Best Of 2022: Out Of The Past

Have No Fear, AnEarful is now HERE

I feel like I’m highlighting a slimmer batch of reissues than usual this year. It could be because I reviewed over 175 albums and listened to hundreds more, which may or may not be above or below my annual average but still feels like a lot. Another factor is that Richard Shaw’s ongoing #5albums polls on Twitter may be adding to my retrospective load in such a way that I have less bandwidth for other sounds of the past. All that said, there were some significant reissues that demand to be discussed, even if only briefly, from overstuffed commemorative boxes to obscurities seeing the light of day for the first time. As noted, a few of these are vinyl only but a  track from the rest can be found in this playlist or below.

THE BIG BOXES

The Beatles - Revolver (Super Deluxe) It’s easy to be jaded by the yearly drumbeat of rejigged and expanded versions of these bedrock albums, especially when you already have multiple copies, as I do (three on vinyl, two on CD). As with other entries in this latest go round, one of the selling points with this one is a version of the original stereo LP remixed by Giles Martin, the son of original producer Sir George. These have been of intermittent necessity, with the Sgt. Pepper’s “mono in stereo” mix likely being the most essential one. There’s nothing wrong with this new Revolver, with its slightly more prominent rhythm section, but there’s nothing necessary about it either. Then we get two discs of outtakes, which are actually among the most fascinating and satisfying of their kind. Even with all the bootlegs I have, I was unaware of the “actual speed” version of Rain, a single recorded during the Revolver sessions. To manipulate the sound to their liking, they recorded the backing track what sounds like 50 percent faster than the released version, then slowed it down for that uniquely draggy sound. What a rush. 

Then you get working tapes of gleaming icons of perfection like And Your Bird Can Sing, Dr. Robert, and others, some of which give a hint of what a live jam in this sound world might sound like. This batch of outtakes is one I’ve been coming back to, unlike some of the “one and done” flotsam and jetsam on other sets. If you don’t need the book, which is by all accounts handsomely designed, you might very well be satisfied with streaming the set, which costs a hefty $165 on vinyl. But - and this is a very big but - the collection also includes a mono master edition of the album, which is the best way to hear it as The Beatles intended. If you have a turntable and you missed out on the Mono Masters series from 2014, this set is actually a bargain, as those are now going for at least $125 on the resale market. That means for $165 you can get the album on mono vinyl PLUS all those other goodies, including a 7” of the Paperback Writer/Rain single. If you already have a mono copy, it’s a tougher sell, but by all means listen to the extras wherever you stream music.

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Super Deluxe Edition) Like The Beatles, Wilco - especially in their Jay Bennett phase - liked to put songs through various wringers to get to the essence of how they should be recorded. Unlike The Beatles, however, Wilco specializes in a kind of gut-wrenching emotionalism and some of the drafts, demos, and alternate takes seem to be doing their hardest to avoid those white-hot feelings. But even if there is little that would cause you to question their judgement about what ended up on the final album, the X-Ray of their process is deeply engaging, especially if you're involved in creative endeavors of your own. Embrace their process and then return to your own, renewed. There's also a generous helping of killer live performances and a book, written by Bob Mehr, which goes deep into the motivations and machinations that led to the end result, one of the true masterpieces of our young century. 

David Bowie - Divine Symmetry As you might have guessed, this latest box from the Bowie estate is concerned with peeling back the layers that led to Hunky Dory. Starting with the startling Tired Of My Life, which evolved into It's No Game nearly a decade later, this is more of a step-by-step experience than the Revolver or YHF boxes. Raw demos are taken on stage, sometimes solo and sometimes with early versions of what would become the Spiders From Mars, and then into the studio to become all-time classic tracks. While Bowie's process can seem slightly random he always manages to stick the landing on the final album, especially when it's an all-time classic like this one.

MODERN CLASSICS REVISITED

Hamilton Leithauser & Paul Maroon - Dear God Originally released solely on vinyl in 2015, this is "a bravely bare setting for Leithauser to display his vocal talents and he is more than up to the task," as I wrote in my review. Glad to see its varied charms getting wider release and don't be jealous if you can't get your copy hand-delivered like I did!

Bon Iver - Bon Iver (10th Anniversary Edition) Beautifully packaged and with an essay by super-fan Phoebe Bridgers, this commemorative edition also includes five glorious live-in-the-studio performances featuring Justin Vernon's voice, his grand piano, and some minimal accompaniment from Sean Carey. Stripping everything away to the bare essence removes some of the "willful obscurity" that had me keeping the album at arm's length at times. A cover of Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me is worth the price of admission, giving a precious opportunity to concentrate on Vernon's incandescent brilliance as a singer.

AFRICAN ECHOES

Alhaji Waziri Oshomah - World Spiritual Classics Vol. 3: The Muslim Highlife Of... After earlier volumes featuring Alice Coltrane and the "funkiest, most soulful gospel you didn't know you needed," Luaka Bop strikes again with this collection of seven tracks from the man known as the "greatest entertainer in all of Edo State." Recorded in southern Nigeria in the 70s and 80s, the songs are blissful enough that their formulaic nature is easily forgiven. Usually consisting of two mournful chords, a danceable beat, Oshomah pontificating cheerfully, and one unique sound or another (a wah wah trumpet, here, a burbling synth there), the songs run together and transport you to a place where the complexities of life are met with joy and forbearance. 

Sun Ra Arkestra and Salah Ragab plus the Cairo Jazz Band - Sun Ra Arkestra Meets Salah Ragab In Egypt If Sun Ra WAS originally from Saturn, one can imagine a stop in Ancient Egypt before his 1914 appearance in Alabama as Herman Blount. Either way, it makes perfect sense for him to have brought the Arkestra to Egypt to collaborate with Ragab, a percussionist and bandleader. Based on the first two tracks here, recorded in 1983, they got on like a house on fire. Sun Ra sparkles on the electric piano, the grooves are expansive, and the arrangements and solos fall just this side of a beautiful chaos. More of that would have certainly been welcome, but the rest of the compilation is taken up with tracks by Ragab from the early 70s. Fortunately, he was enough of a kindred spirit to Sun Ra that the album is a consistent delight. As someone new to Ragab's work, I'm grateful to Strut Records for making the introduction!

