Best Of 2020: Electronic

Electronic music comes in many flavors and sometimes it's as much about the attitude as the instruments used. But one thing all the albums below have in common is the presence of synthetic sounds or treated instruments. My Top 25 included five albums that could slot in here (Molly Joyce, Matt Evans, Nnux, Miro Shot, and Yaeji), but there were a number of others that transported me, which I have detailed below. Let them take you places.

A few of these were included in previous posts - links to those will come first, followed by new reviews.

Hear tracks from these albums here or below.

Of Note In 2020: Electronic

Roger Eno & Brian Eno - Mixing Colors (also check out Film Music: 1976-2020)
Seabuckthorn - Through A Vulnerable Occur (also check out Other, Other)
Beatrice Dillon - Workaround

Daniel Wohl - Project Blue Book Soundtrack This show, a UFO procedural on The History Channel, has ended, but Wohl's expertly crafted and evocative music lives on in this tightly assembled soundtrack album. While the emotional depths of Corps Exquis or Etat are only hinted at, Wohl's burnished textures and subtle structures are put to excellent use. 

Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never I'm not sure if Daniel Lopatin, who performs as OPN, reached a new level of feeling on his soundtrack for Uncut Gems or if a key turned in me, giving new access to his music, but this new album is similarly dazzling. One main difference is the presence of hopeful and even upbeat sounds, as opposed to the unremitting (and wonderful) grimness of Uncut Gems. His use of unexpected sonic juxtapositions and overlays puts him in the class of master bricoleurs, giving us soundscapes both adventurous and assured. I'm now looking forward to investigating the last decade or more of ONP albums to see what I missed the first time around!

Various Artists - Music From SEAMUS, Vol. 3 and Vol. 23 These archival releases from the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States are consistently fascinating, whether it's the mutating piano on Larry Nelson's Order And Alliance (1991) from the first or Chester Udell's assemblage of metallic and white noises on Steel Golem (2011-12) from the second. And how cool to see Switch~Ensemble crop up here, in a recording of Christopher Chandler's Smoke And Mirrors from 2013, a gorgeous miniature of enhanced chamber music.

Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders This is an album to sink into, as Lattimore's harp loops and echoes, like ripples on a pond, enhanced by delicate touches of guitar and synth from Slowdive's Neil Halstead. File under: Balm for the soul.

Corntuth - Music To Work To There's some of the simplicity and cockeyed optimism of Raymond Scott's Soothing Sounds For Baby in these 13 tracks "written on the fly on a 1983 Yamaha DX7 and run through a Yamaha R100," but also unexpected moments of drama and a melodic sense straight from pop music. A-009 even brings a touch of soul to the experience. Whether you choose to have this delightful collection accompany your work or a strenuous session of cloud gazing is up to you, but I think you'll find it equally appropriate to either occasion.

Epic 45 - We Were Never Here There were always ambient touches to their gorgeous future-folk songs, never more so than on their masterpiece, Weathering, which was both in my Best Of 11 and 100 Best Albums Of The 2010's. On this lush album, they go all in - no words and few beats - and have arrived at their best since Weathering, with only a hint of the 80's tinniness that has crept into their work of late. Listen carefully and it may lead you down a hall of memories you forgot you had.

Emily A. Sprague - Hill, Flower, Fog Like Epic 45, Sprague is a very good songwriter (work she releases as Florist), who also pushes into ambient electronics, and this may be her best yet in that field, with much of the tuneful charm of her song-based work. As the title suggests, engagement with nature is an inspiration for her work so if your quarantine has you missing the outside world, put up the video for Star Gazing on the biggest screen in your house and revel in imagery and sound.

Glass Salt - Greetings There's a sense of intuitive collage to these tracks by Caylie Staples and Johann Diedrick, with voices set alongside synth sounds and unidentified percussive noises. There's a gentleness here, too, perhaps a product of what appears to be a seamless collaboration, something to which we can all aspire. Yet another great release from Whatever's Clever!

Sofie Birch - Hidden Terraces and Behind Her Name Chestnuts Fall Forever On these three long tracks, Birch combines piano, field recordings, and electronics in what feel like films for the mind. The way she imperceptibly moves from section to section in each piece gives you a sense of a firm structural hand even as you lose yourself in the languor.

Michael Grigoni & Steven Vitiello - Slow Machines A shimmering combination of Grigoni's luminous work for stringed instruments of all sorts and Vitiello's enhancements, including synths, field recordings, etc. Vitiello is an old college friend and usually plies his trade more in the realms of installation-based sound art so I'm thrilled to have this cogent and supremely listenable album to enjoy at home - and share with you.

