Jump to content

Best of 2016 (So far)


Recommended Posts

I made my yearly dumb list up at http://www.ibuywaytoomanyrecords.com/2016/12/the-absolute-best-records-of-2016.html


The Top 30 is up there plus some other words and links to listen to the top 10.

The top ten were:

01 - Mrs. Magician  Bermuda – SW@MI 
02 - Steve Adamyk Band
  Graceland – Dirtnap 
03 - Title Tracks  Long Dream –Ernest Jenning 
04 - Wild Animals  Basements – Music To Fight Hypocrisy – Waterslide 
05 - Laika’s Orbit  No Matter What it Takes – Total Negativity 
06 - So Cow  Lisa Marie Airplane Tour – Tall Pat 
07 - Bob Mould  Patch The Sky – Merge 
08 - Medictation  Warm Places – Dead Broke 
09 - Good Shade  Breakfast – Gut Genug 
10 - Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place  You’re Doomed. Be Nice. – Temporary Residence

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reposting from our record store employee picks: 

www.facebook.com/apollonbergen Insta: @apollonplatebar

anderson_zpsmenvj8zw.jpg
1. Anderson .Paak - Malibu "Anderson .Paak is the doctor’s orders. Easily the album I’ve spun the most this year after seeing the light during a trip home to the States this summer. Paak’s third album showcases the LA musician’s brilliance in combining vibes of 70’s funk and soul, early 90’s hip-hop, and the wild card that is his own voice and take on a genre that has grown new wings in recent years. The past few years have been Kendrick’s, the next few will be Anderson’s. In an industry driven by singles, Anderson managed to put together a double-LP that flawlessly funks and flows from first to finish, and you’re left wanting more. Luckily, he’s on such a roll that he just dropped another album with Knxwledge (Kendrick Lamar producer) under the moniker NxWorries. If you dig this, I HIGHLY recommend checking out my second pick on this list. Voice of an angel."
2. NAO – For All We Know
3. James Blake– The Colour Of Everything
4. Neurosis – Fire Within Fires
5. Ivan Ave – Helping Hands
6. BANKS – Altar 
7. Meshuggah– Violent Sleep Of Reality
8. Bon Iver – 22, A Million
9. Nails – You Will Never Be One of Us
10. Kendrick Lamar – Untitled Unmastered

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Carly Rae Jepsen said:

I enjoyed these in no particular order:

  1. Astronoid - Air
  2. Britney Spears - Glory
  3. Connor Oberst - Ruminations
  4. DEP - Dissociation
  5. ETID - Low Teens
  6. Frameworks - Smother
  7. Joyce Manor - Cody
  8. Jackie (Soundtrack)
  9. Noname - Telefone
  10. Pears - Green Star
  11. Solange - A Seat at the Table
  12. The Superweaks - Better Heavens
  13. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here

 

EP’s

 

  1. Dead To Me
  2. Turnover

Emotion Side B didn't make the cut?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 12 favorite albums of the year, couldn't bring myself to rank them:

Bellows - Fist & Palm
Deer Leap - Impermanence
Dikembe - Hail Something
Emma Ruth Rundle - Marked For Death
Hello Shark - Delicate
Hotelier - Goodness
Human Hands - Morning Sun
Mothers - When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired
Signals Midwest - At This Age
Told Slant - Going By
Tyler Daniel Bean - On Days Soon To Pass
TW Walsh - Fruitless Research

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking through everyone else's lists I realize how few new albums I listened to this year. I was busy listening to older stuff I hadn't heard/filling in gaps in my collection...

That said, I've managed to put together a list of top ten albums for me this year. I think I managed to snag all but one on vinyl too, which feels pretty good. The one I'm missing I'm just waiting for a sale/going to combine shipping on some items from a label I'm not crazy about.

In no particular order:

 

American Football - American Football (2)

Weezer - Weezer (white)

Vektor - Terminal Redux

Newmoon - Space

Ancient Warlocks - Ancient Warlocks II

Khemmis - Hunted

Case/Lang/Veirs - Case/Lang/Veirs

Frank Ocean - Blonde

Holy Serpent - Temples*

David Bowie - Blackstar

 

 

*haven't picked up on vinyl yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For some reason I kept thinking that I hadn't listened to much new music this year, then I ran through my iTunes and realized I have 30 albums in my 2016 playlist. I have no idea what order I would put them in, so here's just an alphabetized list of my top 10.

