Top 5 Albums 2019

5. Broken Hearts are Blue - Here Is Always Nowhere

Self-released, 12/2018

After leaving this planet with a 9 song album and over 20 years of silence (OK, OK, a remaster, a bonus track, whatever), Broken Hearts are Blue are suddenly back! With a 4-song EP that shows they still have emotional range, and can still write good rock tunes, this is one of the greatest disappearing/reappearing acts in music. More to come on this theme below.

 

4. American Football - American Football 3

Polyvinyl Records, 03/2019

Another Lazarus case, American Football has managed to release two decent albums since reforming a few years ago. Shout out to the instrumental 1997 demos they released this year. Those are good also.

3. Norman - Buzz and Fade

Hey Amigo Records, 11/2019

Norman are a great band from Portland / Corvallis, OR, and this is their 4th album. Their influences are as diverse as Maritime, Stereolab, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan. This is a great fun album that I found myself listening to over and over again. Unfortunately, the best song on the album is on the lathe-cut 7" included in the pre-release. It's called Obie Thruggs, and it's a stomper. It's not on the internet anywhere, and I haven't taken the time to rip it yet, but be on the lookout for that one.

Buy this album-- and ask if there are any of the lathe cut 7"s left.

2 Pedro the Lion - Phoenix

Polyvinyl Records, 01/2019

The rebirth of Pedro the Lion, yes. So this is band 3 out of 4 on this particular list that fit that category. I don't think of this as much as a reformation, though, as another of David Bazan's many recent projects and albums. This one is certainly Bazan's best since his fantastic Curse Your Branches album in 2009. You can read the articles, but I like that Bazan is writing about his childhood, as opposed to characters. There's a sweetness and personality in these songs that you don't hear a lot in various David Bazan / Pedro the Lion songs. Makes me long for Phoenix, even though I've never been there.

 

1. Maya Shore - We Knew Everyone

Self-Released, 08/2019

This is the one. Maya Shore were friends of mine from about '97 onwards in utah (see the Utah map on the cover? They knew everyone.) In about late 2000, Maya Shore released a powerful, yet understated album, and then disappeared into the haze of being adults. That CD has been in rotation at my house for 20 years. Now, 20 years later, Kelly is an airline pilot and lives in Florida. I don't know where Wade ended up, but from out of nowhere, this.

Such restraint, such longing. Not everything-all-at-once, but tugging on the heartstrings in just the right way. As if the intervening years were just an inhale, waiting for the next breath.

P.S. My favorite track is Park Bench am Bodensee. You should really just download the whole album.