Montreal Pop/Hip-Hop Collective Saint Zenon Release 'Handsome (But U Ugly!)'

Today, Montreal indie-pop group Saint Zenon released their newest single and video, "Handsome (But U Ugly!)" - watch/share via YouTube. The track features Half White Full Black, wordsbyjuni, Edwin Raphael, Claire Ridgely, it's matt (Fleece), Pops & Poolboy (Clay & Friends), Oscar Louis, and Fox Graham.

Bookended by Half White Full Black's tongue-in-cheek chorus, "Handsome (But U Ugly!)" features woozy summer melodies by Claire Ridgely and Matt Rogers, while Edwin Raphael and wordsbyjuni paint their respective lyrical prowess in between. Resting on a bed of crisp drums and pretty chords by Pops & Poolboy (Clay & Friends), Oscar Louis and Fox Graham. The result is a mosaic of punk, folk, lounge and hip-hop, creating pop music for the meme generation.

These eight musicians met while living in a house together in Montreal's Verdun neighbourhood for 3 years, pre-pandemic. "Living together was honestly crazy," recalled Rogers. "It was a constant party which always had spontaneous music-making no matter if anyone had work or something to do the next day. We all taught each other so much." The song wouldn't be possible without the countless late nights spent collaborating on homemade beats and passing the mic. Together, the group has written hundreds of unreleased songs catalogued on a shared Landr account which they all use to master their music and keep connected since living apart.

In August 2020, the group reunited in a remote Quebec lakehouse to intertwine their individual stories and unique sounds to create a record. "We're all such different performers - just take a listen to our respective solo music," shared Rogers. "But somehow we all come together with our diverse influences to make friggin' bangers. It's the chemistry we built living together that helped us find our addictive, fun, and cohesive sound."

wordsbyjuni adds, "there was something magical about making music at that cabin. It was like the room was buzzing... a few of us were working on the beat, others writing bars and melodies, and all of us constantly bouncing fresh ideas off each other. The entire song was produced, written, and recorded on the spot, and the end result is truly something special."