Ian William Craig & Daniel Lentz - Frkwys Vol. 16: In A Word Collaborating with pianist Lentz seems to have brought new subtlety to Craig's signature glitched and chopped vocals. Contemplative, but with an edge.

Nils Frahm - Tripping With Nils Frahm Aside from one or two overly sentimental solo piano moments, this is genuinely thrilling - in a quiet way - as Frahm builds up his hypnotic electro-acoustic tracks in front of a rapturous live audience. Get closer to the experience by watching the documentary film.

Narducci - El Viejo Soundtrack Matthew Silberman, who records as Narducci, shows great skill with texture and dynamics, drawing you through the narrative of this documentary about athlete Thom Ortiz. Narducci has been busy this year - he also released a soundtrack for another documentary, Until the Day Someone Puts Me in a Coffin, about Brazilian Ju Jitsu, and a single called Ancient Dialogue, an intriguing blend of sampled Inuit singing and electronics with a true ceremonial flair. I could do with more of that combination, but instead I'll just put the video on repeat and go tripping with Narducci.

Taylor Brook - Apperceptions Composer Brook shows a very different, but no less innovative, side of himself here than on the cutting edge chamber music of Ecstatic Music, his 2016 album with Tak Ensemble. Featuring improvisations for his electric guitar and an "audio-corpus-based AI improviser" he designed, these tracks are full of sinuous melodic lines and chords that feel lit from within, gently growing more complex as the computer takes up the themes and provides its own variations. Should the singularity ever occur, I hope Brook and his software collaborator are on hand to provide the soundtrack.

Adam Cuthbért & Daniel Rhode - Greet The World Every Morning With Curiosity And Hope The title of this latest from the modular masters of Slashsound says it all for this perfect blend of burnished tones and cautiously optimistic vibes. And what better way to start the new year?

For similar noises, check into this archive playlist with much more where these came from and follow the 2021 playlist to see what this year brings!

You may also enjoy:
Best of 2019: Electronic
Best of 2018: Electronic
Best of 2017: Electronic
Best of 2016: Electronic

Best Of 2018: Rock, Folk, Etc.

The “Etc.”in this category used to mean mostly jazz, Latin and what I’m calling “global” to refer to music from outside the U.S. that doesn’t easily slot in elsewhere. But in an effort to tame the beast, I’ve now broken those genres out into their own list. Not only will this help make this post more coherent - especially when listening to the playlist - but it will ensure that extraordinary albums from those areas don’t get lost in the shuffle. A future post will give them a place to shine.

Even so, nearly half of the songs and pieces I put in my general “Of Note” playlist for 2018 were sorted into rock and folk. Part of that is likely due to the fact that I was born in 1964, which makes rock & roll one of my first languages. But mostly I think it’s due to the power of song and its abilities as a form of communication. Of course, much of what follows is sonically adventurous as well, which speaks of the protean nature of this music, some of which was deemed simplistic at its birth. But there is a wide gulf between simple and elemental and those whom these records touch will be firmly aware of the difference.

Besides the brilliant records in this category that demanded a place in my Top 25, I found time to point you toward other great music in the previous posts I list below. Don't miss Seabuckthorn's misty acoustic fantasias, David Garland's alchemy of folk, electronic and classical, Courtney Barnett's guitar-driven deep thoughts, Father John Misty's wry soft-rock, Melody Fields' lush psych, Snail Mail's emotionally piercing indie or the tough yet melodic sounds of Starcrawler, Wand and Wooden Shjips. Unclassifiable albums by Ethan Woods, Oracle Hysterical and Thomas Bartlett & Nico Muhly should fascinate listeners of folk, chamber music and even prog rock. Then there's the gimlet-eye of Eddie Dixon, the classy pop of Dubstar, the even classier folk of Olivia Chaney, gorgeous takes on Americana from Ocean Music, John Calvin Abney and The Dead Tongues, and, finally, soul-infused folk-rock from Phil Cook and Billy Joseph. Whew! Following that are very brief takes on many others that you really should hear. The story of music in 2018 would be incomplete without at least a passing familiarity with all of them.

