Primrods - Shit Side Story (2002)

If you've been following the CCPS for a while, you've probably noticed that we like (a) posting releases which are kind of redundant and (b) the Primrods. Well, our two interests are aligning again for today's CD from our archives... the 2002 Sloth/Catch and Release reissue of the Primrods' non-CD recordings (ie their first two cassettes), compilation tracks, and two previously-unreleased takes from the Kneecappin'! sessions - but with Paul Coutts' original vocals. Oh, yeah - and a chaotic, noise-filled bonus track. Plus, a great essay from local smart-ass Bob Keelaghan - which surprisingly contains relatively few fallacies (or phalluses). 

If you haven't had your fill of Primords yet (and really, who has?), grab the download here.

Minks - Von Gundy (2002)

 

The Minks are a band we had missed/forgotten about until Andrew Wedderburn name-checked them in his list of picks for the Calgary Songs Project. We're glad we took the time to find this CD - it's a scrappy batch of power pop-skewing punk that reminds us of the Hardship Post and early Thrush Hermit. We know NOTHING about this band, though - as far as we know, the Minks were the only band the members played in. If you know otherwise, please let us know!

And if you don't know, grab the download.

Mannequin Depressives - Trash-Eighty (2002)

Up until the mid 2010's, Calgary felt like a no-fly zone for synthpop. Mannequin Depressives always kicked against that - and we're quite happy they did. Trash-Eighty is the first of two full-length CDs they put out (along with a few CDR EPs) and it's a pretty great thing. Drawing on the sounds of bands like Depeche Mode, Psyche, and Cabaret Voltaire, this is an ambitious and highly enjoyable affair. We remember it being panned a bit for sounding overly retro when it came out - but with so much darkwave and synthwave coming out now, it's really hard to make that argument about the Mannequin Depressives these days.

This one's streaming on Apple Music.

Lorrie Mateson - You Should Know By Now (2002)

 

After the demise of the excellent National Dust, Lorrie Matheson embraced playing and recording under his own name and released this, his first solo CD. This picks up where National Dust left off - maybe skewing more power pop than that band. It's always struck us as a bit weird that Matheson recorded this in Edmonton with a bunch of session musicians, but maybe that was just him trying to distance himself from the legacies of National Dust and Fire Engine Red.

This one is available for streaming via Spotify.

Kris Demeanor - Lark (2002)

Here's Kris Demeanor's second CD, which sees his wordy songs backed up by a stellar band made up of Peter Moller, Chantal Vitalis, Diane Kooch, and assorted guests. For us, this CD hits its stride with tracks like "One of Two Things" and "Extreme to Me," on which Demeanor flexes his verbal skills and cutting insight into our world's darker parts. Also, the video for "Extreme to Me" is one of two Calgary videos we can name that feature dance sequences in office buildings - and we do note that the other, Hot Little Rocket's "Like Killers," came out a few years after this:

Demeanor's discography can be pretty hard to track down (looks like only his last CD is on Spotify), so grab the download here.

Knucklehead - Hostage Radio (2002)

We figure no one will object to another Knucklehead post here... so here's their 2002 EP, Hostage Radio. This is from that great era where bands discovered that they could also put videos on CDs, so this one includes the vid for "Flight Of The Living Dead," which someone had the smarts to upload to youtube already:

And like a good chunk of the Knucklead discography, this one is available on their bandcamp.

Jeff Caissie - I'm Just Trying Not To Lose My Mind (2002)

This solo CD from the usually audacious and over-the-top frontman of the Browns picking up an acoustic guitar and throwing his heart on his sleeve for a CD of stripped down, more singer-songwriterly tracks. Jeff Caissie's inspiration might be the Replacements' Paul Westerberg (whose "Here Comes a Regular" is covered as the hidden track on this - and covered quite, quite well, we should note) and he (Caissie, that is) does pretty well in that tradition. The songs on here are heartfelt and really great - they show that hardcore kids can turn it down and not suck.

Stream it on Spotify.

Kara Keith - The Love Years (2002)

In between playing in the Earthquake Pills and launching Falconhawk, Kara Keith released this excellent CDR (featuring a few of our favourite songs from the first Falconhawk CD). The songs on here are primarily just Keith and the talented Dave Alcock on drums/recording... but it still sounds great, if lacking the heavier production that came with Falconhawk's releases. 

It looks like this CD (with different art - our copy is obviously a one-off, handmade affair) is available for your streaming pleasure on Kara Keith's Spotify.

