We’re almost to the halfway point. Who’s in the top 15?
#15 – Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor – “Godshe”
Detroit’s Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor released four singles this year, and this was my favorite. It’s bright, trippy, and moves along like a sports car set on cruise control.
#14 – Diagonal – “Negatives”
I’m calling it now. These Chicago shoe gazers are on track to be one of the Next Big Things. This cut blends psychedelia with shoe gaze and we’re all better for it.
#13 – Claude Fontaine – “Pretending He Was You”
Half of this album is dub, and the other half is bossa nova. All of it is good, and this was the first song I heard from it. I swooned.
#12 – Shopping – “Initiative”
Post-punkers Shopping slipped into the end of 2019 with one of the best singles of the year, poking fun at the rat race and The Man with a ripping bass line, typewriter-precise drumming, and that skittering guitar work only they can seem to play.
#11 – Public Practice – “Disposable”
Speaking of post-punk, Public Practice do it very, very well indeed. This single was a delightful treat in the latter half of 2019 and bodes well for hopefully a full album ahead.
As always, there are a lot of good singles out there every year and picking just twenty to highlight is difficult, but here goes.
#20 – Andre Bratten – “HS”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEAh11-Ff0o
Good heavens, the opening bass on this cut from Pax Americana is alone worth the purchase price. It’s one of the hottest house music singles I’ve heard in years.
#19 – BODEGA – “Shiny New Model”
“You will be replaced by a shiny new model” is the first lyric in this sharp single, and on the album of the same name, by these NYC post-punkers who remind us that not only are we replaceable, but we often encourage others to forget us and don’t even realize we’re doing it.
#18 – Durand Jones and the Indications – “Morning in America”
Speaking of songs that throw a heavy punch at modern times, this soul cut is beautiful and brutal. “It’s morning in America, but I can’t see the dawn” might be the hardest-hitting lyric of the year on the most soulful record of the year.
#17 – CHAI – “Fashionista”
It’s difficult to pick a favorite part of this post-punk jam from Japan. Is it the fun vocals? The fat bass? The sizzling high hat? The message to be yourself and not care what others think of you? It’s probably all of it.
#16 – L7 – “Stadium West”
This song was a triumphant return for L7, who blessed us all with their first new album in 20 years – Scatter the Rats. The track is a solid rocker that keeps their snark and shreds.
Who’s in the top 15? Come back later today to learn!
We’ve reached the top 10 concerts I saw this year. Read on!
#10 – Priests – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL – April 22nd
This was my first time seeing Priests in a small venue. The first time I saw them was at the 2017 Pitchfork Music Festival. Priests had just released their great (and, sadly, final for now) album The Seduction of Kansas and all of the songs sounded great live, and downright threatening at some points.
#9 – New Bomb Turks – House of Blues – Chicago, IL – November 28th
I hadn’t seen New Bomb Turks in well over a decade, and they still sounded as raw and feisty as ever. They were a wild punk rock injection to the Reverend Horton Heat’s “Holiday Hayride” show. I was thrown back in time and in the small mosh pit for the entire set, even jumping on stage during “Let’s Dress Up the Naked Truth” and having my mouth violated by lead singer Eric Davidson’s microphone.
#8 – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL – August 24th
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard never disappoint, and I attended this show after going to a memorial service for a cousin who loved live music. I thought of her multiple times during this show, which featured a wild set that mixed psychedelia, thrash metal, electro, and blues and two mosh pits happening at the same time in different parts of the ballroom.
#7 – Bayonne – 191 Toole – Tucson, AZ – May 10th
For anyone who missed this show, let me express my condolences. It was the last show of Bayonne‘s spring tour. It was in a small Tucson venue and I think fewer than thirty people were there. He could’ve just phoned it in and did the bare minimum to get by and then motor home to Austin, Texas, but he didn’t. He slayed that stage. I knew halfway through his set that it was going to be among my top ten shows of the year.