Previously Noted

One Day In 2018
Ethan Woods - Mossing Around

Outliers, Part 1
Oracle Hysterical - Hecuba
Thomas Bartlett & Nico Muhly - Peter Pears: Balinese Ceremonial Music

Outliers, Part 2
Seabuckthorn - A House With Too Much Fire
David Garland - Verdancy

Record Roundup: Rock 100's
Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel
Father John Misty - God's Favorite Customer
Jane Church - Calimocho Molotov! (Note: the version of the album reviewed here is no longer available; the new version is one of the best releases of early 2019 and will be reviewed later!)
Melody Fields - Melody Fields
Roaming Herds Of Buffalo - The Bugbears
Snail Mail - Lush
Starcrawler - Starcrawler
Wand - Perfume
Wooden Shjips - V.

Best Of 2018 (So Far)
Eddie Dixon - Coinstar

Record Roundup: Forms Of Escape
Dubstar - One

Record Roundup: Cornucopia Of Folk And Americana
Olivia Chaney - Shelter
Ocean Music - Various Releases
Phil Cook - People Are My Drug
The Dead Tongues - Unsung Passage
John Calvin Abney - Coyote
Billy Joseph & The Army Of Love - You Know Which Way To Go

Indie Rock, They Call It

Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy While I hope Will Toledo isn’t planning to remake all 459.33 albums he released on Bandcamp before his move to the upper echelons of indie success with Teens Of Denial, I get the impulse to apply a bigger budget and band to these songs to push them to their full potential. And damn if it doesn’t sound even more epic than you could have imagined, a furious distillation of all the best angst-ridden guitar music from the last 30 years. If he can’t ignore the retrospective impulse, however, I recommend a live album as he is a true rock & roll legend on stage!

Phantastic Ferniture - Phantastic Ferniture Julia Jacklin is an Australian treasure and her debut album Don't Let The Kids Win was one of the best of 2016. This side project, dashed off with old friends Elizabeth Hughes (guitar) and Ryan Brennan (drums) occasionally feels too dashed off, with underdeveloped guitar riffs, but when it rips, it really rips and it's a thrill to hear Jacklin let loose. Stoked for her next album, Crushing, out on February 22.

Nap Eyes - I’m Bad Now If you opened your mouth to sing and a voice rather similar to Lou Reed in his sweeter moments came out would you end your music career? Or start it? Nigel Chapman, singer for this Nova Scotian quartet, took the latter approach and I have enjoyed watching Nap Eyes grow up in public since 2011. This third album finds their trademark warmth and humor applied to songwriting that seems more focused and extroverted, led musically by Brad Loughland’s guitar, which has a new and welcome sting to it. 

Poptones

TV Girl - Death Of A Party Girl While the hints of hip hop have drained away, Brad Petering’s vision of a take on 60’s sunshine pop assembled from spare parts continues to be durably delightful for much of this album. The lyrics, which sometimes seem to be cribbed from text exchanges between hungover yet sensitive bros regretful about repeating their mistakes, provide pithy twists and turns along with the catchy melodies. 

Watoo Watoo - Modern Express After quenching the thirst of fans of St. Etienne, Stereolab, and Air for the last decade, this French duo has announced that this is their final album. They might say, “C’est la vie," but I say “Quel domage,” as their smart, breezy pop almost never fails. 

Historian - Distant Wells When I included a song from this in my Off Your Radar mixtape, I said: "Chris Karman should be a household name — at least in any household that values chamber pop. His songs as Historian often feature exquisite string arrangements, for one thing, and usually seem designed to accompany a rainswept view seen through murky glass.” If that’s your thing, look no further. 

Alekesam - Sound Proof Heart It’s been three years since All Is Forgiven, the first single I heard from this duo of Sal Masekela (son of Hugh) and Sunny Levine (son of Hugh’s longtime producer, Stewart). I was starting to wonder. Maybe the delay was due to trying to come up with more songs to match that propulsive, haunting tune. To be honest, they haven’t - but they’ve come close on many of these tracks, using elements of hip hop, soul and dub to arrive at a unique form of pop. Masekela has a great voice, too, and sounds like he was born an old soul. Even when they stumble, I can’t really say anyone is doing what they do. I was also thrilled to see they had dragged my beloved BLK JKS (whose debut, After Robots, was my #1 album of 2009) out of hiatus to record a stirring cover of Hugh Masekela’s The Boy’s Doin’ It, in tribute to the master. 

On The Arty Side

Rafiq Bhatia - Breaking English This guitarist-composer is known for the rich sonic environments he helps create for Son Lux. On his own, he sticks to instrumentals and displays an uncanny ability to convert noise, melody and chord sequences into pure emotion. While he has been “file under jazz” in the past, the tempos, rhythms and level of distortion here should thrill anyone who believes in the power of rock music. Strong lashings of gospel feel also lend a spiritual aspect to Bhatia’s music. Truly remarkable how much Breaking English speaks to me without saying a word. 

