Enregistreur

Released in 2002 on the iconic Constellation Records label, Enregistreur is the second full-length album from the Montreal-based trio Exhaust. While their peers in Godspeed You! Black Emperor focused on orchestral scale, Exhaust utilized a more claustrophobic, sample-heavy approach. The album is built around the 'enregistreur' (tape recorder), using it as a primary instrument to manipulate loops and field recordings. This technique gives the record a distinct rhythmic identity that sits somewhere between noise rock and experimental ambient music. The tracks 'Behind the Water Tower' and 'Behind the Paint Factory' serve as anchors, grounding the experimental textures in heavy, dub-influenced bass lines and driving percussion. Critically, the album was praised for its unique contribution to the Montreal post-rock scene, offering a grittier, more mechanical alternative to the genre's more cinematic leanings. It remains a definitive document of early 2000s experimental rock.