New Occupation

Parking their parkas in the closet back in 2001, it seemed the Winnipeg pair had shut the lid for good on their minimalist mod rock, cramming the Jam and Joy Division together into smart little packets of bass and drums, with occasional horn and organ flourishes. A decade and a half later, they got the notion in their heads to have another go at it. The potential for paunchy dad-rock disappointment ran high, but lo and behold, New Occupation has all the bounciness and bite of their late-’90s albums. Time’s passage is only really evident in bassist Rod Slaughter’s lyrical preoccupations, of the older-but-wiser variety but nonetheless as incisive and relevant as ever.