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Fester’s Lucky 13: 2022 Year-End Summary

December 2, 2022 by A.S. Van Dorston

It’s that most wonderful time of the the year — list season! Plus Krampusnacht, where you get goodies from Fester’s Bucket O’ Nasties if you’re nice, and some light punishment from Krampus if you’re naughty.

Top 100 Albums of 2022 |  Spotify Mix | 2022 Breakdown: Genre Lists | Reissues | New Old Discoveries |  Videos | Movies | Television | Books | Fester’s Favorite Things

"Mocking Krampus" by Margaryta Yermolayeva. Buy this or her other amazing art at https://www.etsy.com/shop/RytasArtWorld?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=895922100.

An increasingly common narrative I hear from people around my age (gen X) and younger is that there is no new music worth hearing and they’ve given up. Yes, commercial mainstream music is stuck in a bit of a rut where vocals are overly processed, rhythms enslaved to too-perfect computer-enhanced timing, and guitars remain unfashionable. This is nothing new, and since you’re here, congratulations, you are not one of those whingeing crybabies who expect to be spoonfed exactly what you like via algorithms. Or perhaps you are, but you’re open to the idea of thinking for yourself, acknowledge that of the 100,000+ albums released yearly and growing, there are at least a handful that are just right for you.

Genre

I noticed Crossover Thrash has been mentioned increasingly often on the BangerTV reviews to describe bands like Mindforce, SpiritWorld and Dead Cross, a mix of thrash and hardcore punk/metalcore. Not something I listen to a lot, but worth mentioning, as Blake Ibanez’s new band Fugitive shows a lot of promise with their debut EP. His former band Power Trip and fellow Texans Iron Age made important albums in that genre, which goes back to the mid-80s with S.O.D., Carnivore, D.R.I. and even Suicidal Tendencies. Old, seemingly dormant genres from the 80s like Big Music and Baggy also reared their rotting heads from the swamp.

Gothic Country has been attributed to Lucky 13 artist Breanna Barbara’s music. There’s only eleven albums that I’ve the tag with this year so far, but I’ve surrendered to using it, as it does touch on something that folk noir and country rock don’t cover. I’m still annoyed that the RYM community rejected my proposed psych noir (18 albums this year) and psych prog (47 albums) tags, especially after they added more obscure ones like Ambient Americana and Moogsploitation. Chipmunk Soul, really? Also, a big NOPE to Rage and Bro-Country.

Comeback

Back in the 80s and 90s, an absence of more than three years was a long ass time. Usually it meant the band broke up, or someone was in rehab or a coma. Now, 5, 6, 7 years between albums is common. Time pigpiles on us, and accelerates. It looks like the top qualifier is The Casual Dots, who return with a sophomore album 18 years after their first. It’s gone virtually unnoticed, despite the fact that the band has pedigree, an indie supergroup with Christina Billotte of Slant 6 and Autoclave and Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill. Not quite as fiery as Billotte’s former bandmate Mary Timony’s Ex Hex project, but quite satisfying.

San Francisco’s Fuckwolf return with their second album 16 years after their first. With post-punk, dub kosmische and psych genres attributed to them, I hear some Pere Ubu, but even more so, the trashy post-industrial, noisy psych punk of hometown legends Chrome.

Into A Circle was a bit late for the heyday of synthpop and new wave, forming in 1985 and releasing their sole album in 1988. So they chilled out for 33 years until nothing good at all is fashionable, and pretty much every genre is considered outdated, though they do have an edge over guitar bands. Similarly,  Susanne Freytag and Claudia Brücken of Propaganda returned after about the same amount of time, but as xPropaganda.

Debut

Debut of the year is Large Plants, the new band from Wolf People’s Jack Sharp. It’s gotten seemingly zero attention despite the fact that Ruins was the album of the year hear at Fast ‘n’ Bulbous, and a fair amount of people noted it’s greatness. They shouldn’t sleep on this one, as it’s just as great.

Bubbling under is Norse supergroup WIZRD, mixing prog, jazz-rock and Southern rock; Wet Leg, who everybody knows; The Smile consisting of 1/2 of Radiohead; and young art/post-punkers The Lounge Society. I’ve ranked them over Fontaines D.C., Yard Act and Dry Cleaning because they haven’t forgotten the value of a great drummer.

Memoriam

This year an alarmingly high number of gen X musicians died. I reckon everyone goes through this as they get older, getting freaked out by how many people your own age are gone. As always, I can’t say any loss is worse than others, only make a special mention in terms of the impact a particular musician had on what I focus on. It’s weird to think how the original 70s punk rockers were still boomers. Generation labels are so arbitrary — that generation spans 19 years, while others are a shorter range. The Saints were a major band for me throughout my life, and it always stings when we lose someone like Chris Bailey when it seemed clear they still had much more they wanted to do.

May they also rock in excelsis DIO and rest in pieces: Terry Hall (Specials), Martin Duffy (Felt), Manuel Göttsching (Ash Ra Tempel), Jet Black (The Stranglers), Hamish Kilgour (The Clean), Kevin Ayers (Soft Machine), Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac), Wilko Johnson (Dr. Feelgood), Keith Levene (P.i.L.), Gal Costa, Mimi Parker (Low), D.H. Peligro (Dead Kennedys), Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn, Pharoah Sanders, Mabel John, Olivia Newton-John, Alan White (Yes), Klaus Shulze, Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees), Betty Davis, Syl Johnson, Dallas Good (Sadies), Meat Loaf, Ronnie Spector and many more.

Underrated

Last year I chose The Vintage Caravan because it was such a perfect example of two very similar bands, them and Greta Van Fleet, who also happened to release their new albums on the same day last year. One is selling out stadiums, the other is obscure, though partly because they’re in Finland and haven’t done a proper North American tour yet.

Elder’s particular style of psych prog and space rock may not have true mainstream potential, but I can’t help but think about Pink Floyd, who were a very different band, but they also had their own unique take on psych prog that translated to them becoming a global brand. I’ve read several books lately on why that isn’t possible anymore — more variety and sheer amount of music, more divergent tastes, unpopularity of rock, etc., but I still firmly believe there’s a lot more people out there who would dig Elder.

Disappointment

I’d been anticipating a new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album for nine years, but perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that half of it stinks. Karen O has always had Hollywood aspirations with her soundtrack work. But what’s the point of reviving the Yeah Yeah Yeahs if they’re not going to make use of Nick Zinner’s brilliant guitar chops? She might have well just done a solo album. She did a low key bedroom project, Crush Songs (2014) and Lux Prima (2019) with Danger Mouse, and I’m unimpressed, so it seems she needed that YYYs brand. At this point Zinner should just form his own band and let his freak flag fly.

Björk’s new album isn’t bad, but I just can’t enjoy it like I did her first four albums. I think part of the problem is the maximalist production is fatiguing, something that she always had issues with, but it’s gotten worse. The Pixies sounds better than other recent blunders, but still, I’m unlikely ever to listen to it again. Same with Bloc Party, The Arcade Fire, Muse, The Afghan Whigs, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Urge Overkill.

I’m also disappointed that The Sword broke up. I was looking forward to seeing them live more often now than I’m in Texas. Reminds me of when I went to Saint Paul for college, then Hüsker Dü broke up weeks later. JD Cronise said: “I find it my duty to inform you that … it’s time to bring The Sword’s long and storied career to a close.” 

Worst

The editorial policy here at Rancho Bulboso is overwhelmingly to seek out and promote music I love. If I don’t really like an artist, I’m unlikely to listen to the whole thing. So while something like Machine Gun Kelly or Kid Rock could be a contender, no way in hell I’m gonna torture myself by listening to a whole album by them. Not as objectively bad as those artists, Red Hot Chili Peppers. I’ve always disliked them despite so many friends being into them. I still listen to the radio in the car, as there’s a few decent stations left in Austin, but I find myself changing the station every time the RHCP come on, and it happens all the damn time. There’s usually a couple exceptions, something that does well in the year-end lists and I try to understand why. This time it’s the latest from The 1975, who are flirting with the top 40 of the Album of the Year aggregate list. I can hear how the MOR soft rock of their fourth album is less obnoxious than their previous cringe-inducing work, but I can’t get past the fumes of pure visceral hate that I’ve felt for this band since first being unwillingly subjected to them at a bar in 2013. Good alarm bells that I don’t like something: irritation, fight/flight level distress or rage, and not the good cathartic kind when I listen to high quality extreme metal.

Surprise

You may not know about it, but The Wedding Present have been releasing a single every month this year, just as they did 30 years ago, and they’re nearly as great. Hopefully once the last one is released in December, 24 Songs will become available in a sanely affordable package (the 7″ box set is £135). Similarly, All Them Witches completed their monthly singles run called Baker’s Dozen. 13 songs, 1 hour 44 minutes of sprawling stoner desert blues experimentation! Hopefully they’ll release the entire batch on Bandcamp soon. I put them all in a playlist below.


Fester’s Lucky 13 – The Best Albums of 2022

1. Elder – Innate Passage (Stickman)

A new career pinnacle from these Berlin based ex-pats. The Thanksgiving release date ensured they’re excluded from most year-end lists that are now wrapped up earlier and earlier, just like how we now hear Xmas music on Halloween. It ain’t right. The band lays waste to brains every time they play, leaving behind total converts. After fourteen years, it’s time everyone takes notice. RIYL Bo Hansson, Opeth, Motorpsycho, Weedpecker. | Full ReviewBandcamp

2. The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors (Partisan)

Austin’s The Black Angels established their signature template of space rock and psych noir on their debut album, Passover (2006). While their subsequent albums were solid, they made more impact as curators of the Austin Psych Fest, which became Levitation. Like Desert Fest, it’s established a global presence as a vital focal point of psych music and culture. And on their sixth album, a double, they’ve finally definitively surpassed their debut. RIYL: The Velvet Underground, The Dream Syndicate, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Spacemen 3, The Janitors, Dead Skeletons, The Warlocks, Dead Meadow. | Full Review | Bandcamp

3. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – XI: Bleed Here Now (Dine Alone)

Two Austin bands in the top three after I’d moved to the area (Rancho Bulboso is 30 minutes outside the city) is a total coincidence, I promise! I’ve followed both bands from the beginning, and they just happen to have released their most ambitious, impressive work so far. They made a big deal of it’s quadraphonic sound, even on the vinyl version. If someone can explain how that is possible with just two speakers, please do. My blu-ray version that was only available as an import from InsideOut arrived today. I played it on my living room 5.1 home theater system, and it sound incredible, well worth it. RIYL: Sonic Youth, Sunny Day Real Estate, Baroness. | Full Review  | Bandcamp

4. Colour Haze – Sacred (Elektrohasch)

When I say Sacred is the heaviest Colour Haze album in 20 years, that doesn’t necessarily mean the best. The German fuzz psych pioneers have been impressively consistent in releasing quality albums every few years, experimenting with their sound. This one somewhat circles back to their early sound, but with the nuances that come with their extensive experience. A great entrypoint to their fuzzy world. RIYL: Kyuss, Los Natas, Rotor, Sungrazer, My Sleeping Karma, Causa Sui, Mars Red Sky, Glowsun. | Full Review | Bandcamp

5. Rosalie Cunningham – Two Piece Puzzle (Cherry Red)

I had high expectations for Rosalie Cunningham’s second solo album, after her first one was album of the year in 2019. For the most part it’s a success, but one minor quibble is that, as expected as a pandemic album, it feels meticulously pieced together in a home studio. I really loved Purson, and would love to hear songs more road-tested with a band, injecting some of that live experience and chemistry. Fingers crossed that can happen with album number three. Glad to see it made the top ten of Prog Magazine’s year-end list. RIYL: Beatles, Jethro Tull, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Kate Bush, Cate Le Bon, Katie Gately, St. Vincent. | Full Review  | Buy

6. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Endless Rooms (Sub Pop)

The excitement over this Melbourne four-guitar jangle machine has dipped, but not for me. It stayed on heavy rotation on my summer playlist, helping me decompress after work as I float in my cheap 10′ x 30″ Intex pool. RIYL: Radio Birdman, Feelies, Felt, Go-Betweens, Orange Juice, The Church, Real Estate. | Full Review | Bandcamp

7. Large Plants – The Carrier (Ghost Box)

My disappointment at Wolf People breaking up in 2018 dissipated when Jack Sharp previewed his crack new band with a cheeky cover of Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita,” transforming it into a spooky, melancholy psych prog gem. It was a great way to introduce Large Plants. Apparently that wasn’t enough for anyone to notice, but here it is in Fester’s Lucky 13. Take notice y’all! RIYL:  Mighty Baby, Dark, Wishbone Ash, Groundhogs, Pentangle, Fairport Convention. | Full Review  | Bandcamp

8. And Also The Trees – The Bone Carver (Border)

14th album finds post-punk band at the top of their game after 40 years. RIYL: The Chameleons, Sad Lovers & Giants, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Tom Waits, Sixteen Horsepower, Swans. | Full Review | Bandcamp

9. Dungen – En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog (Mexican Summer) 

Hard to believe it was seven years since their last album. There’s a couple challenging departures from their virtuosic psych prog and jazz rock, just enough to keep you guessing. RIYL: Soft Machine, Hatfield And The North, Patto, Syd Arthur, WIZRD, King Gizz’s Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava. | Full Review  | Bandcamp

10. Custard Flux – Phosphorus (Custard Flux) 

Detroit acoustic psych (12 string, double bass, piano, harmonium, auto-harp, violin), lead by Curvey, who fronted Chicago’s The Luck of Eden Hall for 30 years. All four albums are empirically gorgeous with endless replay value. RIYL: Fairfield Parlour, Trees, Comus, Jethro Tull, Genesis, The Luck Of Eden Hall, Elkhorn. | Full Review | Bandcamp

11. Vitskär Süden – The Faceless King (Ripple)

The name, artwork and sound suggests a band from the dark mystical forests of Finland rather than Los Angeles, but just goes to show that creativity has no geographic barriers. Bonus D&D module! RIYL Wovenhand, Golden Void, Elder. | Full Review | Bandcamp

12. Breanna Barbara – Nothin’ But Time (Fuzz Club) 

Singer-songwriter hits her stride on second album with a singular take on gothic country, psych and blues punk. RIYL PJ Harvey, Cat Power, Tami Neilson, Adia Victoria, Rosalie Cunningham. | Full Review Bandcamp

13. Motorpsycho – Ancient Astronauts (Stickman/Rune Grammofon) 

Quickly following up on the amazing Gullvåg trilogy, prolific Norsemen of the apocalypse Motorpsycho come up with a relatively succinct but explorative album “without a whole lot of choruses.” RIYL Rush, King Crimson, Cluster, The Mars Volta.  | Full Review | Buy