#6 – The Black Keys – United Center – Chicago, IL – September 27th
Seeing the Black Keys live had been on my bucket list for years, so I jumped at the chance to see them in Chicago. I didn’t know how their raw blues rock would sound in such a big venue, but my apprehension was short-lived. They filled the United Center with powerful sound and clarity, mixing old tracks with new ones and thrilling the crowd.
We’re almost to number one. Who will take the crown? Tune in later today to find out!
I was talking with a friend of mine over the summer and he asked me if I’d heard anything by this new English band called Black Midi.
“I don’t know what they’re doing, but it’s pretty cool,” he said.
That’s as good of an explanation of them and their debut album, Schlagenheim, as I can give. The band (Geordi Greep – guitar and vocals, Matt Kwasnievski-Kelvin – guitar, Cameron Picton – bass, and Morgan Simpson – drums) mixes prog-rock, math rock, shoegaze rock, kraut rock, Japanese black MIDI rock (for which they are named) and, for all I know, actual rocks to produce music that is baffling, intriguing, and mesmerizing. The band have stated in interviews that the music they’ll make in ten years will sound nothing like they’re making now. They love experimenting. I heard an interview in which one member said they’ll sometimes jam for two or three hours and only take two or three minutes of material from it. They blatantly defy any attempt to label their music, which some people might find maddening, but it somehow makes my job easier. It’s like when another friend of mine described Aqua Teen Hunger Force by saying, “Once I knew there was nothing to ‘get,’ I got it.”
The album opens with guitars pleading for their lives on “953” as a drum kit is beaten into oblivion by Simpson doing an impression of a drunken kung fu master. The lyrics, which have something to do with the wages of sin (I think) take a back seat to the chaos around them. Just to screw with your head more, “Speedway” starts off quiet and mellow (despite its title) and adds robotic vocals to further disassociate the band with the listener’s expectations.
“Reggae” is anything but reggae (although one could possibly compare it to some of The Police‘s more experimental tracks, as they loved reggae, but why bother?). It’s sharp drumming and post-punk guitars in some sort of three-way with the odd lyrics about “fresh leather shoes” and strutting in style. One can only guess that “near DT, MI” was written while the band was driving to or from there. Don’t expect it to sound like any Detroit bands (Stooges, MC5, White Stripes) because it’s more like angry punk band from Math-magic Land. You’ll understand once you hear the guitars and keys.
The band has been known to wear cowboy hats onstage, which, along with “Western,” might be hint to their secret love of country music. Lyrics about being up before daylight and unrequited love certainly qualify, but this is country music filtered through the computers used to pilot the Mars rover.
“Of Schlagenheim” has Greep singing of a woman with a hot temper while his bandmates create some kind of post-punk madness behind him (and some of Picton’s heaviest fuzz on the record). “bmbmbm” could be a Goblintrack in an alternate universe. “She moves with purpose,” Green singing while a woman cackles, laughs, and / or madly babbles in the background and Picton’s bass thuds like a hammer.
“Years Ago” is like riding a rollercoaster designed by H.P. Lovecraft, and the closer (and first single), “Ducter” is a track that’s evolved from when Greep and Kwasnievski-Kelvin used to busk in train stations that blends kraut rock synths with prog-rock jams.
I realize that this review is almost worthless, and you’ll understand this realization when you hear Schlagenheim. Another friend of mine saw Black Midi at the 2019 Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. He told me their live set was a highlight of the weekend. I told him what my friend said about them.
“I don’t think they know what they’re doing either,” he said, “but they were amazing.”
Keep your mind open.
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Shopping announce All Or Nothing, their new album out February 7th on FatCat Records, and present the video for lead single, “Initiative.” Following 2018’s The Official Body, the songs that make up All or Nothing are the band’s boldest yet; confident, elastic, streamlined grooves that crackle with energy and intention. The trio’s vision – deeply queer; political by default – place them in a radical lineage of dance, a continuum connecting disco and post-punk to Chicago house and EDM.
