Tag: LEpee

Top 40 albums of 2016-2020: #’s 40 – 36

I realized that I’ve been running and writing 7th Level Music for five years now, and that the five-year anniversary coincided with the end of the last decade. So, in the spirit of “Everyone loves lists!”, I’ve decided to rank my top 40 albums of the last five years. I went with 40 records after I averaged the number of albums I reviewed from 2016 to 2020 and then chopped that number approximately in half.

This wasn’t an easy task (although my #1 album was quickly determined). The list went through four revisions before I felt it was “right.” Lists like this are always subjective, and there are always good, if not great, albums that don’t make the cut. There were also bands like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Oh Sees, WALL, and Here Lies Man that had multiple excellent albums within the five-year span that I wanted to highlight, but I opted to choose one from each (another difficult task) in order to get more artists onto the list.

Shall we begin?

#40: CHAI – Pink (2018)

Japanese pop punk? Yes, please. These four ladies have made some of the most fun music of the last five years. They’ve also created their own sense of fashion by trashing fashion standards and love donuts and dancing. There’s nothing to not like. Lead single “N.E.O.” was like a shot in the arm of pure dance-punk adrenaline.

#39: Caroline Rose – Superstar (2020)

Superstar is Caroline Rose’s best album yet and one that covers everything from doing things your own way to the weird world of fame that found her after she released the excellent Loner album. Rose tackles these subjects with her witty lyrics, funky grooves, and lovely voice, starting off the record with a track called “Nothing’s Impossible” and carrying that positivity through the whole record.

#38: The New Pornographers – Whiteout Conditions (2017)

For the record, The New Pornographers saw everything we experienced in the political landscape for the last four years coming as soon as the 2016 election ended. Whiteout Conditions was A.C. Newman and company’s response to the results. He and the rest of the band knew then what was coming, creating songs like the title track (about the rise of white people embracing fear more than ever and dreading what that would cause down the road) and “This Is the World of the Theatre.” It certainly was, wasn’t it?

#37: Mdou Moctar – Ilana (The Creator) (2019)

Simply a beautiful record of Tuareg music that was all about positivity, embracing light, and searching for and finding peace through love and compassion. Moctar is a phenomenal guitarist, creating stunning riffs and power, and cool dude all around. When I saw him live, he was selling Tuareg jewelry at his merch table to support a school he was building back in Algeria.

#36: L’Epee – Diabolique (2019)

This psychedelic supergroup’s debut album is a stunner and seemed to come out of nowhere. It sounds like it was unearthed from a time capsule buried in a small French coastal town in 1966 and combines the powers of Anton Newcombe, The Limiñanas, and Emmanuelle Seigner. It’s one of those records that can instantly put you into a trance or change the mood of an entire nightclub, let alone a room.

There’s plenty more to come. Stay tuned.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

Top 30 albums of 2019: #’s 10 – 6

We’ve reached the top 10 folks!

#10 – Jake Xerxes Fussell – Out of Sight

Jake Fussell sings sea shanties, songs about death, and forgotten ballads and does them with such warm and honesty that every album feels like he’s playing it live in your living room.

#9 – Claude Fontaine – self-titled

Half-dub, half-bossa nova, all good. Claude Fontaine‘s lovely voice blends so well with her powerhouse backing band of seasoned session musicians that this album sounds like she’s been putting out records for years.

#8 – L’Epee – Diabolique

L’Epee’s Diabolique is not only one of the best psychedelic rock albums of the year, it’s also one of the best debut albums of the year. The arrangements drift over your like incense smoke and send you back in time to 1967.

#7 – Thee Oh Sees – Face Stabber

This double album from Thee Oh Sees pushed up the double-drumming percussion and added jazz elements to create a wild record that sounds like a long lost Frank Zappa record, but with more allusions to creepy people in shadows possibly manipulating us without our knowledge. Plus, one entire side of this double album is the incredible “Henchlock.”

#6 – Moon Duo – Stars Are the Light

If you can mix psychedelia with jazz, why not mix it with disco? That’s just Moon Duo did on Stars Are the Light – an ultra-cool record that should be the soundtrack for every chill lounge in outer space.

Who makes the top 5? Come back later today to find out!

Keep your mind open.

[Get 2020 off to a good start by subscribing.]

Top 20 singles of 2019: #’s 10 – 6

We’ve reached the top ten! Let’s get to it.