 

* Big Jesus - Oneiric

* The Body - No One Deserves Happiness

* Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas - Mariner

* Deftones - Gore
* Neurosis - Fires Within Fires

* Oathbreaker - Rheia

* O'Brother - Endless Light

* Russian Circles - Guidance

* Sumac - What One Becomes

* Touche Amore - Stage Four

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man, what a great year for music. So many great albums spanning so many genres. This year was an especially tough one to narrow down from 100 to 50 to 25 to 15. There were so many albums that were on that edge of 8.5 that just barely didn't hit 9 for me. So only listing 15 doesn't do the year justice, but these are my absolute favorites of the year. These aren't really necessarily in order either. So hard to choose if one was higher than another. I could rate them somewhat easily, but then sorting out the same grade was tough.

 

// Albums

1. | Shawn James - On The Shoulders of Giants | blues / folk / gospel | (10/10) ***
2. |American Football - American Football 2 | emo / math rock / indie | (9.5/10)
3. | Aesop Rock - Impossible Kid | hip hop | (9.5/10)
4. | Every Time I Die - Low Teens | hardcore punk / metalcore | (9.5/10)
5. | NAILS - You Will Never Be One Of Us | grindcore | (9/10)
6. | July Talk - Touch | indie rock / blues rock | (9/10)
7. | Anderson .Paak - Mailbu | r&b / hip hop / neo soul | (9/10)
8. | Oathbreaker - Rheia | black metal / alternative | (9/10)
9. | Childish Gambino - Awaken My Love | r&b / neo soul / psych funk | (9/10)
10. | Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow | alt. punk / dream pop | (9/10)
11. | Kings of Leon - WALLS | alt. / indie | (9/10)
12. | Weezer - White Album | alt. rock / power pop | (9/10)
13. | Russian Circles - Guidance | post rock / post metal | (9/10)
14. | Lost in Kiev - Nuit Noir | post rock (9/10)

15. | Badbadnotgood - IV | electronic jazz / jazz | (9/10)

 

// EP

Caspian - Castle High, Marble Bright | post rock | (10/10)

 

// Live

Julien Baker - Spotify Sessions | indie folk / ambient | (10/10)

 

*** - I highly suggest you check out Shawn James if you haven't heard him before. This album won me over more than anything this year by far. It's is dark, haunting, and full of emotion. I can't get enough of it. Do yourself a favor to get over how shitty 2016 was by putting on this album, and sitting in the dark while sipping some whiskey.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my opinion, I think 2016 was the best year for new music that I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of.  It's unreal the amount of new and good stuff that has come out this year, it's gonna be damn near impossible for me to pick a top 15, but I'm gonna try:

 

1.) Moose Blood - Blush

2.) Dance Gavin Dance - Mothership

3.) The Hotelier - Goodness

4.) Owel - Dear Me

5.) The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It

6.) Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

7.) Childish Gambino - "Awaken, My Love!"

8.) Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost

9.) You Blew It! - Abendrot

10.) Balance & Composure - Light We Made

11.) Posture & The Grizzly - I Am Satan

12.) Into It. Over  It. - Standards

13.) Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley

14.) Honus Honus - Use Your Delusion
15.) Death Grips - Bottomless Pit

Edited by FiggyPuddling
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Top 5 Favs of 2016

1. The Hotelier - Goodness

2. Conor Oberst - Ruminations

3. Posture And The Grizzly - I Am Satan

4. Tiny Movin Parts - Celebrate

5. Brian Fallon - Painkillers

 

Honorable Mentions That I Still Need To Spend More Time With...

Into It Over It - Standards

Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost

Thrice - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere

Teen Suicide - It's The Big Joyous Celebration, Let's Stir The Honeypot

American Football - LP2

You Blew It! - Abendrot

Touche Amore - Stage Four

Letlive - If I'm The Devil

Moose Blood - Blush (totally forgot about this one after listening once)

 

Records I Still Need To Buy...

Childish Gambino - Awaken My Love

Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues

Taking Back Sunday - Tidal Wave (have heard nothing about this album...but I'm remaining optomistic)

Joyce Manor - Cody

Balance And Composure - Light We Made

 

 

Biggest Disapointment 

Blink 182 - California...I actually forgot this existed a week after it came out...so boring

 

Not going to lie...I spent most of my year listening to the Hotelier and Conor Oberst....

