Hailing from St. Boniface, Eric Gosselin, Denis Vrignon-Tessier, Danielle Burke and Jérémie Gosselin have all done work on their own, as well as in the bands Kraink, …and then nothing and Kin and Idéfix. Together they make Les Surveillantes. The band has all the elements of an excellent roots group: guitars, harmonies (especially thanks to the amazing voice of Danielle Burke) and quite often banjo. But on their latest disc, La racine carrée du coeur (which translates to the square root of the heart), they stretch into a wide variety of other genres. My favourite tunes are the witty ones: La force de la gravité (“The Force of Gravity”), À l’épicerie (“At the Grocery Store”) and Pause santé (“Health Break”). Overall, it’s a great album even for those of us who don’t understand French.

Published in Volume 65, Number 8 of The Uniter (October 21, 2010)