Jesse's Favorite Albums from 2016

1. Radiation City - Synesthetica

Fully realizing their breathtaking potential. So many layers of art pop awesomeness.  
  

2. Sheer Mag - III             

Cranking up this album makes any day feel like Friday night and every beer taste like a High Life.

3. Frightened Rabbit - Painting Of A Panic Attack             

Their mastery of celebratory self-loathing is peerless.     

4. Candace - New Future             

Just packed with killer dreamy shoegaze. And as you'd hope, it's fantastically noisy live.  

5. Martha - Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart          

They draw me in with their popping duets, but deceptively clever in their quirkiness.
    

6. Pink Mexico - Fool     

Buzzing surf pop that is both harder and catchier than the last one you heard. Playing it loud and often.

7. Mercury Girls - Ariana

Two absolutely stunning singles of c86-style indie pop.

8. Deathlist -Deathlist

A personal & potent EP from the Summer Cannibals' bad ass, renaissance bassist. Easily one of my favorite EPs this year.

9. Minden - Sweet,Simple Things        
   

Their tightest, funkiest, and most dynamic songs to date. And so silky smooth.    

10. Holy Vision -King Cash         

Binging hard on this shimmering and banging alt. pop. So good. 

11. Y La Bamba - Ojos Del Sol

Libre's buoyant bilingual harmonies inspiring basking in the warm Saturday morning sun. Glad Y La Bamba are back with their gorgeous indie folk.

12. Mo Troper - Beloved             

Youthful, testy, and dimed out power pop, reminiscent of Superdrag classics.  
 

13. Augustines - This Is Your Life              

Pull me along on their stumbling late night anthems in a way that U2 and their ilk never could. Take a shot, spread your arms, and soar.      

14. Lucius - Good Grief 

Art pop masters let their identical hairdos down and get noisy.  

15. Landlines - Problems 24/7

Long anticipated and stellar collection of slacker surf pop.

16. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth  

Driving straight past his Nashville ascendance, this Waylon-loving iconoclast headed west to Memphis for a countrified soul epic.

17. Summer Cannibals- Full Of It             

Damn, these songs are explosive. Feeling this righteous anger more than ever.   

18. The Record Company - Give It Back to You  

Only knock against this great retro soul/blues album is I started rocking half the songs so long ago that they sound fresh again. Luckily, the new songs are some of the best.              

19. Photo Ops - Vacation             

I hear some Fleet Foxes in these guys, just smelling less of campfire, which could mean they both just build on sweet Beach Boy indebted harmonies.

20. TV Girl - Who Really Cares

I dig TV Girl's pursuit of pop alchemy, floating their wry observations over DJ scratches and an organ riff, and punching it all up with sampled hooks. Like adding an indie pop twist to classic singles by the Avalanches or Wiseguys.

Eric’s Favorite Albums from 2016

1.  Frightened Rabbit - Painting of a Panic Attack    

Love me some Frightened Rabbit. The National's Aaron Dessner's fingerprints are all over this album, and the partnership is a hauntingly beautiful one. Somehow, this album is both deeply sad and uplifting at the same time. Seeing this album performed live flawlessly was also an amazing experience.      

2. Paul Cauthen - My Gospel     

Great throwback country album; cut from the same cloth as Merle and Waylon. This album probably benefitted the most from being released late in the year, because its been front of mind for the last few weeks, and I can't stop listening.   

          

3. Augustines - This is Your Life

Of course, by now I'm super predictable with my Augustines love, but even after nearly a decade of Augustines/Pela fandom, I still find the passion and emotion in their songs to be nothing short of addicting. If they are truly calling it quits for good, I will forever miss putting their albums in my top ten lists.              

4. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor’s Guide to Earth    

 

Another country throwback who can channel the great ones with his own creativity. Clearly, the album is revered in and out of the country music scene and its really not surprising why. 

