May 31, 2026 by A.S. Van Dorston

Major labels filled landfills with CDs, genres splintered into thousands of branches, and post-rock’s tendrils spread throughout the underground.

1996, like most years I suppose, was a mixed bag. The Unabomber was caught after two decades, but another bombing tainted the mood of the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The internet went mainstream and it’s first gift to us was that creepy-ass dancing baby, like your cat gifting you with the rotting corpse of a mouse. Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in chess, marking the beginning of AI, and possibly the beginning of the end for humanity. Dolly the sheep was the first cloned mammal. The Nintendo 64 was released in Japan, and the Motorola StarTAC mobile phone went on sale. DVDs started selling big, and everyone but me were watching Seinfeld and Friends. People were smacking each other at Walmarts for Tickle Me Elmos.

The Ramones played their final show, while The Spice Girls blew up with “Wannabe” and the “Macarena” was all the rage. Tupac was murdered and the optimistic innocence of early hip hop had mostly disappeared. Music revenue was at $12.5 billion, and would reach a peak of $23.7 billion in 1999. The smell of money is a great way to fuck up a culture, as the snaking, oily fingers of big business becomes ever more omnipresent. The top selling album was Celine Dion’s Falling Into You, at 32 million copies, followed by Spice Girls (23M), Matchbox Twenty (15M), Toni Braxton (15M) and Backstreet Boys (14M).

Genre

For 1995 I kind of cheated and picked Experimental, which encompassed post-industrial, electronic, noise, and free improvisation. 1996 was a hodge podge, and no one genre stood out. Trip Hop was filtering down to the masses, resulting in mountains of cringeworthy compilations by talentless bandwagon jumpers. Post-Hardcore saw some satisfying results from Unwound, Sleater-Kinney, Team Dresch, Failure and Chavez, but even more far-reaching, Post-Rock was touched on by many major releases from Tortoise, Swans, Dirty Three, Labradford, Low, Jessamine, Bowery Electric, Long Fin Killie, Quickspace, Fishmans, Bedhead, June of 44 and more. So to the chagrin of all the bands that whinged about being categorized under this tag all those decades ago, Post-Rock.

Comeback

Ryuichi Sakamoto of Yellow Magic Orchestra started his solo career strong with Thousand Knives of Ryuichi Sakamoto (1978) and B-2 Unit (1980). Then his star power started gradually diminishing, though probably not in Japan, as he remained prolific, doing a ton of soundtrack work. Nothing made much of an impact beyond his home country in the 90s until 1996 kicked off adventurous new paths with experiments in post-minimalism, modern classical and impressionism. From then on he would remain very much on the Western radar, collaborating with everyone from Arto Lindsay to Fennesz, all the way until is death in 2023.

Peter Perrett, from one of my favorite bands The Only Ones, was radio silent for well over a decade, probably due to addiction issues, but triumphly emerged with his first official solo album, Woke Up Sticky.

Debut

I know I counted Sixteen Horsepower last year, but their debut was officially released on Feb 6 by A&M. Gothic country/Americana and garage noir has a new king, and his eyes are glowing with Old Testament fury and judgement. DJ Shadow is the only other debut that made the top 30.

Memoriam

The Gun Club was an important band for me, one of the original architects of garage noir that got heavy rotation on my radio show. I regreet never getting to see them live. Tours were sporadic as Jeffrey Lee Pierce struggled with addiction. May he rest in pieces and rock in excelsis DIO, along with his fellow musicians.

Les Baxter (73), I.K. Dairo (65), Jeffrey Lee Pierce (37, The Gun Club), Johnny Guitart Watson (61), Ella Fitzgerald (78), Jonathan Melvoin (34, Prince, Smashing Pumpkins), Chas Chandler (57, The Animals), Jason Thirsk (28, Pennywise), Mel Taylor (63, The Ventures), Bill Monroe (84), Tupac Shakur (25), Jack Ryland (45, Three Dog Night), Tiny Tim (64), Patty Donahue (40, The Waitresses).

Underrated

For potential crossover appeal, The Afghan Whigs were written off, and Walt Mink were just never heard by enough people.

Disappointment

So much to choose from. Iggy Pop’s Naughty Little Doggie, Butthole Surfers’ Electriclarryland, The Jesus Lizard’s Shot, Rush’s Test for Echo. The weakest of the lot was Metallica’s Load.

Surprise

What a sleeper hit Acid Bath’s two albums became decades later, despite how rough ‘n’ raw they sound. On TikTok no less, with an instant fanbase of tweenage girls. So freakin’ weird!

Fester’s Lucky 13 – The Best Albums of 1996

1. Sixteen Horsepower – Sackcloth ‘n’ Ashes

What on first glance was a rootsy/folky Americana band has much more interesting pedigree. David Eugene Edwards is well versed in the post-punk/garage noir of The Birthday Party/Bad Seeds, The Cramps and The Gun Club. They even covered Joy Division’s “Day of the Lords” live. While Nick Cave used religion as a literary device, Edwards appears to sincerely take to heart the old testament fire and brimstone themes. His anguish is not fake, but nor is he any kind of bible banger, having a deep affinity for Native American culture and spirituality, for example. Judging from the modest crowd at a tiny bar the one time I saw Sixteen Horsepower before they dissolved, they were underappreciated at the time. Edwards continued his creative progression via Wovenhand and solo, and I have to believe this band will be revered as a groundbreaking American band someday.

Gothic Country | Americana | Progressive Bluegrass | Garage Noir | RYM #28

2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads

Gliding high from his career peak with Let Love In (1994), Nick Cave took the violence and gothic darkness of that album and expands it to mythical, grand guignol theatrical proportions, taking inspiration from folklore to put his own original spin on murdery murder tunes. This is the most maximalist he’s sounded with sweeping strings and choirs and high profile duets. While “Stagger Lee,” “Henry Lee” and “Crow Jane” are inspired by traditional songs, every line of lyric are Cave originals, except for one straight cover of Dylan’s “Death is Not the End.” “Stagger Lee” in particular is bracingly audacious, a swaggering Cave spits lyrics inspired by gangsta rap, making it rain with F-bombs. “Song of Joy” sets the stage with gothic grandeur, while “Henry Lee” is a smoldering duet with PJ Harvey that created real sparks of an affair. “Where the Wild Roses Grow” with Kylie Minogue is unsurprisingly the most commercial sounding pop ballad, and holds up as a great tune. The centerpiece is “O’Malley’s Bar,” a 14-minute epic tale of mass murder made even more terrifying by Cave’s glassy-eyed calm storytelling. After these wild twin peaks, I found it difficult to get on board with his tear-in-your beer heartbreak ballads on The Boatman’s Call (1997) and others. He revived this kind of mojo partially with Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (2008) and the Grinderman albums, and I’m hoping he’ll be done being the goth Oprah/grief counselor and get back down in the dirt once more.

3. The Afghan Whigs – Black Love (Elektra)

While the fickle public gaze rested it’s eyes/screens on The Afghan Whigs for a minute during the Gentlemen (1993) era, they were one of many grunge-adjacent bands from the Midwest who were mostly overlooked and underrated. Perhaps it’s because of Greg Dulli’s method-acting approach to songwriting in which the lines blurred in people’s minds between him and his characters. At any rate, noses were turned up at this album, and it took a couple decades for it to be recognized as their all-time peak. Dulli was watching the Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple (1984) and other film noir and reading Jim Thompson and James Elroy, and seriously considered producing a film. Instead, we got the soundtrack to his imaginary movie that kicks off with a crime of passion, and the downward spiral of our damaged protagonist into guilt and violence. Years of recording dark-tinged soul covers like “The Dark End of the Street” and “Band of Gold” paid off with a soul/R&B approach, using strings and keyboards for a cinematic quality. Rick McCollum’s guitar work is stellar as always, and the album’s highlights of “My Enemy,” “Blame, Etc.,” “Honky’s Ladder” and “Faded” were some of Dulli’s greatest songs. A midnight confession masterpiece.

4. Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Elektra)

On their fourth album, Stereolab make a transition from focusing on wheezing, creaky analog electronic gear, and introducing some digital loop-based composition. They split their recording activities to both sides of the ocean, with producer Paul Tipler in London, and Tortoise’s John McEntire in Chicago. Chicago would become a home away from home for them as they were inspired by the creative experimental and post-rock scene, with this album kicking off the band’s imperial period. While I missed the fuzz ‘n’ buzz at the time, the clarity and cleaner sound was also more ambitious, layering a rich collage of drones, loops, melodies and counter-melodies as well as dub, hip hop elements and string arrangements. It’s a colorful snapshot of a band pushing the envelope of what can be done with sound in 1996, and foreshadowed what artists like Björk was getting into, blending prog pop with the European modernist avant-garde.

5. Unwound – Repetition (Kill Rock Stars)

This Washington post-hardcore/noise band’s fifth album is their most colossal achievement so far. While previous efforts were rough and raw, they focused in the studio here with the assistance of Steve Fisk and John Goodmanson to create a more constructed, darker, experimental album. The band is tighter than ever, deftly navigating the hybrid of rhythmic minimalism, pulsing post-punk bass and dense, dissonant noise. Meet the existential, misanthropic champions of post-hardcore.

