(The best five songs not on the other two lists. Either new in 2023, or new to me.)
5. Royal Blood - Boilermaker
from "Typhoons"
Warner, 04/2021
I was dragged to a Royal Blood show and had a great time. I didn't really know this band beforehand, but I'll be paying closer attention now. Recommended if you like your stripes white, your keys black, and your duo-jets flat.
4. Jason Isbell - Death Wish
From "Weathervanes" Southeastern Records, 06/2023
Less capital-C Country, and more ... uhh.. Springsteenian (there's that word again!) storytelling from mister Isbell. I'm assuming that by 2023 almost everybody knows who Jason Isbell is. He seems like a champion of the downtrodden and underrepresented in real life, too... which makes him cooler than 30-50 feral hogs in my book.
3. They Might Be Giants - Alphabet of Nations [Extended Version]
From the deluxe edition (only) of "No!" Idlewild Recordings 6/2012
I didn't think this song had a chance against the other good songs in this list... until I played it loud. These guys are REALLY selling it. They're into it. just listen. Technically, this is a re-recording, as the song also appears (in a shorter, more muted version) on 2004's "Here Come the ABCs", but John and John are so EXUBERANT! Really singing the hell out of this one. They sound excited about Oman and Pakistan, and, heck. Maybe they're right. We should all be so excited. I think my next vacation will be to West Xylophone.
2. Jimmy Eat World - Firestarter
From the "Last Christmas" 7" Better Looking Records, 12/2001
Recorded in the Bleed American sessions, yes, it's THAT Firestarter. In hindsight, this doesn't seem long enough after The Prodigy came out for a cover. I don't have enough of the original song in my head-- It's just that creepy-eyed english bloke with the bad haircut shouting "Twisted Firestarter" and some keyboard sound effects, and the dude brushing the bugs out of his hair:
Yeah, that's it.
Anyway, this is a cool cover, because it sounds like peak Jimmy Eat World. And I love whatever noise/drone is going on in the background. Adds to the tension of the song.
1. Landing - Awake
From the Awake / Gravitational X Digital Single
Vast Arc Hues, 10/2023
A one-off single from Landing late in the year, and one of the catchiest songs they've ever written. This one just hits all the right notes for me. I don't know if it works for anybody else, but this I dig. It conjures sunshine, driving with the windows down, and this drifting out of the car windows.
So, I believe the story goes something like this (although I could be wrong) -- Early in the pandemic, The Lowest Pair (aka Kendl Winter and Palmer Lee) went up into the mountains to camp and work on some songs with some friends-- a perfectly healthy, pandemic-friendly activity. Yet, because so many others had the same idea, the only place they could get to camp was a HORSE CAMP. And thus was their project named. As they were working on their HORSE CAMP songs, Kendl was also working on an electronic side-project with one of those friends, Adam Roszkewicz, and since it was a side project, it became PONY camp. At least that's what I think it is.
Anyway, it's fun to hear Kendl's songs outside of their normal banjo-tastic trappings. It's strange and fun to hear autotune on her vocals (Passwords), but I'd say this was one of those projects that works a little better on paper than it does in real life. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy this tape, but it's not as good as a Lowest Pair album.
4. Codeine - Dessau
The Numero Group, 09/02/2022
So, this should have been Codeine's 2nd album, "The White Birch". In fact, the artwork on the cover is named "The White Birch", which is the namesake and should have been the album cover for "The White Birch". Confusing enough?
Anyway, well through the sessions for this album, bassist Stephen Immerwahr kept hearing high-frequency noise (which may or may not actually be there) on the tracks, and scrapped the album for good.
Most of these songs ended up on "Barely Real" or "The White Birch". But this is the missing link. I love listening to the power of these songs.
3. The Lowest Pair and Small Town Therapy - Horse Camp
self-released 10/26/2022
Like I said earlier, HORSE CAMP. Anyways, this is Palmer and Kendl with a full band -- generally guit/fiddle/mandolin/banjo that doesn't sound too far out from what Lowest Pair usually sounds like.
