Canadian punk rock that deserves a second listen

Canada has a celebrated history of punk rock, however, there’s far too much that has gone undiscovered.

While seemingly everyone who wears leather and Clash t-shirts can name Canadian punk rock  bands like Sum-41 from Ajax, Ontario or even Teenage Head out of Hamilton, Ontario, the lesser-known bands deserve just as much praise and flowers as the big guys.

From pop-punk to skramz, here are some of the most criminally underrated bands in Canadian history. Hopefully one of these bands becomes your new favourite.

The Creeps

The first time I heard The Creeps, a band from Ottawa, Ontario, I was helping open the new location of the store I was working at in downtown Toronto. We had just installed the speakers and the day prior, and my boss immediately got on aux.

From the moment the opening hi-hats of “Cancer” played, I was hooked. It’s rare for a band to mix the influence of the Misfits and Ramones and not have it sound like a convoluted mess, but the Creeps are the only band I’ve found that have properly perfected that sound.

They aren’t as active as much today, but much like someone still in denial, I keep track of them, so I don’t miss a show in Kingston or their native Ottawa.

If you ever need more of The Creeps, lead singer Skottie Lobotomy has a wealth of other projects such as The Visitors and Crusadesto fill that pure pop-punk itch

To start exploring, play these songs: “Everything Makes Sense,” “Creeping Me Out,” and “Follow You Home.”

Burial Etiquette

At New Friends Fest (NFF) 2023, an annual screamo festival held in Toronto, I met Burial Etiquette in a crowd of people and later outside The Lithuanian House after the show, thanking them for an unbelievable performance. At the time, Burial Etiquette from Thunder Bay, Ontario, was filling in for a recent drop-off. Until just before the show, I didn’t expect them to be playing whatsoever.

Little did I know that their band would explode in popularity shortly after this, with their split LP with the band mis sueños son de tu adios propelling their name into the skramz lexicon.

With a sound that perfectly uses good-cop-bad-cop vocals, they’ll continue to grow and influence more members of the skramz-gang for years to come, throughout the world. Burial Etiquette’s still rocking basements and NFF. If you have the chance, you owe it to yourself to go to their shows (and possibly buy a t-shirt).

To start exploring, play these songs: “The Right To Choose,” “Exhaustion That Led To Collapse,” and “For The Sake Of Comfort.”

Carvings

Carvings from Kingston Ontario, were a band no stranger to The Queen’s Journal, being featured prominently in full-length articles nearly a decade ago. They rocked as a local student band for years in the early 2010s, given the student population a rare glimpse into a post-hardcore band’s sound.

Despite their local uniqueness, they were unable to find a permanent footing outside the Kingston area, breaking up sometime around 2014. However, music is music, and their lack of attention doesn’t change what awesome songs they were able to provide the local scene and beyond.

With a sound reminiscent of early Balance and Composure and mid-2000s Alexisonfire who come from St. Catherines Ontario Carvings are a forgotten gem that deserves an online resurgence immediately.

To start exploring, play these songs: “Tooth Puller,” “These Days,” and  “Sheep.”

The Weakerthans

Yes, yes, I know that it’s a bit ridiculous to call The Weakerthans —a band from Winnipeg, Manitoba—an overlooked band, but I can’t not understate how important they are to Canadian punk rock. It’s a real shame that they don’t have the name recognition of the big players in the Canadian rock scene.

Forming during John K. Samson’s departure from Propaganhdi, who are similarly from Winnipeg, in the late ’90s, The Weakerthans became the new standard for folk-punk. They were determined to not let this label define them as they transitioned their sound into something beyond the confines of a genre label in their album “Reconstruction Site.”

The Weakerthans and John K. Samson have a special place in my heart for their ability to sonically articulate nostalgia. Their lyrics and sound make me yearn for a time and place I’ve never even been.

Although they’re currently on hiatus and have been for over a decade, it’s never been a better time to begin learning their lyrics. You never know when a tour might break out.

To start exploring, play these songs: “Confessions Of A Futon-Revolutionist,” “Aside,” and “Reconstruction Site.”

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The true punk scene is the bands that have played with their heart and with real passion. While the scale of these bands may vary, their place in the hearts of punks and music fans alike will live on, hopefully reaching new people every day. This article doesn’t cover everyone, so it’s important to do your part in helping find underground punk rock bands at your local venue, keeping the scene alive, and keeping good music fast, loud, and heavy.