Avec pas d’casque began as a duo, made up of Stéphane Lafleur and Joël Vaudreuil, who recorded a self-produced album in 2004. Two years later, the band got signed to Dare To Care and released its first album, Trois Chaudières de Sang, an effort that members also recorded entirely at home. Nicolas Moussette joined on lap steel guitar and bass as the band started to perform live more. The album caught the attention of critics and was nominated twice for the 2006 ADISQ Awards, including for Country Album of the Year. The trio released Dans la Nature Jusqu’au Cou in the fall of 2008. In 2009, Avec pas d’casque received two more ADISQ nominations, including Singer-Songwriter of the Year, and won the Best Folk/Country Album of the Year at the GAMIQ Awards. The band returned in 2012 with Astronomie. As a natural continuation of the preceeding effort, the new album explores the highs and lows of human nature through strong imagery. Recorded during the summer and fall of 2011 and mixed by Mark Lawson (who worked with Timber Timbre, The Unicorns, and Arcade Fire, among others), Astronomie certainly comes off as the band’s most accomplished and polished album to date, both in terms of lyrics and arrangements. It also marks the arrival of new member Mathieu Charbonneau (previously involved with The Luyas, Torngat) on baritone.