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“WE’VE HIT A NEW STRIDE”
Joyce Moore of The New Service speaks about the band’s upcoming third studio album
LET’S TALK ROCK
Counting down our top song picks this month
NEW TO PUNK?
Giving you the ultimate guide to Canadian punk bands
A Look Back on Albums that Defined the 90s Halifax Rock Scene
Throughout the 70s and up until the early 80s, Canadian rock was tossed aside by many, including Canadians themselves, as derivatives of more successful American and British bands. It wasn’t until bands like Grapes of Wrath, The Tragically Hip, and The Pursuit of Happiness came along in the early to mid 80s that Canadian music started being taken more seriously. However, in the early 90s, a small fisherman’s town on the East coast was suddenly propelled into the limelight with up-and-coming rock talent. This is when the Halifax Pop Explosion—a term taken from the music festival of the same name—was born.
In Halifax, many people in their early 20s had spent their teenage years moshing to punk, rock, and heavy metal bands whose members they were either friends with, or knew through
other connections. Being in a small town, their entertainment was self-supplied, and playing in bands seemed to be an easy cure to boredom. When the then-shoegaze band Sloan started getting some attention in the early 90s, they were offered a spot on Geffen’s record label, a label that housed big names such as Aerosmith, Joni Michell and Sonic Youth, but most notably Nirvana. Sloan’s signing to Geffen coincided with the rise of American grunge music that was spearheaded by Nirvana, and when heads started turning towards Halifax, the city was dubbed by some as the next Seattle. Bands like Jale, The Super Friendz, The Hardship Post, Thrush Hermit, Plumtree, Local Rabbits, Zumpano, and countless others started gaining traction partly as a result of Sloan’s rise to popularity and their personal and musical connections to each other. A network was built of mutual support between these bands, with musicians helping each other out with music projects and performing alongside each other
at festivals. The music scene in 90s Halifax was a time where even the smallest of bands would be given the spotlight, and word would go around quickly about new talents.
While these bands greatly supported each other, a lot of their success is owed to television programmes as well as CanCon. CanCon refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements, which requires radio and television to broadcast a certain percentage of Canadianmade content, helping bands like Sloan get more exposure. Much Music, the Canadian MTV at the time, often brought on local bands for live performances, interviews, and comedy skits, and gave plenty of opportunities for fan interactions. Shows like The Wedge would make room for fans to ask questions or for bands to interview each other, giving the fans more insider information into the ins-and-outs of being in a band. These programmes started to decline in viewership during the 2000s as
an interest in alternative rock decreased, and almost all of the shows that gave these bands viewership are now defunct. These television programmes marked a very specific time in music where indie bands from the Halifax scene were at peak interest, and they fostered a more devoted set of fans that continued to support their music careers.
By the time the new millennium rolled out, a majority of the well-known bands from Halifax were already broken up and moving on to new projects, while eyes were redirected towards Toronto-based bands such as Broken Social Scene and Metric. While those bands seem to have more notoriety than many from the early 90s, the Halifax Pop Explosion was undeniably one of the most exciting times in Canadian music that shed a new light onto a music landscape that was largely ignored. To celebrate this era in music, we will be looking back on a few of many albums that encapsulated the sounds of Halifax.
1986
plot records & filmWorks
In order to understand all of the albums that emerged from the 90s Halifax Pop Explosion, one must look back to the 80s to see their influences, most notably the debut self-titled album Jellyfishbabies. While mainly being alternative rock, the band’s sound often crossed over to punk. Bands in the Halifax scene would later credit Jellyfishbabies as a major influence, most notably the power-pop-heavyweights Sloan who engaged in hardcore punk previous to the formation of their group. Jellyfishbabies undeniably shaped the pop/punk/rock blueprint for the 90s albums to come as some of the Halifax bands that started in the 90s went to their shows and saw them as a rare example of a young band taking initiative to record and distribute their own music.
On this album, some major standouts are Peter Arsenault’s guitar work along with the groups’ pop-sensibilities. The band had a knack for infectious pop melodies with strong guitars, and they weren’t afraid to switch things up. They would often switch the melody in the middle of the song, pumping up the guitars and drums to a more punk pace.