NORTH COAST HIP HOP

Thrust - The Chosen Are Few Montreal reissue label Return To Analog uncovers a lost near-classic of Canadian hip hop with Thrust the cheerfully bombastic ringleader joined by guests like Scam, K-Cut, and Kardinall Offishall, the only name familiar to me. Speaking of unfamiliar names, some younger listeners may need to Google the hilarious Lorena Bobbit reference in The Music but it will be worth the effort! Even if from the frozen north, there's plenty of Caribbean warmth among these loose tracks, the sound of friends at ease in the studio. But what impresses the most on this heavyweight, dead-silent pressing is the rich bass - it just sounds so good. This first reissue since 2001 comes in an edition of 1,000 copies on vinyl only so don't miss out. Vinyl Only

Shades Of Culture - Mindstate First time on vinyl for this 1998 album, and Return To Analog pulled out the stops once again, with a beautiful pressing and a gatefold jacket. While this trio's debt to neighbors to the south, including the Beastie Boys and the Pharcyde, is more pronounced than Thrust's, there's still a lot to love here, especially if you've worn out all your favorites from hip hop's 90s golden age. Vinyl Only

PSYCH OUT

Seompi - We Have Waited: Singles and Unreleased Texas psych-metal as you might have heard it at friend's house party. Chaotic and grungy, with series of riffs that don't always add up to songs but the conviction of the players always gets the tracks to the finish line. This cross-border collaboration finds Return To Analog working with Illinois psych specialists Lion Productions to gather this material and present it in a nice edition of 500. The package includes a 12-page booklet with an extensive interview with bassist-vocalist Dave Williams, who has some real tales to tell about being a "longhair" in Dallas, circa 1970.Vinyl Only

Badge - Collected Singles This tunefully lysergic band was mainly the project of Val Rogolino, Jr., an emigre from France to Maryland who developed a versatile drumming style somewhere between Nick Mason and Keith Moon, and Cheese Sollers, a rhythm guitarist with some songwriting skills. Spanning recordings from 1971 to 1976, these tracks find the band sticking to their guns in the face of nearly zero traction (including a rejection letter from Apple signed by May Pang!), turning out songs ranging from brisk pop-psych to completely spaced-out jams. A lost corner of the 70s, now given the spotlight in an edition of 500 from Return To Analog and Lion Productions. The booklet tells the tale of their origins and their only album, as Kath, also available on a deluxe CD. The 1976 recordings are surprisingly accomplished and comparing the two versions of As I Look/As I Looked shows how far they came. But times changed, the gigs dried up, and Badge limped its way to dissolution in the early 80s. Bring them back to life in your living room today. Vinyl Only

POST-PUNK POSTSCRIPT

Asexuals - Be What You Want This 1984 debut album from a Montreal band often lumped in with hardcore punk - but far more melodic than most in that genre - gets a well-deserved reissue on bright red vinyl and in perfect sound. Guitars soar in searing solos and riffs, the rhythm section is tight and unstoppable, the songs are well-written, and John Kastner's (later of the Doughboys) vocals are aggressive but not too harsh. There's also a booklet filled with great pictures (including one of Kastner in a PIL t-shirt that I especially appreciated) and contemporary interviews. I wish I had heard them in the 80s but it's never too late to discover a great band. Vinyl Only

Malka Spigel & Colin Newman - Gliding & Hiding As a big fan of Newman's main project, Wire, I have been remiss in diving into the extended universe of the band, which includes Immersion, a duo between Spigel and Newman, and Githead, a quartet in which both play. But I think my greatest sin of omission may have been ignoring Spigel's considerable talents as a bass player, songwriter, and vocalist, which were first put to use in the Israeli post-punk band, Minimal Compact. This collection, which pulls together the 2014 Gliding EP, reworked tracks from 1994's Hide LP, and some recent recordings, offers a kaleidoscopic array of sounds and songs. Often featuring her throbbing, dubbed-out bass and gleaming, hypnotic guitars (including Newman and Wire's youngest member, Matthew Simms), and winding melodies that seem to draw on her Israeli heritage. Not only is this stunning collection a must for Wire-heads, but for anyone interested in art rock of the highest quality. Ignoring Malka Spigel is not a mistake I will repeat.

IN THE ZONE

Suzi Analogue - Infinite Zonez Crucial collection of all of the fizzy electronic grooves Analogue put out on the Zonez EPs from 2016 to 2019. Find plenty of the "ultra-rhythmic and sweetly melodic personality" I've praised in the past, with the songs "like mini-trips through her imagination via the most scenic route possible." As Michael Millions repeats on my favorite cut NNO APOLOGY, "Control with knowing/Who I gotta be/Living with no apology." Amen to that!

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Live At The Rainbow, 1st June 1977 Two days before the release of Exodus, BMW took the stage and laid its first four songs on an unsuspecting audience. Perhaps because they were still working out where the new material would fit in their setlist going forward, it was also the only night of the four-night stand that they played Natural Mystic, So Much Things To Say and Guiltiness. Those songs were infrequently performed in the future, if at all, only increasing the interest of this first-ever release of the complete show. The new material also finds the band somewhat slow to warm up, but when they get to Jamming and Exodus near the end - after traversing many classics, including a mesmeric War/No More Trouble - you can hear the unstoppable, world-beating force they would become on the 1978 tour, so beautifully preserved on Babylon By Bus. When it comes to Marley in his prime, there is no such thing as overkill, so dig into the complete shows from June 2nd and 3rd while you're at it, both also released for the first time in a celebration of the 45th anniversary of Exodus. Only time will tell if they have anything left in the vaults for the 50th anniversary!

Dig in to more older sounds in this archive playlist and keep up with what 2023 unearths here.

You may also enjoy: 
Best Of 2021: Out Of The Past
Best Of 2020: Out Of The Past
Best Of 2019: Out Of The Past
Best Of 2018: Out Of The Past
Best Of 2017: Out Of The Past
Best Of 2016: Reissues

Best Of The Rest Of 12: Out Of The Past

Best Of 2020: Rock, Folk, Etc.

