2023 in Review (Also Cool's Top Albums)

2023 in Review - Also Cool’s Top Albums

Listen along with the official Sounds Cool 2023 playlist!

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100 gecs - 10,000 gecs

100 gecs - 10,000 gecs (Dog Show, Atlantic Records)

Can an album be both cohesive and chaotic? 100 gecs defend their reign as hyperpop harbingers, bringing feral music into the mainstream. Starting off strong with a THX sample, “Dumbest Girl Alive” screams into the void with relatable–yet questionable–choices, like texting people back that you should probably leave on read. 

The throughline is glitchy, punky, technicoloured rage, sometimes with an in-your-face attitude, and sometimes more laissez-faire. “757” is a barrage of party-anthem lyrics, while “The Most Wanted Person in the United States” gives more of a “I guess I’m a serial killer or something” attitude.

Overall great listen if you’re okay with being overstimulated. Read our review of their show with Machine Girl here.

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Alice Longyu Gao - Let’s Hope Heteros Fail, Learn, and Retire

Alice Longyu Gao - Let’s Hope Heteros Fail, Learn, and Retire

Unphased, unapologetic and unfiltered, Alice Longyu Gao’s breakthrough album Let’s Hope Heteros Fail, Learn, and Retire opens with one of the greatest lyrics of all time, “Imagine a world with no heteros.” Hot off the heels of her first world tour, the NYC-based wildcard and self-proclaimed CEO of ALG enterprises is delightfully impossible to keep up with on Let’s Hope. A bombastic concoction of hyperpop (understatement), industrial metal, EDM and flirtations with pop punk and sometimes dinner theatre-esque polka, Longyu Gao’s Let’s Hope makes one thing clear: gender is just as real as genre (it’s not).

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Blonde Redhead - Sit Down for Dinner

Blonde Redhead - Sit Down for Dinner (Section1) 

NYC avant-rock trio Blonde Redhead gifted listeners Sit Down for Dinner this past September after a five-year marinade. Beguiling yet humble, tormented yet sexy, Sit Down for Dinner marks the band’s first release in nearly a decade, and perhaps their most genuine musings to-date. This balancing act is translated elegantly in the band’s live rendition of Sit Down for Dinner, with an evident chemistry that can be best described as the kind of mind-reading that comes from powerful creative kinship. 

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Club Casualties - Bridge Under Water 

Club Casualties - Bridge Under Water 

This was easily one of our most listened-to albums of the year. Club Casualties is the joint project of LUCY (Cooper B. Handy) and Nick Atkinson, with Bridge Underwater being their second full-length album. The project provides a more dance-centric take on the duo's independent musical identities, while still highlighting their vocal-focused approach. The album also includes collaborative tracks with God's Wisdom, Mal Devisa, Sen Morimoto, and thoughtfully-layered vocals from both Nick and Cooper. 

Bridge Under Water feels like biking home after a summer evening that may or may not have impacted the direction your life is taking. The album is best listened to start-through-finish via Apple headphones.

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Debby Friday - GOOD LUCK

Debby Friday - GOOD LUCK (Sub Pop) 

Not to brag, but we’ll note here that we have it on the record that Debby Friday’s GOOD LUCK was ranked one of our most-anticipated albums of 2023 before its release and Polaris Prize win: 

“On ‘So Hard To Tell’, Friday subdues her metallic, industrial-punk foundations to unveil raw, reflective and luminous R&B by allowing her unmodified singing voice to surface. [...] Upon first listen, the dynamism of ‘So Hard To Tell’ made Friday’s GOOD LUCK one of our most-anticipated albums of the year (yes, already!).”