Big Red Machine - Big Red Machine It’s always a bit dodgy when someone whose music you love, in this case Justin Vernon (Bon Iver, Volcano Choir, etc.), joins forces with someone who leaves you cold, specifically Aaron Dessner of snooze-rockers The National. But I’m happy to say that this record hits all the right buttons for me, with exploratory settings for heartfelt songs. Perhaps it was producer Brad Cook or all the other collaborators who kept things down to earth. And could there be a more “Justin Vernon” opening line than what he sings on the gorgeous Gratitude: “Well, I better not fuck this up”?

Sunwatchers - II I’ve been rooting for these guys ever since a well-written recommendation had me buying their first album off the wall at Record Grouch, sound unheard. Their shamanistic, mantric free-jazz-rock was a bit schematic on that album, but on this follow-up they come loaded for bear. The arrangements are tight, with swerving tempos and shifting dynamics. Go deeper with Basement Apes, Vol. 1, a collection of live tracks and other material. And if you’re curious about the source of the passion behind their instrumental tracks, look no further than the cover, which states, “Sunwatchers stand in solidarity with the dispossessed, impoverished and embattled people of the world.” Amen. 

Fenster - The Room Made up of three Germans and one American, Fenster wowed me with debut album Bones in 2012, but there's been a bit of a diminishing returns scenario since then. Now they have my attention again, their off-kilter art-pop lusher and wittier than ever.

Lanz - Hoferlanz II Benjamin Lanz, who has toured in the bands of both The National and Sufjan Stevens, seems to agree with me that George Harrison's It's All Too Much is one of the greatest ever songs by The Beatles. That same sense of groovy joy infuses this album, although it travels far afield from that core of inspiration. Enjoy the journey. 

Epic 45 - Through Broken Summer Seven years on from Weathering, which was in my Top 20 for 2012, these poets of a lost England return with plenty of shimmering guitars and synths to accompany their hushed vocals, creating waking dreams. The occasional introduction of 80’s production tropes is something they may want to keep an eye on.

Empath - Liberating Guilt and Fear This four-song EP by my second favorite Philly art-rock band (after Palm) is a statement of purpose, blending the tempos of hardcore punk with complex guitar parts, spraying harmonic dissonance under vocals that shout and speak, sometimes sweetly. Adding their two singles (both called Environments) made for an excellent playlist if you're looking for an album-length experience - and I definitely am!

Golden Drag - Pink Sky Sometimes it’s the side project that connects, as with this new band from Shehzaad Jiwani of Greys, who are usually described as a “noise-punk” band. With Golden Drag, Jiwani has unleashed both his gift for melody and his love for 70’s art-rock (think Eno’s first two albums) for nine punchy, colorful tracks that will have you seeing him in a whole new light. 

Young Fathers - Cocoa Sugar It took three albums, but this trio from Scotland finally caught up with their own ideas and made a near classic. This is the kind of record Tricky used to make: sonically inventive, lyrically ambitious, only coming into focus after a few listens - and demanding further engagement.

On The Heavier Side

Uni - 2018 Singles This glam-psych explosion helmed by Charlotte Kemp-Muhl (bass, songwriting, evil designs) and David Strange (guitar heroics) has been teasing us with singles since 2017 with no sign of a full-length. Pretend these six crunchy, shiny, highly melodic, and maximally heavy tracks are Side One. Kemp-Muhl has been on my radar since she and partner Sean Lennon teamed up brilliantly as the Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger. Now that he’s off wanking around with the obnoxious Les Claypool, she’s the one keeping up the quality in their household. And the name is pronounced “Oonee,” which doesn’t make it any easier to Google. Put in the work, though - it will be worth it. 

Idles - Joy As An Act Of Resistance On their second album, this Bristol-based quintet finds the line between anger and compassion - and anthem and abrasion - with powerful consistency. I've heard they deliver even more on stage, so hoping to see them at Brooklyn Steel in May.

Acid Dad - Acid Dad If you seek the tight, melodic and kick-ass, look no further than these Brooklyn rockers as they deliver on the promise of their 2016 EP, Let's Plan A Robbery.

