#dead apple discography

[sevlawless]

dead apple's discography: 1/?

review taken from their local newspaper:

Dead Apple's debut EP 'Running Out of Time' has hit all streaming platforms, and despite the title, they are doing anything but. Their punk rock influences shine throughout, as well as co-lead singer Arabella Aveiro's love for Fiona Apple, partially to credit for their band name. The band consists of its other lead singer, Seven Duckstein, guitarist Rowan Hart, bassist Devyn Powell, drummer Jazzy Dawson, and Iris De Luca on the keys. Each track has a emotional tie in to at least one person in the group, making the five tracks feel as though you're experiencing their lives yourselves.

When the current 11th graders of our own Green Meadow High were asked about this, Aveiro simply said:

"We want to make music that people can relate to. I think it’s more rewarding when you create something that you love, and that other people can love as well. Making these songs with my friends has been so fun, and we can't wait to make more music together."

For everyone's sakes, let's hope this band never runs out of time.

cover and songs breakdown under the cut <3

the cover was taken by seven when the whole gang went to the city. devyn had just got her license and her parents let them take the minivan to fit everyone LMFAO and arabella stuck her head out the window on the drive home. earlier versions of the ep had seven on the back cover doing the same pose (arabella had taken that photo in return <3), but after the breakup any physical copies printed had the same picture on the front but blurred.

where the heart is

written by: jazzy and seven

the drums on this song YOU KNOW jazzy had a hand in this! she wanted to write a song for the ep and was kinda struggling but seven helped her out :) so this is one of their many co-written songs together <3 this being the opener is so fitting for me because of lines like "6:30 alarm, brush my teeth, and start the car" and "it's time to go home again, that's so boring"

starting off at 6:30 am, early in the morning, starting off this ep with this song just feels fitting to me! and the whole "i hate my town" rite of passage most punk rock bands go through!

favorite lyrics:

"all in all, i've always had the same thoughts riling up my heart // and all in all, i haven't changed a single thing to feel differently"

"my mind's been in a million places, but my body hasn't moved an inch"

"if i could just take a chance, i wouldn't feel so bad // to see past myself, i wouldn't feel so bad"

baby tonight

written by: devyn, arabella

this is just an iris and devyn love song im afraid! i have this VIVID headcanon of devyn coming up to arabella and being like "i wrote some lyrics for a song about iris can you help me out" and arabella IMMEDIATELY being on board! i imagine devyn inviting iris over to her house and the whole band already being there in the garage ready to play this song for her :) it's such a cute lil moment and i like to think whenever they have a gig on or around iris' birthday or their anniversary they play this song! they put this on their first ep because they love devyn and iris and SO DO I!

favorite lyrics:

"she's a diamond in my fucked up world // prettier than the pearls that lay around on her neck // she makes me so fucking SICK!"

"so baby won't you take my life? or maybe you could crush my soul?"

red with love

written by: seven

unrequited love is really something else huh LMFAO i like to think that seven wrote this after him and arabella went to a party and played spin the bottle which resulting in them kissing for the first time (which later on when they're dating arabella doesn't count it as their first kiss because her eyes were open and the kiss was horrendously bad because that's her BEST FRIEND and she CANNOT have feelings for her BEST FRIEND-)

anyways ! i think seven started developing some sort of feelings for arabella after that and this song is the product of a late night writing session on his roof. when he shows it to the band they're like "who the HELL is this about" and arabella just looks at him like she knows and is immediately just like "let's practice it right now!" much to seven's relief.

when they're dating though and they perform this song together i like to think that after the line "you kiss me so sweetly, it gets me high" arabella ALWAYS without fail would kiss seven on the cheek :)

they stop performing this song when seven leaves the band.

favorite lyrics:

"the sunlight through my windowpane illuminates your face // i need you closer and you're not even an inch away"

"when you come home, you call my name // believe me when i say // tomorrow i will love you more than i did yesterday"

"i can't seem to get enough // it makes me sweat, you’re in my head // it turns me red with love"

sleep to dream

written by: arabella, iris

this bitch loves fiona apple idk what to tell you. i imagine that during high school arabella dated the WORST people but that just fueled her writing so she wrote this after one particularly bad boyfriend. iris also helped with the piano composition! i fear these breakup songs will become a pattern for arabella in later works LMFAO

favorite lyrics:

"i tell you how you feel, but you don't care // i say tell me the truth, but you don't dare // you say love is a hell you cannot bare // and i say gimme mine back and then go there, for all i care"

"this mind, this body, and this voice cannot be stifled by your deviant ways // so don't forget what i told you // don't come around, i got my own hell to raise"

where the lines overlap

written by: arabella, rowan

just the first of MANY certified rowanbella classics! rowan came up with the basic chords and arabella wrote the lyrics. this song is just them basically saying we're so happy to be in this band with our friends and we hope that never ever changes and it WON'T… right?

anywayyyy.. this song is an absolute crowd favorite and whenever they play a gig they always play this one last :)

favorite lyrics:

"no one is as lucky as us, we're not at the end but oh, we already won"

"now i've got a feeling if i sang this loud enough, you would sing it back to me"

[pebblezone]

succumbing to the illness. becoming a hater. anyway look at this building they’re fucking destroying

[losergirlsoap]

there’s nothing quite like autumn in new york… 👻

𐙚₊˚🍁⊹ ᰔ

“ 🕯️🍂☕️💋💌🎞️🎸🎧🧸🩰🤍🧣🎀🪽🏹 🕸️ ”

◞♡ | 15 | intp 4w5 | libra ☼, pisces ☾, gemini ↑ |

◞♡ currently wishing it was fall </3 (aka murder house season)

◞♡ written & directed by sofia coppola ·.༄࿔ 🎞️

◞♡ follow me on pinterest & spotify and i’ll love you forever ‧₊˚♡

◞♡ gilmore girls, ahs, donnie darko, gossip girl, pretty little liars, NANA, dead poets society, the secret history and the virgin suicides fan girl <3

◞♡ my fav things: iced coffee, cinnamon, rain, classic lit, honestly just reading/ books in general, psychology, philosophy, vanilla perfume, strawberries, pinterest, tumblr (duh), photography, fashion, bookstores, record stores, shopping, fiona apple’s discography, red nail polish, bows/ribbons, bunnies, leopard print & spotifiy <3

◞♡ nerd stuff <- my interests ‧₊˚♡

◞♡ other things <- just in case you need them :)

[missworlddoll]

about me

Hi! I recently got tumblr, so this blog is quite new. I’m a 14 year old european girl interested in things like literature, cinema, poetry and music. I hope you will enjoy my blog and here are some facts about me!

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･𝜗𝜚

my fav movies: the virgin suicides, lilja 4ever, the silence of the lambs, breakfast on pluto, lost in translation, priscilla, harry potter, pearl, black swan, girl interrupted, gone girl, buffalo’66 and more..

my fav books: sharp objects, the silence of the lambs, the virgin suicides, the picture of dorian gray, frankenstein, elvis and me, the stranger, pride and prejudice, but I have quite a lot on my reading list..

my fav artists/bands: lana del rey, jeff buckley, hole, mitski, radiohead, fiona apple, the smiths, the cure, mazzy star, ethel cain, deftones, pj harvey, nirvana, billie eilish and a lot more but I feel like I’ve already written too much.. ⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

my fav shows: skins, american horror story, peaky blinders, the end of the fucking world, scream queens

Random stuff :) 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ⋅ᡣ𐭩 ་༘࿐

I have an obsession with the 60s aswell as the 90s

almost all my fav people are dead (jeff buckley, heath ledger, brittany murphy, marylin monroe etc..

