Strippers Union’s 3—The Undertaking was released early in 2021, right as I was diving into all of The Hip’s albums, so I put them on the back burner. Yeah, not so fast. It was then pointed out that I needed to act quickly if I wanted a copy. This product will not be mass-produced. No CDs will be produced, and there will be a limited run of 1000 copies on vinyl. Yikes!
I got there with very little time to spare:
I was surprised to see a low print run, considering the band is fronted by Craig Northey of Odds and Rob Baker of The Tragically Hip. As far as I’m concerned, they are royalty on the Canadian Music scene.
According to Baker in his article on Killbeatmusic.com, he loves the music he makes with Strippers Union but also takes a financial hit on every release. This will be the case again, judging by how little The Undertaking was streamed over the past year. Only one song from it, the album’s opener, We Are The Underworld, surpassed 10,000 listens on Spotify. And the video they released for it on YouTube has under 3,000 views:
Well, this album clearly needs the ol’ Canadian Grooves bump, as there is no way this should be flying under your radar. Not only is it my studio album for 2021, but dare I say it, I’d put it right up there with Tom Petty’s Wildflowers. Yes, it is that good.
I’m not normally a fan of double albums, and this is a long one: 18 tunes add up to 1hr 9mins if Spotify’s math is correct. And, if you think about it, this album sounds like a terrible idea. It’s an extravagance from The Tragically Hip’s guitarist, stretching his labour of love over two discs. To loosely quote Chandler: Could there be any more red flags?
The Undertaking is an exception. None of its songs are padded, as they are all under 5 minutes. There are no mediocre ideas, aimless noodling, or pretentious self-indulgence. The only song I might drop is Identity Theft, which feels unfinished. The rest are aces.
This also cemented Craig Northey in my heart as one of my favourite lyricists of all time. He has always been fantastic at writing tangible and satirical lyrics, but he made my skin vibrate more than usual here. For the sake of brevity, I’ll just give you my top two from The Undertaking:
When I Come Back As A Dog, is about a person reincarnating as… a dog. It sounds silly, but the song’s perspective is from someone anticipating a return to living as a loyal friend without any reserve. It is downright beautiful.
Damn Hallelujah, a brilliant piece of social commentary on consumerism, instant gratification, and waste.
Hail Hail, full retail healing
Hail Hail, I just bought a good feeling
It works for a while, this magic potion
And the sweet junk is all just floating in the ocean
Those words could not ring any more true than during a pandemic with people panic buying and ordering crap they don’t need online.
There is some Latin writing on the cover of The Undertaking, which translates to “It started as a joke”. It stems from how Baker and Northey initially didn’t take Strippers Union seriously. From what I have heard on this album, they ended up with brilliance. Not many double albums can hold my interest as this one does with textured and varied tunes. It can be funky (No Fear), have some country flair (No Rain Tonight), it can be bluesy (Permanent Damage), rock (The Invitation), or gorgeous (The Enforcer). All held together by the talents of two amazing artists.
4.5/5
The odds are you need more Odds/Craig Northey/Strippers Union in you:
[Album Review] Odds | Neopolitan
[Album Review] Odds | Bedbugs
[Album Review] Odds | Good Weird Feeling
[Album Review] Odds | Nest
[Album Review] Craig Northey | Giddy Up
[Album Review] Northey Valenzuela
[Album Review] Strippers Union | Stripper’s Union Local 518
[Album Review] The New Odds | Cheerleader
[Album Review] Strippers Union | The Deuce
[EP Review] Odds | The Most Beautiful Place On Earth
[EP Review] Odds | Game Face On
[EP Review] Odds | Party Party Party
[Album Review] Strippers Union | 3- The Undertaking
[Album Review] Odds | Crash The Time Machine
Canadian Grooves 
Nice score and comparing it on the same level as a Petty album. High praise indeed. Good to see Baker not worried about whether or not it makes money is good to hear as why not do what you want if you have the resources.
Great writeup…
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Thanks, Deke. I think he would prefer that it would make a little money though, lol
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True. It all boils down to the buck.
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Very nice collectible. I’m not a big enough fan to start digging into side projects.
Yet.
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You never know unless you give it a spin! I’d say I like it more than a majority of The Hip or Odd’s albums.
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What I really need is a trip to Taranna and a chance to browse some records/CDs. My last trip was 2018.
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I’d be really surprised if you found any Strippers Union but you never know. We did get down to TO once last year during the summer when the case counts were low and had two doses of the vaccine. The stock seemed to be very low. I don’t think a lot of people are trading in stuff during the pandemic. I had much better luck at Kops in Oshawa.
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I have no idea when I’ll go back. Summer is still far away but to me it seems like another repeat summer for me.
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The booster is supposed to be effective after two weeks so that is when I’ll probably start heading out again. My crystal ball only sees so far into the future though, lol
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I’ve been boosted a long time but I’m avoiding everywhere. Two recent close calls have me hunkering down. It’s the disruption more than anything that I’m worried about.
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Yeah, fair enough. We all have different reasons and need to make different calls. Believe me, I don’t want to get sick but I think we’re all going to get it at some point. I don’t think I’ll be any safer once the third shot kicks in. So, I might as well live a little. Mask up and hope for the best.
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I’m going to return to the movie theater in a few weeks if all remains well. But a trip to Toronto is not in the cards for me yet. I haven’t been inside a record store since before the pandemic. Baby steps.
I know they say we’re all going to get it, but I’m doing my best anyway. My Facebook memories for January is entirely “Wow I’m so sick, sing Soft Kitty for me!” So the last years of being healthy are a nice change from that!
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Oh, I’m not going to TO either, lol. I’m talking my local mission thrift. Maybe Oshawa if all looks good in a month or two. I’m supposed to see Alice Cooper in March. I doubt it will happen.
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Coney in April here.
Yeah I’ve shopped at the local TRU store. I just order online from Encore and then Jen picks up downtown.
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I didn’t know Coney had announced any live shows yet.
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Yes Waterloo in February at Maxwells… postponed to April. I’ve made plans to meet Sean.
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This is really cool. And glad you were able to get one as 1,000 is a very limited release.
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I wish more would be pressed but it seems very unlikely with the album still not making any waves after a year.
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Now that you did a post, it should start making Tsunamis!!!
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Oh, well… yeah! lol
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Canadian Rock Royalty indeed – I appreciated Craig Northey’s contributions to Steven Page’s Ryan Reynolds tribute!
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Ohhhh? I’ve seen the video but I didn’t know he was involved.
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This cannot stand! I’m contributing to the Spotify play count now. Liking it so far. 🙂
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Awesome! Thanks for giving them a try, Jade!
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