Another weird year is in the books. Thankfully there was a ton of great music to help us make our way through it. Hoping for brighter days ahead for us all…
SHASTA GILMORE
Here are some new releases, new reissues, and just things I picked up this year that I really loved
- Shintaro Sakamoto – The Feeling Of Love
- Strum and Thrum: The American Jangle Underground
- Alan Vega – After Dark
- The Clean – Boodle Boodle Boodle
- The Cure – Disintegration
- Goblin – Suspiria OST
- Curtis Mayfield – Curtis (expanded edition)
- Screamers – Demo Hollywood 1977
- The Sound – Jeopardy
- Suburban Lawns – S/T
PHILIP CERZA
My favorite albums of 2021 are Sweep It Into Space by Dinosaur Jr and Superwolves by Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Matt Sweeney. Here are some other projects and records from this past year I loved:
- Admonitions // Endless Boogie
- Afrique Victime // Mdou Moctar
- Comfort To Me // Amyl & The Sniffers
- Happier Than Ever // Billie Eilish
- Haram // Armand Hammer & The Alchemist
- Harmonizer // Ty Segall
- Hey What // Low
- If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power // Halsey
- Jubilee // Japanese Breakfast
- Like A Stone // Remember Sports
- Ma Délire // Myriam Gendron
- McCartney III // Paul McCartney
- New Long Leg // Dry Cleaning
- No Medium // Rosali
- Path of Wellness // Sleater-Kinney
- Pick A Day To Die // Sunburned Hand of the Man
- Pressure Machine // The Killers
- Shadow I Remember // Cloud Nothings
- Sound Ancestors // Madlib
- Star-Crossed // Kacey Musgraves
- Things Take Time, Take Time // Courtney Barnett
- Two Saviors // Buck Meek
- El Último Tour Del Mundo // Bad Bunny
- Ultrapop // The Armed
- Urban Driftwood // Yasmin Williams
- “Stoned At The Nail Salon” // Lorde
- “Soul Love” // Jeff & Ruby Parker
- “Like I Used To” // Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen
- “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” // Taylor Swift
JAMIE DRIER
- The Bug – Fire (Ninja Tune)
- Max Richter – Voices 2 (Decca)
- Pan Daijing – Jade (Pan)
- Loraine James – Reflection (Hyperdub)
- Tirzah – Colourgrade (Domino)
- Charles – Let’s Start A Family Tonight (Babe City Records)
- Teste – Graphic Depictions (L.I.E.S.)
- Ploy – Unlit Signals (L.I.E.S.)
- Jeff Parker – JP’s Myspace Beats (International Anthem)
- Hiro Kone – Silvercoat The Throng (Dais)
- Space Afrika – Honest Labour (Dais)
- Aaron Dilloway & Lucrecia Dalt – Lucy & Aaron (Hanson)
- Chynna – Drug Opera (Twin)
- Various Artists – Paura (A Collection of Italian Horror Sounds
- From The Cam Sugar Archive) (Decca / Cam Sugar)
STEVE RAHMAN
This year was thoroughly exhausting. These are the records that I think most helped me through the longest of the days.
LA Exes “Get Some”
I love things that can contain a multitude of emotions in a single space & “Get Some” does that better than most records. It’s a sobering record sometimes, full of upbeat, sunshine-y pop tunes that often as not are about heart-break; Not in a depressing oh-my-gosh-it’s-all-terrible-and-I-wanna-die way, but in a more subtle “I wouldn’t mind disappearing for a while, a Temporary Goodbye” kinda way. In fact, one of my favorite things about this record is the humor with which they tackle the subject matter, even the stuff that really might make you sad if you think about it too hard.
Melanie Charles “Y’all Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women”
Melanie Charles as a musician & producer is at times incredibly challenging for me. On this Verve Remixed project, each song is originally performed by another great woman in jazz & soul, but Charles takes them in incredibly diverse directions. The way that Charles manipulates & interpolates the original tracks is creative & adventurous, & I haven’t even mentioned the beautiful way she uses her voice. This record exemplifies fearlessness.
Skyzoo “All the Brilliant Things”
If what you want from your Rap music is very good rapping & very good beats, it’s difficult to overlook Skyzoo. Prolific & brilliant, there aren’t many pens in the world that can match Sky’s & the layered entendres that populate the whole of “All the Brilliant Things” require listen upon listen. The thing is, what you get with Skyzoo is consistency. Each track will be well crafted, with impeccable lyrical delivery & beats that knock. This is dope beats, dope rhymes… what more could y’all want.
Silk Sonic “An Evening with Silk Sonic”
I don’t know how to talk about this record without hyperbole. I don’t know what hasn’t been said about it since it came out. I don’t even know where to begin with this partnership between Anderson .Paak & Bruno Mars. All I can say is it’s a throwback R&B record with smooth, clean, crystal clear production. It’s pure ear-candy. It sounds great & it feels great. I know there’s a lot of criticism to be had about originality or lack there-of, but baby… who cares!? This record is groovy as hell & sometimes that’s all that matters.
