Land of Talk, the latest Montreal indie band to make national waves, will open for Broken Social Scene this Saturday at Washington University’s Gargoyle club.

The band’s debut album, Some are Lakes, is a catchy collection of melodic, upbeat rockers. Bandleader Elizabeth Powell sings in a distinctively high voice while hammering away on her guitar.

Also an occasional member of Broken Social Scene, Powell seems to be on that upward trajectory plotted out by Canadian singers such as Feist, Amy Millan and Emily Haines.

I caught up with Powell last week via email. Her voice was shot at the time and she was under orders not to speak.

***

RC: You were recently injured and now lost the voice – has it been a rough time lately?

EP: I hit a rough patch, but am healing nicely. I blame the sprained ankle on my second-hand “Redwing” workboots. They wreaked havoc on my shins, knees and ankles. It also doesn’t help that I have spazzy knees when i play which leads to flailing extremities which leads to me rolling over on my ankle 2nd song into the set at Mercury Lounge in NYC sept. 11th.

As for the voice, it is healing nicely. A steady diet of NO talking, NO booze, NO coffee, No sugar, No Dairy, a brutal course of prednisone and antacids and some nasal sprays and heroic amounts of fluids seems to be doing the trick. I have been keeping fans updated on our myspace blog section.

RC: What did you do prior to Land of Talk?

EP: I played in a lot of bands around town (Guelph, Ontario) when I was in high school. Mostly bass — a Yamaha fretless bass that I bought from a sketchy pawn shop near my aunt’s place. When i moved to montreal for school I kind of lost my momentum and became a full time “bad student”. Music school did a number on my self confidence as I am seriously lacking in any technical ability and theoretical knowledge. it wasn’t until I dropped out that I became more inspired to play music again. soon after, Land of Talk was born.

RC: How did you become involved with Broken Social Scene?

EP: The lead singer/guitarist of “The Valentines”, James Ogilvy (who I was dating at the time), got a gig playing with Toronto band “By Divine Right’ who’s bass player was none other than… Brendan Canning. We became friends and since then Brendan has always kept tabs on me. Last year he asked me to do a Patti Smith cover for a Canadian film called “Tracey Fragments” starring Ellen Page. One thing led to another and we ended up recording two extra songs and then I sang on two songs for his solo album.

RC: Are you pulling double duty and playing with BSS on this tour?

EP: Double duty indeed — very cool for me. I’m definitely up for the challenge. I can’t say that it hasn’t been overwhelming for me. it’s a lot of material to shove in my brain and it requires a tremendous amount of stamina being on stage for that long. But the shows are very electrifying and manage to give back rather than suck the life out of me.

RC: What area of Montreal do you live in – is it the best music city in Canada right now?

EP: I live in the hasidic neighborhood just west of the heart of the action. PopMontreal festival is in full swing right now so “the best music city in Canada” may not be that far off. The other night i saw one of my favorite Montreal bands, The Zeroes, open for Parlovr. Last night I was blown away by Alberta post rock proggy swoony quartet (and Chad VanGaalen’s sometimes backing band) “Women”. I am actually missing Dodos, Beach House, The Luyas, and Sister Nancy tonight due to 3 days of sensory overload with the added frustration of having to explain to everyone why I can’t talk to them. Instead I am staying in to catch the mouse that has been keeping me up everynight for the past 2 nights. Come to think of it, the mouse appeared on the first night of PopMontreal. Maybe it will leave when the fesival is over. Here’s for hoping.

***

Broken Social Scene with Land of Talk

Gargoyle, 6465 Forsyth Blvd., 9 pm

$5 with WU ID, $20 for public

http://www.myspace.com/landoftalkmtl

http://www.thegargoylestl.com