#10 – Bleached – “Hard to Kill”

I knew this was going to be a great year for Bleached within the first couple bars of this track. It has a wicked disco flavor to it but they don’t lose their punk edge. Bleached has taken their song craft to another level with this one.

#9 – Sleater-Kinney – “Can I Go On”

“Everyone I know is tired, and everyone I know is wired. It’s obscene. I just scream ’til it don’t hurt no more.” I think these words from Sleater-Kinney might be the truest ones this year about the state of practically everyone in America.

#8 – L’Epee – “Une Lune Etrange”

I think my initial reaction to hearing this song from this psychedelic supergroup was “Holy crap…” I couldn’t say anything else. It’s was a gauntlet thrown down to everyone making psychedelic rock, or any other kind of music for that matter.

#7 – The Well – “This Is How the World Ends”

This song hits you like a sledge hammer and is from my favorite doom metal album of 2019. As heavy as this is, wait until you hear it live. I turned to my wife after hearing it at Levitation Austin this year and said, “And that’s why their album is in my top ten of the year.”

#6 – Thee Oh Sees – “Henchlock”

Some might call it unfair that I’m listing a song that last 21:03 as a “single,” but Thee Oh Sees released this video for it, so that makes it a single in my eyes (even if it is one entire side of a double album). It’s a wild psychedelic jazz jam that gets stuck in your head and is one of the best thing John Dwyer and his crew have ever done.

Come back soon for the top five!

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe before you go?]

Review: L’Epee – Diabolique

Supergroups aren’t as rare as they used to be, and most of them aren’t as good as they should be. One comes along every now and then that is an exemplary example of the term, and L’Epee is such a band.

Consisting of Lionel and Marie Liminana (of The Liminanas), Anton Newcombe (of The Brian Jonestown Massacre), and Emmanuelle Seigner (of Ultra Orange and Emmanuelle), L’Epee’s debut album, Diabolique, is a stunning album of psychedelic rock inspired not only by the band members’ own projects, but also by The Velvet Underground, European film scores from the 1960’s (the album’s name is inspired by the Mario Bava film Danger: Diabolik), and garage rock.

The opener, “Une Lune Etrange” (“A Strange Moon”), has a French title and English lyrics. The whole album bounces back and forth between English and French vocals, adding another layer of coolness to the record. The first track brings Liminana’s guitar work to the forefront as Seigner (who does lead vocal duties throughout the record) sings about not having a care in the world as things devolve around her. She is in control of her own world and destiny.

“Lou” is a loving tribute to Lou Reed that chugs along with heady drumming by Marie Liminana and incense smoke synth and reverb effects by Newcombe. “Dreams” sounds like an unearthed Parisian garage rock single recorded in 1967. This is no surprise when you consider Newcombe has a practical warehouse of vintage gear from the era the band used to create a perfect sound to reflect the time period.

Seigner’s vocals on “La Brigade Des Malefices” (“The Hex Brigade” or “The Cursed Brigade,” depending on how you translate it) are almost spoken word poetry behind Joy Division-like beats and distorted guitars. The hand percussion on “On Dansait Avec Elle” (“We Were Dancing with Her”) is a nice touch, almost creating a waltz inside a psychedelic trip.

I don’t know if “Ghost Rider” has anything to do with the comic book characters (either the western hero on horseback or the flaming skull-headed guy on a motorcycle), but it would be a fitting song on a movie soundtrack for them. Seigner sings of “sadness all around me” as she views the world from the other side of the veil (“Baby, I’m dead.”). Mrs. Liminana’s beats are like a throbbing heart and her husband’s guitar work is like a distant echo.

“Grande” (“Tall” / “Large”) has Middle Eastern rhythms and “Springfield 61” brings in church bells to create one of the brightest songs on the album. “Un Rituel Inhabituel” (“An Unusual Ritual”) is almost an instrumental of Newcombe and Mr. Liminana going back and forth with waves of guitar while Seigner sings simple “La la la” sounds and Mrs. Liminana pounds her kit for the back of the club. The closer, “Last Picture Show,” references multiple 1960’s films (“Get Carter,” “Dressed to Kill,” and others) as Seigner sings about a mysterious woman and Mrs. Liminana unleashes relentless beats.

Diabolique is easily one of the best debut albums of the year, and certainly one of the best psych-rock releases of 2019. I hope this collaboration continues, because this is the stuff of dreams.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]