Sparkmarker
Treasure Chest (1990-1997)

By Stuart Green

Despite large followings south of the border and overseas, the post-punk-guitar-wallop of Vancouver’s Sparkmarker was, for the most part, lost on their own nation. Maybe it was their bold, adventurous and at times challenging Fugazi-meets-Jesus Lizard sound or the fact that they were just ahead of their time. I'm willing to bet that if they released their brilliant 500 Watt Burner at Seven disc now, things would be different. This disc serves as a history lesson and testament to one of the best bands this country has ever produced. Running the gambit from their earliest demos to the later days, Treasure Chest includes hard to find stuff as well as tracks members of the band have recorded since the band's demise. As a result, the sound quality is uneven, but not annoyingly so. About the only real shortcoming of the disc is the failure to identify the origin of each track. The liner notes feature words, photos and flyers from birth to death, but doesn’t tell us what era the songs are from or where they originally appeared. It doesn't take away from what really matters — the music. This package is an obvious must for completists, but will also be appreciated by fans of intelligent punk. (Revelation)

Air - Premiers Symptomes
Alun Piggins - Balladesque
Ani Difranco - To The Teeth
Bauhaus - Gotham
Beck - Midnite Vultures
Beekeepers - ...the world won’t let me sleep.
Beerzone - They Came They Saw They Conquered
Big Boy Pete - “Me”/”Nasty Nazi”
Blanks 77 - C.B.H.
Blue Hawaiians - Savage Night
Blue Mountain - Tales of a Traveler
Boa Bubicta - Has Just Started
Bobby Teens - Fast Livin & Rock N Roll
Boot - Virvla
Brendan Perry - Eye of the Hunter
Built In Shellbrook - This Apparatus Must be Earthed
Causey Way - With Loving And Open Arms
Charlatans - Us and Us Only
Charles Douglas - The Lives of Charles Douglas
Chino - Mala Leche
Cinderpop - Violet Gamma Rays
Crosby Stills Nash & Young - Looking Forward
Cuba - Leap Of Faith
Davie Allan and The Arrows - The Arrow Dynamic Sounds Of…
Deadbolt - Voodoo Trucker
Decoy - Laser Thinking
Deep Reduction - Deep Reduction
Destroyer - “The Temple”/“Loves of a Gnostic”
Dig Deeper - Basement Factory of Desire
Dinks - Dawn of...
Donovan’s Brain - Eclipse and Debris
Earthquake Pills - General Happiness
Eiffel Tower - Eiffel Tower
Essex Green - Everything Is Green
Estrella 20/20 - Afro Mexicana
Feaze - Morning Wood
Flight 180 - Lineup
F-Minus - F-Minus
Foo Fighters - There is Nothing Left To Lose
Ganger - Canopy
Gay Dad - Leisure Notes
Girls Under Glass - Nightmares
The Go - Whatcha Doin’
Groundswell - Corrode
Hollowphonic - Phonic 50mg
Huon - Songs for Lord Tortoise
Hydromatics - Parts Unknown
I.C.U. - Mad Truth
Incubus - Make Yourself
Japancakes - If I Could See Dallas
Jeff Mueller - Fold and Perish
Jerk With a Bomb - Death to False Metal (Seven Segment)
JP5 - Hot Box
Jughead's Revenge - Pearly Gates
Justin Clayton - Limb
Kevorkian Death Cycle - A+O[m]
Kiss The Clown - Pretty Paranoia
Korn - Issues
Kurt Swinghammer - Vostok 6
Lauren Hoffman - From the Blue House
Lawrence Ferlinghetti - A Coney Island of the Mind
Le Tigre - Le Tigre
Lies - Underdogs and Infidels
Llama Farmers - Dead Letter Chorus
Lord High Fixers - Is Your Club A Secret Weapon?…
Love Me - Jubilee Park
Lovedaddys - Mr. Popularity and Other Short Works
Marilyn Manson - The Last Tour on Earth
Mavericks - Super Colossal Smash Hits of the 90’s
MC5 - ‘66 Breakout
Meg Lee Chin - Piece and Love
Microphones - Don’t Wake Me Up
Mike Bullard - Stick 2 Comedy
Muffs - Hamburger
Muse - Showbiz
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Dirty Little Secrets: Music to Strip By
New Sweet Breath - Acceleration and Distortion
NOFX - The Decline
Ocean Colour Scene - One From the Modern
Passion d’Flower - Return of the Ugly Warrior
Paul Brady - Nobody Knows
Paul McCartney - Run Devil Run
Perry Farrell - Rev
Planes Mistaken For Stars - Knife in the Marathon
Radar Bros. - The Singing Hatchet
Real Kids - Down to You
Red Giant - Ultra-Magnetic Glowing Sound
Reset - No Limits
Resonars - Bright and Dark
Roads To Space Travel - Ballad/Jazz/Waltz
Robert Pollard With Doug Gillard - Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department
Ronnie Spector - She Talks to Rainbows
Saracen - “Mass Transit”/“Concentration”
Saves The Day - Through Being Cool
Scruffs - …Take A Bath
Shadowplay - Shadowplay
Shannon Curfman - Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions
Sin Tones - Sin Tones
Smak! - Pull
Sonic Youth - Goodbye 20th Century
Squeeze - Domino
Starpoint Electric - Bad Directions
Superchunk - Come Pick Me Up
Supersuckers - The Evil Powers of Rock 'n' Roll
Swearing At Motorists - More Songs From the Mellow Struggle
Sweet Trip - Alura
Teddy Morgan and the Pistolas - Lost Love and Highways
They Come In Threes - “Where Rev Lived”/“Too Far Too the East”
UI - The Iron Apple
UK Subs - Left For Dead
Undecided - Undecided
Various Artists - Cinema Beer Belly
Various Artists - Splendour
Various Artists - I’m In Love… With That Song
Various Artists - Harmony of the Spheres
Various Artists - City Rockers: A Tribute to The Clash
Various Artists - Where Is My Mind? A Tribute to The Pixies
Various Artists - Thin Edge of The Wedge
Various Artists - A Winter’s Song Vol. 2
Various Artists - World Wrestling Federation: The Music Volume 4
Various Artists - Goth: Music of The Shadows Volume 1
Various Artists - Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows
Veal - Tilt O’Whirl
Velma - Cyclique
Visitors - Sniffing Glue
Yume Bitsu - Yume Bitsu
Zoobombs - Let It Bomb
"I've got a fever and the only cure is dead angels."
-Bayonetta

Ever since the Christmastime gaming deluge ended, I've been killing a lot of angels. Though God's messengers have been bad guys in other pop-cultural products ― His Dark Materials book trilogy, the pas... Full Review
Although he's a Montreal native, this debut album sparkles with many of the magical elements associated with Vollebekk's Scandinavian heritage. At times recalling Nick Drake's Bryter Layter in its fragility and subtle deployment of strings, but also the playfulness of fellow Montrealer Patric... Full Review
Don't count on Norway's premier disco revivalist Hans-Peter Lindstrøm to ever turn in the same record twice. "All the artists and bands that I really like do surprising stuff every time, and I guess I just copy their way," he says from his Oslo home studio. "But it's also about not getting bored myself."... Read More
Social Networking
• Be our friend on MySpace
• Be our fan on Facebook
Tweet us on twitter
Viewing the December 1999 Issue: Contents PageNewsClick Hear • Articles --> N/A • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Destination Out  •  Frequencies  •  Groove  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed • Music School --> N/A Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue Browse Issues