Spotify Mix

Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal

Favorite Albums of 2022

  1. Elder – Innate Passage (Stickman) | USA/Germany | Bandcamp
  2. The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors (Partisan) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – XI: Bleed Here Now (Dine Alone) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Colour Haze – Sacred (Elektrohasch) | Germany | Bandcamp
  5. Rosalie Cunningham – Two Piece Puzzle (Cherry Red) | UK | Buy
  6. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Endless Rooms (Sub Pop) | Australia | Bandcamp
  7. Messa – Close (Svart) | Italy | Bandcamp
  8. And Also The Trees – The Bone Carver (Border) | UK | Bandcamp
  9. Dungen – En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog (Mexican Summer) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  10. Large Plants – The Carrier (Ghost Box) | UK | Bandcamp
  11. Custard Flux – Phosphorus (Custard Flux) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Vitskär Süden – The Faceless King (Ripple) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Breanna Barbara – Nothin’ But Time (Fuzz Club) | USA | Bandcamp
  14. Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band – Sonbonbela (Sublime Frequencies) | Burkina Faso | Bandcamp
  15. Motorpsycho – Ancient Astronauts (Stickman/Rune Grammofon) | Norway | Buy
  16. Ufomammut – Fenice (Neurot) | Italy | Bandcamp
  17. Dune Sea – Orbital Distortion (All Good Clean) | Norway
  18. The Sadies – Colder Streams (Yep Roc) | Canada | Bandcamp
  19. King Buffalo – Regenerator (Stickman) | USA | Bandcamp
  20. WIZRD – Seasons (Karisma) | Norway | Bandcamp
  21. Body Type – Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising (Poison City) | Australia | Bandcamp
  22. Thus Love – Memorial (Captured Tracks) | USA | Bandcamp
  23. Spoon – Lucifer On The Sofa (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
  24. Hammered Hulls – Careening (Dischord) | USA | Bandcamp
  25. Screamfeeder – Five Rooms (Modern Morning) | Australia | Bandcamp
  26. Ian Blurton’s Future Now – Second Skin (Pajama Party/Seeing Red) | Canada | Bandcamp
  27. Sumerlands – Dreamkiller (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
  28. Cursed Arrows – Crone (Tarantula Tapes) | Canada | Bandcamp
  29. Brad Mehldau – Jacob’s Ladder (Nonesuch) | USA | Bandcamp
  30. Wet Leg – Wet Leg (Domino) | UK | Bandcamp
  31. Fooks Nihil – Tranquility (Unique) | Germany | Bandcamp
  32. Warpaint – Radiate Like This (Heirlooms/Virgin) | USA | Bandcamp
  33. Ironflame – Where Madness Dwells (High Roller) | USA | Bandcamp
  34. The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention (XL) | UK | Bandcamp
  35. The Lounge Society – Tired of Liberty (Speedy Wunderground) | UK | Buy
  36. The Blinders – Electric Kool-Aid: Parts 1 & 2 (Crocodile Men) | UK
  37. Mutautu – Graveyard of Giants (Mutautu) | Finland | Bandcamp
  38. The Hanging Stars – Hollow Heart (Loose) | UK | Bandcamp
  39. Blacklist – Afterworld (Weird) | USA | Bandcamp
  40. The Wedding Present – 24 Songs (Scopitones) | UK | Buy
  41. Crippled Black Phoenix – Banefyre (Season Of Mist) | UK | Bandcamp
  42. Glass Hammer – At the Gate (Glass Hammer) | USA | Bandcamp
  43. Wo Fat – The Singularity (Ripple) | USA | Bandcamp
  44. Oneida – Success (Joyful Noise) | USA | Bandcamp
  45. Color Green – Color Green (Aquarium Drunkard) | USA | Bandcamp
  46. Déjà Vega – Personal Hell (Paperhead) | UK | Buy
  47. Garrett T. Capps & Nasa Country – People Are Beautiful (Spaceflight) | USA | Bandcamp
  48. Rattlesnake Milk – Chicken Fried Snake (Feels So Good) | USA | Buy
  49. Orango – Mohican (Stickman) | Norway | Bandcamp
  50. Goat – Oh Death (Rocket) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  51. Preoccupations – Arrangements (Preoccupations) | Canada | Bandcamp
  52. Maple Mars – Someone’s Got to Listen (Big Stir) | USA | Bandcamp
  53. Elkhorn – Distances (Feeding Tube) | USA | Bandcamp
  54. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava (KGLW) | Australia | Bandcamp
  55. Edena Gardens – Edena Gardens (El Paraiso) | Denmark | Buy
  56. Straw Man Army – SOS (La Vida En Un Mus) | USA | Bandcamp
  57. Dead Meadow – Force Form Free (Blues Funeral) | USA | Bandcamp
  58. Mordecai Smyth – Things Are Getting Stranger On The Shore (Mega Dodo) | UK | Bandcamp
  59. SUSS – SUSS (Northern Spy) | USA | Bandcamp
  60. Besvärjelsen – Atlas (Magnetic Eye) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  61. Oceans Of Slumber – Starlight and Ash (Century Media) | USA | Buy
  62. My Sleeping Karma – Atma (Napalm) | Austria | Bandcamp
  63. Modern Stars – Space Trips For The Masses (Little Cloud) | Italy | Bandcamp
  64. GYASI – Pronounced Jah-See (Alive Naturalsound) | USA | Bandcamp
  65. Pike vs The Automaton – Pike vs The Automaton (MNRK Heavy) | USA | Bandcamp
  66. Limousine Beach – Limousine Beach (Tee Pee) | USA | Bandcamp
  67. Avatarium – Death, Where Is Your Sting (AFM) | Sweden | Buy
  68. Bhopal’s Flowers – Joy of the 4th (Sound Effect) | Canada | Bandcamp
  69. Otoboke Beaver – Super Champon (Damnably) | Japan | Bandcamp
  70. Zoahr – Apraxia (Zoahr) | Germany | Bandcamp
  71. Wucan – Heretic Tongues (Sonic Attack) | Germany | Bandcamp
  72. Korb – III (Dreamlord) | UK | Bandcamp
  73. Sammal – Aika laulaa (Svart) | Finland | Bandcamp
  74. Melts – Maelstrom (Mother Sky) | UK | Bandcamp
  75. The Janitors – Noisolation Sessions Vol. 2 (Cardinal Fuzz) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  76. Onsègen Ensemble – Realms (Svart) | Finland | Bandcamp
  77. Big Joanie – Back Home (Kill Rock Stars) | UK | Bandcamp
  78. CB3 – Exploration (Majestic Mountain) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  79. The Otolith – Folium Limina (Blues Funeral) | USA | Bandcamp
  80. Upupayama – The Golden Pond (Cardinal Fuzz) | Italy | Bandcamp
  81. Gold Dust – The Late Great Gold Dust (Centripetal Force) | USA | Bandcamp
  82. Wovenhand – Silver Sash (Glitterhouse) | USA | Bandcamp
  83. Astragal – Pure Cashmere (Astragal) | USA | Bandcamp
  84. Les Big Byrd – Eternal Light Brigade (Chimp Limbs) | Sweden | Buy
  85. Los Palms – Skeleton Ranch (Fuzz Club) | Australia | Bandcamp
  86. Coughin’ Vicars – Ritual Discipline (Coughin Vicars) | UK | Bandcamp
  87. Cloakroom – Dissolution Wave (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
  88. Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed (Wax Bodega) | USA | Bandcamp
  89. SOM – The Shape of Everything (Pelagic) | USA | Bandcamp
  90. Astronoid – Radiant Bloom (3DOT) | USA | Bandcamp
  91. Wailin Storms – The Silver Snake Unfolds (Gilead) | USA | Bandcamp
  92. Munly & The Lupercalians – Kinnery of Lupercalia: Undelivered Legion (SCAC) | USA | Bandcamp
  93. Nathan Hall & The Sinister Locals – Golden Fleece (Hip Rep) | UK | Bandcamp
  94. Ecstatic Vision – Elusive Mojo (Heavy Psych) | USA | Bandcamp
  95. J.P. Bimeni & The Black Belts – Give Me Hope (Lovemonk) | Burundi/UK | Bandcamp
  96. Stephen Bailey – G.G. Ryder (Third Eye Stimuli) | Australia | Bandcamp
  97. 6kitty – Tux (6kitty) | USA | Bandcamp
  98. Sun Voyager – Sun Voyager (Ripple) | USA | Bandcamp
  99. The Shop Window – A 4 Letter Word (Spinout Nuggets) | UK | Bandcamp
  100. Motorcade – See You in the Nothing (Idol) | USA | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Lost Cat, Wax Machine, Fuckwolf, Alune Wade, Ealdor Bealu, The Garden, Black Doldrums, Children Of The Sün, Guapa, Psychlona, London Odense Ensemble, Hedvig Mollestad & The Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Just Mustard, Haunt, Kikagaku Moyo, Mythic Sunship, Winged Wheel, Fontaines D.C., Yard Act, High Vis, Dry Cleaning, Sea Power, Rubber Oh, Robyn Hitchcock, OFF!, JER, The Interrupters, Birth, Doe St., The Vat Egg Imposition, The Orielles, The Lancashire Hustlers, The Green Pajamas, Good Looks, Ruby The Hatchet, The Fernweh, Midlake, Drugdealer, Sacred Skin, Sob Stories, The Lazy Eyes, Jack White, Catcher, Papir, Magic Shoppe, AlterModerns, Marcus King, Crossword Smiles. There’s even albums ranked as low as 500 (Angel Olsen, Horsegirl) that I’ve returned to repeatedly for pure enjoyment. See full list of 1,200+ albums here.


2022 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 | Psych Pop & Prog Pop | Kosmische & Space Rock | JamNoir | Psych Prog | Prog | Punk | Garage Rock | Hard Rock | Stoner/Desert/Fuzz |  Heavy Metal | Doom | Metal | Power/Adventure/Epic/Symphonic Dark Romance Metal |  Avant, Experimental, Post-Rock, Modern Classical & Drone | Industrial & Noise | Ambient & New Age | InstrumentalArt Pop, Dream Pop & Shoegaze | Synthpop & New Wave | Indie Rock, Pop & Jangle Pop | Power PopJazz & Fusion | Global | Electronic | R&B, Soul & Funk | Hip Hop & Rap | Folk & Americana | Country | Blues Rock | Singer-Songwriters | The Golden Circle | Non-Metal For Metalheads | AOR | ReissuesLate EntriesNew Old Discoveries | Texas Albums

Psych

It’s interesting that along with The Black Angels, the most well known American psych bands are Black Mountain and Dead Meadow, who are also considered indie. Good bands no doubt, but there is so much more. The Sadies are from Canada, and psych is just one ingredient in their virtuosic blend of country/folk rock, Americana, surf and garage noir that they’ve fine-tuned over 20+ years. Colder Streams may be their best album yet, and also could be their last, as key member Dallas Good passed earlier in the year. | Full Review | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: King Buffalo, My Sleeping Karma, Korb, Melts, Upupayama, Gold Dust, Minami Deutsch, Gaye Su Akyol, Wax Machine, London Odense Ensemble, Kikagaku Moyo. | More

  1. The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors (Partisan) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Colour Haze – Sacred (Elektrohasch) | Germany | Bandcamp
  3. Breanna Barbara – Nothin’ But Time (Fuzz Club) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. The Sadies – Colder Streams (Yep Roc) | Canada | Bandcamp
  5. King Buffalo – Regenerator (Stickman) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Warpaint – Radiate Like This (Heirlooms/Virgin) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. Wo Fat – The Singularity (Ripple) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Oneida – Success (Joyful Noise) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Color Green – Color Green (Aquarium Drunkard) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. Déjà Vega – Personal Hell (Paperhead) | UK | Buy
  11. Goat – Oh Death (Rocket) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  12. Edena Gardens – Edena Gardens (El Paraiso) | Denmark | Buy
  13. Dead Meadow – Force Form Free (Blues Funeral) | USA | Bandcamp

Psych Pop & Prog Pop

It’s becoming a monthly occurrence that I discover a great band whose entire catalog I completely missed during the 00s. First it was Ian Blurton’s C’mon, and now Maple Mars, a Los Angeles power/psych pop band, who were dormant for a dozen years before coming out with their fifth and best album. Riding the crest of the critical wave of praise for his solo album Better Days (2020), Rick Hromadka got a little more ambitious with Maple Mars, introducing some more intricately arranged prog pop elements to their power pop and psych pop template. It’s an inviting added dimension that makes for sustainable repeat listens. balancing earworms with enough twists to keep you guessing. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: The Green Pajamas, The Lazy Eyes, Magic Shoppe, Fenella, Phil Royal, The Citradels, Cate Le Bon, Pixy Jones, Gabriel’s Dawn, Crystal Jacqueline. | More

  1. Rosalie Cunningham – Two Piece Puzzle (Cherry Red) | UK | Buy
  2. Dungen – En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog (Mexican Summer) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  3. Custard Flux – Phosphorus (Custard Flux) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Maple Mars – Someone’s Got to Listen (Big Stir) | USA | Bandcamp
  5. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava (KGLW) | Australia | Bandcamp
  6. Mordecai Smyth – Things Are Getting Stranger On The Shore (Mega Dodo) | UK | Bandcamp
  7. Bhopal’s Flowers – Joy of the 4th (Sound Effect) | Canada | Bandcamp
  8. Nathan Hall & The Sinister Locals – Golden Fleece (Hip Rep) | UK | Bandcamp
  9. Stephen Bailey – G.G. Ryder (Third Eye Stimuli) | Australia | Bandcamp
  10. Rubber Oh – Strange Craft (Rocket) | UK | Bandcamp
  11. Robyn Hitchcock – Shufflemania (Tiny Ghost) | UK | Bandcamp
  12. Beach House – Once Twice Melody (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. The Lancashire Hustlers – Big Ask (Steep Hill) | UK | Bandcamp

Kosmische & Space Rock

Trondheim, Norway’s Dune Sea have specialized in a top notch approach to space rock since their All Quiet Under the Suns EP debut in 2017. Now on their third full length, their original inspirations of Hawkwind/Monster Magnet combined with some Nebula/Yawning Man style stoner fuzz can still be heard, but they’ve also embraced some stately post-rock guitar textures on “Astro Chimp” and “Draugen,” prog (hear the violin on the Norwegian-sung “Hubro”) and ambient sounds throughout. The bassline on “Trinity” is delicious. Without a doubt their best batch yet, but unfortunately you can’t buy it. “Available anywhere” must translate from Norwegian as “streaming only.” The vinyl record will be available sometime in 2023, and lossless downloads will be available possibly never. I’m still trying to track down a download of their previous album, Moons of Uranus (2020), a fruitless quest so far. The EP and first album are available on Bandcamp, I’m not sure why they can’t also sell the more reason albums there.

Bubbling under: Cloakroom, Ecstatic Vision, Sun Voyager, Minami Deutsch, Psychlona, London Odense Ensemble, Kikagaku Moyo, Mythic Sunship, Rubber Oh, Papir, The Comet Is Coming, Modern Studies, Bobby Lee, Yoo Doo Right, Horse Lords, The Dream Syndicate, Jalayan, Dhidilah. | More.

  1. Colour Haze – Sacred (Elektrohasch) | Germany | Bandcamp
  2. Motorpsycho – Ancient Astronauts (Stickman/Rune Grammofon) | Norway | Buy
  3. Ufomammut – Fenice (Neurot) | Italy | Bandcamp
  4. Dune Sea – Orbital Distortion (All Good Clean) | Norway
  5. The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention (XL) | UK | Bandcamp
  6. Oneida – Success (Joyful Noise) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. Garrett T. Capps & Nasa Country – People Are Beautiful (Spaceflight) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Goat – Oh Death (Rocket) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  9. Edena Gardens – Edena Gardens (El Paraiso) | Denmark | Buy
  10. Dead Meadow – Force Form Free (Blues Funeral) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. My Sleeping Karma – Atma (Napalm) | Austria | Bandcamp
  12. Modern Stars – Space Trips For The Masses (Little Cloud) | Italy | Bandcamp
  13. Korb – III (Dreamlord) | UK | Bandcamp

Jam

It’s impressive how big a following King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have gotten without focusing their talents on any one singular breakthrough album. Instead they’ve released 23 albums in eleven years, and manage to come all the way from Australia for multiple tours through North America, building a loyal fanbase. Generally their albums are like a party game for musicians — pick an exercise with a set of rules and see what happens. Or perhaps they’re leading a psychedelic school of rock in which they master a massive toolset to prepare themselves to one day create the ultimate album. I suspect their legacy will simply be the vast scope of their entire body of work, which exceeds 18 hours of music so far. Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava, probably their best of their five (!) albums released this year, tackles the seven Greek modes of music, set to singular tempos for each track. The improvised jazz-rock and funk jams, combined with collaborative lyrics focusing on nature recovering from the soon-to-be extinct humans, and the inevitable fiery death of the planet in the far future, are actually their most accessible music they’ve come up with in years. “Ice V” and “Magma” almost sound composed in parts, with actually catchy vocal hooks. Both served as highlights in their two sets at Austin’s Levitation festival, along with “Iron Lung” (featuring some scorching Tuareg style desert blues guitar) and the floating psych of “Lava” adorned with saxophone. For those just joining in the fun, it’s a great entrypoint before digging back into highlights like Flying Microtonal Banana & Murder of the Universe (2017) and I’m In Your Mind Fuzz (2014). | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Can, Goatriders, Sageness, The Dry Mouths, Chris Forsyth, River Flows Reverse, One Eleven Heavy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Faith In June. | More.

  1. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava (KGLW) | Australia | Bandcamp
  2. CB3 – Exploration (Majestic Mountain) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  3. Wax Machine – Hermit’s Grove (Batov) | UK | Bandcamp
  4. Earthless – Night Parade Of One Hundred Demons (Nuclear Blast) | USA | Buy
  5. Mythic Sunship – Light/Flux (Tee Pee) | Denmark | Bandcamp
  6. Papir – 7 (Stickman/Psychobabble) | Denmark | Buy
  7. Dhidalah – Sensoria (Guruguru Brain) | Japan | Bandcamp
  8. Spiral Wave Nomads – Magnetic Sky (Twin Lakes) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Naxatras – IV (Naxatras) | Greece | Bandcamp
  10. The Sheepdogs – Outta Sight (Warner) | Canada | Bandcamp
  11. Garcia Peoples – Dodging Dues (No Quarter) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Wet Tuna – Warping All by Yourself (Three Lobed) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Sonic Youth – In/Out/In (Three Lobed) | USA | Bandcamp

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

Messa has proven to be one to keep an eye on since their unique debut Belfry (2016) and the subtly jazz infused Feast for Water (2018). Their third has especially perked my ears up, as they have ventured at times into the progressive psych noir territory of Finnish Svart labelmates Jess and the Ancient Ones and Mansion. Every new element — synths, mandolin, dulcimer, ancient Arabic (oud) and Armenian (duduk) instruments, Middle Eastern scales,, black metal blasts — is incorporated seamlessly into an enchanting whole, driven by Sara Bianchin‘s powerful vocals that slice through even the heaviest moments like the sharpest katana. Guest Giorgio Trombino, who brought in the duduk, contributes more saxophone blasts on tracks like the 10:30 centerpiece “0=2,” and Matteo Bordin contributes free jazz guitar freakout on “Suspended.” Their eclectic, progressive approach to metal reminds me of SubRosa, and this increasingly addictive album makes me miss them a bit less since their breakup. Ultimately what makes Close such a leap forward is the songwriting. The dynamic arrangements, dramatic ebbs and flows take more memorable shapes than on previous albums. | Full Review | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Ghost Woman, Lost Cat, Children Of The Sün, Jack White, Tentacula, Crows, Weddings, Holy Witch, King Dude & Der Blutharsch and the Infinite Church of the Leading Hand, Wild Wild Wets, Ancient River, James Johnston & Steve Gullick, Veldune, Bambara, Seremonia, Tornet, Palodine. | More.