Like I've probably said too many times before, I was born in 1964 so this realm is in my epigenetic makeup. More than 60 percent of my Top 25 was from these genres, but that was only scratching the surface of what excited me. Previously covered albums are at the top and then there are a couple dozen more must-hear albums. Don't take the sub-genres too seriously, just a noble attempt to group like with like. Press play on this playlist or below to listen while you read.

Of Note In 2020: Rock, Folk, Etc.
Nadia Reid - Out Of My Province
Ocean Music x Jerome Ellis - Morsels - Note: Get the cassette; only 18 remaining!
Squirrel Flower - I Was Born Swimming
Dana Gavanski - Yesterday Is Gone
Ultraista - Sister
Wire - Mind Hive - Note: See also the equally excellent 10:20.
Porridge Radio - Every Bad
Dogleg - Melee
The Strokes - The New Abnormal
Lucinda Williams - Good Souls, Better Angels

Best Of 2020 (So Far)
Them Airs - Union Suit XL - Note: See also Doped Runner Verse, which shoots off in some interesting new directions for this combo.

Record Roundup: Songs And Singers
Caitlin Pasko - Greenhouse
The Dead Tongues - Transmigration Blues
Alex Rainer - Time Changes 
Emma Swift - Blonde On The Tracks
Billie Eilish - Live At Third Man Records

Record Roundup: In Their Prime
Michael Zapruder - Latecomers

Record Roundup: Catching Up (Sort Of)
S.G. Goodman - Old Time Feeling
Jeffrey Silverstein - You Become The Mountain
Melody Fields - Broken Horse
Boogarins - Levitation Sessions and Manchaca Vol. 1

Live And Direct
No surprise: the shutdown of concerts has led to a slate of live albums, many catalyzed by Bandcamp Fridays to devote proceeds to one important cause or another - or just to support artists who depend on the road for their livelihood. Here are a few of my favorites.

Father John Misty - Off-Key In Hamburg Recorded in 2019 with an eight-piece band and the 14-piece Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt:, this 20-song career overview finds the good Father in spectacular form. Your $10 will go to the the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund - and give you hours of pleasure.

Scott Hirsch - Hirsch and the Minglers Live at The Colony, Tulsa. March 17, 2018 Supposedly recorded on an old Teac by "Wizard," this mesmeric live set is best experienced on the home-dubbed cassette, which adds an extra layer of murk. The digital version is pay-what-you-will with 100% of the proceeds split between the Black Wall St. Times and the Oklahoma ACLU. Your generosity will be rewarded!

Stargazer Lilies - Live At Sherman Theater I've been listening to these volume-driven varlets for several years and this virtual performance recorded in November 2020 shows them now ready for the big stage at your local festival. Nine bucks gets you the album and a private link to view the concert video - put it up on the flatscreen.

Scott & Charlene's Wedding - Live At The Tote This collection, caught on a steamy January night in Melbourne finds Craig Dermody's shambolic band putting 10 years of work to rest in storming fashion. Every home should have at least one SACW album - why not make it this one?

Arctic Monkeys - Live At The Royal Albert Hall Recorded in 2018 just after the release of Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, this set finds the band handling the atmospheric demands of the new material like the pros they are, while still sounding hungry on the early material. All proceeds go to War Child UK and that clear vinyl package sure looks sweet.

Frankie & The Witch Fingers - Levitation Sessions While I'm still stung by the fact I haven't seen these psych-infused heavy groovers on stage, this lessens that a bit - while providing a fine introduction to their sound.

Hamilton Leithauser - Live! At The Café Carlyle I always wanted to get to one of these shows, but the ticket price and minimum kept me away. Now I have this perfect keepsake of the loose vibe Leithauser encourages at these shows, recorded in January 2020. The cover of Randy Newman's Miami that opens the album is a perfect introduction to what is to come. The band is killer, too, with Morgan Henderson and Skyler Skjelset from Fleet Foxes on hand, along with Walter Martin, Jr. from The Walkmen. With Stuart Bogie (Antibalas) on horns and Nicole Atkins on backing vocals, the riches are almost embarrassing, but someone of Leithauser's titanic talents deserve no less.

Hiss Golden Messenger - Forward, Children and School Daze The staggering density of M.C. Taylor's songwriting catalog is well-represented by these TWO live albums, both fundraisers for Durham Public Schools students, which repeat no songs. The first is from one night at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC, and gives a good idea of the dynamics of a typical Hiss concert (I've been to a few!), while the second cherry-picks from several shows. Taken together, you get two-and-a-half hours of one of the best live performers of our time, right in your living room, and the privilege of lending a hand to public schools.

Phil Cook - Eau Claire, WI - 8​/​13​/​2016 @ Eaux Claires Festival Out of the seven(!) shows Cook has made available on his Bandcamp, I grabbed this one due to my romantic need to experience the Eaux Claires Festival any way I can. It's a great show, too, with the Guitarheels, including Ryan Gustafson of the Dead Tongues, in full flight. Pick any show at random and your $5 will guarantee a good time that's equal parts heartwarming and joyful.

Folk-And/Or-Americana-Infused

Loma - Don't Shy Away Two years ago, I wasn't sure if we would hear more from this group of Emily Cross, Dan Duszynski, and Jonathan Meiburg (of Shearwater) after their debut, which I called a "compelling blend of haunting folk and immersive sonics." It seemed they were unsure as well, but interest from Brian Eno and their own motivations impelled them onward to this gorgeous collection. The folk influence is still there, but there's also hypnotic electronic gleam, even a bit of Giorgio Moroder, on this one, including Eno's work mixing the last track, Homing. With Cross's serene vocals lending consistency to the variety of sounds and structures, Loma sound ever more like a real band. Now, let's see how they do with that "difficult third album."

Tomberlin - Projections Following up the gauzy folk of 2018's At Weddings, Tomberlin displays a wispy strength on this 5-song EP of carefully augmented future sing-alongs.

Jeff Tweedy - Love Is The King Well, he told us he was low-key, so this downbeat collection contains few surprises - but still gives a good helping of what makes him one of our key songwriters. 

This Is The Kit - Off Off On Kate Stables shows the magic of Moonshine Freeze was no accident. Inventive horn arrangements spice up mesmerizing song-craft infused with the melodies of British isles ancients. Accept no substitutes - and when she says “Keep going,” you will believe her.