My list came out a little more typical than usual and that kind of bums me out because usually I have a sleeper album that comes out and just knocks my socks off every year like Julien Baker's Sprained Ankle last year and Foxing's The Albatross the year before....this year everything was about as I expected it to be...no really new bands blew me away this year...It was just a lot of my old favorites making solid records...

 

Except Blinks California....what a snoozefest...ughh!

 

My Best album of 2017 prediction - The Menzingers - After The Party

 

See you in 2017 Motherfuckers....

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dark Thoughts LP was by far my most listened to album of 2016. Such a great record! https://dark-thoughts.bandcamp.com/

 

Top Tens in order...

 

LP's

Dark Thoughts – s/t

Blood Incantation – Starspawn

Violence Creeps – The Gift Of Music

Sissy Spacek – Disfathom

Column Of Heaven / Suffering Luna - Split

Foster Care – Sterilization

No Time – You'll Get Yours

Latishia's Skull Drawing – Romanticized

Wake – Sowing The Seeds Of A Worthless Tomorrow

Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate

 

 

7”s

Private Room ‎– Life Com

Fucking Invincible - I Hate Myself And Want You To Die

G.L.O.S.S. - Trans Day Of Revenge

Kriegshög – s/t

Woodboot – Black Piss

Radiation / Shitstorm - Split

Framtid – The Horrific Visions

Warthog – s/t

Krimewatch – Demo

Mean Jeans - Nite Vision

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is nothing against anyone in particular, if you know what you like, good on ya...but when I see top ten lists that are nothing but pop-punk albums it confuses me a little bit. Tons of good albums came out this year, branch out a little bit!

This is nothing against anyone in particular, if you know what you like, good on ya...but when I see top ten lists that are nothing but pop-punk albums it confuses me a little bit. Tons of good albums came out this year, branch out a little bit!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, The Ghost of Randy Savage said:

This is nothing against anyone in particular, if you know what you like, good on ya...but when I see top ten lists that are nothing but pop-punk albums it confuses me a little bit. Tons of good albums came out this year, branch out a little bit!

This is nothing against anyone in particular, if you know what you like, good on ya...but when I see top ten lists that are nothing but pop-punk albums it confuses me a little bit. Tons of good albums came out this year, branch out a little bit!

Mr. Savage...

 

I believe this was directed towards me (with good reason) but I just wanted to save my ass a little bit and throw out there that I spent most of the year buying older albums. I bought the entire Genesis discography (yeah I know Phil Collins sucks...blah blah blah), about 18 Bob Dylan records as well as everything Springsteen came out with up to Tunnel of Love. Also bought a copy of Prince's 1999, the represses of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Blue Train, A pretty extensive order from Numero Group, Joni Mitchell's Blue, A shit ton of Frank Sinatra (all in the $1 bin and in perfect condition)The Smiths, some Morrissey represses and some punk records I've been wanting to get forever like Jim Carroll Band's Catholic Boy and Fear's The Record

 

I would recommend any one of those albums BTW...

 

I just wanted to clear up that in terms of new music I usually listen to a good portion of pop/punk/emo because that's typically what I dig...but I branched out a lot this year and bought/listened to a ton of albums I never would have before...but the list is for new music...so that didn't come through...

 

Have a great holiday Macho Man! next year I'll try to make my list as eclectic as yours;)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, thispartysucks128 said:

Mr. Savage...

 

I believe this was directed towards me (with good reason) but I just wanted to save my ass a little bit and throw out there that I spent most of the year buying older albums. I bought the entire Genesis discography (yeah I know Phil Collins sucks...blah blah blah), about 18 Bob Dylan records as well as everything Springsteen came out with up to Tunnel of Love. Also bought a copy of Prince's 1999, the represses of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Blue Train, A pretty extensive order from Numero Group, Joni Mitchell's Blue, A shit ton of Frank Sinatra (all in the $1 bin and in perfect condition)The Smiths, some Morrissey represses and some punk records I've been wanting to get forever like Jim Carroll Band's Catholic Boy and Fear's The Record

 

I would recommend any one of those albums BTW...

 

I just wanted to clear up that in terms of new music I usually listen to a good portion of pop/punk/emo because that's typically what I dig...but I branched out a lot this year and bought/listened to a ton of albums I never would have before...but the list is for new music...so that didn't come through...

