Canadian Music Review

[Jumpin]

This is going to be kind of like a circa 2000 forum post about music. The focus is Canadian music (which I'm somewhat versed in, but want to get a full understanding of basically the last 50 years of it).

Right now, I'm focusing in and around the middle to late 1990s, as I already know I like many songs from this period.

Recommmendations and alternative opinions welcome and encouraged! Note: music is highly subjective, so don't take it personally if our tastes don't jive on everything, it's merely a difference of taste. Also, I find an album I might be "meh" on one day ends up being one of my favourites for months after another listen or two. I'll be grading on a two thumbs system:

First thumb is on the peak of the album, like the best 25% of it, and then the second thumb is for the album as a whole. Example: if I love 3 or 4 songs, but didn't find the rest was for me: 👍👎. I'll also put a bit of a summary. I'll probably post some links to the standout songs (limit of two), and then replace them with links when I'm 3 to 4 albums down so the post doesn't get too cluttered.

1996 & 1997 Alternative

(I'll start with these years and this genre, there are five albums on my list from this year, I'll start with the ones I am not familiar with and end with one band I saw live as an opening act which had most of the audience singing along with every song).

Econoline Crush - The Devil You Know; 👍👍; Genre: Industrial Rock & Alternative. If you're familiar with Stabbing Westward, that's what it struck me as being like. Thematically it's very similar to the 1998 album Darkest Days (by Stabbing Westward). I think there was only one song on The Devil You Know I wasn't too thrilled about, maybe two; and I loved at least four of the songs, probably more: Home, Sparkle and Shine, All That You Are, and Surefire are the songs I recall really enjoying, and there are probably others I'll love as well but didn't stand out as much on a first listen (although, I vaguely recall the song All that You Are). The album is both diverse in mood while sticking to the general sound theme. NIN fans might also like this album.

2. The Tea Party - Transmission: 👍👍 Genre: industrial rock, progressive/hard rock, alternative, & orchestra OK, this album/band is fucking awesome. I was expecting Joy Division by the album title (and band name to an extent), and I definitely got the vibe of it along with the creativity of the band, but Transmission (Tea Party album) has a far greater amount of polish. I liked 100% of the songs, every single one. I thought the first song was going to be a massive standout, but then I ended up liking every song after that one as much, and some of them more. The standouts for me were Babylon, Psychopomp, Gyroscope, Temptation, Release, and Emerald, (that's over half the 11 track album)... I'd say the crescendo song Psychopomp was probably my favourite.

I have nothing to compare this album directly to... perhaps the closest thing that comes to mind is an album like Tool's Aenima with a lead singer that is a merger of Trent Reznor and Chris Cornell.... Western Asian influences, orchestral... hard to explain... a strange fusion of genres that is surprisingly cohesive and unique sounding from the pieces.

(Hard to pick two from this album, but I think Temptation is the most liked song, I put the video version on for visual appeal, but IMO the album version/mixing is superior; Psychopomp had a video version too, but it was too different from the album version)

3. Front Line Assembly - FLAvour of the Week; 👍👍 Genre: Electro-Industrial. As a bit of background, this band was formed by former members of Skinny Puppy. Their sound is similar to KMFDM. If you're not too much into pop chart song structures, but into Industrial and/or rave music, you'll probably dig this album. It's weed music.

4. Next: I Mother Earth, Scenery and Fish

5. ???? → I saw this band live. Very popular with the locals. Genre: alternative rock

Note: Next category if I don't get any recommendations, I wanna check out the Canadian hip hop scene sometime between Snow and Drake; but I'm open to suggestions. I'm trying to avoid the ones I and most people are already familiar with (The Bryan Adamses, Celine Dions, Weeknds, Alanis Morrisettes, and so on).

Last edited by Jumpin - 9 hours ago