Top 5 New Albums 2017

5. Tender Age - Disappear Here EP

[Sinis Recordings, 2017]

A cool band from portland that played at Possum House this year. 6 tasty shoegazy treats. 3 of them are covers you might recognize.

(Vinyl appears to be sold out. Get it on Cassette or digital on Bandcamp)



4. Brides - For Charles EP

[Hex Tapes, 2017]

Local Salem goodness (they played that show with Tender Age). Sounds like the start of something good.

(buy the download on bandcamp or pick up a physical copy at a show.)


3. Eyelids - Or

 

[Jealous Butcher Records, 2017]

Eyelids are from Portland, and they've played in, or played with folks who played in every great band in the world. This album was recorded by Peter Buck of REM, who seems underwhelmed in the above video. It's great, perfect power pop. Check out their other releases, too.

(Pick it up on Bandcamp).


2. Rainer Maria - S/T

[Polyvinyl Records, 2017]

After more than 10 years broken up, 90s darlings-turned-00s stalwarts release another great album. I saw them on tour and they looked happier than I've ever seen them. I take that as a good sign.

Buy it from Polyvinyl's website.


1. Jeremy Enigk - Ghosts

[Lewis Hollow Recordings, 2017]

With a song title like "The Long Wait Is Over", Jeremy Enigk is right. It's been a long time since his last album ('09? Can't remember) Anyways, This is Jeremy's best solo record this century. Although nothing can top the orchestra-meets-primitivism of Return of the Frog Queen or his stuff with Sunny Day Real Estate, this is still great stuff. He kickstarted this on PledgeMusic, and it seemed as if it would never be completed, but like the song says, "It's worth it." Shoutout to playing a song live in 1997 and not recording or releasing it until 2017.

Looks like he's selling the extra LPs through Bandcamp.

Top 5 New Discoveries 2017

5. Helium - Pirate Prude

[Matador Records, 1994]

Finally acquired Helium's debut EP. Mary Timony's songwriting is spot on and idiosyncratic as always, if a little unrefined from her later stuff. Still golden.

(buy the compilation LP that contains this at Matador, or pick it the original EP up cheap on Amazon)



4. Autopilot Is for Lovers - To the Wolves

[Bladen County Records, 2009]

Saw these guys with Builders and the Butchers (their drummer plays in that band also) and really enjoyed them. Was pleasantly surprised by their album, which is twelve slabs of auditory goodness.

(buy the download on bandcamp or pick up a physical copy at a show.)


3. Cursive - The Difference Between Houses and Homes (lost songs and loose ends 1995-2001)

 

[Saddle Creek Records, 2005]

Cursive made my #3 spot last year with another early album that I missed the first time around. This collection mines the earliest recordings of the Omaha band, and I think they're their best. Folks on the internet complain that the songs from the "Dispenser" 7" are rerecorded (disappointingly) for this compilation, but since I haven't heard the originals, they sound awesome to me.

(Pick it up from Saddle Creek).


2. Lungfish - Rainbows from Atoms

[Dischord Records, 1993]

Nobody writes songs like Lungfish. This is quite a good group of those songs.

Buy it from Dischord through Bandcamp.


1. One Last Wish - 1986

[Dischord Records. Recorded 1986, Released 1996]

Guy Picciotto's band between Rites of Spring and Fugazi (okay, RoS and Happy Go Licky). I discovered this band in 2015, and it took me 2 years to buy the album. It was worth it. Punk energy with an emotional delivery without being weepy. Post-punky soaring guitars. Makes me wonder what the 90s would have sounded like if One Last Wish was the influential band and Rites of Spring the footnote. I think I may like this even more than Rites of Spring.

Buy it from Dischord through Bandcamp.

Top 5 Miscellaneous songs of 2017

Top 5 Miscellaneous songs of 2017

5. Lo Tom - Another Mistake

Another Mistake by Lo Tom

[Barsuk Records, 2017]

David Bazan from Pedro the Lion + members of Pedro the Lion, Starflyer 59, Velour 100 and His Name Is Alive (and countless other bands of that scene) made a surprisingly low-key supergroup album. I wish I could have seen one of the handful of shows Lo Tom played. Instead, I have this song with its BRILLIANT ending.