Lera Lynn - On My Own That title is no joke - Lynn wrote, sang, played, and produced every note. But when you fall for her rich voice and pop-rock-folk smarts, how it got made will be the last thing on your mind.

John Calvin Abney - Familiar Ground Inserting himself ever-more firmly into the clearing created by Wilco, Elliott Smith, Gene Clark, etc., Abney has given us an exceptionally well-crafted set, with many songs speaking directly to our present moment.

Chris Maxwell - New Store No. 2 There are few writers in any medium who combine cleverness and wisdom so seamlessly. Featuring the best production of his career, touching on British psych and Laurel Canyon slickness, this is a new landmark for Maxwell.

Charlie Kaplan - Sunday Although I often argue with what Kaplan deems important in his newsletter, he gets all the influences right here - from Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen to the Stones - with the added thrill of hearing someone discover their own voice.

Indie Pop

Eric Slick - Wiseacre The title implies a lack of seriousness, but Slick knows what he's doing - and he keeps the pop-soul party from Natalie Prass's last album going quite nicely. He even has her in for a duet on one track. Sweet.

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher It took a few listens to connect the catharsis of the last track, I Know The End, to what had come before, but finally a complete album emerged, and one making a considerable leap from her first. Led by her deceptively airy voice, Bridgers crafts songs that overlay universal themes on personal experiences with wit and skill. 

Art-Rock

Bartees Strange - Live Forever While I don't share his reverence for The National, if that was part of his path to this dazzling debut, so be it. There's more variety (and passion) here than some display in a whole career.

Matt Berninger - Serpentine Prison Despite my anti-Nationalist comment above, perhaps it's just the Dessners that leave me cold. In either case, working with the legendary Booker T. Jones has brought out a new side to Berninger, with well-shaped melodies and an all-too relatable emotional landscape of sorrow and regret. The production finds a perfect balance between Booker T.'s classicism and Berninger's avant-indie leanings. 

Historian - Distractions and Barriers In the 60's it wasn't uncommon to release two or more albums in a year, so why not Chris Karman in 2020? Take your pick from the dark propulsion of Distractions to the washy sketches of Barriers.

Eclectica 

Carabobina - Carabobina This collabo between Boogarins bassist Raphael Vaz Costa and Sao Paulo-based engineer Alejandra Luciani delivers on the promise of "Brazilian noise pop" with serene confidence.

Cornershop - England Is A Garden Easily their best since that stunning third album, with all the bittersweet fun that implies. They have now been born for the eighth time. Or the second - you know what I mean!

Bananagun - The True Story Of Bananagun These Aussie pranksters outdo nearly everyone on this list for sheer quotient of FUN. Leader  Nick van Bakel must have a hell of a record collection.

Fleur - Fleur I may have misspoke - Fleur's updated Ye-Ye, expertly backed by Les Robots, may have Bananagun beat at the "fun" game. What the heck, get'em both!

Kol Marshall - Elemental Truths To A Funky Beat Producer/engineer/multi-instrumentalist Marshall concocts head-nodding grooves with touches of funk and reggae - and a much-needed dose of Walter Becker's attitude. 

Aksak Maboul - Figures 30 years later, Marc Hollander brings back these art-punk legends, joined by dulcet-toned Veronique Vincent, and for 13 tracks the results are astonishing. The next nine songs however...skip'em.

Rock ON

Andy Bell - The View From Halfway Down The first track satisfies my Ride needs more than their reunion albums, but going solo has also given Bell the freedom to explore and he lands on distant shores, finding treasure on each one.

Adeline Hotel - Solid Love The most focused collection of Dan Knishkowy's introspective indie yet, sensitively and warmly accompanied by Whatever's Clever founder Ben Seretan, et al. 

Post-Punk 4 Life

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Sideways To New Italy Two albums in and RBCF have found more passion and personality, lending their two-guitar jangle new urgency and interest, with soaring melodies and biting solos. I'm glad they stuck with it - and that I kept listening.

Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death Album two finds these Irish purveyors of rote retro punk embracing the beauty and darkness of post-punk to much more convincing - and even thrilling - effect.

Self Defense Family - 2020 Singles Upstate NY post-punkers get back on their singles grind and release an album's worth of great songs. Listen to my playlist, then get to Bandcamp to buy your favorites.

There's more to be found from 2020 in my archive playlist and you can keep up with 2021 here.

You may also enjoy:
Best Of 2019: Rock, Folk, Etc. 
Best Of 2018: Rock, Folk, Etc. 
Best Of 2017: Rock, Folk, Etc.
Best Of 2016: Rock, Folk, Etc.

Best Of 2020: The Top 25

 

While I believe all of these albums to be objectively excellent, filled with sincerity and innovation, even more crucial than whether they are "the best" is that they became the most necessary for me, the ones that demanded repeated listens, the ones I turned to most often. Some you may have heard of or seen on other lists, others may be completely unfamiliar. I think you will find each of them worthy of your time and attention - let me know if you agree. I'm not going write a think-piece on how much we all needed music in a year like the one almost past - there are enough of those around - but I will express my heartfelt gratitude to our finest musicians with astonishment at their continued creativity, bravery, and sheer industriousness. Looking forward to thanking as many of them as possible in person across the footlights!

Click "Play" on this playlist or below to listen to a track from each album. Since I've covered each of them elsewhere, follow the links to read my thoughts. What topped your listening in 2020?

1. Bob Dylan - Rough And Rowdy Ways

2. Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman

3. Molly Joyce - Breaking And Entering

4. Jonathan Wilson - Dixie Blur

5. Fleet Foxes - Shore

6. Richard Aufrichtig - Perfume Cigarettes

7. Ted Hearn & Saul Williams - Place

8. Hamilton Leithauser - The Loves Of Your Life 

9. Aoife Nessa Frances - Land Of No Junction

10. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo

11. TAK Ensemble - Scott L. Miller: Ghost Layers

12. Frazey Ford - U Kin B The Sun

13. John Craigie - Asterisk The Universe

14. Matt Evans - New Topographics

15. Angel Olsen - Whole New Mess

16. Frankie And The Witch Fingers - Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters...

17. Nnux - Ciudad

18. Miro Shot - Content

19. Wang Lu - An Atlas Of Time

20. Jenny O. - New Truth

21. Elsa Hewitt - Ghostcats

22. Yaeji - What We Drew

23. Car Seat Headrest - Making A Door Less Open

24. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory

25. Honey Cutt - Coasting 

Coming soon: More opportunities to elevate 2020's musical excellence in genre-specific lists for classical, electronic, hip hop, R&B, reggae, jazz, Latin, global, rock, folk, reissues, and everything in between!

