A gaggle of Canadian bands

Adam: Well it's Canada Day `round these parts, celebrating the birth of this nation. Best I can remember it involved a bunch of guys we kindly call the "Fathers of Confederation" getting drunk on a boat. I'm sure someone can correct me on that, but it was a pretty non-dramatic declaration of independence either way. We do however do our best to continue that particular tradition to this day. To celebrate this wacky country here's a whole gaggle of Canuck bands for you to rock out with. We've got everything from classic punk acts like D.O.A., the Demics and SNFU, to those early Vancouver Complication bands like Young Canadians, Pointed Sticks and Modernettes, to modern favourites like the Weakerthans and Propagandhi. Heck we even finish it off with a dash Narduwar for good measure. Enjoy.

D.O.A. - songs from Are You Ready? and Live Free Or Die!
Young Canadians - songs from No Escape
The Pointed Sticks - songs from Perfect Youth
The Modernettes - songs from Get It Straight
The Subhumans (the Canadian ones) - various unreleased songs
SNFU - songs from In The Mean Time and In Between Time
The Demics - full self titled album download
Chixdiggit! - songs from Pink Razors
The Smugglers - songs from Rosie and Mutiny In Stereo
The Weakerthans - songs from Reconstruction Site and Left and Leaving
Constantines - songs from Shine a Light and Tournament of Hearts
Propagandhi - songs from Potemkin City Limits and Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes
The Planet Smashers - songs from Mighty and Unstoppable
The Deadly Snakes - songs from Porcella and Ode To Joy
Hanson Brothers - songs from My Game
The Evaporators - songs from Ripple Rock

Of course this is just my list. Share some links to your favourite Canadian acts below.

The Broadways

Justin: Sometimes you want to spend the night with an old friend, sitting in your room reminiscing, rather than heading out and meeting new people out and about. My friday night was spent, as you can tell, spending time with some old friends in my room. The songs that Brendan, Chris, Rob and Dan wrote with the Broadways are classics to my ears. The lyrics, albeit slightly naive and immature at times, combine biting social commentary with personal tales of loss that ring true nearly 10 years after the quartet called it quits. "15 Minutes" is the bands magnum opus: a declaration of war against the culture of efficiency over humanity that rumbles into climax with the introspective shout "I'm not crazy just frustrated."

The Broadways - 15 Minutes The Broadways Band Profile

Off With Their Heads / The Steal

Justin: There's something in the water in Minneapolis. Off With Their Heads borrow more than a few pages from one of their elusive locals and play some fun, straight ahead punk. While not as dynamic as fellow twin-city-dwellers

Nakatomi Plaza / The Gaslight Anthem

Brian: I've recently been rockin' Nakatomi Plaza's 2002 Immigrant Sun reissue of Private Property, an intriguing blend of muscular post-hardcore, sweet female vocals, and momentary straight hardcore nods. It's a hybrid the likes of which I haven't really heard from any other bands, and an efficient one at that. Check out 2 MP3s from the album below. The band also self-released the album Unsettled last year, which I haven't checked out yet but am likely to soon; check out songs from that album at the band's MySpace page.

Nakatomi Plaza - Meanwhile in Greenpoint Nakatomi Plaza - Bike Rock Revolution Justin: The Gaslight Anthem recently posted three demos from their upcoming release and I felt it a shame that they didn't get more attention. While they choose "indie" as their first categorization on Myspace, I feel "roots music" nails their sound, even if it is "rooted" in multiple styles. Mixing the southern leanings of Lucero with the rhythms of the Lawrence Arms and a hint of Against Me! in the intensity at times, the band is destined for great things. The three songs available showcase the range of their talent: a driving Chris Mccaughan guitar lead, a hip-moving country dedication to the bar, and a gruff whiskey-soaked lament. Rumor has it there's some big news on the horizon after being dropped by Eyeball, so take the time to make sure you can say "they were better when…"

The Gaslight Anthem on Myspace

Capital / This Is My Fist!

