Am I allowed to coin a new subgenre? . . .
That was rhetorical. I’m doing it either way.
It will be called Can-Pop, which is an abbreviation for “Canada Pop,” and it will serve as the umbrella term for the delightful pop-leaning slacker rock concocted by Mac Demarco and anyone in his extended musical family. Montreal, with its seemingly endless supply of excellent, relatively unknown bands, is the Mecca of this movement. It is the place where aspiring Canadian musicians go to live cheap and cut their teeth in a vibrant music scene. While the overall scene is drifting toward electronic music, the three year period from 2012 to 2015 marks something of a golden age for off-kilter guitar-based pop.
I may have been a couple years late in recognizing the effortless musical prowess of Mac Demarco. If anything, that just means I’m forced to be less pretentious about “discovering” him and the artists he associates with. Despite my lateness, I think I can bring a little bit to everyone’s table with the playlist I’m introducing in this post: the “Can Pop” playlist. It is a compilation of several impressive artists from Canada with a range of unique styles. They’re separated by their own individual quirks, but they are united by their country of origin and by a general “slacker” aura which comes across in their songs and in their personalities. No, I am not implying that the artists on this playlist don’t put effort into their work. Quite the opposite: I think it’s endlessly impressive that they can convey such an easygoing vibe while making such intricate and satisfying music.
Having heard Mac for the first time earlier this year (summer 2015), my craving for more Demarco-esque hazy guitar pop led me down a long (and still continuing) path. The fruit of my aural labor so far comes from these lovely artists:
Bretzer is a distant acquaintance of Mac Demarco, but his music speaks louder than any haphazard comparisons to Mac. His 2015 album “Waxing Romantic” is clean and polished. Notable tracks like “Idle By” and “Lady Red” showcase Bretzer’s ability to create warm, breezy, inviting guitar pop. Hailing from Edmonton, he isn’t part of the Montreal clique. His music fits right in with theirs, though.
Originally part of Makeout Videotape with Demarco, Alex Calder has made quite the name for himself with his own “dreamy” and disorienting music. Indeed, his only full-length release, “Strange Dreams,” is a lo-fi concept album about sleep paralysis. Like Bretzer and Demarco, Calder started out in Edmonton. Unlike Bretzer, he didn’t stay there. He is currently based in Montreal, where he chronicles his musical, culinary, and technological skills (as well as his unique sense of humor) in Youtube videos.
Homeshake is the moniker of Mac Demarco’s former touring guitarist, Peter Sagar. He easily shredded through Mac’s lead guitar parts on tour, but his solo work drifts more towards smooth R&B. His most recent album, “Midnight Snack,” was recorded in Montreal at his own studio. It doesn’t quite have professional studio sheen. Rather, it comes off as DIY work of the highest quality. Within the the playlist, it makes for a welcome departure from the faster paced guitar pop that dominates.
I thought for awhile about whether or not to pick favorites on this list. As you can tell, I’ve opted to let my bias be known. Sheer Agony is far and away my favorite band on the Can Pop Playlist. The band is the project of songwriter/guitarist/producer Jackson MacIntosh and he certainly shows his talents on every Sheer Agony song. Stylistically, MacIntosh draws from every corner of pop music, from new-wave to 60’s psychedelic, all while displaying a remarkable skill for airtight songcraft. Not only do they live and record in Montreal, they provided a list of their favorite bands who do the same.
If Sheer Agony is my admitted favorite, Each Other is my admited “most freakishly talented.” Seriously, this band does more musical work with three members than most five piece bands can muster. They layer intricate guitar parts and near constant two-part vocal harmonies in a way that sounds simultaneously accessible and ridiculously complex. The only way to truly understand the skill of this band is to see it yourself. Whether they’re playing in a cramped venue or alone in a vacant hallway, it is abundantly clear that this band is the real deal. They are currently based in Montreal, but hopefully you can catch them at a sweaty house show near you.
Like Travis Bretzer, Calvin Love is part of the Edmonton crew. Recording everything himself in his home studio, Love’s songs come as a presentation of his own musical identity. More polished than Each Other and Alex Calder but a little rougher than Travis Bretzer’s most recent work, Love further distances himself from the Can Pop pack by focusing on the 80’s rather than the 60’s and 70’s. His sleek, dark style adds yet another stylistic thread to the Can Pop playlist.
Mac Demarco played bass in Walter TV for a brief period. However, Pierce McGarry (vocals/guitar) and Joseph McMurray (drums) are the band’s primary members. After separating from Walter TV, Mac invited them to be his in touring band. Their work without Mac is the “lowest-fi” of the bands on this playlist to the point of being inaccessible for many listeners. Still, their relentless energy is noteworthy and occasionally they put out truly infections songs such as “In My Room.”
So, now that you know a bit about the bands involved, I’ll let you loose to explore the slacker-sounds of Canada. I’ve included numerous Mac Demarco tracks as well as the artists mentioned above, to give a complete picture of the scene. To that end, as my knowledge of the scene expands, so will the playlist. If I discover another artist that fits the bill, I’ll add their best songs to the playlist and add a brief bio for them to this post. The playlist is organized like a very, very long album, with a mixture of artists and a flow which makes listening to it in order (hopefully) quite enjoyable. However, I don’t believe in a single right way to go about listening to music, so attack this behemoth any way you see fit. Without further ado, I give you the Can Pop playlist:
The Healthy Alternative 
Leave a comment