Post-Hardcore | Noise | Post-Punk | Art Punk | RYM #6

6. Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die (Thrill Jockey)

I knew Tortoise had something special percolating since they followed up their celebrated debut with the Gamera EP (1995), a huge step forward in synthesizing all the sounds the band were digging up and fizzing in their brains — dub, minimalism, Kosmische, jazz fusion and glitch electronica, while coming into their own as composers. They waste no time in making their definitive statement with the 21 minute lead track, “Djed” that made a huge impact on post-rock, even as the band vehemently rejected being reduced to a singular sub-genre tag, as they always do. The seemingly disparate styles grow from one section to another like a kaleidoscopic flower, giving it an emotional heft. It’s hard to compete with that, but the rest of the shorter tracks hold up to repeated listens brilliantly. Thirty years later it’s a bona fide classic.

7. Sleater-Kinney – Call The Doctor (Chainsaw)

The crucial second album, where the band turns from a side-project with Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein leaving their bands Heavens to Betsy and Excuse 17 to transcend the Riot Grrrl scene to become a powerhouse in their own right. Two guitars, drums, no bass, could have been an aesthetic influenced by UK post-punk, but they rock harder than that. Their twin lead vocals are also unique, Brownstein often harmonizing with Tucker’s volcanic leads. Their feminist rage is punk as hell, but enhanced with melodicism and sonic complexity. At their best, they can be emotionally overwhelming, as on “I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone” and especially “Good Things,” one of the best songs of the 90s, from what was quickly becoming one of my favorite bands.

8. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing (Mo’ Wax)

I first got into experimental instrumental hip hop through Japan’s DJ Krush, his first two albums in 1994, and Mo’ Wax compilations. One of his labelmates was American DJ Shadow, through the epic 12:14 long “In/Flux” (1993) and What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 1-4 EP (1994). His first full-length was the first album to be completely constructed from samples. Not digital though, just Shadow, his turntable, an Akai MPC60, a mixer and his records. What makes it even more remarkable is that it’s a masterpiece of emotional storytelling that’s never been surpassed in this style, and has similar impact as something like Charles Mingus’ The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963).

9. Acid Bath – Paegan Terrorism Tactics (Rotten)

While this and debut When the Kite String Pops (1994) were attributed after the fact to the NOLA sludge metal scene, Acid Bath were so much more, one of the most shockingly original bands of that decade, mixing stoner, grunge, southern rock and psychedelic-singed swamp goth, with Dax Riggs somehow channeling both black and doom metal vibes and the kind of Americana Noir that Nick Cave and Mark Lanegan were exploring. Rich in lore (mushroom trips, alligator bites) and tragedy (the death of Audie Pitre in 1997), their appeal crossed generations once their catalog was finally released to streaming, and the satanic e-girls of TikTok made them go viral, in a sense. On their reunion tour last year at Levitation, I saw for myself tween girls mouthing the lyrics to “Scream of the Butterfly” and “Paegan Love Song.”

10. Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister (The Enclave)

The second and greatest album from this Scottish band in which Stuart Murdoch masterfully blends literate 80s jangle pop (Felt, Lloyd Cole, The Smiths, Postcard label) with the understatement of the third Velvet Underground album and the wounded sensitivity of Nick Drake. Forget Britpop, they are the only band in ’96 capable of creating character-driven vignettes with the astuteness of The Kinks while pulling off the difficult feat of being both melancholy and uplifting. In a year when much music has become painfully dated and forgotten in mountains of landfill CDs, Belle & Sebastian are utterly timeless. Following the band’s career since then, however, must be what it feels like for junkies chasing the dragon — nothing measures up to that initial high.

11. Walt Mink – El Producto (Atlantic)

Walt Mink are still in my top five of live bands I’ve ever seen, and word of mouth was growing as they criss-crossed the country in support of their first two albums on Caroline in 1992-94. They seemed ready to break through to bigger success, and were signed to Columbia. Alas, they suffered from the all-too typical tale of their champion at big shiny major getting shuffled off somewhere else in the corporate maze, and suddenly they’re left dangling with no support. Then their talented drummer Joey Waronker gets poached by Beck. They switched to Atlantic, but promotional push from that label left much to be desired. Now it’s truly a lost gem as it’s out of print, and not streaming anywhere, which is a damn shame, as it’s great fun, a mix of longtime live favorites “Everything Worthwhile” and “Up & Out,” with fresh psych and power pop material “Overgrown,” “Betty” and “Little Sister” showing John Kimbrough’s songwriting growth and maturing vocals, adding more emotional heft to measure up to his incredible, blazing guitar chops and Candice Belanoff’s nimble finger-plucked bass lines. For this album and tour they recruited Orestes Morfin from Bitch Magnet, adding some post-hardcore muscle to the band, blending in well with the power trio’s math-rock precision. Fun fact, it was one of the first albums to earn a perfect 10 from Pitchfork (Ryan Schreiber grew up in Mpls and clearly was blown away by them live too), who later backpedaled when Walt Mink didn’t fit their increasingly douchey conception of what’s cool.

12. Screaming Trees – Dust (Epic)

Of all the grunge era bands, Screaming Trees turned out to be the one I’ve listened to the most. They released four psychedelic albums that pre-dated the scene, and three that transcended it, the best being their seventh and last album. Mark Lanegan had found his voice and songwriting mojo on his second solo album, Whiskey for the Holy Ghost (1994), which extended to this masterpiece, fusing his immersion in blues and folk noir with their heavy, brooding psychedelic rock. Beautifully produced by George Drakoulias, the haunting textures perfectly support Lanegan’s emotionally heavy tunes, augmented by Eastern melodies and even Mellotron on “Sworn and Broken,” a contender for their greatest song, with competition from “Halo of Ashes” and “All I Know,” as well as “Dying Days” and “Traveler.” Timeless.

13. Swans – Soundtracks For The Blind

I understand why Swans broke up (for the first time) after this album. Michael Gira nearly lost his mind trying to compile archive recordings dating back to 1981, found sounds, surveillance tapes and new performances into something coherent. The result is a sprawling two-hour harrowing journey through Swans’ entire career. Hailed by many as their definitive masterpiece, I’ve spent less time with this than White Light From the Mouth of Infinity (1991) and The Great Annihilator (1995) because it’s pretty dang exhausting. Nevertheless, an impressive achievement, taking the old and creating edgy new pieces encompassing musique concrète, dark ambient, post-industrial and post-rock sounds, all tied together with a sense of existential dread. An appropriate bookend to Swans Mk I.

Top 100

Sixteen Horsepower – Sackcloth ‘n’ Ashes
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads
The Afghan Whigs – Black Love
Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Unwound – Repetition
Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Sleater-Kinney – Call The Doctor
DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
Acid Bath – Paegan Terrorism Tactics
Belle & Sebastion – If You’re Feeling Sinister
Walt Mink – El Producto
Screaming Trees – Dust
Swans – Soundtracks For The Blind
Dirty Three – Horse Stories
Labradford – Labradford
And Also The Trees – Angelfish
Chico Science & Nação Zumbi – Afrociberdelia
Beck – Odelay
Ernest Ranglin – Below the Bassline
Motorpsycho – Blissard
Disco Inferno – Technicolour
Low – The Curtain Hits The Cast
Tool – ænima
Sheila Chandra – ABoneCroneDrone
Fu Manchu – In Search Of…
Jessamine – The Long Arm Of Coincidence
Wilco – Being There
Weezer – Pinkerton
Bowery Electric – Beat
Team Dresch – Captain, My Captain
Tricky – Nearly God
Melvins – Stag
Soundgarden – Down On The Upside
Gallon Drunk – In The Long Still Night
Opeth – Morningrise
Failure – Fantastic Planet
Eels – Beautiful Freak
Neurosis – Through Silver In Blood
Sloan – One Chord To Another
Social Distortion – White Light, White Heat, White Trash
Tricky – Pre-Millenium Tension
R.E.M. – New Adventures In Hi-Fi
Turbonegro – Ass Cobra
Long Fin Killie – Valentino
Quickspace – Quickspace
The Cure – Wild Mood Swings
Windy & Carl – Drawing of Sound
Screamfeeder – Kitten Licks
Fishmans – Long Season
Type O Negative – October Rust
Silver Jews – The Natural Bridge
Mazzy Star – Among My Swan
Dr. Octagon – Dr. Octagonecologyst
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Now I Got Worry
Cathedral – Supernatural Birth Machine
Tommy Keene – Ten Years After
The Flaming Stars – Bring Me The Rest Of Alfredo Garcia
Cryptopsy – None So Vile
You Am I – Hourly, Daily
Kryptästhesie – Inner Whirl
Suede – Coming Up
Outkast – ATLiens
Chavez – Ride the Fader
The Heads – Relaxing With
Ed Kuepper – Frontierland
Fiona Apple – Tidal
Sons Of Otis – Spacejumbofudge
Orbital – In Sides
Godflesh – Songs Of Love And Hate
Overwhelming Colorfast – Moonlight & Castanets
Paul Schutze & Phantom City – Site Anubis
Bedhead – The Dark Ages EP
Sol Invictus – Cupid & Death
Steve Wynn – Melting in the Sark
Lollipop Factory – Soon
Puressence – Puressence
Edge Of Sanity – Crimson
June Of 44 – Tropics and Meridians
Bedhead – Beheaded
The Apartments – Fete Foraine
Lycia – Cold
Fred Eaglesmith – Drive-In Movie
Ryuichi Sakamoto – 1996
Christie Front Drive – Christie Front Drive
Fountains Of Wayne – Fountains Of Wayne
Angra – Holy Land
Guided By Voices – Under The Bushes Under The Stars
Polvo – Exploded Drawing
Petra Haden – Imaginaryland
John Zorn – Bar Kokhba
Cibo Matto – Viva! La Woman
Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola & John McLaughlin – The Guitar Trio
De La Soul – Stakes Is High
Everything But The Girl – Walking Wounded
Meshell Ndegeocello – Peace Beyond Passion
Peter Perrett – Woke Up Sticky
Immolation – Here in After
Porcupine Tree – Signify
Belle & Sebastian – Tigermilk
The Loud Family – Interbabe Concern

See full list here.