Mt. Wilson Repeater - V’ger While I try to keep up with Merge Records releases, I had never heard of this solo project by Jim Putnam, his main gig, Radar Brothers, or, in fact, Putnam himself. I don’t feel totally to blame as the most recent Radar Brothers album was five years ago and Putnam’s last under this moniker was a full decade in the past. No matter - I started here and fell fast for his fuzzed-out psych rock, which seesaws from high-energy jams to spaced-out mantras. Climb aboard and see if you enjoy the trip as much as I do. 

Folk-Infused

Caroline Says - No Fool Like An Old Fool Caroline Sallee likes to play with perceptions and expectations, taking her band name from a Lou Reed song and using titles like Sweet Home Alabama, Rip Off, and Cool Jerk on this, her second release. I think it’s a defense, cloaking her intimate, seemingly revealing songs in these costumes of the past so maybe they don’t feel so personal. I’m in favor of whatever she needs to do to get her songs finished and out in the world because they are lovely and more well-realized than ever. 

Hovvdy - Cranberry The name of this duo is pronounced “Howdy” - perhaps Charlie Martin or Will Taylor had a typewriter with a broken “W” - and some of that fuzzy 90’s slacker attitude (remember Lost In Austin on MTV? These guys are based in Austin) drifts into their low-fi, strummy aesthetic. What’s amazing is how often what seems aimless coheres to hit its target in song after song. 

Loma - Loma I’m not sure if this is a debut or a one-off as it involves Jonathan Meiburg, who’s usually pretty busy with Shearwater, and two other members, Emily Cross and David Duszynski, who have (had?) their own band called Cross Record. They met on tour, hit it off and came up with a compelling blend of haunting folk and immersive sonics. As stunning as the production is, however it would have no impact if the emotional well wasn’t overflowing. Let it quench your thirst for all the feels. 

Tomberlin - At Weddings “I wish I were a hero with something beautiful to say,” Sarah Beth Tomberlin sings on A Video Game. Well, anyone who can transform what sounds like an isolated childhood into the fully realized art of the songs on this debut is a hero to me. Singing hymns in church may have instilled her with a structural awareness as these songs, while ethereal at times, are as solid as a rock. 

Elizabeth Owens - Coming Of Age All credit due to Doug Nunnally, the fearless editor of Off Your Radar, whose new publication, The Auricular, turned me on to Owens. Her prog-folk is more well-developed from the standpoint of songwriting and arrangement than production (the drums, especially, lack warmth), which is, I imagine, due to budgetary constraints. But she is a true original (although Ode To Joni gives a clear clue about her inspirations) with a beautiful voice that demands close attention. I get chills imagining the moment when her ambitions are fully realized. 

Marissa Nadler - For My Crimes On her eighth album, Nadler’s rich voice graces 11 mesmerizing songs, some tinged with an exquisite darkness. The production, spare and atmospheric, is perfectly suited, and if you don’t get a lump in your throat when she sings “I can’t listen to Gene Clark anymore without you,” perhaps you should pay closer attention. 

Bettye LaVette - Things Have Changed Bob Dylan might want to hire the devastating team of Bettye LaVette and Steve Jordan to work on his next album - Jordan to produce and LaVette to help with song selection and maybe to tweak a lyric or three. That’ll probably never happen but we’ll always have this ripping set, which finds LaVette singing the hell out of a rather distinctive selection from the master’s catalog. LaVette has been making records since 1962 so she knows what she likes and also won’t suffer singing something she can’t feel her way into. For a taste of the true magic underway here, check out her rescue of Political World, a song I used to skip on Oh, Mercy, an album I otherwise love. Other times she turns her attention to songs I always knew were great but had trouble convincing others of their worth, like Seeing The Real You At Last or Going, Going Gone. If you’re having trouble finding this gem, look no further than the top of any list of single-artist cover albums. Or late-career resurgence albums. But don’t wait, whether you’re a Dylan fan or that other kind of person. 

There’s Still An Etc. 

Thom Yorke - Suspiria Yorke's Radiohead comrade Jonny Greenwood has been plying his trade in cinemas for years, but this is Yorke’s first feature-length score. While it would have been tempting to imitate or update some of the slippery Euro-prog of Goblin’s score for the original film, Yorke has taken a different approach, or approaches, as there are several styles at work here. Perhaps some of the more fear-inducing tonal pieces on this double album, impressive as they are, should have remained in the darkened theater as they tend to obscure the more characterful selections, i.e. the songs, which is where Yorke truly excels. What that means is that you will want to dig through to find gems like Suspirium, one of the most beautiful piano ballads Yorke has ever recorded. 