(Also Cool Playlist Refresh, January 21st, 2023) 

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Jordan Gardner - Rhythm Acceleration

Jordan Gardner - Rhythm Acceleration (CRSL)

If you go out dancing in Montreal, you’ve probably seen Jordan Gardner on at least one DJ lineup – whether it be at Datcha, Système, or an underground rave. Rhythm Acceleration is his first EP, drawing on rhythmic inspiration from the UK, Detroit, Chicago, and his many years in the field (AKA in the club). The album also features Montreal party scene staple Martyn Bootyspoon, who provides fiery vocals to “Rhythm Acceleration.”

The album’s sound is across the board party-ready, but draws inspiration from the spiritual unification that occurs on the dance floor, the ubiquitous pulse of Maori Hakka, and the the legacy of the Maroons, a revolutionary group in Jamaica that rebelled against the British colonists who enslaved them. Also Cool’s standout track, “Celine Dior,” is inspired by Gardner’s love for fashion, Chicago house music, and dancehall.

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La Sécurité - Stay Safe!

La Sécurité - Stay Safe! (Mothland) 

Interview with La Sécurité by Rebecca L. Judd (June 15th, 2023):

“From the arresting synths of debut track ‘Suspens’ to the domineering bass line of ‘Serpent,’ the band has set a standard of heightened sonic volatility, and the remainder of the record continues that thrill. Stay Safe! provokes the senses with its bilingual musings and jagged new-wave arrangements, traversing between subjects like flirtation and bodily autonomy with the same crafty cool. “

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Lil Yachty - Let’s Start Here.

Lil Yachty - Let’s Start Here. (Motown Records, Quality Control Music)

Rap-rock has picked up in popularity lately, and is easy to get wrong. Lil Yachty, however, brings a beautiful, elevated take on the genre, enlisting the likes of Alex G, Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jake Portrait, and Daniel Caesar, as writers on the project. There’s no misdirected angst, but rather careful consideration of the blending of genres and evolution of his sound.

We had the opportunity to see Lil Yachty perform live with his band earlier this year. The show’s production was excellent, with his live band all equally highlighted and clearly appreciated on stage. Lil Yachty performed flawlessly, providing an interlude featuring all his top hits, and then returning to the second half of the album to close out the show. Overall the album was unexpected, and one that’s easy to return to for deeper listening, or for a casual addition to your psych-indie-rap-rock playlist. 

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Nabihah Iqbal - DREAMER

Nabihah Iqbal - DREAMER (Ninja Tune) 

With her sophomore studio album DREAMER, English musician, producer, DJ, broadcaster and curator Nabihah Iqbal reimagines her approach to music to overcome creative burnout. Conceived in its earliest forms on harmonium and guitar after her studio—and DREAMER’s buddings—were burglarized, Iqbal’s anticipated return transverses spacey dream sequences with 80s synth pop sensibility. For fans of A.R. Kane and Broadcast, look no further.  

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No Waves - Postcard

No Waves - Postcard (Stomp Records)

Montreal’s punk scene sweethearts No Waves shared their first EP this year after signing with Stomp Records. The album is a compilation of songs written from when they were teenagers, and thematically is as emo as you can get. Postcard covers everything from the feeling you get when life starts to change a little too quickly to hometown angst. The obvious sonic comparisons are Surf Curse, Joy Again, and FIDLAR, but the band pulls inspiration from CRABE, LUCY (Cooper B Handy), ultra-pop hits, hyperpop and the Mexican punk scene.

Listen to our podcast episode with No Waves to learn more about the band, their inspiration, and Postcard.

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Sasha Cay - Spin

Sasha Cay - Spin (Lighter Than Air) 

Spin is the striking debut record of Montreal born-and-raised indie rock singer-songwriter Sasha Cay. Recorded amongst friends in her bandmate’s home studio, Spin is a stunning, silvery portrait of vulnerable vignettes shared from Cay’s heavy heart. Between twinkling tunings and Cay’s hushed vocals, the songstress’ gritty inclinations shine through in both songwriting and sentiment. 