Celebrate over a decade of "Best Of" lists:

Best Of 2019: The Top 25

Best Of 2018: The Top 25
Best Of 2017: The Top 25
Best Of 2016: The Top 20
Best Of 15: The Top 20
Best Of 14 (Part 1)
Best Of 14 (Part 2)
Best Of 2013
The Best Of 12: Part One
The Best Of 12: Part Two

The Best Of 11

Best Of Ten

A Blog Is Born: Best Of 2009

Best Of 2020 (So Far)

Typically, the way I make these lists is by scanning through my posts from the year, looking at Spotify playlists, and then dragging songs or pieces into a draft playlist. If it's more than 25 tracks long, I begin the process of narrowing it down. The main criteria is not "excellence," as that's where I focus my listening and my writing, but rather more a question of survival. To what music am I cleaving in order to get through the year? In times of strife, which is a polite way of describing the shit-show garbage fire that is 2020, many turn to the music of old and I have certainly spent some time with Bowie, The Beatles, Bob Marley, and Young Marble Giants, among others. But I have this engine inside that propels me towards the new and this year has been as generous as any in that regard. I am at a loss for words to describe the appreciation I feel toward any artist who has pushed past inertia and given us sounds that nourish us. Some of them are listed below. P.S. As usual, if I've covered the album before, just click on the title for more information.

Listen as you read here or below!




1. Bob Dylan - Rough And Rowdy Ways There may yet be a shelf of books written on this almost overwhelming expression of creative fecundity. As Tim Sommer pointed out recently, the Never Ending Tour deserves its own place among Dylan's artistic achievements, but it should be noted that, like the three albums of Tin Pan Alley songs he's released since 2012's brilliant Tempest, that is an arena for interpretation rather than creation. So when he sings, "I'm falling in love with Calliope/She don't belong to anyone, why not give her to me?" in Mother Of Muses, you get a hint of the hunger he might have been feeling to get the plug back in the socket and start writing new songs. But who knows? There's a vagueness about when these songs were written or recorded. When he dropped Murder Most Foul back in April, catching the world by surprise, he coyly noted, "This is an unreleased song we recorded a while back that you might find interesting." Coy, and the understatement of the year. These songs are all "interesting," at the very least, not to mention funny, smart, and displaying a full palette of emotions. They are also eminently quotable, from the ur-braggadocio of "I’m first among equals - second to none/I’m last of the best - you can bury the rest/Bury ‘em naked with their silver and gold/Put ‘em six feet under and then pray for their souls" (False Prophet) to the stark reality of "I can see the history of the whole human race/It’s all right there - its carved into your face" (My Own Version Of You), but while this is a wordy album, the sound of it is just as notable. Unlike Tempest, with its lapidary attention to each instrument, Dylan's production this time around often turns the band into a single unit, either dealing out blues riffs so elemental as to be platonic or creating a tapestry of delicate tones and textures, creating the perfect backdrop for his singing. And what singing, displaying nuance or power as appropriate and able to convey wit or heartbreak with masterful subtlety. Just listen to the way he caresses the words and toys with the tempo when he sings "A lotta people gone/A lotta people I knew" in I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You, one magical moment among many on this album. Even if Dylan weren't DYLAN, Rough And Rowdy Ways would demand your attention - but only Dylan could have made it.

2. Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman

3. Molly Joyce - Breaking And Entering

4. Jonathan Wilson - Dixie Blur

5. Ted Hearne & Saul Williams - Place

6. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo After last year's triumphant Bandana, I would have forgiven Gibbs for taking the year off. But he's a man on a mission, so there was no time to wait. After working with Madlib, almost any other producer would have been a comedown, but The Alchemist is fully up to the challenge of goading Gibbs to new heights. The results never fail to entertain or inspire, with the latter best represented by the most apropos lines of the year: "The revolution is the genocide/Yeah, my execution might be televised" - words being worn right now on a t-shirt at a protest near you. Gibbs once more defines the moment and it is highly unlikely there will be a better hip hop album in 2020. Maybe he should square off with Dylan and let the sparks fly!

7. Hamilton Leithauser - The Loves Of Your Life See also his charming Tiny Desk Concert.

8. Matt Evans - New Topographics

9. Ocean Music - Morsels

10. Miro Shot - Content

11. Yaeji - What We Drew

12. Jay Electronica - A Written Testament

13. Makaya McCraven and Gil Scott-Heron - We're New Again: A Reimagining

14. Nnux - Ciudad

15. Aoife Nessa Frances - Land Of No Junction

16. Car Seat Headrest - Making A Door Less Open

17. Frazey Ford - U Kin B The Sun

18. The Strokes - The New Abnormal

19. Tak Ensemble - Scott L. Miller: Ghost Layers

20. Wire - Mind Hive See also 10:20, a brilliant collection of strays and older songs reimagined.

21. John Craigie - Asterisk The Universe This is primo Americana and Craigie's most assured and varied album yet. It's his ninth studio album but don't feel bad if you never heard of him - I was in the same boat, a situation I detail in my interview with Craigie in Rock & Roll Globe. It's a rich catalog, too, but the smoky production, warmly cohesive band, and sharp songwriting here should put him in front of an even bigger audience. 

22. Honey Cutt - Coasting

23. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory

24. Them Airs - Union Suit XL I was pointed towards these New Haven art punks by Tracy Wilson's Turntable Report, which has quickly become an essential filter. Led by Cade Williams, Them Airs' website is a delightful trip into their aesthetic, including a highly editorialized list of all their gear. With their own liner notes referencing both Wire and "spicy no wave sax," you should be aware of what you're in for on this spiky blast of irreverent fun. Though they've been recording since 2017 and playing out since 2018, they have yet to play in NYC. I hope to be there when it happens!

