Trouble At the Henhouse

By the mid-‘90s, The Tragically Hip had proven themselves to be Canada’s most rousing rock band, but on their fifth album, they dialed back the intensity and downshifted into mellower, moodier realms. Building upon the template set by Day for Night slow-burners like “Nautical Disaster,” the opening “Gift Shop” stokes an ominous organ hum into a gritty but patient groove, while the gorgeous, moonlit ballad “Flamenco” drifts like a tumbleweed rolling down an empty desert highway at night. And in the eternal “Ahead By a Century,” The Hip deliver an acoustic anthem every bit as exhilarating as their arena-rattling rockers.