A couple more from this year:
- We Are the Union “Ordinary Life”
- Rosemarie “Sinnergy”
- Mac Ayres “Magic 8Ball”
- Beach Bunny “Blame Game EP”
- CJ Fly “The Way I (H)ear It Vol. 1”
- Arlo Parks “Collapsed in Sunbeams”
- Adrian Younge “The American Negro”
- Sam Dew “Moonlit Fools”
- Chika “Once Upon a Time EP”
- Kota the Friend & Statik Selektah “To Kill A Sunrise”
- Olivia Rodrigo “Sour”
- Tyler the Creator “Call Me If You Get Lost”
- Leon Bridges “Gold-Diggers Sound”
- Meet Me @ the Altar “Model Citizen EP”
- Little Simz “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert”
- Kacey Musgraves “Star-Crossed”
- Tasha “Tell Me What You Miss the Most”
- Men I Trust “Untourable Album”
DYLAN SOWLE
BEST OF 2021
Best Albums:
1. Parannoul – “To See The Next Part Of The Dream” (Longinus Recordings)
South Korean shoegaze/emo hybrid, all made by one dude using digital instruments, yet sounds as full and lush as if a full band had been present in the studio. Will make you nostalgic for experiences you’ve never had, and places you’ve never been. Unfortunately this has only received very limited pressings, as the label it’s on is run out of a dorm room where I went to college. Without a doubt the greatest thing I’ve heard all year.
2. The Killers – “Pressure Machine” (Island)
The Killers were my all time favorite band in middle school and high school, but every album after Day & Age has sounded like increasingly bloated arena rock. The turnaround on this record completely took me by surprise, even if it’s just complete Springsteen worship. Feels like a return to Sam’s Town, and an album where they finally take their foot off the pedal and allow their songwriting to breathe. Beautiful American music.
3. Richard Dawson & Circle – “Henki” (Domino)
I only just listened to this record, so it almost seems unfair to list it this high, but I can’t stop thinking about it. I really have no history with either Richard Dawson or Circle, so this came out of left field for me and I’m not sure how to talk about it yet?? It feels epic, ancient, psychedelic, and weaving a wild tale for you to chase after. I can’t wait to listen to this over and over again.
A Bunch Of Other Really Great Albums:
- Galdre Visions – “Galdre Visions” (Leaving Records)
- Freak Genes – “Power Station” (Feel It Records)
- Luca Yupanqui – “Sounds of the Unborn” (Sacred Bones)
- Dry Cleaning – “New Long Leg” (4AD)
- Jeff Rosenstock – “Ska Dream” (Polyvinyl/ Quote Unquote Records)
- Squid – “Bright Green Field” (Warp)
- Chai – “Wink” (Sub Pop)
- Snow Ellet – “Suburban Indie Rockstar” (Self Released)
- Bo Burnham – “Inside (The Songs)” (Imperial Distribution)
- Iron Maiden – “Senjutsu” (Parlophone)
- Guided By Voices – “Styles We Paid For” (Guided By Voices, Inc.)
- The Armed – “Ultrapop” (Sargent House)
- Olivia Rodrigo – “Sour” (Geffen)
- Silicone Prairie – “My Life On The Silicone Prairie” (Feel It Records)
- Fire-Toolz – “Eternal Home” (Hausu Mountain)
- Natalie Bergman – “Mercy” (Third Man)
- Anika – “Change” (Sacred Bones)
- Torres – “Thirstier” (Merge)
- Marissa Nadler – “The Path of the Clouds” (Sacred Bones)
- Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – “Carnage” (Goliath)
- Silk Sonic – “An Evening With Silk Sonic” (Aftermath Entertainment)
- Orwell – “Orwell 1995” (Expert Work Records)
- ABBA – “Voyage” (Polar)
- Andrew W.K. – “God Is Partying” (Napalm Records)
Best Compilations:
- Various Artists – “Heisei No Oto: Japanese Left-Field Pop From The CD Age, 1989-1996” (Music From Memory)
- Various Artists – “Somewhere Between: Mutant Pop, Electronic Minimalism & Shadow Sounds of Japan 1980-1988” (Light In The Attic)
- Various Artists – “Virtual Dreams: Ambient Explorations in the House & Techno Age, 1993-1997” (Music From Memory)
- Various Artists – “Numero 95” (Numero Group)
- Various Artists – “The World’s Most Precious Cows” (The World’s Most Precious Cows)
- Cheeky – “Freaky Deaky: The Cheeky Discography” (Quote Unquote Records)
- Various Artists – “Intermission” (Ghost Box)
- Parannoul/ Asian Glow/ sonhos tomam conta – “Downfall of the Neon Youth” (Longinus Recordings)
- Tangled Shoelace – “Turn My Dial: M Squared Recordings and More, 1981-84” (Chapter Music)
Best Singles & Reissues:
- Andrew W.K. – “Babalon” (Napalm Records) [single]
- A.r.t. Wilson – “Overworld” (Numero Group) [reissue]
- Dramarama – “Cinema Verite” (Pasadena Records) [reissue]
- Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen – “Like I Used To” (Jagjaguwar) [single]
- ABBA – “I Still Have Faith In You” (Polar) [single]
- Hole Dweller – “Flies The Coop” (Dungeons Deep) [reissue]
- LCD Soundsystem – “Christmas Will Break Your Heart” (DFA) [single, reissue]
Great Stuff From Last Year That I Missed:
- Feminazgul – “No Dawn For Men” (Tridroid) [released December 2020]
- Heather Trost – “Petrichor” (Third Man) [released November 2020]
- Logic System – “Venus” (Wewantsounds) [2020 reissue]
CHARLIE CAREY
Charlie’s Top 10 Albums of 2021 In Alphabetical Order
*Courtney Barnett – Things Take Time, Take Time
The Australian singer’s third album impresses with a relaxed thoughtfulness that makes it stand out from the frantic anxiety of her first two.