25. Nadia Reid - Out Of My Province

What's been in heaviest rotation in your shelter?

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Best Of 2019 (So Far)
The Best Of 2018 (So Far)
Best Of 2017 (So Far)
Best Of 2016 (So Far), Pt. 1
Best Of 2016 (So Far), Pt. 2
The Best Of 2015 (So Far)
2014: Mid-Year Report
The Best Of 2013 (So Far)

Of Note In 2020: Rock, Folk, Etc.

This is the big one - 17 albums that go from gentle and introspective to aggressive and angular. Reviews will be short and to the point, just enough to get you to listen for yourselves. Find tracks from each of these in the 40 For 2020 playlist, alongside selections from recent pieces for Classical, Electronic, Hip Hop, and Jazz. The main playlist for Rock, Folk, Etc. has 10 hours of album tracks and singles and the year isn't even half over. Embrace the overwhelm!

Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman When singles started dropping from this project last year, I had a feeling the album would be one of the best of 2020. Thankfully, the trio of Anais Mitchell, Josh Kaufman, and Eric D. Johnson didn't let the quality slip over the 10 tracks on this remarkable album. As I said on my video review, these songs, some of them centuries old, sound both brand new and like instant old friends. Cameos from Justin Vernon and This Is The Kit only serve to up the level of indie-folk bliss. It was a constant listen when it came out in the halcyon days of January, making it sound only more otherworldly now. Expect it high on my best of the year list and many others.

Jonathan Wilson - Dixie Blur I went deep into the roots, process, and results of Wilson's latest brilliant collection in my article for Rock & Roll Globe - read that if you still haven't yet gotten on board. TL/DR: Some of Wilson's most personal songs yet, given the high-Americana treatment, including the incandescent fiddling of Mark O'Conner and key contributions from Wilco's Pat Sansone, who also co-produces.

Nadia Reid - Out Of My Province Reid has one of those voices that, when you see her live, you can barely believe is emitting, seemingly without effort, from the human being standing in front of you. It's the perfect vehicle for her literate yet raw songs of love, loss, and the aching moments in between. For her first album made outside her native New Zealand, she went to Spacebomb, Matthew E. White's nexus of cosmic American music and it proves to be a heavenly collaboration, with their smart yet soulful horns and strings limning Reid's glorious songs with a warm glow. She may be far from her province, but she sounds right at home.

Aoife Nessa Frances - Land Of No Junction I'd been wondering what became of Cian Nugent since he released Night Fiction in 2016 (one of the best of that decade, donchaknow) when I spotted his name while scanning a Pitchfork newsletter that mentioned this album. It seems that he and Frances had been working on this wonderfully distinctive album for a while, and, besides further expanding our view of Nugent as a crafter of sound, it's a dreamy introduction to a singer-songwriter with a wonderfully hazy style. After a few listens, what at first seemed impossibly diaphanous, like chasing a butterfly's stardust trail, gradually reveals itself to be a deeply informed array of psych-folk gestures in song, all coming from a well of real feeling. Catch up with her solo performance from the Sea Change festival - one of the richest live-streams of the COVID-19 era - and the songs only uncover themselves further. Truly wondrous stuff.

Ocean Music x Jerome Ellis - Morsels After 2019's double-whammy of Troubadour No. 1 - best album of the year - and Fan Fiction For Planet Earth (also incredible) I would not have faulted Richard Aufrichtig for taking 2020 off. But the man is as prolific as he is talented so we have this interesting project, with short fragments of songs intended to be looped, along with a generous selection of bonus material from the Fan Fiction sessions. Even though I'm still waiting for my cassette, which has each fragment looped for 34 seconds, it still works on many levels, with moments of high drama or mellow contemplation each creating a complete universe in less than a minute. The extras, whether demos or b-sides, show off Aufrichtig's range in moving fashion - he's incapable of being insincere or anywhere else than rooted in the moment of his performances - rooted, but flying so free. Fly with him. P.S. I've heard some of his next album, too, and it will go as far, or further, than what we've already heard. Get a preview.

Frazey Ford - U Kin B The Sun I don't know what Vancouver native Ford has been up to in the six years since her last album, but it has done wonders for her art. This is her most direct, focused shot to the heart yet, and the sensitive soul cooked up by her collaborators carries each song like a perfect vessel - kudos to bassist Darren Parris and drummer Leon Power. Political, personal, or poetic, Ford is in rare form here, and now lands at the pinnacle of today's singer-songwriters. Perhaps its time for her to follow Nadia Reid (and Natalie Prass) to Spacebomb - could be mind-blowing!

Hamilton Leithauser - The Loves Of Your Life I don't want to belabor the point, but I really didn't like Leithauser's last album, a failure I lay at the feet of his collaborator, Rostam Batmanglij from the regrettable Vampire Weekend. As word started to trickle out about this album, I was riding a razor's edge, with anticipation and excitement on one side and protection against disappointment on the other. Well, I'm happy to report that, as the sporting announcers say, "It's IN and it's GOOD." Now, I don't want to say I told you so, but there's no question that the return of Paul Maroon to the fold (on six of 11 tracks) has helped bring out the best in Leithauser once more. Yet this is also Leithauser's most self-sufficient album so far - recorded, produced and mixed by him at his home studio, known as the "Struggle Hut," with many songs featuring him as the sole instrumentalist, playing everything from guitars, bass, and drums to glockenspiel and violin. The lyrics are all pithy portraits of various down and outers, a series of missed opportunities and self-inflicted wounds, all drawn with the compassion of a 19th-century novelist. Jeez, this guy is incredible, and I haven't even mentioned that indelible voice - lordy, can he sing. I've already pronounced Black Hours, his first solo album, one of the best of the 2010's - this one will certainly be in the running for the current era.

Honey Cutt - Coasting Led by Kaley Honeycutt, this trio sails in as a lighter-than-air confection of indie jangle with a little bit of quirk to add to the fun. There are moments, too, where the three of them take flight in a manner that suggests they are great live - one day I'll find out for myself. For now, I'll just revel in this delightful sophomore effort that feels very much like a debut.

