We’re halfway through the list, and the decision of what to include gets tougher with each post. This one includes two shoegaze surprises and a legend.
#20: Cosmonauts – A-OK! (2016)
I don’t remember where I first heard Cosmonauts, but I do remember being floored by the sound of this record. The sunny, southern California shoegaze riffs and power these lads put out was nothing short of stunning. The themes of boredom, lost love and youth, and growing tired of hipsters were deftly handled and backed with a trippy sound that’s not easy to make.
#19: Hum – Inlet (2020)
Easily the best surprise of 2020, these Chicagoland shoegaze giants dropped Inlet on an unsuspecting, but wildly grateful, public and immediately became the talk of the music industry – again. It proved that they never lost anything – chops, power, influence, mystery. Let’s hope they get to tour in 2021, because they deserve sell-out shows.
#18: All Them Witches – Sleeping Through the War (2017)
Speaking of power, All Them Witches are brimming with it, and this album was like chugging psychedelic tea mixed with Red Bull. At times blistering with fury and other times a bluesy, swampy mind trip, Sleeping Through the War deals with disconnection, celebrity worship, invasive technology, and, as always with ATW, mysticism.
#17: The Duke Spirit – Kin (2016)
Kin was another surprise release. It wasn’t a surprise that The Duke Spirit put out a new record. The surprise was that, instead of their heavy, sexy, blues-influenced rock, the band put out one of the best shoegaze records of 2016. They metamorphosed like a caterpillar and emerged into something new that somehow thrilled me more than they already had done.
#16: Gary Numan – Savage (Songs from a Broken World) (2017)
The legend I mentioned at the beginning of this post? It’s Gary Numan, and Savage (Songs from a Broken World) was a great return for him. This album brims with power as hard as the post-apocalyptic landscape portrayed on the cover and in the lyrics. Numan wasn’t messing around (nor does he ever) with this record, tackling climate change, fascism, mania, despair, and dread with massive synth riffs, knock-down drums, and pure force. I was lucky to catch him at the Chicago stop on this tour and it was one of the best shows I’d seen in a while.
Next up we have dance-punk, live doom metal, stunning psychedelic jams, an EP from a band that broke up just as they were becoming popular, and an improvised instrumental record.
Keep your mind open.
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