Canada, as an autonomous nation, remains an enigma on the international scene. To the average outsider, we are a polite, beer-drinking, ice hockey-worshipping people. We are renowned for our mounted police, our maple syrup, and our potent and inexpensive marijuana. But what about the music, friends? What about the rock?

As with any great nation, Canada has produced its fair share of schmaltz. One needs only to hear the gag-inducing warbling of Celine Dion, or encounter the unfortunate production skills of David Foster to fully recognize that we can churn out shit just as well as some much larger countries. Remember when Bryan Adams topped the Canadian, American, and British charts with "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)?" Remember listening to the radio, night after night, longing for death's sweet, sweet release?

Fortunately, as Bryan Adams was topping the charts, the Canadian pop renaissance had already begun. Halifax, Nova Scotia, population 350,000, was known as "the Seattle of the North" during the early '90's. Just as bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden were emerging from the Pacific Northwestern United States into international superstardom, a young four-piece pop rock combo from Eastern Canada were about to change the Canadian musical landscape forever. The now-legendary Sloan, made up of four young Halifax musicians, signed to DGC records in 1991. They released their noisy major label debut "Smeared" to critical acclaim and modest but encouraging sales. "Smeared" spawned the minor hit "Underwhelmed" which received respectable stateside airplay and made Sloan the "it" band of the Canadian alternative music scene. Geffen had pinned its hopes on Sloan's potential to be the next Nirvana, but when 1994's classic "Twice Removed" took the band in a poppier direction, Sloan were unceremoniously dumped by their label. That record has since been voted the best Canadian album of all time in a poll of the nation's leading music critics. After much soul searching, the band forged on alone, releasing their subsequent records on their own imprint, the now legendary Murderecords. The boys from Sloan also took the opportunity to use their clout to promote and release records by other Halifax bands. This great period in Canadian rock history has now come to be known as the Halifax Pop Explosion. 

The first true Murderecords superstars were a Beatles-esque combo known as The Super Friendz. This Halifax based quartet, comprised of guitarists Matt Murphy and Drew Yamada, bassist Charles Austin, and drummer Dave Marsh, closely resembled the Beatles in their democratic songwriting process (Austin, Murphy and Yamada all contribute songs to each of their records). The Super Friendz released two long players on Murderecords (including the 1994 classic "Mock Up Scale Down") before unceremoniously breaking up in 1997. In 2003, they reunited to release the well-received "Love Energy," available from Outside Music in Canada.

Kingston, Ontario's Inbreds were another Murderecords signing that went on to have substantial success in Canada. The two piece band became famous for their soaring harmonies and full sound despite the absence of guitar. Their unique bass and drums sound is most fully realized on 1994's excellent "Kombinator" or the 1998 Murderecords release "Winning Hearts." Inbreds' singer/bassist Mike O'Neill has also released a well received solo album entitled "What Happens Now?"

Montreal's Local Rabbits were still in high school when they released their Murderecords debut "You Can't Touch This" in 1996. The record, recorded live off the floor and produced by Sloan's Jay Ferguson, combined a blues rock twang with a unique pop sensibility. 2002's "This Is It Here We Go" is perhaps the finest record ever released in Canada. Stephanie Domet, music critic for Canadian publication The Coast, says "[the record] makes you feel like you've managed membership in an exclusive club of people who know exactly what music is supposed to sound like this very minute."

Another rock band from Halifax, Thrush Hermit, would perfect the Can-rock sound hinted at on several Murderecords releases with 1999's "Clayton Park." Also notable is the 1997 Elektra release "Sweet Homewrecker." Sadly, Thrush Hermit broke up in 1999, but solo records by Joel Plaskett and Rob Benvie (under the stage moniker Tigre Benvie) have proved worthwhile.

After the breakup of The Super Friendz, guitarist/songwriter Matt Murphy formed a new group called The Flashing Lights. They released two long players, 2001's "Where the Change Is" and the sadly overlooked "Sweet Release." Murphy has since disbanded the group to reunite with The Super Friendz, but both releases are well worth hunting down.

