Tuesday 28 January 2020

Q#129 - December 2019 to January 2020


Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT  


Now with added Spotify playlist at end of notes.


Q's Compilations
Vol #129 – December 2019 to January 2020

Hello 2020. A new decade… unfortunately it hasn’t started very well! Regardless, the first comp of the year is, as always, a recap of my favourite things from the previous year.

01) White Reaper - Real Long Time: If there’s one thing I look for every year it’s an unadulterated, no holds barred fun pop-rock record and the best of those this year is White Reaper’s You Deserve Love. Two years on from The World’s Best American Band, the band are now on a major label (Elektra) but there’s no sign of any pitfalls that sometimes come with a major-debut, the band have always been pop. You Deserve Love is a triumph of harmonised guitars and anthemic choruses, if there’s any change then it’s a little more Thin Lizzy as opposed to Cheap Trick, so turn the volume up and have a good time. If you’re equally at home in the mosh-pit or a two-step sway, this is the record for you. Might Be Right featured on Q#126.

02) Sheer Mag - Hardly to Blame: I used The Killer on the previous mix and this is another excellent track from A Distant Call, their strongest record to date and an excellent live band to boot. The Killer featured in Q#128.

03) Young Guv - Luv Always: Young Guv released 2 albums in 2019 (Guv I & Guv II), this is taken from Guv 2 and flies the Teenage Fanclub influences pretty high, and that can never be a bad thing. Patterns Prevail from the same album featured in Q#127.

04) Corridor – Domino: I saw Montreal band Corridor in 2018 and was pretty mesmerised by their sound, they’ve since signed to Sub Pop and released this album, Junior, with this track being the lead single from the album (their third full length release).

05) Halfsour - All Gone: Boston trio Halfsour released their charming debut, Tuesday Night Live in 2016, it was a rocking but thin-sounding affair. Three years later and with a new drummer, Sticky is a few steps up on every level, from songwriting chops to some much needed lower-end on the production. If “college rock radio” still exists as a sub-genre that worships REM then Halfsour should be filling those airwaves. Blurred Camera featured in Q#125.

06) Jeffrey Lewis and the Voltage - Depression Despair: Prolific cult-NY-hero Jeffrey Lewis put out Bad Wiring this year, produced by Roger Moutenot, whose credits include Yo La Tengo, Lou Reed and Sleater Kinney. It’s possibly his strongest record since 2009’s ‘Em Are I.

07) Vivian Girls - Something to Do: NYC DIY icons Vivian Girls broke up in 2014 but thankfully got back together in 2019 to release what might be their best album, Memory. I also used Sick in Q127

08) Mikal Cronin – Fire: Mikal Cronin released three near-perfect garage-rock albums every two years between 2011 and 2015, so 2017 seemed like a cruel joke when the run didn’t continue. That’s not to say the four years since III were unproductive, Cronin is one of the busiest artists around and must have played on a dozen albums in the last four years. Thankfully, 2019 has given the world a little more balance with another of his solo albums, and this time he’s leaned into his inner-Neil Young (if you had to pick a record this is closest to, it would be Neil’s best – On the Beach). Trying to get over a bout of writer’s block, he turned to the tried-and-true approach of retreating to a cabin in the woods to write, unfortunately that only lasted a month due to forest fires, and the record does come ablaze more than most, but there’s certainly an earthy quality to it. Indeed the only song that screams cabin-in-the-woods is the solo-acoustic closer On the Shelf. Show Me featured on Q#128.

09) Julia Jacklin - Head Alone: I used Don't Know How to Keep Loving You on Q#128 and Crushing might be my favourite album of the year that I listened to the least (if that makes sense). I can’t wait to hear what she’ll come up with next as she seems on a real roll.

10) Jenny Lewis - Heads Gonna Roll: On the Line is Jenny Lewis’ fourth solo album, and probably her best. I used Red Bull and Hennessy on Q#126 and this track features Ringo Starr on drums (maybe you’ve heard of another band he was in).

11) Josh Ritter - I Still Love You (Now and Then): Fever Breaks came out in April, it’s his tenth studio album and it might just be my favourite. I used Old Black Magic on Q#127, this is a bit more of a standard-Ritter tune but he does have a knack of nailing a singer-songwriter chorus.

12) Laura Stevenson – Perfect: 2019 was a productive one for Laura Stevenson, she released The Big Freeze (her first album in 4 years), a Neil Young covers EP with Jeff Rosenstock and a split single with Adult Mom. This is from The Big Freeze which has a big cabin-in-the-woods vibe to it (also see Living Room NY from Q#126).

13) Wand – Wonder: California rockers Wand have been shifting towards full on psychedelia for a while now and the cycle seems complete on Laughing Matter. I used Thin Air on Q#126.

14) Oso Oso – Dig: Basking in the Glow was probably the best 90s-wannabe record I heard this year (the title track is on Q#127).

15) Have a Nice Life - Sea of Worry: I used Defenestration Song on Q#127 from their 2014 record, Unnatural World without having any idea they were set to release new music in 2019. This is the title track from their latest record and it’s a little more… normal, for want of a better word, and this one has some pretty strong post-punk vibes as opposed to the noise of previous efforts.

16) Blessed - Purpose and Conviction: While this year’s Canadian indie-darlings are Montreal’s Corridor (who we heard earlier, Junior is certainly a fine album) it’s British Columbia’s Blessed, that should walk away with the crown. The quintet quietly self-released debut album Salt in April, and it’s a record that demands to be listened to with a keen ear. The production is immaculate, whether the band’s focus is on sparse atmosphere or technically layering each player pummeling their respective instrument, something pops out each time. It’s an icey record that seemingly changes with air temperature, a masterclass in mixing pace and style from short and punchy numbers like Thought and Pill, to the proggy polyrhythms in album closer Caribou. Landing somewhere that’s in the middle of a venn diagram featuring all the best rock bands that have come out of the great white North over the decade.

17) Clipping - Nothing is Safe: Another Sub Pop to appear on this mix, There Existed an Addiction to Blood is Clipping’s third album and this song in particular sounds like a John Carpenter sound track, which is to say it is excellent.

18) Girl Band – Shoulderblades: Irish quartet Girl Band have always sounded abrasive, but The Talkies is like being on a construction site. Whether you consider this noise-rock, industrial, or whatever, it’s a monumental achievement to make a cacophony of noise so coherent. Four years after Holding Hands With Jamie, the group took a hiatus due to mental health problems, and The Talkies could well be the soundtrack to a psychological breakdown, it throbs and crashes all over the place with sawing guitar effects ringing in your ears. This description will no doubt put many off, but rest assured, this is one of the most accomplished and cathartic records you could listen to.

19) Horse Jumper of Love - Ur Real Life: Slowcore as a genre has been fairly stagnant for a while, seemingly unable to move on from the greats such as Codeine, Red House Painters, Bedhead who are long gone, and while the odd band has gotten back together (Duster), there have been precious few acts worth whispering about. Boston quartet, Horse Jumper of Love, are bastions of hope for those of us who particularly lament that Mark Kozelek has forgotten how to sing and write a melody. So Divine knows when to sparkle and when to collapse and it might be the prettiest sounding album of 2019; if you’re the kind of music fan who hears beauty in the saddest music, then the album will live up to its title. This was probably my favourite album of 2019.

As always, Peace and Love - Q

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