Breakdown: Genre Lists

As always, you can deep dive any of these these genres with the list search. While previously I had limited an album to one genre list, it didn’t accurately reflect the multi-genre nature of many of these albums. So this year an album will show up in multiple lists. I have a widget that automatically pulls from the database, so as albums are added and moved around in the future, this will reflect it.

Psych

With close connections to The Cure in the beginning in the early 80s, And Also the Trees may have remained under the radar, but they also have aged gracefully, avoiding the wilderness years that many artists suffered in the 90s. While always consistently recognizable thanks to Simon Hew Jones’ velvety baritone and the band’s elegantly sinister atmospherics, every few albums they evolve their sound, from rural gothic post-punk to baroque, pastoral romanticism, and here a logical progression into mid-century urban noir, with smoky jazz textures and twanging surf guitar evoking crimes committed under the cover of shadowy dark alleys. It’s a cinematic feel, like a mix of classic film noir, David Lynch and Tarantino. They comfortably fill the gaps left between Crime & the City Solution and The Blue Nile, and several more bands would make a career out of this style. And Also the Trees, however, would soon move on to even darker experiments.

Like the Beastie Boys a decade before, Beck made a party record that was also pretty revolutionary, seamlessly fusing folk rock, psych, funk and blues with experimental hip hop and sample-heavy turntablism driven by the Dust Brothers. My old college mate Joey Waronker left Walt Mink to play drums for Beck, and I got an early promo of the album a couple months before release. I put it on at a party, thinking this was going to be a pretty big deal, but everyone ignored it. But sure enough, even if they don’t all love it, everyone knows it now.

Screaming Trees – Dust (Epic) | USA
And Also The Trees – Angelfish (Mezentian) | UK | Bandcamp
Beck – Odelay (Geffen) | USA
Motorpsycho – Blissard (Rune Grammofon) | Norway | Bandcamp
Disco Inferno – Technicolour (Go Ahead) | UK | Bandcamp
Jessamine – The Long Arm Of Coincidence (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Melvins – Stag (Atlantic) | USA
Tricky – Pre-Millenium Tension (Island) | UK
Mazzy Star – Among My Swan (Capitol) | UK
The Heads – Relaxing With (Headhunter) | UK | Bandcamp
Jack Frost – Snow Job (Beggars Banquet) | Australia
The Spacious Mind – Garden of a Well Fed Head (Lone Starfighter) | Sweden
The Spacious Mind – Sailing the Seagoat (Garageland) | Sweden

Psych Pop & Prog Pop

I don’t know a whole lot about this band from Tokyo other than they formed back in 1987, were originally part of the Shibuya-Kei scene, and made a departure on their sixth album, released as an extended 35+ minute song with a more experimental approach taht gained them quite a fervent cult audience that elevated this album to the #1 spot on RYM.

Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Elektra) | UK | Bandcamp
Fishmans – Long Season (Polydor) | Japan
Lollipop Factory – Soon (Lollipop Factory) | USA
Guided By Voices – Under The Bushes Under The Stars (Matador) | USA
Fishmans – Long Season (Polydor) | Japan
Jason Falkner – Present Author Unknown (Elektra) | USA
Tori Amos – Boys for Pele (EastWest) | USA
The High Llamas – Hawaii (V2) | UK
Rollerskate Skinny – Horsedrawn Wishes (WB) | UK
All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors – All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors (Gern Blandsten) | USA
Fishmans – Aerial Camp (Polydor) | Japan
Lilys – Better Can’t Make Your Life Better (Primary) | USA | Bandcamp

Kosmische & Space Rock

Like Bowery Electric, Seefeel and Laika, Jessamine never became a big name because they didn’t hop onto any one bandwagon. They operated in the dark alleys between motoric Kosmische with oscillating analog synths, droning space rock, dub bass and gauzy shoegaze adjacent vocals. The closest comparison to a better known band might be a more loose ‘n’ live, improvisational early Broadcast. Choon: “Say What You Can.”

Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Elektra) | UK | Bandcamp
Jessamine – The Long Arm Of Coincidence (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Failure – Fantastic Planet (Slash) | USA | Bandcamp
Quickspace – Quickspace (Kitty Kitty Corporation) | UK
Kryptästhesie – Inner Whirl (Delerium) | Italy
The Heads – Relaxing With (Headhunter) | UK | Bandcamp
Sons Of Otis – Spacejumbofudge (Man’s Ruin) | Canada
The Spacious Mind – Garden of a Well Fed Head (Lone Starfighter) | Sweden
The Spacious Mind – Sailing the Seagoat (Garageland) | Sweden
Roy Montgomery – Temple IV (kranky) | Australia | Bandcamp
Magnog – Magnog (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Telstar Ponies – Voices From The New Music (Fire) | UK
All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors – All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors (Gern Blandsten) | USA

Noir (Folk, Garage, Psych, Punk, Surf)

On the demo-turned-album Sad & Dangerous and their two albums on Touch And Go, Dirty Three redefined melancholy with some of the most expressive instrumental rock music I have ever heard. The secret behind Dirty Three’s ability to paint such vivid imagery without any words is the classically-trained violinist Warren Ellis, who started out by writing and performing music for plays. Jim White’s Elvin Jones-inspired drumming and Mick Turner’s expressionist guitar added bleeding colors to the aural portraits. The slow songs combined the eerie gloom of fellow Aussie Nick Cave (whom they toured with) with the sun-baked Italian western film music of Ennio Morricone. Rockers built into explosive crescendos to balance out the ennui and make the heart pound. Horse Stories is Dirty Three at their peak — windswept desolation, longing, loss, despair and fiery passion.

Post-Rock | Slowcore | Ambient Americana | RYM #190 | Acclaimed #50

Sixteen Horsepower – Sackcloth ‘n’ Ashes (A&M) | USA
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads (Mute) | Australia
The Afghan Whigs – Black Love (Elektra) | USA
Dirty Three – Horse Stories (Touch And Go) | Australia | Bandcamp
And Also The Trees – Angelfish (Mezentian) | UK | Bandcamp
Gallon Drunk – In The Long Still Night (City Slang) | UK
The Flaming Stars – Bring Me The Rest Of Alfredo Garcia (Vinyl Japan ) | UK
Steve Wynn – Melting in the Sark (Zero Hour) | USA
The Coffinshakers – Dracula Has Risen From the Grave [EP] (Primitive Art) | Sweden
Come – Near Life Experience (Matador) | USA
Jonathan Fire*Eater – Tremble Under Boom Lights (Deceptive) | USA
Barry Adamson – Oedipus Schmoedipus (Mute) | UK

Prog

The post-grunge landscape was looking bleak for alt metal bands in the 90s, with very few bands able to forge a path that doesn’t leave them sounding obsolete or just lame. Tool proved to have the substance to back up their bravado, with solid musicianship to handle their tricky time signatures, moody atmospherics and intellectual depth. It’s a balancing act between twin dangers of overly pretentious Jungian psychology and cheesy New Age spirituality, but tempered with a healthy dose of satire. What in lesser hands could be overwrought, Maynard James Keenan and band pulled off a genuinely emotional, cathartic experience with some sick ‘n’ heavy prog metal riffs and drumming.

