Oh Canaduh!
2 (Lance Rock)
by Jon Sarre
“Canadian punk tribute album?” my friend asked sorta suspiciously, “So who do you have? Subhumans, DOA… who else?””NoMeansNo…” I answered, “And… um…”Okay, so most of the bands whose songs are covered here by an international cast of Lance Rock’s second Oh Canaduh! comp are not exactly household names to Americans (or to many Canadians, I suspect), but maybe that’s part of the point: To shed light on some overlooked North-of-the-Border punk bands whose songwriting shoulda kept ’em out of the oblivion that too often clobbers those unlucky enough to’ve not resided in London, NYC, or L.A. (or even Seattle or Minneapolis). Ya might not’ve ever heard of Moderettes, 63 Monroe or Personality Crisis, but it’s good that someone has, cuz there’s quality stuff to be had in this unlikely place (by the way, DOA fans take note: there’s no DOA here, maybe they’re on the first volume…).
To rev things up, Vancouver cuddly canuck grrrlcorers, cub, fittingly snarl through a searing, angry version of the Subhumans’ “Oh Canaduh.” Next, Calgary’s Von Zippers (who sound like they’re from Australia) offer up a meaty’n’sleazy take on Da Slyme’s “Truck Stop Nun.” Mudhoney laughs their way through the SCTV Sex Pistols’ parody one-off “I Hate the Bloody Queen,” Maow then marches through No Fun’s “Mindless Aggression” and Kawasaki, Japan’s always good Titans play Johnny Thunders on U.I.C.’s “Shamrock Bang.”
Other fun highs come from the likes of Sugarshack, who chant fast and furious on Rude Norton’s “Tits on the Beach,” and Huevos Rancheros, who enlist Chixdiggit’s K.J. Jansen for the “Hawaii Five-O Theme” meets “Surfin’ U.S.A.” meets the Queersisms of The Young Canadians’ “Hawaii.” I also gotta mention Servotron‘s Missing Personseque deconstruxion of UJRK5’s “Locator” and Stand GT‘s revival of southern neighbors envy on the cumbersomely named Jerry Jerry And Sons Of Rhythm Orchestra’s “Living on Top.” And that’s still not even the half of it. Worth checkin’ oot, eh?
(1223 College Drive Nanaimo, B.C. Canada V9R 5Z5)
