Happy New Year gents! While compiling this list I decided that unlike in previous years where I would include an Honorable Mentions section with full write ups, I would literally just mention the “almost made it” albums with no blurbs, so as to not take away from my elite top 10. And those albums are:
Honorable Mentions
14. Minus the Bear - Voids
13. Sheer Mag - Need to Feel Your Love
12. Mister Heavenly - Boxing the Moonlight
11. Deer Tick - Deer Tick, Volume 2
And now to the top 10!!
10. Pond - The Weather
Genre: psychedelic rock, neo-psychedelia
As an unabashed fanboy of all things Kevin Parker, it shouldn’t be a surprise that I was super into the latest Pond release. Parker’s other fanboys (Jay Watson and Nick Allbrook) seek to follow in his footsteps even closer than usual here, with much of this album sounding like a blatant attempt at making a “Currents” ripoff. As has been the case with all Pond releases, several weird, experimental-ish missteps exist, but the highs are so high that it still ends up being an very polished and well made album.
Best enjoyed with: a room temperature schooner of Fosters and maybe some mushrooms
Genre: post-hardcore, noise rock, punk rock
Dylan Baldi and crew needed, and made, a mildly surprising comeback from their last album, the underwhelming “Here and Nowhere Else”. 2012’s Attack on Memory is one of my personal “all time” albums so to say this comes close is high praise. While it doesn’t have the loudness or as many catchy hooks as Attack did, Baldi’s lyrical delivery is a bit more reserved and melodic which I think suits his abilities better. Cloud Nothings are a very underappreciated contemporary rock band.
Best enjoyed with: PBR tall boy
Genre: heartland rock, synth pop, neo-psychodelia
Hyper-obsessive frontman Adam Granduciel once again delivers the goods, essentially making Lost in the Dream part 2. “More-of-the-same” is a-ok with me here, and I do think I like this effort more than the last if we’re being frank. Sprawling synths, well placed guitars, and about a dozen other instruments are all part of the grander picture that creates quite the cohesive musical experience front to back. Someone once said Lost in the Dream was like a ride through the clouds on a flying carpet and that analogy is still fitting for this album.
Best enjoyed with: flavored seltzer and a packed bowl
Genre: power pop
The first TNP album I discovered happened to be the best one they’ve ever made, 2005’s Twin Cinema. Gushing with vocal harmonies, swift, uptempo guitar riffs/synths and multiple lead singers, THAT album truly kicked my ass. This one is close. Power pop is a genre that has been difficult for me to truly love but I have no trouble with this band or this album. Even more difficult than power pop? Female lead singers... Neko Case knocks that one off the list too. Check out Twin Cinema first, then head this way.
Best enjoyed with: an Argentinian Malbec
Genre: soft rock, glam rock
This is a curiously conceived project. A self-described supergroup, these guys have made an album consisting of 10 songs written by 5 different musicians (from the bands Midlake, Franz Ferdinand, Band of Horses, Travis, and Grandaddy), using the Midlake guys as the house band for recording purposes. I’d be lying if I said I had previously listened to anything made by any of them except Franz Ferdinand. With all of this said, I was blown away by how cohesive this album is! While each singer’s individual songs have a unique character, everything fits together like a very nice, complementary puzzle. The general vibe is very Brendan Benson-ish and the pop hooks and melodies dominate the sound. You’ll be humming along and singing the chorus’s all day.
Best enjoyed with: vodka martini straight up extra olives
Genre: pop, rock
What one should expect from anything released by Auerbach, be it Black Keys, an Arcs album, or solo, is NOT what this is. Not a single smidge of blues is present; the ripping electric solos are replaced with well placed acoustic strumming and horn & string arrangements. The end result is a very melodic and smooth finished product that incorporates soul, funk, and even a little country. He even pulls off a killer Beck impression with “Cherry Bomb”. I was extremely surprised by this album, and in a good way. Of course I will look forward to, and ultimately enjoy, the next Black Keys album but I have a feeling that in 10 years this will be the Auerbach release that stands out the most.
Best enjoyed with: whiskey, neat
Genre: hard rock, dance rock, stoner rock
One of my all time favorite bands, Josh Homme and company came back after a sizable layoff to release this monster. The lineup has stayed consistent except for the addition of Jon Theodore on drums (a personal recommendation from Dave Grohl). This album is mostly what you’d expect from QOTSA at this point except for the nifty little maneuver Josh made by bringing on Mark Ronson as producer. Giving the bands trademark hard rock swagger a little dance factor worked out very nicely. If you’re not a QOTSA fan I implore you to listen to :The Evil Has Landed". If you told me it was Jimmy Page and Patrick Carney playing I’d believe you. I’ll go so far as to say this is my favorite QOTSA album since the masterpiece Songs for the Deaf.
Best enjoyed with: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, tequila chaser
Genre: Americana, Alt Country
Susto’s debut from 2014 didn’t blow my skirt up but good lord did this one do the trick. They really branch out and create something special here. The lyrics are extremely intriguing and at times poignant, wrestling with real deal shit (sexuality, religion, substance abuse, etc). Musically there literally aren’t two songs that sound the same. Many different tempos, instruments, and vocal deliveries abound. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why these guys haven’t received more exposure.
Best enjoyed with: Jack Daniels chugged from the bottle
Genre: indie folk
Boy ohhhhh boy. What an album. Mr. Gundersen’s professional existence to this point, as far as I can tell, was as an acoustic, coffee shop style musician. Well, that has changed. Recruiting a full band (which includes his brother on drums), he’s really awesome here with tons of electric guitar, tempo changes and crescendos, vocal heroics, thought-provoking lyrics, and of course, staying in line with his roots, some acoustic solo stuff. Recorded in the great northwest, the band relied heavily on the music of the Beatles, Wilco, and Lionel Richie while writing and recording.
Best enjoyed with: a dank ass 9% DIPA
Genre: jangle pop, dream pop, psychedelic rock
Every Real Estate album I listened to until now wasn’t bad per se, just boring. Martin Courtney’s vocals were well delivered and melodic but the tempo and mood didn’t change and musically they all just seemed stagnant.
There’s a new sheriff in town! Lead guitarist Matt Mondanile has left the band and his replacement, Julian Lynch, just knocked this one so far out of the park it’s unreal. Almost every song is perfect for my money and most of that is attributed to absolutely stellar guitar work. Mid tempo riffs, arpeggio melodies, perfectly placed, subtle solos. I listened to this whole album on repeat for around 2 weeks and when I went back and listened again after putting it down for a month I OD'ed all over again. Essentially they took all the already good portions of the Real Estate formula and added a guitar virtuoso who matched chemistry perfectly. It’s just a cool ass record front to back. An all time classic for me.
Best enjoyed with: Bourbon Manhattan straight up extra cherry.
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