Tool – ænima (Volcano) | USA
Paul Schutze & Phantom City – Site Anubis (Big Cat) | UK
Porcupine Tree – Signify (Delerium) | UK | Bandcamp
Jonas Hellborg / Shawn Lane / Apt. Q-258 – Temporal Analogues of Paradise (Day Eight) | Sweden
Devil Doll – Dies Irae (Hurdy Gurdy) | Slovenia
Cardiacs – Sing To God (Alphabet) | UK
The Flower Kings – Retropolis (Foxtrot) | Sweden | Bandcamp
Rush – Test For Echo (Atlantic) | Canada
Anathema – Eternity (Peaceville) | UK | Bandcamp
Steve Vai – Fire Garden (Epic) | USA
Tipographica – God Says I Can’t Dance (Pony Canyon) | Japan | Bandcamp
Spock’s Beard – Beware of Darkness (Metal Blade) | USA
King’s X – Ear Candy (Atlantic) | USA

Punk & Post-Punk

After The 5 EPs (1992-94) and D.I. Go Pop (1994) masterpieces, Disco Inferno, on their final album, apply their sample-driven maximalism more toward pop and away from their post-punk roots. This works best on the immediate beat-driven title track with catchy guitar licks, and some memorable tunes in “It’s a Kid’s World” and “When the Story Breaks.” It’s a balancing act between polish and clutter that didn’t seem consistent at first. But it’s essential listening for those who recognize their value as one of the most innovative bands of the decade, and has grown in stature over the decades.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads (Mute) | Australia
Unwound – Repetition (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Bandcamp
And Also The Trees – Angelfish (Mezentian) | UK | Bandcamp
Disco Inferno – Technicolour (Go Ahead) | UK | Bandcamp
Team Dresch – Captain, My Captain (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Buy
Gallon Drunk – In The Long Still Night (City Slang) | UK
Social Distortion – White Light, White Heat, White Trash (Epic) | USA
Turbonegro – Ass Cobra (Sympathyfor the Record Industry) | Norway | Bandcamp
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Now I Got Worry (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
Ed Kuepper – Frontierland (Hot) | Australia
Puressence – Puressence (Island) | UK
Lunachicks – Pretty Ugly (Go-Kart) | USA
Einstürzende Neubauten – Ende Neu (Nothing) | Germany

Garage Rock

This London band formed in 1988, lead by James Johnston is top tier garage noir, mixing influences of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, The Cramps, Gun Club, The Flesh Eaters, Scientists, The Primevals, etc. I don’t know if you’d call it a wave, but they’d soon be joined by Sixteen Horsepower, The Flaming Stars, The Cruel Sea and Black Heart Procession in lurking about in the shadowy dark alleys and seedy Tiki bars. After their early raw, clangy singles and albums, their third full length is their best sounding, evoking a humid, claustrophobic atmosphere with saxophone, trumpet and Wurlitzer organ, and probably the best batch of songs including “Two Clear Eyes,” “It’s All Mine,” “Geraldine” and the epic closing title track, as well as the most brooding version of the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody” ever. It’s been 12 years since their last album, but Johnston has kept busy with collaborations with Lydia Lunch, PJ Harvey, Faust, and as a Bad Seed.

Garage Noir | Punk Blues | Psych | Swamp Rock | RYM #984

Sixteen Horsepower – Sackcloth ‘n’ Ashes (A&M) | USA
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads (Mute) | Australia
The Afghan Whigs – Black Love (Elektra) | USA
And Also The Trees – Angelfish (Mezentian) | UK | Bandcamp
Gallon Drunk – In The Long Still Night (City Slang) | UK
Turbonegro – Ass Cobra (Sympathyfor the Record Industry) | Norway | Bandcamp
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Now I Got Worry (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
The Flaming Stars – Bring Me The Rest Of Alfredo Garcia (Vinyl Japan ) | UK
The Heads – Relaxing With (Headhunter) | UK | Bandcamp
Steve Wynn – Melting in the Sark (Zero Hour) | USA
Deadbolt – Tijuana Hit Squad (Headhunter) | USA
Come – Near Life Experience (Matador) | USA
Zeke – Flat Tracker (Snooch Pooch) | USA

Hard Rock

This is one of the best albums to come out of the Olympia, WA Riot Grrrl/Queercore scene. Led by Chainsaw Records founder Donna Dresch, this is highly accomplished, fierce post-hardcore punk that balances noise and melody like Hüsker Dü. Beyond highlights “Uncle Phranc” and “Don’t Try Suicide,” the lyrics and music go beyond documenting the community the band emerged from and can appeal to anyone who appreciates badass music. The fact this is the second of their only two albums makes it all the more essential. Actually it sounds like they reunited and have a new album recorded, release date TBD.

Punk | Post-Hardcore | Indie | Emo | Riot Grrrl

Bubbling Under: The Tea Party, Engine Kid, Jawbreaker, Slant 6, Urge Overkill, June of 44, Faith No More, Lunachicks, Chavez, Six Finger Satellite, U.S. Maple, Tad.

Unwound – Repetition (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Bandcamp
Sleater-Kinney – Call The Doctor (Chainsaw) | USA | Bandcamp
Team Dresch – Captain, My Captain (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Buy
Soundgarden – Down On The Upside (A&M) | USA
Failure – Fantastic Planet (Slash) | USA | Bandcamp
Chavez – Ride the Fader (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
June Of 44 – Tropics and Meridians (Quarterstick) | USA | Bandcamp
Polvo – Exploded Drawing (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
Girls Against Boys – House of GSVB (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Lunachicks – Pretty Ugly (Go-Kart) | USA
Nada Surf – High/Low (Elektra) | USA
Bikini Kill – Reject All American (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Bandcamp
Trenchmouth – The Broadcasting System (Skene!) | USA

Stoner/Desert/Fuzz

On their third album, the pioneering desert rockers made their definitive statement, distilling their brand of SoCal sun-glazed skate and muscle car culture, fuzzed out riffs, and Eddie Glass’ most accomplished playing before he left to form Nebula. Their loose ‘n’ loaded groove approach to the stoner rock scene was just as important an influence on the explosion of Swedish bands (like Dozer and Truckfighters) in a few years as well as Orange Goblin in the UK and The Sword in Texas. Choon: “Regal Begal”

Stoner | Desert | Heavy Psych | Stoner Metal | RYM #3310

Fu Manchu – In Search Of… (Mammoth) | USA
Soundgarden – Down On The Upside (A&M) | USA
Cathedral – Supernatural Birth Machine (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp
The Heads – Relaxing With (Headhunter) | UK | Bandcamp
Sons Of Otis – Spacejumbofudge (Man’s Ruin) | Canada
Suicidal Flowers – Burn Mother Burn (Delerium) | UK
Magic Dirt – Friends In Danger (Au-Go-Go/WB) | Australia
On Trial – Head Entrance (Rebel/Bad Afro) | Denmark | Bandcamp
Nightstalker – Use (Mad Prophet) | Greece
sHEAVY – Blue Sky Mind (Rise Above) | Canada | Bandcamp
Tumbleweed – Return to Earth (Polydor) | Australia

Heavy Metal

The 90s were lean years for heavy metal, and a missed opportunity to see Iron Maiden playing small clubs.

Cathedral – Supernatural Birth Machine (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp
Angra – Holy Land (Rising Sun) | Brazil
Sentenced – Down (Century Media) | Finland | Bandcamp
Helloween – The Time of the Oath (Raw Power) | Germany
The Lord Weird Slough Feg – The Lord Weird Slough Feg (Cruz del Sur) | USA
Solitude Aeturnus – Downfall (I.R.S.) | USA | Bandcamp
Sabbat – The Dwelling (Evil) | Japan | Bandcamp
Dio – Angry Machines (Steamhammer) | USA
Corrosion Of Conformity – Wiseblood (Columbia) | USA
Motörhead – Overnight Sensation (CMC) | UK
Bruce Dickinson – Skunkworks (Raw Power) | UK
Blind Guardian – The Forgotten Tales (Virgin) | Germany | Bandcamp
Scald – Will of the Gods is a Great Power (Kyrck) | Russia

Doom & Goth Metal

Though primarily atmospheric sludge metal, Neuroris were at peak powers on their fifth album, incorporating doom, post-industrial and post-hardcore into a groundbreaking, massively influential sonic signature.

Atmospheric Sludge Metal | Doom Metal | Post-Industrial | Post-Hardcore | RYM #12
Themes: Introspection, Allegory, Death, Fear, Religion, Life, Suffering

Neurosis – Through Silver In Blood (Relapse) | USA
Type O Negative – October Rust (Roadrunner) | USA
Cathedral – Supernatural Birth Machine (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp
Sentenced – Down (Century Media) | Finland | Bandcamp
The Lord Weird Slough Feg – The Lord Weird Slough Feg (Cruz del Sur) | USA
Solitude Aeturnus – Downfall (I.R.S.) | USA | Bandcamp
Moonspell – Irreligious (Century Media) | Portugal | Bandcamp
Rotting Christ – Triarchy of the Lost Lovers (Century Media) | Greece | Bandcamp
Eyehategod – Dopesick (Century Media) | USA
Crowbar – Broken Glass (Bullet Proof) | USA | Bandcamp
Dio – Angry Machines (Steamhammer) | USA
Katatonia – Brave Murder Day (Avantgarde) | Sweden | Bandcamp
Therion – Theli (Nuclear Blast) | Sweden

Power Metal, Epic Adventure & Symphonic/Dark Romance Metal

Power Metal | Heavy Metal | RYM #133
Themes: Epic tales, Legends, Myths, Fantasy, Literature

Angra – Holy Land (Rising Sun) | Brazil
Helloween – The Time of the Oath (Raw Power) | Germany
The Lord Weird Slough Feg – The Lord Weird Slough Feg (Cruz del Sur) | USA
Angra – Holy Land (CNR) | Brazil
Therion – Theli (Nuclear Blast) | Sweden
Nevermore – The Politics Of Ecstasy (Century Media) | USA | Bandcamp
Blind Guardian – The Forgotten Tales (Virgin) | Germany | Bandcamp
Stratovarius – Episode (T&T) | Finland
Bal-Sagoth – Starfire Burning Upon the Ice-Veiled Throne of Ultima Thule (Cacophonous) | UK | Bandcamp
Rage Against The Machine – Evil Empire (Epic) | USA
Iced Earth – The Dark Saga (Century Media) | USA

Metal

After the remarkable creative arc of Death, my favorite extreme metal band was Opeth, who quickly turned progressive on their second album, with a dreamy combination of blackened death metal and dark folk, with nearly every track over ten minutes long. Mikael Akerfelt makes good use of the long form structures to build on black metal romanticism interspersed with beautiful acoustic music for maximalist emotional impact.

