The four band members from King Park talk about their three favourite albums and why!
Timon Moolman – Lead Vocals and Rhythm Guitar
Left and Leaving – Weakerthans
John K. Samson is a Canadian treasure. I absolutely love his lyrics- his story telling is something that I strive for (and fail to achieve) in my writing. I go back to this album whenever I can, and it is one of the best albums ever written for road trips. John K. has made me weep openly live with his intimate performance of My Favourite Chords at a small house show – solidifying this album as one of my all-time favourites.
Keep You – Pianos Become the Teeth
This album is just so cool. Huge, interesting chords, a bassist who knows exactly when to hit hard, combined with a drummer who treats his instrument with versatility and intricacy, rather than a simple time keeping device. Then, on top of those layers, Kyle Durfey’s devastating lyrics delivered in a sometimes soft spoken, sometimes relentless scream. I just finished browsing the album for a lyrical example but copy and pasting the whole album seemed a bit indulgent of me – so just go listen to it, okay?
Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest – As Cities Burn
I had never heard anything like it. I was in Grade 5, living in Ottawa when my friend Greame told me to listen to this song that his brother had shown him. In the back of my Mom’s red Dodge Grand Caravan, Greame handed me one headphone and played Bloodsucker Part II and my life changed forever. This album has influenced me more than other work of music, completely consuming me and shaping the direction of my music interests dramatically. To this day, it still hits me just as hard every time.
Tyler Heemskerk – Bass and Vocals
Harvest – Neil Young
This was the first record that woke me up to the emotional impact that music can have. It also showed me that you don’t have to be a great singer to make great songs. I was learning to play guitar when I was shown this record and Neil’s style of playing – artfully catching individual notes of importance while truly thrashing his guitar with pick and palm – had the single biggest influence on my playing and writing.
I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning – Bright Eyes
It’s becoming clear that I really like emotional dudes with acoustic guitars. Conor and his music are an emblem of who I was as a teenager. He showed me how important it is to make yourself vulnerable. He also showed me that you can be an emo punk and still create music with arrangements and melodies that feel real and realized.
22, A Million – Bon Iver
This whole list could have just been the first three Bon Iver records, but I think it’s important to pare your favourite artist down to just one work that speaks loudest. This record symbolized an evolution of creativity and the realization that the sad boy with the steel strings can go on to create something totally new and different and astounding. The emotional impact and vulnerability are still there, but it’s something else to place those familiar feelings within the world of arrangement and soundscape that Vernon creates on this record. It’s the most important record in my life.
Brenden Campbell – Guitar and Vocals
The Bends – Radiohead
The Bends was my introduction to Radiohead. I remember immediately being pulled in by the guitar tones which feed so much of the energy of that record. This album influenced my tones and my favourite guitars and how I heard guitar in general. I wish I could put In Rainbows in as well, but I had to go with the Bends because it marks the beginning of my Radiohead obsession. A lot of this obsession is driven by exploring how Jonny Greenwood uses his guitar throughout all the records (Even though I feel more like an Ed O’Brien).
Everything to Nothing – Manchester Orchestra
This is still my all-time favourite indie rock album. This album has some of the biggest moments. Songs like Pride- a slow build to an absolute monster crescendo, or the River which absolutely spanks you out of nowhere, this album has the ability to explore all sorts of dynamics within the same verse or bridge. Incredible song writing where the band is able to perfectly express the words that Andy Hull writes. There is not a bad track on this record.
Crash – Dave Matthews Band
This was my first experience of a jam band. I probably listened to more of their live albums than their studio albums. Their use of violin and horns with the technical guitar parts perfectly situated in the middle. This album pushed me change how I understood guitar phrasing and structure. On top of this, it was the first time I could see how much a band can feed off each other. I chose Crash because it feeds the most directly into the bones of my youth – as soon as So Much to Say begins I am flooded with nostalgia.
Nate Wall – Drums
Second Sight, Hey Rosetta!
How often does a band finish at their peak like this? No two songs sound alike (compare “Kid Gloves,” “Cathedral Bells” and “What Arrows”). But they all belong together. All my favourite albums share that in common, I think. And Tim Baker’s songwriting? Please. Also, I don’t get how drummer Phil Maloney gets away with never choosing between the inventive and the tasteful.
In Utero, Nirvana
I grew up in tiny Canadian prairie town and my parents played, like, only the shiniest of 90s pop-country. When I turned twelve, I spent the better part of a summer with my older cousin in the city. His whole music collection was like nothing I’d heard. But /In Utero/ cast a spell on me. The raw, ringy, completely over-slammed drums on “Scentless Apprentice,” “Heart-Shaped Box” and “Pennyroyal Tea” became my dictionary definition of drumming.
Outskirts of Town, Sawyer Brown
My parents owned every Sawyer Brown album. Every childhood road trip had as its soundtrack their slick, sentimental, and utterly Nashville brand of pop-country. Every now and again I’ve pretended to too cool for radio-ready pop music. But it’s only ever an act. And that’s probably because of this band alone.