(buy at Barsuk Records)



4. The Builders and the Butchers - Never Tell

Never Tell by The Builders and the Butchers

[Badman Recording Co, 2017]

I had a conversation with a friend about the new Builders and the Butchers album. He said he liked it fine, but it was a lot like the other Builders and the Butchers records. I said "yeah, they kinda only have one song." He replied, "No, they have TWO songs-- one about fire, and one about rain." Well, that's kinda true, but they're so fun to listen to (and watch live). This one is about fire, and it may be my favorite Builders song. It's certainly representative of their body of work.

(buy this record at Badman Recordings)


3. His Name Shall Breathe - The Kick to Come

 

The Kick to Come by His Name Shall Breathe
[self-released, 2017]

Tim Martin is a master of songcraft. This song has all the punk rock brotherhood and world-weary suffering that you would expect from him. An instant classic.

(buy the 3-song EP on Bandcamp).


2. Radiohead - Lift

  Lift by Radiohead
[Recorded 1996ish. Released by XL Recordings, 2017]

This year marks 20 years of Radiohead's landmark 1997 album OK Computer. As a gift to fans, an expanded edition was released with lots of B-Sides and 4 extra completely unreleased tracks from the sessions. Word on the street is that these songs were too good, and Radiohead wanted them for a future album. They've circulated as live recordings and snippets for years now, but the studio versions have been heretofore missing in fan circles. With every new album (all the way through A Moon Shaped Pool), the rumors circulated as to whether "Lift" would be on the new album. Radiohead teased its release for years, sporadically playing the song live. Well, here we have it. Better late than never, right?

Looks like this is going out of print (or there already), but Amazon still has copies .


1. Mac MacCaughan - Happy New Year (Prince Can't Die Again)

Happy New Year (Prince Can't Die Again)
[leaked 12/26/16, album released January 2017]

This one grew on me all year--partly because it was so prophetic about what the next year would bring. Released on a politically-themed compilation album put out by Quasi in the run-up to the inaguration, and backed by Sam and Janet, this is appropriately vitriolic, pessimistic, hopeful, and cathartic. Just what we need in the era of Alternative Facts. Certainly not a timeless song, but we'll be able to listen to this in 10 years and remember exactly what it was like to be alive in 2017. Assuming the human race is still here 10 years from now.

(Download for pay-what-you-want with an all-star cast compilation from Thee Quasi.)

Top 5 New Albums 2016

Top 5 New Albums of 2016

5. American Football 2

Polyvinyl Records, 10/21/2016

Perennial favorite American Football reunites to try to recreate 1999. Not bad.

(Buy it here at Polyvinyl.)



4. Landing - Complekt / Third Sight

These Are Not Records, 11/25/2016

El Paraiso 6/17/2016

Two Landing albums in 2016. Complekt is among their best. Third Sight is quite good, too. Spacey drone pop tryyps.

(buy them here and here.)


3. The Lowest Pair - Uncertain as it Is Uneven / Fern Girl and Ice Man

Team Love 4/15/2016

Team Love 4/15/2016

Two years ago, The Lowest Pair's debut album earned the top spot on my list. Now, they have five albums. That's almost disturbingly prolific. Nevertheless, both new albums released in April of this year were solid, listenable, and fun. Still banjo-tastic. Still heartachingly honest. Still amazing.

(You can buy it here.)


2. Beauty Pill Describes Things as They Are

Butterscotch Records, 4/21/2015

OK, so this is a 2015 release. Well, I can't get EVERYTHING immediately as it comes out. I'd be more broke than I already am. It's been 11-odd years since Beauty Pill's last album. Bandleader Chad Clark has faced a busy life, health issues, and a revolving door of bandmembers. Several songs from the album were released in the intervening years. It was worth the wait.

