Best of 2021

There were seven records in 2021 that I liked enough to keep listening to them. I found 13 others mildly interesting but not enough to mention.

1. Richard Dawson & Circle - Henki: An obscure British folk singer working with a Finnish experimental band made my favorite record of the year. You know, real populist stuff. It’s Canterbury-style prog in a modernist Caravan or Hatfield & the North kind of way. This record lacks some of the silliness of those groups, but there is some lightness among it’s cerebral, charcoal austerity. If Harry Clarke had animated a movie set in Advanced Fighting Fantasy’s world of Titan, it could be this record.

2. Circuit des Yeux - -io: I just got turned on to this artist (Haley Fohr) this year. It’s not surprising as her early work came out under the bushel baskets that are Thrill Jockey and Drag City. Now that she’s on Matador her deep voice and dramatic and baroque art tunes have a chance to be heard. Hopefully people will listen. The track, “Vanishing,” was one of the best songs I heard all year, propulsive and powerful. From what I’ve seen online, she and her band can bring it live as well.

3. Lindsay Buckingham - Lindsay Buckingham: There’s nothing complicated about this. Buckingham just writes better melodies than other people. His guitar playing is unique and stellar as always. Mostly written, and entirely performed and recorded by Buckingham at home, this album has a direct, stripped-down Dirty Mind feel to it, albeit with more reverb. The rhythm/drum parts are pretty simplistic, but they’re enough to get the songs across. Albums with ten great songs averaging 3-and-a-half minutes each shouldn’t be an anomaly, but they are. This is what pop music should be.

4. Gazelle Twin & NYX - Deep England: British electronic musician, Elizabeth Bernholz, is an electronic musician in the Fever Ray mode. This album appears to be a collaborative reworking (with NYX) of her 2018 album, Pastoral, along with a few newer tracks. This was my entry into her work so suppose it’s natural that I prefer these versions. There’s a kind of mystical Current 93/Coil energy at work here. Could work well as a soundtrack for the original Wicker Man.

5. Nation of Language - A Way Forward: Not bad for an OMD knock-off. I liked their debut from last year, but this one even got a physical release. I don’t know if this sophomore effort reaches the highs of the debut, but it feels more consistent to me in terms of quality. Like it’s predecessor the last song - “They’re Beckoning,” in this case - is one of the best. The rest of the record, if not as epic, still includes a lot of good hooks sung by Ian Richard Devaney's earnest, compelling voice.

6. Steve Gunn - Fulton: I don’t like this record as much as his previous one, but Fulton is a very pretty, autumnal folk rock record in the vein of John Martyn, Beachwood Sparks, or Richard Hawley. There isn’t a great deal of weight to the material on this, but it’s an extremely pleasant listen. A good way to describe this would be music to daydream by. It’s lack of directness is the point. It has a kind of soft-focus psychedelia about it.

7. Chrome - Scaropy: There is something truly heartening about Helios Creed still at it, turning up the fuzz box and feedback, making records that sound like they were recorded via satellite from the dark side of Mars. Scaropy sounds like it could have come out in 1984, 1994, or anytime in the past 25 years. Chrome music is eternal. “Terminate” and “The Opposition” are my favorite jams off this.

Best of 2020

This list is a year late. I actually wrote it last year, but never got around to posting it. Oh well, you didn't miss much.

2020 was a terrible year, but one silver lining was that there were some fairly decent records released, including some actual rock & roll. Not that anyone actually listened to most of these records. Because people are stupid in the face. Have you seen what happened the past four years? It didn’t help that promotion for anything that did come out was limited due to COVID and the lack of live music. I don’t think 2020 will signal a return of rock music. It’s mostly just a pleasant blip, a whiff of nostalgic memory like madeleines and tea. Hey, these days, I’ll take it. Here is the music I liked best in 2020, in rough order.

1. Lemon Twigs - Songs for the General Public: When this album came out I knew I probably wouldn’t hear anything as good for the rest of the year. I didn’t. These brothers have always been clever, talented students of rock & roll. And while they’ve had their occasional moments, they’ve never really transcended their influences. At least, until now. This is a minor masterpiece of teenage trash. It’s better than any Red Kross record and I’ll fight you over that. Big brother, Brian, sings the more polished pop symphonies; younger brother, Michael, does the sleazy, snotty numbers. I’m not sure who writes what, but I like Michael’s songs better. The opener, “Hell on Wheels,” is grand, expansive sarcasm. “Fight” has the best lyrics of any song on this list and that’s counting Dylan. It’s a song about a middle-aged person mourning the death of their vanity, trying to find a way to love and respect themselves because their partner no longer does. I think people are treating this group and this album as an arty tribute-rock send-up, but what are you going to do? People are morons.

2. Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman: Apparently this three-piece is some kind of indie folk supergroup. I don’t really follow their other work, but this is really nice. It has a Veedon Fleece feel to it*, albeit with multiple singers providing mellow, caramel harmonies. This is a homey, comfortable music. The kind you put on at twilight in the winter on a Sunday evening looking at old pictures by the fireplace. People generally don’t do that kind of thing anymore. Instead they watch reaction videos of genre movie trailers on YouTube and forget how beautiful a pink sunset can be. This album reminds you to go for a walk before the sunlight fades and breathe some actual fresh air. (*No, it’s not really that good, but just a point of comparison.)