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Turnstile & BADBADNOTGOOD - New Heart Designs

Turnstile & BADBADNOTGOOD - New Heart Designs (Dine Alone Records)

Hardcore-turned-jazz is an unexpected, but deeply appreciated, fusion of genres – especially when it comes from two of Also Cool’s favourite artists, Turnstile and BADBADNOTGOOD. 

Turnstile have always been arguably accessible as a hardcore band, drawing inspiration from classic hardcore song structures and indie rock sounds. It was a surprise to see them transform so elegantly with the help of BADBADNOTGOOD’s jazz fusion. However, for those of us who grew up going to BADBADNOTGOOD shows, you would know that although their music is pleasantly jazzy, there is almost always a moshpit IRL.

It’s the perfect album to get to know both bands, and stretches the boundaries of what a collaboration from two artists in very different genres can sound like.

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La Sécurité Ignites the Boulevard with Debut Album "Stay Safe!" (Mothland)

La Sécurité by Aabid Youssef

With their highly-anticipated debut album waiting in the wings, La Sécurité is ready to cause some commotion. The Montreal art-punk group shares Stay Safe! tomorrow via Mothland – a record consisting of ten electrifying tunes united in their skittish asymmetry.

The musicians that form La Sécurité are no strangers to the scene, having charmed countless audiences through other projects like Choses Sauvages and Silver Dapple, but operating within this collective keeps each member on their toes. From the arresting synths of debut track “Suspens” to the domineering bassline of “Serpent”, the band has set a standard of heightened sonic volatility, and the remainder of the record continues that thrill. Stay Safe! provokes the senses with its bilingual musings and jagged new-wave arrangements, traversing between subjects like flirtation and bodily autonomy with the same crafty cool. Expect to strut to zigzagging guitars, commanding rhythms, and a sprinkle of woodblocks.

A few weeks before the release of Stay Safe!, vocalist Éliane Viens-Synnott connected with Also Cool to reflect on the final touches and tease the summer adventures ahead.

La Sécurité by Aabid Youssef

Rebecca Judd for Also Cool Mag: This new single “Serpent” is peppy with a punch. I love the effortlessness of its undercut, how it captures the messiness of catty gossip with such breezy disco flair. This is a broader balance you strike within your forthcoming album as well: this determination to be both lyrically and instrumentally bold, scratching many different surfaces and thriving in the madness. How did the development of “Serpents” fit into Stay Safe!’s creative process?

Éliane Viens-Synnott of La Sécurité: It came about in a pretty organic way. [Drummer] Kenny [Smith] started doing that funky beat, just joking around during a practice, and [bassist and producer] Félix [Bélisle] kinda whipped out that super groovy bassline! We noodled around with the rest, keeping in mind the more dancey side of our art-punk influences (Maximum Joy and ESG, to name a few) without wanting to rip anyone off, of course. I thought it was fitting for some lyrics I had already written. I didn't want the song to be emo or dramatic or anything – just a friendly little jab!

Also Cool: The video for “Serpent” is frenzied and lighthearted, capturing everything from Sonic to South by Southwest. Your videos notoriously stay true to your sound, feeling lo-fi yet descriptive. Does the band have a particular approach to concocting music videos, or was this one just as simple as a glitch?

La Sécurité: Pretty simple, yeah! Since we kinda established that DIY/VHS approach with our first videos, we thought it was a nice direction to continue in. It's a way to keep a natural, sort-of intimate-feeling approach, highlighting good times that we have spent together as friends and bandmates.

AC: As the video shows, La Sécurité recently played SXSW, which feels like a significant milestone given your first show at DISTORSION was six months ago. Can you share more about your experience in Texas and what you took from it?

LS: Yeah, what a ride that was. Even having our first show at DISTORSION was kind of unreal! We were pretty curious to see if there would be any buzz at all outside of the comfort of our MTL scene, and I guess the short answer to that question is yes! We met many awesome people and our shows felt pretty electric. Playing six shows in a week definitely helped us weld our dynamic on- and off-stage together.

