Preoccupations' Reputation Preceded Them in Calgary
Preoccupations' Reputation Preceded Them in Calgary Exclaim! media. Published June 6, 2025. Photos captured by Em Medland-Marchen / wistful.jpg at Commonwealth in Calgary, AB.
It was a gloomy mid-week night in Calgary on June 4 — the stuff of ghouls and vampires, or maybe a post-punk show put on by the city's finest. It certainly suited the mood.
Post-punk royalty Preoccupations appeared in Calgary for a one-night-only show at Commonwealth, a brief stop revealing what the band does in the shadows in the midst of a North American tour to promote their latest record Ill at ease. But the story of Preoccupations doesn't begin on this dark and stormy night — instead, we have to go back in time. Way back, in fact, to 2008. That was the summer Women released their Chad VanGaalen-produced debut studio album through local label, Flemish Eye Records.
The success of Women and their importance to Calgary music can't be understated. It was a group that contained many of the heavyweight names that continue to make the rounds in Canada's independent music scene: Patrick Flegel, now performing as the enigmatic noise-rock darling Cindy Lee, on vocals and guitar; sibling Matt Flegel on bass and vocals; the multi-faceted and lightning-fingered Chris Reimer on guitar and vocals; and the always solid Mike Wallace on drums.
Women informally broke up in 2010 after a dramatic onstage fistfight that was captured in exquisite detail in an email from Aidan Knight to Exclaim! in 2010. He reported on the infamous Victoria performance, "Pat started throwing punches at his brother during their set-up and soundcheck. Full on 'break it up' brawl between the brothers. Chris announced onstage that it would be their 'last show as a band' and they were planning to play without Pat… a guitar gets smashed to pieces."
The group formally dissolved a few years later after Reimer's sudden, unexpected passing. His talent and penchant for musical experimentation — everything from ambient pedal soundscapes to acoustic melodies — is captured on 2018 posthumous record, lovingly put together by friends and family. Although he left the community too soon, Reimer's influence lingers on in the discordant musical notes and sound manipulation that has remained a staple feature of Calgary post-punk.
Following the band's 2012 dissolution, siblings Matt and Pat parted ways musically, with the latter going on to perform as Cindy Lee — who produced last year's internationally acclaimed ambient rock hit Diamond Jubilee — and the former joining Wallace in their next indie project, Viet Cong, with the addition of Scott "Monty" Munro (guitar/synth) and Daniel Christiansen (guitar). It was a chemical compound that imploded the blogosphere and music critics alike, with their self-titled debut album still often featured near the top of lists of the best of modern post-punk.
Despite his many musical transformations, however, controversy seems to follow Flegel around. In 2015, the band announced they would be changing their name after attracting criticism from the darkest depths of music forums, student groups and even international festivals who took issue with the group's former moniker. They had initially pleaded ignorance, but the lack of thought in selecting a culturally insensitive band name is emblematic of the dissociation Preoccupations have with their own brand; they couldn't care less, which leaves more time and space for the music.
A brief history of the Women-Viet Cong-Preoccupations trifecta is necessary to understand the space the band's live performance occupies today. Nothing draws a crowd of Calgary's most pretentious hipsters quite like Preoccupations, exalted in the city for their longstanding indie cred. The darkest and roundest of horn-rimmed glasses, scuffed Doc Martens and twinkling tooth gems were on display in the audience, with members of fellow Calgary bands in attendance — showcasing a changing of the guard for this genre, as well as a direct thread of musical influence between Preoccupations and the best offerings in Calgary post-punk.
Vancouver trio Still Depths opened up the night without too much pomp in a stripped-down set that quickly got the crowd bobbing. Eager fans jumped up and down sporadically near the stage as the band plucked and pounded out janky guitar riffs and off-kilter drums.
Eclectic and obtuse, Still Depths brought it all together with repeatable earworms and relatable grievances: wanting more money to spend at the mall, dealing with mould and rats in the walls, and commiserating on how weird it is to date someone who treats love like a Pokémon trainer.
After a tasteful 20-minute intermission, members of Preoccupations took the stage to raucous applause from the audience. It was a friendly, familiar crowd for the hometown heroes, although they chose not to address them much. Launching into tracks from their latest record alongside well-known older singles, Preoccupations were tight, well-rehearsed and professional. They didn't seem fazed by long weeks of Canadian touring, with vocalist Flegel matching the gloomy tones with a meandering low register and climactic shout-screams.
Songs faded in and out of one another, with the band saying little to the crowd or to each other in between. Their technical proficiency paired with the lack of raw enthusiasm made it come across more like rehearsal rather than performance, but it was a show that seemed to serve the band just as the packed house served them. Preoccupations treated their audience with the same level of disinterest that's naggingly persistent in many Calgary acts; the city has always been a stepping stone to bigger and brighter things.
The exhilarating creative magic of Preoccupations has firmly left the building. What's left over is some solidly performed and credible post-punk, but it lacks any hint of risk-taking. Maybe Preoccupations are out of risks — or maybe they've been followed around by the ghost of criticism's past for so long that they've lost their appetite for it.
Whatever the case, Ill at ease is palatable, but not experimental. It's replay-able, but not terribly memorable. Its themes are dark and stormy, but the message coming through is a bit murky, especially when the evident goth rock and new wave influences are being delivered through the vehicle of four dudes in jeans and T-shirts.
It's clear Preoccupations don't care about their brand and haven't put too much thought into it — and when their credibility alone can sell its own tickets, they don't have to. But for a town that loves a shtick, these local heroes leave their ever-ravenous audience unsatisfied.
(Born Losers Records)
Originally published June 6, 2025 by Exclaim! media