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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