Prog Metal | Death Metal | Black Metal | Dark Folk | RYM #50
Themes: Society, Enlightenment

Acid Bath – Paegan Terrorism Tactics (Rotten) | USA
Opeth – Morningrise (Century Media) | Sweden | Bandcamp
Neurosis – Through Silver In Blood (Relapse) | USA
Cryptopsy – None So Vile (Hammerheart) | Canada | Bandcamp
Edge Of Sanity – Crimson (Black Mark) | Sweden
Immolation – Here in After (Metal Blade) | USA | Bandcamp
Prong – Rude Awakening (Epic) | USA
Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill (EastWest) | USA
Amorphis – Elegy (Relapse) | Finland | Bandcamp
Satyricon – Nemesis Divina (Moonfog) | Norway | Bandcamp
Moonspell – Irreligious (Century Media) | Portugal | Bandcamp
Rotting Christ – Triarchy of the Lost Lovers (Century Media) | Greece | Bandcamp
Eyehategod – Dopesick (Century Media) | USA

Avant, Experimental, Post-Rock, Modern Classical, Drone

Sheila Chandra was a rising star on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label. Her first band in the early 80s was Monsoon, a fusion of post-punk with Indian classical, and worked with pop on a few solo albums before breaking through with Weaving My Ancestor’s Voices (1992) with Real World. While The Zen Kiss (1994) was more percussive, but saw a progression in tracks featuring only Chandra’s voice, layered on top of each other, leading to the more minimalist work of hypnotic drones with microtonal shifts, giving it a majestic, elemental, ritualistic presence. More intimate than cosmic, it probably has healing powers. A startling, mindblowing fresh sound that would influence Bjork, Holly Herndon, Julia Holter, Meredith Monk, Susheela Raman, FKA twigs, PJ Harvey, Caroline Polachek and others. Sadly it was one of her last, as she developed a career-stalling medical condition known as burning mouth syndrome. Choon: “ABoneCroneDrone 3”

Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp
Swans – Soundtracks For The Blind (Young God) | USA | Bandcamp
Dirty Three – Horse Stories (Touch And Go) | Australia | Bandcamp
Labradford – Labradford (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Disco Inferno – Technicolour (Go Ahead) | UK | Bandcamp
Low – The Curtain Hits The Cast (Vernon Yard) | USA
Sheila Chandra – ABoneCroneDrone (Real World) | India | Bandcamp
Jessamine – The Long Arm Of Coincidence (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Bowery Electric – Beat (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Long Fin Killie – Valentino (Too Pure) | UK
Quickspace – Quickspace (Kitty Kitty Corporation) | UK
Windy & Carl – Drawing of Sound (Icon) | USA
Fishmans – Long Season (Polydor) | Japan

Industrial & Noise

The fourth and best album so far from the band from Trondheim, Norway, formed in 1989. The band keeps adding to their palate of post-grunge, alt-metal and indie psych with noise pop, punk, prog, ambient and post-rock, and yet it’s their most focused sounding, transitioning from improvising in the studio to recording pre-written songs, at least for this album. They also progress from the teen angst of Timothy’s Monster (1994) to more nuanced, balanced emotional landscapes, exemplified by the stunning single “Nerve Tattoo.” “True Middle” pre-dates the spoken-word heavy post-rock of Godspeed You Black Emperor, while “S.T.G.” is a magnificent psych prog epic, at 9:45, that points toward the band’s best work in the future. This is the album that secured their status as a revered, respected band in Europe. Hardly anyone had yet to hear them in North America yet.

Unwound – Repetition (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Bandcamp
Swans – Soundtracks For The Blind (Young God) | USA | Bandcamp
Motorpsycho – Blissard (Rune Grammofon) | Norway | Bandcamp
Tricky – Nearly God (Island) | UK
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Now I Got Worry (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
Chavez – Ride the Fader (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
Paul Schutze & Phantom City – Site Anubis (Big Cat) | UK
June Of 44 – Tropics and Meridians (Quarterstick) | USA | Bandcamp
Polvo – Exploded Drawing (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
Girls Against Boys – House of GSVB (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Rome – Rome (Thrill Jockey) | USA
Einstürzende Neubauten – Ende Neu (Nothing) | Germany
Scrawl – Travel On, Rider (Elektra) | USA

Dream Pop & Shoegaze

After Low’s brilliantly genre-defining debut, I Could Only Live in Hope (1994), I wondered if they painted themselves in a corner as a one-trick pony. Is slowcore simply a novelty that will fade as one of those brief blips in the early 90s? The diminishing returns of Long Division (1995) hinted at that, but their third album was a clear step onwards and upwards. While retaining the overall minimalism and quiet vocals, producer Steve Fisk helped them expand their scope with subtly more textured sound design, more accomplished vocal harmonies that lend more emotional impact and a quietly epic effect, especially with the 14:39 long “Do You Know How to Waltz?” that might be an influence on the experimental mix of ambient drones in the post-rock of Godspeed You Black Emperor.

Disco Inferno – Technicolour (Go Ahead) | UK | Bandcamp
Low – The Curtain Hits The Cast (Vernon Yard) | USA
Bowery Electric – Beat (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Windy & Carl – Drawing of Sound (Icon) | USA
Fishmans – Long Season (Polydor) | Japan
Mazzy Star – Among My Swan (Capitol) | UK
Puressence – Puressence (Island) | UK
Lycia – Cold (Projekt) | USA | Bandcamp
Fishmans – Long Season (Polydor) | Japan
Hood – Silent ’88 (Slumberland) | UK
Idaho – Three Sheets to the Wind (Caroline) | USA
Telstar Ponies – Voices From The New Music (Fire) | UK
Red House Painters – Songs for a Blue Guitar (4AD) | USA

Ambient, Art Pop, Dream Pop, New Age & Sophisti-Pop

The band that kicked off the Kranky label with Krank001. I bought the first Prazision LP (1993) soon after it was released, based I think a nice write-up in Alternative Press magazine. It was all for it’s departure from indie guitar rock, with it’s mix of ambient Eno, psych and kosmische via F/i and Cluster, and the gentle guitar strumming of Durutti Column and Felt’s early instrumental tracks. I had the feeling the band would be influential, and they were. I would attribute it partly to a couple of articles that Simon Reynolds wrote for The Wire and Melody Maker, where he introduced his term “post-rock.” About Labradford, he wrote, “Krautrock, without the ‘rock’, dissolved into a delicate, drum-less chamber music, all serene expanses and distant drones.” Their third self-titled album is the band at their peak powers, stripping down expectations and clutter to create a stark, slow, minimalist album that redefined what post-rock could be before most people even heard of it. No big crescendos that would be associated with more bombastic bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor, just a sense of suspended animation, stillness but with the tension of the low industrial hum of decaying machinery, or the hiss of transmissions from other worlds. Drift music.

Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Elektra) | UK | Bandcamp
Labradford – Labradford (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Disco Inferno – Technicolour (Go Ahead) | UK | Bandcamp
Low – The Curtain Hits The Cast (Vernon Yard) | USA
Sheila Chandra – ABoneCroneDrone (Real World) | India | Bandcamp
Bowery Electric – Beat (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Windy & Carl – Drawing of Sound (Icon) | USA
Fishmans – Long Season (Polydor) | Japan
Mazzy Star – Among My Swan (Capitol) | UK
Fiona Apple – Tidal (Epic) | USA
Lycia – Cold (Projekt) | USA | Bandcamp
Cibo Matto – Viva! La Woman (WB) | Japan
Porcupine Tree – Signify (Delerium) | UK | Bandcamp

Indie Pop & Jangle Pop

Canada represents with a Beatles inflected power pop classic on Sloan’s third album. This was just the start of a long career of consistently solid indie pop albums.

Belle & Sebastion – If You’re Feeling Sinister (The Enclave) | UK
Eels – Beautiful Freak (Dreamworks) | USA
Sloan – One Chord To Another (murderrecords) | Canada | Bandcamp
Tommy Keene – Ten Years After (Matador) | USA
The Apartments – Fete Foraine (Hot) | Australia
Petra Haden – Imaginaryland (WIN) | USA
Belle & Sebastian – Tigermilk (Matador) | UK
Heavenly – Operation Heavenly (Wiija) | UK | Bandcamp
Jack Frost – Snow Job (Beggars Banquet) | Australia
The Wedding Present – Saturnalia (RCA) | UK
Versus – Secret Swingers (Teen Beat/Caroline) | USA
The Spinanes – Strand (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
Komeda – The Genius of Komeda (Minty Fresh) | Sweden

Power Pop

Weezer’s followup to their massive debut album didn’t have the same immediate impact, with it’s raw, messy, darker and emotional aesthetic, but it gradually grew into a cult classic, a big influence on the emo scene.

