The Floor- Discography
A good friend of mine recently gave me some sage advice. To paraphrase, he mentioned that it’s a crime to dig too much into the distant past, for fear of ignoring more recent bands who are making incredible music. By doing this, it only dooms modern bands to the same fate as their forgotten predecessors.
I can’t agree more, and while I’m still on the hunt for forgotten 80s treasures (and have plenty more coming in the mail, mind you), there are quite a few bands from the turn of the century that have already fallen by the wayside in lieu of their more Pitchfork-centric peers. While the post-punk resurgence of the mid-2000s wasn’t the true second coming we all hoped it would be, there are still several bands who managed to make some incredible music, overshadowed by bands like Interpol, The Strokes, The Rapture, etc., who dominated the scene.
I received a lot of great feedback about Branches, another band that Jason recommended and shared a rip of here, and with his advice in mind, I plan to share a handful of more recent bands that we’re both fond of. First up is The Floor, a Canadian band who flirted with electronics, classic post-punk bass tones, and shoegaze textures, mixing those timelessly great techniques with big hooks, solid musicianship, and killer songs. I discovered their only full length back in 2006, shortly after it was released, and it’s a seasonal favorite. Over the years, I’ve clocked more plays on Personnel than I have any other album from that era, and know the whole record like the back of my hand. However, I hadn’t heard anything else from them, and as like many bands from that era (including many of my own), I presume they broke up soon after.
However, Jason was able to provide a rip of the two EPs that preceded Personnel, completing the official discography. The EPs are just as good, as one might suspect… In general, fans of bands like The Chameleons, A Flock of Seagulls, and For Against’s December should LOVE these guys, and I hope you enjoy these records as much as I do…
The Floor- Doll (2003)
1. Catastrophe
2. Seconds Later
3. Feature 74
4. Doll
5. Warning Signs
6. Mistake to Make
7. Daffodil
The Floor- Autonomy Off/On (2003)
1. Drown Inside
2. Isolene, I
3. Automation
4. Impossible
5. Noncom
6. Blank Reaction
7. Cloud of Blinding Light
The Floor- Personnel (2005)
1. Fallout Forever
2. Someone Else
3. In the New World
4. The Guilt of Silence
5. Personnel
6. Glass Heart
7. Freeze/Frame
8. What Do You Know?
9. Occur
10. Never After
11. Alone On Your Own
November 6, 2013 at 2:06 pm
hell yeah!
November 6, 2013 at 9:39 pm
very good band. “personnel” is a great favourite. Did’nt know about the ep’s, have to thank you deeply for them. This blog of tours helps make life even more enjoyable. Kudos
November 8, 2013 at 6:49 pm
thank you for these
November 9, 2013 at 7:03 pm
Great band & great blog ! Thanks
April 2, 2014 at 5:01 pm
I think the reason the 80s treasures always seem to win out on the bulk of collectors missions, is that you feel like that there might be something out there that will sound like nothing you have heard before and your mind will be transported and your mouth will not be able to shut up to other enthusiasts about what gem you uncovered. I don’t think it’s possible these days for one’s mind to be blown…What satiates these days are the bands that come so darn close to replicas of the bands that they clearly sound like. I am honest to admit that I am completely fall for it. At first I hated Branches…it was too blatantly obvious. Then I found myself unable to stop listening to it. Much like Tillmans, which reminds of early Arms of Someone New… I listened to the recent The Floor material and really liked it. Now I am hearing the first 2 eps…and how could I not like that too…For Against are a fantastic band, whom were clearly fans of another band before them that i love called The Chameleons… And who doesn’t love EVOL by Sonic Youth? It’s just in this day and age you can appreciate this music because it speaks to your re affirmation that your dorkery to this stuff for so many years is validated and other people were out there all those years you thought you were alone…or at least in small numbers… Hurray more fans of post punk…but I can’t say that is any novelty, especially now…how is it that with the resurgence from ’99 that people still find it interesting to find a post punk inspired band. Things like this make me happy because I don’t have to wait for these older and numerously out of print bands to reform and play, I can see a band that makes me channel them. But this is why I still cannot help but prefer to dig for the oldies too, because I still feel like these bands are not as exciting to find as those early 80s dollar bin ones. Just sayin…
April 8, 2014 at 3:22 pm
I dig this stuff. Thank you for sharing it and an extra HUGE thank you for keeping this great blog going!
December 31, 2014 at 2:36 am
Thanks for this! I bought Personnel on iTunes years ago after hearing The Floor on Indie Pop Rocks on SomaFM. It has been one of my absolute favorites, and subsequent web searches haven’t turned up very much until I found your blog.
January 20, 2017 at 3:48 am
Hi – I wrote songs, sang, played guitar some occasional synth in The Floor. Our synth player and other guitarist Graham Lessard deserves a lot of credit for the sound of those records, which was done in his basement. Your kind words mean a lot to us – yet we’ve all moved on to other things. Thanks very much. Matt Pahl
March 3, 2018 at 5:07 am
Hi Matt Pahl I love what you guys put out with that music. I was wondering if you know if I can get a copy of your album: Matt Pahl lost in a Silver Screen I can’t find it anywhere. My name is Matt as well and my email is mattonstott@gmail.com please let me know I would appreciate it.
November 23, 2018 at 4:44 am
Sorry for the late reply – I have a bunch in a box somewhere. That album was kinda weird but I’m happy to mail you one.
September 20, 2022 at 4:31 am
Hey Matt,
Love your stuff. I have some core memories associated with your songs.
While you have moved on, any chance that you can get your stuff on Spotify?
Cheers to great music
August 8, 2017 at 7:26 am
Thank you so much for sharing. I searched very long to find some info on these guys. My dad showed me their art a few years ago and i loved the music eversince. Such fantastic band. Its a shame that this chartsshit gets so much attentuon while these guys aren’t even on spotify or YouTube. I mean i don’t want to see them in the charts but a little more availability would have been nice. Each part is played perfectly.
June 29, 2019 at 11:46 pm
*comment redacted by blog author* – don’t sling accusations like this, please.
September 7, 2023 at 4:16 am
I don’t know what you’re insinuating there but I don’t really find it funny. Based on what evidence do you say such things? Are you making assumptions based on lyrics or something? Please clarify. Admittedly, some lyrics were pretty edgy but I can assure you (from firsthand knowledge) that the lyricist of this band only used historical examples of atrocity metaphorically, in resignation, or even simply sarcastically in order to draw comparisons to modern times / or in micro-sense to criticize the inability of so many to self-actualize. In a macro-sense – frustration by seeing history repeat itself time and time again.
February 14, 2024 at 8:30 pm
Apologies- I’ve went ahead and removed that comment. Much love to you and the rest of The Floor band members.
April 7, 2023 at 4:49 pm
This is actually a extraordinary post. Thanks for sharing it!