Friday 19 January 2018

Q#117 - December 2017 to January 2018


Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT
Download mix from: http://www.mediafire.com/file/c0ir8pqqdcdw80l/Q117.zip

Q's Compilations
Vol #117 – December 2017 to January 2018

Greetings! If you’re reading this, then congratulations on surviving 2017, it certainly wasn’t without its troubles, but there were some truly wonderful moments too. As is the norm, the first mix of the year is a “best of”, which is more of a “best acts of 2017” since I may already have used songs I preferred already and don’t want to double up, but you get the idea!

01) Metz - Mess of Wires: The Toronto trio will most likely never change, and sometimes that isn’t a bad thing. While their third album, Strange Peace, is probably different enough to stop things getting completely stale, their trademark pummelling approach is unyielding. This track opens the record.

02) Feral Ohms - Living Junkyard: One of the best shows I saw this year was a free Feral Ohms set in Union Pool’s back garden. Another band who are just simply relentless both live and on record, it was a hard task picking a track from their self-titled album from this year, but needless to say, if you enjoy this song, there’s more!

03) Waxahatchee – Silver: I’m just going to be lazy here and re-use what I wrote for FreeWilliamsburg’s top 25 albums of 2017 post! I saw Waxahatchee early in the year as a duo opening for The New Pornographers, and I’ve always preferred Katie Crutchfield’s songs when they’re delivered at their slowest and most bare, so while I enjoyed the first single from the record (Silver), I was hoping the bigger sound wasn’t going to be the norm. However, the sign of a great writer is to take you along with them and turn you around, and Out in the Storm is her best effort yet, with more layers and more guitars than before, turns out their all the better for it!

04) The Courtneys - Silver Velvet: I used Country Song back on Q#112, but this might just be the most me song of 2017. The first non-kiwi band to sign to the legendary Flying Nun label, I’ve conspired to miss them the couple of times they have played in New York and hope to not make it a hat-trick the next time. The Vancouver trio released II in February. “Can't get you out of my head, Even through the miles, I know that it is wrong but you, Just seem to drive me wild. And nothing you say and nothing you do, Can stop me from thinking about you, Doesn't matter if it's right, You're just the one I like”

05) Alex Napping - Temperamental Bed: I used the near-perfect Living Room on Q#112, which is on the band’s second album, Mise En Place which was released in May. The rest of the album doesn’t quite hit the same heights but it’s a delightful record. “How do you talk about a moment?”

06) Ryan Adams – Doomsday: Another of my FreeWilliamsburg contributions (the title track appeard on Q#113) - Sometimes a record comes along that just captures you in the moment. I’d dipped in and out of Ryan Adams’ discography about 15 years ago but I didn’t feel it at the time and never went back. However, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to an album so many times in a single year than I have done Prisoner, since I was a teenager. The title track in particular tackles that well-worn subject of forbidden love perfectly that even great writers can only manage sparingly, if at all. While some may prefer Adams in a more rustic vein, the immaculate production is another triumph here, and though I could understand people saying that it’s perhaps a bit too similar to his self-titled album from 2014, and even though this ends up as #6 on our list, it’s hard for me to see past this being my personal favourite of 2017 by some distance. “Can you stand and face your fears, my love? I will for you. I could stand in just one place, my love, And never move. As the fire burns around us in the dark, One part is the world and one's my heart”

07) Future Islands – Shadows: I used Aladdin on Q#113, and with The Far Field, the band kept the same formula that worked so well for them on Singles. For that reason, it seems to have been forgotten somewhat on most end-of-year lists, which is probably fair. It’s still a good record overall, albeit somewhat safe. A victim of their own success, perhaps.

08) Curtis Harding - Wednesday Morning Atonement: Another Free Williamsburg blurb: Anyone who follows Free Williamsburg won’t be surprised to see Curtis represented in this list, we’ve been huge supporters since the very beginning. His debut album, Soul Power, was so good that the three years it took for Face Your Fear to come out has seemed like an age. It has, however, been worth the wait, and while the debut was laced with horns and guitars, his latest effort is more like a contemporary take on smoother soul, with keyboards coming to the fore. The star of the show, is of course, Harding’s vocal delivery, which is even better than before. Not only is he continuing to be the only modern soul artist I can think of that doesn’t sound derivative of the past, his latest efforts show another great quality, someone who doesn’t want to make the same record twice. “Hello children, Well it's been, Such a very long time, Now I've finally found the mind, To explain, Where I've been living, Now I know I'm here to stay, Waiting on this better day”

09) Big Thief - Shark Smile: Another FW rip! Brooklyn-based quartet Big Thief stepped up their game massively in 2017, and that’s saying something after their 2016 debut, Masterpiece. While the former was a wonderful record, Capacity somehow manages to handle the fragile melodies and delicate finger picked guitar parts with so much more confidence, while also becoming more bare and intimate at the same time; quite the achievement. As long as Adrianne Lenker and co keep putting out records this beautiful, we won’t have to pine for the days when Mark Kozelek could remember what a vocal melody sounded like. “And she said woo, Baby, take me, And I said woo, Baby, take me too”

10) Molly Burch - Please Be Mine: Oops, I thought I was diligent but I just noticed that I did already use this track on Q#114 (and I’d used my favourite track from the record, Please Forgive Me on Q#112!). Probably the most chilled release of 2017.

