Rheostatics: Palomar
[purchase]
Rheostatics were a unique, creative Canadian band that never achieved much success below the 49th parallel. I friend of mine slipped me a copy of their Whale Music album years ago, and I was immediately sucked in by the eclectic arrangements, offbeat song structures, and often inscrutable lyrics. But I still don't know how to describe them, other than "very Canadian".
"Palomar" is one of the more musically straightforward songs from that first album I heard (which, as it turns out, was actually their third). It's about a man and his dog. Or mankind's relationship with Man's Best Friend. Or about how men are like dogs. Something like that. As I said, their lyrics were often inscrutable.