  1. The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors (Partisan) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Messa – Close (Svart) | Italy | Bandcamp
  3. Large Plants – The Carrier (Ghost Box) | UK | Bandcamp
  4. Vitskär Süden – The Faceless King (Ripple) | USA | Bandcamp
  5. Cursed Arrows – Crone (Tarantula Tapes) | Canada | Bandcamp
  6. The Blinders – Electric Kool-Aid: Parts 1 & 2 (Crocodile Men) | UK
  7. Rattlesnake Milk – Chicken Fried Snake (Feels So Good) | USA | Buy
  8. Avatarium – Death, Where Is Your Sting (AFM) | Sweden | Buy
  9. The Janitors – Noisolation Sessions Vol. 2 (Cardinal Fuzz) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  10. Wovenhand – Silver Sash (Glitterhouse) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Los Palms – Skeleton Ranch (Fuzz Club) | Australia | Bandcamp
  12. Coughin’ Vicars – Ritual Discipline (Coughin Vicars) | UK | Bandcamp
  13. Wailin Storms – The Silver Snake Unfolds (Gilead) | USA | Bandcamp

Psych Prog


Clearly this is my favorite genre combo right now, as six of the Lucky 13 have this designation, plus Messa, who I just discussed above. Ian Blurton has had a long history producing bands (Tricky Woo, Cursed, Cauldron, Blood Ceremony), and playing in a variety of indie projects based in Toronto, including the hard rockin’ C’mon in 2004-10. Judging from his smokin’ solo debut Signals Through the Flames (2019), he still has a bag full of great riffs. His vocals sound remarkably like Trevor William Church of Haunt with a bit of Chris Black from High Spirits/Dawnbringer. Of course it’s likely the other way around, since Blurton has been kicking around since the 80s. Morphing into Ian Blurton’s Future NowSecond Skin expands on his roots of garage psych, proto-metal, Southern rock with NWOBHM and mellotron-driven prog with more complicated song structures. He somehow got his hands on the Rolling Stones Mobile studio and an enviable collection of vintage gear, some that belonged to Randy Bachman and Neil Young, and it sounds fantastic. The twin guitar leads and no-nonsense melodic vocals have kept me interested for many repeat listens this summer. While I need to dig for some older C’mon albums, this sounds like the best thing he’s done so far. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Spell, Birth, Papir, Dirty Sound Magnet, Orkan, Humanotone, Guapa, Jalayan, Fuzz Meadows, Naxatras, Moura. | More.

  1. Elder – Innate Passage (Stickman) | USA/Germany | Bandcamp
  2. Colour Haze – Sacred (Elektrohasch) | Germany | Bandcamp
  3. Rosalie Cunningham – Two Piece Puzzle (Cherry Red) | UK | Buy
  4. Messa – Close (Svart) | Italy | Bandcamp
  5. Dungen – En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog (Mexican Summer) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  6. Large Plants – The Carrier (Ghost Box) | UK | Bandcamp
  7. Vitskär Süden – The Faceless King (Ripple) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Motorpsycho – Ancient Astronauts (Stickman/Rune Grammofon) | Norway | Buy
  9. Ian Blurton’s Future Now – Second Skin (Pajama Party/Seeing Red) | Canada | Bandcamp
  10. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava (KGLW) | Australia | Bandcamp
  11. Besvärjelsen – Atlas (Magnetic Eye) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  12. Wucan – Heretic Tongues (Sonic Attack) | Germany | Bandcamp
  13. Sammal – Aika laulaa (Svart) | Finland | Bandcamp

Prog

Trondheim, Norway’s fertile scene has spawned another great project, with Spidergawd’s Hallvard Gaardløs teaming up with folks from the Jazz Conservatory, including two members of Soft Ffog, who released their debut of Canterbury flavored instrumental jazz fusion in May. WIZRD’s jazz-rock draws from an eclectic pool including the freewheeling, irreverent spirit of White Denim (especially on “Fire & Water,” where it turns out James Petralli guests on!), jammy prog and Southern Rock complete with vocal harmonies. It’s a jazzier version of what I like about another Texas band, Crypt Trip. A prime example of the band’s range is illustrated on “Show Me What You Got,” which shows off their energetic, fast fretwork and rhythms for four minutes, segued into a dreamy, cosmic country psych second half. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: black midi, Chest Rockwell, Bubblemath, The Dear Hunter, The Mars Volta, Kaleidobolt, Famyne, Venus Principle, Moon Tooth, Porcupine Tree, Regal Worm, Church of the Cosmic Skull, Kaipa. | More.

  1. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – XI: Bleed Here Now (Dine Alone) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. WIZRD – Seasons (Karisma) | Norway | Bandcamp
  3. Brad Mehldau – Jacob’s Ladder (Nonesuch) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Crippled Black Phoenix – Banefyre (Season Of Mist) | UK | Bandcamp
  5. Glass Hammer – At the Gate (Glass Hammer) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Orango – Mohican (Stickman) | Norway | Bandcamp
  7. Oceans Of Slumber – Starlight and Ash (Century Media) | USA | Buy
  8. Wucan – Heretic Tongues (Sonic Attack) | Germany | Bandcamp
  9. Hällas – Isle of Wisdom (Napalm) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  10. Birth – Born (Bad Omen) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Dirty Sound Magnet – DSM-III (Hummus) | Switzerland | Bandcamp
  12. The Ecstasy Of Gold – Volume One (Ecstasy Of Gold) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Mythosphere – Pathological (Mythosphere) | USA | Bandcamp

Punk & Post-Punk

Body Type from Sydney, Australia may just be releasing their debut album now, but they’ve been active for six years, releasing two enticing EPs in 2018 and 19, and the single “Night Gratitude” in 2020. This is certainly the case of a pandemic related delay, as the band already has a second album’s worth of material written. Their sound has already evolved since that first EP, leaving behind the dreamy Warpaint inspired trip jammin’ mix of jangle pop, garage and post-punk into harder rocking material that makes good use of the twin guitar duo of Sophie McComish and Annabel Blackman. In the face of misogynist presumptions about their musicianship, they came up with the “wankiest, shreddiest” guitar solo in first single “The Charm.” Rather than a pisstake on cock rock though, it sounds like a really excellent tribute to the best guitar leads from Sleater-Kinney and undersung virtuoso Mary Timony (Autoclave, Helium, Wild Flag, Ex Hex). The driving “The Brood” is even better, and the side two run of “Flight Path,” “Buoyancy” and “Sex and Rage” keep the punk-infused energy level high. They haven’t totally abandoned their more delicate early style, however, as there’s plenty of slow-burners, such as “Futurism,” “An Animal” and the title track that inhabit a similar sonic and emotional space as some of the Wet Leg album. It makes me wonder if that band weren’t paying keen attention to Body Type’s early work, or perhaps all these bands are drawing inspiration from the same deep wells of feminist post-punk and guitar pop, and coming up with their own unique stamp. The more the merrier, as every note sounds like an antidote to both the dumpster fires of reality, and popular culture.  | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Otoboke Beaver, The Janitors, Big Joanie, Motorcade, Otoboke Beaver, Nightshift, Fuckwolf, The Garden, Just Mustard, Fontaines D.C., Yard Act, Dry Cleaning, Sea Power, OFF!, The Casual Dots, The Vat Egg Imposition, Sacred Skin, Catcher, Astragal, White Lung, Cold Showers, DITZ, High Vis, Crows, White Lung, Cold Showers, Die Spitz, Breathless, Special Interest, The Cool Greenhouse, Mush. | More.

  1. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Endless Rooms (Sub Pop) | Australia | Bandcamp
  2. And Also The Trees – The Bone Carver (Border) | UK | Bandcamp
  3. Body Type – Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising (Poison City) | Australia | Bandcamp
  4. Thus Love – Memorial (Captured Tracks) | USA | Bandcamp
  5. Spoon – Lucifer On The Sofa (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Hammered Hulls – Careening (Dischord) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. Cursed Arrows – Crone (Tarantula Tapes) | Canada | Bandcamp
  8. Wet Leg – Wet Leg (Domino) | UK | Bandcamp
  9. The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention (XL) | UK | Bandcamp
  10. The Lounge Society – Tired of Liberty (Speedy Wunderground) | UK | Buy
  11. Blacklist – Afterworld (Weird) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Déjà Vega – Personal Hell (Paperhead) | UK | Buy
  13. Preoccupations – Arrangements (Preoccupations) | Canada | Bandcamp

Garage Rock

Starting the week before Thanksgiving, we at Rancho Bulboso like to indulge in cheesy Holiday romance movies, such as the Netflix movie Christmas With You with a middle-aged Freddie Prinze Jr. as a music teacher widower, and Aimee Garcia (who was great in Lucifer) as the lonely pop diva. A kind of Latin pop version of Once (2011) with Glen Hansard of The Frames and Markéta Irglová, they should keep another generation of boys inspired to pick up a guitar. It’s a great story, much better than the tired cliche of rock stars and groupies. Instead, the boy proves himself through the quality of his songs and musicianship to be worthy of a woman not just his equal, but probably superior. Such is the case of Canadian blues punk couple who make up Cursed Arrows. Ryan Stanley had put out a ragtag acoustic solo album in 2003, which attracted the attention of Jackie. They met and formed a musical and romantic partnership that’s gone strong ever since with seven albums and several EPs. For the first decade they used the White Stripes style drums and guitar setup, and then added multi-instrumentalist Scott Grey to the lineup on Rebirth (2018). The expanded arrangements helped focus their garage noir, post-punk and grunge into their unique style, which sounds better than ever on their latest, with their most powerful, majestic walls of guitar fuzz and moody atmospherics. I went ahead and subscribed on Bandcamp, because I’m all in with whatever they come up with next. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: The Casual Dots, Jack White, Crows, The Routes, The Chats, Triptides, The Ghoulies, The Reverse Cowgirls, The Schizophonics, Wild Wild Wets, The Murlocs, Romero, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, The Lazy Eyes, The Dream Syndicate, The Harlequins, Rot TV. | More.

  1. Large Plants – The Carrier (Ghost Box) | UK | Bandcamp
  2. The Sadies – Colder Streams (Yep Roc) | Canada | Bandcamp
  3. Body Type – Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising (Poison City) | Australia | Bandcamp
  4. Cursed Arrows – Crone (Tarantula Tapes) | Canada | Bandcamp
  5. Fooks Nihil – Tranquility (Unique) | Germany | Bandcamp
  6. The Blinders – Electric Kool-Aid: Parts 1 & 2 (Crocodile Men) | UK
  7. Rattlesnake Milk – Chicken Fried Snake (Feels So Good) | USA | Buy
  8. GYASI – Pronounced Jah-See (Alive Naturalsound) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Otoboke Beaver – Super Champon (Damnably) | Japan | Bandcamp
  10. The Janitors – Noisolation Sessions Vol. 2 (Cardinal Fuzz) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  11. Los Palms – Skeleton Ranch (Fuzz Club) | Australia | Bandcamp
  12. Coughin’ Vicars – Ritual Discipline (Coughin Vicars) | UK | Bandcamp
  13. Wailin Storms – The Silver Snake Unfolds (Gilead) | USA | Bandcamp

Hard Rock

As much as I liked their self-titled debut from 2016, the second album really leaps out with sizzling riffage, some flashy Yngwie-worthy solos and Radigan sounding more than ever like a turbocharged Ozzy. It had me growing out a virtual mullet and driving around an imaginary 1978 Camaro, blasting Dokken on the tapedeck. It’s funny, because I never really got into Dokken, though years later I did get their 2nd and 3rd albums due to George Lynch’s guitar contributions. Sumerlands cites them as an influence, even though Don Dokken teeters a bit too much from a cheesy but fun bridge from hard rock to glam to moldy garbage cheese. I think it’s the band’s subtle self-deprecation to show that they’re no snobs, also namechecking Ozzy Osbourne’s worst 80’s album, Ultimate Sin (1986) as an inspiration for the first album. Perhaps that album is special to them, and it’s a way to show they’re not only obsessed with obscure bands like Cirith Ungol and Manilla Road, but are looking to meld the ambitions of early Fates Warning Queensrÿche and Fifth Angel with some big money hooky earworms from that era like Scorpions and Foreigner, plus an extra dose of depression. I’m not hearing Foreigner in the melodic bits as much as 80’s AOR era Rainbow, and maybe some Journey & Survivor in the sizzling apex, “Force of a Storm.” “Night Drive” fades in with a marching rhythm like DIO’s “Holy Diver,” and aims high with multi-tracked choruses assisted by Rizk’s synths.

It is melancholic chuggery at it’s finest, but with plenty of sparks and energy that to my ears transcend the majority of their influences. The melodic intro to “Heavens Above,” for example, really sets the mood in a midtempo song that may lack pyrotechnics, but Radigan’s impassioned voice really sells it. While many fans might prefer the debut album with the darker feel with Swanson’s lower register vocals and higher solos to melodic hooks ratio, I can’t help but prefer the Radigan version’s energy, even without the benefit of a Camaro’s tape deck. | Full Review | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Ruby The Hatchet, Jack White, Guapa, Spell, DITZ, High Vis, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, The Sheepdogs, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Head, The Murlocs, Riders Of Rohan, Freedom Hawk, 50 Foot Wave, Paralyzed, Chat Pile. | More.

  1. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – XI: Bleed Here Now (Dine Alone) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Breanna Barbara – Nothin’ But Time (Fuzz Club) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. Hammered Hulls – Careening (Dischord) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Ian Blurton’s Future Now – Second Skin (Pajama Party/Seeing Red) | Canada | Bandcamp
  5. Sumerlands – Dreamkiller (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Mutautu – Graveyard of Giants (Mutautu) | Finland | Bandcamp
  7. Wo Fat – The Singularity (Ripple) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Orango – Mohican (Stickman) | Norway | Bandcamp
  9. Limousine Beach – Limousine Beach (Tee Pee) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. Zoahr – Apraxia (Zoahr) | Germany | Bandcamp
  11. The Necromancers – Where the Void Rose (Necromancers) | France | Bandcamp
  12. Gaupa – Myriad (Nuclear Blast) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  13. Hällas – Isle of Wisdom (Napalm) | Sweden | Bandcamp

Stoner/Desert/Fuzz

I’m still fuming about two recent histories of doom and heavy music that failed to mention Italian cosmic doom psych sludge behemoths Ufomammut even in passing. I won’t even mention the titles of the books because they’re garbage for their omissions. Their ninth (if you only count the majestic installments of 2012’s Oro: Opus Alter & Priumum as a double album) album vindicates my outrage, sealing their status as one of the most important heavy bands of the 21st century. Coming in at a succinct six songs in just over 38 minutes (despite “Duat” breaking the 10 minute barrier), Fenice is a change of pace from the sprawling, sometimes bordering on unwieldy albums. There’s also a shift in the production, with more dynamics and space in the tracks, so when the densely packed sludge overdrive switches on, it’s impact is all the more visceral. Five years is a pretty common gap between albums these days, but apparently the band was on hiatus for a bit, after losing drummer Vita. With new stickman Levre in place, they do a great job in approximating the aural equivalent of a phoenix, a flaming space phoenix, of course, emerging from the sun and directing it’s baleful gaze at the doomed Earth. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Los Palms, Ecstatic Vision, Foot, Ealdor Bealu, Gaupa, Psychlona, Earthless, Desert Wave, OFF!, Ruby The Hatchet, Fuzz Meadows, All Them Witches, Caustic Casanova, Tentacula, Devil’s Witches, Abrams, Mythosphere, Weddings, WARLUNG, Sahg, Mammoth Volume, Humanotone, Holy Witch, Fuzz Meadows, Naxatras, All Souls, Mister Earthbound. | More

  1. Colour Haze – Sacred (Elektrohasch) | Germany | Bandcamp
  2. Messa – Close (Svart) | Italy | Bandcamp
  3. Vitskär Süden – The Faceless King (Ripple) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Ufomammut – Fenice (Neurot) | Italy | Bandcamp
  5. Dune Sea – Orbital Distortion (All Good Clean) | Norway
  6. King Buffalo – Regenerator (Stickman) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. Ian Blurton’s Future Now – Second Skin (Pajama Party/Seeing Red) | Canada | Bandcamp
  8. Glass Hammer – At the Gate (Glass Hammer) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Wo Fat – The Singularity (Ripple) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. Dead Meadow – Force Form Free (Blues Funeral) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Besvärjelsen – Atlas (Magnetic Eye) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  12. My Sleeping Karma – Atma (Napalm) | Austria | Bandcamp
  13. Pike vs The Automaton – Pike vs The Automaton (MNRK Heavy) | USA | Bandcamp

Heavy Metal

There are four prolific, talented individuals who are responsible for a startling percentage of the best heavy metal of the past decade — Chris Black, Trevor William Church, Nate Garrett and Andrew D’Cagna. It would take a paragraph just to mention all the bands they’ve been involved with, but the star of the hour is D’Cagna, who told me one night in 2016 about a new little side project he recorded pretty much by himself of traditional heavy metal. What was meant to be a one-off is now on album number four, which shows Ironflame getting better and better, and has earned them the credentials to be considered top tier alongside Khemmis, TOWER, Spirit Adrift, Haunt, Sumerlands, Eternal Champion and High Spirits. With an assist on solos by Quinn Lucas (Icarus Witch, who D’Cagna also sings with) and Jesse Scott, his musicianship is impeccable, and his vocal performance is especially impressive. If Bruce Dickinson does retire from Iron Maiden, D’Cagna could handle the job no problem. Better catch him in small clubs while you still can, just in case. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Peth, Sonja, Charley No Face, Black Capricorn, Conan, Riders Of Rohan, Acid Witch, Konquest, Famyne, Dark Forest, Monasterium, Cauchemar, Grandier, Eye Of Doom, Friends Of Hell, Riot City, Venator, Spirit Adrift, Savage Master, Scorpions, Saxon, Spirits Of Fire, Las Cruces. | More.