I read, watch movies and listen to a lot of music if u didn’t catch that 😃

I wanna stay 14 forever (I’m turning 15 next month)

I have been a hugee lana fan since about 2021, I got into her entire discography in 2022 (I wish I did that earlier but I was young)

I will shitpost a lot! and post random thoughts I have

I’ve seen lana del rey live in concert, also ethel cain, deftones, pj harvey and mitski! (yes that were all the greatest moments of my life)

if anyone wants to be mutuals, my dms are always open !

I’m usually very bored and this will be like a diary and just my random thoughts 💕

Stay safe, see ya around!

[riseofthecommonwoodpile]

Boy howdy look at all those 9’s! What a round, what a game, what a season. Wish I had liked Grizzly Bear upon relisten 10 years after I last checked them out, but can’t win em all.

Adickdid— Dismantle (7.5/10)

AIDS Wolf— The Lovvers LP (7.0/10)

At the Drive-In— Relationship of Command (6.0/10)

Bear vs Shark— Terrorhawk (7.0/10)

Bed In— TOKYO (8.0/10)

Charli XCX- Brat (9.0/10) (wasn’t part of this originally but i’m not gonna wait on new Charli)

Deerhoof— Apple O’ (8.0/10)

Divine— The Story So Far (7.5/10)

The Durutti Column— The Return of the Durutti Column (8.0/10)

Earl Sweatshirt— Feet of Clay (9.0/10)

Echo & the Bunnymen— Heaven Up Here (7.5/10)

Fire Party— Complete Discography (7.5/10)

The Flashbulb— Soundtrack to a Vacant Life (6.5/10)

Grizzly Bear— Yellow House (5.5/10)

Grouper— Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill (8.5/10)

Guided by Voices— Vampire on Titus (9.0/10)

Jedi Mind Tricks— The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness (7.0/10)

Love— Da Capo (8.0/10)

Mercury Rev— Boces (9.0/10)

Mikel Rouse— Dennis Cleveland (8.0/10)

Nitzer Ebb— That Total Age (7.5/10)

Nuno Canavarro— Plux Quba (10/10)

Opeth— Blackwater Park (8.0/10)

Rhys Chatham— An Angel Moves Too Fast to See (8.0/10)

Ron Nagorcka— Lovregana: Music from a Tasmanian Forest (9.0/10)

Ultramagnetic MC’s— Critical Beatdown (8.5/10)

The Verve— A Storm in Heaven (8.5/10)

[manforsale]

(You can ignore this) /gen do you know where i can find the mcr songs that arent on spotify / or at least a list of all their songs? Im having a hard time finding them n im a new fan (sorry!)

Sure! Here’s a playlist I made with their discography on Spotify and Apple Music

I didn’t include TBP is Dead! And I only added some live performances from Murder Scene, but you can use the playlists as reference

Also to anyone that knows I’m missing a song or cover please add it in the replies 👍

More info under the cut :)

Okay so all of the standard albums and EPs are on Spotify and Apple Music. This is what you can find if you search My Chemical Romance and go to their page That includes I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love; Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge; The Black Parade, Danger Days, Conventional Weapons, Life on the Murder Scene, TBP B-sides, The Madgear and Missile Kid, May Death Never Stop You, Living With Ghosts, and TBP is Dead!

The singles and covers available on those platforms are: Foundations, Desolation Row, Under Pressure, Astro Zombies, and Every Snowflake is Different Just Like You, and All I Want For Christmas

Now for the ones not available:

#SINGitforJapan is available in the US on Spotify and Apple Music but I remember it not being available in Australia

Zero Percent is not available on any platform to stream but you can listen to it by pulling up the video on YouTube

We Don’t Need Another Song About California is available on Apple Music but not on Spotify

Jack The Ripper cover, NaNaNa Simlish, Song 2 by Blur, and Common People by Pulp available on YouTube

Unreleased Songs! you can find these on YouTube

Sister to sleep, The Drugs, Someone Out There Loves You/Stay

[steviejones3]

Music that I love this week <3

My Music Reviews #1

"Vanessa- Grimes" This song is an iconic throwback to Grimes in her 2011 era of experimental vocals and instrumentals, but I don't feel it is on the same level as her 2012 hit "Genesis" which I contain so much love for. I think that I am constantly pulled back to Grimes and her evolution through music because she captures the essence of what it was to make music from feel rather than sound or technique.

"Pa Pa Power- Dead Man's Bones" This song has been on my playlist forever it feels like, every now and again it is revisited. It is seemingly haunting but that still doesn't make sense to me. I find it to be beautiful and didn't know the lyrics were so simplistic until I looked them up. Overall it is an interesting feeling, that's why I think it's somehow haunting.

"III.Telegraph Ave. ("Oakland" by Lloyd)- Childish Gambino" This is not my overall favorite of this particular Gambino album but I find this song to be sonically aesthetic.

"She's American- The 1975" I have entered my 1975 era, I love this song so much, it's one of my newfound favorites. I enjoy the upbeat and catchy songs from this band, though I am still slowly learning the discography.

"Deeply Still In Love- ROLE MODEL" This song has captivated me since I first heard it. He played a snippet on his Tik Tok and I waited what felt like months for the whole song and I didn't know if I liked it when I first heard the full song. After probably a hundred listens now, It's safe to say it's somehow nostalgic.

"Be the One- Dua Lipa" This felt very fitting after her recent show, I love the progress that she has found in music, always making pop music fun and carefree. As a listener from the first album era, i can say that her discography is full of hits.

"Miracle Aligner- The Last Shadow Puppets" I have absolutely loved this song so much since first listen, it just captures a specific vibe I can't place yet. I always want to dance when I hear this song even though it's not even a song for dancing to.

"ME&U- Zeke Bleu, Midnight Moon" The first time I heard this song I knew this artist was going to have so many future hits. Some compare it to Euphoria (the show, not Jungkook's song) It encapsulates that feeling of being on the highway with my windows rolled down at midnight.

"I Want You To Love Me- Fiona Apple" I am a thought daughter.

"Casual- Chappell Roan" I had to include the icon herself. I have only really listened to her hits, yes I know I need to listen to the album. This song has just hit a little too hard recently, yeah you don't fake date your friend as a "joke" for six months and then act shocked when I question what we are.

"Lightning Crashes- Live" My feelings because of this song can never be explained. I heard it for the first time one day while sitting with my friend sharing earphones, she played this. That night with the same friend we all went out to an Irish pub and someone else requested this to the live band. I feel everything with this song. Sitting next to the water talking over the faint earphone audio and dancing in a pub like we owned the place.

[theam-cjsw]

The AM: November 6, 2023

After a first hour of soothing ambiance and offbeat easy listening™, this week's episode segues into spacious jazz and sparse melodies courtesy of Mark Hollis and Modern Nature (among others), and wraps with jangly jams and fuzzy guitars from Lush offshoot Ozean, White Poppy, Bibi Club, Marine Girls, and more.

Plus odd science news in place of the usual BBC. Hope you enjoy it.

Stream from CJSW

Spotify playlist

Track listing is after the break.

