Music

16 Canadian albums that turn 16 in 2013

by Mark Teo

August 6, 2013

16 Canadian albums celebrating their Sweet 16 this year.

Ah, sweet 16. The age where many of us got the keys to our parents’ cars. It was when we received our first fake I.D.—and it worked. And it’s a year commemorated endlessly in pop culture, think Sweet Sixteen or Sixteen Candles, MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen, or Hilary Duff’s “Sweet Sixteen” just to start.

Indeed, it’s a milestone birthday, and this year these 16 Canadian albums, all of which were released in 1997, celebrate theirs. Raise a Mike’s Hard!

Our Lady Peace’s Clumsy

While 1994’s Naveed established Raine, Jeremy and pals as bona fide Edgefesters, Clumsy cemented the lads as genuine chart- (and Chart-) busting stars. And for good reason. I mean, can anyone deny the metaphor that the world is, in fact, a subway? Anyone?

Sarah McLachlan’s Surfacing

This, the peak of Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair apex. We won’t lie: We still surrender to Surfacing, especially on nights spent in the bathtub with a decent pinot, something Jane Austen, and, of course, our trusty toe rings. How sweet it is.

Age of Electric’s Make A Pest a Pet

Age of Electric’s Make a Pest a Pet was a fitting snapshot of grunge sputtering to its late-’90s death: It was an album conflicted by the scrappy pop leanings of the Dahle brothers—who would go on to front the still-loved Limblifter—and the butt-rock tendencies of Todd Kerns, who would eventually man the axe for Slash’s backing band.

The Tea Party’s Transmission

Yes, the Tea Party used to mess around with Eastern-tinged hippie fare, but with Transmission, they emerged as a sensual, faux-industrial force. Yo, Moist, watch your back: Here, a contender for the copulation-rock championship belt. May the winner sit atop a throne of flesh! (EW EW EW EW EW)

Headstones’ Smile and Wave

People remember the Headstones as a punk act, largely because of Hugh Dillon’s starring role in Hard Core Logo. But don’t confuse late ’90s Dillon with the Hugh of present. In the Smile and Wave era, they were a rock-solid alt-rock act—and thanks to their theatrical penchant, it’s easy to see how the Headstones’ frontman went onto a stellar career in fil m and TV.

Rusty’s Sophomoric

Thanks to their flawless debut—Fluke, for those wondering—Rusty have earned their spot in Canrock’s canon. Sophomoric never reached Fluke‘s heights, but it boasted the band’s biggest single, “Empty Cell,” while dabbling in quintessentially Torontonain genres: Urban country and garage. (Also, eyes out for Danko Jones in the video below, fellow nerds.)

Thrush Hermit’s Sweet Homewrecker

Sweet Homewrecker was Thrush Hermit’s debut full length, their sole major-label effort (Elektra!) that introduced the world outside of Halifax to baby-faced Dartmouth icon Joel Plaskett. For that, we’re thankful.

Zuckerbaby’s Zuckerbaby

It’s an LP as synonymous with Calgary as ginger beef, cowboys, and Cowboys (the bar). Plus, “Andromeda” transports us to a time when our closets were filled exclusively with Skechers, Candies, and baby blue Mod Robes scrubs.

Killjoys’ Melos Modos

No, it wasn’t the album with “Soaked,” “Dana,” or “Today I Hate Everyone.” But Melos Modos might’ve been the Killjoys’ scrappiest album—even if it was brimming with pitch-perfect harmonies and squeaky clean power pop. Bonus points: They foreshadowed pop-punk’s obsession with all things pizza-related by a solid decade.