We start the album off with some atmospheric sounds before bursting through with guitars, punk vocals and a super fast electric guitar solo. On “Blue Eyes” we get the first instance of a middle-of-the-track-switch-up where everything speeds up briefly before returning to normal. The third track “Rainy Day” starts with a lone guitar and sad lyrics before ramping up to another punk rock track. Part of the hook goes…
Another bottle of wine / another drunken slumber
…and the phrase “just another rainy day” gets repeated throughout, suggesting a life of constant melancholy for the singer. We now move to a slower, more considered track
with “Diamond Joe”. The song is story-centered, detailing a dangerous man who uses his good looks and charm to lure women in. Some standout lyrics include:
Diamond Joe / He’s hanging around at the arcade / and he’s down at the bus station
The song then picks up with faster strumming in a second section, and continues the pace in a third section. The third and final section is similar to the second but with a higher-pitched guitar lick addded in after a few-second-burst of freestyle guitar strumming with quick drum fills. We continue the heavier feeling on “Can It Be”, which contains more angsty lyrics, an infectious ‘woah-oh-oh’ hook, and one of the
best guitar solos of the record, although the album is chock-full of them. “Certain Memories” is punk to the core, opening with a staccato guitar riff and keeping a consistent but noisy electric guitar throughout the entire track. The song is about recalling bad memories of a past relationship. The final song starts with eerie echoey sounds, a distant train perhaps and the sound of something moving on gravel. We then hear the track unfold into a grand finale of an album closer with a crazy guitar solo that sounds straight out of a classic metal record.
While Jellyfishbabies’ lyrics aren’t especially unique, part of their charm lies in the simplicity of them. They were still in high school at this time, so the lyrics reflect their youth in a way that feels very of that era while being supplemented by a great deal of musical talent. Their influence would continue to echo throughout the bands that followed them and form the 90s Halifax sound many know and love today.
With Jale’s debut album Dreamcake, the band showcased their pop sensibilities and made their mark as contemporaries to other Halifax bands. The original lineup was Jennifer Pierce, who featured on Sloan’s first two albums, Alyson MacLeod, Laura Stein, and Eve Hartling; the first letters of their names joined to form
the band name Jale. Similar to jangle pop bands like The Breeders and Veruca Salt, Jale combined sunny melodies with darker guitars. The album begins with the lyrics…
Not happy / Laying there upon your bed staring at the ceiling / A clock keeps ticking by your head / It’s claiming every lonesome …which if it was written by any other band would mark a melancholy album. The thing with Jale, however, is their grooves are pop-like enough that you’ll be dancing anyways despite the subject matter—a style often seen in other Halifax-based bands. “3 Days” keeps a waltzy pace before picking up speed on the chorus. The real star, however, is the post-chorus which gives the guitars and drums room to shine and
showcases the talents of the band. The next track, “To Be Your Friend” has a droning guitar throughout overlaid with sightly more acoustic-sounding strumming—this contrast seems to represent the mixed feelings present in the subject matter, as they sing about a dejected person who the singer still wants to be friends with. “River” is a slower-paced track, and the standout here are the lyrics which paint a vivid picture but in a way that allows the listener to fill in the blanks. Lines like…
Dream of you curled up in a river / Seaweed ‘round my finger, I remember you / Dream of you upon a hill sat with me and still / Watched as i spilled over
…are particular poetic highlights but are not rare to come by on this album. The members of Jale know how to write lyrics that read in just as beautiful of a way on paper as how they sound when they sing it.
Many of the songs on this album are similarly about losing, missing, or hating someone, and the ambiguous nature of these lyrics leave the listener to think about their own relationships that match the songs. This makes it a much more personal album than some of Jale’s contemporaries who tend to get more specific or humorous with their lyrics. However, a funny thing that can be noted is that the song “Mend”, one about longing for someone who’s perhaps fallen into a depression, comes directly after “I’m Sorry” which details a person the singer despises, contrasting sharply with the other track. The eleventh song “Emma” is the kind of tune that could easily start some crowdsurfing at a concert; it has just the right amount of energy and punch. It also contains some of the band’s best lyrics, including the opening lines…
Seared by that hidden fire that adultery kept feeding / Consumed with longing / Feverish with desire
The lyrics are all about being overcome with desire, a pretty straightforward concept, but the way they describe it through the lyrics is as if this is life or death for the subject, making it even more alluring than their other songs. In contrast, Promise is a sweeter closer, reminding us of their knack for pretty harmonies, and the all-around talent this band contained.
