10 Records That I Deem Worthy: Pt 2 (5-1)

    While my bottom five records were ones that I thought were great, these next five albums were truly fantastic. While I certainly could have made my favorite punk or metal or hip hop records of the year, I tried to consolidate it all together to pick the records that I will have in rotation for years to come. With that said, lets keep this train-a-rollin.

5. Ghost- Infestissumam

     Perhaps one of the most buzzed about bands of the heavy music scene of the last five years, Ghost initially became more known for their on stage gimmicks and mysteriousness than for their actual music. While looking at them, you may expect drone metal such as Sunn, or perhaps bone crushing Black Metal, but instead what you get is a throwback to mid 70's heavy metal, bringing to mind the guitar harmonies of Thin Lizzy, the dark melodies of Black Sabbath and Pentagram, and the theatricality of Alice Cooper, all blended in with a grimacing Satanic message. The record introduces new elements to the Ghost formula, with frequent keyboards/organs, and occasionally a less metallic tone, that sometime even could be described as beautiful. While there is more diversity present here than on their debut, the record is unmistakably Ghost. "Secular Haze" was the first song I heard off this record, and it can truthfully be one of the first songs that I've heard in years that actually gives me the creeps. It brought me back to when I first heard Sabbath's title track, and all the eerie feelings that accompanied it. While many bands try to be so satanic that it becomes silliness, Ghost embraces the gimmicks of 70's hard rock, which creates a vibe that is both light and incredibly heavy; leaving you to decide if Ghost is an auditory version of a goofy 80s B-movie or a darkly disturbingly morbid and disturbed skin flick. If you dig pop songs about Satan with duel guitar leads, look no farther.


4. Earl Sweatshirt- Doris

     Odd Future have always been a very strange act for me. I could never decide if I enjoyed them or was totally disgusted by their content and often moronic music. For every "Yonkers" or "Assmilk", we'd have an abundance of "Bitch Suck Dick" or "epaR". Earl Sweatshirt has always been a disappointing story for me, as his shock lyrics and personal life really downplay the fact that he is one of the most talented hip hop lyricists this generation has seen. With Doris, Earl has finally allowed himself to ignore the silly trap rap parodies and goofy music videos that have watered down the recent OF releases, and given himself the chance to speak on his own level. For years we have been wondering what Earl would sound like when he "grows up", especially after his heavily publicized time out of the public eye. Lead single "Chum" is jawdroppingly sincere, with a beat that may be reminiscent of early 90s albums from Nas or BIG, but does not bog itself down in phony nostalgia for a generation he was not even a part of. Everything isn't completely bleak though, with "Whoah" being something of a banger, and could be the soundtrack to doing ignorant shit with your friends. It also must be said that Earl has finally dropped the heavy handed shackles of rape stories, constant f-word dropping (I am not referring to the word "fuck"), and misogyny that was more disturbing than thought provoking. By dropping the childish shock format, we get to see a young man really come into his own as a thoughtful and clever rapper with a maturity that is far older than his Wikipedia page may indicate. Without being either overly emotional, dark, or light, Earl created a record that, to this writer, is the cure to the generic and rehashed ideas ruling the hip hop scene. Along with Kendrick, A$AP, and their ilk, for the first time in quite a while, the future may be looking bright for the next generation of MCs.


3. Night Birds- Born To Die in Suburbia

    2013 has been a great year for Punk Rock EPs and demos, there haven't been as many great records as I would have liked. This record though. Oh boy this record. This is one of the handful of exceptions. Coming up as a young punk rock kid in high school, I constantly had 80's west coast Hardcore on rotation. All the good stuff: Circle Jerks, RKL, Adolescents, Minutemen, Black Flag, Agent Orange, Dead Kennedys, Crucifix, etc. While there have been a ton of bands over the years that have had a classic Hardcore influenced sound, Night Birds are perhaps the only band that sound like they were ACTUALLY there. Its almost as if in my mind I can see a flyer for a VFW show with Youth Brigade, DI, Husker Du, and Night Birds. Perhaps the thing that really makes this band feel like an authentic 80's record is the fact that the songs are so damn catchy. Rather than screaming their lungs out in thirty seconds in a power-violent bravado, these are songs that you'll have stuck in your head for days. But that is not to say that I see them as a nostalgia act, because the music feels so damn genuine. The music truly flows from this group of guys, and the sincerity is apparent, the same way that Disma felt like a genuine continuation of 90's Death Metal. These guys flew onto my radar with their last record, and I thought it was fantastic. But this one pushes it much farther, creating a perfect record to slam dance in a grimy shit hole of a club, with a PBR in one hand, and the other one to block stage divers. Songs like "Golden Opportunity" and the title track are the perfect mix of youthful angst and rage, and track "Less The Merrier" are a fine continuation of the tradition of anti-Christmas punk songs. If you grew up on classic Punk records, but have become jaded with scene politics or pseudo jock Hardcore, this may be the record that'll make you want to put back on that leather jacket and pick up that Stratocaster and do it yourself.