Alt | Power Pop | Emo | Noise Pop | RYM #10 | Acclaimed #6

Walt Mink – El Producto (Atlantic) | USA
Weezer – Pinkerton (DGC) | USA
Sloan – One Chord To Another (murderrecords) | Canada | Bandcamp
Screamfeeder – Kitten Licks (Hypnotized/Poison City) | Australia | Bandcamp
Tommy Keene – Ten Years After (Matador) | USA
You Am I – Hourly, Daily (WB) | Australia
Overwhelming Colorfast – Moonlight & Castanets (Headhunter) | USA
Lollipop Factory – Soon (Lollipop Factory) | USA
Fountains Of Wayne – Fountains Of Wayne (Tag/Atlantic) | USA
Guided By Voices – Under The Bushes Under The Stars (Matador) | USA
Peter Perrett – Woke Up Sticky (Demon) | UK
The Loud Family – Interbabe Concern (Alias) | USA
Weezer – Songs From The Black Hole (soniclovenoize) | USA | Free

Indie & Alt Rock

I bought the double album on CD right when it came out, as I had been a fan of Uncle Tupelo, and Wilco’s debut, and saw them several times. I was disappointed at first, as it was so sprawling yet stripped down, and I couldn’t stay interested through the whole thing. But then I saw Tweedy play the songs even more stripped down in a solo acoustic show one night at Lounge Ax, and they clicked. Even at their barest bones, Tweedy’s songs held up. The album could have been even better with some more memorable arrangements, and a tightened play time, but he’d do that for the next album. Choon: “Forget the Flowers.”

Sixteen Horsepower – Sackcloth ‘n’ Ashes (A&M) | USA
The Afghan Whigs – Black Love (Elektra) | USA
Unwound – Repetition (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Bandcamp
Sleater-Kinney – Call The Doctor (Chainsaw) | USA | Bandcamp
Walt Mink – El Producto (Atlantic) | USA
Screaming Trees – Dust (Epic) | USA
Dirty Three – Horse Stories (Touch And Go) | Australia | Bandcamp
Beck – Odelay (Geffen) | USA
Motorpsycho – Blissard (Rune Grammofon) | Norway | Bandcamp
Wilco – Being There (Reprise) | USA
Weezer – Pinkerton (DGC) | USA
Soundgarden – Down On The Upside (A&M) | USA
Gallon Drunk – In The Long Still Night (City Slang) | UK

Britpop

While I thought the Britpop scene in general was exretable, there was still some talent there, particularly Suede, one of the few bands to maintain decent songwriting quality on their third album.

Britpop | Glam | Power Pop | RYM #70 | Acclaimed #30

Suede – Coming Up (Columbia) | UK
Puressence – Puressence (Island) | UK
Heavenly – Operation Heavenly (Wiija) | UK | Bandcamp
Jack – Pioneer Soundtracks (Too Pure) | UK
Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go (Epic) | UK
The Auteurs – After Murder Park (Hut) | UK
Ride – Tarantula (Sire) | UK
Sleeper – The It Girl (Indolent) | UK
The Boo Radleys – C’mon Kids (Creation/Mercury) | UK
OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Universal (Virgin) | UK
Ocean Colour Scene – Moseley Shoals (MCA) | UK
Republica – Republica (RCA) | UK

Global, Reggae, Dub & Afrobeat

A band from Brazil was effectively doing the same things Beck was going for, part of the Manguebeat movement as a kind of successor to tropicália, engaging in cultural cannibalism to consume and recontextualize international culture in the framework of local culture. The liner notes is an Afro futurist manifesto set in 2102 where telepathy, cybernetics and psychedelicism are part of a subversive future world. I first heard of Chico Science and Nação Zumbi in late 1995 on a music discussion list. I was just launching fastnbulbous.com, and a couple members of Tortoise had provided an intriguing list of music artists the were not strictly influences, but simply their favorite music. The name Chico Science & Nação Zumbi stood out as a name I had never heard of. This is understandable, as their debut album, Da Lama ao Caos (From Mud To Chaos) was just released in 1994, only in Brazil. The folks in Tortoise caught their performance at Central Park’s SummerStage that summer opening up for Gilberto Gil. I was grateful for the tip, as the money spent on the import was well spent. The album was simply explosive, mixing the power of three large bombo bass drums culled from the Afro-Pernambuan maracatu tradition with embolada, raggamuffin, heavy metal, psychedelic rock, punk, funk and hip hop. This fusion music was far more successful than the clumsy attempts of American bands to fuse rock, funk and rap, and at least the equal of Beck’s recent efforts. I would have thought they’d become immensely popular here. But the release of their second album, Afrociberdelia (1996) came and went with no acknowledgement here, and by February 1997, Chico Science was dead from a car accident.

Chico Science & Nação Zumbi – Afrociberdelia (Chaos) | Brazil
Ernest Ranglin – Below the Bassline (Island Jamaica Jazz) | Jamaica
Sheila Chandra – ABoneCroneDrone (Real World) | India | Bandcamp
Tricky – Pre-Millenium Tension (Island) | UK
Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola & John McLaughlin – The Guitar Trio (Verve) | UK/USA
Fishmans – Long Season (Polydor) | Japan
Rome – Rome (Thrill Jockey) | USA
.O.rang – Fields & Waves (Echo) | UK
Arto Lindsay – O Corpo Sutil (The Subtle Body) (Bar None) | USA/Brazil
Transglobal Underground – Psychic Karaoke (Nation) | UK | Bandcamp
Trenchmouth – The Broadcasting System (Skene!) | USA
Various – 110 Below: Trip to the Chip Shop: Volume 2 (Below2) |
King Sunny Adé – E Dide Get Up (Mesa ) | Nigeria

Electronic

My interests in electronic music has ebbed and flowed depending on how closely it’s aligned to dance, meaning I dipped my toe in the rave and house scenes in the late 80s and early 90s, but had little interest in actually playing that music at home. Orbital’s Hartnoll brothers, however, were steadily progressing away from the rave scene into what I called “armchair electronica,” e.g. IDM and ambient techno. They started composing pieces with the feel of symphonic movements, especially in the multi-part epics “The Box,” “Out There Somewhere?” and “The Girl With the Sun in Her Head,” which was recorded completely with solar power, in line with their ecological themes. In the peak era of CD bloat, this double CD was over two hours and ten minutes long, but in this context of ambient music, it works.

Ambient Techno | IDM | Progressive Breaks | RYM #74

Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp
Orbital – In Sides (ffrr) | UK | Bandcamp
Cibo Matto – Viva! La Woman (WB) | Japan
Everything But The Girl – Walking Wounded (Atlantic) | UK
Tortoise – Remixed (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp
Boards Of Canada – Boc Maxima (Music70) | UK
Transglobal Underground – Psychic Karaoke (Nation) | UK | Bandcamp
Susumu Hirasawa – Siren (Columbia) | Japan
Meat Beat Manifesto – Subliminal Sandwich (Nothing) | UK
Seefeel – Ch-Vox (Rough Trade) | UK
Various – 110 Below: Trip to the Chip Shop: Volume 2 (Below2) |
Underworld – Second Toughest In The Infants (TVT/Wax Trax ) | UK
Future Sound Of London – Dead Cities (Astralwerks ) | UK | Bandcamp

R&B, Soul & Funk

Before D’Angelo’s Voodoo or Erykah Badu’s Baduizm, Meshell Ndegeocello was blending hip-hop with jazz and funk, driven by her elastic, slippery basslines. Co‑produced with David Gamson of Scritti Politti, it was also a major personal statement, Meshell frankly addressing queer sexuality in an era where many were still timid about it. A badass album.

The Afghan Whigs – Black Love (Elektra) | USA
Ernest Ranglin – Below the Bassline (Island Jamaica Jazz) | Jamaica
Meshell Ndegeocello – Peace Beyond Passion (Maverick) | USA
George Michael – Older (Virgin) | UK
Medeski, Martin & Wood – Shack-Man (Gramavision) | USA
Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies – Magnolia (Atlantic) | USA
Jamiroquai – Travelling Without Moving (Work ) | UK
Neneh Cherry – Man (Virgin) | UK

Hip Hop & Rap

Kool Keith is da man. Rather than fading away as a member of the Ultramagnetic MC’s he became even more active with a slew of experimental projects, the best of which was this surreal sci‑fi/horror concept record with Keith, as Dr. Octagon, a homicidal, extraterrestrial, time‑traveling gynecologist in an eerie, cinematic sound world constructed by Dan the Automator’s wormy synths and DJ Qbert’s virtuosic turntablism.