In fact, that's my best and worst thing I can say about this record. It's good. It doesn't sound too far from what a Lowest Pair record should sound like (which is amazing, don't get me wrong), but there's nothing too ambitious or different here. In fact, I would steer newcomers to the Lowest Pair to Perfect Plan or 36 cents. Nevertheless, this is a fine addition to the canon.
2. Afghan Whigs - How Do You Burn?
Royal Cream, 09/09/2022
Dulli's hair is going gray (so's mine!) and we're all getting older. Yet, this is a fun new Afghan Whigs album. There are lots of good and listenable songs on here. This is apparently Mark Lanegan's last recorded output, but he's unfortunately relegated to blink-and-you-miss-em background vocals, so no Gutter Twins II here. Also notable is "Domino and Jimmy", featuring Marcy Mays (lead singer of Scrawl, probably best known for her wicked vocals on Afghan Whigs' "My Curse" from 1993). This one's a fun duet. Check out some of the other bangers on this album like "Jyja" and "A Line of Shots".
So this is Pohgoh's 3rd album. Solid rock and roll, great dynamics, perfect sound forever. And I love Susie's lyrics. She sings the things that are important to her-- not typical rock-and-roll, but a slice of her life and all the more important for it. A few of the songs are about her struggles with MS, but so many of the songs are about things we all go through--"Now I Know", quitting a job. "Heavy", struggles with self-image. She may say "Words are Harder", but somehow they sound effortless. Thanks, Pohgoh.
(5 favorite albums from 2020 or prior that I discovered this year)
5. Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll
4AD Records, 09/1988
Ahh, a Cocteau Twins record. Early this year, I found myself planning a trip to the wilds of Southern Utah, and falling down a wikipedia rabbit hole, I discovered that the Cocteau Twins named an album after someplace I was visiting. So, with a very valid excuse, I tracked down this album and bought it as a soundtrack toaveryfunroadtrip.
I can't say enough good things about this classic Cocteau Twins album. Pretty melodies, alien words, silly song titles like "A Kissed-out Red Floatboat", and "For Phoebe Still a Baby". I need to pick up more classic Cocteau Twins, and this time I don't need a roadtrip as an excuse.
4. Codeine - Barely Real
Sub Pop Records, 11/1992
This is my year for Codeine. I was unaware this brilliant 6-song EP even existed. This has some powerful tunes. It may even be my favorite Codeine release. (don't hold me to that, I love them all)
3. Cat Power - Speaking for Trees
Matador Records
CD/DVD released 10/2004
So, I remember when this came out. I remember reading reviews of it, and it sounded boring: One long (loooooooong) static shot of Chan Marshall playing outdoors. Nothing else.
I stumbled into this on Youtube, looking for something to listen to during my workday. I loved it. I realized that the visual isn't the point. This is great music. And the music is only half of it. The music is overwhelmed by the sound of high summer-- the insects and the wind.
This is from the same era of the one and only time I saw Cat Power live. She cycles through some of her songs, some covers, and mashes some covers and some of her songs together. She plays the same series of songs over as many as 3 or 4 times.
There's also a second audio CD with an 18 minute version of Willie, which got cut down to song-length for her next album The Greatest.
This is a fun listen, and this is peak Cat Power.
2. Verse en Coma - Rialto
Robotic Empire, 2008
It took me one listen through one song to order this EP. (It's available on 10"/CD on Bandcamp for a reasonable price). This is driving, intense, lyrical music. Many of the songs reference the Olympic Peninsula in the lyrics (which is my favorite place in the world). Soaring choruses, driving guitars. I love this so very much.
So these guys were apparently also in City of Caterpillar. I checked out their stuff this year and also liked it, but maybe not quite as much as I love this Verse en Coma record.
1. Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom
Slash/Warner Bros Records, 09/1994
It strikes me as odd that I've gone so long without hearing this album. I own "Irresistible Bliss", their 1996 follow up. I was just under the mistaken impression that I only needed one Soul Coughing album in my life. This album is the epitome of cool. Most of the time I don't even know what's going on with all the samples/upright bass/jazz drumming/nonsense words, but I know it's cooler than I'll ever be. My good friend David has been a Soul Coughing freak for years, yet somehow I let this one slip until now. That has been corrected.