3. Nation of Language - Introduction, Presence: This a great synthpop record in the vein of OMD. Like, very OMD. It’s self-released because record labels can’t recognize good music when they hear it. The singer, Ian Richard Devaney, also sings in a Fab Moretti (Strokes drummer) side-project named, Machinegum, who put out a decent record last year. “Rush & Fever,” “On Division St.,” and “The Wall & I” have that frosty, reverb-drenched vocals and arpeggiated keyboard riffs from 1981 that are the aural equivalent of high school yearbook photos blowing away in rain-slick streets. Very romantic stuff, and I guess I’m a sap for it.

4. Austra - HiRUDiN: This is Austra’s fourth album in the past decade. Like the others, it features quirky art-synthpop with singer Katie Stelmanis’ siren croon over the top. HiRUDiN is more consistent than 2017’s Future Politics, though that album’s “Utopia” remains my favorite song of theirs. Whereas the prior album had a cold, emotionlessness to it, this new one has a real sadness about it despite the chirpy melodies and propulsive low-end. Stelmanis sounds like a songbird ensnared and resigned to death. I wouldn’t be surprised if this were their last.

5. Wire - (two albums) Mind Hive; 10:20: Wire put out two new records this year. Mind Hive was the planned album, a tight collection of top notch new songs. I think it’s their strongest record since Object 47 from 2008. The fact that I’m still talking about Wire in 2020 as a relevant band is remarkable. 10:20 was originally planned as a special Record Store Day release featuring three great new songs and re-recorded versions of older songs from Document & Eyewitness, Ideal Copy, Bell is a Cup, and Manscape. These new versions are as good or better than the originals.

6. Burzum - Thulian Mysteries: Reportedly, this is Varg Vikernes' last album under the Burzum. It's a double-album intended as a soundtrack to his role-playing game. This is some of the best work he's ever done in any genre. It is dark, organic, ambient music with a strong, ritualistic feel to it. Really beautiful.

7. Jessie Ware - What’s Your Pleasure?: This is expertly produced pop music. Ware is too smart and sophisticated for the greater public, however, who would prefer to listen to something like Charli XCX instead. Admittedly, Ware’s music doesn’t produce strong emotional reactions in me, but I admire the hell out of it and it has immediate surface pleasures. If they put her on SNL, she might be a star.

8. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways: Really good. “I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You” is a superb love song. “Black Rider” is dark humor like L. Cohen. The long songs are good and stretch out suitably. As good as Time Out of Mind, better than Modern Times or Love and Theft. The bluesy stuff (“False Prophets,” “Goodbye Jimmy Reed,” and “Crossing the Rubicon”) interests me the least, but I’d say the same about his 60s stuff. The band is good on those ones though. If you took those three tracks off, the album would be a seven-song, 53 minute record and I’d listen to it more. The extra track, “Murder Most Foul,” is stuffed with pop culture references, but it doesn’t sound silly. Instead, he turns these famous people into just another one of his characters. I don’t know if anyone else could do it.

9. Pere Ubu - By Order of Mayor Pawlicki: This 2017 live album from Poland features excellent, cracking performances of their pre-87 reunion classics. Just released this past year, it wipes the floor with everyone else. The only reason this isn’t higher on the list is because it is, after all, a live album of old material. Somebody really annoyed the band that day because they dig in with a vengeance and absolutely destroy everyone in their path without mercy. It begins with “Heart of Darkness” and ends with “Final Solution,” which pretty much tells the story.

10. Pretenders - Hate for Sale: 31 minutes. Harmonica first track, false start. Second track, “The Buzz,” is excellent (the only track that’s longer than 3:30 at 3:50). Third track is a dubby reggae. Fourth track rocker. Is the Strokes record this good? Last song is the only slight stinker.

11. Strokes - The New Abnormal: S’pretty good. Fab Morretti is the only drummer who sounds more artificial than a drum machine. Only 9 songs, 45 minutes. Very pretty. Julian Casablancas has a better control of his voice, particularly his falsetto. Bad Decisions sounds like “Dancing With Myself.”

Honorable Mentions: X - Alphabetland; Dua Saleh - ROSETTA; Archers of Loaf - “Raleigh Days” - Song of the year.

Top 5 of 2019... and Others

A decade filled with mediocrity went out with a whimper in 2019. There were a few decent records, but I felt most of the music made this year didn’t merit my attention. I tried. I did. I listened to people’s recommendations and found music that wasn’t bad, but didn’t particularly move me. What does that say about me that I don’t emotionally respond to music that my respected peers do? I think these top five are worth buying. The rest have their moments, but I could live without them. On the other hand, maybe these also-rans are a better list for people to check out considering I feel so out of sync.

The Best: A tidy top-five.

1. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains: Because David Berman committed suicide a few weeks after releasing this record, this album will forever be associated with death. Ironically, no other record filled me with as much joy and life this year. I never liked David Berman’s music before as the Silver Jews. What a great way to go out though. This album is endlessly funny, melodically and lyrically sharp, and rhythmically swings like a drunken, twangy wrecking ball. These songs are open and honest about pain and misery in a way that allows for a wink and a wry smile.

2. Ibibio Sound Machine - Doko Mien: Categorize this however you like. They’re British, but the music is totally modern, afro-funk. I liked their first album, but their second didn’t ring the same bell. This corrects that. I don’t care what your favorite album was this year. This thing steamrolls over it. This record finds out where your favorite album of 2019 sleeps, breaks in, pours gasoline over it, and then sets it on fire. Then eats it. You better start listening to Doko Mien, or it’s coming for you next.