King Krule- Six Feet Beneath the Moon

      This is probably the only record on my list this year that came completely out of left field. A good friend of mine had been talking about this guy for a few weeks, but given his name, I assumed he was a rapper in the vein of A$AP Ferg or something of that ilk. This is not what I found to be the case with this young man's masterpiece of a record. Perhaps this type of music is just not under my radar, and there is an entire scene of music in this vein, but I can truly say I had never heard anything quite like Krule. With jazzy and reverby guitars, this is THE record to drive around town to on a lonely winter night. Krule has the voice of a raspy man who has smoked far too many cigarettes. The kid oozes soul and passion, that is both sexy and introverted. The backing music can only be described as eerie and emotive, with dark synthesizers that don't allow themselves to go into post-punk territory, and percussion that alternates between crashing big band kits, and computerized hip hop beats. With the emotional pain released byJoy Division and the sincerity of Morrissey, and something that can only be attributed to mr. Krule, I can only say that you must listen to this record.


RVIVR- The Beauty Between

    Another band that had flown under my radar for quite some time, I have now become completely enamored with RVIVR's brand of poppy punk rock. In a genre that has historically been predominantly male driven apoliticism, RVIVR is a shining light in the dark. While lesser bands would wax poetic endlessly on relationship problems or youthful angst (not that there is anything wrong with that), RVIVR have used their platform to speak about sexual and gender identity, scene politics, personal crisis, and the injustices that even some of the post avid punk rock fans may not be aware are happening around them on a daily basis. A song such as "LMD" has singer/guitarist Erica Freas encouraging the listener that they have more strength than they realize, and to let them be unafraid to use that that to live a happy life. Initial single "Wrong Way/One Way" has to be one of the most empowering songs I've heard in years. Both Erica and other singer/guitarist Matt Canino battle with the expectations that society throws on us unwillingly, whether its the fact that perhaps you may not fit in with your peers, or that maybe, as a genetic male/female, you may not feel like you are a member of gender thrown upon you unwillingly at birth. After several more songs that are both fun and emotionally intense, we reach the epic "Hunger Suite" trilogy, a vibrant series of songs that ranges from slow bass-driven vocal interplay that is both dark and emotional with intense brass backing instrumentation, to blazing punk rock that keeps you on the edge of your seat till it brings it back down, just to build up to one last mid-tempo crescendo. The album closes out with "Party Queen", a song that is also epic on composition, with intensely beautiful harmonies that bring both awe and jubilation, closing one of the best punk records of the last few years. While RVIVR's music may not be as musically adventurous as bands such as Fucked Up, Iceage, or Titus Andronicus, they hold their own with superfluous amounts of energy and sincerity, with a message that is so direly needed in 2013 and beyond.
 

Thats it for the records of 2013. Stay tuned for my runner ups, top eps/demos, and best live music experiences of the year.

10 Records That I Deem Worthy: Pt 1 (10-6)

The past 363 days have shown a great wealth of mediocre art. As is often the case with music, the majority of the mainstream is streamlined to the point of absurdity. Familiar hooks, shallow themes, and predictable instrumentation riddled the radio. A large part of the so called "indie" music scene did not fair better. More often than not, we would hear a band hyped on the internet, to the point where it became impossible to come close to living up to the created expectations. More often than not, we became witness to try-hard wannabes who just did exactly what could be expected of them. 

The Following list includes records that I thought achieved their intended goal in an excellent way. 

