10 Under-appreciated Canadian Albums
U J3RK5 – U J3RK5 (Zulu, 1981)
Not only did this Vancouver no-wave post punk band predate 1337 speak by a good 25 years (it’s pronounced “you jerk”, and the 5 is silent!), three of the members ( Ian Wallace , Rodney Graham and Jeff Wall ) later became well known visual artists. I heard them for the first time on the Joey “Shithead” Kiethly curated Vancouver Complication comp, and promtly flipped out. Top tracks on this jem include “UJ3RK5 Work For Police”, “Naum Gabo” and the incredibly infectious proto-dancepunk number “Eisenhower and the Hippies”.
The Haunted – The Haunted (Transworld, 1967)
Look in your garage rock collection.. how many covers of “1,2..5” do you have.? Personally, I count about 5 (a favorite being the organ drenched Fuzztones cover). But as is often the case, nothing touches the fire of the original. The Haunted , a rough and ready garage band from Montreal wrote and recorded the original, releasing it in 1967 on their sole full length before vanishing into obscurity forever. Well, not quite… they did open for The Animals , and were one of the most sought after Canadian garage bands of the 60s until they disbanded in 1971. But for all that and perhaps because of their Canuck-hood, their name hasn’t been inscribed into the same wall of legend that their American counterparts of the day have.
Bob Wiseman – Presented by Lake Michigan Soda (WEA, 1991)
Bob Wiseman , one of the hardest working musical prodigies in Canada, his varied and striated body of work surpassing the more well known acts he’s toured with ( Blue Rodeo , The Hidden Cameras ) in intricacy, intensity and originality. Lake Michigan Soda feel like a slightly more personal and less idealistic continuation of the political/environmental issues Bob attacked with ardour on his prior effort In Her Dream , punctuated throughout with starkly personal songs that are too well constructed to fall into the chasm of maudlin. One of the reasons I’m down with Bob’s early overt politicking is that while so much of the political canon serves up generic music to underline charged lyrics, the tapestry of Wiseman’s incredible ability and reserve weaves harsh indictments of CIA activities in South America, the American Indian Movement and climate change through his own personal songs with heartbreakingly beautiful instrumentation and soul searing lyrics sung in his unique Bolan -esque high warble. A lingering explosion of music and powerful, pointed lyrics that make even Billy Bragg seem like a dilettante.
The Inbreds – Kombinator – (Atlantic, 1995)
Arguably, The Inbreds are not unappreciated. This album did get a Juno nomination.. but how many of you across the border know about the Junos? That’s what I thought. It’s easy to posit that if Kombinator came out now, in our current climate of Canadian acceptance, it would go farther and be more widely loved than in the cultural fishbowl of mid 90’s Canadia. Find this record, listen to the track (their biggest) “Any Sense of Time” and tell me that you don’t agree that The Inbreds still beat the crap out of most of the poop-slingers putting out records today. It’s a damn shame they hate each other now… it would be great to see this band on tour.
Molasses – Trilogie: Toil and Peaceful Life (Alien8/Fancy, 2000)
Ten years ago, when we all thought we were gonna die soon, some of the deepest, most heartbursting and cathartic music was being made in Montreal. Molasses , which was subsumed under the immense thunderhead of it’s louder counterpart, Godspeed You Black Emperor! was led by expat Scott Chernoff and featured, of course, a cast of thousands clanging, banging and slowly waltzing their way towards dark sublimation. If you want to know the well that recent exports Arcade Fire drew upon to fuel their folk-noir vision, that path was hacked and cleared by the band Molasses. A listen to the epic opener “Saint Catherine” is all you need to draw you into this beautiful, sticky morass.
Deja Voodoo – The Worst of Deja Voodoo (Og, 1987)
Now that Canada is mostly known outside our borders for overtly happy/sappy indie glockenspielers , it’s a damn good thing that bands like The Gruesomes and Deja Voodoo shine darkly in any rock revisionism of Canada’s ability to trash it out with the best of em. Deja Voodoo stomped and drooled their way across Scandinavia through the mid 80s, clearing the path and planting seeds of respect for any Canook rockers to follow. For this, anyone owes a debt to this screwed up trash n’ roll duo… and owes it to themselves to track down this rare slab of cave-rock.
Run Chico Run – Shashbo (Boompa!, 2004)
The Chicos have been giving it their all from their sconce in Victoria, BC for years now. Somewhere between the organ driven psychedelia of Space Needle and the driving distorto-pop of The (aforementioned) Inbreds .. it’s criminal that Run Chico Run hasn’t attained the heights of some other supplanted Victorians one could mention (but won’t). Fun, hilarious, weird and catchy are all apt adjectives.. Run Chico Run after 10 years are still one of the west coast’s best bands.
Corpusse – Fan Favorite (Independent, 1998)
I really wanted to do this 7” justice, featuring the incredible track “Hot Water Pipe” but I can’t seem to dig it out of my pile. It doesn’t matter…. find and listen to Corpusse, a behemoth of an artist, literally and figuratively. Corpusse is a force, an energy.. live performances are dangerous, powerful, enrapturing and occasionally really messy. Mustard, shaving cream, blood are among the assorted liquids flung about by the pook-headed Toronto based performer. Think a more thoughtful and artful gg allin fronting Suicide and maybe you’re close. I treasure my copy of Fan Favorite and hope I find it again, it’s a treasure and Corpusse is King.. in the meantime:
Venetian Snares – Winnipeg is a Frozen Shithole (Sublight, 2005)
I could choose from plenty of Venetian Snares recordings, but I chose this out of pure audacity. Snares is dark, but this album is searing teeth gnashingly dark and intense, like a Winnipeg winter, see? Track titles are badass and hilarious: “Die Winnipeg Die Die Die Fuckers Die”, “Winnipeg is Steven Stapleton’s Armpit”. If you ever find yourself having to drive the Prairies in winter at night, then you will feel this album. Truly. Truly.
Whitey Houston – Whitey Houston (Rectangle, 2005)
From Alberta, Whitey Houston has a great name, yes.. but they slay too. This album featuring slab after slab of singalong rock jams like the awesome “I Got Fucked By Liberty Mutual” and the Jeff Krulik trib “Heavy Metal Parking Lot”. I don’t know if they record or tour anymore, as half the band is shared with the more popular, but far less rocking Shout Out Out Out . I really hope they do, our country needs more rockers like Whitey Houston!