(Here's the official site.)

1. Temper and Hold - The Speed of Travel

Grafton Records, 10/7/2016

Another beautiful album from Temper and Hold. Andi Camp (formerly of Ribbon Fix and solo fame) leads this Portland power trio, and they bring the rawk. Pure, powerful emotion bled through every song. Beautiful packaging on the vinyl release. Strap in and give it a listen.


(Buy it from the band/label here.)

Top 5 New Discoveries 2016

Top 5 New Discoveries of 2016

(albums released pre-2015 that I finally discovered this year)

5. Maritime - Heresy and the Hotel Choir

Flameshovel Records, 10/26/2007

I might have even seen Maritime play in 2007, but for some reason I didn't pick this album up until this year. A regret, for sure. RIYL: Promise Ring, or some good midwest pop.

(Flameshovel doesn't seem to be selling it. Try Amazon.)



4. Their / They're / There - Their / They're / There / Analog Weekend

Topshelf Records, 4/20/2013

Topshelf Records, 12/10/2013

A collab between Mike Kinsella (of way too many good bands) and Evan Weiss of Into It. Over It. I was vaguely aware it was happening in 2013 and should've paid more attention. Quite good. Two EPs, 9 songs.

(buy them here)


3. Cursive - The Storms of Early Summer: The Semantics of Song

Saddle Creek Records, 11/8/1998

I somehow missed this album in my long relationship with Cursive. I have long loved their first album, and was pleasantly surprised to find this is more of the same, and perhaps even better.

(You can buy it here.)


2. Pop Unknown - If Arsenic Fails, try Algebra

Deep Elm, 11/30/1999

Another band I saw back in the day but didn't buy the album. Gabe Wiley, drummer from Mineral plays on this album that sounds very little like Mineral, but very much like good indie rock. Download it for free from Deep Elm, or pick it up in the dollar bin at the local record store like I did.

(download from Bandcamp right here.)

1. The Jealous Sound - Kill Them with Kindness

Better Looking Records 6/3/2003

I didn't know I needed this album in my life. Blair Sheehan of Knapsack's post-90s band. Sounds a bit like Knapsack, a bit like contemporaries Hey Mercedes, and all good. Solid 2000s pop.


(Looks like Rise Records rereleased a bunch of Jealous Sound stuff here.)

Top 5 Miscellaneous songs of 2016

Top 5 Miscellaneous songs of 2016

5. The Juniper Drive - Decade

[self-released, 2016]

These young punks from North Dakota came through and played a house show in Salem. I loved their energy and spirit, and I can't help shouting along with the refrain from this song.

(buy at Bandcamp)



4. Boy Eats Drum Machine - Blazers Theme

[self-released, 2009]

Stumbled across this old chestnut from Portland's BEDM as a free download. This song is probably not meaningful if you didn't grow up watching the blazers on TV, but it gives me ALL the feels. I listened to it a lot during Portland's great but heartbreaking semifinal series against the Clippers this year.

(download for free at Bandcamp)


3. Magic Sword - The Legend of the Keeper

 

[self-released, 2016]

Transport yourself into a magic fantasyland. Check out their live shows, they look epic (but I haven't been to one yet). If you buy their music, buy the accompanying comic book as well.

(buy the music and comic books here).


2. Weezer - Long Time Sunshine

[DGC, 2010]

I'm enough of a Weezer fan to really like Pinkerton and be vaguely aware that Rivers wanted it to be some sort of more grandiose rock opera, but not enough to be one of those folks piecing together the clues on the internet. So, when I stumbled across a deluxe edition of Pinkerton with bonus tracks (thank your local library!), I was floored by this one. Vulnerable and weird like Pinkerton, but with a sort-of Broadway slant.

(can't seem to find it online for less-than-preposterous prices. Good luck.)


1. Radiohead - Spectre

[self-released, 2015]

Far better (in my opinion) than the other songs on their 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead dropped this failed James Bond theme on Christmas Day 2015 . A Moon Shaped Pool missed my top 5 for this year, but this song is AMAZING.