Hour One:

Umbra Alexandra Stréliski • Néo-Romance (Extended Version)

Æteren Skyphone • Oscilla

Space Oracle - aus Remix Seahawks • Infinite Echo Remixes

Log On Log Cate Brooks • Easel Studies

Submerge Apta • Submerge EP

pancake breakfast dreams Schmlandinksy • June 2019

Golden Apples of the Sun Suzanne Ciani, Jonathan Fitoussi • Golden Apples of the Sun

Quiet City Teen Daze • Quiet City EP

Tu No Arms and Sleepers, Richard Houghten • Parallel Dreaming

Biology Kogane • 2018​/​2019 Discography

Windpocket People Phét Phét Phét • Shimmer

Matshenyogo The Malombo Jazz Makers • Down Lucky's Way

Hour Two:

Doctor Dawn Sick Boss • Businessless

Murmuration Modern Nature • No Fixed Point In Space

The Watershed Mark Hollis • Mark Hollis

It’s the Morning The Dayflowers • Streetcorner Sympathy

Tropic Isle The Dayflowers • Streetcorner Sympathy

River Wax Machine • The Sky Unfurls, The Dance Goes On

I Can’t See You Bry Webb • Run With Me

Purple Sails Maria Arnqvist • Mary Rose and the Purple Quintet

El Circo Diles Que No Me Maten • Obrigaggi

Hour Three:

A Place in the Sun Marine Girls • Lazy Ways

Le feu Bibi Club • Single

Fall Ozean • Ozean

Happy White Poppy • Sound of Blue

Enough of You The Brights • Oyster Rock!

Shabby Chic Milk Toast • Your Band Sucks & Punk's Dead

All Good Extraa • Out of Phase

Lance-Flamme Lance-Glace YOCTO • Zepta Supernova

Phantom NETRVNNER • Phantom

Close Your Eyes Tape Waves • Here to Fade

Lost in Light Moon Duo • Occult Architecture Vol. 2

[chaosincurate]

My month in music - February 2023

The Smiths discography (revisit)

Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There (revisit)

Ben Lamar Gay - Open Arms to Open Us

Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy (new)

Young Fathers - Dead

Young Fathers - White Men Are Black Men Too

Young Fathers - Cocoa Sugar

Paramore - This Is Why (new)

The Murder Capital - Gigi's Recovery (new)

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (revisit)

Gaz Coombes - Turn the Car Around (new)

Quasi - Breaking the Balls of History (new)

The Clash - London Calling (revisit)

strongboi - strongboi (new)

Wesley Joseph - GLOW (new)

Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (revisit)

Bleachers - Gone Now

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Kaleidoscope

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Ju Ju

Model/Actriz - Dogsbody (new)

Algiers - Shook (new)

Write-ups below

The Smiths discography

I relistened to The Smiths' discography for my post on the indie legends earlier this month, so I'll keep this section brief by saying I'm very much a fan of theirs, and if you want some more in depth thoughts, check out that post on The Smiths!

Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There

February 4th marked the one year anniversary of my second favourite album of last year, Ants From Up There, so I wanted to pay my respects in a sense to the phenomenal experimental post-punk album. This album excels in patience, restraint, and space, which is already pretty impressive from a 7-piece band, but it really pays off when the album does explode. The most notable explosion comes during the climax of the awe-inspiring, 12 minute epic, Basketball Shoes, where what was once empty space becomes a solid brick wall of sound that comes at you like the most difficult round of Hole in the Wall ever conceived, where the only way to get through it is to be entirely emotionless.

If you're at all interested in the more mature and experimental side of rock and indie music, I consider this album an absolute must-listen for you. It's an absolute masterclass in everything that makes albums so rewarding.

Apple Music link

Ben Lamar Gay - Open Arms to Open Us

If an experimental, genre-bending album with a jazz foundation sounds like your kind of thing, it might be worth trying.

Recommended song: Bang Melodically Bang

Apple Music link

Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy

I found my first exposure to Young Fathers very enjoyable. Heavy Heavy is a very interesting demonstration of genre-fluidity, taking elements of their previous experimental rap sound and throwing it in a cauldron with various sections of pop, R&B, electronic, and afrobeat to create a peerless pop potion that feels dynamic and free, but with enough consistency to be comforting, which I can retrospectively add appears to be a sort of reinvention for the band.

While I've mellowed on the album a little since first hearing it (at first considering it album of the year quality), I'll be surprised if it doesn't make my top 10 come the end of the year. It's a unique album, which provides a fairly singular combination of calm and excitement which coexists without being to eachother's detriment. It's a fantastic achievement, and along with the 33 minute runtime makes it a very easy listen in the best way.

Apple Music link

Young Fathers - Dead

This was way more different to Heavy Heavy than I expected, but it's still a really cool album and very much has the same artistic identity at the core of the album. Dead, the first mainline album from the band, is more rap inspired than Heavy Heavy and was way more electronic. Its still hard to pin down too, but forced to give it a label I'd probably consider it experimental rap. Its hard to be too wrong when defining the album in terms of genre though, and as a consequence, it is also impossible to be right.

Worth noting with this album is the tendency towards really alien sounds that make the album's emotions really abstract. The synths in particular sound really singular.

I thought the album was a great first outing, but they still had plenty of potential to grow into. In that sense, and that sense alone, it was a very typical first album: there's a bunch of personality and charisma but an overriding feeling that the best is yet to come.

Apple Music link

Young Fathers - White Men Are Black Men Too

White Men Are Black Men Too essentially acts as a sequel to the previous album, and, in my opinion, pretty much everything that applied to Dead applies to this album, albeit slightly less so as they have grown into their sound a little more and seem a little more comfortable. In this album the unique synths of Dead seem more leant into, and I think the focus on an aspect of the last album's sound does fantastically to give the album a more coherent identity.

Speaking of identity, the album (as the title suggests) has a lot to say about it. The general theme is a call for unity and mutual understanding as a way to bring forth the changes that will ultimately make life better for everyone. It's a message that is executed really well on the album, and the clear message also adds to the improved coherence of this album.

Apple Music link

Young Fathers - Cocoa Sugar

Young Fathers continue their steady improvement with yet another slight iteration on their sound. This time they dial back the abrasiveness for a generally more inviting sound, but they keep the synth-based, genre-bending sound, albeit with a more electronic-leaning palette this time out. Ultimately they go on to make my favourite album of theirs when they cut way back on that electronic element of their sound, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work for me here. Their latest album may be a reinvention, but this version of the band suit an electronic backdrop fantastically, and pick the perfect elements of disparate genres and styles to act as a foil for that instrumental.

Cocoa Sugar is probably where I'd suggest someone start if they wanted to get into Young Fathers, but for me it is ever so slightly short of their most recent outing. Definitely worth a listen if a slow, mainly electronic, but varied album sounds like your kind of thing.

Apple Music link

Paramore - This Is Why

Paramore are a band that I holding very high regard for their capacity to make an album that fits in their discography like a great plot twist, making me think "I didn't see that coming at all, but it makes so much sense". I think it speaks to a creative curiosity paired with a great integrity; a combination that was unfortunately rare amongst many bands from that 00s pop punk movement. That's not just me waffling on about how much I've grown to love and appreciate Paramore, it feels essential to discussions about this album. They've kept the energy of their earlier albums, combined it with the new-wave poppy goodness of their previous outing, and thrown in Hayley Williams' lyrics that somehow seem incredibly simple and instantly relatable yet have enough depth to not get boring. This is the most Paramore album they've put out yet and I won't stand for the unfair criticisms coming from certain stubborn reviewers in the scene.

It is worth noting too, though, that pretty much every song has grown on me since first hearing it. This Is Why went from a decent song and reason to be hopeful about the album to one of my favourite Paramore songs yet; Big Man, Little Dignity went from one of two songs from the album I wasn't that happy with to a song I find it really easy to vibe with, even if its still probably my least favourite from the album; and Figure 8... Well that's probably my favourite vocal performance from Hayley Williams (those "I don't know how to stop"s on the second pre-chorus are everything my ears will ever need, and she ends it with a great intensity leading to that wind-down that fittingly leaves the song right back where it started) and could well be my favourite Paramore song yet, but again, took some growing on me. My experience with this album was always positive, but every time I listen to it, I think more of it, and I think there's a good chance this will be my album of the year when the time comes.