Dr. Octagon – Dr. Octagonecologyst (75 Ark) | USA
Outkast – ATLiens (LaFace) | USA
De La Soul – Stakes Is High (Tommy Boy) | USA
Fugees – The Score (Ruffhouse ) | USA
The Roots – Illadelph Halflife (DGC) | USA | Bandcamp
Various – Headz: A Soundtrack of Beathead Jams (Mo Wax) | USA
A Tribe Called Quest – Beats, Rhymes & Life (Jive) | USA
2Pac – The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (Death Row) | USA
2Pac – All Eyez On Me (Death Row) | USA
DJ Spooky – Songs Of A Dead Dreamer (Asphodel) | USA
Prince Paul – Psychoanalysis, What Is It? (Wordsound/Tommy Boy) | USA
Ghostface Killah – Ironman (Sire) | USA
Jay-Z – Reasonable Doubt (Roc-A-Fella ) | USA

Folk & Americana

This is a unique album in their catalog as it sounds like no other, much of it recorded on the fly during soundchecks on the Monster tour. The result is a loosey goosey, unadorned production that is refreshing after the heavily arranged chamber pop albums, and Monster’s interesting but dense production. At 1:06:25, you’d think it suffers from peak CD-era bloat. While it is sprawling, it’s hard to pick which songs I would want to do without, because though it’s not all killer, there’s no filler. No single tune knocks it out of the park as an all-time classic, and hence there were no hits, contributing to their relative commercial decline. But “Electrolite” and “E-Bow the Letter” (which bears similarities to the stream-of-consciousness flow of “Country Feedback”) are excellent songs, as are the triumphantly rocking “Departure,” and brooding “Undertow.” “Leave” has an insistent siren sound that could be irritating, but it works, giving it an apocalyptic gravity. Lead track “How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us” was a favorite of some of the band members, and “The Wake-Up Bomb” lives up to it’s title. I completely blew off listening to this album at the time, until I circled back after Up came out, which is why those albums are tied so closely together in my mind, even though they’re extremely different. I can’t help but feel I missed out from not having these songs in my life for those two years.

Alt Rock | Americana | RYM #157 | Acclaimed #20

Sixteen Horsepower – Sackcloth ‘n’ Ashes (A&M) | USA
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads (Mute) | Australia
Wilco – Being There (Reprise) | USA
R.E.M. – New Adventures In Hi-Fi (WB) | USA | Bandcamp
Silver Jews – The Natural Bridge (Drag City) | USA | Bandcamp
Mazzy Star – Among My Swan (Capitol) | UK
Ed Kuepper – Frontierland (Hot) | Australia
Sol Invictus – Cupid & Death (Tursa) | UK | Bandcamp
Fred Eaglesmith – Drive-In Movie (Vertical) | USA
Ian McNabb – Merseybeast (This Way Up) | UK
The Spacious Mind – Sailing the Seagoat (Garageland) | Sweden
Patti Smith – Gone Again (Arista) | USA
Roy Montgomery – Temple IV (kranky) | Australia | Bandcamp

Country, Country Blues/Psych/Rock/Soul

Originally collaborating with members of Pavement and Scud Mountain Boys, David Berman wasn’t feeling the right vibe and started over with New Radiant Storm King, resulting in his starkest, most emotionally devastating work of poetic beauty.

Wilco – Being There (Reprise) | USA
Silver Jews – The Natural Bridge (Drag City) | USA | Bandcamp
Fred Eaglesmith – Drive-In Movie (Vertical) | USA
Souled American – Notes Campfire (MoII ) | USA | Bandcamp
J.J. Cale – Guitar Man (Delabel) | USA
The Renderers – The Surface Of Jupiter (Ajax) | New Zealand
Johnny Cash – Unchained (American) | USA
Alejandro Escovedo – With These Hands (Rykodisc) | USA
Vic Chestnutt – About to Choke (Capitol) | USA
Palace – Arise Therefore (Drag City) | USA | Bandcamp
Steve Earle – I Feel Alright (WB) | USA
Scud Mountain Boys – Massachusetts (Sub Pop) | USA

Blues & Blues Rock

A great example of J.J. Cale’s chooglin’ Tulsa sound in his late period. Breezy and laid back, but with surprisingly high quality of songwriting.

Blues Rock | Roots Rock | Country Rock | Americana | RYM #1,223

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Now I Got Worry (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
J.J. Cale – Guitar Man (Delabel) | USA
Deep Purple – Purpendicular (BMG ) | UK
Gov’t Mule – Live at Roseland Ballroom (Foundation) | USA
Matt “Guitar” Murphy – The Blues Don’t Bother Me (Roesch) | USA
ZZ Top – Rhythmeen (RCA) | USA
The Black Crowes – Three Snakes and One Charm (American) | USA
Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies – Magnolia (Atlantic) | USA
R.L. Burnside – A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey (Matador) | USA

Singer/Songwriters

It’s unsurprising that musical equivalents to Elizabeth Wurtzel’s book Prozac Nation (1994) would soon emerge. What is surprising is how great some of these depressive singer-songwriters would be, such as Sparklehorse (Mark Linkous) and Eels (Mark Everett, Mr. E, or just E). E would indeed come out with his own book about struggles with depression and family trauma in Things the Grandchildren Should Know (2008). On his debut album, E takes a Beck-like magpie approach, enhancing his singer/songwriter material with trip hop, chamber pop and a potent dose of whimsey and black humor. This outsider persona dealing with heavy topics could be a drag, but with E’s invetive pop melodies, it’s a freakin’ delight.

Alt | Indie Pop | Chamber Pop | Trip Hop | RYM #256

Beck – Odelay (Geffen) | USA
Eels – Beautiful Freak (Dreamworks) | USA
Fiona Apple – Tidal (Epic) | USA
Steve Wynn – Melting in the Sark (Zero Hour) | USA
Patti Smith – Gone Again (Arista) | USA
Tori Amos – Boys for Pele (EastWest) | USA
Jeremy Enigk – Return of the Frog Queen (Sub Pop) | USA
Johnny Cash – Unchained (American) | USA
Oumou Sangare – Worotan (World Circuit) | Mali
Vic Chestnutt – About to Choke (Capitol) | USA
Palace – Arise Therefore (Drag City) | USA | Bandcamp
Smog – The Doctor Came at Dawn (Drag City) | USA
Suzanne Vega – Nine Objects of Desire (A&M) | USA

Jazz & Jazz Fusion

Why the flippin’ heck isn’t there more jazz reggae? Probably because no one wants to attempt what Ernest Ranglin essentially created. I mean, the dude could be credited for being one of the key architects of ALL Jamaican music. He started out at 15 playing with Val Bennett Orchestra and Eric Deans Orchestra, playing everything from big band jazz standards to Cuban music, Broadway tunes and R&B. He performed on and arranged Theophilus Beckford’s “Easy Snapping”, and the first ska tune, “Shuffling Bug,” with the term used to describe the choppy off-beat upstroke of his guitar playing. Ska went international with Millie Small’s hit “My Boy Lollipop,” again with Ranglin on guitar. He worked with everybody — Duke Reid, Coxsone Dodd, Prince Buster, The Skatalites, Bob Marley, Toots & the Maytals, The Melodians, etc. While Ranglin Roots (1972) was a key album where he fleshed out his jazz-reggae fusion, this is actually his most celebrated album, and for good reason. It’s buoyant, easygoing, but has unforgettably unique arrangements of classics from “54-46 (Was My Number)” to “Satta Massangana.” Essential.

A strikingly dense, improvised fusion of jazz‑fusion, electronic sound design, and dark, cinematic atmosphere, built by musicians who never even met in the studio, I of course learned of this from The Wire magazine. It’s a concept album about an 800‑foot statue of Anubis causing urban catastrophe, portrayed sonically with layered, shifting, and architecturally constructed remote performances. A prescient preview of pandemic-era collaboration.

Ernest Ranglin – Below the Bassline (Island Jamaica Jazz) | Jamaica
Paul Schutze & Phantom City – Site Anubis (Big Cat) | UK
John Zorn – Bar Kokhba (Tzadik ) | USA
Meshell Ndegeocello – Peace Beyond Passion (Maverick) | USA
Jonas Hellborg / Shawn Lane / Apt. Q-258 – Temporal Analogues of Paradise (Day Eight) | Sweden
Don Byron – Bug Music: Music of the Raymond Scott Quintette, John Kirby & His Orchestra, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra (Nonesuch) | USA
Bill Frisell – Quartet (Nonesuch) | USA
Michael Brecker – Tales From the Hudson (Impulse!) | USA
Joey Calderazzo / Lars Danielsson / Jacek Kochan – Our Standards (Gowl) | Sweden
Masada – Zayin (DIW) | USA
Cassandra Wilson – New Moon Daughter (Blue Note) | USA
Medeski, Martin & Wood – Shack-Man (Gramavision) | USA
Nels Cline Trio – Chest (Little Brother) | USA | Bandcamp

AOR, Pop Rock

To Robert Smith’s credit, after a successful run of acclaimed albums and lineup changes, he doesn’t try to repeat himself, but rather does a creative reset by embracing new technologies and going mega-pop. He did this with Japanese Whispers and singles in 1983, and again 13 years later with this album, which is uneven, but still has some nice highlights.