Brian: While I haven't actually heard the album itself yet, I'm about 90% sure Capital will be delivering one of the year's best on July 25th with Signal Corps. The Long Island-based act writes passionate, creative and socially aware melodic punk rock / hardcore songs that easily match up to the veterans influencing their sound (Avail, Lifetime to name a few). Silent Majority fans will either be pleased to know or already in it reg arding the presence of SM vocalist Tommy Corrigan, who draws a bit from his former endeavor to complete the sound. I feel bad for anyone living outside of the band's region, since their live show is quite literally one of the most entertaining to be had, playing precisely on point while cracking all sorts of jokes Comedy Central writers wish they'd sat in on. The good folks at Iron Pier will be handling the release, and you can check out three tracks at the links here:

Capital - Wolverines
Capital - Emergency Broadcast Capital - Meanwhile, Back in L.A… Justin: The Bay Area isn't neccessarily the focal point of the modern day punk scene with scenes in New Jersey and Long Island churning out chart toppers every day. However one of the best kept secrets of the fog-lands is the female-fronted This Is My Fist!, who have recently come out of hibernation for a tour to support their upcoming full length, A History of Rats. Drawing on local influences like Fifteen but not ignoring previous female-fronted outfits like Discount, the band has forged a familiar sound that manages to stand out on it's own. I just saw them at their warmup show for their return to touring after 10 months of hibernation. Definitely recommended, especially as rumors of their demise circle.

This Is My Fist! - Story of Reconversion This Is My Fist! - Hooray for the Home… This Is My Fist! - Your Filth, My Fury

Toys That Kill / Turning Point / Ampere

Justin: I'm sure that I'm late to the game on these guys but the new Toys That Kill album, Shanked!, is awesome. Poppy, snotty punk rock that is completely rooted in the classics without sounding like clones or simple revivalists. The opening track "Bomb Sniffin' Dogs" is addictive like cocaine. Full of raw energy but with enough restraint and rhythm that it makes you want to shake your ass like one of those silly iPod commercials.

Toys That Kill - Bomb Sniffin' Dogs Brian: For those who don't know, New Jersey's Turning Point was a highly influential hardcore/emo outfit who continues to have a significant impact on their genre. They essentially began as a Judge wannabe, added heavy Minor Threat influences by the release of their only LP, It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn, and with their final release, a split EP with No Escape, drew more from Ian MacKaye's first post-MT outfit -- Embrace. While their earlier stuff is enjoyable and talented, with the last of those sounds the band recorded my 2 favorite songs of theirs (and 2 of my favorite songs ever): "Behind This Wall" and "Thursday," extremely emotional and sincere classics. Both also appear on Jade Tree's discography release, 1988-1991. (As usual, if these links don't work, stream them at the band's myspace page.) Unfortunately, front-man Frank "Skip" Candelori was taken from us in 2002 due to a drug overdose, but the small legacy he left behind will continue to keep him in our thoughts for some time I'd imagine.

Turning Point - Behind This Wall Turning Point - Thursday Aubin: Amherst, Massachusetts-based Ampere might charitably be described as a "screamo" band, though, the hearken back to a time when this wasn't a dirty word. The band includes guitarist Will Killingsworth, who played guitar in Orchid, Laceration and Bucket Full of Teeth and have issued a succession of short, visceral releases that imbue hardcore punk with melancholy. Most recently, the band issued a split with like-minded act Sinaloa on Ebuliition and you should check out a song from the split as well as their last "full length," All Our Tomorrows End Today.

Ampere - "And Now We Rise."
Ampere - "At It's Heart".

Banner Pilot / the Agent

Justin: Like Dillinger Four? Like the Lawrence Arms? If so, skip all this blather and go listen. Minneapolis has a few secrets stuck up it's sleeve yet and it appears that Banner Pilot is one of them. You know what? I don't think I need to say anything else. They sound like the best mixture of northern midwestern punk and indie rock that you can imagine. Do it. PUNKnews and all that, right? They have a new album, Pass The Poison, out now. Buy that.

Banner Pilot at Myspace Brian: Down for a band recalling early Saves the Day with healthy doses of melodic hardcore and mid-`90s emo? Yeah, me too. These songs don't really do justice how quickly they've developed according to their live show, but Long Island's the Agent played their first show only about a month ago and their songwriting talents are already admirable right now. There is so much potential here it's disgusting. Both songs are taken from a demo the band recently cut.