      

5. Photo Ops - Vacation

I think most people needed a good feel-good album during this rather dark 2016, and Vacation was that album for me. Echoing the harmonies and patience of Pet Sounds, this album washes over you like a warm summer day and lifts the spirits like an ice cold High Life.

6. Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate        

One of the more thought-provoking and emotional albums of the year for me. Kiwanuka gives his powerful tracks time to develop, which may turn some people off, but damn does he do a good job of capturing the mood. This is a brilliant album. 

7. Lake Jons - Explore EP              

I don't usually put EPs on my top ten albums list, but this one did an exception job of winning me over with just six stellar tracks. Watch out world, Finland's coming!     

        

8. The Record Company - Give It Back To You    

Rock and roll, people, doesn't lie. The Record Company gets down to business with some bluesy, rockin' tracks that come straight at you like some of the best bands from the 70s.  

9. Kings of Leon - WALLS             

KoL bounces back from the mailed-in Mechanical Bull album with WALLS. Do I love WALLS beginning to end? No. However, the 7 or 8 tracks that I do like are good enough to carry this album into the Top 10 for me. What can I say, I just like Kings of Leon.  

10. The Bones of J.R. Jones - Spirit’s Furnace      

Folksy, bluesy, and catchy... you put this on, and people will want to know who it is, how you found him, and when he's coming to town.     

11. Pete Yorn - ArrangingTime  

"She Was Weird" was my favorite track, but there are a lot of memorable songs packed into this album. A very pleasant collection of organized, multifaceted tracks.     

12. The Cave Signers - Banchee

One of favorite "acquired taste" bands. I kept forgetting about and then remembering this album, and listened to it a ton at work. The Cave Signers are certainly not for everyone, but this album works for me.           

13. Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes - Bemidji     

        

Another EP! "Always/Never" is the track that drew me end, but the rest of the album makes you want to stay. I definitely over-listened to this album.    

14. Kishi Bashi - Sonderlust        

I am a huge Kishi Bashi fan and love his live show. This album dropped off a little bit for me from his prior releases, but his talent and songwriting are still astounding.   

15. Kaleo - A/B 

The best tracks off this album have been out as singles for quite some time, so I didn't feel as excited by the full album when it dropped. With a little more polish, this band should be able to do amazing things in the upcoming years.

Nesto’s Favorite Albums from 2016

1. Islands - Taste   

                          

2. Frightened Rabbit - Painting of a Panic Attack 

      

On heavy rotation.         

3. Kishi Bashi - Sonderlust          

Everybody wants a honeybody someday.        

     

4. The Dandy Warhols - Distortland     

   

Dandy's still rule, ok?     

5. Miike Snow - iii           

More i's please!

6. Lost Dawn - Fever

     

For those about to rock, we salute you. 

7. Radical Face - The Family Tree: The Leaves    

A second "d" is optional.              

8. Paul Cauthen - My Gospel     

Is most listened to in Houston, Stockholm, Manhattan, and Austin. Win.

9. The Lumineers - Cleopatra                     

10. Augustines - This is Your Life              

An appropriate finale scene.      

11. Peter, Bjorn, and John - Breakin' Point      

    

*umlaut              

12. Blind Pilot - And Then Like Lions        

               

13. Steve Mason - Meet the Humans

QuickCrit's Top 25 Albums of 2016

1. Frightened Rabbit - Painting of a Panic Attack


“No one sells depression and pain better than Scott Hutchinson. If you need richly toned songs about lives half-lived, crumbling relationships, and regrets, this album should be your first stop.”- Paul

“The National's Aaron Dessner's fingerprints are all over this album, and the partnership is a hauntingly beautiful one. Somehow, this album is both deeply sad and uplifting at the same time.” -

Eric

“Their mastery of celebratory self-loathing is peerless.” - Jesse

“On heavy rotation.” - Nesto

2. Beyonce – Lemonade


“The Lemonade film is the most amazing example of music and video I have ever seen. I cannot watch/listen to it without tearing up. I think that it is the women of the world who are going to get us out of some of the terrible bullshit going on these days. I’m with HER.” - Larson