  1. Messa – Close (Svart) | Italy | Bandcamp
  2. Sumerlands – Dreamkiller (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. Ironflame – Where Madness Dwells (High Roller) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Hällas – Isle of Wisdom (Napalm) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  5. Haunt – Windows of Your Heart (Shadow Kingdom) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Spell – Tragic Magic (Bad Omen) | Canada | Bandcamp
  7. Cauldron Born – Cold Steel for the Necromancer (Echoes Of Crom) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Bergfried – Romantik I EP (Erech Leleth) | UK | Bandcamp
  9. Mythosphere – Pathological (Mythosphere) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. WARLUNG – Vulture’s Paradise (Heavy Psych) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Emissary – Emissary EP (Emissary) | Finland | Bandcamp
  12. Sahg – Born Demon (Drakkar) | Norway | Buy
  13. Early Moods – Early Moods (RidingEasy) | USA | Bandcamp

Doom

This Chattanooga, TN band has released over 20 albums since 1993. I was a latecomer, the first full length I heard was Valkyrie (2016), one of their top tier entries of Glass Hammer’s symphonic prog. There’s an ever-revolving roster of vocalists and musicians who contribute to the project, with Steve Babb as the key songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. The band got some attention for featuring Jon Davison in the 10s, who became Yes’ vocalist in 2014. They got my attention with the second installment of their Skallagrim trilogy, Into the Breach (2021). Two things stood out for me — the additional vocalist Hannah Pryor, and a sharp turn into toward stoner metal and doom. First installment The Dreaming City (2020) dabbled in it, but was still very keyboard heavy (courtesy of Fred Schendel), lending to a kind of space rockin’ 70s Rush vibe at times. At the Gate completes the trilogy, but those who follow the lyrics closely will get a different story than what’s fleshed out in Skallagrim: In the Vales of Pagarna (Book 1), which Babb published earlier in the year. I haven’t read it all yet, but it seems that Part II was their heaviest ever in order to properly accompany perhaps some battle scenes in the sword and sorcery/romance tale. On Part III they circle back to the symphonic prog they’re most known for, with just some occasional heavy riffs along the lines of the first album. Anyone who says there aren’t any current ambitious event albums and immersive epics need to hear all three of these. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Early Moods, Amon Acid, Candlemass, Peth, Black Math Horseman, Charley No Face, Black Capricorn, Conan, Grave Bathers, Alunah, Telekinetic Yeti, The Temple, Acid Witch, Famyne, Witchfinder, Witchsnake, Cauchemar. | More.

  1. Messa – Close (Svart) | Italy | Bandcamp
  2. Ufomammut – Fenice (Neurot) | Italy | Bandcamp
  3. Glass Hammer – At the Gate (Glass Hammer) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Besvärjelsen – Atlas (Magnetic Eye) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  5. Avatarium – Death, Where Is Your Sting (AFM) | Sweden | Buy
  6. The Otolith – Folium Limina (Blues Funeral) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. The Necromancers – Where the Void Rose (Necromancers) | France | Bandcamp
  8. Occult Witches – Occult Witches (Occult Witches) | Canada | Bandcamp
  9. Devil’s Witches – In All Her Forms (Majestic Mountain) | UK | Bandcamp
  10. Mark Urselli’s SteppenDoom – SteppenDoom (Magnetic Eye) | USA/UK | Bandcamp
  11. Mythosphere – Pathological (Mythosphere) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Weddings – Book of Spells (StoneFree) | Austria | Bandcamp
  13. Sahg – Born Demon (Drakkar) | Norway | Buy

Metal

I can’t believe it’s already been six years since the fifth and last album of Salt Lake City’s mighty SubRosa, who subsequently broke up. The band soldiered on without Rebecca Vernon as The Otolith. While the previous band’s mix of avant doom, sludge and post-metal can be heard here, along with Kim Cordray and Sarah Pendleton’s violins, everything’s gotten much heavier. An impressive debut. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Crowbar, Immolation, Tribal Gaze, Lividus, Telekinetic Yeti, Witchfinder, Undeath, Ashenspire, Behold! The Monolith, Hath, Vital Spirit, Russian Circles, Cities of Mars, Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s Star One, Zeal & Ardor, Stone Nomads, KEN mode, Ninth Realm, Mothman, Deströyer 666, Strychnos, Psychonaut, An Abstract Illusion, Unlucky Morpheus, Artificial Brain, The Wolves Of Avalon, Haunter, Helms Alee, The Chasm, SpiritWorld, Queensrÿche, Amorphis, Firebreather. | More.

  1. Pike vs The Automaton – Pike vs The Automaton (MNRK Heavy) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. The Otolith – Folium Limina (Blues Funeral) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. KEN mode – NULL (Artoffact) | Canada | Bandcamp
  4. Mark Urselli’s SteppenDoom – SteppenDoom (Magnetic Eye) | USA/UK | Bandcamp
  5. Revocation – Netherheaven (Metal Blade) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Fugitive – Maniac EP (Fugitive) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. Hammers Of Misfortune – Overtaker (HOM) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Envenomed – Manifest of the Primordial Essence (Burning Coffin) | Chile | Bandcamp
  9. Autopsy – Morbidity Triumphant (Peaceville) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. Mountains – Tides End (Mountains) | UK | Bandcamp
  11. High Command – Eclipse of the Dual Moons (Southern Lord) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Imperial Triumphant – Spirit of Ecstasy (Century Media) | USA | Buy
  13. Sigh – Shiki (Peaceville) | Japan | Bandcamp

Power Metal, Epic Adventure & Symphonic/Dark Romance Metal

Normally the top spots of these genres would be occupied by German and Swedish bands. I’m sure there’s plenty more candidates out there for this list, but it’s not something I’d been focusing on as much this year. I really know nothing about Venator other than this is their debut and it rules.  | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: A sound Of Thunder, Allen/Olzon, Evergrey, Visions Of Atlantis, Seventh Wonder, Brymir, Aeternam, Wind Rose, Terra Atlantica, Nocturna, Moonlight Haze, Powerwolf, Dynazty.

  1. Ironflame – Where Madness Dwells (High Roller) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Cauldron Born – Cold Steel for the Necromancer (Echoes Of Crom) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. Emissary – Emissary EP (Emissary) | Finland | Bandcamp
  4. Blind Guardian – The God Machine (Nuclear Blast) | Germany | Bandcamp
  5. Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s Star One – Revel in Time (InsideOut) | Netherlands
  6. Venator – Echoes From the Gutter (Dying Victims) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. Unlucky Morpheus – Evolution (Unlucky Morpheus) | Japan
  8. The Wolves Of Avalon – Y Gododdin (Godreah) | UK | Bandcamp
  9. Michael Romeo – War of the Worlds // Pt. 2 (InsideOut) | USA
  10. Devin Townsend – Lightwork (InsideOut) | Canada
  11. Queensrÿche – Digital Noise Alliance (Century Media) | USA | Buy
  12. Amorphis – Halo (Atomic Fire) | Finland | Buy
  13. Borealis – Illusions (AFM) | Canada

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

Another band that hasn’t had an album in six years is Radiohead. This is not Radiohead, but easily the next best thing, Sons of Kemet’s drummer Tom Skinner with Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood take a more eclectic, loose approach to sounds that Radiohead has flirted with since In Rainbows (2007), mostly successfully, and with a couple stunning bangers, like “You’ll Never Work in Television Again” and the gorgeous “Waving a White Flag.” Closer “Skirting on a Surface” is deceptively low key, but could have been good enough for a Radiohead track. The rest is a swirling mix of art rock, psych prog and Afrobeat jazz fusion, but with a side project this good, I have high hopes a new Radiohead album will be even better in the semi-near future. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Yoo Doo Right, Spiral Wave Nomads, Diamanda Galás, Deliluh, RLYR, Sonic Youth, Black Country, New Road, Dimples’, Imperial Triumphant, Sigh, Haress, Brutus, DongYang Gozupa, Paranoid Void, SCUDFM, Pretty Lightning, Bubblemath, The Lord, James Johnston & Steve Gullick, Moritat, The Mars Volta, Boris, Jo Quail. | More.

  1. Crippled Black Phoenix – Banefyre (Season Of Mist) | UK | Bandcamp
  2. Oneida – Success (Joyful Noise) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. My Sleeping Karma – Atma (Napalm) | Austria | Bandcamp
  4. Onsègen Ensemble – Realms (Svart) | Finland | Bandcamp
  5. Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed (Wax Bodega) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. A.A. Williams – As the Moon Rests (Bella Union) | UK | Bandcamp
  7. Nightshift – Made of the Earth (Trouble In Mind) | UK | Bandcamp
  8. The Garden – Horseshit on Route 66 (Epitaph) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Winged Wheel – No Island (12XU) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. Dim Gray – Firmament (Grim Day) | Norway | Bandcamp
  11. Jack White – Fear of the Dawn (Third Man) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Trentemøller – Memoria (In My Room) | Denmark | Bandcamp
  13. Horse Lords – Comradely Objects (Rvng) | USA | Bandcamp

Industrial & Noise

Noise rock is just one small part of Oneida’s repertoire, which spans 14 albums and garage psych, kosmische and avant rock. This one is one of their most accessible. | Full ReviewBandcamp

Bubbling under: Tanya Tagaq, Boris, Party Dozen, Chat Pile, Mr. Phylzzz, Show Me the Body, Witch Fever, TVAM, KEN mode, Moin, Coby Sey, Loop, A Place to Bury Strangers, Author & Punisher, Gnod, Black Mekon, Meat Wave, Enablers, Gilla Band, These Arms Are Snakes, Soul Glo, Lordi. | More

  1. Oneida – Success (Joyful Noise) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Déjà Vega – Personal Hell (Paperhead) | UK | Buy
  3. Otoboke Beaver – Super Champon (Damnably) | Japan | Bandcamp
  4. Wovenhand – Silver Sash (Glitterhouse) | USA | Bandcamp
  5. The Garden – Horseshit on Route 66 (Epitaph) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Petrol Girls – Baby (Hassle) | Austria | Bandcamp
  7. KEN mode – NULL (Artoffact) | Canada | Bandcamp
  8. OFF! – Free LSD (Fat Possum) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. DITZ – The Great Regression (Alcopop!) | UK | Bandcamp
  10. Deliluh – Fault Lines (Tin Angel) | Canada | Bandcamp
  11. Sonic Youth – In/Out/In (Three Lobed) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Author & Punisher – Krüller (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Girls In Synthesis – The Rest is Distraction (Own It) | UK | Bandcamp

Ambient & New Age

I was blown away by the ambient Americana (they self-described as Ambient Country, but the other one is more inclusive) SUSS conjured up on Ghost Box (2018), High Line (2019) and especially Promise (2020). When founding member Gary Leib died after the completion of the Night Suite EP (2021), it seemed that would be the end of the band. Instead, they forged ahead, planning a series of connected EPs that would culminate in a double album release. The sum feels greater than it’s parts, reflecting the true breadth of their spiritual and musical journey from Heat Haze and Winter Was Hard, to the conclusion, Across the Horizon. If the band can survive death, heatwaves, drought, coldness, uncertainty, and still maintain hope, so can we. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Andrew Tuttle, John Luther Adams, Coby Sey, Joys Union Group, Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin, Burial, Marisa Anderson, Echo Response, Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, Pneumatic Tubes, Cole Pulice & Nat Harvie, Nordic Giants, Boris, Matt JaJoie, Sofie Birch & Antonina Nowacka, Pulse Emitter, Carlton Hestonne, Debit. | More.

  1. SUSS – SUSS (Northern Spy) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Okkoto – Climb the Antlers & Reach the Stars (Okkoto) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. Seawind Of Battery – Clockwatching (Island House) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Moon Wiring Club – Medieval Ice Cream (Gecophonic) | UK | Buy
  5. Bobby Lee – Ancient Sunslight (Bobby Lee) | UK | Bandcamp
  6. The Utopia Strong – International Treasure (Rocket) | UK | Bandcamp
  7. Golden Brown – Luminous (Inner Islands) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Rich Ruth – I Survived, It’s Over (Third Man) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Haress – Ghosts (Wrong Speed) | UK | Bandcamp
  10. The Lord – Devotional (Southern Lord) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Duncan Marquiss – Wires Turned Sideways in Time (Basin Rock) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Geir Sundstøl – The Studio Intim Sessions Vol. 1 (Hubro) | Norway | Bandcamp
  13. Szun Waves – New Hymn to Freedom (Leaf) | UK | Bandcamp

Instrumental

Martin Rude & Jakob Skøtt of Causa Sui, Sun River and London Odense Ensemble are joined by Papir guitarist Nicklas Sørensen, who’s also released solo albums on El Paraiso. This is minimalist space rock, stripped down to bass, drums, guitar, unadorned except for the occasional slow-motion analogy synth whoosh. The psychedelic journey inversed to inner space. As with all El Paraiso productions, it sounds fantastic, and a must have for fans of the label.

Bubbling under: Adrian Quesada , Spiral Wave Nomads, Sageness, Tremor, Lord Elephant, Buffalo Tombs, The Diasonics, Toundra, Gambardella. | More.

  1. Edena Gardens – Edena Gardens (El Paraiso) | Denmark | Buy
  2. SUSS – SUSS (Northern Spy) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. My Sleeping Karma – Atma (Napalm) | Austria | Bandcamp
  4. Korb – III (Dreamlord) | UK | Bandcamp
  5. Ecstatic Vision – Elusive Mojo (Heavy Psych) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Earthless – Night Parade Of One Hundred Demons (Nuclear Blast) | USA | Buy
  7. Kanaan – Diversions Vol. 1: Softly Through Sunshine (Jansen) | Norway | Bandcamp
  8. Jalayan – Floating Islands (Alessio Malatesta) | Italy | Bandcamp
  9. Fuzz Meadows – Orange Sunshine (Copper Feast) | Australia | Bandcamp
  10. Okkoto – Climb the Antlers & Reach the Stars (Okkoto) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. The Ecstasy Of Gold – Volume One (Ecstasy Of Gold) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Seawind Of Battery – Clockwatching (Island House) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. The Routes – The Twang Machine (Sound Flat) | Japan | Bandcamp

Art Pop & Dream Pop

I know I’ve been clamoring for new Warpaint for a couple years, but dang, how did six years slip by? I’ve been a fan since their Exquisite Corpse EP (2009), but I’ve admired them even more once the Warpaint acolytes were spawned, starting with Peluché, who once described their music, which shares Warpaint’s roots in gauzy psychedelic post-punk, dream pop and trip hop, as trip jam, a reference to how they’d write their music by jamming together in their garden she-shed. I may be the only one who’s ran with it and applied it to other groups like Groupie, Fassine, Patio, Body Type and Goat Girl among others. Not all the artists may directly cite Warpaint, but they’re clearly influential, though slightly less so with their more traditional pop structures on Heads Up (2016). I had a good feeling they had better music to come, and Radiate Like This proves it. Singer/guitarists Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman have recognized that what makes their songs stand out is their rhythm section, Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass) and Stella Mozgawa (drums), who create a brilliant fusion of post-punk, dub, kosmische-infused 90s Too Pure bands and trip hop, with the assistance of some ethereal, stellar production by Sam Petts-Davies (Frank Ocean, Thom Yorke).

