Oh, Canada (Part 1): The Plan - Only These Movements Remain

There is something about Canada and me. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I have a French Canadian last name, with no actual Canadian ancestry. Maybe I’m searching through the music of the country to find out what the fuck that’s about? Haha. I don’t know. I’m just making an excuse for liking so many Canadian bands (The Plan is one of my favorites). Not alot of people know, but Canada has had an amazing music scene for quite some time. I know, its hard to believe. Most people think Rush or Bryan Adams when thinking of Canadian music. Maybe, if you're lucky you'll get someone that thinks of Godspeed You Black Emperor! But there is so much more to it then that and i hope with this new "series" I'll open some people's eyes to some of the amazing music that has been going on in the Canadian underground over the years.

I always felt that in America, Fugazi was sort of the standard of influence in starting a post hardcore band. It was either them, or a later band whose influence was undoubtedly them. I always sort of thought that in Canada, the same could be said for Shotmaker. Now I’m not saying that Fugazi hasn’t influenced bands in Canada but I feel like on an album like “Only These Movements Remain” you can hear Shotmaker all over the place. Now that is not to say that Fugazi can’t be heard as an influence on this album as well. I think there might even be a tinge of that “San Diego Sound” that people used to refer to when talking about Drive Like Jehu. Simply put, this album is energy. Yelling vocals with screams coming from behind. Duel guitars coming at you with angular and aggressive movements. The bass work on this album is really great. I would even go as far to say that some of it is noteworthy for the genre. The drums are powerful and tight. As they should be for this kind of music. There are elements of mathiness every now and then. There is even some slight experimentation in the way of cello, vibraphone and trumpet being added to a few songs. But nothing that would turn off the post hardcore purest to this record.

I am very bad at recommending albums to people. I usually don’t know what to say in a “for fans of…” statement. But I will say for this album that if you have listened to any of the above mentioned bands, and you liked them, you should really listen to this album.

-matthew st.

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