(The best five songs not on the other two lists. Either new in 2022, or new to me.)
5. Sparta - Until the Kingdom Comes
from Sparta's self-titled fifth album
Dine Alone, 10/2022
A dearly-missed friend turned me on to Sparta a few years ago. Jim Ward is a former member of At the Drive In, and he makes melodic, driving post-hardcore music. Jim recently (like 2019?) took back up the Sparta mantle, and this is the result.
I would no longer classify this as post-hardcore (not that labels really matter anyway), but this is BIG music. This occupies the same strata as big rock albums. It's a Weezer Blue. It's an Achtung Baby. This is Music for the Masses in the best way possible. Have a listen and see for yourself.
4. Typhoon - No One Will Dance
From the "Underground Complex No.1" EP Roll Call Records, 04/2022
It must be hard to be a member of Typhoon. Even middling indie success probably won't pay the bills when split 13 ways. I've been following Typhoon for at least 15 years, and they peaked at 13 members once or twice. Now I think they're down to 6 or 7 and that's sort of sad. Less is sometimes more, but not at a Typhoon concert. Typhoon's power has always been derived from the number of kids on stage pouring their hearts into the music.
In more recent years, as their numbers have dwindled, the bright sparks on Typhoon's records have come fewer and farther between. Nevertheless, there are some great songs on this EP, and this song is one of them. Also, I got to see them in Monmouth, Oregon for a one-off show this December, and several former bandmembers guested. The player count was temporarily up to 8, and the show was quite good.
They didn't play this song at the show, which was a shame. I love the moment in this song where Kyle sings the line "a song that no one will dance to...", and the rhythm immediately switches to an amorphous waltz time that is... impossible to dance to. Perfect.
3. The Decemberists - Better Not Wake the Baby
From the album "What a Terrible World, What a Wonderful World" Capitol Records, 01/2015
2022 was Year of the Decemberists in our house. Our 13-year-old decided that The Decemberists were his favorite band. As a result, we added several Decemberists albums to the collection, and saw them in concert.
This song is 1:44 of classic Decemberists. Folky instrumentation, catchy tune, slightly old-fashioned and wordy sounding, with some borderline-ridiculous lyrics. Light, fun, and silly. Yeah, sounds a bit like The Wellerman, but who's counting?
2. The Arcade Fire - The Lightning I/II
From the album "We" Columbia Records, 05/2022
I'm a sucker for two-parter songs. This is a fun one. A great performance on SNL this year, too. I'm not a big Arcade Fire guy, but this song is a banger.
To mention the current unsavory allegations against Win Butler-- we're certainly in an age where we can separate art from the artist. That being said, I think this sort of allegation would be better proven or disproven in a court of law. As it stands, I tend to disbelieve anything Pitchfork publishes, especially about bands that Pitchfork singlehandedly put on a pedestal.
1. Tom Jones and The Cardigans - Burning Down the House
From Sir Tom Jones' "Reload" album Gut/V2 Records, 09/1999
This would've been a fun, interesting cover with the Cardigans OR Tom Jones. Getting both at the same time feels like.. cheating. It's like somebody pushed up up down down left right left right BA start, and reality gave us Tom Jones, the Cardigans, and Talking Heads.
Even through two years of plague, I'm still making my top lists for the year. Methodology is the same as it's been for the last few years:
Top 5 albums released 2020/21
Top 5 albums I discovered older than that
Top 5 songs not contained in the top 5 elsewhere
I'm glad to have largely avoided the live-over-zoom fad for this list. Lack of access to shows and record stores means that I didn't listen to very much new material this year, but the competition for old stuff was a little more heated. Anyway... to the lists:
5. Caithlin DeMarrais - What Will You Do Then?
Skeletal Lightning Records, 02/2021
Caithlin of Rainer Maria's 3rd solo LP.
This album sounds really modern and spacey. Even if I haven't kept up with the times, Caithlin has. These are some great songs. My favorite is "Good Luck Come Back" which was on last year's split 7" with Pohgoh. Worth a trip with headphones.