11) The Magnetic Fields - Have You Seen It In the Snow: Stephin Merrit released 50 Song Memoir this year (he actually turned 50 in 2015 but that’s a minor technicality), with one song for each year of his life. As one can imagine, it’s a bit much to be memorable all the way through, but it still has all the classic vibes of a Magnetic Fields record. “They say this city is dirty and gray, But I think it's pretty on a summer day, And on rainy nights, When the streets smudge the lights, It's beautiful, you know”

12) No Joy – Hellhole: No Joy went shoegaze on their Creep EP from February 2017, and it’s a move they pull off with great aplomb.

13) Dream Wife – Somebody: I have to admit, I was somewhat struggling for inspiration at times with this mix, and while searching for upcoming gigs, realised I hadn’t actually checked out Dream Wife yet amid some hype I’ve heard. The London-based trio (via Icland and Brighton) are releasing their debut record in 2018 but tunes like this (which was released on the Fire EP this year) make for one of the most anticipated for the year.

14) Priests – JJ: My Free Williamsburg blurb again: While DC political-punks Priests have been around since 2012, this year saw the release of their debut full-length album, Nothing Feels Natural, via their own Sister Polygon label. The album has more of a post-punk influence than the earlier Eps and despite the name of the record, it definitely feels like a natural move for the quartet. Priests are perhaps the best current example of a band that are the sum of their parts, with Taylor Mulitz (bass) and Daniele Daniele (drums) forming one of the most interesting rhythm sections around, GL Jaguar’s classic post-punk tone, and Katie Alice Greer’s vocals have found an expanded range and sound from their earlier Eps that go perfectly with the new material.

15) Thundercat - Them Changes: Drunk came out with a lot of acclaim in 2017 but I felt like the praise had died down somewhat by the end of the year, and that might be a fair reflection of the kind of record it is, there’s a lot to love on a couple of listens, but the highlights appear few and far between on closer inspection. It is, however, still an enjoyable record with some fantastic bass work in particular.

16) Destroyer - Cover From the Sun: I didn’t give Ken a whole lot of thought when it was released in October but when it came to cramming in some records for research purposes I found it a very strong record. It seems unfair to say that I find it harder to separate Dan Bejar from New Pornographers than Neko Case or AC Newman, especially given that Destroyer is further removed than their solo work is. Alas, this is one of the more straightforward songs from the album but the sugar rush drew me to it for this mix.

17) Justin Currie - I'll Leave It To You: His fourth solo release, possibly the one person outside and friends and family who has had the most impact on me as a person, This Is My Kingdom Now goes back to more of a What Is Love For vibe (his first solo record after Del Amitri). This is a typically sombre affair as most of his piano-led songs are, but there are some delightful harmonies here too!

18) Pile – Texas: A Hairshirt of Purpose saw Boston’s Pile kick things up a notch, with more intensity and focus, which seemed a hard task considering 2015’s You’re Better Than This seemed hard for them to top.

19) Guided By Voices - Cheap Buttons: What can one say about Guided By Voices, and Robert Pollard in particular, that hasn’t been said before. August By Cake was Pollard’s 100th release of his career. That’s right… one-hundred. And he still managed to get another one out by the end of the year. Augusts By Cake was the band’s first double-record and it flies by with all the hallmarks of a great GBV record.

20) Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires - Save My Life!: My last Free Williamsburg bit: We’ve liked Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires since first stumbling onto a set at CMJ in 2014, and while their record at the time was a blaze of AC/DC-inspired southern rock and roll (released via Sub Pop), I was very excited to hear that they had signed to Don Giovanni Records for what would be their third album, Youth Detention. The rough edges have been sharpened and while the fire is still there in spades, I would say Youth Detention is perhaps the best radio-rock album I have heard in many a year, the songs hit fast and true but are filled with catchy hooks and one can’t help but feel like this is an album that should be in everyone’s car. This is a record that deserves to be paid for, and played loud, with a smile on your face.

21) Steven Wilson – Detonation: Steven Wilson turned 50 this year and released his fifth solo record, To the Bone, though I have to confess I’m rather lukewarm to it. He’s either a victim of his own success for me or more likely, I don’t think his work is challenging or changing enough, which has been the case since Porcupine Tree’s 2002 In Absentia record. Granted, his first couple of solo records seemed an uptick from PT’s end. I threw this on the end because I didn’t know where else to put it, and then since forgot I had omitted songs by B Boys and Cayetana. Alas, it’s not exactly a bad record and I do like this song!

And there we have it, 2017, folks. There’s a lot of hard work ahead for 2018 but I’m hopeful it’s going to be an excellent one despite some turbulence, the future looks bright in many ways.  

As always, Peace and Love
Q


Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT
Download mix from: http://www.mediafire.com/file/c0ir8pqqdcdw80l/Q117.zip