3. Alice Smith - Mystery: It’s a tragedy that she’s not more well-known. Prince may have collaborated with/mentored Janelle Monae and Lizzo, but he covered from Alice Smith (hers is better). She makes exquisite pop-soul and is one of the best melody writers out there. I wish there hadn’t been a six-year wait between this and her last album, She. I wish this was more than just an EP. I wish it had a physical release. But that’s just the state of the cruddy world we live in. Good records sometimes don’t get physical releases because people prefer putting excrement in their ears. They’re fools and don’t deserve happiness.

4. Steve Gunn - The Unseen In Between: Steve Gunn hails from Kurt Vile's band, The Violators. I was never much of a Vile fan. His records are fine, but they never really grabbed me. Gunn's new record, on the other hand, does. A lot of this album has a John Martyn feel to it, kind of a cosmic, twangy jazz-folk. Maybe even a little Terry Callier or Lilac Time in there. It’s confident and loose and doesn’t break a sweat as it effortlessly grooves on. (UPDATE 5/2/20 - I embarrassingly confused Steve Gunn for someone else when I initially posted this. I have edited this review accordingly.)

5. Lingua Ignota - CALIGULA: This woman sounds like she would flay the skin off of me and bury me alive in a barrel of maggots. Which, I’ve got to say, is pretty respectable. This record is not an easy listen, and her project’s name (Latin for “unknown language”) is terribly hard to remember. And yet, here is a record I kept going back to listen to again and again. It’s brutal and compelling. Track two, the nine-and-a-half minute, “DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR,” seems to be a dialogue with Satan that has movements like a classical piece. Heavy Diamanda vibes here. She does well to move beyond industrial and metal rock-isms and produces something close to a hate mass. Very good.

The Rest: Not in any order.

Nilufer Yanya - Miss Universe: The skits are silly and needless - they sound like Saint Etienne airport announcer fluff. The rest of the record is pretty kick-butt though. She’s got a good, deep voice, good riffs, and good guitar tone. The melodies are great and delivered with a balanced mix of grit and detached cool. Most of it is a little too mellow for me. The first real song, “In Your Head,” is far-away the best track, nothing else has it’s push and drive. However, there’s a large musical range in the songs which shows a lot of promise for future records. One to watch.

Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising: This is a well-made record. She has a great voice that reminds me of some 70s AM, soft-pop singer I can’t quite put my finger on (Karen Carpenter, maybe?). “Everyday” is absolutely perfect pop songcraft, very memorable. The rest… it’s pretty good, right? It feels very nostalgic in a hazy Laurel Canyon way.

Tegan & Sara - Hey, I’m Just Like You: This is probably the most traditional rock/pop record on this list. As a re-write/re-recording of songs they wrote as teenagers, it’s a little more guitar-riffy than their last couple of records, but it’s still very catchy. These two are pure pros and have more good songs under their belts in the last 20 years than most bands that get twice the credit. They are easily as good as The Strokes or Arcade Fire even though the hipster cognoscenti would never admit it.

Nick Cave - Ghosteen: Nick Cave’s teenage son fell off a cliff and died. This album is haunted with the loss. I can’t imagine artistically confronting something like that in public. Nick Cave is probably just stronger than me though. Musically and arrangement-wise this record fits with John Cale’s Music for a New Society, Laurie Anderson’s Big Science, and various Bowie records. However, I prefer all of those records to this one.  It’s beautiful, but it sounds like it belongs in a museum or a library rather than on my stereo.

Angel Olson - All Mirrors: Too often it feels like work to listen to this album. It’s slow, turgid, and the songs are too long. Olson sounds tired and far away throughout most of the album - like she’s afraid to even exist. Good tracks: “Lark” (takes a while to get going though), “What It Is,” “Summer,” “Endgame,” and “Chance.” The good bits are obscured by the intricate, web-like production and the mix. A good producer would have lit a fire under her butt a bit more. The melodies are nice, but it’s hard to pay attention to whether the songwriting is any good or not.

The Claypool Lennon Delirium - South of Reality: This was a neat novelty. Both Claypool and Lennon are expert practitioners in their own way. The album’s downfall is that there are no real cracks. It’s a little too polished. It’s a precise homage to the White Album, Syd-era Floyd, and Greg Lake-era Crimson. It’s all canny reproduction. None of it feels new, and there’s no fragility. Listen to Greg Lake sing, “Confusion will be my epitaph,” and try to find the same humanity here. It’s just not there.

Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated: The singles weren’t super compelling, but this is one of the easiest-to-listen-to records of the year. All of the songs are between two and a half to under four minutes. One of the few pop artists who regularly features sax breaks. I hear the Bee Gees in a lot of her music. It’s pleasant.

Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA: This guy is super talented, but this is spotty and sounds contrived. I could tell it was produced by Danger Mouse before I checked. Which means it sounds like every other Danger Mouse record: dark, plush, and baroque with deep bass, fuzz guitar, and organ tones over everything. There are two, separate “intro-tracks” to two different songs and another track named Interlude. It feels like an overly arty producer decision. Just hit record and get out of the guy’s way.

Denzel Curry - ZUU: I was really excited when this dropped. Through the first half of my first listen I figured this would make my top 5 for the year, but the second half lost steam for me. It’s short at only 29 minutes (including two skits), which is usually a plus for me, but it feels slight here. The production still sounds really good though. Maybe I’ll come around on it.

Anderson.Paak - Ventura: This is a warm and friendly soul album filled with good songs, good performances, nice production, rich arrangements, and all-star guests. I don’t know. I didn’t relate to it at all. It was sunnier than I felt. “Reachin’ 2 Much,” “Winners Circle,” and “King James” are all pretty nice tunes. I bet this would have sold some copies on Sunday morning at the Fetus. I should return to this when my mood lifts.