Soccer Mommy - Color Theory I've kept an eye on Sophie Allison's project since inception, admiring more than loving her indie-rock for it's sheer minimalist competence. It was always an enjoyable listen, but never involving - until now. Color Theory has her slow burn catching complete fire as she opens up her emotional world and lets us in. The music is hotter, too, surrounding her crystalline voice with wraiths of guitar-haze, edging into psychedelia at times, keeping a protective distance from the pain at the core of many of these songs. Even though this is her second official album, it feels like I've met a brand-new artist. Welcome, Soccer Mommy, we've been waiting for you.

Squirrel Flower - I Was Born Swimming I read about Ella O'Conner Williams in Mojo where this was presented as a debut album - the marketing states the same. But a quick dig into Spotify reveals earlier albums, recorded solo, but with her shimmering guitar and gorgeous voice fully present. There's no question, however, that the band format serves her very well, especially with accompaniment this sensitive (including her father, Jesse Williams on bass) and that time has honed her songwriting to a fine point. Whether this is her first album or her third, it's just plain GREAT.

Dana Gavanski - Yesterday Is Gone There's a dignity and restraint to Gavanski's folk-rock that makes you lean in and listen closely. Apparently a late bloomer - she was originally pursuing film - these songs seem born of experience and a long apprenticeship. Already a fully formed artist, the possibilities for what she'll accomplish in the future are thrilling.

Ultraista - Sister Nigel Godrich is known for producing Radiohead, among many other bands, and playing in Thom Yorke side projects like Atoms For Piece. Drummer Joey Waronker, also an Atoms veteran, has played for Beck, Roger Waters, and more. With singer Laura Bettinson, they are Ultraista, and this sleekly propulsive electro-pop album is their second since 2012. Worth the wait, with tighter songwriting, deeper emotions, and the sense of great power held in abeyance. Best of all, it feels truly collaborative - there are no guns for hire in Ultraista, just talented musicians who have found common ground.

Wire - Mind Hive Was it just this year that these post-punk legends, over 40 years into their career, released one of their finest albums? Why yes, it was! Hope you didn't miss it as it gives all the many young bands who have been carrying the legacy forward a run for their collective money. From sleek yet barbed shots across the bow like Cactused to gently pulsing wonders like Unrepentant - as lovely as anything Cluster ever perpetrated - all of their virtues are on display. Long may they reign, etc., etc.

Porridge Radio - Every Bad There's a bit of post-punk in the DNA of this band, not only Wire but also The Raincoats, especially in the way singer-songwriter Dana Margolin wears her heart on her sleeve in a most relatable way. The lyrics are conversational ("And maybe I was born confused/And baby, I was born confused/So I don't know what's going on/Maybe nothing's going on" - Born Confused) but Margolin's use of repetition has a way of heightening the quotidian message, somewhat like The Courtneys did on their brilliant second album. It took them four years to follow up the charms of 2016's Rice, Pasta, and Other Fillers, and while the increase in craft is palpable, I hope we don't have to wait that long for more!

Dogleg - Melee This Michigan band also took four years between their debut and this album, making an even bigger leap in the process, going from a lo-fi solo project for main man Alex Stoitsiadis to a powerhouse trio (Chase Macinski - bass, backing vocals, Parker Grissom - drums, backing vocals) with an impressively massive sound. Even more impressive when you see the modest credit, "Recorded by Alex Stoitsiadis at home" - kid's got talent far beyond strumming and shouting, which he also does really well. Even at high tempos, Grissom finds the groove, and the addition of double bass, trumpet, and violin enlarges the sound further. Add the almost desperate passion of a young Paul Westerberg and you've got a Melee worth diving into.

The Strokes - The New Abnormal As I recently pointed out on an episode of Sound Opinions (they often take my calls, LOL), if you don't accept the fact that Angles is nearly as fantastic as Is This It?, you probably shouldn't be reviewing this album. Or even listening to it for that matter. But if you loved Angles, this will thrill you, with some of Julian Casablancas' most nakedly emotional writing and singing married to sleek yet engaged playing from the rest of the band. Often accused of being rock & roll scavengers, they cleverly spin gold out of rust by bolting together a bit of Modern English's Melt With You and a lot of Billy Idol's Dancing With Myself to arrive at Making Bad Decisions, an instant hit. But they also pursue newer sounds, such as the siren-like guitar and implacable drums of Eternal Summer or the synth-driven At The Door. A triumph for the band and for producer Rick Rubin. 

Lucinda Williams - Good Souls, Better Angels If there is one American musician still working today who has less to prove than Lucinda Williams - and who's not Bob Dylan - I'd like to hear about it. Even so, Williams and her main foil, guitarist Stuart Mathis, come ready to rumble on this, her 12th album of original material. Often using a variety of well-worn blues and Americana structures - but unafraid to invoke The Stooges and The Clash - and fueled by Williams' rage at our current situation, many of these songs reach their apotheosis when Mathis fires off a solo written in pure lightning. While Williams speaks for us in her dissection of the loathsome creature in the White House in Man Without A Soul, she also offers a bulwark against despair in a song like Big Black Train ("I can hear it comin' on down the track/And I don't wanna get onboard"). Williams is also wise enough to use metaphor and allusion to avoid creating songs with built-in expiration dates. Besides, there will always be something to be pissed off and sad about - Williams will have your back no matter what is going on in the headlines. And I can't imagine the catharsis - both on stage and in the crowd - when these songs are unleashed in concert. I hope to be there.

Hear more in the vein of these albums in my Of Note in 2020 (Rock, Folk, Etc.) playlist and make sure to follow it so you can keep up with the wonders yet to come.

 

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Best Of 2019: Rock, Folk, Etc. 

Best Of 2018: Rock, Folk, Etc. 

Best Of 2017: Rock, Folk, Etc.

Best Of 2016: Rock, Folk, Etc.

New Americana Pt. 2: Hamilton Leithauser & Paul Maroon

Hamilton and I In "Deluxe Shipping" Moment

Robert Johnson, they say, met the devil at a crossroads and bargained his soul for a dramatic improvement in his guitar playing. While I doubt souls were exchanged, something certainly happened when Hamilton Leithauser spent time with Robin Pecknold during a joint tour by The Walkmen and Fleet Foxes. Since then, Leithauser has sung like a goddamned angel, with an ease and confidence that I would not have predicted while playing the early Walkmen records again and again. And on last year's debut solo album, Black Hours, he wrote a set of songs that fit his new Great American Songbook vocal swagger to a T. 