“All hail Queen Bey! A surprise album drop full of deeply personal but instantly catchy songs? Yeah, that was pretty damn cool, but did you see that video??? That thing is stop-you-in-your-tracks beautiful. Oh, and Jay-Z, you better watch yourself or you're going to end up with a six-inch heel stuck in your back.” - Paul

“If you have not watched Lemonade, stop what you are doing and do so. You can come to my house and watch it. Be warned that I cry every time I watch.” - Serena

3. The Avalanches – Wildflower


“I listened to Since I Left you so much that I was honestly fine if nothing else ever came out of the Avalanches camp. Their ability to create familiarity out of that which is unfamiliar is astonishing.” - Eric

“Worth the wait!! Also the video for Because I'm Me is a joyful celebration of black bodies.” - Serena

“I'll be unpacking this album for all of 2017 too.  Dense with carefully curated samples and something like 14 years in the making.” - Tex

4. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo


“I’m a pretty mellow guy for the most part. However, if you try to tell me this isn’t art I hope you’re ready for me to talk at you for an hour.” - Larson

“Kanye West, I'm mad at you. You put out an amazing album and then did everything you possibly could do to 1) not let me hear it and 2) make me never want to hear you speak again.” - Paul

“Name one genius that ain't crazy, amirite!?” - Serena

5. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth


“Driving straight past his Nashville ascendance, this Waylon-loving iconoclast headed west to Memphis for a countrified soul epic.” - Jesse

“A country throwback who can channel the great ones with his own creativity. Clearly, the album is revered in and out of the country music scene and it’s really not surprising why.” - Eric

“Nods to Motown are throughout, but there's really not a single sound to pin down, it's truly an album worth listening to in order, in its entirety. And his Nirvana cover kicks serious ass.” - JT

6. Augustines - This is Your Life


“Even after nearly a decade of Augustines/Pela fandom, I still find the passion and emotion in their songs to be nothing short of addicting. If they are truly calling it quits for good, I will forever miss putting their albums in my top ten lists.” - Eric

“Pull me along on their stumbling late night anthems in a way that U2 and their ilk never could. Take a shot, spread your arms, and soar.” - Jesse

“An appropriate finale scene.” - Nesto

7. DJ Shadow - The Mountain Will Fall

“I have routinely listened to "Nobody Speak" really loud while dropping my kids off to school (Kindergarten and First Grade). I suggest you do the same.” - Larson

“no words diks, right” - Dan

8. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool


“An album that is content to lurk in the background without overwhelming the listener. The quiet allows the impassioned singing of Thom Yorke to shine in a way that somehow gets lost on more complex Radiohead albums. This is truly one of their best.” - Paul

9. Radiation City – Synesthetica


“‘Fully realizing their breathtaking potential. So many layers of art pop awesomeness.” - Jesse

“Oh, Radiation City, you've gone and made an amazing album! Beautifully paced, it holds back just enough to allow those moments when it lets loose with the soaring vocals to truly stand out. How will you ever top this? Oh, you're going to breakup and never make another album together? Yeah, seems reasonable.” - Paul

10. Sheer Mag – III


“Cranking up this album makes any day feel like Friday night and every beer taste like a High Life.” - Jesse

“Not an album. I know right?! These guys can do in 4 songs what it takes some bands 4 albums to do. If you aren’t moved by “Worth The Tears” I doubt you and I have much to talk about.” - Larson

11. Martha - Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart


“I am in love with the trend of new young bands playing 90s style music with more technique and production. This band reminds me of a mash-up of Idlewild lyrics and fury with Hefner complexity and Boy/Girl vocals. I love this album.” - Larson

“They draw me in with their popping duets, but deceptively clever in their quirkiness.” - Jesse

12. Paul Cauthen - My Gospel


“Great throwback country album; cut from the same cloth as Merle and Waylon. This album probably benefitted the most from being released late in the year, because it’s been front of mind for the last few weeks, and I can't stop listening.” - Eric