The Comet Is Coming - Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery; The Afterlife: These guys put out two records this year. Electro-jazz group plays psych rock (on Impulse!). Pretty cool, I guess. I kept forgetting to go back and listen to them more, so something wasn’t sticking. The production is a little too compressed and distorted for my tastes. They would probably be rated higher if I was a better person who cared, but I’m not and I don’t. People whose minds were blown by these records should check out Get Up With It, Agharta, or The Inner Mounting Flame.

Reissues/Collections

Prince - 1999: Listen to disc three. The Vault is real and deep. “Rearrange” is just killer.

Marvin Gaye - You’re the Man: Casually great and just as relevant today.

Loose Tracks

Lizzo - “Juice”: This was a nice jam.

Mac DeMarco - “All Our Yesterdays Are Gone”: The rest of the record was kind of blah, but I dug this. A fitting end of the decade.

Best of 2018

There was very little music that I connected to this year. I was repeatedly referred to this band or that, told that it was incredible. Perhaps they all are. In any case, I wasn’t in the mood for most of it. Most of this recommended music wasn’t bad. It was fine, just bloodless. In all honesty, I could live without all of the following. Aside from a few great songs, not much stuck this year for me. I think I’m just getting old and readying myself to die. It happens. (Laugh, people.)

There were a few albums that I responded to, however, and I have listed them below with a brief detail on each. There were also interesting albums that were decent, but probably nothing I would buy, or if I would/did buy them, they wouldn’t get regular plays. There were also flawed albums with a few good tracks amidst some mediocre filler and some records with interesting concepts that weren’t very melodically rewarding. Then there were incredible tracks that were stranded on otherwise unworthy long-players.

Everything I feared would happen to the music industry has so far come to pass with all
signs the ugliness will continue. Enjoy!

Top 10 Albums of 2018

1. Christine & the Queens - Chris: The closest thing to my favorite album this year. I listened to it a bunch and it still sounds good to me. “5 Dollars” and “The walker” were my jams, but the whole thing is really good synth pop.

2. Artificial Pleasure – The Bitter End: This is really a great record, but as of this writing it’s only available as a download or stream with no physical release. A funky combo of late-70s Bowie and Talking Heads, this is one of the few rock records that sounds like it’s got some energy to it.

3. Anna Calvi - Hunter: I’ve always admired Calvi, but this is the first record of hers that I actively like. You can’t say this is bloodless. This thing is turgid, coiled and ready to strike. I dig it, and it should be allowed to kill most of the current so-called rock bands in their sleep.

4. Denzel Curry - TA1300: This kid came out of nowhere for me. His lyrics are smart and funny and he has a great ear for melody. You can tell he’s still dependent on his influences, but you can tell he’s listened broadly and deeply and has great taste.

5. Judas Priest - FIREPOWER: This is top-form Priest. I’d put it on par with Painkiller which is far better than any of us deserve. This will probably be the last one with Tipton on it, but what a way to go out.

6. Kamasi Washington - Heaven & Earth: This is really good, but it didn’t grab me at first due to its length. It’s excellent cosmic soul jazz though, and an improvement over last year’s Harmony of Difference.

7. Chris Carter - Chemistry Lessons Volume 1: This was a welcome surprise from the former Throbbing Gristle synth programmer. It could have come from the late-70s of Tangerine Dream, the late-90s of Plaid, or the near future. It’s a beautiful sci-fi mix of doubt, fear, and hope.

8. Jeff Tweedy - WARM: I was honestly surprised how much I like this record. I figured I’d never buy another
Tweedy/Wilco record again (I might not). There’s a lot of raw pain mixed with humor in this, but most importantly there are real melodies and songs for the first time in a long while. The last song is too long and should have been cut though.

9. Ghost - Prequelle: This is fun. It makes me want to listen King Diamond, Jake-era Ozzy, and even Dokken - and that’s not a bad thing. However, when I go back to listen to those records, Ghost is outdoing a lot of those songs - at least the non-singles.

10. Wild Beasts - Last Night All My Dreams Came True: Stunning in-studio live versions of some of the best songs of the past decade by the best rock band of the era. Probably should be my number one, but it would make me too sad to put it there.

Other Worthy or Almost Good Albums of 2018 (no particular order)

Amen Dunes - Freedom: Something about this irritates me, but I can’t figure it out. His voice reminds me of someone I can’t think of it.

Marisa Anderson - Cloud Corner: This is a cool, moody fingerpicking record.

Hollie Cook - Angel Fire: A very light record, both in tone and and import. It’s still a nice descendent of second-wave ska.

Current 93 - The Light Is Leaving Us All: David Tibet is never boring, and he exists within a sound cosmology and genre all his own. This record as an album is a real collection of themed songs, like few others are on this list. He still sounds like an 80s apocalyptic folkie obsessed with Shirley Collins, bless his heart.

Gang Gang Dance - Kazuashita: I don’t know. This is nice and pleasant and gauzy. If I bought it I guarantee you I wouldn’t listen to it much. The last track, “Salve on the Sorrow,” is my favorite sounding like late-80s 4AD or Disintegration-era Cure.

The Lemon Twigs - Go to School: These kids are super-talented, but it’s still easy to pick out the bits they borrowed from their parents record collections. There’s some Rundgren, some Badfinger, some Sparks, among others (does anyone else hear Billy Joel’s “You May Be Right” on “Never in My Arms, Always in My Heart?”). It’s interesting, but it goes on a long time. This one is more low budget than their debut.