Listen to selections from all of these albums, except Mossing Around (come over, I’ll play it for you) here or below. You can also explore more in these genres with this handy archive playlist. 

You may also enjoy:

Best Of 2018: The Top 25

Best Of 2018: Classical

Best Of 2018: Electronic 

Best Of 2018: Hip Hop, RnB And Reggae

Best Of 2017: The Top 25

Best Of 2017: Rock, Folk, Etc. 

Best Of The Rest Of 14: Extended Play

The rise of vinyl proves that the death of the album has been greatly exaggerated. There are also those collections that are longer than a single and shorter than an LP, called EP's (for extended play). Whether released on plastic or digitally, EP's are still a great way for emerging bands to showcase more than a couple of songs or for established artists to keep up with demand with some bonus tracks or explore new territory. Here are the short-form albums that were part of what made 2014 a great year for music. I've also included a few one-offs, those occasional cases where one song was all you needed from a particular artist.

The Darcys - Hymn For A Missing Girl: When the Toronto quartet released this 21 minute epic on Record Store Day last year, I thought it signaled a promising new direction for the band. Taking all their love of darkness and inexorable drive into a long through-composed piece without losing any of their toughness, Hymn is a cinematic experience of a kind only hinted at in their three excellent albums (one a death-defying full-album cover of Steely Dan's Aja). 

Alas, it was not to be. The Darcys Hymn is also their epitaph as they announced their dissolution late last year. And it's a piece of music that will haunt you, from the ethereal choral beginning through the techno-ambient middle, which ends in a sonic smash cut to silence. From there, it builds back up, gaining speed and fury like a corroded TGV gaining traction on icy rails (Snowpiercer, anyone?), before heading into a long elegiac finale. It's simply great and I look forward to observing as generations to come discover the brief but potent catalog of The Darcys. 

Jason Couse (vocals, guitars, keys) and Wes Marskell (drums) are planning to continue working together, with an eye to translating their musical mastery into a more commercial enterprise. I wish them every success and have a feeling that whatever they end up doing it will be interesting. 

Isadora - Predators EP: I've often named them among Brooklyn's finest and this EP, consisting of three new songs and two from their debut, does a great job of consolidating their strengths. Come On Back, which I sang for a week after hearing it live for the first time, is one of the great songs of the year (cool video, too), featuring both a catchy chorus and visceral crunch. The song is undeniable and saw them start to get some well-deserved radio play. Their new management might have had something to do with that, as well. Whatever it is, momentum is building so catch a hold now. See them rule the stage at Mercury Lounge on January 21 - you'll thank me later. Album in 2015? We can only hope.

Moses Sumney - Mid-City Island: Sumney has a beautiful voice and a warm spirit, as evidenced by the five songs and sketches on this debut. There's some jazzy balladry here and some sun-kissed psych-folk, all adding up to a soaring and singular sonic vision. It all feels very dewy and fresh and I think we'll be hearing much more from Sumney in the future.

DeSoto - Sense Of Space: Matthew Silberman, an excellent sax player and composer, does more than blow his horn on this quirky and soulful musical adventure. I could go on about it at length - in fact I already did. The rest is up to you.

Seth Graham - Goop: Graham has been hoeing several rows in the underground scene for the last few years, running a label, creating album art, and releasing music. As expected, Goop is a bit of a mess, but in a very smart and colorful way. There is a sense of direction and editing to these atmospheric tracks which keeps you listening. One of the tracks is called This Is Just A Tape, a bit of self-deprecation that is likely a protective feint - Graham is talented and ambitious. Follow his winding path starting here.

Pere Ubu - Golden Surf II: This legendary band, with origins in the smog-filled halcyon of 1976 Cleveland, has been quietly resurgent in the last couple of years. David Thomas & Co. have drawn renewed creativity partly by embracing their dark side. This EP is a concentrated blast of their unsettling transmissions and is all the more effective due to that concision. If you want more they also released a full-length in 2014.

The GOASTT - Long Gone: Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl have been performing Syd Barrett's Long Gone in concert for a while now, helping the song to a more fully realized state than its author was capable of at the time. Fortunately they found time to put Long Gone on tape for posterity - and our listening pleasure. I'd like to think Barrett would feel vindicated. He knew it was a great song! The EP also features two songs that would have fit nicely on the wonderful Midnight Sun album.

