I Swear it's At Least 7: The Matt Else Story

While compiling this list I was really only able to get 7 albums I TRULY dug this year. I have theories as to why but who cares?  #10-8 are basically fillers and then the real good stuff starts at #7…

10.  Natalie Prass – Self Titled
In my lifelong quest to find the next Amy Winehouse I encountered Ms. Prass.  Produced by Matthew E. White, it’s very much a traditional pop album but with full horn and string arrangements instead of overproduced electronic drum beats and samples.  I liked it well enough to include it in this very top heavy list.

Favorite track: Bird of Prey








9. Matthew E. White – Fresh Blood




At this stage in my life I appreciate and respect anything that is just DIFFERENT and that’s how I felt about this.   Really nice horn and string sections (similar to the Prass album, for obvious reasons), and his vocal delivery will grow on you.  He manages to sound simultaneously at full volume while also whispering.  Very much looking forward to seeing what direction he takes us on for the next one.

Favorite track: Rock & Roll is Cold





8.  Kurt Vile – b’lieve I’m goin down…
This grew on me very much from my initial listen.  The lead single "Pretty Pimpin" is absolutely outstanding in every way and I think I was initially expecting more of THAT.  While the rest of it is not on that level, it’s still really enjoyable.  His guitar riffs kinda clunk along (in a good way), and his vocals are good if unspectacular. Lyrically it’s just plain fun.

Favorite Track: Pretty Pimpin






Now Let’s Get To The Gravy…

7.  Cage The Elephant – Tell Me I’m Pretty
I’ve been lukewarm on all their previous albums up until now. What changed?  Several things.  Lead guitarist left.  Dan Auerbach produced this one.  But most importantly for me I just feel like Matt Schultz vocal delivery went more traditional and away from that sort of half-speaking, half-singing thing he did so much early on. This album is all over the place musically and has all kinds of little quirks and tempo changes and style changes etc…  It’s easily my favorite record they’ve made and I feel like the next one could be BIG.  Bonus points for a great album name and cover.  

Favorite track:  Don’t Mess Around (blatant Black Keys rip off but IDC)



6.  The Sheepdogs – Future Nostalgia
Their second to last album was ingrained in my ears for the better part of a week nonstop.  Words cannot express the obsession I had with Learn & Burn. So of course, like has happened so many times before, the next album was pure hot garbage.  They came almost all the way back with this one.  It’s no Learn & Burn, but they’re back on track.  Ewan Currie sings bitches to sleep in his sleep.

Favorite Track: Really Wanna Be Your Man





5.  Death Cab For Cutie – Kintsugi
I can feel you people judging me; fuck off. Death Cab can put together a powerful greatest hits record, and before their last 2 albums, that’s all they had IMO.  Codes and Keys, released in 2011, was truly excellent, and this one isn’t far off. Forget that they’re post-emo pussies whose posters are plastered all over the walls of every 16 year old girl’s bedroom in America, and listen to this album without bias.  I promise you will enjoy it.  But don’t let anybody know you listened.

Favorite Track:  The Ghosts of Beverly Drive




4.  Mac DeMarco – Another One
I love this dude.  He’s just so silly looking with the gap in his teeth and the weird hats and shit. While his albums all seem to sound redundant, I still enjoy each and every one.  2 is easily my favorite record he’s made, but Salad Days was great too and this is essentially Salad Days part two.  The arpeggio guitar and really underrated solos abound, as usual.  The dude even gives out his address and invites you over coffee at the end.

Favorite Track: Tie - The Way You’d Love Her/No Other Heart




3.  Boy & Bear – Limit of Love
I loved the shit out of this album.  Their first two records were entirely hit or miss but they turned up the tempo for this one and added more guitar and the results were extraordinary.  Lyrically and vocally David Hosking knocks it out of the park.  So now naturally I’ll eagerly await the next album and it’ll either suck ass or they’ll break up.

Favorite Track:  Tie – Walk The Wire/A Thousand Faces

2.  Albert Hammond Jr. – Momentary Masters
GODDAMN.  His first two albums were really cool that I loved the hell out of.  They were obviously very Strokes-y but still incorporated a bunch of different genres and sounds.  Then he made that little EP that for the most part was underwhelming, and I kind of wrote him off.  Then THIS came out and I went back into obsession mode.  This is his hardest, fiercest output to date and he absolutely murders the hell out of it front to back. I’m just as excited for future AHJ stuff as I am for future Strokes stuff.

 Favorite Track:  All of them




1. Tame Impala – Currents
I knew this was number 1 the second I was invited to make a top 10 list.  My unabashed love affair with all things Kevin Parker is well known to anybody that knows me.  Innerspeaker was absolutely perfect in every way and Lonerism, while not as good, was still pretty goddamn good.  So then what does this motherfucker do?  He plays to my inner hip hop (I grew up exclusively on 1990’s rap/r&b) and decides to pull the guitars away and make it more “dancey”.  I won’t say this one is better than Innerspeaker but I won’t say it’s worse either.  I haven’t been head over heels in love with an album like I am with this one in quite a while.  Put it in and let the falsetto lay you to sleep.

Favorite Track: 3 way tie - Let It Happen/The Less I Know the Better/Disciples