Makeness - Loud Patterns: One of two artists doing a good Arthur Russell impression this year, these are some young kids getting it right. They sound a little naive, but in a well-meaning refreshing way. A little more sex or desperation in the music wouldn’t be a bad thing.

MGMT - Little Dark Age: Huh? I’ve always liked these guys a little more than I’d like to admit, but this is one is weird, kind of like a Human League or O.M.D. record. If that comparison offends you, you might not want to listen to this because you might like it.

Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer: My favorite four songs are lumped in the middle (tracks 5-8) which makes for a weird listen. The whole record feels very indebted to Prince which isn’t a bad thing, but less original than her early tunes. Still very talented and ambitious.

Screaming Females - All at Once: Way too long, but hey, they play rock & roll in 2018. That’s got to count for something. No real standouts, just solid tunes.

Twin Shadow - Caer: A couple of really good songs (“Saturdays” and “Too Many Colors”). Much improved over the last one.

Good Tracks (no order)

Matthew Dear with Tegan & Sara - “Bad Ones” I thought the full record was pretty stinky. This killed though. Maybe best song of the year.

Empress Of - “When I’mWith Him” A decent M83 or Shura kind of cut.

Westerman - “Confirmation” The other Arthur Russell clone.
The Damned - “Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow” Not bad!

Elvis Costello - “Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter” This sounds like a Diamond Dogs b-side. That means good.

U.S. Girls - “Rage of Plastics” I don’t know. S’alright.

Georgia Anne Muldrow - “Overload” She’s smart, but mostly gets in her own way. This is cool.

Mor Mor - “Waiting on the Warmth” Maybe closer to the old Twin Shadow sound than the new TS.

The Night Flight Orchestra - “Gemini” Actually not 2018, but new to me. The video is fun.

Chaka Khan - “Like Sugar” Dance, nerd.

My Favorite Albums of 2017

What a drag of a year, huh? As it should be apparent since this is the first post since my 2016 year-end list, I didn’t spend a lot of time with music in 2017. My appetite for it seems to be disappearing. Every Friday I’d half-heartedly listen to the new releases, but most of them didn’t grab me. I’ve put together a list of only 10 for the first time in a while*. There are some other good records that came out this year, but if I’m honest, I’d never buy them myself so it seems disingenuous to recommend that someone else should.

Either I’m getting old and losing heart or the music that’s coming out isn’t delivering what I want. What do I want? I often say that I want something with teeth, but what does that mean? I’ve always understood it to be a vague characteristic implying something with bite either in the sense of anger or attack, or a sharpness or keenness. I think I’ve finally articulated what “having teeth” means to me.

When I was little (maybe four or five) my family had these vinyl-covered kitchen chairs. I used to stand behind them and bite into the cushioned backs really hard. The feeling of tension pushing back on my jaw as my teeth sunk into the fleshy material was a kind of pleasurable pain. That’s the feeling I want when I listen to music. I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else, but in short, I’m looking for a rush of violent hardness. A feeling like you might pass out from the strain of trying to squeeze the life out of something. That doesn’t always translate to loud or fast; Either/Or fits the bill for me, for instance. Here, in my opinion, are the records that had teeth to them from 2017. Don’t sweat the order too much.
 

1. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.: In all honesty I’m not that big of a hip hop fan. This guy’s just doing what he does better than anyone else right now. I think it’s one of the few things from this year that will last. Whether you play it frontward or backwards, it’s surprising and challenging. It’s musically diverse (a bit of doo wop, dub, trap) and it’s organized into a cohesive concept. “Duckworth” is a stunning piece of storytelling and mythmaking. “Humble” is a great brag track. “DNA” sounds like Muslimgauze. “Loyalty” makes me even like Rihanna. More children were probably conceived to “Love” than any other song this year. For now, he’s on top.

 

2. Alvvays - Antisocialites: This could probably be my number one. It had better melodies than any
other record this year which, for me, counts for nearly everything. Their shimmering, reverb-heavy production makes can make you nostalgic for the unfulfilled promise of each last passing moment. The first three songs make for a great rushing statement of intent, but the highlight of the album for me might be the cello break in the middle of “Not My Baby.” There’s a bitterness to these songs that burns through to the end which makes the melodies even more sweet.
 

3. Peter Perrett - How the West Was Won: Thanks to Mike at Barely Bros. for turning me on to this one. If you’re an Only Ones fan (which I am), you’re sure to dig this. Perrett’s reedy voice is in great form and the songs are taut and funny and the band is a great Stiff Records-era approximation. It’s got to bum Kanye out (pun intended) that he hasn’t written the best line about his wife in a song. Not that you needed a peek into Perrett’s sexual fantasies. They don’t make enough records like this anymore, but it’s a welcome anachronism.


 

4. Queens of the Stone Age - Villains: I think Josh Homme is better at making rock records than
other modern rock dudes of the same mold (Jack White, Dan Auerbach, Dave Grohl, etc.). At a time when most male-driven rock is horrible, Homme actually delivers a group of tunes that rolls as much as it rocks. Homme’s vocals and searing guitar lines are the feature here, but I like the new keyboard sounds on this one too. Very Zep.


 
 

5. Austra - Future Politics: I didn’t like this one as much as their last two at first, at least on the whole. It slowly grew on me though. “Utopia” is a pretty perfect song and was an immediate favorite of the year. Singer, Katie Stelmanis, still thrills with those bird-like high notes, and this album is about personal politics as much as state politics. The whole record is like a Big Brother/Handmaid’s Tale type of dystopian call to arms. I can relate.

