Duchess Says was created by four members of the Church of Budgerigars whose goal was to insure a faithful representation of the message of the Duchess (or spiritual budgie) through a precise artistic dialog.
Composed of A-Claude (vox, keytar, guitar), Ismael (keyboard, guitar), Phil (guitar, bass, feedbacks) and Simon (lo-fi beats, drums and doubtful noises), Duchess Says serves a repertory of moog rock – strong in image and a live force to be reckoned with.

Everyone who has witnessed them knows the theatrical mayhem that ensues, with antics approaching those of Jesus Lizard’s David Yow. They’ve shared the stage with renowned combos all over the world, including Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Ariel Pink, The Black Lips and The Buzzcocks, and have unleashed a number of self-serving pagan soirees including SXSW, the Festival d’été de Québec, Nuits Sonores, Dour, Osheaga, Primavera Sound, Eurockéennes and CMJ.

Duchess Says’ influences range from no wave, new wave and punk, to cinema and the visual arts. Their penchant for blending dance music and aggression works well and makes them comparable to other acts such as Devo, Fucked Up and DAF.

If the weekly missal isn’t part of your regular reading list, there are also a few more pragmatic, if entertaining, publications that have had a few things to say about Duchess Says:

That commotion turned out to be singer Annie-C Deschênes of Duchess Says, a one-woman mosh pit of sorts. She raced around like the Tasmanian Devil, alternately hugging and punching, and wrestling people while shrieking along to her band’s aggressive no wave. At the end of the set, Annie-C organized a race among audience members, who gleefully ran around the periphery of the lot. – Pitchfork