*Beach Bunny – Blame Game
Beach Bunny’s second EP continues to deliver a bubbly sound with gut wrenching lyrics
*Girl In Red – If I Could Make It Go Quiet
Hey, do you listen to Girl In Red? Even if you don’t, you should listen to her debut album if you have ever dealt with anxiety or depression.
*IDLES – Crawler
I would never call an IDLES album soft, but if you ever want to feel angsty but not, like, their usual full blown Bristol post-punk angsty, this is a good starting point.
*Maneskin – Teatro d’ira: Vol. I
This album sounds like glitter and sweat and I wouldn’t have asked for anything else from the Italian rock band.
*PinkPanthress – To Hell With It
Her debut mixtape is only 20 minutes because if it was any longer it would be too powerful. Hyperpop excellence.
*Poppy – Flux
Poppy continues to reclaim her sound in this broadly rock, fully awesome and worth your time album.
*Taylor Swift – Red (Taylor’s Version)
If you can’t appreciate a single song on this two hour album then you must have never been wronged by a man, and I envy you for that.
*Hayley Williams – Flowers for Vases
Hayley Williams of Paramore’s second solo album proves her talent as a vocalist and songwriter in a deep exploration into herself.
*WILLOW – Lately I Feel Everything
I pray to God for a pop punk resurgence. In Travis Barker’s name I pray, Amen.
ANDREW MIN
BO BURNHAM – INSIDE
-i laughed, i cried, i googled “pedagogically”
DRY CLEANING – NEW LONG LEG
-“I’ve been thinking about eating that hot dog for hours, Kiss me”
PINKPANTHERESS – TO HELL WITH IT
-I’m 9 and my dad is playing limewire mp3s in the g-force visualizer
PARANNOUL – TO SEE THE NEXT PART OF A DREAM
-The racer x of south korean lofi bedroom indie emo shoegaze noise pop
TAYLOR SWIFT – RED (TAYLOR’S VERSION)
-putting phoebe and taylor together is targeted advertising
SILK SONIC – AN EVENING WITH
-The only band having fun in 2021
MAGDALENA BAY – MERCURIAL WORLD
-the transition from track 4-5 is worth your time alone
DOJA CAT – PLANET HER
-her best since “MOOO!”
JAPANESE BREAKFAST – JUBILEE
-the background vocals on “posing in bondgae” give big ghost in the shell vibes
FLOATING POINTS & PHAROAH SANDERS – PROMISES
-for fans of the saxophone
REISSUE:
- DJ SHADOW-ENDTRODUCING….
- RADIOHEAD-KID A MNESIA
ANTHONY ILLARDE
- LUIS BACALOV La Strega In Amore OST (CAM Sugar LP)
- BEVIS FROND Little Eden (Fire 2LP)
- CHEAP TRICK In Another World (BMG LP)
- CLINIC Fantasy Island (Domino LP)
- ALICE COOPER Detroit Stories (Ear Music LP,
- DORIS Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby? (Mr Bongo LP)
- EL MICHELS AFFAIR Yeti Season (Big Crown LP)
- FLEUR DE LYS Circles: The Ultimate (Countdown 2LP)
- BOBBIE GENTRY The Windows Of The World (UMC LP)
- BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND Keyboard Fantasies (Transgressive LP)
- TOM JONES Surrounded By Time (EMI LP)
- KHRUANGBIN Mordechai (Dead Oceans LP)
- KISS Destroyer 45th Anniversary Edition (UMG 2LP)
- BRIJ BHUSHAN KABRA Lure Of The Desert (EMI LP)
- LA LUZ La Luz (Hardly Art LP)
- MENAHAN STREET BAND The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Band (Daptone LP)
- HAILU MERGIA Tezeta (Awesome Tapes From Africa LP)
- MONKEES Missing Links Volume 2 (Friday Music LP)
- ENNIO MORRICONE I Malamondo (CAM Sugar 2LP)
- PATCHWORK Mean & Dirty (De Wolfe LP)
- PERSONALITY CRISIS Creatures For Awhile (Porterhouse LP)
- POETS OF RHYTHM Discern/Define (Daptone LP)
- RAMONES Triple J Live At The Wireless (Sire LP)
- RUDIMENTARY PENI Great War (Sealed LP)
- SHANNON & THE CLAMS Year Of The Spider (Easy Eye Sound LP)
- SLADE Old New Borrowed & Blue (BMG LP)
- SWELL MAPS Mayday Signals (Easy Action LP)
- VANISHING TWIN Ookii Gekkou (Fire LP)
- SVEN WUNDER Natura Morta (Piano Piano LP)
- VARIOUS Punks In Peoria (Alonas Dream LP)
- VARIOUS Underground Mood (Holy Basil LP)
ZACHARY WAGENFUEHR
- richard dawson & circle – henki
- parannoul – to see the next part of the dream
- erika de casier – sensational
- memo boy – songs & demos (2015-2017)
- floating points/pharoah sanders – promises
- irini – lost in dreams
- julie – pushing daisies ep
- mj lenderman and wednesday – guttering
- little simz – sometimes i might be introvert
- landowner – consultant
- claire rousay – a softer focus
- skee mask – pool
- sofa – source crossfire
- sweet trip – a tiny house…
- various – heisei no oto
- various – la ola interior
- knocked loose – at tear in the fabric of life ep
- bye2 – teeth restoration
- dj sabrina the teenage dj – the makin magick II album
- kayo dot – moss grew on the swords and plowshares alike
- golden boy – i never meant for this to happen
- naked flames – it is what it is
- dj camgirl – cannon
- aaron dilloway/lucrecia dalt – lucy & aaron
- steve summers – generation loss
LUKE DAHLGREN
new music from the Reckless shelves!…
- Auf Togo – Movements (SaS)
- Black Dice – Mod Prog Sic (FourFour)
- The Body – I’ve Seen All That I Need to See (Thrill Jockey)
- Damiana – Vines (Hausu Mountain)
- Erika de Casier – Sensational (4AD)
- Floating Points / Pharoah Sanders / London S.O. – Promises (Luaka Bop)
- Myriam Gendron – Ma délire: Songs of Love Lost & Found (Feeding Tube)
- Helado Negro – Far In (4AD)
- Sofia Kourtesis – Fresia Magdalena (Technicolor)
- Ruth Mascelli – A Night at the Baths (Disciples)
- Parquet Courts – Sympathy for Life (Rough Trade)
- Joseph Shabason – The Fellowship (Western Vinyl)
- Ryan Sullivan – Utility [self-released]
- Steve Summers – Generation Loss (L.I.E.S.)