6. Fever Ray - Plunge: Remember how I talked about wanting music with teeth? This album has all the teeth you could want and then some. I don’t think I’ve caught up with it yet. If the current administration wants to hunt those who they deem monsters, then Karin Dreijer will make them come to her. Then she’ll hunt them. Tempo and beat-wise this one is more dance-oriented than anything she’s done since The Knife’s Silent Shout. The subject matter is also unflinchingly direct. Kill ‘em all, Karin.

7. Chastity Belt - I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone: They used to call this college rock. This group is the spiritual and musical stepchild of Unrest, Yo La Tengo, Sebadoh, and early Liz Phair. The production is close and warm like a blanket on a cold day spent in the attic reading your older sibling’s diary. How’s that for a pretentious description? There’s an emotional hardness to these songs that I appreciate.

8. Mark Lanegan - Gargoyle: Here’s a secret: I’ve never been much of a Lanegan fan. He’s always been fine to my mind, but most of his music sounds like some bartender grumbling into a dirty ashtray. A lot of people go for that kind of thing, but it never moved me to buy any of his records. This new one actually sounds kind of fun and upbeat. If I didn’t know how ridiculous it would sound to suggest it, I'd say like it sounds like he’s been listening to Stephen Merritt. I dig it.

 

9. Tony Allen - The Source: My favorite jazz record of the year. It’s fitting this came out on Blue Note in that it reminds me of an afrobeat version of those great early-to-mid-60s albums from Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, or Stanley Turrentine with really funky, accessible rhythms. It’s more straight-ahead than you might expect, but it still moves with a definite Nigerian swing as you would assume coming from Fela’s stick man.

10. Robert Plant - Carry Fire: This one isn’t terribly different than his past few (which I’ve also liked), but it feels like the culmination of everything he’s done in recent years. Which – if you want to be cynical about it – is a stew of vague American roots influences drenched in Nag Champa and patchouli. Snotty comments aside, there’s something calming and reassuring in these songs and in Plant’s voice that feels like wisdom. Not much teeth to this one, but it’s good anyway.

 

Here are a few of the “new” old records I liked from this past year.

Lal & Mike Waterson - Bright Phoebus

The Creation - Action Painting

The Replacements - For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s Kansas City 1986

Alice Coltrane - World Spirituality Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane

*A Coward’s List of Leftovers:

These didn’t make the cut. Some of them have a couple really great songs on them. Others I haven’t listened to enough. They’re worth a listen. I’d probably pick most of them up used. Maybe I'll kick myself for not putting them on in a couple months. Listed alphabetically.

Arcade Fire - Everything Now

Blondie - Pollinator

Broken Social Scene - Hug of Thunder

Ray Davies - Americana

The Feelies - In Between

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest

LCD Soundsystem - american dream

Laura Marling - Semper Femina

Meat Wave - The Incessant

Kevin Morby - City Music

Myrkur - Mareridt

Randy Newman - Dark Matter

Offa Rex - Queen of Hearts (Except for the songs Colin Meloy sings on. Yuck.)

Priests - Nothing Feels Natural

Slowdive - Slowdive

Sneaks - It’s a Myth

Harry Styles - Harry Styles

Thundercat - Drunk

Colter Wall - Colter Wall

Jane Weaver - Modern Kosmology
 
 
 
 

My Favorite Albums of 2016

What a crummy year. Lots of great musicians died and the world embraced fascism. I worry about the assault on art that may come in the next few years, but for now music remains a potent means of expression. There were a lot of good records released this year although due to a lack of funds, I’ve honestly only bought one of the albums on my list (my number one). I hope to remedy this soon. The good part about not owning any of the following is that it’s given me a novel way to rank them. I’ve ranked them based on which I am most excited to buy.
  

I don’t know if it was my gloomy mood, but much of what I liked was pretty dour. I don’t know if there was less “happy” music being released or if I only tuned into the dismal stuff. One positive trend I noticed was there seems to be a movement towards releasing shorter works. This was particularly noteworthy in some hip hop records, a genre which tends towards hour-plus releases. A lot of the records on my list are under 45 minutes. I’m all in favor of a return to artists releasing shorter (28-45 minutes) albums more frequently.

 

The further down the list you go, the more arbitrary the ranking and the greater the chance that on any given day one could rise or fall ten places. At the end I’ve alphabetically listed a bunch of records I enjoyed that are worth a mention and a listen (in some cases, I’d didn’t give these enough spins). As always, I’ve created a jukebox of favorite songs at the bottom, including worthy tunes from albums that didn’t make the cut.

1. David Bowie – Blackstar: I finally gained enough distance from the tragedy surrounding the release of this album to appreciate it for its merits alone. The record is a dark, moody record drenched in symbolism. It’s probably the weirdest, artiest album to go to Number 1. A cross between the occult Kabbalistic mysticism of Man Who Sold the World and Station to Station with some of his 90s output, it’s not a typical Bowie album. Then again, ever the chameleon, most new Bowie records were atypical of his other work as he constantly recast himself.

  

2. Wild Beasts – Boy King: The best art rock band working today returns from the land of cerebral subtlety to deliver a visceral hip shaker. The record is bathed in sultry distorted tones and swinging beats. No other record was as brawny, as brainy, or as horny. This is music of a throbbing virility, unabashedly masculine and unashamedly sensitive and sensual. The singles are good, but my favorites are the album tracks “Alpha Female,” “2BU,” “He The Colossus,” and “Eat Your Heart Out Adonis.” A couple of years ago I questioned if they would still be a band by now. Popularity be damned, this is a band that sound like they can continue for as long as they wish.

