premiere: dear denizen’s “allez hop!” is a visual feast

In an indie-rock scene that gets more homogeneous by the day, Montreal’s Dear Denizen stands out as one of the most exciting voices currently producing music. Songwriter Ngabonziza marries Congolese musical sensibilities with the energy of Quebec’s indie scene, creating songs that are expansive, moody, and indelible. Exiled from the Congo at a young age, Ngabo’s music often deals with a shifting sense of place and purpose, and ideas of identity and belonging. There’s a certain longing to his voice in even Dear Denizen’s most optimistic tracks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRwhu7PAvmg

The band’s latest, “Allez Hop!” is one of those songs that you’ll want to hit on repeat to catch all the layers, with lots of details to discern in the synth-padded sound sculpture. But it’s the video that really makes it shine. Filmed in the DRC with friends and family, Ngabo fills every frame with vibrant colors and a truly impressive costume design. Calling the song “An optimistic hymn for emancipation and the promise of a better future,” Dear Denizen definitely brings the antidote for our cynical times with “Allez Hop!”