(used to be a free download. Now you'll have to try something clever to get it)

Top 5 New Albums 2015

Drumroll, please....

5. Yaquina Bay - Past Lives

Yaquina Bay - Past Lives

Self-Released

Released: September 12, 2015

Salem's own outdid themselves. From the opening blast to the concluding lock-groove (get the vinyl!), this is a superb album. I feel like I'm always a bit overcritical listening to Yaquina Bay, possibly because I consider it so close musically to my own music. I keep thinking things like "I'd've added guitar here," or "too much backing vocals here" or things like that. Really, I'm being overcritical because I like it so much. My only complaint is that it all sounds vaguely like Typhoon, but in its defense, the world could use more music like Typhoon. That's not a bad thing. Buy the vinyl record, CD, or download at Bandcamp.

4. Modest Mouse - Strangers to Ourselves

Modest Mouse - Strangers to Ourselves

Epic Records

Released: March 17, 2015

It's no coincidence that Isaac Brock's record label is named Glacial Pace. Modest Mouse's last album dropped in 2007, and this one has been in the works since then. I can relate.

Being a Modest Mouse hipster (saw 'em in a SLC basement in '97), I keep halfway expecting disappointment with each subsequent Modest Mouse release. They seem larger than life now-- I mean, they had Johnny Marr join their band for an album. Who does that? 

Lucky for me, they are one of the few bands making music today that is consistently great. While this album doesn't seem to reach the rarefied heights of many of their previous albums, this is a good, solid rock album with some amazing songs, and certainly not in any way disappointing.

Keep 'em coming. I'm fully prepared to love the next Modest Mouse album whenever it comes out (2023?)

3. Jen Wood - Wilderness

Jen Wood - Wilderness

New Granada Records

Released: October 14, 2014

Jen Wood hit her stride early, with a song on the Postmarked Stamps 7" series and a few nationally recognized albums before her 20th birthday. That's why it's super surprising that (ahem) several years later, Jen Wood just created the best album of her career.

This is her piano album-- she switched from guitar to piano for songwriting on this album, but the surprising thing about this album is the depth of songwriting and the lushness of the instrumentation.

Aw shucks, it's all great. That's why it was surprising to see her play in Portland to an unenthusiastic crowd and pack up her merch table early due to lack of interest.

Don't be that way. Listen to the songs here, and then buy the album here.

2. The Lowest Pair - Sacred Heart Sessions / I Reckon...

The Lowest Pair - The Sacred Heart Sessions  //  I Reckon I'm Fixin' on Kickin' Round to Pick a Little

Team Love Records

Released: February 24, 2015  //  July 24, 2015.

The banjo-heavy creators of my top new album last year came back with not one, but two albums in a 6 month span this year. The first, a proper sophomore album, was recorded in Low's favorite Duluth hangout, the Sacred Heart church. The second was a more hastily put-together affair of reimagined old Trad Arr songs, and a few originals that sound that way. Both are eminently listenable and great albums. Only Palmer T. Lee could make me view the state of Minnesota with any sort of nostalgia. Great songs. Only a notch below their fantastic debut.

1. Low - Ones and Sixes

Low - Ones and Sixes

Sub Pop Records

Released: September 11, 2015.

Low has been a lot of things over their 20+ year career, finding every possible permutation of "slow rock", from shimmery and beautiful to harsh and angry, and from long and proggish to short and minimalistic. I thought with their last album that they were settling down into a decidedly comfortable, dad-rock vein.

Boy, I thought wrong. This is an unsettled, disturbing album. Its beats are often distorted, rattly drum machine things, rather than the organic hi-hat and snare we're used to. The album has a pervasive paranoia that has only haunted a few Low albums in the past (maybe Great Destroyer or Long Division), with only a lone semi-poppy song (What Part of Me) sandwiched in the middle. 

It's probably their best album in 10 years or so. Alan and Mimi, it appears, are not going gently into that good night. Here's to 20+ more years of groundbreaking music.