 

3. Blood Orange – Freetown Sound: This album has all the political import of the latest Kendrick Lamar and D’Angelo records, but it presents a softer, more emotionally sensitive voice. Resistance can be catchy and melodic, and it often is here. This is like the soundtrack to a great lost 80s movie about young black America that was never made. There’s a earning quality, like a romantic plea for love, that’s inspiring. It also sounds like it wouldn’t have come out at any other time than right now.

  

4. Shura – Nothing’s Real: This is a really nice patch of indie new wave. There’s an insular, personal feel to this album that’s comforting in a year where reading the news is so emotionally exhausting. This record actually offered some lighter moments which were all too rare this year. There is a bit of an unironic teenage earnestness to the album, but it manages to be charming rather than cloying. The little skits and the last track of arty nothingness are pretty forgettable, but the rest is so naively winning and fresh the pacing doesn’t really suffer.

  

5. Metallica – Hardwired… To Self-Destruct: Heralded as a comeback, it makes good on that claim, for the most part. It brings back the thrash tempos and complicated song structures of Death Magnetic, but this time there are actual songs. It’s the best record the band has made in 25 years, featuring some of the catchiest choruses of their career. James Hetfield hasn’t sung this well since ...And Justice for All. Lars hasn’t played this well perhaps ever (seriously, it sounds like he went to a drum clinic). There are NWOBHM-style guitar harmonies all over. It’s not Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets-level good, but it’s the first album of theirs since the 80s that I feel I’d actually pull off the shelf and play.

 

6. Kendrick Lamar – untitled unmastered.: This feels like it was intended as just a collection of TPAB cast-offs, but it sounds better, and more focused than most other artists carefully considered albums. It’s nice to hear new Kendrick tunes without the weight of a concept album. Dark and jazzy, in many ways it sounds of a piece with the new Bowie which is interesting since TPAB was said to be a big influence on Bowie’s album. This is a short, concise record that does what it needs to and gets out. His guest spots on other artists’ records have been great too.

  

7. Kristin Kontrol – X-Communicate: I had heard this record when it first came out, liked it, and then filed it away to check out further later. I kept forgetting about it, until recently. This is a bold, confident album. This is a pretty perfect synth pop record, and I don’t know it didn’t get more love. Kontrol’s voice is strong and the melodies are top shelf. In a few weeks this might rank in the top 5.

  

8. ZuluZuluu – What’s the Price?: This is a great future-funk record that gives me a Zapp meets Janelle Monae vibe. It’s hard to categorize, but that’s what’s great about it to me. The synths on here have a really fat, wobbly analog sound. It doesn’t feel like yesterday, so much as adding a new dimension to the Minneapolis sound. It’s smart, relevant, and musically cool. I hope that this just doesn’t end up being a one-off shot. Keep the group together, guys.

  

9. Michael Kiwanuka – Love & Hate: This record is a little overblown in terms of the production, but it’s really pretty and musically rich enough to be a film score. He still has a very Terry Callier meets Traffic kind of feel, which to my mind, is no bad thing. Kiwanuka may never have a hit or be anything other than a critical darling, but in the meantime, he’s making beautiful records in the present moment.

  

10. Underworld – Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future: Underworld made a Fall album which surprisingly makes a lot of sense. Less surprising, the results come off like an LCD Soundsystem record. This is a bit unfair since these guys have been at this a good long while and partially created the space that allowed James Murphy to do his thing in the first place. It’s not strictly as much of a dance record as their past work, but it’s propulsive and beautiful nonetheless.

  

11. William Tyler – Modern Country: This is a lush instrumental album along the lines of Eno’s work with Daniel Lanois or even Ry Cooder’s soundtrack work. Beautifully fingerpicked guitar licks branch out over rich accompaniment that sounds like Popol Vuh making a Fresh Aire album. It sounds like a desert sunset, languorous and beautiful. Sometimes music can offer solace where words can’t.

  

12. Kings of Leon – WALLS: This group is terminally uncool. They’re often accused of making hacky stadium rock, but they have too much talent to dismiss out of hand. They have a great ear for catchy melodies and this is packed full of them. “Waste A Moment” is a catchy single, but “Muchacho” actually has real heart. Caleb Followill has one of the best rock voices of the best two decades. They’re one of the few “real” rock bands now that still get played on pop radio, so I find myself pulling for them.

  

13. White Lung – Paradise: This new album is more hook-filled than Deep Fantasy, but it still has plenty of teeth. It’s a short burst (28 minutes) of breakneck rock that continues to reference Hole and Big Black guitar harmonics while adding a touch of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I heard some protestations about it being too pretty-sounding, but this is still so much fiercer than most of the new rock music I hear now.

  

14. Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition: This is a really spooky, warped-sounding record. It’s packed with great guest spots from the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, B-Real, Earl Sweatshirt, Kelela, and Petite Noir. Brown’s voice is a grotesque caricature of his usual delivery which sounds incredibly manic, even possessed. The mood is unrelentingly dark, but it’s really well done.

  

15. Weyes Blood – Front Row Seat to Earth: This is a great singer-songwriter record. Her voice sits in the same area as Laura Nyro, Mimi Parker (Low), and even Karen Carpenter. The production and arrangements are given the full 60s pop treatment, but not in a way that feels retro. Few songs build and swell anymore the way that “Do You Need My Love” does.

  

16. Gallant – Ology: This guy has a beautiful, high voice that serves this set of soulful tunes really well. “Bourbon” sounds like the best song Al B. Sure! never made. Even some of the production harkens back to late-New Jack stylings albeit with a more morose turn. I don’t mean to suggest this is your typical Massive Attack should put him on their next record.