Apple Music link

The Murder Capital - Gigi's Recovery

A good example of the Joy Division side of post-punk modernized and with some added anthemic indie moments.

Recommended song: Return My Head

Apple Music link

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

Bloc Party's first and most beloved album boasts an astonishing clarity of identity for a debut, and deservedly gave the band several entries into the hall of fame for indie songs. For me though, I never really clicked with the album as a whole until recently. In many ways, it mimics my experience with London Calling, where I only ever really liked a handful of songs for years, and very recently revisited the album to find that, while I still don't fully get the hype, I'm way more fond of it now than I was before.

Apple Music link

Gaz Coombes - Turn the Car Around

This album reminded me a lot of the last Arctic Monkeys album, the name of which exists in the name of this one funnily enough. It's a cool, loungey indie sound that, when executed as well as it is here, is really interesting to me.

Recommended song: Don't Say It's Over

Apple Music link

Quasi - Breaking the Balls of History

I didn't really click with this one, but the way I'd describe it is that this is the album that a hippie Green Day would make. I think the right person could have fun with this album because it's pretty interesting and has a light-hearted sonic tone.

Recommended song: Back in Your Tree

Apple Music link

The Clash - London Calling

I listened to this one years ago and back then I just took some of my favourite songs and never returned, but I'm very glad I offered the album a reappraisal, because given some time for my musical palette to grow a little more and for me to become more open-minded, I've acquired a newfound appreciation for the album as an overall creative project.

While still a punk album at it's core, the album is aesthetically more of a classic rock n roll album in the vein of Elvis Presley, early Beatles and Beach Boys, which I think frames the messages within the album of working class unity, protest, and other related ideas as, much like Elvis, healthy ideas that are seen as controversial for little-to-no valid reason. It implicitly tells you to remember when a performer moving their hips was scandalous and challenges you to be open-minded about the ideas discussed.

Apple Music link

strongboi - strongboi

A mellow and groovy indie pop album that doesn't overstay it's welcome. It's nothing new, but the execution of the well-utilized ideas is superb. Check out fool around for a great example of the sound of the album.

Recommended song: fool around

Apple Music link

Wesley Joseph - Glow

An eclectic alternative album touching on indie, R&B, rap and more in the space of 23 minutes. MONSOON is probably my favourite, but there's no representing an album (or EP depending on your definitions) with such diversity in such a short space of time.

Recommended song: MONSOON

Apple Music link

Bleachers - Gone Now

A thematically consistent indie album from prolific producer Jack Antonoff that sounds like a prototype for The 1975's Being Funny in a Foreign Language. If you're gonna be interested in it, I think that's probably all you need to hear.

Recommended song: Hate That You Know Me

Apple Music link

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Kaleidoscope

Opening with Happy House which modern R&B fans may recognize from it's sample in The Weeknd's House of Balloons, this album otherwise left me a little bit disappointed given the reputation of Siouxsie & The Banshees in alternative rock circles. Happy House, Paradise Place, and Skin did all stand out for me though, and hinted at the enjoyment I'd find with the next album on this list.

Recommended song: Happy House

Apple Music link

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Ju Ju

This was a great listen. Siouxsie & The Banshees are 2 for 2 in my experience for great openers, with Spellbound potentially being my favourite from the album, with the jangle pop leaning guitars that went on to inspire one of my favourite songs in Bigmouth Strikes Again by The Smiths, and a performance by Siouxsie herself that is full of outcast charisma even by her standards.

Most of the album has a slight unsettling quality to it, and the themes discussed are adequately dark and, for some, off-putting. If you are interested in the darker sides of life, though, (or at least capable of ignoring it), you'll undoubtedly have a blast with this album. Every single song has something that really grabs me, from the fast, jangly guitars of Spellbound, to the sarcasm and anger of overdrive-laden track Monitor, any post-punk fan would have no trouble coming away from this album with something

Apple Music link

Model/Actriz - Dogsbody

Another brand new album and it could well be in my top 10, even top 5 albums of the year come December. The album is energetic, abrasive, and incredibly exciting. The best way I could think to describe the sound, and bear with me here, is that it sounds like BDSM, in that it is aggressive, and in many other contexts would be off-putting in it's approach, but something about the context makes it so that the more I *should* hate it, the more I love it. It also helps that it sounds like the vocalist is being edged throughout most of the album. For me, this is what rock should sound like. Bold, fast, inventive, aggressive, dynamic, and with lyrics that take a little time to fully grasp.

And I'd be awfully remiss to not mention that transition from Crossing Guard to Slate. It's incredibly smooth in a way that doesn't necessitate back to back listening, but benefits greatly from it.

This album has a lot to offer, and it's my favourite pure rock album in years. It's well worth a listen if any of what I said sounds good to you.

Apple Music link

Algiers - Shook

The general theme I've noticed from albums early on this year is cohesion in spite of (or maybe because of) stylistic variety, and this album is yet another example of that. It has a ton of different styles within it including elements of funk, jazz and R&B as well as some more experimental sounds and creative approaches. The album is pretty long, with 17 tracks over 54 minutes, but with the constant changes and excitement, that time just flies by.

Recommended song: Everybody Shatter

Apple Music link

[harginger]

POOKIE BEAR — Arataki Itto

Itto streams with his friends late into the night. When you text him, sweet and loving and funny as always, what would he do except respond?

Wrong choice.

⚠️ WARNINGS — explicit fem reader, use of term girlfriend, one mention of suicide (as a joke/offhanded response), sex jokes + 1 itto milf joke. thats it i tjink?

📧 AUTHOR NOTE — i wrote this in one sitting and then came back to edit like 2 hrs later so this is not very thoroughly proofread. this is dedicated to my bff luci who is itto gf real confirmed (i cant tag them cuz idk their tumblr😭)

🖊 WORD COUNT — 1.0K WDS

On any given TITZ stream, there’s always something going wrong. Thoma’s green screen falls, Zhongli’s mic breaks so badly it sounds like a historical artifact, Childe makes too many sex jokes and falls out of his chair miming penetration… nothing is ever smooth sailing. Itto is well aware of this fact, and regularly contributes to the chaos in every way possible, whether it be screaming like a little girl when the rat gets him in Cheese Escape, conducting Pavlovian mind experiments on Childe, all the way to doing full glam makeup looks on Thoma in the dead of night.

He never thought it’d be unintentionally.

It’s 3:47 AM, and the group is in a lull, scrolling on their phones and occasionally sharing some random thing they found on their Twitter timelines. Thoma’s started playing the full Hannah Montana discography in an attempt to start a digital rave, Childe is playing chess with an online bot (subsequently raging every time he loses), and Zhongli is crocheting while trying to give him pointers.

“Rook to E4.”

“No.” He moves his queen to the other side of the board, which instantly gets trapped by the opposing bishop. A whine escapes his lips as he slams his desk in agony, groaning and rocking back and forth like he’s just experienced the greatest tragedy of his lifetime.

“I told you so.”

As Ordinary Girl comes to a close, He Could Be The One blares through Thoma’s computer, and he shoots out of his chair to dance, encouraging the others to join. They all sit and watch as he breaks into a sad excuse for a disco boogie that looks more like an eighty-nine year old man with scoliosis trying to pick apples. Itto looks down to his phone and smiles, staring at a message from none other than you.

