Rain’s Favorite Albums from 2016

1. Mohammad - Pèkisyon Funebri        

Stony greek doom cello. Need I say more?     

      

2. Zomes - Near Unison               

Immediately recognizable when it comes on. Also, it's a FACT that listening to this album will make you forget that it's only Tuesday and your state of mind will change to a chiller, happier, more carefree weekend mode.      

3. Mark Korven – The VVitch (original soundtrack)                          

Witchy as fuck! Your mom, your wife and your cats will hate it but it's spell will completely overcome you.            

4. Johann Johannsson - Arrival (original soundtrack)                      

It makes you aware of every cell in your body. You can feel your folicles, the blood beneath you eyelids, your calcified fontinel. This is a GOOD thing.   

5. The Caretaker - Everywhere At The End Of Time                         

"You've always been the caretaker. I should know, sir." Know this: The Caretaker creates imagined soundtracks for the ballroom in The Shining. It's spooky and lovely.  

6. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree                   

A true dirge that fucking breaks my goddamn hardened heart.   

7. Mogwai - Atomic          

             

Every song is an anthem that should be played while you walk in slow motion away from life's successes and high points. 

8. Tobacco - Sweatbox Dynasty     

           

I'm gonna suck out your eyeball.         

     

9. Lustmord - Dark Matter   

                       

Embrace the dark abyss.              

10. Banks & Steelz - Anything But Words             

Skinny ties. Pointy shoes. Gin 'n' juice.   

11. The Stargazer Lilies - Door To The Sun           

I'm always a sucker for shoegaze and this hits the sweet spot.    

12. Moonsicles - Bay Of Seething      

      

This album makes me wish I smoked weed.         

13. Operators - Blue Wave         

Dance your ass off while making waffles for the kids on a Saturday morning? Don't mind if I do.  

14. Your Friend - Gumption     

  

If I could go back 30 years and fall in love with someone for the first time, I'm sure this would be "our album".     

15. David Bowie - Black Star

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...

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

Magic & Fur - The Last Of The Late Night Lost (2011)

Magic & Fur were my most anticipated album of 2010 ...I anticipated, but it didn't happen. Now, it has been nearly two full years since we first crowed about the forthcoming album, and it is finally here. Yeah! The majority of Last Of The Late Night Lost has been released in some manner or another, whether it be through bandcamp or EP, but the music still feels like a warm, fresh morning. "Christine" and "Apple Falls" remain the stand-out singles—solid longevity—with uptempo beats and hook-laden riffs that pull you in with great build-ups. "Do Not Toll The Bell" is a bass-line driven five star track reminiscent of "Heroes"-era Bowie. "Us" is my favorite of the newcomers, with a sing-along chorus and a head-nodding beat. I feel that the overall comparisons to Bowie and Interpol's sound still stand given the heavy emphasis on reverberating baritone vocals. The music is self-described as, "noir-soaked, hypnotic pop songs," which I think is partially off-base because, in my mind, noir tends to be associated with dark, cynical drama, and this album makes you want to happily bob about to the hypnotic pop, rather than wallow in it. Maybe that's just me. Regardless of your personal reaction to the music, this album is excellent beginning to end with a broad range of smooth sounds and solid songwriting. Hopefully we'll be seeing them stateside soon.

The album will be available on Monday, May 16 by download only. 

.357 Lover - Diorama Of The Golden Lion (2009)

Whoa. This is one of those albums that kind of blows your mind. Imagine if Grease starred David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust instead of John Travolta. How much cooler would the transformation scene at the end be if Danny Zuko turned into a androgynous space alien? And while that isn't exactly the storyline, that may be my best change describing the overall experience. .357 Lover move from Queen's arena rock to Supergrass glam to show tunes and then into whatever Meatloaf was. Suffice to say this a weird, exciting, and epic rock opera (I think), along the lines of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The mood changes along with the music styles, incorporating playful, serious, and sinister images into the lyrics, but it's all too over-the-top to be anything but tongue-in-cheek. I'm kind of bummed I am only hearing about lead singer/songwriter Corn Mo now. Check out "Nighttime School" or "Event Horizon" for a little taste.

Magic & Fur - Christine (2009)

Magic & Fur need to come out with some more releases with a quickness, because the pair of tracks off of their Christine single are so good that they have the potential to be catastrophically overplayed. Both "Christine," a melodic, riff driven track that has a intriguingly whirly psychedelic video (below) and "Apple Falls," an elongated, danceable indie track with Bowie-esque vocals, are extremely catchy and well performed. There are hints of Interpolishness and other prominent indie acts, but these two tracks certainly stand alone in their own right as distinctively awesome songs. Additionally, the unreleased "Endgame," that can be found on the bands linked page, slows it down a bit, but is also quite good in a dark, mysterious way. If these three songs are an accurate indication of what can be expected from a full length release by Magic & Fur, then I eagerly anticipate the band's next release.

