Information/Write-up
Pigment Vehicle were an experimental punk and rock band formed in Sidney, British Columbia, in the late 1980s by Colin MacRae (bass guitar, vocals), Jason Bonneau (drums, vocals), and Craig Vishek (guitar, vocals), emerging from the same Victoria-area underground that produced Nomeansno and a generation of rhythmically adventurous West Coast bands. Active from 1988 through 1998, Pigment Vehicle developed a reputation for angular guitar work, shifting time signatures, and an idiosyncratic blend of punk, hardcore, jazz, and progressive rock elements—a sound that anticipates what would later be described as math rock in Canada.
The band first surfaced with the cassette Hockey-Night in Saskatoon (1988), a privately released demo that captured their earliest recorded material. Though distributed in small quantities, the tape established Pigment Vehicle’s core aesthetic: abrupt structural changes, dense rhythmic interplay, and songs that resisted conventional verse-chorus forms. Original copies of the cassette are scarce, and the recording stands as an early documented example of rhythmically complex Canadian post-punk created prior to the digital era.
Pigment Vehicle followed with Let The Squids Fly Free (1991), released on Incentive Records, continuing their cassette-only output while expanding their compositional range. The material documented a band pushing further into complexity and abstraction, balancing aggressive punk energy with increasingly intricate arrangements. By the early 1990s, Pigment Vehicle were firmly established within the Victoria scene as a technically demanding and unconventional live act.
Their first widely circulated compact disc, Perfect Cop Mustache (1993), also released on Incentive Records, marked a significant step forward in sound and presentation. The album consolidated the band’s earlier experimentation into longer-form compositions and is often cited as one of their most fully realized early statements, even as the group remained outside mainstream visibility.
In 1996, the band issued Independent Women Are So Damned Good on Wrong Records. Written and produced by Pigment Vehicle and recorded by Gary Brainless, the album reflected a shift toward more groove-oriented material, tempering earlier extremes while retaining the group’s characteristic unpredictability. This release marked the final recording by the band’s founding lineup.
Pigment Vehicle’s final album, Murder’s Only Foreplay When You’re Hot For Revenge (1998), was released on Sudden Death Records and recorded in 1997 at Fat’s Chunky Mattress Room and Sea Cow Sound. Engineered by Pigment Vehicle and Brainless and mixed by Brain and Craig Vishek, the album brought together elements from across the band’s lifespan. The recording features Tolan McNeil replacing Craig Vishek on guitar, while retaining the MacRae / Bonneau rhythm section. Original CD pressings contain twelve tracks, despite some sources listing an additional title. The album also features guest contributions, including vocals by John London and sitar by Alan Wilson.
Throughout their career, Pigment Vehicle remained closely associated with the broader Victoria and Vancouver Island punk and post-punk network. Members were connected to projects including Nomeansno, The Show Business Giants, and later Budokan, underscoring Pigment Vehicle’s role as a formative link between earlier Canadian punk experimentation and subsequent rock projects. Despite limited distribution and minimal contemporary documentation, their recordings have persisted through word of mouth, archival preservation, and later reassessment.
Pigment Vehicle’s complete discography—spanning cassette demos to late-1990s compact discs—documents a decade of sustained experimentation that predates the wider recognition of rhythmically complex punk-derived rock styles in Canada.
-Robert Williston
Musicians
Colin MacRae: bass guitar, vocals
Jason Bonneau: drums, vocals
Tolan McNeil: guitar, vocals
Production
Recorded at Fat’s Chunky Mattress Room and Sea Cow Sound, Spring 1997
Engineered by Pigment Vehicle and Brainless
Mixed by Brain and Craig Vishek
Mastered by Mike Franklin at Media Magik
Artwork
Cover art by Craig Vishek
Handwritten lyrics by Andrew Love
Notes
John London: vocals on ‘Bubble Highness’
Alan Wilson: sitar
Thanks to Joe Keithley, Andrew Love, the Sean Henderson family, Lettuce, John London, Greco, Kev Smith, Rick Morrow, Aaron Wills, Darren Johansen, Satan, Logan Johnson, Universal Spins, Arcade Records, Chuck, Johnny, Stevie Wishnek, Dan Neil, Mickey Carist, Maker Monkey, Steve, The Smugglers, Brian, Thee Tart, Cozzi Moronish, DOD, Nomeansno, Tamara, Ingrid, and Ben.
Pigment Vehicle
954 Chelsea Avenue, RR #2
Saanichton, British Columbia
Canada V8L 3S1
© Pigment Vehicle 1998 (SOCAN)
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