Anne Loree - roAr (2002)

Changing gears a bit from yesterday's disc, today we've got the second full-CD from Anne Loree. This is a collection of excellent songs, with Loree backed by an all-star cast including Diane Kooch, Chantal Vitalis, Janine Bracewell, Tim Williams, Ross Watson... and more! 

It looks like this one isn't on Loree's Spotify, so you can grab the download here.

Honeyrocket - Comforting Violence (2002)

 

Oh, wow - we had forgotten about Honeyrocket until we pulled out this CD for posting. We had featured singer Thérèse Lanz on an ¡Olé! 7" a few months ago, but forgot about her earlier work with the all-grrl Honeyrocket. We're going to turn to She Rox for the full story:

Honeyrocket began in the early 2000’s, based out of Calgary, Alberta they quickly gained local notoriety for their punky guitar driven brand of grunge rock. Founded by sisters Therese Lanz aka Trezzy-Guitar and vocals, Francesca Lenz aka Franni-Bass, along with Jen Foster-Drums, and Jamie Fooks on vocals. This line-up proved however to be short lived, and guitarist Marlene Lau and new drummer Stefani Makichan would solidify the line-up. Touring throughout Canada with punk legends Fugazi in 2001 opened the band up to larger punk base, although many described the band as Canada’s answer to L7. By 2002, Honeyrocket would release their debut album “Comforting Violence”, with its guitar driven hooks the album received numerous positive reviews and saw their popularity reaching far beyond their local music scene. However not long after its release the band called it quits leaving many of their fans wondering why. Founding members the Lanz sisters would continue on with drummer Stefani Makichan and form the all female trio Kilbourne, a punk influenced sound with hints of pop in it, he band would last until 2009 and eventually add a male guitarist to the line up. By 2010 only frontwoman and guitarist Therese Lanz and drummer Stefani Makichan remained and the duo switched to a heavy doom metal sound and became the duo known as Mares Of Thrace, which proved to be the most successful out of all the incarnations of the genius that is Therese Lanz. Guitarist Marlene Lau would go on to found the co-ed band Kill Matilda and remained that band's guitarist until eventually leaving the band. Honeyrocket however may remain an undiscovered gem by many and for those is becoming a much sought after band that were indeed forerunners in what some have called Canada’s Riot Girl movement.

Get it here.

Failure - The Failure (2002)

The Failure started as a four-piece band, a direct(ish) line from The Everymen and Guilt Trip. This is the first of the two CDs they released before changing their name to The Evidence - and it's very good. It doesn't hurt that they've got Casey Lewis' monstrous drumming and powerhouse recording ear to give this all the oomph it delivers. Plus, look at those little babies on the inside cover!

Get it here.

Daggers - Right Between the Eyes (2002)

We recently posted the Daggers' earlier 7" single and kind of blew what we had to say then. Forbidden Dimension blah blah Horrorpops blah blah The Presence blah blah... BIG ROCK SOUND. 

Get it here!

Corta Vita - Communication Is Nothing Without Feedback (2002)

 

Well, this will help you get going today. We posted a tape from the Corta Vita many years ago - so it's about time we got to their first CD. This is chockablock with the hallmarks of the early 2000's - screamo vocals, post-hardcore riffage, and ridiculously long song titles. It makes us long for small rooms filled with loud amps and lots of sweaty kids. Kind of like this video of their 2013 reunion show:

Get this one from the posthumous Corta Vita bandcamp.

Central City - The Periscope Demo (2002)

How did this end up in our collection? We have no idea. And what is it? AH! We have an answer to that one! This CD is a basically a Clinton St. John solo thing, with two songs that would ultimately show up on the Cape May's excellent first CD. These stripped-down, early versions are quite good as well - and you can get them here. 

Agriculture Club - Farmageddon (2002)

We forgot we had the Agriculture Club's second CD (and first full-length offering) in the queue, and it's kind of fortuitous. This CD has one of the band's best known tracks, the very excellent "The Ballad of Pilsner Beer" - which was recently gained new life thanks to a cover by Dean from Fubar's Nightseeker. Maybe it's a bit disrespectful to the Ag Club boys, but here's that cover version anyways:

Here's some Herald coverage of the Agriculture Club to even things out a bit:

It looks like the band might be gearing up for a reunion of sorts. Keep an eye on the Agriculture Club website, where you can also find streaming links for this CD. 

Aaron Booth - Transparent (2002)

2002 saw the release of Aaron Booth's second CD - and while he was still based in Toronto at the time, we're still going to call this a Calgary release. Mostly because he landed back in Calgary (and just released a new album here earlier this spring). This move gave Booth the opportunity to reflect on the differences between the scenes in the two cities:

You can get this from Aaron Booth's bandcamp.