AC: Stay Safe! comes out on June 16, and you’ve teased that your debut will be “quite pleasing, even to unsuspecting eardrums”. Without giving too much away, what kinds of experimentation made the final cut?

LS: Well, there is one unexpected surprise I'm excited to share. I guess the one hint I'm willing to share is: 90s prom night vibes, haha. Once you hear it, you'll get it. Besides that, expect more songs along the same lines as what you've been hearing so far. They each have their unique touch, but somehow all belong together.

AC: Festival season is afoot… surely there are some plans up your sleeve. What does this summer look like for La Sécurité?

LS: Looking good! In June, we are hitting up FLOURISH Festival in New Brunswick, followed by a show in Québec City with our friends Jesuslesfilles (which [guitarist] Melissa [Di Menna] also plays in)! Then we head to Calgary for Sled Island, and in July we are doing La Noce in Saguenay as well as Le Festif in Baie-Saint-Paul. There are a few more dates that aren't announced yet, so it's a secret for now. Last but not least, we will be doing a record release show in Montreal at l'Esco! The date will be announced the day our record comes out.

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Stay Safe!

Out June 16, 2023 via Mothland

1. Le Kick

2. Dis-Moi

3. Anyway

4. Waiting For Kenny

5. Suspens

6. K9

7. Serpent

8. Try Again

9. Hot Topic

10. Sleepy Rebellion

All songs written & performed by La Sécurité

Produced, recorded, and mixed by Samuel Gemme & Félix Bélisle

Mastered by Francis Ledoux

Artwork & layout by Melissa Di Menna

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La Sécurité

Bandcamp | Instagram | Spotify

Rebecca Judd is the features editor of Also Cool Mag.

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La Sécurité and Hot Garbage Talk Influences, Experimentation, and DISTORSION PSYCH FEST (Mothland)

DISTORSION PSYCH FEST poster by Tiny Little Hammers

Before plugging in the synths and warming up the fog machines, we were able to chat with two bands on the bill at this year’s DISTORSION PSYCH FEST leading up to their rollicking sets in July.

La Sécurité by Marc-Antoine Barbier

The first group we had our eyes on was La Sécurité, a newly formed art-punk supergroup featuring members from iconic Montreal bands such as Choses Sauvages and Jesuslesfilles. In the spring, they treated audiences to a delightfully frantic and groovy dual single release – “Suspens/Try Again” via Mothland. DISTORSION was the band’s first live show together, and it was a gig for the books. 

Sofie Milito of Also Cool: I'd love to hear a bit about your group's beginnings. How did La Sécurité come together?

Éliane Viens-Synnott of La Sécurité: The band initially started with Félix [Bélisle] and I noodling around during the pandemic to pass the time. We had fun mixing up all our influences — him having more of an electro/disco background, whereas I'm more into punk and new wave myself. We then invited three friends to join. I met Melissa [Di Menna] in Vanille, this other band we played in together. We realized quite quickly that we were very compatible creatively. Laurence-Anne [last name unknown] is a good friend and has collaborated with Félix a couple times on other projects, so it kind of seemed like a no-brainer. We met Kenny [Smith] in the past couple years in and around the music scene, and we clicked really quickly as well. He has lots of natural taste and talent. Long story short, we all came together in a pretty organic way. 

Also Cool: With members from a multitude of different bands and musical projects, is there anything you were (or still are) curious about experimenting with as a group?

Éliane: It's fun to switch up who is composing which part and to take in everyone's ideas. The first few songs were mostly written by Félix and I, but the more we go along, it's more of a collaborative effort. I guess that's the direction we are interested in experimenting with. It's kind of fun to be kept on our toes and it's a good project for that purpose.

AC: What was inspiring the band in the making of your first pair of singles (“Suspens / Try Again”)?

Éliane: I wrote those singles during the pandemic, so there are allusions to that for sure. We found our groove arranging the musical aspects of the songs together and they helped us to figure out our work dynamic.