Storming lead single “Initiative” was written in a Seattle basement. Like the album as a whole, the track thrums with purpose, marking a confident new phase for the band. Referencing governments who shirk responsibilities but place the blame on individuals, the song has a frustrated groove that’s propelling, motivated by necessity to keep going against the grain. The accompanying video, directed by JackBarraclough, is brightly-stylized, and stars the band themselves.
Though the band members now live countries away from each other – guitarist RachelAggs (Trash Kit, Sacred Paws) and drummer AndrewMilk (Current Affairs) in Glasgow and BillyEaster (Wet Dog) in Los Angeles – the trio returned to London for an intense, 10-day period. For All Or Nothing, they teamed up with US-based producer DaveyWarsop to record, shifting their stripped-down ethos to one that took a leap into pop production. Talking Heads, YYYs, Bronski Beat and LCD Soundsystem are among the artists to feature on the production inspo playlist the band created for NickSylvester, who mixed the record, in Los Angeles.
Along with cleaner, new production values, All Or Nothing sees Shopping experiment further with the sonic additions that coloured The Official Body. Jubilantly ‘80s synths and electronic percussion add new textures to their signature minimalist dynamic.
Four albums in, Shopping are as committed and focused as ever, regardless of any distance. “We found ourselves singing about being true to yourself, in an often binary and belligerent digital age, and reclaiming agency when it feels like our personal freedom and privacy is constantly eroding.” In an era dominated by spin and surveillance, All Or Nothing invites us to remember what really moves us, in dance and in life.
All Or Nothing Tracklist: 1. All Or Nothing 2. Initiative 3. Follow Me 4. No Apologies 5. For Your Pleasure 6. About You 7. Lies 8. Expert Advice 9. Body Clock 10. Trust In Us
Shopping Tour Dates: Fri. Feb. 7 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East Sun. Feb. 9 – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol Mon. Feb. 10 – Nottingham, UK @ Rough Trade Nottingham Thu. March 5 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios * Fri. March 6 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern * Sat. March 7 – Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore * Mon. March 9 – Reno, NV @ Holland Project * Tue. March 10 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop * Wed. March 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ 1720 * Thu. March 12 – San Diego, CA @ UCSD * Sat. March 14 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress (Spring Thing) * Mon. March 16 – Sat. March 21 – Austin, TX @SXSW Mon. March 23 – Tallahassee, FL @ The Bark * Tue. March 24 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Purgatory * Wed. March 25 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook * Thu. March 26 – Washington, DC @ DC9 * Fri. March 27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle * Sat. March 28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere * Sun. March 29 – Portsmouth, NH @ The Press Room * Tue. March 31 – Toronto, ON @ The Monarch * Thu. April 2 – Detroit, MI @ Deluxx Fluxx * Fri. April 3 – Fort Wayne, IN @ The Brass Rail * Sat. April 4 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean * Sun. April 5 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry * Tue. April 7 – St. Louis, MO @ Sinkhole * Wed. April 8 – Lawrence, KS @ White Schoolhouse * Thu. April 9 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive * Fri. April 10 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court * Tue. May 5 – London, UK @ The Lexington Wed. May 6 – Paris, FR @ Supersonic Fri. May 8 – Utrecht, NL @ ACU Sat. May 9 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow (SkyBar) Sun. May 10 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Ideal Bar Mon. May 11 – Berlin, DE @ Urban Spree Thu. May 14 – Vienna, AT @ Fluc Café Fri. May 15 – Prague, CZ @ Meetfactory Sat. May 16 – Munich, DE @ Milla Sun. May 17 – Bern, CH @ Reitschule/Rössli Tue. May 19 – Winterhur, CH @ Albani Thu. May 21 – Luxembourg, LU @ De Gudde Wellen Sat. May 23 – Offenbach, DE @ Hafen 2
Leeds, England’s Mush, are set to release their 3D Routine, in February on Memphis Industries. It was produced by Andy Savours (who has worked with bands like My Bloody Valentine, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Dream Wife) and the first single “Eat The Etiquette” is out now.