Ex Hex - "Hot and Cold" b/w "Waterfall" & "Everywhere": Mary Timoney's work with Helium is one of the great lost edifices of the 90's. I even had to stick up for their smeared, off-kilter art-punk back then, endeavoring to enjoy a show at the Knitting Factory as my wife and my friend tried to convince me I shouldn't. Ex Hex has Timoney and a hand-picked cohort bashing through short, sharp songs in a much more straight-ahead vein than Helium. The album, Rips, has been getting a lot of love but all I really need are these three songs, a quick blast of power-trio fun. If I listen to more, it just starts to seem like a retreat.

Epic 45 - Monument: Specializing in ambient folk-based song-scapes, Epic 45 have an expert hand at combining electronic textures and live instruments, bringing to life a certain melancholy that feels universal and deeply personal at the same time. David Sylvian's Gone To Earth may or may not be a touchstone for them, but certainly fans of that landmark album will find a lot to like here. Then work your way back to Weathering, one of my Top Ten albums from 2012.

Singles

Of the ubiquitous songs that were unavoidable during the year, Pharrell's Happy was probably the most fun, delivering pop uplift on a cushion of his trademark chords, which are always just slightly unexpected. While it was so slight that it seemed to vanish as you listened to it, at least it didn't have the machine-tooled calculation of so much of the Top 40.

While Pharrell is behind one of the best dance songs in history (Hot In Herre, but of course), Happy's bounce wouldn't get me on the floor. That task would be left to Jungle's Busy Earnin', which had an insinuating groove and a martial tightness that made it irresistible. Yes, it was 90's enough that I half-expected to see Caron Wheeler and Jazzie B in the video, but who cares? As long as we're asking questions, who needed a whole album of diminishing returns? Not me.

Finally, I keep up with Memphis Industries mainly to keep up with the Brewis brothers who are always churning out something interesting, whether under the Field Music moniker or School of Language. This year, the latter formation released a pretty good album that felt a little rote and Peter Brewis put out an intriguing and arty collaboration with Peter Smith that is worth seeking out. But the one essential song that my email subscription delivered to me was an odd little gem called Cockeyed Rabbit Wrapped In Plastic, released under the name Slug, actually Ian Black, who used to play bass for Field Music. Every time it came up in a shuffle play, it had me scrabbling for my iPod so I could confirm exactly what it was before it disappeared again.

With patented prog-tastic drumming from Peter Brewis, this is a perfect construction of light vocals and heavy white funk. Cockeyed Rabbit is the sound of XTC (when they were Helium Boyz) meeting Bill Nelson (when he was Red Noise) and isn't that something you always knew you needed? It's up to you to make sure it doesn't become the great lost track of 2014.



Still To Come: The final rehash of last year will be Out Of The Past, featuring reissues and other older sounds.

The Best Of 11

What an amazing year for music - I'm like a pig in truffles. If you had told me in January that Wilco, Radiohead, TV On The Radio and Bon Iver would put out new records and NOT end up on my Top Ten, I would have told you to get lost. But that's exactly what happened. Here are the whys and wherefores, from one to (sort of) ten. If you want to listen in, head over to 8tracks.com and just push play.

1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues 
This has not lost its grip on the top spot since July. As I discussed on a recent episode of Sound Opinions, It's more musically and thematically complex and expansive than their debut, perfectly building on the promise of that stunning record. Robin Pecknold is obviously the leader but they are definitely a band and J.Tillman, drummer extraordinaire, is their secret weapon. Give a listen to this Daytrotter session if you want to know why.

2. Mastodon - The Hunter
After a series of knotty and thrilling concept albums, the boys from Atlanta hook up with the guy who co-produced In Da Club, among other things, and let it all hang out, writing songs about meth-heads searching for the perfect tree knot, forlorn cephalopods, etc. After the sprawling epics of their earlier records, concision may have been the only challenge left to them and they conquer it with extreme prejudice. No big story to tell, just a series of virtuoso hard rock tunes that solidify Mastodon's place in the pantheon of American bands.

3. Hollie Cook - Hollie CookWho'd a thunk that the daughter of a Sex Pistol would craft one of the most delightful records in recent memory? You can have your Beyonce and Rihanna - they sound positively anhedonic compared to Hollie. She has the perfect collaborators in Prince Fatty and Horseman, creating a rock-steady vibe that is pure fun. I may have listened to this addicting collection more than any other record this year. Take a taste and you too will be hooked.


4. Amor De Dias - Street of The Love of Days
Like Hollie Cook's album, the collaboration of Alasdair MacLean and Lupe Núñez-Fernández sounds deceptively easy. The breezy set of songs features gorgeous production and some of Alasdair's finest singing to date. There's a hint of darkness that adds depth, like the slight bitterness at the bottom of a demitasse.


5. Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit
There's a lot of things about this album that seem unpromising - that title, for one, the amateurish cover art, for another, not to mention a song called Can We Really Party Today? - but it is a spectacular, enveloping listening experience. Wilson is a bit of a journeyman, playing with and producing everyone from Dawes, Elvis Costello, Mia Doi Todd, Erykah Badu and J. Tillman (him again). Several songs on Gentle Spirit feature Wilson on all the instruments, which is astonishing when you consider the interplay and improvisation that's going on. He makes Paul McCartney's similar attempts sound like the work of a gifted tinkerer. The songs are full of unexpected twists and turns, sometimes taking a leaf from Harry Nilsson, and sometimes Pink Floyd or David Crosby. A major talent that is absolutely one of the discoveries of the year.

6. Hilary Hahn (with Valentina Lisitsa, Piano) - Charles Ives: Four Sonatas
Except for her recordings of Violin Concertos by Schoenberg and Jennifer Higdon, Hahn is mainly known for incandescent performance of great repertory works, most notably the mighty and ethereal Sibelius. She takes a brave step here by recording the complete violin sonatas of that spiky American original, Charles Ives. She has steeped herself in the folk songs that Ives drew on and seems to sing through her violin. There is a refreshing lack of defensiveness, apology or obligation here - she knows what great music this is and seeks to communicate that with all the talent at her command. In no small part helped by Valentina Lisitsa's dynamic piano, this recording is a complete success and a joy to listen to. You may even find yourself singing along!



7. The Strokes - Angles
Expectations can really sink a band. If you wanted Is This It Part 2, maybe you should have made it yourself. This is smart, inventive, intricate music that is filled with what can only be called an energetic ennui. It gleams with a very special light and marks its own territory in the dire landscape of today's guitar rock.

8.1 Prodigy (of Mobb Deep) - Complex Presents The Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson EP
This six song download is filled with a unity of sound and purpose that eludes most hip hop. He's not trying to be anything, like Drake or Tyler The Creator, he just IS. It took a minute to adjust to his slower flow on these songs but, as was revealed on my next selection, that was just a demonstration of his versatility. His producers (including Sid Roams and Havoc) come up with some scintillating soundscapes for P to work his magic on. One standout is Stronger, produced by King Benny and featuring a killer Nina Simone sample. QED: "Maybe once in a tangerine moon/I'll be in the mood to paint the town red with your corpuscles and plasma/Some violent art/These thoughts, in the corner of my mind are dark/But then the Times Square lights/They switch my whole attitude." Still on the fence? Did I mention this was a FREE download?

8.2 Mobb Deep - Black Cocaine EP
As I wrote recently, these guys, that name, it's guaranteed to be good. Hip Hop is always on the hunt for the new new thing, but when some old G's come up with the goods, there's no shame it recognizing it. The Bounty Killer sample on Dead Man Shoes is a coup and if it inspired the refrain "Eat food, I'm full, doggy bag 'em, feed 'em to the wolves, toe-tag'em, they walking in dead man shoes," it was worth every penny paid to the dancehall marauder. Prodigy is in full command throughout, stepping up the pace as the music demands, as is partner Havoc. Four other excellent songs have me eager for the full album to drop in 2012.

9. Lou Reed & Metallica - Lulu
Let me just say that half the people piling on this record are descendants of the dudes who returned White Light/White Heat to EJ Korvette's for a refund in 1967 because they thought there was something wrong with it. And the other half are followers just doing it out of aesthetic insecurity or those guys who considered ending it all when Metallica cut their hair. This is a great record - big riffs, nasty lyrics, moments of transcendent beauty. Perhaps Lou is dragging the Metallicatz into the world of German expressionism rather forcefully, but they pump their own blood into the songs. Like The Strokes album, I'm convinced Lulu's time will come.

10. Epic45 - Weathering
This achingly gorgeous ambient-folk song cycle is assembled with such care, it should be sold as a single download. However, there are enough standout songs that it's OK if it ends up on shuffle play. At a less fractious time (and one less obsessed with dance music), this album would be an event. In 2011, most people don't even know it exists. In this case, joining the 1% would be a badge of honor - and an entree into a beautiful soundworld.

Whew. It wasn't easy to demote the luminaries listed at the top of this post but they, and many others, will be featured in a Best Of The Rest Of 11 entry, coming soon. Also on the horizon is a look back at the year in concerts. In the meantime, share your comments, or your own Top Ten, below.