When Mark reached out a few weeks with his annual reminder I thought to myself, hmmm, do I have it in me again? Then I realized how much I enjoy the process and how I always go in with such a negative attitude. Well, not this year. I am going to appreciate the opportunity to hear so much great new music and share with the world. So, thanks Mark for keeping the torch alive today and hopefully for another 25 years.
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1. Wilco – Cruel Country
How great is it to have a favorite band the keeps reinventing themselves and continues to put out great music. Perhaps reinvention is a strong term. A mostly acoustic, country-tinged record is more of a full circle moment for this band, although they never would have gotten here without the maturity of their other records.
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2. Superchunk – Wild Loneliness
Too often I’ve written off this band as a one trick pony. No more. I’ve learned to really appreciate their brand of pop hooks. Like a fine wine, these guys only get better with age.
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3. Elvis Costello – The Boy Named If
Are you sure this isn’t a reissue? A return to his roots with tightly crated pop gems.
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4. Built To Spill – When The Wind Forgets Your Name
I’ve always loved these guys. A return to form – Doug Marsh can do more in under 3 minutes than most can with an entire record.
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5. Father John Misty – Chloë and the Next 20th Century
A true storyteller, I’m waiting for the stage version of this soundtrack to come out.
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6. Alex G – God Save The Animals
Another solid, somber release. I still feel like there is a masterpiece in their somewhere. This isn’t it but gets closer.
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7. Perfume Genius – Ugly Season
Haunting and sparse. Calming music to end the evening with.
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8. Tomberlin – i don’t know who needs to hear this…
Atmospheric is the first word that comes to mind when I listen to this gem.
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9. The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention
Like a jazzier Radiohead, it still has all the hallmarks of their classic sound – anxiety inducing, spacey and filled with tension.
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10. Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
If this is the future of country-folk music, I am sold!
11. Pinegrove – 11:11 Not as urgent as any of their previous releases, but still strong emo-rock. Alaska fits alongside any of their best tracks.
12. Chat Pile – God’s Country Wow. Imagine Jesus Lizard on steroids? This must be what God’s Country sounds like.
13. Animal Collective – Time Skiffs As much as I resist these guys for their pretentiousness, they still manage to come up with some good hooks.
14. MJ Lenderman – Boat Songs Classic grungy alt-rock. Highly lyrical and instrumentally satisfying.
15. Alvvays – Blue Rev Fuzzy pop, reminiscent of the 90’s. Even the syncs sound authentic. High energy; a fun record from start to finish.
16. Frankie Cosmos – Inner World Peace A fun, bouncy pop record. The self-examination feels hopeful, at least I’d like to believe so.
17. Spoon – Lucifer On The Sofa Another off-kilter classic from Spoon. Do we still consider them underrated?
18. Sloan – Steady For as far back as I can remember, Sloan has consistently put out great pop records. The hooks, harmonies and fun are always delivered, and this is no exception.
19. Band of Horses – Things Are Great It’s so rare to hear a classic rock record these days, but BoH carries the flame well.
20. John McEntire / Sam Prekop – Sons Of A long time in the making, these 4-part, instrumental pieces are the future of alternative minimalism.
Reissues and the like:
1. The Beatles – Revolver [Super Deluxe Edition] Do I really need explain why this is here? My favorite Beatles record with a lifetime of outtakes.
2. David Bowie – Divine Symmetry: The Journey to Hunky Dory A massive collection of alternative versions leading up to this masterpiece.
3. Pavement – Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal Not my favorite Pavement LP, but nonetheless a necessary part of their story.
4. Little Feat – Waiting for Columbus [Super Deluxe Edition] A great representation of this band at their live peak.
5. Stereolab – Pulse of the Early Brain: Switched On, Vol. 5 For the completist, love this collection of hypnotic tracks.
6. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots [20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition] This record will never get old for me and any excuse to listen again is good by me.
7. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot [Super Deluxe Edition] As Wilco continues to clean out the closet with live and alternative tracks, we all win.
8. Neil Young – Harvest [50th Anniversary Edition] I haven’t watched the video footage yet, but the music stands the test of time. 50 years!
9. Blondie – Against the Odds 1974-1982 All Blondie in one place! Plus, outtakes! Tells the complete story.
10. Lou Reed – Words & Music, May 1965 I’d say interesting is the best way to describe this release. Some very early versions of classics.
Eric Fine NYC