First off, my apologies to my followers for having been significantly out of sight for the last while. I can offer the assurance that I have been keeping rather busy writing album reviews for
Noisography, and have been listening to lots of music. I intended to post this list yesterday in spirit of Canada Day, but it just didn’t happen. So here it is, a day late. This is my list of not-so-obvious essential Canadian albums. After some careful consideration, I’ve decided to not bother with the classics, (Neil Young’s Tonight’s The Night, Rush’s 2112, Joni Mitchell’s Blue, etc.) and offer a list of Canadian records that aren’t necessarily regulars on the perennial lists. There’s so many great albums that get overshadowed by the classic monoliths, which although may have very well earned their place in music history, I think maybe it’s time to peel back the layers a bit and look a bit further into the Canadian rock pantheon.
10. Luther Wright and The Wrongs – Rebuild The Wall
Hailing from Kingston, Ontario, these guys play a very refreshing brand of traditional country and bluegrass complete with all the necessary ingredients. Banjo, pedal steel, washboard, etc. are all included to complete their warm sounding down-home
musical tapestry. They have recorded albums of original material, but this is a masterpiece of artistic re-envisioning. This is a complete note-for-note re-working of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, but done in their own backwater, hillbilly style. It’s all done with absolute sincerity, but with just the right touch of tongue-in-cheek humour. Now when I’m in the mood to listen to The Wall, I actually find myself reaching for this CD more often than Pink Floyd’s own original version.
9. Buck 65 – Talkin’ Honky Blues
Mt. Uniacke, Nova Scotia’s Buck 65 (aka Rich Trefry) has been around for many years, and has earned a rather dedicated following and universal acclaim. I was actually torn between choosing this album or
Secret House Against The World. Buck 65 offers a unique brand of hip-hop that forgoes the usual stereotypical trappings of the genre, and delivers a musical canvas that is rich in substance and artistic vision. I actually don’t even feel like I’m listening to rap when listening to this album. This is an impressive, semi-autobiographical conceptual piece of work that is deeply roots-inflected, and reminds me more of Tom Waits or Beck than any other hip-hop artist.
8. The Constantines –
Shine A Light
The Constantines come from Guelph, Ontario and play a very raw and abrasive form of art rock. All of their albums are very good, but this one is easily their most accomplished. Delicately straddling the line between noisy aggression and artistic focus with an earnest, blue-collar songwriting quality, they forge an original sound that could be compared to Bruce Springsteen fronting Fugazi.
7. Propagandhi –
Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes
Winnipeg-based Propagandhi are one of Canada’s premier punk rock acts, and could be considered our own champions of the 90’s era punk resurgence. Their earlier albums were pretty straight forward melodic punk, but this record catapulted their sound into a whole new stratosphere. While certainly not abandoning their punk rock foundation, on this album we find the band much angrier and more technically refined. This new melodic hardcore, almost borderline metal sound serves a perfect soapbox for their extreme left-wing political lyrics which they have become known for.
6. Wintersleep –
Welcome To The Night Sky
I really loved this band up until their last album,
New Inheritors. I’ve decided that I’m going to try to remember this band by this last great album. Coming out of Halifax, this is very dark and moody rock that borrows rhythmic structures and vocal stylings from the Pearl Jam canon, but delivers with a much more morose and haunting ambience that sounds closer to The Cure. Although rich with brooding atmosphere and dark nuances, there’s an unexpected healthy dose of engaging melodies and fetching hooks.
5. The New Pornographers –
The Electric Version
Vancouver’s power-pop ensemble The New Pornographers have been putting out solid albums for years, and each one is jam packed with fiercely catchy choruses, off-the-wall lyrics and of course, X-factor Neko Case. Co-frontperson/songwriter A.C. Newman is a truly gifted songwriter whose knack for catchy hooks is severely under-recognized. Helping bring the melodies to life is Neko Case, whose voice is just so incredibly rich in substance and character. Their debut album,
Mass Romantic seems to get the most attention, but I think this album is their pinnacle, with its grandiose display of soaring choruses, infectious melodies and insanely creative song titles.
4. Bedouin Soundclash –
Sounding a Mosaic
This Toronto-based trio probably has one of my favourite band names in Canada. In addition, their music is a solid catalog of deep grooves, sweet harmonies and a sincere songwriting ethic. Their second album,
Street Gospels is also great, but this debut album provides a perfect example of their carefully understated reggae-rock which showcases their distinctive deep-in-pocket rhythms and soulful vocals.
3. Hayden –
Everything I Long For
Beloved singer/songwriter Hayden, from Thornhill, Ontario is probably one of Canada’s best kept secrets. If you can imagine the pure folk ethos of Gordon Lightfoot, the idiosyncratic style of Leonard Cohen, and the artistic ambition of Neil Young all encompassed with some the chaotic noise of the Pixies, this might give you some idea of where Hayden is coming from. Very straight forward and honest lyrics are delivered with careful contemplation, and adorned with an extremely stripped down production. Sparse, acoustic tracks are interspersed among more experimental and discordant moments, to create a widely eclectic, yet cohesive collection of songs.
2. The Stanfields –
Vanguard of The Young and Reckless
This band is easily one of the most authentic bands to ever come out of the East coast. Although Halifax has come to be known for endless streams of bands spewing out the same tired old Celtic Rock formula, The Stanfields give the genre a major shot in the arm with this debut album. These guys are rowdy, raucous and usually drunk but exhibit a true fundamental understanding of real songwriting, and with the amps cranked up to 10. Taking some obvious influence from bands like The Pogues and probably Stan Rogers, the band provides a sound that the common man can easily relate to, with a dedicated working class ethic and poignant lyrics. There’s an effortless fusion of Celtic Rock, bluegrass, country and punk vitriol that all comes together to make for one of the most genuinely fulfilling albums I’ve heard in years.
1. D.O.A. –
Hardcore ‘81
At the same time that the second wave of punk rock was coming to life in the dark, dingy clubs of L.A. and youth centers in D.C., Vancouver had its own burgeoning punk scene. At the hub of this scene, along with the likes of The Subhumans and The Pointed Sticks was D.O.A. Led by charismatic Joey Shithead, D.O.A. has come to be known as one of the founders of hardcore punk. In fact, the title of this very album is widely believed to be the single progenerate of the term. Still currently active, the band helped create the template for 80’s hardcore with hard driving rhythms, confrontational performances and subversive lyrics all delivered with Shithead’s lispy growl. Despite their staunch leftist lyrical stance, they are unapologetically Canadian with songs about lumberjacks, hockey and have been known to poke friendly fun at various Americanisms. Although having endured many lineup changes over the years, the band has been consistently active since 1978, making them currently the longest running punk band to date.
