10 Best Canadian Rock Bands Of All Time

9. Cowboy Junkies

To be reductive, The Cowboy Junkies are like a Canadian Kings Of Leon, only a lot gentler, and far better. Comprising three Timmins siblings and the unrelated Alan Anton, they’ve produced some of the finest alternative country ever to be recorded. A lot of people are dismissive of the country genre on the whole - Cowboy Junkies could be the band to bring them round.

Their first collection, Whites Off Earth Now!!, was almost entirely covers, but their second release, The Trinity Session, elevated them to the big time. Again there were some great interpretations of classics, notably The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane”, but killer originals too, like "Postcard Blues".

The Junkies’ next couple of albums smoothed the sparse sound a little which certainly wasn’t to everyone’s taste, but they’ve continued to push the boundaries of what can be achieved in the genre. Their Renmin Park album, inspired by lead songwriter ​​Michael Timmins’s visit to China, is of particular interest.

It’s entirely likely they’ll never top The Trinity Session, but frankly there are only so many bands who can boast an album of that quality.

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Yorkshire-based writer of screenplays, essays, and fiction. Big fan of having a laugh. Read more of my stuff @ www.twotownsover.com (if you want!)