Not a great year, IMO. But there were a lot of good albums that merited repeat listens. So, here is my list of favorites, in only rough order:
Kiko Dinucci - Cortes-CurtosWacky experimental Brazilial pop music. Hooks? Yes. But lots of other crazy sounds to dig through to get to them.
Chicano Batman - Freedom is FreeChannels the spirit of early 70s funk a la WAR and Shuggie Otis. But with a modern twist, of course.
Meridian Brothers - ¿Donde Estas Maria?Kinda take the Chicano Batman and Kiko Dinucci and throw them into a blender together, sand off the rough edges (of which there are none on that Chicano Batman), and there you have it.
Shugo Tokumaru - TOSSAnother home run from the endless fascinating king of experimental pop from Japan. Every single thing he does is engrossing. One of my favorite current artists.
The Bats - The Deep SetOne of the great bands of New Zealand’s jangle pop scene is still turning out great albums of exactly what you would expect. Effortlessly melodic and entirely enjoyable. Fans of REM should really like this.
The Black Watch - The Gospel According to John
Another band that has been around a long time. This is something like their 14th album. Literate, sophisticated, vaguely psychedelic, crunchy, and jangling.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - The French PressDo I like jangle pop music (especially from Down Under)? Yes I do! This one scratches the same itch as that Bats record, but is a bit more sprightly. Great young band.
Cate Le Bon - Rock PoolAnother of my favorite artists working today. Oddball almost-pop from the Welsh chanteuse.
Zebra Hunt - In PhasesTake Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and add a dash more punk. There you go!
Doug Tuttle - Peace PotatoPsychedelic folk pop that owes a lot to The Byrds and The Zombies both. Lovely songs that set a mood.
Barry Adamson - Love Sick Dick EPCinematic noir jazz-inflected pop. For fans of Nick Cave, Ennio Morricone, and creepiness. Love Barry. One of those artists from whom I buy everything that is released, no questions asked. Haven’t been let down yet.
The Paperhead - ChewMore chiming psych-pop.
Slowdive - SlowdiveA comeback record from the classic shoe gaze band that I never really listened to on their first go-around. It appears that I have made a mistake in that.
Melange - Viento BravoSpanish psychedelic-prog rock. Way cool.
REISSUE WORTH NOTING:
Los Camaroes - Resurrection Los Vol. 1
ALBUMS THAT I HEARD TOO LATE TO REALLY CONSIDER BUT MIGHT HAVE MADE THE LIST HAD I HEARD THEM EARLIER:
Sneaky Feelings - Progress Junction
Thundercat - Drunk
The National - Sleep Well Beast
James Elkington - Wintres Woma
And a Spotify playlist with songs from every album listed (except the Cate Le Bon and Melange ones, which are not on Spotify):
https://open.spotify.com/user/126535916 ... wn3DGhRSCh
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Paul Caporino of M.O.T.O. Wrote:
I've recently noticed that all the unfortunate events in the lives of blues singers all seem to rhyme... I think all these tragedies could be avoided with a good rhyming dictionary.