4. The Hold Out - Won't Be Leaving Here Today
Self-Released 12/2021
Rock solid rock and roll from Portland rock and rollers. Everyalbum Andi and company have put out in the last few years has made this top-5 list, and this one is no exception. I'm especially a fan of "Non Grata" where guitar player Aaron steps up to the mic to vocally spar with Andi Camp's soaring lead vocals.
I feel like I'm not writing enough words about this band. It's tough, because I just want you to listen to them and rock out.
In fact, this is one of the bands I'm most looking forward to seeing again post-covid. Here's hoping.
3. Radiohead - Kid Amnesiae
Self-Released, 11/2021
2001's Amnesiac album was (at the time) billed as leftovers from 2000's Kid A. Now, 20 years later, we get a slight LP with leftovers from the two.
...Not that I'm complaining. First, I liked Amnesiac better than Kid A. Thought the songs were better. Second, it's just more of a good thing. This maybe should've been a triple album all along.
That being said, Kid Amnesiae has a lot of filler. There are some early versions (Fog, Fast-Track, Morning Bell, and another beautiful version of Like Spinning Plates), some weird instrumental interludes that sound like they're stitched out of other pieces of Kid A and Amnesiac,
There's the two completely new songs that Radiohead teased us with: Follow Me Around and If You Say the Word -- both are decent Radiohead songs. The world has room for more decent Radiohead songs.
...and then...
...and then...
An alternate version of Pulk/Pull with True Love Waits sung over the top. Pulk/Pull IS True Love Waits!!!
(And if you're not a Radiohead fan, this doesn't make any sense. If you are, it's like saying "Revolution #9" was a jammed-out version of "Revolution" ... except I think everybody knows that already.)
2. Modest Mouse - The Golden Casket
Epic Records, 06/21
I keep waiting for Modest Mouse to make a bad album. They haven't.
Sure, I think this one and 2015's Strangers to Ourselves aren't quite in the same league as their earlier stuff, but this is still good, fun, listenable rock. I saw them live at an outdoor concert in August. Going among so many people was probably ill-advised, and there were too darn many people there-- it set off my fear of crowds something awful. Nevertheless, it was a killer show.
I haven't seen Modest Mouse in concert (apparently) since 2004. What I didn't realize is that in the intervening years, they got popular. Well, I kinda knew they got popular, but I didn't realize that theirs is a certain type of popularity-- the kind that makes 30-and 40-something drunk women go absolutely nuts when they hear "Float On". (Similar reactions can be seen with "Baby Got Back", and maybe Bon Jovi with a slightly older crowd)
Despite the crowd reaction, it was a good concert, and the new stuff held up well. There seems to be a consistent theme with the songs-- "We Are Between", "Back to the Middle" -- a longing for less extremism and more focus on common ground. I can get behind that. After all, we're somewhere between dust and the stars.
1. Low - Hey What
Sub Pop Records, 09/2021
A companion piece to 2019's Double Negative, Hey What sees Low, almost 30 years into their career, breaking new ground and making new sounds. Nothing sounds like Hey What. Nothing.
Where Double Negative was 100% blown out and distorted, the sound of a band deconstructing their own sound, Hey What takes that distortion-- still heavy, but spares the vocals. Instead, the vocals are up front and clear-- some of Low's most elegant harmonies over a harsh, distorted soundscape that makes the vocals sound more porcelain and pristine by comparison.
The album's centerpiece (and Hit) is "Days Like These". I can't explain what's going on with the instrumentation on this song. It's almost a capella. The vocals hold up on their own-- but when Mimi sings her parts, loud, distorted instruments peek through. It's some weird side-chain limiter stuff. It makes it almost sound like a broken vocoder or talk box. You should listen to it.
8 years ago, I was convinced that Low was entering their Dad-rock, late-career downward coasting slope of their career arc. Instead, Low have put out their two most challenging records and are still making music that doesn't sound like anything else. That's high praise.