After the success of their 1992 debut Smeared Geffen Records were set on indie darlings Sloan to produce another fuzzy, blaring record that fit with the Nirvana-laden grunge and sluggish shoegaze that defined the early 90s. However, the band dropped the reverb in favour of a cleaner sound that harked back to 70s pop, and the label didn’t know what to make of it. Geffen Records gave them the option to either re-re cord their second album Twice Removed release it as is but with no real promotion from the label, so they went with the latter. With no major promotion, the record saw little success and the band almost broke up shortly after, but ultimately pushed through to become the face of the Halifax Pop Explosion.
Forming in early 1991 after making connec tions through school and previous bands, the band is comprised of bassist Chris Murphy, guitarists Jay Ferguson and Patrick Pentland, and drummer Andrew Scott. While maintain ing primary instrument roles, the unique thing about Sloan is they’re all singers, songwrit ers, and multi-instrumentalists, so roles often rotate depending on the song. This makes for an overall more cohesive band, and they credit their lack of a frontman and their equal split ting of earnings to the band’s longevity. They remain one of the only bands of the Halifax Pop Explosion who have continued to make music and stay relevant in the Canadian indie music scene.
While not being a commercial success at the time, Twice Removed has become one of the most beloved albums to come out of Canada in the 90s, and it’s easy to see why. Witty lyrics paired with catchy melodies, the album perfectly encapsulates the collective anxieties of coming of age in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The opening track “Penpals” has a memorable sliding guitar riff and kick drums that are sure to get you dancing, and the lyrics are just as
Andrew speaking. The storytelling feels akin to the band Slint, but a bit more pop and with some Pavement influence in the mix. The final track is “I Can Feel It”, a sugary love song sung as a duet with Jennifer Pierce of Jale and Patrick Pentland. It acts as the sweet credits to the album, leaving you wishing you could experience it all over again for the first time.
Sloan continued to sharpen their sound after this album, going on to release the successful One Chord to Another in 1996 and Navy Blues in 1998. While Twice Removed may not be the tightest in their discography, it certainly defined what Canrock was all about and distinguished them from other indie bands.
Formed in 1994 by Chris Austin on vocals and bass and both Matt Murphy and Drew Yamada on vocals and guitar, The Super Friendz were contemporaries of other Halifax rock bands of the time. In their early years, the band rotated through temporary drummers, including Chris Murphy of Sloan, Cliff Gibb of Thrush Hermit, and Dave Marsh until Lonnie James became their permanent drummer. Their 1997 album Sticktoitiveness contains updated mixes of most songs from their 1994 debut Mock Up, Scale Down, released under Sloan’s record label Murderecords, and five from their 1996 Play The Game, Not Games EP. It serves as a more up-to-date, neatly packaged view into their sound at the time. Their lyrics display a similar sense of humour and 20s angst as their contemporaries, and the sounds displayed on this record evoke feelings of warm nostalgia. The opening track “10 Lbs.” is deceptively more math rock compared to the rest of the album, but its intricate guitar riffs act as a punchy introduction to the rest of the songs. “Karate Man” keeps up the quick pace but with a more teenage sound as Matt Murphy sings about a ‘karate man’ wanting to seek physical revenge on a group of boys but not resorting to violence and finding solace in the strength of his mind instead. The third song “Undertow” details the story of a friend lost in destructive behaviours framed through the metaphor of being pulled by the undertow out to sea. The hook…
Didn’t you think it was strange to build a home out of rocket wreckage? / Broken bits and fuselage you’d find washed up on the shore
…reads as a metaphor on these destructive habits; the idea that real security and livelihood can’t be built out of failed attempts of escapism, like a rocket that never reached the moon.