Mush specialize in playing weirdo, angular, observational guitar pop, both energetic and abrasive while also having a ton of fun. They’ve played shows with bands like Shame, Girl Band, Stereloab and more, and have been supported by sites like DIY and Loud and Quiet, as well as BBC 6Music.
They released a single through the legendary Too Pure Singles Club, and followed that with Induction Party earlier this year, which was a relentless burst of an EP (also released on Memphis Industries). “Eat The Etiquette” continues where the EP left off and is a total earworm of a track with a super catchy chorus that’ll get stuck in your head all day.
I love the title of Bleached‘s new record – Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough?Ostensibly, it refers to sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin‘s take on bad relationships. Bleached has always excelled at writing songs about love, break-ups, drawing a line in the emotional sand, and embracing female empowerment. The album’s title can also refer to a host of other things, though – the political atmosphere, junk food, money for billionaires, your smartphone, etc. It’s a question we should all often ask ourselves because it keeps us in the now.
The solid rock groove of the opener, “Heartbeat Away,” has the Clavin sisters singing about how dangerously close addiction and heartbreak can be if you’re not careful (“I could go back to the way it was. All it would take is a slip in the mud.”). It’s no secret that Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough? is the first album they’ve written while clean and sober, and this new clarity is all over the record. As evidence of this, look no further than the second track, “Hard to Kill,” which brings in a great disco guitar riff and is one of my favorite singles of the year.
“Daydream” is a garage rock song about longing after someone who might’ve been “the one,” but is now lost to time and vague memories. “I Get What I Need” has a cool swing to it that is difficult to describe (Early Kaiser Chiefs tunes?) but great to hear. “Somebody Dial 911” is easier to describe, because it sounds like a lost 1980’s alternative rock love song that cracked the Billboard Top 40. The guitar riffs resemble Cure riffs and the slightly echoed vocals remind one of Brit-pop from the era.
“Kiss You Goodbye” (also in the running for one of my top 20 singles of the year) is such a great tune that you might miss the fact that it’s a middle finger to a former lover and how Bleached feels “so alive” afterwards. It’s a track that isn’t afraid to explore and embrace the many genres that inspire the Clavin sisters (disco, pop, and post-punk in this track, in particular). “I don’t want what I can’t have,” Jennifer Clavin sings on “Rebound City.” “I just want to make you say, ‘I’m sorry. I never meant to break your heart.’ It’s a one-way boulevard.” Ouch. You’re tempted to feel bad for the dude she’s left, but you quickly realize he was a dickweed and Clavin is better off walking away with her middle finger raised.
“I don’t know if I’m cut out for this,” they sing at the beginning of “Silly Girl” – a song that’s a look-back to their past reliance on drugs and booze. Trust me, Sisters Clavin, you are. The slick production of this toe-tapper is proof. The California sun comes through on “Valley to LA,” which even has a west coast country vibe to it. Jennifer Clavin admits to her faults on “Real Life” (“That one time when I was such a piece of shit and made you sad…”). “Awkward Phase” is a down-tuned, but still lively, track about our teenage years and the attachments we have related to them that are hard to release (Haven’t we had enough of them?). The closer, “Shitty Ballet,” is a sharp take on a bad relationship and heartbreak. So often we dance around the things that make us uncomfortable or get lost in the illusion of comfort that is actually bad for us (again, without realizing we’ve had enough of it).
Bleached keep getting better with each record. Hearing them create art from a place of inner peace is a joy, and I couldn’t be happier for them. Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough? might be the one of the most uplifting albums of 2019.
Keep your mind open.
