THRUSH HERMIT
Smart Bomb EP
By Shaun Hatton - November 15th, 2008
In the early 90s, Canada’s East Coast was ground zero for an indie rock explosion of monster proportions. Many of the notable bands that came out of that time and place were on Murderecords, a label run by Haligonian rock gods Sloan. Bands of that era have moved on, either in creative direction or physical location. Some even moved to Toronto.
Joel Plaskett, who now fronts Joel Plaskett Emergency and writes roughly as many love songs for Halifax as he does for girls, was (along with bassist Ian McGettigan, guitarist/vocalist Rob Benvie, and drummer Cliff Gibb) a creative force in a great band that went by the name of Thrush Hermit.
Shown above is a detail of the album art for the band’s Smart Bomb EP, released on Murderecords in 1994. I have two copies of this album, one of which has been on my desk for about six months. I was cleaning up around the office, noticed it, and decided to give it a listen. It’s a great listen on a dreary rainy day such as today. And it’s got some pretty cool retro video game-inspired art, which in 1994 was something that hadn’t yet been overdone.
The disc’s lead track “Hated It” even made its way into the soundtrack for the film Mallrats, proving that such a relatively small community could have a far reach.
I didn’t get into Thrush Hermit until the late 90s when I heard their song “From the Back of the Film,” which is on their album Clayton Park and is also arguably their most recognizable tune. Regrettably, I never had the chance to see the band perform live although I would later get to see most of their original line-up in concert as Plaskett’s backing band.