10. CRUSADES - Perhaps You Deliver This Judgement With Greather Fear Than I Receive It

     Crusades has been a band that has flown under my radar for quite a while now, but I never took the time to check them out. I had often seen their dark images filled with Satanic imagery on ratty black shirts at punk shows, so when I finally gave them a listen, I was quite surprised with what I heard. While I anticipated a dark and moody post punk band in the vein of Savages or the punk-goth vein of 45 Grave, what I heard was shockingly digestible. With soulful melodies and a strong/clean voice, this band hit the spot. While every band is trying to imitate the gruff blue collar punk of Hot Water Music or the Springsteen influenced rock of Gaslight Anthem, Crusades take in influences from some of the best Fat Wreck bands of the last 15 years. While their singer reminds me strongly of Tim from Rise Against, I can hear hints of the metal riffing of Today's Empire.. era Propagandhi, and even occasional duel guitar leads that bring to mind the best parts of early 2000s metalcore. Lyrically, the record focuses on classical atheist philosopher Giordano Bruno, who helped bring in secular humanism into art and poetry. Check it out if you dig Alkaline Trio, Propagandhi, or inverted crosses


9. Nails- Abandon All Life

      Speaking of inverting crosses, this has to be the most sonically punishing record I've heard this year.
While their previous record had perhaps more Powerviolence influence, this record brings in a strong blend of Death Metal, Grind, and Hardcore. Upon the first notes on the record, I found myself instantly head banging and cranking the music as lot as my flimsy car speakers could go. With guitar riffs that pack the punch of classic Florida Death Metal, and vocals that alternate between gutteral screeches and Hardcore style barking, this is THE record to commit (or want to commit) random acts of violence on your immediate surroundings.


8. Superchunk- I Hate Music

     With bands like Arcade Fire or Vampire Weekend topping the charts, its often hard to believe that there was a time when "Indie-Rock" actually ROCKED. While 2013 has shown a continued interest in 90s nostalgia, you need look no further than North Carolina's Superchunk for the real deal. With twangy guitars and incredible hooks and harmonies, I Hate Music reminded me why I'm so sick of hearing so called "Indie kids" or hipsters, or whatever the hell we all the cool kids these days,  harping about how fantastic -insert beloved pitchfork band here- are. Much like the Dinosaur Jr's record in 2012, Superchunk, while not having reinvented the wheel, have brought a much needed guitar crunch that college kids should consider looking into.


7. Tegan and Sara- Heartthrob

    Tegan and Sara ditched the guitars and melodrama in 2013 in favor of a sleek, highly processed, sound that brings to mind the dawning of MTV, and all the classic pop music it spawned. While I am often critical of the music riding the charts, I am a big fan of genuine pop music that is neither sleazy nor simple. Tegan and Sara hit the ball out of the park on this record because you can clearly see what their intention was with Heartthrob, and that they achieved it perfectly. Songs like "Goodbye, Goodbye" bring to mind 80's tween idols like Cyndi Lauper who had songs that were both clever and highly relate-able, with hooks that will stick in your head in the best way possible. This is a record that is void of pretense, and filled to the brim with synths and bouncy hooks that will have you dancing in your bedroom into 2014.


6. The Front Bottoms- Talon of the Hawk

     To quote Best Coast, there is just something about the summer. This record takes me back to high school; after sitting in a cramped classroom or cubicle for months and months, you finally get the chance to feel the sun on your face and not care about anything but having fun for the next 3 months. The Front Bottoms have written the record that I wish I had when I was in high school, being 17 and spending the summer nights drinking a beer or two and going to punk shows every night, and than the next morning rolling out of bed at noon, meeting up with your best friends, and doing it all again. "Skeleton" proved to be one of my favorite singles of the year, driving around town and singing along with my jackass buddies. Much like with the Tegan and Sara record, this is an album that had a goal and hit the target perfectly. The lyrics of Talon of the Hawk are both straight forward, fun, and clever. While I found the lyrics and vocals at first laughable, it was not long before I found myself blasting this record and singing at the top of my lungs, feeling the hooks burn through me as if I had written them myself. This music sounds like it could have been written by the group of guys that you see working at local coffee shops or gas station, who seem both interesting yet approachable, with supposedly no care in the world. The additional instrumentation of the keyboards and brass adds texture and a mood that is both exuberant and introspective. This record is not for the cynical or the "too cool for school" crowd. You can expect to see the Front Bottoms blowing up even more with their next release.
     

Stay tuned to see what I think are 5 of the best records of the year. Some of which are aggressive, some are poppy, some are experimental, and all of which are incredible.

-MK