These songs seem to alternate between the domestic ("Don't Walk Away", "All Night") and the universal ("Days Like These", "Disappearing"). It's a rollercoaster of a listen, ending with the epic "The Price You Pay (It Must Be Wearing Off)".
Dischord Records. EP Released 1992 LP Released with bonus tracks 1997, reissued 2019.
Solid DC Grrl-punk-pop cuddlecore. Precursor to Slant 6 with Mary Timony of Helium on guitar. This record shreds in all the best ways.
This year's "Best Old Albums" category was hot competition, but Autoclave is very deserving of the #5 spot.
4. The Jealous Sound - A Gentle Reminder
Music Is Subjective Records, January 2012
It's taken me a while to get into Jealous Sound-- I was sort of aware of their existence throughout the 2000s, but that's it. I had a few Knapsack CDs (frontman Blair Sheehan's previous band), but I didn't know what I was missing. Too bad, huh?
So it turns out Nate Mendel guests on bass on this album, knocking the Foo Fighters into 5th place in the list of Best Bands Nate Mendel Has Played In (don't forget Juno!)
This record keeps returning its pink self into my player, so I'm glad I finally caved and got this.
3. The Appleseed Cast - The Fleeting Light of Impermanence
Graveface Records, 06/2019
I first heard the band when they were called December's Tragic Drive (named after a Sunny Day Real Estate lyric). Their Marigold and Patchwork demo is amazing and outshines their first proper album. Can we be so old?
This record is synthy in places, but it works OK. The songs are still epic. The emotions are still longing, and the LP packaging is flat out beautiful, with a black matte case opening up to beautiful blue waves with a clear LP. I have tickets to see them live next month. Don't screw this up, Corona.
2. Helium - The Magic City / No Guitars
Matador Records. No Guitars EP 04/1997 The Magic City LP 09/1997 combined reissue 2017
I somehow missed Helium's second album the first time around. These are some fantastic 90s rock songs with Mary Timony's sense of melody and lyricism. Recently, I can't get enough of Mary Timony. Somehow she manages to twist a melody into something unexpected and...magical?
Please give a listen. Then buy the reissue from Matador here.
1. Zak Sally's Fear of Song
Nero's Neptune Records, 2010
I ordered this record before the pandemic. The world has changed.
In the before-times, I lived astride the great Columbia River tax divide. Living in Washington, which has lower housing costs and property taxes, and commuting daily into Oregon, which has no sales tax. It was quite common for me to mail-order things to my work, in Oregon, where I wouldn't have to pay sales tax on the mail-orders.
I still live within sight of Oregon, but it's a rare day that I cross the bridge. I spent more than a year without reporting in to my office. At some point, I returned, and this Zak Sally LP was sitting in cardboard, still waiting for me at my desk. How strange. In retrospect, how sad that I spent the first year of the pandemic without this record.
Zak Sally was the bassist for the band Low from 1995 - 2006. This album is sonically similar to his final album with Low, The Great Destroyer. After listening to this album, you can hear the direction that Zak was trying to push the band.
In some press, Zak described his album as "The sound of one man clanging." The sound is appropriately minimal, but it doesn't let minimalism get in the way of a good squally noise. It sounds like broken fixtures and frayed wires. Songs are stripped to their bare bones, and something is always buzzing in the background.
This album is 9 songs that are over far too soon. Some of the sounds are loud, some are soft, but all are harsh. Song titles like "Corpsegrinder!" and the B-side "When I Said I Missed You I Just Meant My Aim Was Off" betray a sense of humor not found in the music.
It looks as if Zak hasn't been making much music lately-- focusing on raising kids and making comics. Here's hoping he sees fit to clang out some more...
(The best five songs that didn't make the other lists. Not necessarily new, but new to me.)
5. Landing - Home
From the Landing 2021 Monthly Subscription Series (July 2021) Also available on the Landing 2021 Monthly Subscription Series Cassette
Self-Released, 07/2021
Dick Baldwin was a regular member of Landing from 1998 through 2005. His guitar lines were always the looping, arpeggiated counterpart to Aaron Snow's washes and drones. His solo releases, Dragon and Magicorn are magical and worth tracking down in their obscurity. Apparently, Señor Dick has been growing as a songwriter since 2005, and came back and contributed this absolute gem to Landing's 2021 monthly series.
