When Max Turnbull decided to retire from making music under the name Slim Twig, his future was murky. Years in the indie spotlight had instilled a desire in him to retreat a bit, but still perform—so he started playing guitar in U.S. Girls’ touring band, his partner Meg Remy’s main musical project. But quietly, at the same time, Badge Époque Ensemble was born. The group, now composed of seven Canadian musicians, draws on Bitches Brew-style Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock-like funk, with a bit of rock, R&B and everything else thrown in. “It started from the ground up, adding one musician at a time,” Turnbull says, noting that he jammed with drummer Jay Anderson for a year before adding another musician to the mix. “I was exhausted so it’s lucky that I could just develop something over a few years, without worrying about putting out music.” But, in only two years, the group has become more than just a weekend jam session—Badge Époque Ensemble’s self-titled first album was released in 2019, packed to the brim with swirling psychedelia. Their sophomore album, Self Help, boasts more vocals, as well as more blatant nods to R&B and soul, like on the funky “Unity (It’s Up to You)” and the slow, sensual grooves of opener “Sing a Silent Gospel.” But Self Help’s centerpiece gets right back to where the group started—“Birds Fly Through Ancient Ruins” is 11-minutes of late-night, desert rock—a soundtrack to some deviant thoughts running rampant, yearning to be balanced out with some breaths of positivity. For Turnbull, the notion of a collective has become an awakening, of sorts—the band can work quickly (Self Help was recorded over the course of three weekends) and everyone also has more regular gigs backing other musicians on the road. The pressure is off and, if the music finds a fanbase, then great. But he swears it’s still not top of mind. “[My goal was to] cultivate a group of musicians that get together and play live,” Turnbull says. “It’s an atmosphere you can feel. It’s a living creation. I was lucky that I was in a position where I could come to that life lesson.”