1 of 3 2 of 3 Good God, what should have been, that driven home by newly restored video of Vancouver’s the Organ. For why that restoration process is important, let’s go back a decade or two. For a brief shining period at the turn of the millennium, the postpunk quintet was one of the most loved bands in Vancouver, its lone full-length Grab That Gun sounding as vital today as when it was released in 2004.
And then suddenly, it was over, the band breaking up not long after a European tour where inroads included catching the attention of tastemakers at the BBC. If there was any justice in the world (sorry: there isn’t) the Organ would today be revered as one of the all-time great postpunk bands, and not just on Canada’s West Coast. Songs like “Brother”, “Steven Smith”, and “I Am Not Surprised” still hold up as fantastically timeless.
They are the sound of Vancouver at its most grey-skies-November gloomiest: perfect for the days when getting out of bed seems an impossible task and the forecast is for 30 days and nights of “You’re going to need a bigger umbrella.” Yes, sometimes feeling sad can feel great, especially when the soundtrack is perfect. But because they were only here for a short time, the Organ has in many ways been one of those bands that you know if you’re lucky enough to know.
Kind of like the Velvet Underground from the ’60s to the early ’80s, Interpol during the first couple of Williamsburg years, or Daniel Johnston before Kurt Co.