Fires Of Rome - You Kingdom You (2009)

You Kingdom You is a rock and roll combo platter of an album—touching on influences ranging from glam, heavy metal, punk, Bowie (just listen to “Monkey In A Cage”), a little dance rock, and of course, the classic rock... the list goes on. The tone and swagger reminds me of Diamond Nights’ 2005 release Popsicle, which still gets my inner glam-rocker all excited with each re-listen. Coincidentally, the two bands both hail from that little east coast music Mecca known as New York City. From the hard charging guitar riffs of “I'll Take You Down” and “Love Is A Burning Thing,” to The Rapture-esque dance beats and vocal squeals of “Bronx Bombardier,” (which is anchored by the chant, and all too factual threat, “Don’t fuck with me when I’m not sober...”), to the finely orchestrated and layered structure of “Dawn Lament” and T.Rex styled “But You're Such A Cherry,” Fires Of Rome do a little bit of everything, and they do it all really well. If you're seeking a solid party rock album, look no further.

Also, if the track “Set In Stone” tickles your fancy, and you like club versions of rock songs, have a listen to the Set In Stone Remixes collection. Pretty rad, if you ask me.

Late Of The Pier - Fantasy Black Channel (2008)

A trusted, albeit electronica-obsessed resource suggested I check out England’s Late Of The Pier to stave off Wolf Parade cravings, and my curiosity was decidedly piqued. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve assumed this was one of Spencer Krug’s innumerable [and questionable?] spin-off’s… except decent. They share his eerily resonant vocals, laced with danceable indie beats in the vein of Klaxons. Weeks of listening later, I discovered…

This genre-happy band is everything and nothing, all at once. One minute metal, next prog rock, from synth-rock, then danceable indie, to some yet-to-be-classified amalgam of the aforementioned. My entire listening experience could be summed up with a… Huh? Wait… what? Oh god… Umm… What the fuck? Hmm… Holy shit! This band seriously goes from point A to point… Z.

If you don’t mind shameless pilfering of more established bands like Wolfsheim, My Chemical Romance, Panic At The Disco, Bloc Party, Muse and Orgy, to name a few, then you might dig this band. The vocals range from Krug, to David Bowie’s baritone, to Matt Berninger’s darkness (The National), and the music is guitar-driven one minute, gloomily synthtastic the next… you won’t know whether to run, scream, hide, or stay and dance to the musical schizophrenia.

Although some tracks are overly ambitious that they lose their focus (“Heartbeat” and “Whitesnake”), there are some wicked(ly) cool ones too. The awesomely 80's throwback, “The Enemy Are The Future,” is at best a B-side to a Bowie B-side album… but in a good way. Then the edgy “Mad Dogs and Englishmen,” with its Hot Hot Heat-inspired vocals and Bloc Party flavor, is perfect for a Devo comeback album. And “Bathroom Gurgle” is definitely on my playlist for an unplanned indie dance party.

WARNING: Don't listen to Fantasy Black Channel before bed. It may give you night tremors... or worse yet: the “jimmy legs!” ;-)

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (2007)

"Time To Pretend" is one of my favorite side-one-track-one's this year. How can you deny the dreamy and youthful optimism of a line like: "I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life. / Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives" before continuing the emotional arc into nostalgia and then fatalism, all squeezed into 4 minutes of beautiful beats. It kicks off an album that continues to sprawl all over the place. It's atmospheric and psychedelic, yet glammy and danceable. While it seems experimental, it's built on the familiar. It touches on the Flaming Lips, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Prince, Yeasayer, and plenty of other cool bands you might already love. While this could turn out a complete and derivative mess, somehow they make it work as a cohesive album. I don't think the rest of the songs make as good singles, but also check out "Kids" and "Pieces Of What."

Pop Levi - Never Never Love (2008)

Last year, Pop Levi's sugar assaulted glam rock was on heavy rotation on my headphones, so I was excited to see this one come out. He kicks things off with some electric glam boogie on "Wannamama", and again I'm hooked. This one's mellower and has more of a 80's influence than The Return To Form Black Magick Party. It's a little Bowie and a little Bolan, with a fresh twist of Chromeo. The album is full of weird processed vocals, electric hand claps, and sweet dance floor pop. I know it's not for everyone - the lyrics are generally simple and repetitive, some might say dumb - but these songs are meant for good times on glitter accommodating dance floors. Overall, the album is fun, but far from essential. Slip "Semi-Babe" or "Oh God (What Can I Do?)" onto your next party mix.