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Los Angeles’ Prettiest Eyesmake music that’s been described as “post-industrial” by other folks, and I suppose that’s as good a description as any other, because I’m not sure I can come up with another. I mean this as a compliment. The trio of Paco Casanova (keyboards and vocals), Pachy Garcia (drums and vocals), and Marcos Rodriguez (bass and vocals) make a wild chaotic mix of new wave, no wave, post-punk, psychedelia, techno latino, and, yes, industrial. As you can imagine, playing this kind of controlled chaos requires a lot of energy, and that energy comes through in their live sets and on their new album, Volume 3.
The opening alarms and snappy beats of “Johnny Come Home” remind one of early Devo tracks. Casanova’s synths seamlessly meld the track into their fun cover of Crash Course in Science‘s “It Costs to Be Austere” – a pogo-inducing rocker that reminds us that being plain and stern in our beliefs does have a price. It sounds like all three of them had a blast recording it, and it’s a blast to hear live.
“I Don’t Know” is a solid psychedelic jam with great keyboard work from Casanova. “Mr. President” is a sharp techno track that dances along the edge of darkwave as Garcia sings about marginalised people seeking recognition (“Mr. President, say my name!”). Speaking of darkwave, the subject of matter of “Nekrodisco” falls into that category, but the instrumentation is straight-up industrial dance music. Rodriguez’s bass licks are relentless throughout it and carry the weight of the track with what appears to be ease but is actually damn hard work.
The squelching, wailing sounds of “The Shame” almost overpower you, and then “Another Earth” comes along – a dub track that throws you for a trippy loop. “Marihuana” is wonderfully bonkers with some of Rodriguqez’s grooviest bass work. “Summer in L.A.” has an underlying menace that you can’t escape. It might induce paranoia in those of weaker minds. “No More Summer” might be the most radio friendly cut, but I doubt they care about such things. “Strange Distance” gets back into psychedelic territory and the closer, “La Maldad,” ups the feedback and fuzz for the finale.
Prettiest Eyes are one of those bands that, after you hear them (and definitely after you see them live), you mention to anyone during any conversation about music. “I just heard this wild band from L.A. called Prettiest Eyes. They might be my new favorite thing,” will be a typical response.
Beijing’s duo of Gong Gong Gong (Joshua Frank – bass, Tom Ng – guitar and vocals) might have the most aptly titled album of 2019 – Phantom Rhythm. It’s apt because they don’t have a drummer. All the rhythm on their astounding debut album is made by Frank’s thumping, snappy bass and Ng’s manic, sharp guitar.
All of the album’s vocals are in Cantonese, and the intonations and sounds of the language accentuate the intriguing phantom rhythms throughout the record. “The Last Note” starts with jangly guitar chords and up-tuned bass that almost bring to mind chanted mantras atop a Chinese mountain before the song breaks into a fast gallop. “Notes Underground” continues the rapid pace as Ng sings about walking away from a finished relationship without any lasting grudges on either side.
The phantom rhythm of Ng’s guitar is in full effect on “Ride Your Horse,” a song about eschewing modern technology for tradition. “Moonshadows” has some of Frank’s funkiest bass as Ng sings about the ocean, or sex, or maybe both. “Scattered state, breath quickens, unknowable grasping imperfection,” Ng sings (again, in Cantonese) on the post-punk rocker “Inner Reaches.” It’s a sharp track about avoiding the present moment, as is “Gong Gong Gong Blues.” “Wei Wei Wei” is a grunting, down-and-dirty, fuzzy fire burning through your speakers.
The slower “Some Kind of Demon” seems to be about indecision or some sort of malaise that Ng can’t quite define. We’ve all met this demon at one point in our lives. “Night’s Colour (Chongqing)” is a cool instrumental that almost sounds like warped carnival music at first. The album ends with the heavy “Sounds of Love” – a song about love’s complications and expectations. The tune swirls around the reverb of Ng’s vocals with Frank’s charging bass and some of Ng’s wildest, fuzziest guitar riffs.