The propulsive “Champion” and sensuous “Stevie” are definitely highlights, great choices for singles. The post-calypso dance beat brings fond memories of Laika and Pram, while “Hard to Tell You” evokes Cocteau Twins. “Like Sweetness” features catchy vocal melodies, like Stevie Nicks guesting with Kate Bush’s band circa 1982. The folky and playfully lascivious “Send Nudes” is perfect way to end the band’s deceptively low-key, triumphant comeback.

Bubbling under: Letting Up Despite Great Faults, Trentemøller, The Orielles, Fenella, Tan Cologne, Melting Palms, The Stargazer Lilies, Breathless, Spiritualized, Ancient River, The Asteroid No. 4, Tess Parks, Modern Nature, Sun’s Signature, Held By Trees, Darkher, SOM, Zola Jesus, Ms. Amy Birks, The Soft Hills. | More.

  1. Warpaint – Radiate Like This (Heirlooms/Virgin) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. CB3 – Exploration (Majestic Mountain) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  3. Astragal – Pure Cashmere (Astragal) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed (Wax Bodega) | USA | Bandcamp
  5. SOM – The Shape of Everything (Pelagic) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. 6kitty – Tux (6kitty) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. The Shop Window – A 4 Letter Word (Spinout Nuggets) | UK | Bandcamp
  8. A.A. Williams – As the Moon Rests (Bella Union) | UK | Bandcamp
  9. Gaye Su Akyol – Anadolu ejderi (Glitterbeat) | Turkey | Bandcamp
  10. Winged Wheel – No Island (12XU) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Sea Power – Everything Was Forever (Golden Chariot) | UK | Buy
  12. Beach House – Once Twice Melody (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Alvvays – Blue Rev (Transgressive) | Canada | Bandcamp

Synthpop & New Wave

While their self-titled debut in 2018 was associated more with the post-punk revival, Dallas’ Motorcade is in full-on synthpop mode here, while still retaining the dark post-punk moodiness, along the lines of the first New Order album.

Bubbling under: Nicole Faux Naiv, Mitski, Djo, White Lies, Taylor Swift, Junior Boys, Guerilla Toss, Fujiya & Miyagi, Metric, Röyksopp, Hot Chip, Essential Logic. | More.

  1. Motorcade – See You in the Nothing (Idol) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Beach House – Once Twice Melody (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. Sacred Skin – The Decline of Pleasure (Synthicide) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Cold Showers – Strength in Numbers EP (Dais) | USA | Bandcamp
  5. Into A Circle – Steel Box (In2aO) | UK | Bandcamp
  6. Automatic – Excess (Stones Throw) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. xPropaganda – The Heart is Strange (ZTT) | UK
  8. Ploho – When the Soul Sleeps (Artoffact) | Russia | Bandcamp
  9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down (Secretly Canadian) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. Elvis Costello & The Imposters – The Boy Named If (Capitol) | UK | Bandcamp
  11. Hatchie – Giving the World Away (Secretly Canadian) | UK | Bandcamp
  12. Belle & Sebastian – A Bit Of Previous (Matador) | UK | Bandcamp
  13. Sharon Van Etton – We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong (Jagjaguwar) | USA | Bandcamp

Shoegaze

Here’s a good contemporary permutation of shoegaze – doomgaze, courtesy of Holy Fawn from Tempe, AZ. Their second album is essentially more of the same of Death Spells (2018) — an amalgamation of shoegaze, post-metal, post-rock, dream pop and doomy dirges, and it’s just as great. Just as long as their use of screams are used judiciously. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Twin Drugs, Ancient River, The Asteroid No. 4, Venus Principle, Kids on a Crime Spree, Astronoid, Horsegirl, Cult Objects, Pink Frost, Sea Power, Pia Isa, Loop, Say Sue Me, Mo Dotti, Lavender Blush, Constellatia. More.

  1. Astragal – Pure Cashmere (Astragal) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Cloakroom – Dissolution Wave (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed (Wax Bodega) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. SOM – The Shape of Everything (Pelagic) | USA | Bandcamp
  5. Astronoid – Radiant Bloom (3DOT) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Modern Stars – Space Trips For The Masses (Modern Stars) | Italy | Bandcamp
  7. Just Mustard – Heart Under (Partisan) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Winged Wheel – No Island (12XU) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Sea Power – Everything Was Forever (Golden Chariot) | UK | Buy
  10. Alvvays – Blue Rev (Transgressive) | Canada | Bandcamp
  11. Letting Up Despite Great Faults – IV (New Words) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Magic Shoppe – Mono Lake (Cardinal Fuzz) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Melting Palms – Noise Between the Shades (La Pochette Surprise) | Germany | Bandcamp

Indie Rock, Pop & Jangle Pop

24 years after I first heard “Car Radio,” Austin’s Spoon remarkably are still making great albums. Such is their strength, that even an album with a muted critical response at the time, 2010’s Transference, has widely been reassessed as a real slow-burning gem. The pleasures of their tenth album are more immediate. | Full Review | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Dry Cleaning, Sea Power, The Casual Dots, Doe St., Good Looks, Sob Stories, The Orielles, Young Guv, Empath, The Boys With Perpetual Nervousness, White Lung, Modern Studies, Grocer, Martin Courtney, Gabriel’s Dawn, Flasher, Twin Drugs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Moritat, Just Mustard, Neutrals, 50 Foot Wave. | More.

  1. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Endless Rooms (Sub Pop) | Australia | Bandcamp
  2. Body Type – Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising (Poison City) | Australia | Bandcamp
  3. Thus Love – Memorial (Captured Tracks) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Spoon – Lucifer On The Sofa (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
  5. Screamfeeder – Five Rooms (Modern Morning) | Australia | Bandcamp
  6. Wet Leg – Wet Leg (Domino) | UK | Bandcamp
  7. The Wedding Present – 24 Songs (Scopitones) | UK | Buy
  8. Straw Man Army – SOS (La Vida En Un Mus) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Bhopal’s Flowers – Joy of the 4th (Sound Effect) | Canada | Bandcamp
  10. Los Palms – Skeleton Ranch (Fuzz Club) | Australia | Bandcamp
  11. 6kitty – Tux (6kitty) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. The Shop Window – A 4 Letter Word (Spinout Nuggets) | UK | Bandcamp
  13. Just Mustard – Heart Under (Partisan) | USA | Bandcamp

Power Pop

The self-described lipstick wearing, guitar shredding peacock from the woods seems destined for stardom. From Nashville via West Virginia, Gyasi Heus is calling Pronounced Jah-See his debut, even though Androgyne (2019) is on Bandcamp, and is clearly the debut. It’s a bit of a re-do, with half of the debut’s ten songs included on the 13 track second album. Fair enough, plenty of artists probably would like a do-over after the pandemic, and GYASI clearly has the goods — the looks, wardrobe, chops and tunes. There’s some very clear inspirations from T. Rex, Bowie, Sweet, Gary Glitter, but nothing that the likes of Ty Segall and Jack White hadn’t liberally borrowed already. There’s a high ratio of hooky pleasures here, and reports have been very positive about his live shows. Looks like the start of a beautiful career.

Bubbling under: Mick Trouble, Guided By Voices, Romero, Nick Frater, Elvis Costello & The Imposers, The Hellacopters, Chris Church, The Smashing Times, The Tambles, Dazy, The Beths, Beach Bunny, Press Club, Superchunk, Cheekface. | More.

  1. Screamfeeder – Five Rooms (Modern Morning) | Australia | Bandcamp
  2. Maple Mars – Someone’s Got to Listen (Big Stir) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. GYASI – Pronounced Jah-See (Alive Naturalsound) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Bhopal’s Flowers – Joy of the 4th (Sound Effect) | Canada | Bandcamp
  5. Robyn Hitchcock – Shufflemania (Tiny Ghost) | UK | Bandcamp
  6. Sob Stories – Fair Shakes (Dandy Boy) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. Crossword Smiles – Pressed & Ironed (Big Stir) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Martha – Please Don’t Take Me Back (Specialist Subject) | UK | Bandcamp
  9. The Kryng – Twlve Hymns to Syng Along (Soundflat) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
  10. Young Guv – GUV III & IV (Run For Cover) | Canada | Bandcamp
  11. Popular Creeps – All of This Will End in Tears (Big Stir) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Ex-Vöid – Bigger Than Before (Don Giovanni) | UK | Bandcamp
  13. Uni Boys – Do It All Next Week (Curation) | USA | Bandcamp

Jazz

One of the most prolific and accomplished members of the Norwegian jazz and fusion scene, Hedvig Mollestad tackles her most ambitious project on a double album in collaboration with the 12-piece Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. Not your everyday musings on motherhood, this comes fired up with seething social justice and Mahavishnu Orchestra-inspired fire music. | Buy

Bubbling under: Brad Mehlddau, Immanuel Wilkins, Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin, Breath Of Air, Julian Lage, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Immanuel Wilkins, Alabaster dePlume, Maridalen, Maria Chiara Agiró, Mary Halvorson, Nduduzu Makhathini, Sam Gendel. More.

  1. Hedvig Mollestad & The Trondheim Jazz Orchestra – Maternity Beat (Rune Grammophon) | Norway | Buy
  2. The Comet Is Coming – Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam (Impulse!) | UK | Buy
  3. Revelators Sound System – Revelators (37d03d) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Jack Hues & The Quartet – Epigonal Quark (Dawn Chorus) | UK | Bandcamp
  5. Rich Ruth – I Survived, It’s Over (Third Man) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Natalia Lafourcade – De todas las flores (Sony) | Mexico | Buy
  7. Myra Melford’s Fire And Water Quintet – For the Love of Fire and Water (RogueArt) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Somi – Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba (Salon Africana) | USA | Buy
  9. Rude Skøtt Osborn Trio – The Virtue of Temperance (El Paraiso) | Denmark | Buy
  10. Sintesis, Eme Alfonso, X Alfonso – Ancestros Sinfónico (El Cerrito) | Cuba
  11. RedGreenBlue – The End and the Beginning (Astral Spirits) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Patricia Brennan – More Touch (Pyroclastic) | Mexico | Bandcamp
  13. Laufey – Everything I Know About Love (AWAL) | Iceland

Jazz Fusion & Jazz-Funk

There’s literally tons of instrumental post-rock available every year, which gets overwhelming for someone who only needs just a few albums. Finland’s Onségen Ensemble get an automatic buy from me every time, four releases so far, because they add flavors of psych prog and jazz fusion that are irresistible. Combine that with the top notch production and gorgeous artwork, and you’ve got something worth collecting on vinyl for those so inclined.  | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Makaya McCraven, Soft Ffog, Wau Wau Collectif, The Dear Hunter, Modern Nature, Rude Skøtt Osborn Trio, Geir Sundstøl, Kaipa, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Oren Ambarchi, Toro y Moi, Aurora Clara, Anteloper, We Broke The Weather, Brad Mehldau, Psychic Temple, Echo Response, Milkbone, Dumb Waiter. | More.

  1. Brad Mehldau – Jacob’s Ladder (Nonesuch) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Onsègen Ensemble – Realms (Svart) | Finland | Bandcamp
  3. Wax Machine – Hermit’s Grove (Batov) | UK | Bandcamp
  4. Alune Wade – Sultan (Yellowbird) | Senegal/France | Bandcamp
  5. London Odense Ensemble – Jaiyede Sessions Volume 1 (El Paraiso) | UK/Denmark | Bandcamp
  6. Hedvig Mollestad & The Trondheim Jazz Orchestra – Maternity Beat (Rune Grammophon) | Norway | Buy
  7. Mythic Sunship – Light/Flux (Tee Pee) | Denmark | Bandcamp
  8. The Comet Is Coming – Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam (Impulse!) | UK | Buy
  9. Adrian Quesada – Jaguar Sound (ATO) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. Revelators Sound System – Revelators (37d03d) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Jack Hues & The Quartet – Epigonal Quark (Dawn Chorus) | UK | Bandcamp
  12. Psychic Temple – Plays Planet Caravan (Big Ego) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Kokoroko – Could We Be More (Brownswood) | UK | Bandcamp

Global, Reggae, Dub & Afrobeat

I’ve been on board with Goat since the beginning, and love their odd occult/vodou backstory, costumes and gumbo stew of psych, kosmische, Afrobeat and Toureg. The only thing they lacked were memorable songs and melodies. There’s only so many ceremonial chants and shouts that can stick in the brain. On the other hand, no one can expect them to become the Beatles. On their fourth album (fifth if you count last year’s solid odds ‘n’ sods Headsoup), they do the next best thing, and diversify their songs throughout the album, distilling their own unique takes of key influences from Funkadelic, Fela Kuti, Tinariwen, Can, The Slits, Dungen, etc. There’s always a danger of blending discordant influences so fine it becomes a gray sludge. Here they focus on just a couple at a time which makes for their liveliest sounding albums since Commune (2014). The overall vibe is celebratory, even if it’s more of a death party. Consider the chants of The Go! Team if they were murdered, then dug themselves out of their graves. “Do the Dance” recalls the Drums of Burundi that fueled Bow Wow Wow and Adam & the Ants. “Under No Nation” breaks for some free-jazz saxophone squawks without derailing it’s Afrobeat-via Remain in Light groove, with Eddie Hazel fuzz guitar, which returns at the end of “Blow Your Horns” with added Black Sabbath heft. The Funkadelic influences persist with the Pedro Bell influenced cover art, and the voice of god/satan/George Clinton in “Remind Yourself.” The result is as colorful and enjoyable as the best of any of the aforementioned artists.  | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: King Jammy, Another Channel, Kokoroko, Angélique Kidjo & Ibrahim Maalouf, Imarhan, Natalia Lafourcade, Tulipa Ruiz, Somi, The Hu, Kolinga, Wau Wau Collectif, Congotronics International, Geir Sundstøl, Nina Hagen, Thor Harris, Sintesis, Eme Alfonso, X Alfonso, Montparnasse Musique, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Elephant Stone, King Stingray, Yuto Matsumura, Şatellites, Khruangbin & Leon Bridges, IANAI, SAULT, Yama Warashi, TWINS, Hollie Cook, Oumou Sangaré, Sessa, Silvana Estrada, Koffee. | More.

  1. Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band – Sonbonbela (Sublime Frequencies) | Burkina Faso | Bandcamp
  2. Goat – Oh Death (Rocket) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  3. Gaye Su Akyol – Anadolu ejderi (Glitterbeat) | Turkey | Bandcamp
  4. Alune Wade – Sultan (Yellowbird) | Senegal/France | Bandcamp
  5. Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin – Ali (Dead Oceans) | Mali/USA | Bandcamp
  6. Širom – The Liquified Throne of Simplicity (Glitterbeat) | Slovenia | Bandcamp
  7. Spoon Vs. On-U Sound – Lucifer on the Moon (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. K.O.G. – Zone 6, Agege (Heavenly Sweetness) | Ghana/UK | Bandcamp
  9. Camilla George – Ibio-Ibio (Ever Records) | UK | Bandcamp
  10. Adrian Quesada – Jaguar Sound (ATO) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Horace Andy – Midnight Rocker (On-U Sound) | Jamaica | Bandcamp
  12. Horace Andy – Midnight Scorchers (On-U Sound) | Jamaica | Bandcamp
  13. Soul Revivers – On the Grove (Acid Jazz) | UK | Bandcamp

Electronic

An occult themed album lead by Jane Weaver about a 1920’s nurse with psychic abilities. Weaver’s ambient electronica was always spectral, but this takes it to a whole new hauntological level. | Bandcamp

Speaking of hauntology, let’s talk about the spooky plunderphonic dark ambient world of Moon Wiring Club. “Cronky, shonky, eerie, beautifully confusing Northern English electronic magickal musicke. The ultimate in Ghost Party Delirium since 1596 / 1908 / 2006.”  Prime confusing Edwardian computer-game music with time travel and a parallel universe in a Northern village of Clinksell. Entering the MWC portal may result in high resolution manifestations. The artist is not liable for any ectoplasm forming in your subwoofers.

I was turned on to them at the beginning with their debut An Audience of Art Deco Eyes (2007). I associated them with the hauntology scene, but they are far too unique to fit in someone else’s subgenre. The samples are always delightfully eccentric, but I don’t always love the use of beats (“soggy” and “knackered” as they are). This is their 21st album, I think, and is meant to “emulate the texture of slowly melting ice cream (where numerous colours and ingredients seep into each other) whilst simultaneously providing the sensation of divine motion-sickness derived from spending too long reading eerie medieval manuscripts within an over-heated vestry.”

Bubbling under: Zombie Zombie, The Ephemeron Loop, Sam Prekop & John McEntire, GGOLDDD, Keith Seatman, Milkbone, Klaus Schulze, Maria Chiara Agiró, Polyphia, isomonstrosity, Röyksopp, Yama Warashi, O’o, Pulse Emitter, Claptrap. | More.