 

Have a great holiday Macho Man! next year I'll try to make my list as eclectic as yours;)

Haha, you were the last one I read, but believe me, there are tons of lists on here in the same boat. I don't hate Collins Genesis, but I am a Peter Gabriel guy.

 

Sounds like you're kind of where I am in that you filled in a bunch of older stuff that was missing from you collection.

 

Like I said, when you know what you like, you know what you like! :) No judgments! I still love older pop-punk stuff too, just can't get into as much of the new stuff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tbh, I didn't think this year had as many great albums as last year, at least in my main two styles of music I listen to the most, Hip-Hop and Metal, but there was some great gems this year, and it took me a while to narrow it down to just 20 but here we go:

1. Oathbreaker - Rheia 
2. YG - Still Brazy 
3. A Tribe Called Quest - Thank You For Your Service... We Got It From Here 
4. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition
5. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool 
6. Teen Suicide - It's The Big Joyous Celebration, Let's Stir The Honeypot 
7.  Frank Ocean - Blond(e) 
8. Alcest - Kodama 
9. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation 
10. Mac Miller - The Divine Feminine 
11. Anderson .Paak - Malibu 
12. Chevelle - The North Corridor 
13. Deftones - Gore 
14. Touché Amoré - Stage Four 
15. NxWorries - Yes Lawd! 
16. Kanye West - The Life Of Pablo 
17. Descendents - Hypercaffium Spazzinate 
18. Schoolboy Q - Blankface LP 
19. Gojira - Magma 
20. Balance and Composure - Light We Made 

 

I realized there's a couple of albums I didn't listen to yet they might have made the list, like Zao, Nails, and La Femme (who I didn't even know released an album until today) but these are the album's I've enjoyed the most this year. That Oathbreaker album seriously took me by surprised, I'd never even heard of the band till I saw them live with Skeletonwitch, and they were just phenomenonal, wish I had picked up the tour variant of what ended up being my AOTY, but oh well.

 

As I said before this album was kinda disappointing to me overall given that I was excited for new albums by artist like Drake, J. Cole, and Metallica and all of them didn't do much for me after multiple listens, even for to go as far as to dislike all three of those albums, and even albums I did like I don't think were as good as the artist previous albums, (Schoolboy Q, Travis Scott, Balance and Composure). So hopefully next year will have some great releases in store.

 

Lastly, I didn't add EPs, Compilations, or Mixtapes on here, so quick shoutout to Kendrick Lamar's Untitled, Unmastered, Vince Staples' Prima Donna EP, and Denzel Curry's Imperial, which probably would have made the list if they were albums.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since I'm kinda picky with what I listen to... I'll only do a few. (Links are to YouTube playlists.)

 

Best Rock: Artifex Pereo - "Passengers" *I consider this my #1 overall album this year, I really... very... highly... recommend this album!

gallery_565_3_66793.jpeg

 

Best Metal: Silent Planet - "Everything Was Sound"

gallery_823_3_5394.jpeg

 

Best Soundtrack: Michael Giacchino - "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)

gallery_565_3_42320.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/24/2016 at 9:41 AM, thispartysucks128 said:

Top 5 Favs of 2016

1. The Hotelier - Goodness

2. Conor Oberst - Ruminations

3. Posture And The Grizzly - I Am Satan

4. Tiny Movin Parts - Celebrate

5. Brian Fallon - Painkillers

 

Honorable Mentions That I Still Need To Spend More Time With...

Into It Over It - Standards

Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost

Thrice - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere

Teen Suicide - It's The Big Joyous Celebration, Let's Stir The Honeypot

American Football - LP2

You Blew It! - Abendrot

Touche Amore - Stage Four

Letlive - If I'm The Devil

Moose Blood - Blush (totally forgot about this one after listening once)

 

Records I Still Need To Buy...

Childish Gambino - Awaken My Love

Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues

Taking Back Sunday - Tidal Wave (have heard nothing about this album...but I'm remaining optomistic)

Joyce Manor - Cody

Balance And Composure - Light We Made

 

 

Biggest Disapointment 

Blink 182 - California...I actually forgot this existed a week after it came out...so boring

 

Not going to lie...I spent most of my year listening to the Hotelier and Conor Oberst....