The Canadian indie scene holds many pop rock gems for the music fan willing to search out some hard-to-find releases. A good starting point for any Can-rock aficionado is the thorough "Have Not Been The Same: The CanRock Renaissance 1985-1995" by Michael Barclay and Ian Jack. This substantial text traces the history of the Halifax Pop Explosion as well as the story of some other great Canadian bands.

The following is a limited discography of the Halifax Pop Explosion. These are the essential records. There are many other great releases which are not mentioned here. Happy hunting!

Sloan

"Twice Removed"
1994, DGC/Murderecords, BMG (Japan)

"One Chord To Another"
1996, Murderecords, Enclave (USA), BMG (Japan)
Rolling Stone Review: **** (four stars)
"The low-fi, near-bootleg quality of One Chord to Another is a bold move: Dig the mashed-down guitars, the out-of-tune pianos, the drum sound that might have been sampled from the Kingsmen's "Louie, Louie." What elevates the record above mere pastiche is a batch of really special, quirky, melodic songs, some of which ("Autobiography," "Anyone Who's Anyone," "Everything You've Done Wrong") make the debt to Rubber Soul-era Beatles plainer than others. The gorgeous "Junior Panthers" leans closer to Brian Wilson than to the Fabs, while "Can't Face Up" could be Elvis Costello's "The Loved Ones" rewritten by the dBs. "The Lines You Amend" kicks off as "The Ballad of John and Yoko" but ends up as a likable hybrid of T. Rex and Crowded House."

"Action Pact"
2003, BMG/Vik Recordings

Official web site www.sloanmusic.com

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1: Twice Removed 2: One Chord To Another 3: Action Pact

The Super Friendz

"Mock Up Scale Down"
1994, Murderecords

All Music Guide Review:
"Full of energetic, memorable pop songs, the Super Friendz' full-length debut is a smart and sweet concoction. Witty lyrics and brisk, hopelessly harmonious arrangements are peppered throughout, and while several songs wander into mediocrity, crisp standouts like "10 lbs.," "Undertow," "When They Paid Me" and "Better Call" make up for the album's few weaknesses. The Wings-ish "One Day" is a wonderfully melodic denouement. Sometimes moody and observant, often sentimental and wistful, Mock Up is a noteworthy introduction to the Friendz. The album was nominated for a Juno award in 1996 for Best Alternative Album."

"Love Energy"
2003, Outside Music

Official web site www.thesuperfriendz.com

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1: Mock Up Scale Down 2: Love Energy

The Flashing Lights

"Where The Change Is"
2001, Brobdingnagian Records

Uncut Magazine Review:
"FOUR STARS!!!! Canadian foursome The Flashing Lights are the latest addition to the continually expanding (and consistently rewarding) Brobdingnagian label, and have created a debut album of anthemic rock 'n' roll with crystal clear melodies and gorgeous vocal harmonies. Leading Light Matt Murphy's literate, slice-of-life song writing style provides the sensitivity and intimacy needed to balance the band's ebullient power-pop swagger. Sixteen tracks, three of them exclusive to this UK edition - a genuine find." 

"Sweet Release"
2002, Outside Music

Canoe.ca Review: (4 out of 5)
"From the very first spin of Toronto retro-pop outfit The Flashing Lights' sophomore CD Sweet Release, you'll swear you've heard these songs before. And you have -- in a million bits and pieces, performed by a million different pop bands over the last 30 years. Like the best pop craftsmen -- say, Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard -- former Super Friendz guitarist Matt Murphy has the ability to mine, refine and recombine entire bands and musical styles into candy-coloured pop treats that are crunchy on the outside but oh-so-sweet at their soft centres. The jangling Chuck Berryish guitars, the garage-band drums, the impossibly high vocals and spot-on harmonies; they all bring together the best of '60s pop (think The Kinks and Beatles) with the best of '70s rock (think Big Star and Cheap Trick) to create perfect, pure pop for now people (think Matthew Sweet and Sloan)." 