AC: There's a voltaic energy to those songs that seems like great fun for a live setting. What's most exciting to you about playing this first live show at Distortion?

Éliane: I'm excited to break in our live performance in general, and to present news songs that were composed in a more collaborative way. You can't really know what it's going tobe like until you do it!

AC: If La Sécurité were stranded on a desert island, what would be your top media picks?

Éliane: See The Whirl by Delta 5, [Miyazaki's] Howl's Moving Castle, and Please Kill Me [by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil].

AC: On the heels of your first studio recording, is there anything on the horizon for the band that you can tell us about?

Éliane: We’ve got a couple more shows planned before the end of the year. An album is in the works as well…

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Hot Garbage by Alex Carre

Combining krautrock and psychedelia, Hot Garbage has been releasing spell-binding tunes since 2017, coming out with their first full-length album RIDE via Mothland in 2021. Hailing from Toronto, they trekked over to play DISTORSION amid a series of US gigs. Catch them on their fall tour this November!

Sofie Milito of Also Cool: How did Hot Garbage come to be?

Julianna Carkevaris of Hot Garbage: Alex [Carlevaris] and Mark [Henein] had been playing in bands together since their early high school days. I joined in on bass when this project was getting going—around 2014—then Dylan [Gamble] joined on keys shortly after. 

Also Cool: What are you experimenting with these days?

Julianna: We're currently working on a new record, and for the past couple of years we've been exploring new approaches to the songwriting process. The pandemic forced us to work on things while being apart from each other, which had advantages and disadvantages. I think now, we're finding a new balance between that and the synergy and spontaneity of getting ideas out by playing together in an improvised way.

AC: RIDE takes us on a scorching, swirling journey from minute one to its trippy finish. Can you tell us a little about the album’s world and what was inspiring you in the making-of?

Julianna: I think the inspiration is quite varied throughout the record, but generally, we draw a lot of ideas and moods from imagery and photos, cinema, books, mysterious phenomena — both worldly and otherworldly ["RIDE is all at once dread, beauty, wonder, horror and mystery"]. 

AC: As a band, what’s your favourite part about a live gig?

Julianna: The give and take, and the exchanging of energy.

AC: If Hot Garbage were stranded on a desert island, what would be your top media picks? 

Julianna: [The film] Goodfellas. It is a marvel of cinema with a great soundtrack. RIP, Ray Liotta.

AC: What’s the hottest garbage you’ve come across?

Julianna: It's pretty hot right now actually, so I probably walked by some today… and it will probably just keep getting hotter. Enjoy it while you can.

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La Sécurité

Bandcamp | Instagram 

Hot Garbage

Bandcamp | Instagram

Sofie Milito

Bandcamp

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DISTORSION Takes Over Entrepôt 77 with Holy Fuck, Hot Garbage, Petra Glynt & More

Our favourite psychedelic moths are back at it again with DISTORSION > Entrepôt 77. It'll be loud, a ton of fun, and includes Also Cool favourites like Holy Fuck, Hot Garbage, and Petra Glynt. 

The festival runs from July 22th to 24th at Entrepôt 77 (77 rue Bernard), a mythical Montreal landmark located in Plateau Mont-Royal, at the junction of Mile-End and La Petite Patrie.

Ever since the festival's very humble beginnings, the moths organizing DISTORSION have made a point to settle in unique locations to present their psychedelic masses. This year is no different, but there is a slight twist: the event will take place mostly in daylight! Rest assured, though, the moth team has you covered with some of the very best noisy and experimental outfits out there.

Amongst the headliners, attendees can catch transcendent electronic artist Holy Fuck (Toronto, ON), multi-faceted psychedelic collective Golden Dawn Arkestra (Austin, TX), krautrock ensemble Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp (Geneva, CH), plus a selection of up-and-coming post-everything outfits from Montreal and abroad!