My list came out a little more typical than usual and that kind of bums me out because usually I have a sleeper album that comes out and just knocks my socks off every year like Julien Baker's Sprained Ankle last year and Foxing's The Albatross the year before....this year everything was about as I expected it to be...no really new bands blew me away this year...It was just a lot of my old favorites making solid records...

 

Except Blinks California....what a snoozefest...ughh!

 

My Best album of 2017 prediction - The Menzingers - After The Party

 

See you in 2017 Motherfuckers....

 

 

 

 

Your honorable mentions and albums you still need to listen to are some of my favorites. Definitely give them more listens. Letlive was the biggest grower for me. I hear something new every time. 

 

Taking back sunday and jimmy eat world were fantastic. Both bands are at the point where their status and name recognition hurt them when it comes to new material. People have their mind made up before they even listen. Plus both lead singles for the albums aren't completely representative of what the album as a whole sounds like. The choruses for both albums are huge and you'll be singing along by the end of the song. They also have the vulnerability that is prominent in their genre. 

 

Really sit down with them. Follow along with the lyrics and give them an honest listen.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still feel like there is an album or two that I am missing, just can't think of what they are.. but until then, this is my final top 15 of 2016.

 

4f094a0aeb47db2d48ade0db6d79b0cf.png

 

I'm definitely taking note of albums that made multiple people's lists that I haven't checked out yet. Hope to find some gems there!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Miscellaneous
Pixies - Head Carrier   I don't love this album, but wow do I love Baal's Back

Dead To Me - I Wanna Die in Los Angeles   CAN WE GET A FULL LENGTH SOON PLZ?!?

David Bowie - Blackstar  I think I appreciate this album more than I actually want to listen to it.  

Runner Ups:
Violent Soho - WACO   This album was good but didn't reach the heights of Hungry Ghost.  I was disappointed but probably had outsized expectations.

Dinosaur Jr. - Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not  This felt a bit mailed in to me.  I still liked it, but there was some disconnect that kept from falling head over heels into it.


Top 10
10) Joyce Manor - Cody  

9) Fucko - Dealing With The Weird  

8) Astronautilus - Cut the Body Loose   

7) Andrew Jackson Jihad - The Bible 2   

6) A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service   

5) Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression   

4) Against Me! - Shape Shift with Me  

3) PUP - The Dream Is Over  

2) The Dirty Nil - Higher Power   

1) Jeff Rosenstock - Worry  

Edited by jesse
Link to comment
Share on other sites

These numbers are arbitrary and I know I left off some major albums. I really need more time to revisit everything and will likely come up with a more polished list as I do that. But there are the standouts for me right now:

Albums

1) Belvedere - The Revenge of the Fifth
2) Esperanza Spalding ‎– Emily's D+Evolution
3) Russian Circles - Guidance
4) Face to Face - Protection
5) Laura Mvula - The Dreaming Room
6) Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness
7) The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation 
8) Descendents - Hypercaffium Spazzinate
9) True Love - Heaven's Too Good for Us
10) Joe McMajon - Another Life


EPs

1) Dead to Me - I Wanna Die in Los Angeles
2) Dag Nasty - Cold Heart / Wanting Nothing
3) toyGuitar - Move Like a Ghost
4) Krimewatch - Demo 2016
5) Descendents - Spazzhazard


Biggest Disappointment

As much as it hurts to write this I cannot get The Bouncing Souls' Simplicity to click for the life of me. To me is a regurgitated Summer Vacation without its charm. I have spun the album a bunch and have heard most of the songs live to no avail. I thought it was a huge step down from Comet. I know that album gets a lot of hate, but I really enjoyed that one especially after the mess that was Ghosts on the Boardwalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My list:

 

1. Sumac - What One Becomes
2. Russian Circles - Guidance
3. Mustard Gas & Roses - Becoming
4. Meniscus - Refraction
5. Bossk - Audio Noir
6. Oathbreaker - Rheia
7. Ornaments - Drama
8. ITTCT - The Bones Of A Dying World
9. Malämmar - Vendetta
10. Pg.lost - Versus
11. The Album Leaf - Between Waves
12. American Football - LP2

 

Honorable mentions:
Neurosis - Fire Within Fires
Alcest - Kodama
Mono - Requiem For Hell
Immanu El - Hibernation
Blueneck - The Outpost
Inter Arma - Paradise Gallows
Cough - Still They Prey
Slomatics - Future Echo Returns
Kokomo - Monochrome Noise Love
Lost In Kiev - Nuit Noire
Explosions In The Sky - The Wilderness
Cult Of Luna & Julie Christmas - Mariner
Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/24/2016 at 0:20 PM, kurtz said:

Dark Thoughts LP was by far my most listened to album of 2016. Such a great record! https://dark-thoughts.bandcamp.com/

 

Top Tens in order...