Shout-out to Landing for soundtracking an epic summer road trip as well. We trained our kids to fall asleep to the sounds of 2004's Sphere at obscenely early hours (6 PM on a sunny day!) so we could wake up and hit Yellowstone before the crowds every morning. They were often asleep before "Fluency of Colors" was finished.
Landing appearswithregularityon this year-end list, but this song is absolute peak Landing. I've linked the short, poppy version, but the soaring 8 minute version is worth tracking down as well.
4. Men Without Hats - Head Above Water
From the album "Love in the Age of War" Self-Released (?) 05/2012
A washed-up 80s relic. I saw Men Without Hats on tour in (about) 2012 and they put on a heck of a show. Overheard at the show: A:"I only know one of their songs" B: "EVERYBODY only knows one of their songs!"
I've had the privilege of knowing more than one of their songs-- I've had a tape (later CD) of Men Without Hats since I was a teenager, and they have SEVERAL jams, each one better than the next. The show was high energy, joyful, self-deprecating, and one of the funnest happenings I remember in our sleepy town of Salem, Oregon.
I picked up this 2012 album ("Love in the Age of War") with pretty modest expectations. I mean, this album was obviously made 30 years past its sell-by date. Those expectations were completely exceeded. This album is all about appreciating what you are (and if what you are is a 1980s throwback, own it!)
So, the whole album is a nice set of earworms, and this song is the earwormiest. Highly recommended for anyone who doesn't get driven berserk by The Safety Dance.
3. Primal Scream - Come Together
From "Screamadelica" Creation Records, 1991
I realize I'm a bit late to the party with Primal Scream, 30 years...but I got there. For those who don't know, Primal Scream were a baggy, vaguely dancy british band from the late 80s/early 90s, often mentioned in the same breath as The Stone Roses.
The story with this song-- Primal Scream recorded a song that sounded vaguely like this called "Come Together". Then, as they were putting this album together, they brought some remixers in, presumably for 12" dance remixes and whatnot. So, Andrew Weatherall remixed Come Together. Took out the melody, the lyrics, and just kept the groove. And it grooves for DAYS. So, this remixed version is the one on the album, and the original ended up as a B-side. Good choice.
I could play this one on a loop in my head for hours.
2. Fairport Convention - Meet on the Ledge
From the album "What We Did on Our Holidays" Island Records, 01/1969
2021 was the year I finally checked out Fairport Convention. I've heard several bands covering them (including Meet on the Ledge), and I've gotten into Richard Thompson, who was the guitar player for Fairport for their first 5 albums. Speaking of their first 5 albums, I picked them up on Amazon for a steal.
This song is just one of those perfect hippy-dippy 1960s sing-alongs (like The Weight!). I think I need to learn the chords and words so that I can sing along too.
Apparently, Fairport Convention has reached the level of fame, etc. (at least in Britain) that they play one show a year-- they put on a festival in their hometown, and lots of famous bands come play as well, and Fairport plays about two sets, one weekend per year. That's the kind of musical retirement I want. I want to skip the hard parts and go right to the one-awesome-show-per-year phase of my musical career.
1. Mission of Burma - This Is Not a Photograph
From the "Signals, Calls, and Marches" EP Ace of Hearts Records, 1981
I'm probably 15 or 20 years too late to recommend "Our Band Could Be Your Life" by Michael Azzerad. Let me echo everyone else and say "go read it." (that means you, Jen.)
Again, 2021 is the year I finally got to hear Signals, Calls, and Marches. It's just as crucial as everyone says.
This song is a post-punk banger. Start to finish. I love the little Martin Swope touches throughout, but really noticable about 1:03. I assume that's Martin Swope. I love the idea of having one band member whose sole job it is to deconstruct the band's sound. I want to be that, except my band is a duo, and it just ends up as a fight.
I don't have as many words to say about this song, but it's #1 because I like it the most. Short, and sweet, and direct. Who needs more than 2 minutes?