“Rescue Us From Boredom” transports us directly into the early life of a musician’s career, the time when a deep love for music becomes a serious career path, which is the emotional state a lot of these song seem to have been written in. Moving through the tracklist, “Machine Green” is another punchy song with a heavy electric guitar riff and a really tight vocal melody. The second half of the hook which says…
Like a soul machine / And I lie awake with a question mark / Singing la la la la la la la / When I hit the bottle I lost my spark
…along with few other lyrics seem to allude to heavier topics of alcoholism, but the pre-choruses playfully reference different public figures who share the last name Greene, tying into the clean/machine rhyme scheme. Next in the tracklist is “Kiss the Land” which contains a twangy guitar, sweet vocals and harmonious
ooh’s in the background, making it an emotional standout. The song “Green Hand” is incredibly catchy with humorous lyrics about someone’s tattooed green hand. If there’s one thing that made these Halifax bands stand out, it’s the pairing of funny lyrics with carefully considered pop melodies that seem to get ridiculous lyrics stuck in your head. Another highlight is “Boots” which contains a beautiful lone guitar moment towards the end before returning to the chorus, as well as some la-la-la’s that keep the track from feeling static. “Come Clean” is a head-banging, heart-thumping, rock-out track with great lyrics to boot before returning to a slightly slower pace on the closer.
Sticktoitiveness is yet another standout from the Halifax scene that holds up very well in today’s age and displays a great deal of talent amongst its members, especially Matt Murphy who went on to form The Flashing Lights and join the Canadian rock supergroup TUNS alongside Chris Murphy and Mike O’Neill.
proboscis funkstone
While The Inbreds were originally from Kingston, Ontario, they moved to Halifax in 1996 to join the music scene seeing as they had personal connections to the bands there and had a similar sound. The band contained Mike O’Neill on bass and vocals, and Dave Ullrich on drums. They primarily used bass in place
of a lead guitar on most songs, with It’s Sydney or the Bush containing a wider range of instruments compared to their previous records. Their album It’s Sydney or the Bush marks their third of four records, their fourth and final one of which was released in January the following year before their unexpected departure. This album captures the sounds of 90s Halifax while standing out as a unique voice in the scene.
The first two tracks mark a brighter pop sound compared to the meat of the album. The second track “Wanna Be Your Friend” sounds very Beatles-esque with some really pretty horns in the mix. The band truly benefited from the extra instruments on this record, transforming relatively simple songs into ones that transports the listener into a movie-viewing experience, much like the audience depicted on the album cover. A song like “Drag
Us Down” is a great example of this, with its swelling violins and backing vocals lifting the song up. “Final Word” details the end of a dysfunctional relationship. Mike O’Neill sings…
“She once claimed that pound for pound / That her hair was worth more than gold / Loves to touch it more than him / She could not stand to have it sold
…which suggests the woman in the song thinks much higher of herself compared to the man, who’s described as “intense” and “immature” by her and her friends. The track ends with someone talking about their childhood, which sounds like it was taken straight from a home video. This acts as a nice break before going into a heavier track that contains a fuzzy electric guitar. The track opens with the lines…
“Cut my throat, I’m not one of those people you can bleed / Find some rope and tie your wrist around our sacred family
…and continues down the path of cryptic yet compelling lyrics that allude to cutting ties with someone and beginning a better life. The song “Sad Sack” is a standout musically as it has tuned-down resonant guitar playing throughout, playing into the song title and lyrics. There’s also plucky piano chords, snaps, and a more traditional guitar line post-chorus that fits nicely over the rest of the instrumentation.
Says a little bird on electric line / “I feel it’s time to fly to much warmer climes” / Migrated east instead of south / Frozen all to death in a drain pipe mouth
…is a great example in this song of the type of dark yet funny lyrics that are present in a lot of music from the Halifax scene. On the final track “Reason Why I’m Shy” there’s a few guitars layered on top of each other in sweet harmony along with a simple drum beat, and in the lyrics O’Neill muses on memories of someone and how he’s disconnecting himself from their relationship. The song is also a great display of O’Neill’s ability to evoke so much emotion through his voice. The song fades out as he tells this person that they better call him, almost like a request to the listener to stick around and return to their music once again.