“Is most listened to in Houston, Stockholm, Manhattan, and Austin. Win.” - Nesto

13. Candace - New Future


“Just packed with killer dreamy shoegaze. And as you'd hope, it's fantastically noisy live.” - Jesse

“The perfect amount of reverb. Crunchy and droning guitars. Vocals that almost fade into the background. This is shoegaze at its best.” - Paul

14. David Bowie – Blackstar


“I didn't like this album. I loved the man. I listened to this album more times than ANY other album this year and it's the only album that made me cry again and again...” - Rain

15. Kishi Bashi – Sonderlust

“Everybody wants a honeybody someday.” - Nesto

“I am a huge Kishi Bashi fan and love his live show. This album dropped off a little bit for me from his prior releases, but his talent and songwriting are still astounding.” - Eric

16. The Lumineers – Cleopatra


"They're trying really hard to replicate the "Hey Ho" earworm, and after hearing O-O-phe-LIA for a few months over and over I really did wind up liking it. In fact, if I listen to it shuffled with the debut, it all just kind of blends together." - JT

17. Bat For Lashes - The Bride


“I listened to this album while trying to fall asleep on Tuesday November 7th 2016, or what I like to refer to as the worst night of sleep ever. It helped.” - Larson

18. Manatee Commune - Manatee Commune


“The song ‘Second Guess’ was a standout track in a late night KEXP listening session. So clean and chilled out and technical without losing the human element. Listen to it start to finish and I bet you’ll want do it again.” - Larson

19. Photo Ops – Vacation


“I think most people needed a good feel-good album during this rather dark 2016, and Vacation was that album for me. Echoing the harmonies and patience of Pet Sounds, this album washes over you like a warm summer day and lifts the spirits like an ice cold High Life.” - Eric

“I hear some Fleet Foxes in these guys, just smelling less of campfire, which could mean they both just build on sweet Beach Boy indebted harmonies.” - Jesse

20. Summer Cannibals - Full Of It

“Damn, these songs are explosive. Feeling this righteous anger more than ever.” - Jesse

“Fast, fierce, and over in 33 minutes.” - Paul

21. The Record Company - Give It Back To You


“Rock and roll, people, doesn't lie. The Record Company gets down to business with some bluesy, rockin' tracks that come straight at you like some of the best bands from the 70s.” - Eric

“Only knock against this great retro soul/blues album is I started rocking half the songs so long ago that they sound fresh again. Luckily, the new songs are some of the best.” - Jesse

22. Margo Price - Midwest Farmer's Daughter

“It's country because it has to be when the singer lived in a trailer, lived in a tent, went to jail, grew up on her daddy's farm before he lost it, and mentions whiskey in more than half the songs. And if you ever wondered what Loretta Lynn would have sounded like if she recorded a disco funk song with BB King cutting a solo in the middle of it, then check out "Four Years of Chances." - JT

23. The Head and the Heart - Signs of Light


“Major label signing and a major directional shift for Head and the Heart, from moody Northwest folk of the 2010s to sunny SoCal harmonies of the 1970s. It took me about a half dozen listens before it clicked, but once it did, I was hooked.”' - JT

24. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity


“I saw these Australian weirdos play and it felt at times like the place was going to explode. The non-stop energy of this band combined with zero fucks given of the crowd made for an incredible experience. They have songs with names like "Gamma Knife" and "Evil Death Roll"!!! Plus the album sequenced to play in a loop. Do it.” - Larson

25. Lucius - Good Grief


“Art pop masters let their identical hairdos down and get noisy.” - Jesse

NightraiN's Best of Q1 2016 Kinda Short List

In my opinion, the year in indie and under-the-radar music is off to a great start! Of course, you won't get much in the way of so-called Top 40 recommendations from me, so I'm not really commenting on that side of the industry. In no particular order, I figured I'd share a quick and dirty list, with recent video/audio accompaniment, of what I've been digging during Q1. If you have any song or album recommendations from 2016 so far, please feel free to comment below.