- Tirzah – Colourgrade (Domino)
- Vanishing Twin – Ookii Gekkou (Fire)
- Leon Vynehall – Rare, Forever (Ninja Tune)
…plus some compilations!
- v/a – 10 Years of Acid Test (Acid Test)
- v/a – Alan Lomax’s American Patchwork: Field Recordings 1978-1983 (Mississippi)
- v/a – Essiebons Special 1973-1984: Ghana Music Power House (Analog Africa)
- v/a – Heisei No Oto: Japanese Leftfield Pop From the CD Age, 1989-1996 (Music From Memory)
- v/a – Somewhere Between: Mutant Pop, Electronic Minimalism & Shadow Sounds of Japan, 1980-1988 (Light in the Attic)
- v/a – Two Synths, A Guitar (and) a Drum Machine: Post-Punk Dance #1 (Soul Jazz)
- v/a – Virtual Dreams: Ambient Explorations in the House & Techno Age, 1993-1997 (Music From Memory)
(also check out these Bandcamp & Soundcloud picks!)
- AceMo – Unreleased Trax Vol. 1 [self-released]
- Kareem Ali – Getting Through [self-released]
- Body-San – Reborn While Shopping (Noumenal Loom)
- Chaos in the CBD – Brainstorm EP (In Dust We Trust)
- DK – The Ancient Kingdom (Good Morning Tapes)
- Facta – Blush (Wisdom Teeth)
- Hidden Sequence – Intimate Disco (Piston Recordings)
- Irini – Lost in Dreams (Planet Uterus)
- N0V3L – NON-FICTION (Flemish Eye)
- Saphileaum – Transpersonal Experience (Good Morning Tapes)
- Tristan Arp – Alternate Looking Glass (Eternal Ocean)
- Ulla – Limitless Frame (Motion Ward)
- yes/and – yes/and (Driftless)
- Yu Su – Yellow River Blue (Beijing Cultural Communication Co.)
BENJAMIN HEGY
Record Releases- 2021
- Elori Saxl- blue of distance [western vinyl]
- Dry Cleaning- new long leg [4ad]
- Moontype- bodies of water [born yesterday records]
- Linda Smith- till another time: 1988-1996 [captured tracks]
- Matt Sweeney & Bonnie “Prince” Billy- superwolves [drag city]
- Chai- wink [sub pop]
- Dame Area- ondas tribales [mannequin]
- Nana Yamato- before sunrise [dull tools]
- Yu Su- yellow river blue [music from memory]
- Madlib- sound ancestors [madlib invasion]
- Legowelt- pancakes with mist [nightwind records]
- Charlotte Greve- sediments we move [new amsterdam records]
- Tirzah- colourgrade [domino]
- Ydegirl- s/t [escho]
- Makaya McCraven- deciphering the message [blue note]
- N-ter- détroit on my mind EP [electro records]
- Apoc Krysis X Jupiluxe- set up [780845 records dk]
- Grouper- shade [kranky]
- Circuit Des Yeux- -io {matador]
- Dos Santos- city of mirrors [international anthem recording company]
- Jeff Parker- jp’s myspace beats [international anthem recording company]
- Jeff Parker- forfolks [international anthem recording company]
- Amyl & the Sniffers- comfort to me [ato]
- Macie Stewart- mouth full of glass [orindal]
- Alleged Witches- work after machinery [natural sciences]
Times are strange, music is weird, lower your blood pressure.
The plural of vinyl is vinyl.
JON MASSEY
I listened to probably 75% of all wide-released indie rock albums this year. I gained nothing by this experience, and furthermore it liquefied my brain.
10 LPs/activities I enjoyed, available at reckless:
-katy kirby / cool dry place (keeled scales) — arbitrary AOTY pick
-the ophelias / crocus (joyful noise) —the kind of record where you hear the sound of an ambulance going by in the vocal mic. perfect median between 2021-style confessional songwriting + Yo La Tengo in their chamber pop mode. someday this will soundtrack a Bloomsday-style tour of Cincinnati where I rank the public libraries by “vibe” and point out various places I was hit by cars
-raiding the New Age CD section — great gift idea for the broke: these bad boys start at only $3.99! if you must have it on wax check out Numero’s excellent Numero 95 comp (Numero). either way this is the year to give that special himbo/thembo in your life the gift that keeps on giving: New Age Music
-japanese breakfast / jubilee (dead oceans) — I saw this band live and they sounded exactly like Wilco to me. Or maybe I’d just had a few too many NEW ENGLAND STYLE IPAS????