You, his old girlfriend from college. You, who made him feel the happiest he’s ever been. You, who parted ways with him after graduation and you, who started going out with him again after you met in the heart of Inazuma by chance.

You, who makes his cheeks flush red and his smile reach his ears as he opens your contact. It’s not much, but it’s enough to make Thoma’s retirement home moves fade from his mind.

YN!!!!❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

ITTo do u wanan do something tmrw❓

SIGMA ITTO😈

YES PELASE WHER DOBU WANNA GO‼️

YN!!!!❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

OK SO theres this traveling exhibition at the museum in inazuma city abt like history of teyvat in art. and i kinda wanted to go. SO if ur interested i can send u the link for tickets❣️⁉️

SIGMA ITTO😈

OF COURSE PLZ SEND

“Itto? Itto? Itto…?”

“Huh? Oh. Hi. Hey there.”

“Why are you grinning maniacally at your phone?”

He flushes and stammers for an answer. “Umm, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and saw a photo of your mom in a bathing suit. LOL.”

Childe scratches his head. “My mom has Facebook?”

“Yup. She friended me right back as soon as I requested, little boy. I’m about to be your stepfather…” he trails off, watching as his phone buzzes to life with an audio message from you. “Oh em gee. Oh my god. Your mom just DMed me back. Hold on, I gotta look at this.” Itto’s scrambling for a way to excuse how he shoves his headphones off and clicks rapidly for the mute button, turning his back to the camera as he listens to your voice ring through the speaker, throwing out some gross cheesy pick-up line with a million kissing noises that, horrifyingly so, make his heart flutter.

With surprising speed, he lifts the microphone to his mouth to respond with an equally corny voice message back. “I’ll see you there shnookums, my little pookie bear, my sugarplum pumpkin cupcake princess.” A loud string of cartoon kisses follow and a slight laugh escapes him at the thought of you listening to his antics. He’s smitten. Wholly, entirely, truly consumed by this stupid little crush on you. Is it even a crush anymore, if you reciprocate? It doesn’t matter. He’s here in the middle of the night, smiling like an idiot at the sound of only your voice. Nothing else can explain why he’s acting like a lovesick teenager again, just like when he first met you at freshmen orientation for new LHU students. Your laugh, your smile, the way you looked at him like he was the only other person in the universe. Not looked — look. He’s lucky enough to have you and your loving gazes back.

After Itto clicks send, he leans his head back in his chair with his stupid smirk still on his face, the idea of you laughing at his dumb response running through his mind. The complete radio silence from his friends makes him pause, though. Before, he could hear the faint resonation of The Best of Both Worlds through his discarded headphones, but now it’s like there’s no one there. And his chat is racing at a million miles an hour.

His spine tingles like someone poured cold water on him, slowly putting his headphones back on and switching to Discord to see the shocked faces of his friends staring back at him. Minus Zhongli, who’s still knitting his blanket.

“You seemed a little enthusiastic talking to my mom, huh, Itto?” Childe teases, his jaw half open in shock.

“Who was that? Please? Itto? You can tell me. We’ve been friends since forever. Please.” Thoma’s doing a stupid pouty face at the camera, trying to force his eyes to water for dramatic effect like the dumb emoji he always sees on Twitter.

He feels like killing himself on live. Burying his face in his hands, he mutters out your name so faintly he’s sure none of them will hear. But Zhongli does, and he repeats it to the other two, whose faces light up as they make random animalistic noises. They were there for the entirety of your relationship, but still. It’s embarrassing. Totally not like he cried to them for days when you broke up after graduation, what with him going back to Inazuma and you off to your next big job offer all the way in Fontaine.

“Itto, why didn’t you tell us? We’re your BFFs. Forever and ever and ever. Five-ever. I’m hurt.” Childe whines into his mic, still elated at the idea of him getting back with his university lover.

“Because I knew you guys would do this…”

Thoma grins as he leans in close. “Can you give us more info on your date with your ‘sugarplum pumpkin cupcake princess’?”

Itto hangs up in a flurry of laughter and embarrassment.

[sevlawless]

https://www.tumblr.com/sevlawless/729582192818307072/made-the-cover-for-the-album-post-seven-you?source=share

(reffering to the tags) - I care! Pls do tell me more. I'm dying to know more about arabellas discography. 😭🎶👀

PLSSKNDBDNDKSKSK i'd say that when seven was in the band the music was more upbeat but still had the punk rock vibe you know? and any lyrics arabella wrote reflected that <3 she still wrote abt shitty exes but that wasn't as bad if that makes sense? it was more like a one and done kinda thing like "okay i made this song abt it and that's all the energy i'm giving that situation" she definitely wrote all her feelings into a song and was happy to just leave it at that

but then seven leaves the band! and then one and done songs were out the window LMFAO when i tell yall this album post seven is so gut wrenching i am telling the TRUTH. dead apple also takes a kinda tonal shift i would say. it has more of a grungier edgier sound to it and the only thing that stayed the same were arabella's fiona apple-esque songs but even those lyrics are some of the saddest shit you've ever heard 😭

tldr: dead apple with seven was happy songs and the occasional sad one! dead apple without seven is arabella being a scourned woman and making it everyone's problem and a happy song is rare now 😁

[suicideslum]

Listening to the entire Deicide discography from beginning to end because, why the fuck not? We’re starting off with the ultimate death metal classic and self-titled debut ‘Deicide’. Great fucking album! \m/ I first listened to this album in the eighth grade. Until then I was listening to bands like Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. I had no idea a band like Deicide existed. I was blown the fuck away, man! Unholy shit!!

“After honing their sound in underground metal clubs for three years, Deicide came roaring out of Tampa with this self-titled 1990 debut. Florida had become a hub for the second wave of death metal, thanks to bands like Obituary and Death, both of whom recorded with Scott Burns at his Tampa-based Morrisound Recording Studio. American bands had taken the satanic themes of European death metal bands and crossbred them with the hyper-aggression of Slayer and Metallica. While it wasn’t the earliest death metal album to come out of Florida, Deicide’s first album was definitive. Where Norwegian metal had been icy and trebly, Deicide took the sound of death metal and made it thick and molten. Driven by the double-stacked guitars of brothers Eric and Brian Hoffman and Steve Asheim's indefatigable drumming, “Lunatic of God’s Creation,” “Deicide,” and “Dead by Dawn” raised the stakes of the entire metal genre. What makes this album potent isn't its satanic themes but the unrelenting physicality with which those themes are delivered.” — Apple Music

[puthyflapps]

hey homie, would you ever consider making a public pop punk playlist on spotify or something? you’ve introduced me to some bangers in the past and i am in need of new music!

My number one flaw is that I'm terrible at making playlists 😪 I'm mainly an apple music girlie but I'll use spotify because they make the playlists for you which saves me a lot of work

Tragically, I am incapable of picking select songs and arranging them in a good order. For some reason my brain can't comprehend that we don't need to put a band's entire discography on the playlist. I can share with you some of the playlists I follow:

Punk Unplugged

Covered in Punk

Pop Punk Powerhouses

Skatepark Punks

Pop Punk's Not Dead

I think this is the only playlist I've made and I'm like 9/10 sure it was just my most listened to songs from 2021

[ribcagecarnival]

ADMIT ONE • NOSO

I met Abby Hwong, professionally known as NoSo, on Facebook. It was 2015, and USC’s newly admitted class of 2019 was scrambling to figure out who was cool. Abby was one of the only members of the pop program I could find online, so I added us plus a couple other stragglers to our own private Facebook group, eagerly awaiting our IRL meeting. That early meeting was sweaty and awkward—we clung to each other at a terribly uncomfortable orientation lunch—but when I heard her sing during a songwriting class, I was stricken. Her voice is warm and low and light, like a campfire, and her lyrics are some of the most surprising, witty, memorable lines I’ve ever heard. She’s also one of the best guitar players I’ve ever heard, full stop. Everything about her is one-of-a-kind, and she is also the funniest person I know. It has been a joy being best friends with Abby, whether we’re sending each other memes or having synchronized existential crises about our careers or planning the inevitable tour of our inevitable duo, Token Minority. I love NoSo, and you should too. Here is her ticket to the Carnival (plus some explanations behind her selections). She is a frequent guest of honor.

1. Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush (Kate Bush was truly ahead of her time with production choices and I can hear her influence on so many newer artists I love)

2. Everywhere - Michelle Branch (I! LOVE! THIS SONG!!!! It makes me feel like a character in an early 2000s movie (I would realistically be the token minority best friend to the protagonist 💓)

3. Eugene - Arlo Parks (The lyrics truly represent the adolescent queer experience. I love how blunt and straight forward the song is; it calls someone out in a gentle way that shows residual hurt and longing.)

4. Little Lies - Fleetwood Mac (this song makes me feel like a sneaky witchy bitch in the best way possible. I love Rumors but Tango in the Night is also one of my favorite albums)

5. Little Red Corvette - Prince (my parents are obsessed with prince and showed me clips of Purple Rain when I was a kid, but I didn’t get it at the time. Then in college while studying his music I fell in love with his discography and understood how brilliant he was)

6. I Was Tired of Being Alone - Patrice Rushen (Patrice is the dean of the program Jensen and I were in at school so her music always brings me immense joy, but also the arrangement on this album is CRAZY. Every instrumental part is so good)

7. Box of Rain - the Grateful Dead (this is my favorite song to walk to. It makes me want to lay in the grass and eat triscuits and fig newtons or something old men like)

8. Conrad - Ben Howard (probably the most beautiful guitar recording I’ve ever heard. he’s one of my favorite artists because his songs usually have unconventional structure and build in a cinematic way)

9. Peekaboo - Red Velvet (yes this is kpop and I LOVE THIS GROUP! I’m so thrilled that a small country like Korea has dominated a part of the music industry. It makes me proud to see people who look like me breaking into mainstream culture)

10. So Into You - Tamia (this is one of my favorite songs ever. I saw kehlani at pride where she performed a cover of it live and I still haven’t recovered)

11. Limp - Fiona Apple (the arrangement and production is SICK. Fiona Apple is one of my favorite vocalists because it’s almost like she’s singing through gritted teeth and you always believe what she’s singing)

12. Heart Like a Wheel - Linda ronstadt (this song is gorgeous, it made me want to learn piano because the melody is so lovely. I’m a sucker for a good ballad)

13. Prom - SZA (this is my favorite song off of Ctrl. That album was the soundtrack to a year where I experienced drastic and necessary life changes; that seems to be a universal experience also)

[objectivesubjectivity]

Ranking all the 2020 CDs I bought in 2020: 1-9

The following is the final entry in an entirely subjective and personalized ranking of the 27 albums released in 2020 that I physically purchased this year.

9. Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone: This is probably the most tenuous ranking of all of the albums on the list but I’m such a sucker for emo bands who wear their Counting Crows fandom so blatantly on their sleeve. Must hear track(s): Self-Destruction (As a Sensible Career Choice), Beach Front Property, Generation Loss

8. Tim Heidecker - Fear of Death: I never know if he’s being satirical or serious but, goddamn, can he write a good song. Must hear track(s): Fear of Death, Come Away with Me, Backwards

7. Bruce Springsteen - Letter To You: It’s unwieldy, it’s cliche, it’s grandiose, and it’s the most comforting and affirmational album I’ve heard since the pandemic hit. Kudos to Bruce for being there, yet again, when we truly need him. (Also, the second half of the album far surpasses the first which is a rare album feat!) Must hear track(s): Ghosts, Rainmaker, Last Man Standing, Song for Orphans, I’ll See You in My Dreams

6. Pinegrove - Marigold: Speaking of affirmations, “Dotted Line’s” refrain of “I don’t know how but I’m thinking it’ll all work out,” hit me harder than it might have under any other circumstance. Must hear track(s): Dotted Line, Endless, Phase

5. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - X: The Godless Void and Other Stories: Enveloping, proggy yet accessible, and consistent from front to back. A welcome surprise as T.o.D. enters the double digits of their discography. Must hear track(s): Gravity, All Who Wander, Don’t Look Down, Into the Godless Void

4. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud: The stand out tracks are delightfully earwormy, warm and approachable, and warrant deeper lyrical introspection. The kicker is...nearly every track stands out. Must hear track(s): Fire, Hell, Lilacs, Can’t Do Much, St. Cloud

3. Hum - Inlet: Hum’s brilliance lies in the hidden complexity of their simplicity and straightforwardness; while the first couple of listens impress, it’s only when the layers start to reveal themselves that their genius shines. Each spin is a journey ripe with discovery and I cannot wait to embark again. Must hear track(s): Shapeshifter, Step Into You, Waves, Cloud City, In the Den

2. Run the Jewels - RTJ4: Cementing themselves in the upper echelon of rap-duos, Mike and El strip away all the fat and bring a non-stop verbal spectacle in 11 tracks and just under 40 minutes, complete with solid cameos and top-of-the-line production. Must hear track(s): ooh la la, JU$T, walking in the snow, yankee and the brave (ep. 4)

1. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters: Fiona Apple miraculously marries the wildly adventurous with unrelenting catchiness. An album for and of the moment that will most certainly last far beyond this brutal year. Must hear track(s): Drumset, Shameika, Newspaper, Cosmonauts, I Want You To Love Me, Heavy Balloon (I mean, honestly, you should just listen to the whole damn thing).

[hermitologist]

My 20 Favorite Records of 2019

Lists! Everyone loves them. Here’s another one.

These are the records I liked the most this year. That doesn’t mean they’re the *best*, that means I liked them. You might not. That’s fine! You might be livid that Porpoise Corpse’s neo-classical folk prog double LP isn’t on my list because it’s an easy top 5 record for you, but maybe electric mandolin solos, blast beats, and harpsichord runs aren’t my thing. That’s fine too! It’s infinitely cooler and far more productive to let people enjoy the art they enjoy rather than wasting precious minutes of your life trying to convince the entire internet to have the exact same taste in music.

That said ... 

This years list is chock full of the usual, if you’re familiar with my taste at all -- tons of super heavy bummer jams, a handful of Radiohead-adjacent mid-tempo rock of the indie or emo variety, some hearty post-rock, some tried-and-true vets doing the thing they do very well ... again, and a few outliers. The honorable mentions list gets considerably more eclectic if you’re looking for stuff that sounds less like a soundtrack to various stages of the apocalypse.

As always, I welcome your suggestions for records and podcasts I might’ve missed the boat on. There’s way too much good stuff out there to keep up with, so PLEASE help me out.

Also: When I am not being a lazy pile of crap, I try to haul my dadbod around town for a run a few days a week and will listen to/briefly review a record in the process. Almost every record on this list has been a part of one of those posts, so if you’re interested in such a thing, please check out my Instagram.

BONUS: I put together a playlist on Spotify of my favorite song from each of my top 20 records, and a separate one for the 51 other records I liked this year, so if you’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, just needle drop a little and see if anything grabs you. And if anyone’s feeling productive and has time to do an Apple Music playlist, I’ll link and credit you.