  1. White Canyon & The 5th Dimension – Soundtrack For Astral Travel (White Canyon) | Brazil | Bandcamp
  2. Fenella – The Metallic Index (Fire) | UK | Bandcamp
  3. Moon Wiring Club – Medieval Ice Cream (Gecophonic) | UK | Buy
  4. The Utopia Strong – International Treasure (Rocket) | UK | Bandcamp
  5. The Citradels – Contactor (Citradels) | Australia | Bandcamp
  6. Another Channel – Behind the Glow (Moonshine) | Germany | Bandcamp
  7. Slasher Dave – Halloween Howls (Trick Or Treat) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Tanya Tagaq – Tongues (Six Shooter) | Canada | Bandcamp
  9. Videodrones – After the Fall (El Paraiso) | Denmark | Buy
  10. Thor Harris – Doom Dub II (Joyful Noise) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Montparnasse Musique – Archeology (Real World) | France | Bandcamp
  12. The Advisory Circle – Full Circle (Ghost Box) | UK | Buy
  13. Bitchin Bajas – Bajascillators (Drag City) | USA | Bandcamp

R&B, Soul & Funk

For a minute I had Arctic Monkeys’ seventh album featured here. While I enjoy their louche ennui embellished with symphonic soul, it’s bullshit to have them take that spot, and for that I apologize. I had to dig back to an old favorite from 2018, J.P. Bimeni & the Black Belts to belatedly discover he had an album this year, Give Me Hope, just as great as his Free Me. This royal refugee and soul survivor sizzles with passion and the Black Belts are tighter than ever. The fact that something like this can still exist in the shit show that was 2022 definitely gives me hope.

Bubbling under: Greentea Peng, Ural Thomas & The Pain, Avantdale Bowling Club, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Sudan Archives, Gabriels, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Khruangbin & Leon Bridges, SAULT, The Diasonics, Lizzo, Orion Sun, Coco & Clair Clair, Koffee, STR4TA. | More.

  1. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava (KGLW) | Australia | Bandcamp
  2. J.P. Bimeni & The Black Belts – Give Me Hope (Lovemonk) | Burundi/UK | Bandcamp
  3. Drugdealer – Hiding in Plain Sight (Mexican Summer) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Ural Thomas & the Pain – Dancing Dimensions (Bella Union) | USA | Bandcamp
  5. Adrian Quesada – Jaguar Sound (ATO) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Changes (Flightless) | Australia | Bandcamp
  7. Arctic Monkeys – The Car (Domino) | UK | Buy
  8. UWUW – UWUW EP (We Are Busy Bodies) | Canada | Bandcamp
  9. Tulipa Ruiz – Habilidades extraordinárias (Brocal) | Brazil
  10. Toro y Moi – Mahal (Dead Oceans) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen (Stones Throw) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Thee Sacred Souls – Thee Sacred Souls (Daptone) | USA
  13. Lee Fields – Sentimental Fool (Daptone) | USA | Bandcamp

Hip Hop & Rap

Bubbling under: Denzek Curry, Ghais Guevara, JID, Ka, Badge Époque Ensemble & Lammping, Cities Aviv, Armand Hammer, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Supa, Mavi, Open Mike Eagle. | More.

  1. Danger Mouse & Black Thought – Cheat Codes (BMG) | USA
  2. billy woods – Aethiopes (Backwoodz) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. Little Simz – NO THANK YOU (Forever Living Originals) | UK | Buy
  4. Black Star – No Fear No Time (Black Star) | USA
  5. African-American Sound Recordings – Tamika’s Lodge (D.O.T.) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Loyle Carner – Hugo (EMI) | UK | Bandcamp
  7. Avantdale Bowling Club – Trees (Years Gone By) | New Zealand | Bandcamp
  8. Coby Sey – Conduit (AD 93) | UK | Bandcamp
  9. billy woods x Messiah Musik – Church (Backwoodz) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. Backxwash – His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering (Ugly Hag) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile (Asylum) | UK
  12. Nas – King’s Disease III (Mass Appeal) | USA
  13. Leikeli47 – Shape Up (RCA) | USA

Folk & Americana

Europe has always been a refuge for music that’s fallen out of fashion in North America, which to my ears is a valuable service. While American pop’s unhealthy obsession with over-production and Auto-Tune abuse has extended beyond a decade, great guitar music continues to pour out of Europe. Beyond the boatloads of stoner/doom/psych, a handful of bands continue to explore nooks and crannies between offshoots of 60s psychedelia — jangly folk rock, cosmic Americana and country. Sugarfoot (Norway), The Hanging Stars (London, UK) and Fooks Nihil (Germany) are top shelf examples. The latter released their self-titled debut in September 2020, mixing British blues rock and psych influenced by the Kinks and Buffalo Springfield. It’s a great debut, and their follow-up is even better, introducing surf guitar to the West Coast (CSNY and Byrds) psychedelic folk.  | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Nathan Hall & the Sinister Locals, Stephen Bailey, Wax Machine, Good Looks, The Fernweh, Midlake, Ty Segall, Orkan, Bobby Lee, Tami Neilson, Michael Head and the Red Elastic Band, Tau & The Drones of Praise, Moura, Lou Turner, Isla Craig. | More.

  1. Rosalie Cunningham – Two Piece Puzzle (Cherry Red) | UK | Buy
  2. The Sadies – Colder Streams (Yep Roc) | Canada | Bandcamp
  3. Fooks Nihil – Tranquility (Unique) | Germany | Bandcamp
  4. The Hanging Stars – Hollow Heart (Loose) | UK | Bandcamp
  5. Color Green – Color Green (Aquarium Drunkard) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Garrett T. Capps & Nasa Country – People Are Beautiful (Spaceflight) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. Rattlesnake Milk – Chicken Fried Snake (Feels So Good) | USA | Buy
  8. Elkhorn – Distances (Feeding Tube) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Upupayama – The Golden Pond (Cardinal Fuzz) | Italy | Bandcamp
  10. Gold Dust – The Late Great Gold Dust (Centripetal Force) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Wovenhand – Silver Sash (Glitterhouse) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Wailin Storms – The Silver Snake Unfolds (Gilead) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Munly & The Lupercalians – Kinnery of Lupercalia: Undelivered Legion (SCAC) | USA | Bandcamp

Country, Country Blues/Psych/Rock/Soul

Since 2016’s Over the Silvery Lake, London’s The Hanging Stars have put out consistently great, meticulously produced cosmic Americana albums. Hollow Heart is their fourth, where the West Coast psych folk blends deeper into the woodwork, and more contemporary bands like Beachwood Sparks, The Jayhawks and Teenage Fanclub come to mind, with a cohesively lush but hazy summer vibe. Recorded at  Edwyn Collins‘ (Orange Juice) Clashnarrow Studios in Scotland, they’ve achieve a nearly ethereal sound, such as on “Weep & Whisper,” where the pedal steel threatens to just waft away and join the wandering herds of ambient country sounds. “Hollow Eyes, Hollow Heart” manages to evoke The Grateful Dead at their most bucolic and least annoying, Pink Floyd and even The Feelies in the fiercely strummed crescendo. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: S.G. Goodman, Erin Rae, Brim, Tedd And The Rough Riders, Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears, deem The Artist, the Builders and the Butchers, Trampled By Turtles, Amanda Shires, John Doe, MJ Lenderman, Calexico, Drive-By Truckers, Willie Nelson, Jeremy Ivey, Nikki Lane, Cowboy Junkies, Wilco, Plains, Midland, Kendra Morris, Michelle Branch, Michael Weston King, Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners, Courtney Marie Andrews, Lola Kirke. | More.

  1. The Hanging Stars – Hollow Heart (Loose) | UK | Bandcamp
  2. Color Green – Color Green (Aquarium Drunkard) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. Garrett T. Capps & Nasa Country – People Are Beautiful (Spaceflight) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Rattlesnake Milk – Chicken Fried Snake (Feels So Good) | USA | Buy
  5. Stephen Bailey – G.G. Ryder (Third Eye Stimuli) | Australia | Bandcamp
  6. Carson McHone – Still Life (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. Julianna Riolino – All Blue (You’ve Changed) | Canada | Bandcamp
  8. Tami Neilson – Kingmaker (Neilson) | New Zealand | Bandcamp
  9. Pixy Jones – Bits n Bobs (Strangetown) | UK | Bandcamp
  10. Sarah Shook & The Disarmers – Nightroamer (Thirty Tigers) | USA | Buy
  11. Farmer Dave & the Wizards of the West – Second Summer (Curation) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Emily Rose And The Rounders – Emily Rose And The Rounders (Mock) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Mapache – Roscoe’s Dream (Innovative Leisure) | USA | Bandcamp

Blues Rock

Bubbling under: The Heavy Heavy, The Murlocs, Mister Earthbound, Paralyzed, ZZ Top, Young Creatures, Lord Elephant, Clutch, Leyla McCalla, The Black Keys, Marcus King, Righteous Fool, Fantastic Negrito, Zeal & Ardor, Beth Hart, End Boss, Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder, Sound of Smoke, The Bad Day, Smoke, Ann Wilson, Tedeschi Trucks Band, North Mississippi Allstars.

  1. Breanna Barbara – Nothin’ But Time (Fuzz Club) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Mutautu – Graveyard of Giants (Mutautu) | Finland | Bandcamp
  3. Wo Fat – The Singularity (Ripple) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. Orango – Mohican (Stickman) | Norway | Bandcamp
  5. Zoahr – Apraxia (Zoahr) | Germany | Bandcamp
  6. Ruby The Hatchet – Fear Is A Cruel Master (Magnetic Eye) | USA | Bandcamp
  7. Jack White – Fear of the Dawn (Third Man) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Marcus King – Young Blood (Republic) | USA | Buy
  9. All Them Witches – Baker’s Dozen (ATW) | USA
  10. The Sheepdogs – Outta Sight (Warner) | Canada | Bandcamp
  11. Garcia Peoples – Dodging Dues (No Quarter) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Imarhan – Abooji (City Slang) | Algeria | Bandcamp
  13. Head – Satisfaction (Head) | Canada | Bandcamp

Singer-Songwriters

For the most part I prefer the chemistry produced by a band. The solo artists I favor often have the support of a full band, or at least many guests. Such is the case with Mordechai Smyth, who has been putting out wonderful psych pop on one of my favorite labels, Mega Dodo, for over a decade. Here he veers toward prog pop and art rock feel, nodding to Peter Hammill of Van Der Graff Generator. It features guest appearances by Jon Camp, formerly of Renaissance, Icarus Peel and Crystal Jacqueline, a Mega Dodo house band of sorts.

Bubbling under: Richard Dawson, RJ McKendree, Pixy Jones, Martin Courtney, Crystal Jacqueline, Weyes Blood, Tess Parks, Pete Astor, Tanya Tagaq, Nina Nastasia, Jack White, Chris Forsyth. | More.

  1. Breanna Barbara – Nothin’ But Time (Fuzz Club) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Mordecai Smyth – Things Are Getting Stranger On The Shore (Mega Dodo) | UK | Bandcamp
  3. Stephen Bailey – G.G. Ryder (Third Eye Stimuli) | Australia | Bandcamp
  4. A.A. Williams – As the Moon Rests (Bella Union) | UK | Bandcamp
  5. Robyn Hitchcock – Shufflemania (Tiny Ghost) | UK | Bandcamp
  6. Grace Cummings – Storm Queen (ATO) | Australia | Bandcamp
  7. Carson McHone – Still Life (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Ty Segall – Hello, Hi (Drag City) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Julianna Riolino – All Blue (You’ve Changed) | Canada | Bandcamp
  10. Katie Kim – Hour of the Ox (Katie Kim) | Ireland | Bandcamp
  11. Tami Neilson – Kingmaker (Neilson) | New Zealand | Bandcamp
  12. Diamanda Galás – Broken Gargoyles (Intravenal Sound Operations) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Cate Le Bon – Pompeii (Mexican Summer) | UK | Bandcamp

The Golden Circle

The Golden Circle is the club for musicians and bands who have been in action for 40 years to over a half century. Not everyone peaks in their 20s or 30s, as some musicians have done their best work well into their 70s and 80s. To put this into perspective, Frank Sinatra, who’s first single was in 1942, had what anyone would consider a long career. But he would have had to release great albums after 1982. Unless you consider L.A. Is My Lady (1984) great, his last great album would have been Watertown from 1970. Elvis Costello & The Imposters probably have gotten the most critical attention, and it’s pretty great, hence the #4 slot. But former Soft Boys and Egyptians leader Robyn Hitchcock is on the upswing, improving on his surprisingly consistent self-titled solo album from 2017. Has it been five years already? In The Golden Circle, that time period can feel like 15 minute nap.

  1. Robyn Hitchcock – Shufflemania (Tiny Ghost)  | Bandcamp
  2. Diamanda Galás – Broken Gargoyles (Intravenal Sound Operations) | Bandcamp
  3. Horace Andy – Midnight Rocker (On-U Sound)  | Bandcamp
  4. Horace Andy – Midnight Scorchers (On-U Sound)  | Bandcamp
  5. Elvis Costello & The Imposters – The Boy Named If (Capitol)  | Bandcamp
  6. The Cowsills – Rhythm of the World (Omnivore)
  7. Lee Fields – Sentimental Fool (Daptone)  | Bandcamp
  8. Scorpions – Rock Believer (Vertigo)
  9. Brian Eno – FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE (Verve)
  10. Saxon – Carpe diem (Silver Lining)
  11. Satan – Earth Infernal (Metal Blade)  | Bandcamp
  12. Tears For Fears – The Tipping Point (Concord)
  13. Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder – Get On Board (Nonesuch)

Bubbling under: Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder, Klaus Schulze, Ruts DC, The Damned, Spear OF Destiny, ZZ Top, Willie Nelson, The Monochrome Set, The Damned, Arthur Brown, Hugh Cornwell, Blue Orchids, Midnight Oil, Buzzcocks, Walter Trout, Michael Monroe, Randy Holden, Nick Cave, Jethro Tull, Carl Stone, Killing Joke, Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne, Simple Minds, Journey, Altered Images, Essential Logic, Ann Wilson.

Non-Metal For Metalheads

I’m using genre tags in my database filter for this, so The Otolith, an actual metal band, snuck on. Nightshift’s latest is actually their earliest, a collection of early recordings that preceded their 2020 debut album. It has more in common with the percolating avant pop of Pram than most of the heavier sounds here, but holds together quite well.

Bubbling under: James Johnston & Steve Gullick, The Mars Volta, Venus Principle, Boris, Chrys Forsyth, Astronoid, Tremor, SOM, Russian Circles, Brutus, Dystopian Future Moves, Melvins. | More.

  1. Oneida – Success (Joyful Noise) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. The Otolith – Folium Limina (Blues Funeral) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed (Wax Bodega) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. SOM – The Shape of Everything (Pelagic) | USA | Bandcamp
  5. Astronoid – Radiant Bloom (3DOT) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Nightshift – Made of the Earth (Trouble In Mind) | UK | Bandcamp
  7. The Garden – Horseshit on Route 66 (Epitaph) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. Jack White – Fear of the Dawn (Third Man) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Horse Lords – Comradely Objects (Rvng) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. DITZ – The Great Regression (Alcopop!) | UK | Bandcamp
  11. The Ecstasy Of Gold – Volume One (Ecstasy Of Gold) | USA | Bandcamp
  12. Spiral Wave Nomads – Magnetic Sky (Twin Lakes) | USA | Bandcamp
  13. Diamanda Galás – Broken Gargoyles (Intravenal Sound Operations) | USA | Bandcamp

Reissues

This release was delayed until December 16, but it’s by far my most anticipated reissue. Way back in 2013, when I wrote the The Greatest Post-Punk Bands You Never Heard piece, I wished for a release for the long out of print buried treasure, Modern Eon’s only album. Nearly a decade later, it’s finally here, complete with a bonus disc of demos, singles and B-sides. Andrew Keeling, who wrote the liner notes, also wrote an entire book about it, published a couple months back. It took the #1 spot on that piece, shown here: (here’s a recent track-by-track review):

Hailing from Liverpool like Echo & the Bunnymen, Wah! and Teardrop Explodes, Modern Eon put out a handful of singles and just one album. But that album, the percussive, foreboding Fiction Tales (Dindisc, 1981) is really something. At a time when their peers, including The Sound and Comsat Angels, were at the peak of their powers, Modern Eon’s album measures up very well. The band did not achieve any sort of popularity due to some bad luck with drummer Cliff Hewitt breaking his wrist just before they were to record a Peel Session. Rather than persevere and record their second album, they gave up and Tim Lever ended up with Dead Or Alive. The only discernible impact they had is that their influence could possibly be heard in Sad Lovers and Giants, though the similarities could be a coincidence. While there was an entry for them in the Trouser Press Record Guide, it was so unenthusiastic I didn’t take note (“…not an easy album to like, Fiction Tales does convey originality and stylishness as well as flashes of accessibility; occasional use of odd instrumentation and a good drummer make this more than just a routine genre exercise.”) I only heard them for the first time last year due to a mention on the I Love Music discussion board.  [Correction, I previously thought a reissue came out on Dindisc in 2001, but that was not the case]. A complete reissue with all their singles and b-sides is badly needed.