  

17. Childish Gambino – Awaken, My Love!: Donald Glover is a little too talented for his own good. This album has an almost haunted Haitian voodoo funk about it. “Have Some Love” and “Boogieman” sound like they could have come off of Maggot Brain. The influences are wide-ranging though. I can hear some Nilsson (“California”) and even Zappa in some corners.

  

18. Iggy Pop – Post-Pop Depression: Josh Homme makes records so perfect they have an almost annoyingly formulaic feel to them. As Iggy’s foil this time out, Homme crafts a solid backing for Iggy most consistent record since New Values. In some ways, there’s almost too much control. It sounds as much of a Homme record as an Iggy one. Iggy is really his best when he’s allowed some room for wild, extemporaneous expression. The only time it comes close is the very end of the last track.

  

19. Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker: His death was less surprising than David Bowie’s, but it’s a shame when someone passes who can still operate at this high of a level. Produced by his son, this album is more acoustic in its arrangements, foregoing the cheesy synths and back-up vocals of recent years. “Tapestry” is one of his best songs, and the rest of the record is a great goodbye.

  

20. Clark – The Last Panthers: This is beautifully atmospheric, electronically-rendered background music. That isn’t meant as an insult. Some music has a greater impact when you’re not exclusively focused on it. It could lazily be called ambient or soundtrack music. The individual pieces themselves are short, kind of like Another Green World, working cohesively as part of a larger whole. This album isn’t as much of a game-changer as that legendary record, but it works really well for its kind.

  

21. Terrace Martin – Velvet Portraits: Good g-funk meets jazz with help from Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Lalah Hathaway, Robert Glasper, and more. I don’t think the vocal tracks work as well as the instrumental ones, but the whole record feels warm and connected. It plays like a great collective workshop project coming out of some of L.A.’s new jazz/hip hop/soul scene.

  

22. Trentemoller – Fixion: Trentemoller has always been dark, even when he made minimal techno. Now he makes expansive goth albums with chorus-pedal bass lines and ethereal female vocals. A lot of reviews have mentioned Joy Division, but those people don’t know what they’re talking about. There are definitely some Cure bits in there though.

  

23. D.D Dumbo – Utopia Defeated: This record is relentlessly quirky. The singer sounds like Police-era Sting and the music has a spring-loaded, African groove like the Talking Heads used to employ. The Dirty Projectors do this a bit. There’s a twitchy restlessness to these songs that I like and it stands as one of the few upbeat records I heard and liked.

  

24. Alex Smoke – Love Over Will: Alex Smoke’s Crowley-inspired album was released early in year and I kept going back to. It sounds like Matthew Dear trying to make a Current 93 record. It’s appropriately dark and groovy. At 34 minutes it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, giving you just enough spooky, magickal mojo.

 

25. Monica LaPlante – Noir: This is a dark little rocker of a record (an EP, actually) that I’ve only recently heard. I’m pretty much completely ignorant of the local scene nowadays, but I have a feeling LaPlante may break out soon. She has tremendous presence and the production, though bare bones, sounds great.

Worth A Listen

A Tribe Called Quest – We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service: Need more listens. What I’ve heard is surprisingly on top of its game.

Ab-Soul – Do What Thou Wilt.: This Crowley-inspired record is an immature mess, but it’s never boring and pretty original.

Alejandro Escovedo – Burn Something Beautiful: Great sunburned rock & roll.

Alexander Paak – Malibu: Very foggy hippie funk.

Andy Shauf – The Party: Early 70s, low-key Beatles-y songwriter/chamber pop vibe (think Elliott Smith meets Emitt Rhodes). I wonder what Phil Dougherty thinks.

Aphex Twin – CHEETAH EP: Typically great although not super complex. Fun futurism.

Brian Eno – Ship: Nice Velvets cover.

Classixx – Faraway Reach: A couple of nice feelgood dance tracks.

Common – Black America Again: Better than I expected. I think people slept on this.

DIIV – Is the Is Are: Very good dream pop - a little samey.

Esperanza Spalding – Emily’s D+evolution: Not very much jazz, but very quirky and interesting. Strangely reminds me of an R&B Dagmar Krause.

Haley Bonar – Impossible Dream: The more rock and roll she gets, the better I like it.

Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald – Present Borderland: Transport: Techno. And more techno.

Kamaiyah – A Good Night in the Ghetto: Hip hop from a brassy and sassy lady.

Kate Bush – Before the Dawn: TBH I haven’t heard it, but I will buy it regardless.

Mitski – Puberty 2: This is a Jason Swanson kind of record, which means it sounds like Helium.

Preoccupations – Preoccupations: Better name, but I still question their motives. Good post-punk.

Rolling Stones – Blue & Lonesome: Mick is the weakest link here, but the band sounds great. The Wolf tune is tops.

Santigold – 99 Cents: A step down from the last one, but there are some good tunes here.

Sarah Neufeld – The Ridge: Good to hear her violin on her own, away from Arcade Fire and Colin Stetson. She should join King Crimson.

Shirley Collins – Lodestar: Her voice is lower now which makes her brand of trad British folk more palatable.

Solange – A Seat at the Table: I admire this record more than I like it. True was better for me, but this is nice.

Swans – The Glowing Man: There’s a stain on this, but sometimes creeps make good music.

Tegan & Sara – Love You to Death: Pro pop by real folks. Not as great as recent records, but good.

Yussef Kamal – Black Focus: A new direction in jazz.