Alt | Pop Rock | Chamber Pop | RYM #1,299

The Cure – Wild Mood Swings (Fiction) | UK
Peter Perrett – Woke Up Sticky (Demon) | UK
Jason Falkner – Present Author Unknown (Elektra) | USA
Wondermints – Wonderful World of the Wondermints (Castle) | USA
Maria McKee – Life Is Sweet (Geffen) | USA
“Weird Al” Yankovic – Bad Hair Day (Volcano) | USA
Morten Harket – Vogts Villa (Norsk Plateproduksjon ) | Norway

Non-Metal For Metalheads

While Pre-Millennium Tension was the official followup to Tricky’s debut Maxinquaye (1995), this seemingly throwaway side project not released under his name was more fascinating, a kind of bridge between the surrealism of the debut and the more dark, brittle paranoia of Tension. Quickly recorded, it has an unfinished demo quality which lends well to the hazy dream state fog that Tricky seemed to be immersed in. But it’s more accomplished that first glance suggests, with key contributions from Björk, Terry Hall and Neneh Cherry. It’s also the closest he would ever get to retaining the magic and mystery of his debut.

Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp
Swans – Soundtracks For The Blind (Young God) | USA | Bandcamp
Disco Inferno – Technicolour (Go Ahead) | UK | Bandcamp
Jessamine – The Long Arm Of Coincidence (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Tricky – Nearly God (Island) | UK
Neurosis – Through Silver In Blood (Relapse) | USA
Godflesh – Songs Of Love And Hate (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp
Paul Schutze & Phantom City – Site Anubis (Big Cat) | UK
Rome – Rome (Thrill Jockey) | USA
Einstürzende Neubauten – Ende Neu (Nothing) | Germany
Gastr del Sol – Upgrade & Afterlife (Drag City) | USA
.O.rang – Fields & Waves (Echo) | UK
Killing Joke – Democracy (Butterfly) | UK

Labels

Clearly the result of major labels hoovering up all the artists that showed, well, that they can breathe and might sell some CDs. Matador and Century Media were the only indies in the top ten. Note that this isn’t ALL their releases, just ones that made my rankings.

Virgin (15)
WB (14)
Columbia (13)
Island (12)
Matador (11)
Elektra (10)
Geffen (10)
Reprise (10)
Century Media (8)
EastWest (8)
Sub Pop (8)
4AD (7)
Epic & Interscope (7)

Playlist

Tidal | Spotify

Videos

Shows

I was averaging around three shows a week back then, so I saw a lot. It was always a special event when Walt Mink were in town, as they were the best live band around.

Walt Mink – Metro (3/2)
Dirty Three – Lounge Ax (8/12)
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – The Vic (11/8)
Beck – Metro (8/15)
Stereolab, Cornershop – Metro (5/10)
Slayer – Metro (8/17)
Toots & the Maytals – Cubby Bear (8/22)
Tito Puente – Cubby Bear (2/9)
Man…Or Astro Man – Metro (4/25)
The Cramps – Metro (7/13)
Grifters, Red Red Meat – Fireside Bowl (4/6)
Dub Syndicate, Tortoise – Metro (2/10)
Yo La Tengo, Eleventh Dream Day, Seam, Red Red Meat – Congress Theater (6/30)

Also: 5ive Style, Arcwelder, A Tribe Called Quest, Babes in Toyland, Boss Hog, Bowery Electric, Cibo Matto, Cluster, Come, Command Module, Deadbolt, Fishbone, Frontier, Fugees, Godflesh, Gwar, Hammerhead, Emmylou Harris, Hummer, Jawbox, Jessamine, June of 22, Killdozer, Low, Mad Professor, Melvins, Mermen, Moonshake, Oblivians, Pantera, P-Funk, Posies, Prong, Pulsars, Rome, Run On, Scissor Girls, Scrawl, Shellac, Silkworm, Specials, Spinanes, Trans Am, Trenchmouth, Ui, U.S. Maple, Vandermark 5, Velocity Girl, Versus, Wedding Present, White Zombie, Zeni Geva.

Movies

I’m not a fan of Westerns, but I was fully engaged with Jim Jarmusch’s metaphysical anti-Western, full of deadpan humor, but also some sincere spiritual resonance, enhanced by a soundtrack of Neil Young’s stark, desert blues, inspired by Ry Cooder’s groundbreaking work with Paris, Texas (1984). Also notable, both movies were shot by cinematographer Robby Müller. “Stupid f-ing white man.” — Nobody. Possibly his best movie, and just edging out other biggies, Trainspotting and Fargo.

Dead Man – Jim Jarmusch (drama)
Trainspotting – Danny Boyle (drama, black comedy)
Fargo – Coen Brothers (crime, thriller, black comedy)
Freeway – Matthew Bright (black comedy, thriller)
Box of Moonlight – Tom DiCillo (comedy)
Like Water for Chocolate – Alfonso Arau (romance)
Lone Star – John Sayles (drama)
Bottle Rocket – Wes Anderson (comedy)
Basquiat – Julian Schnabel (drama)
Bound – The Watchowski Bros (drama)
Cold Fever – Thor Thorkinson (drama)
Foxfire – Arnette Haywood-Carter (drama)
Sonic Outlaws – Craig Baldwin (documentary)

Bubbling under: Flirting With Disaster, Trees Lounge, James and the Giant Peach, Beautiful Girls, Shine, The People Vs. Larry Flynt, The Truth About Cats & Dogs, Sirens, Thieves, Romeo + Juliet, Kingpin, Mallrats, Chungking Express, Young Poisoners Handbook, Small Faces, Stealing Beauty, Mars Attacks!, The Daytrippers.

Television

I don’t think I really watched any TV in 1996. When I wasn’t out seeing shows, I saw movies or rented videos (still VHS tapes!)

Books

Fans of the dark fantasy series Sandman, regarded as one of the best and most groundbreaking comics ever, didn’t have to wait long after the original arc was completed in 1996. Neil Gaiman’s collaboration with Terry Pratchett on Good Omens (1990) proved he had the writing chops as a novelist, and Neverwhere sealed it. My fantasy reading mostly fell away since I was a teenager, but this book offered a dark, gritty world just outside of reality that pulled me in.

Ordinary guy Richard Mayhew stops to help a bleeding girl named Door. The act of kindness causes him to slip between the cracks of reality, becoming invisible in “London Above,” and forcing him to navigate the shadowy underworld in the subterranean labyrinth of “London Below.” Having become a non-entity in the “real” world where he lost his job, apartment and fiancée, he has no other choice than to embark on a quest to help Door, who turns out to be a powerful noblewoman who has vowed to avenge her family’s slaughter and prevent the destruction of her mysterious kingdom.

They gather a group of allies like the Hunter and the Marquis de Carabas, while being pursued by the relentless, inhuman assassins, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. They encounter both monsters and Angels, and of course all is not as they seem.

I don’t know if this book invented urban fantasy, but it’s certainly a colossal influence on the category, which I first heard of in the 2000s as it’s popularity exploded. Nothing else, not even Gaiman’s subsequent books like American Gods, has come close to this. Which is probably why it’s taking him so long to write a sequel. Certain editions has labeled it London Below #1, and there were stirs of excitement when Gaiman published the 64-page short story, “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back” in 2015, which was later incorporated into editions of this book.

He officially announced he’d started writing the sequel in 2017 under the working title The Seven Sisters. As of 2023, he said he was six chapters in. In the meantime he had kept busy with short stories, children’s books, writing scripts for the Good Omens TV series (S03 is to be a final 90 minute episode, but release date not yet announced), and then, alas, his sex pestery. Everything related to his work is more in limbo than ever. I know some former fans vow to never read his work again. However, if they want to be consistent with holding all other artists to moral standards, then they have a whole lot more culling to do.

Also, “Beware of doors.”

Neil Gaiman – Neverwhere (urban fantasy)
William Gibson – Idoru (Bridge #2, sf)
David Foster Wallace – Infinite Jest (literary, satire)
Bruce Sterling – Holy Fire (sf, cyberpunk)
Nelson Ray – Virtual Zen (comedy, music fiction)
Chuck Palahniuk – Fight Club (mystery)
John Shirley – Silicone Embrace (sf, cyberpunk)
Terry Pratchett – Hogfather (Discworld #20, fantasy comedy)
Poppy Z. Brite – Exquisite Corpse (horror, mystery)
George R.R. Martin – A Game of Thrones (Fire and Ice #1, fantasy)
Alan Moore – Voice of the Fire (historical)
Connie Willis – Bellweather (sf, comedy)
Michael Connelly – The Poet (Jack McEvoy #1, mystery, crime)

Bubbling under: Raphael Carter, Neal Stephenson, Tad Williams, Peter F. Hamilton.

Fester’s Lucky 13 Year-End Summaries

Posted in: Bandcamp, Books, Features, Film, Listicles, Lucky 13, News, Rants, Reissues, Reviews, TV, Videos/Singles

Other

Stuff

May 29, 2026

Elder – Through Zero (Stickman)

April 13, 2026

Spirit Adrift – Infinite Illumination (20 Buck Spin)

Truckfighters – Masterflow (Fuzzorama)

All Them Witches – House of Mirrors (BMG)

Fester’s Lucky 13: 1996