Check out the full schedule below:

FRIDAY

9 pm - HOLY FUCK

8 pm - GRIM STREAKER

7 pm -CRASHER

6 pm - PETRA GLYNT

5 pm - DJ SET

SATURDAY

9 pm - GOLDEN DAWN ARKESTRA

8 pm - PANTAYO

7 pm - HOT GARBAGE

6 pm - ZOON

5 pm - KARMA GLIDER

4 pm - EFY HECKS

2 pm - DJ SET

SUNDAY

8pm - ORCHESTRE TOUT PUISSANT MARCEL DUCHAMP *

7 pm - LA SÉCURITÉ

6 pm - MOTHERHOOD

5 pm - N NAO

4 pm - LARYNX

2 pm - DJ SET

See you in Mothland!

Tickets I Complete Schedule

IG I FB I Spotify

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Magi Merlin, Milk Jennings, La Sécurité and Scarlet Rae - Also Cool's Playlist Refresh

Magi Merlin via Bonsound

Do you feel like a new chapter of your life has begun, but you don't quite have the soundtrack for it yet? Look no further than Also Cool's Playlist Refresh, a bi-weekly quickie roundup of all the new music we're listening to right now.

Starting off strong with Magi Merlin's fiery new track, "Pissed Black Girl" (released on Bonsound). The cathartic dance anthem follows "Free Grillz" and channels years of pent-up frustration, transforming the anger of dealing with fake progressives into something ecstatic and life-affirming. Magi subverts the tired trope of the 'angry Black woman' through her lyrics as a means to empower herself.

Stay tuned for her upcoming EP Gone Girl, which draws inspiration from 90s house, drum and bass, Motown and acid-flecked hip hop.

Next up, franco art-punk outfit La Sécurité join our friends at Mothland and have shared their first single, "Suspens." Their music is equal parts jumpy beats, efficient minimal hooks and scratchy melodic spouts ran through a ubiquitous insomniac filter; the result of excessive exposure to La Grande Métropole's neon lights.

La Sécurité via Mothland

"Suspens" is accompanied by an official music video filmed all in one shot with handheld camera work. Éliane (a contemporary dancer, singer and musician) expresses her desire through movement to step out in the dizzy and electric nightlife. Watch the video below.

Speaking of nightlife, Milk Jennings has released his third single, "Downtown" (produced by Sam Cohen). It's a classic romantic indie rock love song about sweeping your partner off their feet and dancing the night away — a cliche that Jennings portrays through a different lens.

Downtown by Milk Jennings

In Jennings’ own words:

"I wanted to be cliche with the romance here because in truth, the song is coming from the lens of someone feeling depressed and distant in their relationship, and longing for those sweet and simple moments of romance and intimacy - but not having the energy, or will to make them happen. "Downtown" is a fantasy land - a place far from reality, where you can dance the night away with your partner. The last words in the chorus are - "Lately I've been lost in my mind / So meet me Downtown tonight." It's romantic, sad, apologetic, and hopeful all in one."

Milk Jennings' full-length album Sleep Talker is out June 3rd via Telefono (Digital), ORG Music (Physical), and Modern Sky (China).

Last but not least, we have Scarlet Rae's "Built to Spill," named after the 90s indie post-modern rock group. Scarlet's take on the iconic name follows the languid, shoegaze sound set in place by her previous singles "Seems Like Forever" and "Incandescent Wonderland".

Scarlet Rae by Jason Renaud

The single is accompanied by a music video that brings her sombre lyrics to life, shot on the streets of New York City by Kristen Jan Wong and Jeremy Reynoso. Lofi handheld camera work follows Scarlet through the subway and bars of the city while droning guitar and heavy drums balance delicate vocals. "But I'm built to spill, falling on my knees like a little girl / whisper in my ear how much I'm not real, woke up in the basement think I'm happier here."

"Built to Spill" is off Scarlet's upcoming album, set to release sometime this year.

That's it for this first edition of Also Cool's Playlist Refresh. You can listen along to our playlist on Spotify, and stay tuned for the next round of new tunes.

Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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