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.

2016 Top 10 Portland Indie Rock Albums

1. Radiation City - Synesthetica

Heading out after fully realizing their breathtaking potential. So many layers of awesomeness.

2. Candace - New Future

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

3. Summer Cannibals - Full Of It

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

4. Minden - Sweet, Simple Things

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

5. Mo Troper - Beloved

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

6. 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.

7. Landlines - Problems 24/7

Long anticipated and stellar collection of slacker surf pop.

8. Aan - Dada Distractions

Kicks off with a killer one-two punch of anxious catchiness.

9. Blowout - No Beer, No Dad

Messy, boisterous, beer-drenched, and coed - basically, the party you once always aspired to incite. Channeling frustration through harmonized yelling.

10. Rod - Pretty Sure

What it lacks in fidelity, it makes up for with in-the-red passion and hooks.


Other favorites: Wave Action, Pynnacles, STRFKR, Wooden Indian Burial Ground, Bombay Beach, Thanks...

Top 10 Favorite 2012 Portland Albums

It was another great year for local music, so singling out my top 10 Portland albums is a bit of a fools errand. Are these the best albums released this year? I don’t know. They are the ones I loved the most... I think.

1. Weinland - Los Processaur
   Finally, an album that captures the energy of Weinland’s highly touted live show. No surprise, it’s fantastic. Don’t worry, it still has some quiet indie folk.
2. Battleme - Battleme
   It wasn’t clear until Battleme absolutely blew me away live that I hadn't been playing them loud enough. Make no mistake, for all of the sonic details, this is a rock n’ roll record.
   
3. Lost Lander - DRRT
   Glad Lost Lander came out of the woods to deliver their thoughtful and layered pop.
4. Wooden Indian Burial Ground - Wooden Indian Burial Ground
   Wooden Indian Burial Ground make some of the most playful and exciting garage psych this side of Ty Segall.
5. Brainstorm - Heat Waves
   Feels a little like cheating, since I’ve been jamming to a handful of these art-pop jams for years, but they all sound fresh and the new songs continue to showcase Brainstorm's wide-ranging influences. Dance, stomp, and bob along.
6. Horse Feathers - Cynic’s New Year
   While still masters of mood and texture, this catches Horse Feathers at their most melodic and upbeat (ok, least depressed). For my money, their best record yet.
7. Menomena - Moms
   Menomena expertly balance lyrically heavy themes with rousing and dynamic music.I keep coming back just to see what I missed.
8. Kim Baxter - The Tale Of Me And You
   Fans of the All Girl Summer Fun Band rejoice. Kim Baxter is back with a new batch of buzzing indie pop.
9. Miracle Falls - Debasement Tapes
   It may be hard to believe, but Miracle Falls actually lives up to its incredible pysch pop pedigree (Mercury Rev, Sparklehorse, Longwave).
   
10. Y La Bamba - Court The Storm
    Warning: Y La Bamba's intricate and beautiful folk music may haunt your nights.

Y La Bamba - Lupon (2010)

Y La Bamba are quietly creating some serious local buzz. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they became Portland's next big band. Their music is pretty and ethereal, and makes for good nesting music as Portland settles into the colder, grayer months. Like Beirut, the band builds upon folk music from around the world. Lead singer, Luzelena Mendozarom, has a distinctive old-timey warble that took me a little while to truly appreciate. "Juniper" stands out as the obvious single, in that it exemplifies all of the best elements of the band. Mendozarom's voice ranges from smoky to soaring, and is backed by great male harmonies and really powerful, simple percussion. "November" (mp3) is a great rock song that actually feels like November, with mournful strings contrasting against an upbeat summer tempo. The musicianship on the album is fantastic, alternating between ornate and quietly sparse when it fits the song.

They are opening for fellow QuickCrit favorites, Horse Feathers, at the Doug Fir on tonight and Saturday.

Langhorne Slim - "Rebel Side Of Heaven" Video

Last night I walked into the Crystal Ballroom a little early for the Builders and the Butchers, but just in time to catch the last few songs of Langhorne Slim's set. Although I hadn't heard him before, he hooked me with a couple folky barnburners. Lucky for me, he's playing again tonight for FREE at Rontoms at 8 PM, along with Blitzen Trapper's Marty Marquis and Y La Bamba. You can bet I'll be there for the whole set this time.

I don't think he played this song while I was there last night, but it gives you an idea about his sound. Or you can listen to "I Love You But Goodbye" (mp3) from Be Set Free, coming out on the 29th.