-wobbly / popular monitress (hausu mountain) — let’s say somehow ontological boundaries became blurred and you accidentally inhaled a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) through your nose and then looked for a tissue to try and blow it out but you don’t have any tissues because you’re a logan square band guy; but then suddenly not only can you not find a tissue but now your house is a scratched up copy of NBA 2K. Karl Malone is executing a mid-range jump shot into your kitchen sink. What are you going to do about it? this album gave me havana syndrome
moontype / bodies of water (born yesterday) —straight down the lane, we love to see it, Chicago excellence, whenever spin this I do a 2-handed Italian chef kiss. sometimes I’m on my bike and it’s very dangerous to do the chef kiss but I do it anyway
-marc riordan / life systems (sophomore lounge) —soothing and ominous, urban but also dreamily pastoral. deep breath and a can of soda
-ryley walker / course in fable (husky pants) — the year is 2035. Everything from the book “Station Eleven” has happened. Phish is cool again. your friends are trading Phish bootlegs, from the crappy years, like 2003. a copy of “Close to the Edge” on CD costs $4,000. an elite mod on forums.stevehoffman.tv has heard there’s a VG+ original copy of “In the Court of the Crimson King” buried under the ruins of Michigan Central Station in Detroit. a confidential buyer (possibly Elon Musk) has offered to pay two billion dollars for it, in specie. you’ll have to fight your way there and back through Indiana—burning scrub brush, far as the eye can see; trigger-happy militia patrols; packs of stray dogs. you’ll have to subsist on saltine crackers and pedialyte. you’ll have to fire a harpoon gun, multiple times. The task is herculean. They say it cannot be done. but many years ago, you took a stranger’s recommendation, and you listened to “Course in Fable”. and now you are ready to do what must be done
black midi live @ Sleeping Village 9/13/2021 — telling people I was in “in the pit” at this show because a tall person stepped on my foot and caused me to spill my New England Style IPA. the LP is great too
-another michael / new music + big pop (run for cover) — a handful of dynamo singles are the main attraction but the album cuts grow on you; good to see that Philly is still in the ring. go sixers
-fav label of ‘21 / Orindal, who put out great records by wednesday, macie stewart, karima walker, dan wriggins, etc.
-fav beer / New England Style IPA
———also liked by me, and stocked here———
records by: Adult Mom — Bad Bad Hats — Boo Hiss — Charles — DJ Black Low — Dummy — Hand Habits — Lande Hekt — Lael Neale — Carlos Niño — Spellling — Pauline Anna Strom
———bandcamp-only releases———
personal space / a lifetime of leisure — patricia brennan / maquishti — subtitles / commoner — chaos in the cbd / te puke thunder EP — fievel is glauque / god’s trashmen sent to right the mess, &c. — SLONK / where do you see yourself in five years? — ki oni / stay indoors and swim + indoor plant life — wombo / keesh mountain
MATT JENCIK
- The Body & Big Brave Leaving None But Small Birds
- Can Live in Brighton 1975
- Can Live in Stuttgart 1975
- Cerebral Rot Excretion of Mortality
- Lucinda Chua Antidotes
- Circuit Des Yeux -io
- Coldreams Crazy Night
- Alice Coltrane Kirtan: Turiya Sings
- John Coltrane A Love Supreme Live in Seattle
- Crypta Echoes of the Soul
- Sarah Davachi Antiphonals
- Kenny Dorham Quiet Kenny reissue
- Dramarama Cinema Verite reissue
- Dream Unending Tide Turns Eternal
- FACS Present Tense
- Roger Fakhr Fine Anyway
- Floating Points & Pharoah Sanders w/ The London Symphony Orchestra Promises
- Myriam Gendron Ma Delire: Songs of Love Lost & Found
- Grouper Shade
- Hollie Kenniff The Quiet Drift
- Lamp of Murmuur Submission & Slavery
- Kedr Livanskiy Liminal Soul
- Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble Now
- Mare Cognitum Solar Paroxysm
- James McAlister Scissortail
- Mia Joy Spirit Tamer
- Mistreater Hell’s Fire
- Lee Morgan Rajah: Blue Note Tone Poet Series
- Natural Information Society w/ Evan Parker Descension
- Jeff Parker Forfolks
- Qrixkuor Poison Palinopsia
- Clara Rockmore Lost Theremin Album
- Claire Rousay Softer Focus
- Elori Saxl The Blue of Distance
- Seam Headsparks reissue
- Seth La Morsure du Christ
- The Silver Ward of Roses
- Linda Smith Till Another Time 1988-1996
- Stephen Radar of Small Dogs reissue
- Stormkeep Tales of Other Time
- Andy Stott Never the Right Time
- Tangerine Dream The Keep (Soundtrack) reissue
- Tribulation Where The Gloom Becomes Sound
- Voivod Outer Limits reissue
- Yasmin Williams Urban Driftwood
- Various Artists Heisei No Oto: Japanese Left-Field Pop From the CD Age 1989-1996
- Various Artists Somewhere Between: Mutant Pop, Electronic Minimalism & Shadow Sounds
- Neil Young Carnegie Hall 1970
- Neil Young Young Shakespeare
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse Way Down in the Rust Bucket
FAVORITE USED LP SCORES
- Gene Ammons Jungle Soul
- Francoise Hardy If You Listen
- Quincy Jones Deadly Affair (Soundtrack)
- Oliver Nelson Skull Session
- Popol Vuh Aguirre
- Roedelius Jardin Au Fou
- Steve Tibbetts Northern Song
LEA BOARD
In no particular order:
- The Armed “Ultra Pop”
- Doja Cat “Planet Her”
- Pixel Grip “Arena”
- Turnstile “Glow On”
- Lil Nas X “Montero”
- Shame “Drunk Tank Pink”
- Dry Cleaning “New Long Leg”
- Spirit of the Beehive “Entertainment, Death”
- Flying Lotus “Yasuke”
- Mannequin Pussy “Perfect EP”
- Olivia Rodrigo “Sour”
- Torres “Thirstier”
KELSO ANTOINE
(in no particular order)
1. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert // Little Simz
2. Collapsed in Sunbeams // Arlo Parks
3. Lately I Feel Everything // Willow
4. To Hell With It // PinkPanthress
5. To Enjoy Is the Only Thing // Maple Glider
6. New Long Legs // Dry Cleaning
7. Things Take Time, Take Time // Courtney Barnett
8. Go Home, Go Home, Go Home // Adelaide
9. Sol Azul // Drea C.
10. I Know I’m Funny, ha ha // Faye Webster
11. Barnyard // Good Morning
12. Get Some // LA Exes
13. Glow // Alice Phoebe Lou
14.Jubilee // Japanese Breakfast
15. Fun House // Hand Habits
16. Skin // Joy Crookes
17. Absolutely // Dijon
18. The Melodic Blue // Baby Keem
19. Turning Wheel // Spelling
20. Promises // Floating Points & Pharoah Sanders
21. Planet (i) // Squirrel Flower
2021 Reissues
Endtroducing….. // DJ Shadow
3 Feet High & Rising // De La Soul
Kid A mnesia // Radiohead
Live Evil // Miles Davis
Kirtan! Turiya Sings // Alice Coltrane
Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea // PJ Harvey
All Things Must Pass // George Harrison
SEAN ROWADER
1. Deftones – Digital Bath (Telefon Tel Aviv Version) / Feiticeira (Arca Remix)2. Record Setter – I Owe You Nothing
3. The Armed – Ultrapop4. Turnstile – Glow On
5. Spirit of the Beehive – Entertainment, Death
6. From First To Last – Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Bodycount (RSD Reissue)
7. Drug Church – Tawny
8. Equip – Cursebreaker Gaiden
9. Sincere Engineer – Bless My Psyche
10. Hospital Bracelet – South Loop Summer
HARRY BAKER
- 10. BLACK MIDI- CALVACADE
- 9. CITIES AVIV- CRASHING SOUND OF HOW IT GOES
- 8. BLAKE SAINT DAVID- BE YOUR OWN CELEBRITY
- 7. JOY CROOKES- SKIN
- 6. MOOR MOTHER- BLACK ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AIR
- 5. SPELLLING- TURNING WHEEL
- 4. MAPLE GLIDER- TO ENJOY IS THE ONLY THING
- 3. INJURY RESERVE- BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX
- 2. DRY CLEANING- NEW LONG LEGS
- 1. BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD- FOR THE FIRST TIME
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- CASSANDRA JENKINS- AN OVERVIEW ON PHENOMENAL NATURE
- MIHO HATORI- BETWEEN ISEKAI & SLICE OF LIFE
- DIJON- ABSOLUTELY
- ARMAND HAMMER- HARAM
- THE ARMED- ULTRAPOP
- LITTLE SIMS- SOMETIMES I MIGHT BE AN INTROVERT
- AROOJ AFTAB- VULTURE PRINCE
TYLER LOPEZ
ALBUM OF THEE YEAR
• JULIAN ANDREAS – LETHAL HARDCORE [Live Adult Entertainment]
RUNNER UP since it dropped too late to be last year’s RUNNER UP
• Playboi Carti – Whole Lotta Red [Interscope]
Other Favorites (in somewhat of an order)
- • You’ll Never Get to Haven – Wave Your Moonlight Hat for the Snowfall Train [Mystic Roses]
- • Paysage d’Hiver – Geister [Kunsthall]
- • Florian T M Zeisig – Music for Parents [Metron]
- • Sewerslvt – Skitzofrenia Simulation [self]
- • Sewerslvt – We Had Good Times Together, Don’t Forget That [self]
- • Deterioration – Transcending Human Confines [Shattered Dreams]
- • DJ Speedsick – Snake Pit LSD [DNA]
- • Anything Him Hun put on Soundcloud
- • Sarah Davachi – Antiphonals [Late]
- • Elori Saxl – The Blue of Distance [Western Vinyl]
- • ojeRum – Solverhvide Skyer [Garden Portal]
- • In Aeternam Vale – Boites [self]
- • Picnic – s/t [Daisart]
- • Casper McFadden – Medicalmechanica [Kitty On Fire]
- • Fire – Toolz – Eternal Home [Hausu Mountain]
- • Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement – Flying Fish Ambience [Hospital]
- • Romance – A Kiss Is Just A Kiaa [Ecstatic]
- • Nordgeist – Frostwinter [Kunsthall]
- • Jarhead Fertilizer – Product of My Environment [Closed Casket Activities]
- • Kjostad – Warlord [self]
- • Lil Ugly Mane – Volcanic Bird Enemy and the Voiced Concern [self]
- • DJ Black Low – Uwami [Awesome Tapes From Africa]
- • Aaron Dilloway & Lucrecia Dalt – Lucy & Aaron [Hanson]
- • Vatican Shadow – SR-71 Blackbird Survivors [Hospital]
- • Ferriterium – Calvaire [Epictural]
- • Mare Cognitum – Solar Paroxysm [I, Voidhanger]
- • Grima – Rotten Garden [Naturmacht]
- • Dipygus – Bushmeat [Memento Mori]
- • Rudimentary Peni – Great War [Sealed]
- • Fugitive Wizard – Obscuri AEternum [Grime Stone]
- • Caveman Cult – Blood and Extinction [Nuclear War Now!]