 

LP's

Dark Thoughts – s/t

Blood Incantation – Starspawn

Violence Creeps – The Gift Of Music

Sissy Spacek – Disfathom

Column Of Heaven / Suffering Luna - Split

Foster Care – Sterilization

No Time – You'll Get Yours

Latishia's Skull Drawing – Romanticized

Wake – Sowing The Seeds Of A Worthless Tomorrow

Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate

 

 

7”s

Private Room ‎– Life Com

Fucking Invincible - I Hate Myself And Want You To Die

G.L.O.S.S. - Trans Day Of Revenge

Kriegshög – s/t

Woodboot – Black Piss

Radiation / Shitstorm - Split

Framtid – The Horrific Visions

Warthog – s/t

Krimewatch – Demo

Mean Jeans - Nite Vision

 

That Blood Incantation is good shit my man.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My favorite records/songs of 2016.

For some fancy pants pics of my top ten, this way -> instagram.com/eliminator.jr

 

LPs:

 

10. Oathbreaker. rheia 

09. Mamiffer. the world unseen

08. Russian Circles. guidance

07. Wreck and Reference. indifferent rivers romance end

06. David Bowie. blackstar 

 

05. Xiu Xiu. plays the music of twin peaks

 

While staying true to the original on the vocal-driven tracks, Xiu Xiu truly make the music of Twin Peaks their own on the jazz and ambient oriented themes of the score. It's not just a modern take on these songs, but there are plenty twisted and sometimes terrifying interpretations, intensifying the feeling of dread and drowsiness the originals so eloquently convey. A deferent homage to the greatest soundtrack of all time and a wholly enjoyable, ambitious and impressive album on its own.

 

04. Bon Iver. 22, a million

 

It took me some effort to find the songs behind all the mess on this records, but as soon as I had found them they outshone all the filth and autotuned mindfuckery Justin Vernon piled up on them to hide their beauty from everyone who isn't willing to dig deep enough. I get people who liked his first records and hate this one, but to me it's just as good and represents Justin at the peak of his art. 

 

03. The Hotelier. goodness

 

This album really took me by surprise. I thought Home Like NoPlace Is There was a good enough record, but not the modern 17th wave emo-classic young, good looking people everywhere made it out to be. Goodness, though, is. Soft Animal, Piano Player and Two Deliverances are, among other highlights of this record, of which there are plenty, some of the best straight up rock songs of this year and all of them hit almost too close to home on an emotional level. A heartfelt record about growing older, seeking happiness in everyday life and being at ease with the fact that things are tough and always will be.

 

02. 40 Watt Sun. wider than the sky

 

Patrick Walker's voice carries the weight of the world.  His first classic, Warning's Watching From A Distance, is one of the most emotionally crushing doom albums of all time and he continues to paint his elaborate, miles deep and all-black pictures with 40 Watt Sun. For the first time, though, he got rid of the doom, replaced the fuzz with clean electric and some acoustic guitars and plays his 10+ minutes epics as if nothing changed at all. This is slowcore, but slowed down. It's doom light, but heavier than ever. Thrown into the abyss of eternal sorrow and regret. 

 

01. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. skeleton tree

 

Nick Cave spent his entire career writing songs about love and death, the sorrow, despair. The fear of god and redemption, if it may ever come. His protagonists were murderers, lovers, people both deceitful and deceased. On Skeleton Tree, there is no story to tell. No protagonist. No dramatic purpose. Actually, no purpose at all. What is the purpose when the one you love is gone? Nick Cave doesn't tell, because he doesn't know. This record is the possibly greatest storyteller of our time, lost for words, with nothing left to say. And I wept.

 

Songs:

 

Grouper. headache

The Hotelier. soft animal

40 Watt Sun. stages

Bon Iver. 8 circle

Radiohead. true love waits

Nothing. acd

Deftones. rubicon

Nine Inch Nails. burning bright (field on fire)

Swans. cloud of unknowing

Boris. sometimes

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×

AdBlock Detected

spacer.png

We noticed that you're using an adBlocker

Yes, I'll whitelist