Vancouver Complication is one of the great 80's punk scenes compilations. It's a thumbnail sketch of the diverse music of the early punk era, and you get a chance to hear some pretty fine bands that you might not ordinarily know about. Until recently a lot of the Canadian Punk and New Wave albums and singles were pretty hard to locate and extremely pricey to boot. Thanks to labels like Joe Keithley's Sudden Death Records, classic Canadian punk is becoming available beyond the collector fringe. Hopefully more people will finally understand how important these bands really were.
First of all, let me emphasize that this collection is strong throughout. For me the real treat is hearing some of the great songs by the more obscure artists. For those completely unfamiliar with Vancouver area bands, the record is worth it for the Pointed Sticks, D.O.A., Subhumans, and Art Bergmann's Young Canadians (at the time named K-Tels). I especially enjoy The Young Canadians' tune I Hate Music, which is very much in the spirit of the similarly named song by The Replacements. But there is hard punk, keyboard driven new wave, pop music, art punk, even some more conventional pop music. Though all loosely under the aegis of the punk rock phenomenon, the artists represented here are pursuing their own diverse paths.
Of all the bands here, I only don't care for Exxotone so much--they sound kind a little too much on the performance art side of things for my own tastes. I don't think their sound has held up too well. A great band represented here with two songs is Active Dog, with Fun While It Lasts and Nothing Holding You. They sound like a thrashier version of Pointed Sticks. Part of the similarity is that Gord Nicholl of The Pointed Sticks was also a member of Active Dog. Buck Cherry of The Modernettes was also a band member, which is not surprising in such an incestuous music scene. Another revelation for me are the two songs by the Dishrags whose music is very reminscent of a female led Dead Kennedys or The Buzzcocks. Another fine track is Quarter To Eight by Tim Ray and A.V., which sounds like Michael Quercio of the Three O'Clock fronting the Teardrop Explodes.
Of course D.O.A. has stand out tracks here, with the awesome Kill Kill This Is Pop and I Hate You. The Subhumans Death To The Sickoids is a flat out punk classic. Wirehead by Wasted Lives sounds a little dated, but is ultimately redeemed by the white hot molten guitar riffing. U-J3RK5 are another celebrated Vancouver band, but their songs here aren't my favorites. They aren't bad, sort of art damaged new wave.
Another standout is the hyperkinetic New Clientele by Shades. Closing up the original album is an experimental piece by Gary Bourgeois as {e}, an instrumental that would not feel out of place on the Kiwi Xpressway imprint.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention about a band included on Cd as a bonus. The group with one of my favorite band names ever---Rude Norton. They only put out a single Ep in 1980 but they occasionally reform and do some gigs. They seem to be a fun side band that includes members of The Subhumans in it. They cover Sea Cruise and the Gilligan's Island Theme, in addition to an original tune, Tits On The Beach. Fun Stuff.
All in all, a very cool, representative cross section of a thriving music scene in the 80's. And according to the liner notes, they barely put together enough money to release this. But that was how it was in those days, before the porta-studios and digital recording on computer. It's nice to be able to hear an artifact like this, because there were so many great West coast groups that never were recorded for posterity. This comp and other great Canadian punk albums can be had from the Sudden Death Records website. In addition to tons of D.O.A. swag, you will find Cds by Young Canadians, Modernettes, Pointed Sticks, and the more contemporary Scotchpunks The Real McKenzies here. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment