The Bicycles @ POP Montreal 08

This week we're going to follow a handful of Toronto musicians as they navigate the bilingual lotusland of Pop Montreal.

Thursday night, 11:30 PM. A Rivoli-esque bar called 'O Patro Vys'.

When I was a kid I was obsessed with Archie Comics. I had 300 of them.

On a fateful trip to New York City, when I was about eleven, I decided to try to find a C.D. by 'The Archies'. They were featured regularly in the comics but their real life music was difficult to find in pre-Napster Toronto.

My Mother and I finally spotted one of their tracks on a film soundtrack ('Now & Then'). 'Sugar, Sugar'...what a song. It became the anthem of my adolescence.

'The Archies', alas, weren't a real band. The track I loved was written as a jingle for a Saturday morning Archie cartoon in 1969.

'The Bicycles', however, are real. These kids are unapologetic about the sweet Toronto pop they offer to the world. They played a number of tracks from their upcoming album; they could catch a shark in lake Ontario with the kind of hooks they're peddling.

I caught up with Matt Beckett, the falsetto'd lead singer, for a couple questions after the show.

blogTO: What has your experience been with Montreal crowds?

Matt: We usually play this venue called the 'Barfly'; it's kind of a rough, rockabilly bar. Their reaction is a bit different then what we're used to, but at the end of the day people just want to have a good time. Even the rockabilly people.

blogTO: When's your new album coming out? (Their full length debut, 'The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly', was released in 2006.)

Matt: It's in stores on November 4th; November 8th is the release party at Lee's Palace. We're putting together an awesome line-up of local talent; we're even covering a 'Green Go' song.

blogTO: What's your favourite French swear word?

Matt: It's not at all a swear word, but I like saying "shu-shut"! That's a lot of fun.

blogTO: You have a song called 'Two Girls from Montreal' on your first album. Are you planning on picking up two girls from Montreal...tonight?

Matt: N-n-n-no...no. It is about two girls from Montreal I met a couple years ago in Tokyo, I ran into them on the street. It was one of those special nights, one of those crazy things, you know? Maybe I'll see them.

blogTO: What about two new girls...

Matt: No, I have a girl. Who's in Montreal. That's enough for me.

Photo by indie music listings queen Jennifer Polk