Top 20 Spotify Playlist

Top 20 Apple Music Playlist -- Thanks, Austin!

Other Faves Spotify Playlist

But before we get to the Top 20, a couple of records that deserve a nod ... 

Record I Listened To The Most In 2019 Whether I Wanted To Or Not

Angel Du$t - Pretty Buff

This is my four-year-old son’s favorite record, and while I’m trying to round out his musical palate by throwing on all sorts of different bands while we’re hanging out, he insists on either “no music” or “The Basketball Song” (which is “Big Ass Love”). I have no idea how or why his little amazingly weird brain equates the song with basketball (a sport he doesn’t really play or watch or think about ever, to my knowledge), but it does. He LOVES IT. I’ve got to admit, I didn't care for the song all that much when I first heard it, but it’s an earworm, and some 3000 plays later, I love it, and I love the record. Funny how that works out.

Record That Came out in 2009, But I Didn’t Discover Until 2019

Self-Evident - Endings

Endings was neck-and-neck with my favorite record of 2019 for spins this year. Coincidentally, the it was recommended by someone from the band who made my #1 record, and it has moments where it sounds a whole hell of a lot like my #1 record. Blows my mind that a band that was/is so incredibly in my wheelhouse sonically, that has released nine LPs over an 18 year career, and operates in circles incredibly close to a ton of bands I love and respect and nerd out about music with somehow managed to elude me for the better part of two decades. At any rate I’m incredibly stoked to have finally found them, absolutely love them, and honestly might’ve listened to this LP 20 times in a matter of a few days when I got my first taste. It’s that good. 

And now for the list ... 

20) Remote Viewing - It’s Better This Way

Super nasty, dark, sludgy, well-crafted noise rock out of London that fits somewhere in between KEN Mode and early-Kowloon Walled City sonically. You’d think it was pretty crazy to have a band be so locked in and fully formed as early as LP2, but then you find out they’re ex-members of Palehorse, Million Dead, and I Want You Dead and it all kinda makes sense. Unfortunately, the song on the playlist is from a previous LP (because the new one is inexplicably not on Spotify), but you can and should get the new record on Bandcamp.

19) From Indian Lakes - Dimly Lit

I’ve been a big fan of FIL for years, but have always been at a bit of a loss when it comes time to describe them. It’s hazy and dreamy, but not quite shoegazey ... it’s insanely infectious and pleasing to the ear, but not really poppy ... it’s forward-thinking and experimental, but not quite art-rock or groggy at all. It’s just excellent. Full stop. If you dig anything from Tycho, to Radiohead, to The Cure, to Slowdive you’ll enjoy this.

18) Stray From The Path - Internal Atomics

Furious, mathy, riff-heavy hardcore from Long Island that sounds like a reformed Rage Against The Machine had spent the past two decades doing steroids, mainlining Red Bull, and studying the finer points of Moshology. The breakdowns are massive, the drumming absolutely mental, and the vocals pissed as hell. At my advanced age, it’s rare that a record makes me want to pit and/or try to deadlift cars, but this one’s got that magic.

17) Glassing - Spotted Horse

Mostly spazzy, occasionally dreamy, black-metal sprinkled post-hardcore that fits in very well with bands like Portrayal Of Guilt and Respire in the rebirth of traditional screamo. It’s fits and starts of chaos and beauty, and it all sounds and feels like it could completely go off the rails at any time which is what made bands like Orchid and Majority Rule and Saetia so great back in the day. 

16) La Dispute - Panorama

It’s no secret that I’m a big La Dispute fan (Thrice has toured the US with them twice in the past decade), and I love all of their records, but I’m pretty sure I can say with full confidence that this is the best record they’ve ever made. Everything is firing at peak performance, and the way the record is arranged and sequenced makes it feel more like a film score than a collection of songs. It’s a complete work -- meant to be listened to as such, which is a daunting artistic task, but they pulled it off in grand fashion.

15) Russian Circles - Blood Year

This band has been in the upper echelon of post-rock bands for as long as I can remember, and Blood Year is another incredible addition to their already stellar discography. These guys are all absolute monsters at their given instruments, and one of the best live rock bands on the planet, so getting to hear them do their thing on a record that manages to actually capture that live energy and ambience really does the trick for me. 

14) Greet Death - New Hell

This one kinda came outta nowhere for me, as I (ashamedly) was not familiar with them prior to giving New Hell a spin. It blew me away. I’m a total sucker for bummer jams, and this record is full of top-quality sludgy, sad, shoegazey goodness. If you dig Cloakroom, O’ Brother, or Pianos Become The Teeth this is gonna be right up your alley.  

13) Sleep Token - Sundowning

Another record that came out of nowhere to knock me on my ass. I downloaded it before a transatlantic flight on a whim (after hearing about 30 seconds of the opening track), hoping that it would be a nice, mellow companion to ease my in-flight anxiety. And it was, but whoa was it so much more than that. It kinda sounds like a collab between Active Child and Deftones -- poppy, melancholic piano ballads, brought to crushing crescendos via super heavy drop-tuned sludge -- which sounds like a mess, but it works so well. It’s a killer record and probably would’ve landed higher on this year’s list if it hadn’t come out so late in the year.

12) Big Thief - UFOF

This one’s a bit of an outlier, and a damn good one at that. I came across UFOF via a friend’s recommendation before the hype train had left the station, and honestly didn’t know what to expect. Said recommendation simply said that it was good and infectious and probably a few other things that I can’t recall, but didn’t mention the folk thing (which is great because I probably would have passed). The friend was right. It’s good (maybe even great), incredibly infectious, and gave me a nice reprieve from the heavy stuff I tend to listen to on the regular.

11) Cave In - Final Transmission

I’m beyond thankful we got any new music from Cave In after Caleb passed. They owed us nothing, and had every right to walk away, but managed to rally to release a killer record that is heavy both sonically and conceptually, and still manages to give me chills despite being live demos recorded in a rehearsal room. There are few bands on the planet who’ve inspired me like Cave In have, and seeing them pull together to grieve and forge ahead to continue to build their legacy is even more inspiring. What a band.

10) Pedro The Lion - Phoenix

My favorite singer/songwriter of my generation decided to revive the project that made me a fan of his in the first place. That project put out a record for the first time in 15 years, and I had unreasonably high expectations for it. Phoenix delivered and then some. I remember sitting at my kitchen table, weeping into my cup of coffee the first time I heard Phoenix, the same way Control used to make it seem like the inside of the Thrice van was getting a little dusty during cross-country drives back in the early 00s. It blows my mind that David Bazan can be such a prolific artist, write such insanely powerful music, and seem incapable of writing a dud song. 

9) Coilguns - Watchwinders

This Swiss noise-rock band kicks unbelievable amounts of ass. Their Millenials LP made my favorites list last year, and when I heard they had a follow up coming out a little over a year later, my gut reaction was to worry they’d blow it with a new record that was either rushed and/or half-assed, or lose the plot and take a hard left turn and make something markedly un-Coilguns. They did neither. The made an absolute monster of an album, that was apparently written in the studio, and is full of live energy in rawness that is pretty tough to capture in a sterile atmosphere like a studio. Watchwinders dropped in late October, and if I’d had a bit more time with it, I could see it moving up to my Top 5. It’s that good. I find myself going back to it constantly.

8) Blessed - Salt

This record kinda defies description, but it reminds me of everything from Pile to Menomena to Interpol to La Dispute to Devo at times. As scatterbrained and incongruent as that might sound, I assure you it rules. It was in verrrry heavy rotation this year -- mostly for the utterly filthy drum groove on the final track. If you like your music catchy, but slathered in weird, this is definitely gonna do the thing for you. It’s an incredible record.