- • Spectral Wound – A Diabolic Thirst [Profound Lore]
- • Max Richter – Voices 2 [Decca]
- • Dean Blunt – Black Metal 2 [Rough Trade]
- • Nocturnal Effigy – The Night’s Sorrow [self]
- • Mortiferum – Preserved In Torment [Profound Lore]
ETHAN D’ERCOLE
in no particular order
- Black Monument Ensemble: “Now”
- John DuCann: “World’s Not Big Enough”
- Skip Tracer EP
- Pat Campbell’s “Christian Guilt” cassette
- Nervous Eaters “Eaterville Vol.2”
- Krga “Moi St.”
- Hozac Books: “Where the Wild Gigs Were” and “I Don’t Fit In”
- Adam Roth “Down the Shore Soundtrack”
- Jason Griff: “Fireside Chats”
- Matt Jencik: “Matt & Lyra”
- TAXI Season 2
- TAXI Season 3
SARAH FRIER
- Sometimes I Might Be Introvert – Little Simz
- Other You – Steve Gunn
- Present Tense – FACS
- Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish
- I Don’t Live Here Anymore – War On Drugs
- Harmonizer – Ty Segall
- Montero – Lil Nas X
- Crawler – IDLES
- Gold-Diggers Sound – Leon Bridges
- Things Take Time, Take Tim – Courtney Barnett
- Sweep It Into Space – Dinosaur Jr
EMILY ELHAJ (Love Lion Music)
ALBUMS
- Tirzah Colourgrade (Domino)
- Black Angels Don’t Fall Down (LITA)
- Gloria Ann Taylor Be Worthy (Ubiquity)
- Pino Palladino & Blake Mills Notes With Attachments (Verve/Impulse)
- Madalyn Merkey Standards (self)
- Jarvis Cocker Chansons d’Ennui Tip-Top (ABKCO)
- Zella Day & Weyes Blood “Holocene”(Concord)
- Peacers Blexxed Rec (Drag City)
- Circuit des Yeux io (Matador)
- Nightshift Zöe (Trouble In Mind)
- Beak< “Oh Know” (Invada)
- Rodrigo Amarante Drama (Polyvinyl)
- Sam Gendel Fresh Bread (Leaving)
- Marisa Anderson & William Tyler Lost Futures (Thrill Jockey)
- Sylvie EP (Terrible Records)
- Lilac s/t (self)
- Floating Points / Pharoah Sanders / London Symphony Promises (Luaka)
- Green-House Music for Living Spaces (Leaving)
- Death Is Not The End s/t (Death Is Not The End) cass
- Stereolab Electrically Possessed (Switched On Vol. 4) (Duophonic/Warp)
- Mia Doi Todd Music Life (City Zen)
- CLEATS “French Disko” (self)
- Martin Gore The Third Chimpanzee EP (Grabbing Hands Music)
- Becca Mancari Annie (Captured Tracks)
- The Notwist Vertigo Days (Morr Music)
- Grouper Shade (Kranky)
- Sven Wunder Natura Morta (Piano Piano)
- Michael Hurley The Time of the Foxgloves (No Quarter)
- Tasha Tell Me What You Miss The Most (Father/Daughter)
- Elder & Kadavar Eldovar: A Story of Darkness & Light (Robotor)
- Alice Coltrane Kirtan: Turiya Sings (Impulse!)
- Yes/And s/t (Driftless)
- v/a Mary’s House (Love Lion)
REISSUES
- Rich Vreeman (Disasterpeace) It Follows ost (Music On Vinyl)
- Austin Leonard Jones The Wonder Years of Austin Leonard Jones Vol. 1 & 2 (Perpetual Doom)
- Arthur Russell Another Thought (Be With)
- Steve Reid Nova (Soul Jazz)
- Beverly Glenn-Copeland Keyboard Fantasies (Glass Modern)
- Lubomyr Melnyk KMH: Piano Music in the Continuous Mode (Unseen Worlds)
- Slow Walkers s/t (Peak Oil)
- The Durutti Column Another Setting (Factory Benelux)
- The Durutti Column Dry (Spittle)
- Omar Khorshid With Love (We Want Sounds)
- Hailu Mergia Tezeta (Awesome Tapes From Africa)
SHOWS
- Jess Cornelius, Yellow House Session
- Mary Lattimore & Walt McClements, outside
- Jon Natchez & Sofia Bolt, outside
- Angel Olsen & Sharon Van Etten, “Like I Used To” on Fallon
- Nailah Hunter, Marisa Anderson, & William Tyler, outside
- Kim Gordon, Pitchfork
- Cat Power, Pitchfork
- Rodrigo Amarante e sua banda, The Ford
- Elles font l’abstraction Exhibition, Pompidou, Paris
DAVE MARTIN (Captured Tracks/Omnian Music Distribution)
New Records
- Chris Brokaw – Puritan (12XU)
- Scientists – Negativity (In The Red Records)
- Divine Horsemen – Hot Rise Of An Ice Cream Phoenix (In The Red Records)
- FACS – Present Tense (Trouble In Mind)
- Endless Boogie – Admonitions (No Quarter)
- Stefan Christensen – Cheap Things (World of Echo)
- Smoke Bellow – Open For Business (Trouble In Mind)
- Aquarian Blood – Bending The Golden Hour (Goner)
- Emily Robb – How To Moonwalk (Petty Bunco)
- CIA Debutante – Dust (Siltbreeze)
- Swansea Sound – Live At The Rum Puncheon (HHBTM)
- Circuit Des Yeux – -io (Matador)
- Damon & Naomi w/ Kurihara – A Sky Record (20/20/20)