  1. Modern Eon – Fiction Tales (Dindisc/Cherry Red, 1981-82) 2CD | Buy
  2. Rush – Moving Pictures: 40th Anniversary (Mercury/Anthem, 1981) 3CD | Buy
  3. PJ Harvey – B-Sides, Demos & Rarities (Island, 1991-04) 3CD | Buy
  4. Rupert Hine – Surface Tension – The Recordings (A&M/Cherry Red, 1981-83) 3CD | Buy
  5. 13th Floor Elevators – 13 Of The Best (Charly, 1966-68)
  6. The Beatles – Revolver (Capitol, 1966) 5CD | Buy
  7. The Mighty Lemon Drops – Inside Out (Blue Raincoat/Cherry Red, 1985-90) 5CD | Buy
  8. That Petrol Emotion – Every Beginning Has A Future: An Anthology (Edsel, 1984-94) 7CD | Buy
  9. Essential Logic/Lora Logic – Logically Yours (Hiss And Shake, 1979-82) 5CD
  10. Voivod – Forgotten In Space: The Noise Records Collection (Noise/BMG, 1984-89) 6CD | Buy
  11. Ultravox – Rage In Eden (Chrysalis, 1981)
  12. Virgin Prunes – If I Die, I Die: 40th Anniversary (BMG, 1982) 2CD
  13. Blondie – Against The Odds (Chrysalis/Numero Group, 1974-82) 8CD | Buy

Bubbling under: Venom, Siouxsie & the Banshees, King Crimson, Fela Reansome-Kuti & The Africa ’70, Neu!, T. Rex, Wilco, Lou Reed, Roxy Music, Ride, Neil Young, The Clash, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Dennis Bovell, Pink Floyd, Robert Fripp, Jethro Tull, Horslips, Wobbler, Joni Mitchell, Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood, Karen Dalton, Branko Mataja, Ferk At Al Ard, Arthur Russell, Dexys Midnight Runners, The Waterboys, Stereolab, Harold Budd, Broadcast, Pavement, The Cure, Son House, Frank Sinatra.

Late Entries

As always, Raven Sings The Blues elevates year-end lists to a beautiful art form. And this time it came out the same day as mine, the Friday before before Krampusnacht. While we have a handful of picks in common, I still had to beaver away all weekend catching up to the others. Of all the lists that aren’t mine, RSTB best exemplifies a cohesive taste and aesthetic that is impossible to argue with. Pretty much all the others are garbage in comparison. I mean, I wouldn’t say that about my own, but in it’s sprawl, I certainly take many coffee breaks and detours from the tyranny of good taste. The list below includes ones I discovered from other lists too, like Louder Than War. That’s where I found Déjà Vega in their #4 spot. The Winsford, Cheshire band formed in 2015 as a heavy psych band, and have evolved into a hybrid of post-punk and psych, one of my favorite things. But even more so, how the fucking fuck did I miss a band inspired by The Chameleons?? Granted, Thus Love’s debut only came out recently, but still. RYM has become increasingly unreliable in tracking the best new music. There’s over 300 albums listed in the post-punk genre alone for the year, and 95% of it is hot garbage in comparison.

Bubbling under: Otoboke Beaver, The Shop Window, Alune Wade, Kanaan, Black Doldrums, Marcus King, Crossword Smiles, Martha, Dhidilah, Trentemøller, Winged Wheel, Peace de Résistance, OFF!, The Vat Egg Imposition, The Orielles, Drugdealer, High Vis, AlterModerns, Grace Cummings, Young Guv, DITZ,, The Ecstasy Of Gold, Seawind Of Battery, Heilung, Moon Wiring Club, Tan Cologne, Melting Palms, GIFT, Empath, K.O.G., Die Spitz, Ex-Vöid, Uni-Boys, Katie Kim, Mick Trouble, Adrian Quesada, Spiral Wave Nomads, Delilah, Diamanda Galás, Psychic Temple, Sonic Youth, Golden Brown, Dimples’, The Reverse Cowgirls, Haress, Girls In Synthesis, SCUDFM, Rosy Finch, Chronophage, Mister Earthbound, Tribal Gaze, The Beatpack, Occult Witches, The Kryng.

  1. Thus Love – Memorial (Captured Tracks) | Bandcamp
  2. Blacklist – Afterworld (Weird) | Bandcamp
  3. Déjà Vega – Personal Hell (Paperhead)  | Buy
  4. Garrett T. Capps & Nasa Country – People Are Beautiful (Spaceflight)  | Bandcamp
  5. Rattlesnake Milk – Chicken Fried Snake (Feels So Good) | Buy
  6. Straw Man Army – SOS (La Vida En Un Mus)  | Bandcamp
  7. Zoahr – Apraxia (Zoahr)  | Bandcamp
  8. Astragal – Pure Cashmere (Astragal)  | Bandcamp
  9. Les Big Byrd – Eternal Light Brigade (Chimp Limbs)  | Buy
  10. Los Palms – Skeleton Ranch (Fuzz Club)  | Bandcamp
  11. Coughin’ Vicars – Ritual Discipline (Coughin Vicars)  | Bandcamp
  12. Cloakroom – Dissolution Wave (Relapse) | Bandcamp
  13. J.P. Bimeni & The Black Belts – Give Me Hope (Lovemonk) | Bandcamp

New Old Discoveries

Every year, along with keeping up with just a tiny percentage of the 100,000 new albums released each year, I take deep dives down rabbitholes discovering older music I’ve missed. Some years I’ve logged as many as 800 new old discoveries. This year my list is under 300, but I haven’t been quite as meticulous in tracking every find. Many of them are just albums I knew about from artists everyone knows that I just hadn’t gotten around to yet, like Philip Glass, Sun Ra and Dr. John. However, Brian Protheroe was new to me, and his first three albums of art rock and prog pop are all fascinating — Pinball (1974), Pick-Up (1975) and I/You (1976)

To heck with Revolver box set, my favorite Beatles release this year was a made-up one from 1976. Albums That Never Were has provided loads of entertaining imaginary albums over the years. My favorite by far are the series of 1970s Beatles albums, culled from solo tracks from all four members. I can’t imagine anyone curating anything better than the series of the now six albums that Soniclovenoize came up with. His masterpiece. Between the Lines (1976) his his latest. For those who find the full solo albums too inconsistent to enjoy, these collections are a revelation, and really do present a surprisingly cohesive Beatlesque vibe.

Between The Lines collects the highlights from Paul’s Wings at the Speed of Sound, George’s Thirty-Three and a Third, Ringo’s Rotogravure and, well, the six solo Lennon demos that date from his early Dakota era, approximately simultaneous to the aforementioned albums.  Both sides of the re-imagining are edited to be two continuous sides of music.  The cover is taken from a Miro painting that somehow evokes the feel of this curious little album.  

Side A begins with my own unique edit of “Let ‘Em In”, which replicates the very rare original radio edit, only released as a promo disc; this is significant because that is the version I grew up listening to on the radio, and it is otherwise lost to time–and the unnecessarily long and repetitive album version.  This is followed by George’s classic “Crackerbox Palace”, which seems to somehow fit seamlessly before “Silly Love Songs”; like “Let ‘Em In”, this is my own unique ‘single edit’ since the song is likewise unnecessarily long.  Next is Ringo’s token song, written by John, “Cookin’ In The Kitchen of Love”, with the side closing with Paul’s ballad “Warm and Beautiful.”   Side B begins with George’s “See Yourself”, followed by Paul’s “San Ferry Anne”.  Next is a massive Paul-esque medley of George’s “Beautiful Girl” and Paul’s “Beware My Love”, using a brief bit of George’s “Dear One” to bridge the songs.  I couldn’t not have a John song, so concluding is the voice of our old friend: my own custom edit of “Tennessee”; although a Lennon home demo would sound drastically different from Paul & George ‘s studio output at this time, I believe this song works here as a closing piano solo.  

So sit back and imagine, if you will, an alternate timeline…
Although The Beatles went on an indefinite hiatus following the short 1974 tour for their hit album Goodnight Vienna, all four remained friendly, although not musically active with each other.  Paul took the opportunity to perform a solo tour (featuring wife Linda and his old friend Denny Lane as accompaniment) playing stripped down selections of his Beatles favorites from the last fifteen years.  George released a solo album Extra Texture, which had a lukewarm response despite featuring a moderate hit “You” (a duet with Ronnie Spector of The Ronnettes).  Ringo continued acting, building his filmography to include the role as The Pope in Listztomania, the voice of God in Monty Python and The Holy Grail and Uncle Ernie in the film adaptation of The Who’s Tommy.  John chose to stay home with his wife Yoko Ono and newborn Sean.  But the release of The Beatles’ Live at Madison Square Garden in late 1975 renewed some interest in the group continuing as a studio band, much like their late-60s era.  

Gradually, three of the four Beatles found themselves in each other’s periphery and began plotting a new album, to be begun in early 1976.  John was only able to casually commit to the album, as he was no longer interested in living the rock star life.  While making only scant appearances on rhythm guitar and some backing vocals (although he distinctly took the lead for Ringo’s contribution to the album), a question emerged in the fans’ collective mind: is it really a Beatles album without John?  Regardless, a Paul-and-George -driven quartet released Between The Lines in October 1976, promoted only with a handful of live television  performances.  Most notable was their performance of “Let ‘Em In” on Saturday Night Live, in which Chevy Chase guested on a marching-band snare, prompting John Lennon to lead the entire show’s cast in a march outside and around Rockefeller Plaza.  

The moderate success of the double A-side single of “Silly Love Songs” and “Crackerbox Palace” encouraged the group to plan a follow-up in this short-lived and strange era of the band, and broad talks were made to reconvene in a year or so to see what the trio (and hopefully quartet) could muster…  

  1. Brian Protheroe – I/You (Chrysalis, 1976)
  2. Philip Glass – Glassworks (CBS, 1982)
  3. Sun Ra – Languidity (Evidence, 1978)
  4. Milton Nascimento – Milagre dos peixes (Odeon/Universal, 1973)
  5. Snatches Of Pink – Bent With Prey (Caroline, 1992)
  6. Fashion – Product Perfect (IRS, 1979)
  7. Dog Faced Hermans – Every Day Timebomb (Demon Radge, 1989)
  8. Solid Space – Space Museum (In Phaze/Dark Entries, 1982)
  9. Dr. John – In the Right Place (Atco, 1973)
  10. Rational Youth – Cold War Night Life (Yul/Universal, 1982)
  11. Ainigma – Diluvium (Arc/Garden of Delights, 1973)
  12. The Sonora Pine – II (Quarterstick, 1997)
  13. Philip Glass – Koyaanisqatsi (Island, 1983)

Bubbling under: The Fall, The Aints, The Holiday Crowd, The Jim Carroll Band, Chubby Checker, Maple Mars, Ian Blurton, Tricky Woo, 3Ds, C’mon, Eyeless In Gaza, Communicant, The Moles, Antena, Deux Filles, Iron Age, The Sadies, Regal Worm, Dion, Nathan Hall & The Sinister Locals, Black Bonzo, Strawberry Path, Edge Of Sanity, Sotomonte, Wolf, Mistreater, Temple Fang, Whitelands, Soft Hearted Scientists, Jalayan, Rick Hromadka, Cursed Arrows, Ram Jam, ACTORS, Fire Party, Kahvas Jute, Parish Hall, Psychic TV, SS Decontrol, Stephen Stills, Springhouse, Bam Bam, Fooks Nihil, Dead Flowers, Lester Bowie, The Darling Buds, Revolver, Diesel Park West.

Gothic Country

Last year’s featured specialty subgenre was trip jam, generally something I picked up or made up that’s not widely used. Gothic Country has been picking up steam though. It seems just yesterday when I was awed by the blazing power of 16 Horsepower in a small bar. Now David Eugene Edwards’ subsequent project Wovenhand has been in action for over 21 years. Edwards’ genuine religious fervor and intensity has gained the respect of heavy music fans, even if the music leans more toward folk and country than metal. Like Star Treatment (2016), Silver Sash is heavier than most of the earlier catalog, pounding rhythms and incessant drive resulting in a relatively heavy, monolithic sound, best exemplified by “Dead Dead Beat.” It may not have the dynamics and varied textures of Refractory Obdurate (2014), but it is essential listening for all Wovenhand fans, and curious folk/Americana connoisseurs ready for a challenge of post-punk/garage noir. Or, uh, gothic country.

  1. Breanna Barbara – Nothin’ But Time (Fuzz Club, 2022) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Wovenhand – Silver Sash (Glitterhouse, 2022) | USA | Bandcamp
  3. Munly & The Lupercalians – Kinnery of Lupercalia: Undelivered Legion (SCAC, 2022) | USA | Bandcamp
  4. King Dude & Der Blutharsch and the Infinite Church of the Leading Hand – Black Rider on the Storm (Not Just Religious, 2022) | USA/Austria
  5. Palodine – Feathers and Fur (Palodine, 2022) | USA | Bandcamp
  6. Daniel Spaleniak – Tape V (Antena Krzyku, 2022) | Poland
  7. The Builders and the Butchers – Hell & High Water (TBATB, 2022) | USA | Bandcamp
  8. King Dude – Death (Van, 2022) | USA | Bandcamp
  9. Those Poor Bastards – God Awful (Tribulation, 2022) | USA | Bandcamp
  10. Carlton Hestonne – Choking Corpse Candlewax (Atlanta Monsters Fame, 2022) | USA | Bandcamp
  11. Carlton Hestonne – Witches Don’t Exist (Atlanta Monsters Fame, 2022) | USA | Bandcamp

AOR

It seems wrong to make a list of Journey/Night Ranger style 80s AOR without actually including the Journey album, so I fixed that. UK AOR pop rock with a touch of power pop band Cats In Space have been impressively consistent over five albums. I may prefer Atlantis (2020) a bit, but their latest has some pretty tasty hooks. Kicks the masked asses of Ghost up and down the solar system, that’s for damn sure.

  1. Sumerlands – Dreamkiller (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
  2. Cats In Space – Kickstart the Sun (Harmony Factory) | USA
  3. Ann Wilson – Fierce Bliss (Silver Lining) | USA
  4. Ghost Of The Machine – Scissorgames (GOTM) | UK | Bandcamp
  5. Preincarnation – Incarnation I (7hard) | Germany | Buy
  6. Def Leppard – Diamond Star Halos (Bludgeon Riffola) | UK
  7. H.E.A.T. – Force Majeure (Earmusic) | Sweden | Buy
  8. Ghost – Impera (Lorna Vista) | Sweden | Bandcamp
  9. Dynazty – Final Advent (AFM) | Sweden
  10. Reckless Love – Turborider (AFM) | Finland
  11. Treat – The Endgame (Frontiers) | Sweden
  12. Perfect Plan – Brace For Impact (Frontiers) | Sweden
  13. Lordi – Lordiversity – Humanimals (AFM) | Finland

Best of Texas

I’d been at Rancho Bulboso, TX one year as of Halloween, and so in tribute to my new home state, here’s a list that probably still doesn’t do full justice to such a huge state with a deep musical history. It’s a little loosey goosey in that Beyoncé has lived in Bel Air, CA for many years, along with probably other gaudy mansions in Florida and some remote island, but I know Houston is proud so I didn’t exclude her or Lizzo. Conversely, John Doe, who is forever associated with L.A. via X, actually grew up in Decatur, IL, but now calls Austin home. Garrett T. Capps & NASA Country has dabbled in various permutations of country, honkey tonk and rock ‘n’ soul, but he caught my attention when his band from In The Shadows (Again) from 2018 — Justin Boyd, Torin Metz, Kory Cook and odie were officially named NASA Country, and their motorik cosmic Americana and country psych takes us for a wild ride, and really stands out as something fresh and unique. More please!

Rattlesnake Milk’s third album, Chicken Fried Snake, saw a stealth release on December 16 via Austin’s Feel So Good Records, also a record store, clothing store and sometimes live venue. They combine dust bowl country folk and migrant music from the southern plains of Texas with garage psych/noir, and irresistible combo here at Rancho Bulboso, though we prefer not to eat our snakes here.

