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Are alt-rock and sci-fi the perfect pairing? London’s Francois Goudreault Jr. thinks so.
He performs music under the name Francy Planet, and his new album RETCON features 12 tracks of 90s alt-rock catharsis, paired with a book of short stories.
As a person who stutters, Francois is also an advocate for people with speech disabilities. Finding music and writing as the perfect vehicle for expression.
He joined Afternoon Drive host Matt Allen for a conversation in CBC’s London studio to chat about his new album and passion for music.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Matt Allen: Tell us about your new album RETCON.
FG: RETCON is something that happens a lot in sci-fi, right? When they have two stories that shouldn’t work, but they find a way to align these stories. Like growing up, I always knew I wanted to write songs and perform and I wanted to tell stories.
I had this scattershot career where I couldn’t quite put those things to get out of there. And then my life kind of completely fell along the part. And as I was kind of putting the pieces back together, and as I was writing songs and writing stories and doing all kinds of internal work, I was finally able to integrate all of this stuff.
That’s why I called it RETCON. I was finally able to pull all of these pieces together into a project that I’m so proud of.
MA: You have a new single. It’s called All the Time That We Need, and it’s about trying to be in the moment despite feeling these anxieties, right? You’ve been making music for decades. And it’s amazing because you do it while having this stutter. What does it mean to you to be able to express yourself through music, produce the kind of quality of work, while you’re dealing with that challenge?
FG: As a kid, I knew I was smart, and I knew I had this imagination. But because I couldn’t express myself, I felt sealed up, and I didn’t really know who I was. But then in high school, when I realized I could write songs, and because I don’t stutter when I sing, I could say anything, and I could say it clearly and loudly. If it had the hook, people cared.
The industry had a lot to teach me about success and all of that. But still, when I realized I could write a song, that’s probably the first time that I really knew who I was.
Afternoon Drive8:12Southwest Sounds: Francy Planet
London alt-rock musician Francois Goudreault Jr., best known by his artist name Francy Planet, shares about his musical journey, his latest record RETCON, and how as a person who stutters, music is his go-to outlet for expression.
MA: What do you think it is about music that unlocks your ability to express yourself?
FG: It’s interesting. People talk so fast, for me it just it really helps to slow down to breathe. Just letting myself take a sec, collect myself and keep going.
That’s the feeling that I get when I’m writing a song. When I’m on a stage, it’s like I don’t have to hurry. And what’s been beautiful about music recently is that I’ve been able to kind of take that mentality off the stage and into my life.
WATCH | Listen to All the Time We Need:
MA: Do you think that there’s something that the rest of us in general can learn from that?
FG: You know, I do think that song that we just heard, All the Time We Need. The world is full of this existential anxiety, and it’s hard to cultivate peace.
We write pop songs, and I try to make people smile, dance, and turn the radio up. But hope is hard to find, you know? And so if your weird little song can cultivate a shred of that, then it’s pretty important.
MA: So you’ve done this, this new album, this new song. What are you working on next?
FG: I’m a Christmas fan. As we approach the holiday season, I’m going to release two Christmas songs. They are designed to feel like an extension of RETCON. And in 2026, I’m going to focus on playing live. I’ve got this weird idea to tour in libraries. I have no idea how I’m going to pull that off, but it’s something I’m working on.
MA: You recorded this album in a public library?
FG: So early on, when I was supposed to make demos for all of these songs, I was between apartments and my studio was packed up. So I was staying with a friend in Kitchener, and there was a studio in the Kitchener library. So I looked at this lot and recorded it all on my demos in three hours, and some of those guitar tracks made it on the final album.
If you have bands from southwestern Ontario you’d like to hear on Afternoon Drive’s Southwest Sounds series, send an email to [email protected].
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