As I noted in my review of Black Hours, even though The Walkmen were on hiatus, their guitarist, Paul Maroon, had not left Leithauser's side, appearing on nearly every song on the album. So I was unsurprised when I got word that Hamilton's latest record, Dear God, would be co-credited to Maroon. I was surprised, however, at the opportunity to meet Hamilton as part of a very limited "deluxe shipping" offer through his Etsy store. 

It took a little time but it eventually happened, which is how I ended up talking to Hamilton on the sidewalk while his two kids waited patiently in their carseats. I didn't bring up Pecknold or demonic bargains, but I did note that he and Maroon seemed to have a fruitful musical bromance ("Like Bowie & Ronson," I said - he got a kick out of that!). I wondered why only the new album had both their names, even though Maroon was such an elemental part of Black Hours. It seemed to have a lot to do with the origin of the songs on that album, and also the fact that two of them were collaborations with Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij.

Dear God, Leithauser told me, came out of the idea that it would just be him singing and Maroon on one instrument for each song. "Paul cheated a little and used a sampler on a couple of songs, but that was the basic idea." He also confirmed that this was a vinyl only release and that they would be playing these songs in concert - check your local listings. 

Naturally, due to the original conceit, Dear God is a much more intimate album than the big and bold Black Hours, a Cassavetes character study instead of a big Hollywood production. But it is an equally masterful example of singing and songwriting in the American vein. It is also partly Leithauser's meditation on where sees his place in that tradition, sprinkling four covers among its 13 tracks. Tom Paxton's Annie's Going To Sing Her Song is a hushed waltz in the original but Leithauser takes off on the version Bob Dylan recorded during the Self Portrait sessions, which was released on Another Self Portrait last year. Dylan put some new angles into the chorus, making it more of a hook. It's even more angular in Leithauser's version, which I believe to be definitive. 

While I'm not a fan of Will Oldham (or Palace Music, or Bonnie Prince Billy, or whatever he's calling himself these days), Leithauser pulls something out of his Trudy Dies that makes it more memorable than the original, playing his vocal dynamics off of Maroon's steady acoustic picking to give the song more shape. 

The Everly Brothers are one of those weird bands that are indubitably part of the bedrock of modern music but that I don't always like. Some of their songs are devastatingly good while others are grating and formulaic. The song Hamilton chose, Just One Time, is one of the latter but he and Maroon take all the obnoxious right out of it, playing it like a distant memory, with double-tracked vocals, harmonica, and a hypnotic, droning acoustic strum. It's still a slight song, without the simple profundity of, say, Buddy Holly, but it works well in Dear God's context - more on that later.

The album takes its name not from the XTC song - THAT would have been interesting - but rather from an early Patsy Cline song written by V.F. Stewart, known for the oft-covered Just Out Of Reach. Leithauser gives Cline's country waltz a bit of a barroom flavor, with Maroon's upright piano soldiering on bravely. It's a Sunday morning song transformed into a drinking song and it ends the album on a witty and rueful note.

The four songs covered could be seen as a short survey of some of what Leithauser and Maroon are attracted to in American song - waltz rhythms, melancholy lyrics, sing-along choruses - and their own tunes follow these threads to some interesting places. Proud Irene opens side one with piano filigrees setting the stage for a classic-sounding chord sequence. Hamilton enters with a hushed tone, singing close to the mike. The chorus is just the one word: "Irene," but you still want to join in. It's a clever bit of misdirection and a sign of their deep understanding of song form. 

Utica Avenue features Maroon on organ and a chorus of Leithausers singing funereally. In fact, my wife just requested it for her services when the unimaginable comes to pass - that's a tough playlist to write for, but these guys nailed it. Trudy Dies is next, followed by Light Sleeper, a melodic piano study by Maroon, and then Dad Is Drunk, with Maroon picking a circular riff on electric guitar. "There's wine on my breath, and wine in my pocket, and wine waiting for me, where I dropped it," Hamilton sings without a note of regret. Later, the singer claims to be "hopelessly optimistic," wishing to turn "black eyes white." There's a story here, but it's given to us in fragments. Paxton's song closes out the side, the perfect follow up to Dad Is Drunk: "Annie's gonna sing her song called take me back again." Maybe mom is drunk, too. 

Side two fades in on Two Dark Summers On Long Island, which would almost fit on The Velvet Underground's third album. Maroon's folky picking has a bleak tinge and he uses those cheating samplers to create a spooky atmosphere. Hamilton sings along with himself, some half-remembered tale hinted at by the title. Just One Time becomes just another memory, now, with How And Why? completing the thought: "You were always on my side," Hamilton sings over and over again, hinting at betrayal and loss. 

Your Swingin' Doors is even more mournful at first, but Hamilton raises the temperature to rage against the dying of the light. I Never Should Have Left Washington, DC is a reworking of Utrecht, a bonus track from Black Hours. It's just as brilliant a song in this stripped down version and sets the stage for Loyalty Road, a haunting guitar instrumental with a strong narrative drive. Then comes the redemptive request of Dear God to send us home. 

Dear God is a bravely bare setting for Leithauser to display his vocal talents and he is more than up to the task. With The Walkmen, and now beyond, he is carving a unique place in the American musical firmament and observing the process has been an involving and emotional experience. And like the best stories, I can't wait to see what happens next. 

In fact, he and Maroon have hinted at the next chapter with I Could Have Sworn, a five-song EP that includes Utica Avenue and four new songs, the latter with drummer Hugh McIntosh. Opener My Reward is an uptempo number with slashing chords and Leithauser pushing his voice ragged. New England Crows has Maroon giving us a hint of Johnny Marr but Leithauser is at his most intense, especially in a thrilling wordless section. Cry Out For Me is a pop explosion with a Chuck Berry song buried deep within. Immediately Alone is all shimmer and sigh with a gorgeous piano backdrop from Maroon bringing us full circle to where Dear God started.
                                          
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