7) Herod - Sombre Dessein

I hadn’t heard of this band before they popped up on a Spotify playlist early this year, and when “Reckoning” hit, it absolutely flattened me. You know that nuclear apocalypse scene from Terminator 2? That’s what “Reckoning” did to me. It was undoubtedly my favorite ultra-heavy track of the year, and while it’s my favorite song on the record by a pretty large margin, the rest of Sombre Dessein kicks ass too. It’s 42 minutes of crushing heaviness that kinda sounds like a blend of Cult Of Luna, Meshuggah, and Gojira. Heavy. Pissed. Unrelenting. And Outstanding.

6) Pile - Green & Grey

Every time I try to describe Pile to someone I fail. On Wikipedia they’re described as “indie rock”, which ... sure, I suppose? There’s a little post-punk in there, a little post-rock, a little noise-rock, nods to classic rock (maybe?), a little of that southern magic that made Colour Revolt so great (but Pile’s from Boston so hmm ... ), some country even? Do you like weird guitars? Freakish musicians? Melancholic crooning? I dunno. It’s all over the place, but in the best ways possible. They’re a singular band, and so damn good. Green & Grey is stellar addition to a discography that is already full of incredible music ... even if the album cover gives makes me want to fold those blankets and put them away.

5) PUP - Morbid Stuff

Was this the year that PUP broke? Definitely seems like it, and rightfully so. Morbid Stuff is my favorite thing they’ve ever done, but I’ve absolutely loved everything they’ve ever put out, so that’s saying a lot. Per usual, it’s insanely infectious and anthemic without being traditionally poppy or relying on tropes to burrow into your skull and take up residence there. It’s uplifting musically, but kinda depressing lyrically, which does this weird push/pull thing in my brain that makes it impossible to stop listening to. The musicianship is fantastic, the guitar parts especially -- like the guitar line in “Scorpion Hill” wow. I really needed a record to fill the gaping void between the metal/sludge/noise and the ambient/downtempo electronica I listened to this year, and Morbid Stuff fit the bill perfectly.

4) Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

These guys belong on the Mount Rushmore of Post-Rock/Metal with Neurosis and Isis. Nobody has done it better than them over the past two decades, and A Dawn To Fear is arguably their best work to date. It, like any Cult Of Luna requires a great deal of patience, but man if they don’t make the wait worth it. They’re the masters of the slow build to an absolutely crushing climax, the dynamic shifts that leave you feeling like you got hit by a freight train, the nuanced instrumentation that tells a different story each time you listen to a certain section of a song. They’re absolute masters at their craft, and this record is them at their peak. 

3) Big|Brave - A Gaze Among Them

Another record that came out of nowhere to completely floor me. I hadn’t heard a single note from this band until a friend recommended I check out the opening track, “Muted Shifting Of Space”. I did ... and that plodding drum and bass pulse with dark, swirling, ethereal guitar swells/feedback and soaring vocals building into a huge release of sludgy, drop-tuned goodness checked off all the boxes for me. I was hooked. The atmosphere and dynamics Big|Brave have built their sound around give every song a cinematic feel -- if you close your eyes, can you see drone footage of landscapes too? . If you dig post-rock/metal that is experimental around the edges, moody, absurdly heavy, and has both feet firmly planted in sludge, this is a must-have record. 

2) Cloudkicker - Unending

If you’ve been following me on social media or reading these year-end lists for a while you’re probably pretty familiar with Cloudkicker by now because any time we get new music I can’t shut up about it and the record invariably ends up on this list. This instance is no different. Unending is the first LP we’ve gotten from Ben Sharp in four years, and it’s worth the wait and then some. He’s managed to pull from every era of CK and turn it into a masterpiece mash-up of styles without it ever feeling rehashed or uninspired. I’d go far as to say this tops Beacons and Fade for me, and comes awfully close to challenging Subsume for my favorite Cloudkicker record of all time and space. There’s soooo much progressive and djenty masturbatory metal garbage floating in the ether right now. Hearing the one of the kings do the damn thing properly is incredibly refreshing.

1) Town Portal - Of Violence

No surprise here. I’ve been crapping my pants about this band ever since my good friend Scott Evans shared their music with me a couple years ago. I’ve been unhealthily obsessed ever since. The magical progressive rock/metal these three guys are capable melts and massages my brain in a way few bands ever have. Of Violence is incredibly mathy without ever feeling awkward, it’s melodic without being conventional, it’s discordant without being abrasive, it’s heavy as shit without being overloaded with distortion, it’s progressive as hell without ever coming remotely close to devolving into a wankfest, and it’s damn near perfect in every way. Songwriting? Great. Tones? Phenomenal. Musicianship? Otherworldly. Execution? Flawless. Mix? Perfect. Replayability? (Not a word, but ... ) PUT THIS RECORD ON A GODDAMN LOOP AND NEVER TURN IT OFF. Can you tell I like it? You might too, so give it a listen. And if by chance you do not like it, please see a doctor. You’re broken.

OTHER STUFF I REALLY ENJOYED THIS YEAR

HEAVY JAMS

METZ - Automat

Buildings - Negative Sound

Helms Alee - Noctiluca

Minors - Abject Bodies

Periphery - Periphery 4: HAIL STAN

Employed To Serve - Eternal Forward Motion

Elizabeth Colour Wheel - Nocero

Defeater - S/T

Pelican - Nighttime Stories

Spotlights - Love And Decay

Great Falls - A Sense of Rest

Baroness - Gold & Grey

The End of the Ocean - -aire

Vous Autres - Champ du Sang

Brutus - Nest

Torche - Admission

Glose - The Second Best of Glose

Throes - In The Hands of an Angry God

Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind

meth. - Mother of Red Light

SECT - Blood of the Beasts

Kublai Khan TX - Absolute

Seizures - Reverie of the Revolving Diamond

Dead Kiwis - Systematic Home Run

Norma Jean - All Hail

Refused - War Music

Chamber - Ripping / Pulling / Tearing

MIDRANGE JAMS

Jimmy Eat World - Surviving

Elbow - Giants of All Sizes

Raketkanon - RKTKN #3

Bad Religion - Age of Unreason

The Appleseed Cast - The Fleeting Light of Impermanence

DIIV - Deceiver

Idiot Pilot - Blue Blood

Microwave - Death Is A Warm Blanket

Low Dose - S/T

SWMRS - Berkeley’s On Fire

Self-Evident - Lost Inside The Machinery

B. Hamilton - Nothing and Nowhere

MELLOW JAMS

Trade Wind - Certain Freedoms

Square Peg Round Hole - Branches

Great Grandpa - Four of Arrows

Local Natives - Violet Street

Rhone - Leaving State

Shlohmo - The End 

Tycho - Weather

Bon Iver - i,i

Drowse - Light Mirror

Bonniesongs - Energetic Mind

Telefon Tel Aviv - Dreams Are Not Enough

GoGo Penguin - Ocean In A Drop

Bent Knee - You Know What They Mean

THE PODCAST QUEUE

The Deadcast (RIP) - sports, culture

Chapo Trap House - politics

The Rich Roll Podcast - health, wellness, endurance sports

Hang Up & Listen - sports

Effectively Wild - baseball

The Gist - current events

The Downbeat - drums, humor

To Live & Die In LA - true crime

FilmDrunk Frotcast - movies, culture, humor

The Modern Drummer Podcast with Mike & Mike - drums (duh)

The Trap Set - also drums

Song Exploder - songwriting