- Strapping Field Hands – Across The Susquehanna (Petty Bunco)
- Michael Beach – Dream Violence (Goner)
- Palberta – Palberta 5000 (Wharf Cat)
- Astute Palate – S/T (Petty Bunco)
- Eleventh Dream Day – Since Grazed (Comedy Minus One)
- Mess Esque – Dream #12 (Bedroom Suck) & S/T (Drag City)
- Body/Dilloway/Head – S/T (Three Lobed)
- Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble – Now (International Anthem)
- Thalia Zedek Band – Perfect Vision (Thrill Jockey)
- Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime (Matador)
- Cindy – 1:2 (Mt St Mtn)
- Mountain Movers – World What World (Trouble In Mind)
Reissues / Archival
- Static – Toothpaste and Pills: Demos and Live 1978 – 1981 (Third Man)
- V/A Cameroon Garage Funk (Analog Africa)
- Stephen – Radar of Small Dogs (Yellow Electric)
- The Clean – Tally Ho b/w Platypus / Boodle Boodle Boodle / Modern Rock / Mister Pop (Merge)
- Screamers – Demo Hollywood 1977 (Superior Viaduct)
- Come – Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (Fire)
- Unsane – Improvised Munitions & Demo (Lamb Unlimited)
- Zouo – Agony Remains (Relapse)
- The Fall – Live At St. Helen’s Technical College (Castle Face)
- Can – Live in Brighton 1975 / Live in Stuttgart 1975 (Spoon / Mute)
- Magic Roundabout – Up (Third Man)
- Don Cherry / Don Cherry’s New Researches – The Summer House Sessions / Organic Music Theater (Blank Forms)
- John Coltrane – A Love Supreme Live In Seattle (Impulse)
- Spike In Vain – Disease Is Relative / Death Drives a Cadillac (Scat)
- The Dents – 1979-1980 (Hozac)
- Mistreater – Hell’s Fire (On The Dole)
- The Verlaines – Live At The Windsor Castle 1986 (Schoolkids Records)
- Frigate – Dreams of the Deep (D.Q. Records)
- The Offset: Spectacles – S/T (Trouble In Mind)
- V/A Four Stars – (Swineken Recordings)
- John Du Cann – The World’s Not Big Enough (Just Add Water)
- Thalia Zedek – Been Here And Gone (Thrill Jockey)
- Half Japanese – I Guess I’m Living: The Charmed Life Tapes (Fire)
- Hawkwind – Greasy Truckers Party (Parlophone)
- Upper Hand – Iron City Hardcore 1988/1989 (Mind Cure)
Singles / EPs / Tapes / Digital
- Des Demonas – Cure For Love (In The Red Records)
- Matt Jencik – Matt & Lyra (Trouble In Mind)
- Lifeguard Receiver b/w Sun Ra Jane / Taking Radar b/w Loose Cricket (Chunklet / Self Released)
- Headroom – Rubber Match (Petty Bunco)
- Rock Set – Pitea Kommun b/w Up In My Room (On The Dole)
- Electric Chair – Social Capital (Iron Lung)
- Blues Ambush – S/T
- Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments – First Avenue Minneapolis, MN 6/17/1997
- Hypnotizing Chickens – I’m On Time (Petty Bunco)
- Gina Birch – Feminist Song (Third Man)
- 75 Dollar Bill – Social Music: Live At Troost Vol 1. & 2
- Leda – Covid “Music” I Made With My Guitar (Knotwilg)
- Formal Wear – Classic Water EP (Self Released / Chunklet)
- Axxe – Through The Night b/w Rock Away The City (On The Dole)
- Magic Roundabout – Sneaky Feelin b/w Song For Gerard Langley (Third Man)
- Classics Of Love – World Of Burning Hate
- Brian Case – Practice Tape (Trouble In Mind)
- Planet On A Chain – Last Word, Last Act
- Four Plugs – Wrong Treatment b/w Biking Girl (2:13:61 / In The Red Records)
- Vampa – Plugget (On The Dole)
- Live Music / Rooms Full of People
- Chris Brokaw – Record Grouch / Scott Ave Dead end / Mama Tried
- Warthog – Thomas Street / AB Studios
- Sweet Apple – Rock N Roll Hall of Fame
- Yo La Tengo / Mountain Movers – Central Park Summerstage
- Angel Bat Dawid – Herbert Von King Park
- Sun Ra Arkestra / Sistazz Of The Nitty Gritty – Central Park Summerstage
- Mary Lattimore – Union Pool
- Fire Music – Film Forum
- Dump / Sloppy Heads – Mama Tried
- Royal Arctic Institute – 18th Ward Brewing / Berlin
- FACS – Elsewhere / Bowery Ballroom
- Oneida / Jamie Branch – Forest Park Bandshell
- Velvet Underground – Film Forum
- Mark Morgan – Record Grouch
- Sanhedrin – Our Wicked Lady
- Bela Koe Krompecher – Book Bar / Record Grouch
- 75 Dollar Bill – Columbus Park
- Napalm Death – Irving Plaza
- Vaccines 1 & 2 Bathgate Contract Postal Station – Bronx NY
- Vaccine Booster – The Jefferson Brooklyn NY
