warm and Stricken by Lashes” perfectly sets the stage for LeGroulx’s now trademark lo-fi gems. “Cultivate a Classic Sky” reclaims the whistle from its gimmicky hell after “Young Folks” and makes it cool again. Throughout the LP’s 12 tracks, Expwy epitomizes all the qualities that Canadians are missing from their music. In a perfect world, Expwy would be selling a massive amount of records and be recognized every where for the literate and intellectual approach he takes to making music that he’s also deeply passionate about.

- Quick Before it Melts

While maintaining the lowest of profiles, Montreal’s Matt LeGroulx has been steadily self-releasing collections of pop songs with classicist flair and a productivity rate that rivals Robert Pollard. The fuzzed-out glam boogie and neo-tropicalia of his album Bag of Waters first caught my ear this April, and in just three months time he’s followed it up with both an EP and this genre-exercise of a full-length.

Little Hand Fighter is a wholly understated affair, dipping into breezy bossa nova in a style reminiscent of Cibo Matto and Mutations-era Beck. Swooning strings, shakers and nimble guitars set the backdrop for LeGroulx’s plainspoken vocals across 28 minutes of easy listening vibes. It’s definitely an enjoyable and successful experiment, but I’m crossing my fingers that he brings back the Os Mutantes riffs on his next offering. At least we probably won’t have to wait long.

-Jesse Lock (Fast Forward Weekly)

Surf, psychedelic and bossa nova get their due here, but instead of precise facsimiles, LeGroulx presents them through a grainy, sepia-toned filter, so the final result is more akin to a hazy recollection. The slow-paced jingles recall my trip to Ontario’s Carillon beach as a child (now Parc Voyageur), sitting in the backseat and barely able to hear Oldies 990 on the radio due to the windows being rolled down.

Little Hand Fighter is also pretty light on garnish, with an acoustic guitar/ukulele taking centre stage along with minimal cabasa and cabasa-type percussion. LeGroulx’s vocals, in addition to being heavy on the reverb, are delivered in a hypnotic, soothing drawl. This is an album where everything is largely in its right place, and as such is meant to seep into your subconscious slowly rather than beat you over the head with enthusiasm.

Ideal for the dog days of summer then, which hopefully will continue for a while still.

-Erik Leijon (Cult Montreal)

The album is incredibly, incredibly chill. You can take a song like “Cultivate a classic sky” and instantly want to whistle along. Or you can just sit back and absorb the musical rays of sunshine from songs like “Warm and stricken by lashes.” At the same time, there are also songs that could almost be ballroom-dancing material. “No state can survive me” is filled with fast strumming of the guitar, frequent hand claps and a shaker. “Hold me back and make it monstrous” features multiple guitar lines for a very hypnotic song. It also features a line that has been stuck in my head since hearing the song for the first time: “Take your clothes off, disappoint me.”

-Michael Thomas (Grayowl Point)

Ever wanted to hear what Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Pavement, Guided By Voices, Terry Riley and Steve Reich would sound like if their DNA's were extracted, blended and re-grown as a single entity, given some cheap recording gear and been forced to record an album in a mad scientists filthy lab with really high ceilings? Just hit 'Play'.