The Agent - Clown College? You Can't Eat That The Agent - Be Careful They're Ruffled

Defiance, Ohio / Malajube / Raised Fist / This Is Hell

Check out some music recommendations from our staff below.

60 Watt Kid / Reagan Youth

Justin: We've run a few stories about 60 Watt Kid releasing new music and I find myself returning to his Myspace page nearly every day at work to listen to the four songs that are up there. I think I'm settling into old age early, as all this pretty, light strummy music that seems to be the rage in the indie rock world really appeals to me. "Hollywood Hunter" has a feel akin to the Simon & Garfunkel song "The Only Living Boy In New York" that was made so hip by Garden State recently. The whole sound is very reminiscent of the days when "singer/songwriter" meant more than some ex-frontman playing with a guitar and singing off-key. The featured harmonica definitely fits perfectly and the whispy vocals put my mind at ease. Plus, he's from Oakland. Everyone loves Oakland!

60 Watt Kid - Hollywood Hunter 60 Watt Kid Myspace Aubin: A little blast from the past here in New York's Reagan Youth; though the band released very little material, the band's music and image made for a powerful combination. Adorned in Nazi or KKK garb, and with a name intended to strike parallels between the Gipper and a certain German dictator, Reagan Youth were nothing if not confrontational. But despite the shocking image, the band managed to deliver gems of early New York hardcore punk and frontman Dave Insurgent possessed a commanding vocal delivery which may remind you of early AFI.

Unfortunately, there isn't anything in MP3 format easily accessible, but there are eight real audio tracks available for streaming online. It's a taste, but one that should inspire you to track down the retrospective A Collection of Pop Classics or the companion, Live and Rare.

You can check out the songs here

Neil Young / The Methadones

Adam: Neil Young's politics are, if anything, attention worthy in that he's humble enough to re-evaluate his stances as he's presented with new information. That seems like a pretty obvious description of the way we learn, but in a divisive culture of loud mouth ideologues it's rare to see in a public figure. As the veteran rocker's moved from record to record you can hear his views and opinions changing with time and circumstance. Now we've arrived at Living With War -- and the good Mr. Young is pissed. It's fascinating to read knee-jerk reactions to the work from firmly biased places like FOX News. In John Gibson's indictment of the latest wave of anti-Bush protest music, he thumps his chest and fumbles to reclaim the language of patriotism from the administration's opponents: "When I think of the war, I think of Flight 93. I wonder if Neil Young and Pink are going to go see that. I wonder if they would accept free tickets from me." He makes claims like this ignorant of the fact that Young penned a song a few years back called "Let's Roll," a song of heroism and defiance inspired by Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer. Watching the views of a person who can synthesize new facts and reason through his art butting up against the media's unyielding apologists is quite a study in mismatched perspectives.

Young recorded Living With War in three days, calling the work "a metal version of Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan." He muses over the label "metal folk protest," but it would fit right in with much of his grungy Crazy Horse work from the early punk era. The record features Young on guitar, Rick Rosas on bass and Chad Cromwell on drums, accompanied at times by Tommy Brea on trumpet and backed by a hundred-piece vocal choir. News of the record, recorded in secret, broke last week and things have moved so quickly that Reprise has yet to even figure out a concrete release date. I know that protest music of this slant is nothing new to us in the punk sphere, but there's something quite different about it when comes from someone with ability to reach millions; someone the mainstream media has to react to, and can't simply ignore like the Anti-Flags and Propagandhis of the world.

Stream Living With War from neilyoung.com Aubin: On June 6th, the Methadones will be releasing 21st Century Power Pop Riot on Red Scare, which has the pop-punk band setting their sights on a collection of power pop classics from the likes of Cheap Trick, Gary Glitter, Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello. The three-chord punk rock sound of the Methadones meshes beautifully with these sugary hits and really highlights some lesser known but decidedly great slabs of power pop.

If you're not familiar with the band, it includes Dan Schafer (Danny Vapid) of Screeching Weasel/The Riverdales, Mike Byrne of the Vindictives and plays decidedly snot-free Ramones-influenced punk rock. Their last album, Not Economically Viable is a great testament to the great songwriting that can still be accomplished with a few simple chords.

You can check out "Full Moon" on their myspace page.