  1. The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors (Austin)
  2. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – XI: Bleed Here Now (Austin)
  3.  Spoon – Lucifer on the Sofa (Austin)
  4. Wo Fat – The Singularity (Dallas)
  5. Garrett T. Capps & NASA Country – People Are Beautiful (San Antonio)
  6. Rattlesnake Milk – Chicken Fried Snake (Austin)
  7. Oceans Of Slumber – Starlight and Ash (Houston)
  8. Astragal – Pure Cashmere (Houston)
  9. Motorcade – See You in the Nothing (Dallas)
  10. Peace de Résistance – Bits and Pieces (Austin)
  11. Good Looks – Bummer Year (Austin)
  12. Letting Up Despite Great Faults – IV (Austin)
  13. Midlake – For the Sake of Bethel Woods (Denton)
  14. Carson McHone – Still Life (Austin)
  15. Fugitive – Maniac EP (Fort Worth)
  16. WARLUNG – Vulture’s Paradise (Houston)
  17. Die Spitz – The Return of Evangeline EP (Austin)
  18. Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol – DOOM-WOP (Austin)
  19. Tigers – Palo Duro (Lubbock)
  20. Tribal Gaze – The Nine Choirs (Longview)

Bubbling under: Blushing, Chronophage, The Mars Volta, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Betty Bennedeadly, Spirit Adrift, The Pinky Rings, Khruangbin w/ Vieux Farka Toure & Leon Bridges, ZZ Top, Adrian Quesada, Thor Harris, Greenbeard, Mothman, Haunter, Fleshrot, Glassing, Jana Pochop, Amanda Shires, Lizzo, John Doe, Mugger, Brennen Leigh, Willie Nelson, Charley Crockett, Lyle Lovett, The Vandoliers, Plains, Beyoncé, Megan thee Stallion, Joe Ely, Fastball, Whiskey Myers, Rhett Miller, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Brockhampton, Koe Wetzel, Steve Howell & The Mighty Men, Gurf Morlix, Sunny Sweeney, William Clark Green.

Labels
In 2020 17 albums by Nuclear Blast made my list, and Ripple with 13 last year, followed closely by Metal Blade at 12. Ripple does it again, with 17 this time, offering good value for their $5/mo subscription, and that doesn’t even include reissues.

  1. Ripple (17)
  2. Napalm (12)
  3. Heavy Psych (11)
  4. Domino (10)
  5. Svart (9)
  6. Fire (8)
  7. AFM (7)
  8. Century Media (7)
  9. Majestic Mountain (7)
  10. Merge (7)
  11. Sub Pop (7)
  12. Anti- (6)
  13. Rocket (6)

Bubbling under: Bella Union, BMG, Matador.

Singles

My singles guru Toby has nearly stopped posting on his The Finest Kiss site, but thankfully he still shares his discoveries at the end of the year. I don’t know how he sniffs out so many great 7″ singles and EPs, but he’s got it dialed in, at least in terms of indie pop, jangle pop, dream pop, and a smattering of soul. While I do have a record player again, I’m still not buying singles, but as always I will fill up my Bandcamp cart when his list comes out.

Videos

280 and counting!

Shows

  1. Elder @ Spider House, 8/13
  2. The Dream Syndicate @ SXSW,
  3. The Black Angels @ Levitation, 10/30
  4. Spirit Adrift @ Mohawk, 4/22
  5. Wo Fat @ Lonestar Unleashed, 6/25
  6. Slift @ Levitation, 10/27
  7. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead @ Feel So Good, 9/3
  8. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard @ Levitation, 10/28
  9. Rosegarden Funeral Party @ SXSW
  10. Carcass @ Oblivion, 5/12
  11. Windhand @ Oblivion, 5/12
  12. Wet Leg @ SXSW
  13. High Desert Queen @ Lonestar Unleashed, 6/25

Bubbling under: Mark Burgess of The Chameleons, The Jesus & Mary Chain, TEKE:: TEKE, Deap Vally, Yoo Doo Right, Kristin Hersh, SUSS, Kiwi Jr., Yard Act.

Movies

David Bowie’s breakthrough single, “Space Oddity” was released on July 11, 1969. It was timed nicely with the takeoff of the Apollo 11 mission for the first manned moon landing on July 16. The whole world watched footage of the takeoff and flight, with Bowie’s newly released single playing on the radio. That’s also the day I was born. Bowie’s music has provided a backdrop to my childhood, as my mother was a fan, and Brett Morgan’s cut-and-paste collage approach to a lot of the footage and abstract imagery coincides nicely with the jumble of memories associated with his music. It may be no coincidence that Morgan is close to my age and likely had similar experiences. The two and a quarter hour movie occasionally settles into linear documentary storytelling mode, but only for fleeting minutes. Hence, it will appeal mainly to serious art film and Bowie fans, as opposed to the Queen and Elton John movies that are a bit more easily digested by casual fans.

  1. Moonage Daydream
  2. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
  3. Enola Holmes 2
  4. Do Revenge
  5. Elvis
  6. Here to be Heard: The Story of The Slits
  7. Everything Everywhere At Once
  8. The Bad Guys
  9. The Lost City
  10. I Want You Back
  11. Why Don’t They Ask Evans?
  12. Thor: Love and Thunder
  13. Downton Abbey: A New Era

Meh: Underground Inc: The Rise & Fall of Alternative Rock and a whole boatload of cheesy holiday romance movies.

Haven’t seen yet: Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Disenchanted, Boss Baby: Back in Business, The Banshees of Inisheran, Girl Picture, EO, The Duke, Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, Official Competition, The Innocents, Neptune Frost, Turning Red, Emily the Criminal, The Sea Beast, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

Television

The biggest, most pleasant surprise of the year was the series based on The Peripheral (2014), one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors, William Gibson. See my review of Agency (2020), the second book in his probable Jackpot trilogy (he often doesn’t come up with an official name for his trilogies, and it’s not even clear if there will be a third book). It’s been 8 years, but I’m pretty sure they changed quite a bit from the book, as they do, inserting a lot more action and violence. This can render it unwatchable to sensitive viewers, but I’m all in. There’s still a few more episodes to come, and I’m hooked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q73UhUTs6y0

Nearly a tie for first, we had a blast bingeing Tim Burton’s Wednesday over Thanksgiving. It’s a fresh, creative approach to the classic Addams Family franchise, though Nevermore, the school for outcasts, does owe quite a lot to Harry Potter and Hogwarts. They stay true to Wednesday’s character in that she is already strong, formidable, brave, and a little bit terrifying. They avoid the cliched story arc of an insecure girl who has to overcome her own fears or weaknesses. There is some forced introspection from her mandatory therapy sessions, and I suppose she does learn to open up just a smidge emotionally to friends, but mainly she simply she emerges just a bit more badass than before, which is A-OK by me. There are some absolutely priceless quotes, mainly from Wednesday, and overall excellent writing that elevates this series to the toppest of the toppermost. I’m already slavering for another season.

A shout-out to Lesley Manville. The 66 year-old actor is on a tear, appearing in a half dozen high quality shows this year, including Magpie Murders, Sherwood, Dangerous Liaisons, and as Princess Margaret in The Crown.

  1. The Peripheral (Netflix)
  2. Wednesday (Netflix)
  3. The Good Fight S06 (Paramount)
  4. Stranger Things S04 (Netflix)
  5. The Sandman S01 (Netflix)
  6. Hacks S02 (HBO)
  7. Sex Education S03 (Netflix)
  8. Pennyworth S03 (HBO)
  9. Only Murders in the Building S02 (Hulu)
  10. What We Do in the Shadows S04 (FX)
  11. The Crown S05 (Netflix)
  12. Cowboy Bebop (Netflix)
  13. Three Pines S01 (Netflix)

Bubbling under: Ms. Marvel S01, Paper Girls S01, Resident Alien (Syfy), The Boys S03 (Prime), Firefly Lane S02, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel S04 (Prime), Physical S02 (Apple), Our Flag Means Death, Inside Amy Schumer S05, Doom Patrol S03, Never Have I Ever S03, Big Mouth S05, Upload S02, The White Lotus S02, Locke and Key S03, Welcome Home Nikki Glaser?, Little Demon (FX), Eternally Confused and Eager for Love, Blockbuster, The Midnight Club, Bad Sisters, Nancy Drew S03, The Watcher.

Cozy Brittania & Nordic Noirs on Acorn, PBS Masterpiece, Britbox: Shetland S07, Karen Pirie, Sherwood, Vienna Blood S02, Magpie Murders, Miss Scarlet & The Duke, Halifax Retribution, Death In Paradise S11, Shakespeare & Hathaway S04, Father Brown S08, Grantchester S06, Perry Mason, McDonald & Dodds S02, The Paris Murders S05, Unforgotten S04, Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, The Bay S02, The Nordic Murders, Dead Still, Rebecka Martinsson, Mystery In Paris, Wisting, London Kills S02, Murderland, Deadwater Fell, Murder In Suburbia, Queens of Mystery, Endeavor S08, Grantchester. Dabbled in Prime Suspect, Midsomer Murders, Vera, A Touch Of Frost.

Haven’t seen: The Umbrella Academy S03, Central Park S03 (Apple), The Cabinet of Curiosities, Mismatched S02 (Netflix), Fleishman is in Trouble (Hulu), Dead to Me S03, The Rings of Power (Prime), Reservation Dogs (FX), Slumberland.

Books

By far the most enjoyable fiction I’ve read this year so far, Razzmatazz is the follow-up to Noir (2018), a hilarious mystery satire set in 1940s San Francisco, like Bugs Bunny meets Men in Black. Bartender and amateur sleuth Sammy “Two Toes” Tiffin, his girlfriend Stilton (a.k.a. the Cheese) and their mates from Cookie’s Coffee return from the first book for new adventures. Everyone is broke and working on their own hustles: trying to open a driving school with a borrowed car; the Cheese and her friend using their wartime shipbuilding experience on a secret project that even they don’t understand, but have perked the interest of Men in Black; Eddie “Moo Shoes” Shu helping save his Uncle Ho’s opium den from the rival Squid Kid gangsters, who are determined to get back an ancient statue of the mysterious Rain Dragon that Ho stole four decades earlier.

The book features many flashbacks to that time in Uncle Ho’s past, his emigration from China to the U.S., struggling to find work in the events following the 1906 earthquake and fire, when the racist city government relocated the displaced population of Chinatown in a refugee camp in the Presidio, while attempting to move Chinatown to Hunters Point. This is all real history, and the government of China eventually intervened by rebuilding its consulate in the heart of old Chinatown. Meanwhile, the immigrants are doing the backbreaking work of rebuilding after the fire, brothels popping up in the areas that were all men. Ho rescues a prostitute who was being brutalized by johns, and sneaks her out of the city, all the while being guided by the dragon who talks to him.

Understandably, it’s a lot more sober at times than the more giddy predecessor, but still had it’s share of laughs. I’m absolutely dying for a third installment to my favorite two books, The Reaper series, but this is nearly as satisfying. Earlier in the year Moore replied to me in a Twitter post that he has done any work on a Reaper follow-up, and is working on an entirely new story. Whatever it is, I look forward to it. | Full Review

I feel compelled to read most nonfiction music books I can get, yet I often end up bored and irrated by them. I probably should work in more fiction. I have friends who read all the big hitters in literary fiction, but I just can’t make myself do that anymore. I’m not in grad school, and life is bleak enough, I don’t need to wallow in depressing, pretentious crap. Okay, favorites Neal Stephenson and William Gibson have both dealt with extinction events in their latest novels, but at least they still have a sense of wonder and adventure at the core of their sci fi nerd hearts. Christopher Moore has been my consistent favorite for comedy/urban fantasy. Unlike music, I’m at a loss on how to find good recommendations based on preferences. I have not been able to find a reliable RIYL search engine for books.

  1. Razzmatazz: A Novel by Christopher Moore (2022)
  2. On Track… Captain Beefheart: Every Album, Every Song by Opher Goodwin (2022)
  3. Some New Kind of Kick: A Memoir by Kid Congo Powers and Chris Campion (2022)
  4. New York Rock: From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB by Steven Blush (2016)
  5. Bunnyman: A Memoir by Will Sergeant (2022)
  6. Lively Arts: The Damned Deconstructed by Martin Popoff (2022)
  7. Limelight: Rush in the ’80s by Martin Popoff (2020)
  8. Sing Backwards and Weep: A Memoir by Mark Lanegan (2020)
  9. The Vinyl Detective Mysteries – Written in Dead Wax: A Vinyl Detective Mystery by Andrew Cartmel (2016)
  10. The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell (2021)
  11. Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock by Steven Hyden (2018)
  12. New Waves, Old Hands and Unknown Pleasures by Sean Egan (2019)
  13. Musical Guide to Modern Eon/The Chameleons by Andrew Keeling (2022)

Fester’s Favorite Things

I ain’t Oprah, so don’t expect a surprise goody bag in your inbox, but these are a few of the things that made life worth living. Kidding, they only take the edge off the apocalyptic dread.

Escape P6 Air outdoor Bluetooth/WiFi speaker | Buy
I was considering the much cheaper JBL Partybox 310, complete with disco lights, but I got sucked into getting this higher end gear with a discount a free year subscription with Roon. The fact that it works with Roon was the main selling point, and it’s worked great — grabbing the WiFi signal outside the house with no issues. It sounded great, and I opted for white, which will be harder to keep clean, but also won’t bake as badly in the blazing Texas sun. It also worked to harass raccoons under the house with loud metal in a pinch.

RVRB x U-Turn – Orbit Custom Turntable | Buy
If I hadn’t already purchased a used Audio-Technica AT-LP120X just before this was announced, I would have been tempted by this cool design by the Reverberation Appreciation Society, the folks behind the Levitation psych festival in partnership with U-Turn Audio. Very limited edition, with only 50 in each colorway, the price is quite reasonable considering the acrylic platter, Audio-Technica AT91B cartridge, OA2 gimbal tonearm and RVRB logo slipmat.

NAD C 3050 LE 50th Anniversary Stereophonic Amplifier & PSB Passif 50 speakers | Buy Buy
A cool setup to go with the turntable for a very special gift for a music lovin’ spouse perhaps, I really like the mix of vintage references and future-fi features on the NAD, a limited edition with just 1,972 units available to commemorate the company starting up in 1972. PSB also started in 1972, and are now owned by the same company as NAD, which makes these two 50th anniversary special editions a nice pairing. The KLH Model Five, Mission 770, JBL L100 Classic, and Wharfedale Linton Heritage also use similarly classic designs so you can rock like it’s 1972.

HEAVYS: Headphones engineered for heavy metal. | Buy
Legendary Sennheiser engineer Axel Grell teamed up with a team of metalheads and made a pair of headphones for metalheads. Forged in the fires of Hell, blessed/cursed by Satan? Commissioned by Krampus? Who knows! What’s impressive is for all the innovative tech packed into them — 8 drivers including subwoofers, patent-pending loudness tech (to eleven, baby!), noise cancellation, option to used wired or wireless, psychoacoustics patented technology keeps the volume high without pressure damaging the ears, and dosimeter listening fatigue protection, their MSRP is a shockingly sane price of $250 (and currently they’re 25% off). Does that mean I can doze off with brutal death metal blaring without worrying about hearing damage? Dunno, these sweet Lucifer cups don’t ship until March, but I am lured by TEMPTATION.

Records as wall art.
Most readers know I’ve never been a big fan of records as means of accurately reproducing sound, but they were my first medium, and they’ve always been fun to look at. Whether it’s old childhood favorites, alltime classics, or new albums with cool cover art (my small collection is a mix of those), I missed going into record stores with a purpose/mission, so here I am, buying ELO’s Out of the Blue for the third time. Yes I do play them occasionally too.

Funko POP! figures
I think it all started when American soldiers sent Hummel figurines home during WWII. It being the invasion of inane “knicker knackers” as a dear friend described them, into American homes, eventually to be cluttered by Precious Moments and beanie babies. My sweet babies happen to be mostly Eddies, Iron Maiden’s mascot, plus tributes to album covers Powerslave and Queen’s News of the World. I’m tempted to get Black Sabbath, Ace of Spades and Highway to Hell, but I’d probably get in trouble. Though if they ever come out with a replica of Rush’s Hemispheres, bare ass and all, it’s mine.

Snoozies slippers
Since the pandemic started, I have worn nothing but slippers. I mean, yeah, I wear pants too. I’ve been working from home, and with hard floors, I don’t like going clompity clomp everywhere. I want to walk like a ninja so I don’t piss off the cats and wake them from their constant naps. Sadly the men’s slippers don’t come in the fun animal ones like pandas and reindeer that women’s does, mostly manly plaid. Sexists. Though my current ones are music themed, with dorky “And the beat goes on” writing with a musical scale. I officially put in my request for Motorhead or otter snoozies. I may or may not have found a Buc-ee’s beaver onesie my size…

Krampus art from Etsy
Everyone here knows the most wonderful time of the year between Halloween and Xmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa is not Thanksgiving, but Krampusnacht on December 5. This year’s Lucky 13 banner art was borrowed from Margaryta of RytasArtWorld‘s painting, “Mocking Krampus.” Cheery holiday themes, Krampus and black cats, what more could you want? I also ordered her Samhain print below.

Perhaps I gave you gift ideas (for which you’ll never be forgiven) or even more likely, your own wishlist. If they still listen to music files, a Bandcamp gift card is pretty cool.

Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2021
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2020
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2019
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2018
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2017
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2016
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2015
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2014
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2013
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2012
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2011
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2010
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2009
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2008
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2007
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2006
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2005
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2004
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2003
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2002
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2001
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 2000
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 1999
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 1998
Fester’s Lucky 13 — 1997

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