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1: Where The Change Is 2: Sweet Release

The Inbreds

"Kombinator"
1994, PF/Murderecords

Official website www.inbreds.com

1	1: Kombinator

Local Rabbits

"You Can't Touch This"
1996, Murderecords"

"This Is It Here We Go"
2002, Brobdingnagian Records

Montreal Mirror Review: (8.5 out of 10)
"It's been four years since Basic Concept, the last Rabbits album, and I'd all but figured these locals (now largely T.O. types) for done with. Not so. In fact, while less a band than a project at this point, the lads have delivered what's easily the most focused work of their career. Listening back, one can hear the groundwork for this haute couture roadhouse rock on previous discs, but here it has gelled. Ben Gunning's piercing, feminine vocals and Pete Elkas's meaty Rhodes work take centrestage, nestled in a bed of clean riffage and vacuum-sealed rhythms ("Spelling Mistake" states the new-jack R&B influence out loud). This may be their last and, frustratingly, also their best."

Official web site www.localrabbits.com

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1: Where The Change Is 2: This Is It Here We Go

Thrush Hermit

"The Great Pacific Ocean" E.P.
1996, Murderecords"

"Clayton Park"
1999, Sonic Unyon

All Music Guide Review:
"Clayton Park is more 1976 than 1999, but it's not Thrush Hermit's fault they were born in the decade they honor here. The album is a vast improvement from the somewhat thick and muddled Sweet Homewrecker -- their dynamic concert performances are perfectly captured on Park, and the slight restraint in their vocals shifts the energy and attention to the music -- a smart move -- which results in a solid, experimental and genuinely captivating record. The heavy, plodding tone that drenched Sweet Homewrecker has been all but replaced with album-rock guitar riffs, catchy midtempos and echoing vocals on tracks like Joel Plaskett's "From the Back of the Film" and his stadium-rock anthem "The Day We Hit the Coast." Rob Benvie's "Headin' South is sneering, pouty punk-pop reminiscent of Television, but he isn't afraid to make a melodic rock anthem like "Western Dreamz" either. Ian McGettigan's "(Oh Man!) What to Do?" is how the Stones should have sounded in the late '90s, and Plaskett's "Oh My Soul!" -- one of Hermit's greatest songs -- is a laid-back, summery Southern rock tribute that would make the Allman Brothers and Lynynrd Skynyrd proud. Clayton Park is Thrush Hermit's best work to date -- and it perfects their hard rock sound while expanding it as well."

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1: The Great Pacific Ocean 2: Clayton Park

Joel Plaskett

"In Need Of Medical Attention"
1999, No Alternative Records

NME Live Review:
"Plaskett is a star. Needle-thin and with tousled brown hair, he spends 30 minutes blinking into the spotlight as he plucks his way through his ultra-fragile highway blues. His between-song banter resembles the sweet surrealism of The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne. His actual songs ('I'd Rather Be Deadly Than Dead', 'Goodbye Doctor') sound like the third Big Star album. What next? He's just released a debut album called 'In Need Of Medical Attention', on No Alternative. It's a concept album about doctors. Try to find it."

"Down At The Khyber"
2001, Brobdingnagian Records

Q Magazine Review: **** (four stars) 
Fresh from leading Thrush Hermit into obscurity, Joel Plaskett's new trio should reap more from the fashionable '70s rock zip of their second album and UK debut. They've been likened to a country-rock Flaming Lips but Down At The Khyber is closer to Big Star's relocation of '60s Britbeat to a remote American outpost. Maybe We Should Just Go Home is good enough to be a Radio City outtake but if this, the brittle 1971-vintage production and Plaskett's keening, Alex Chilton-esque voice suggests he's stuck in retro mode, Khyber's sheer exhilaration lifts it clear. Mid-album trio This Is A Message (Byrdsian pop), Unconditional Love (pained soul ballad) and Waiting To Be Discovered (pent-up teen anthem, with fantastic guitar-chime overdubs) are the heart of this need-to-know guitar-rock triumph."

Official web site www.joelplaskett.com

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1: In Need Of Medical Attention 2: Down At The Khyber