Battleme - Habitual Love Songs - Loved the first album, didn't really connect with the second... this one brings it back around to pretty damn awesome.

Lake Jons - Explore EP - Just a taste from these dudes out of Finland, but I'm enjoying what I'm hearing so far and look forward to giving them the live test if they make it out to this way.

The Duke of Norfolk - Three Days from the Wolf Month - Straight outta Scotland, The Duke of Norfolk compose some refreshingly folksy, strummy guitar tunes in the realm of Frightened Rabbit. You can download this free EP here, but I highly recommend tipping. #SupportTalent

Shearwater - Jet Plane and Oxbow - You may already know these guys due to coverage by Pitchfork and others, but if not, this shit is catchy and eclectic. Interesting video as well for "Quiet Americans."

Rolla Olak - Heavy Feather - Need some mellow acoustic jams for those rainy days and your Earl Grays? Rolla Olak's got you covered. Made in Canada.

Old Man Canyon - Delirium - The first time I heard Old Man Canyon I thought it was new or lost-collection Portugal. The Man. It is not -- it is something different altogether and it is worth a listen if you enjoy some psychedelic rock in your life. Also made in Canada.

Photo Ops - Vacation - Well-crafted feel good, surf pop. Riding the same wave as the Soft Swells and others likeminded surf rock influenced we've discussed on QCM. A solid summer jammy-jam album if you ask me.

Turin Brakes - Lost Property - Totally lost track of this band, but they are back in my regular rotation with this album... particularly this cut below.

Mount Moriah - How to Dance - The band has been around for a minute, but this is my favorite of their albums to date. Fire up this southern rock meets indie rock album for your backyard BBQs.

Night Beats - Who Sold My Generation - Psychedelic trio out of Seattle that will provide that blues-rock fix you've been looking for. Angry cops not included.

Augustines - "Are We Alive" - Oh, and the Augustines came out with a new song. Always fantastic. I can't wait for the "RISE: The Story of the Augustines" documentary to drop.

Bishop - "River" - And, last but not least, if this hasn't reached your ear canals yet, you may find it intriguing... I do.

NightraiN's Ridiculous End-of-Summer Shortlist

Augustines - Augustines
Ridiculously good overall.

Thumpers - Galore
Ridiculously hipster fun.

Chuck Ragan - Till Midnight
Ridiculously stellar songwriting.

Kishi Bashi - "Carry on Phenomenon"from Lighght
Ridiculously talented.

Jungle - Jungle
Ridiculously funky fresh dance jams.

Augustines - Augustines (2014)

In the Spring of 2008, I wrote about Pela, a Brooklyn-based five piece, playing an amazing live show characterized by addicting, vigorous, punk-rooted hooks and heartfelt vocals at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. It was a show to remember, because, while the show itself was fantastic, after it I shared drinks with the band and helped shut the bar down. Six years later, Billy McCarthy (vocals, guitar) and Eric Sanderson (bass, keyboards, vocals) moved on together from Pela to form Augustines with the addition of Rob Allen (drums).

With one very good album already to their name, Rise Ye Sunken Ships (2011), this year's self-titled album kicks it up a few significant notches. Passionate, sing-along choruses are strung together with tight hooks, and although no song shares the same stride, the album is truly a unitary whole. It soars at points and plucks heart strings at others - uplifting, then thoughtfully emotional, then back to uplifting - occasionally goose-bump and, perhaps, tear worthy. I have listened to this album more than I care to admit, but much of that is fueled by seeing Augustines live recently at The Independent (again in San Francisco), which was a live show, theatrical performance, and group therapy session all rolled into one. McCarthy leaves it all on the stage - blood. sweat, and tears - and I think this album channels that impassioned enthusiasm. Check the album out or watch some Live on KEXP below.