Mas Ysa

Worth (Downtown)

Mas Ysa’s story would’ve been a lot stranger a couple years ago. New York-from-Montreal songwriter Thomas Arsenault specializes in strident, homemade electronic pop with an operatic R&B bent. Live, he stands patiently over a whole mess of gizmos, microphone in one hand, the other feverishly keeping everything afloat. In a world of Autre Ne Veut, Grimes, and Rhye, that’s par for the course, but Mas Ysa spruces up his debut EP with some rocky drama. Arsenault doesn’t have the greatest voice in the world, but he showers the rinky-dink synths of “Shame” with soul and eventually you can’t help but be on his side. Same could be said for “Why,” which chugs along with cerebral, mid-tempo grace, like a power-ballad rumbling out of a music box. The mechanics are here, but Worth remains most memorable for its enthusiasm. Arsenault clearly believes in these songs, and sometimes that’s all the momentum you need. (2:10pm, Blue stage)

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This article appears in November 7 • 2014.

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