It’s a wild record, and easily one of the most intriguing of the year. Their sound is like a phantom – something you can feel and experience but not quite grasp.
Keep your mind open.
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Founded in Athens, Georgia by twin brothers Reid and Blaze Bateh, and bassist William Brookshire, Bambara have been steadily attracting attention since the release of their 2013 debut. Earning praise from Pitchfork, NPR, VICE, Bandcamp, Spin, DIY, BrooklynVegan and The Quietus, and touring non-stop in the US and Europe with like-minded artists like IDLES, METZ, Girl Band and Daughters, the band released their most celebrated album to date in 2018 with Shadow On Everything, a release that NPR dubbed a “mesmerizing western, gothic opus.” Today, Bambara are announcing their follow up Stray(due out via Wharf Cat on February 14th, 2020), with the premiere of the album’s first single “Serafina” on the FADER.
WATCH: to Bambara’s “Serafina” lyric video on The FADER // YouTube
A thunderous squall of a song, “Serafina” provides an arresting introduction to the album. Channelling the anarchic energy of The Birthday Party and Gun Club, in combination with Reid Blateh’s dramatic lyrical style the track imbues the story of a pair suburban misfits with apocalyptic weight. Bambara’s rhythm section rattles and bursts behind a frantic descending guitar lead as Reid, in a fraying baritone, weaves a tale set in his home state of Georgia that acknowledges the history of the place with subtle Civil War allusions, while conjuring an immediate atmosphere of backwoods unease. As Reid tells to FADER, it’s a song built to communicate an unhinged energy.
“Stray is a death-obsessed album,” says Reid. “Most of the songs are about different characters’ futile attempts at living meaningful lives under the weight of imminent annihilation. I wanted “Serafina” to feel different. I wanted the song to radiate a sort of wild-eyed hope. A youthful disregard for death itself. Serafina and Sadie live exactly how they want to live, exploring their love for one another before a backdrop of flames. The knowledge of their own mortality takes nothing from their enthusiasm for life. If anything, they see it as a challenge they might one day overcome together. When they say, “We’ll never die” I want it to feel like they might actually have a shot.”
Bambara have announced a Brooklyn show at St. Vitus on November 8th and a full US tour in support of the album to take place in 2020. Full details can be found below.
10/25/2019 – Record Junkie – Sheffield, UK 10/26/2019 – The Poetry Club – Glasgow, UK 10/28/2019 – Green Door Store – Brighton, UK 10/29/2019 – Sebright Arms – London, UK 11/8/2019 – St. Vitus – Brooklyn, NY 2/19/2020 – Union Stage – Washington, DC 2/20/2020 – Boot & Saddle – Philadelphia, PA 2/21/2020 – Space Ballroom – Hamden, CT 2/22/2020 – Great Scott – Boston, MA 2/24/2020 – Bar Le Ritz – Montreal, QC 2/25/2020 – The Garrison – Toronto, ON 2/26/2020 – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH 2/27/2020 – PJ’s Lager House – Detroit, MI 2/28/2020 – Sleeping Village – Chicago, IL 2/29/2020 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN 3/3/2020 – The Sunset – Seattle, WA 3/4/2020 – Fox Cabaret – Vancouver, BC 3/5/2020 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR 3/6/2020 – Cafe Du Nord – San Francisco, CA 3/7/2020 – The Echo – Los Angeles, CA 3/9/2020 – The Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ 3/10/2020 – Lowbrow Palace – El Paso, TX 3/11/2020 – Barracuda – Austin, TX 3/12/2020 – Ruins – Dallas, TX 3/13/2020 – Hi Tone (Small Room) – Memphis, TN 3/14/2020 – The High Watt – Nashville, TN 3/15/2020 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA 3/17/2020 – Cat’s Cradle Back Room – Carrboro, NC
