5 – Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – Scandalous
So when did these guys become the greatest bar band in the world? Horns, guitars, blues, rock, and soul workouts? There is no pretense whatsoever through the whole thing. Just a record that is looking to cut loose. It’s an incredibly difficult feat. So many records attempt to capture this vibe and fail miserably. Example, I love Robert Randolph but his records come off as completely sanitized and produced within an inch of their life. This feels loose, live, and rowdy. It mixes things up nicely and never gets stale or overstays it’s welcome. Party record of the year. “Where can I get my ham glazed……”
4 – Yuck – Yuck
I think I went through what most people did when hearing this the first time. I heard the grab bag of 90’s influences and sounds and was put off a bit at first. But it’s one thing to ape a sound and another thing altogether to DO something with that sound. It eventually won me over with it’s relentless creativity and sprawling ambition. There may be some nostalgia at play for my record collection circa 1992 but I simply can’t deny the great feeling I get while listening to this record. Just 50 minutes of noise-pop bliss. Easily the debut album of the year for me.
3 – Akron/Family – S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT
The final drunken purchase on our list folks. I didn’t know much about Akron/Family when I bought it. I think I’d read a review and picked it up on impulse (on vinyl no less). Best decision ever. One of the craziest, warm, organic, and psychedelic album journeys I heard all year. Stylistically it’s all over the place with gently plucked acoustic numbers with ethereal barbershop harmonies to power chord distorted screaming choruses. It makes me FEEL like I’m on drugs over the course of the record. Like I’m miles deep in the woods at some tripped out campfire be in. If you don’t like what’s going on at the moment….wait……it’ll change in a minute. A total immersive record that I’ll be going back to for years to come. Too many wonderful moments to name.
2 – Daniel Romano – Sleep Beneath The Willow
I don’t think I need to add much here. It’s been pretty covered around these parts. A modern day Lee Hazelwood. The best of 60’s era AM country radio. A devastating work of songwriting genius (not to mention that he produced, engineered, and performed most of the instruments). All props to Billy for exposing me to this album. Completely restored my faith in country music. Gram Parsons would be proud.
1 – The Black Lips – Arabia Mountain
The Lips have been putting out good to great stuff for years now but the time was right for a change. Enter Mark Ronson. This was a producing clinic of how to polish a band without compromise. Everything sounds more even, more consistent. It’s like a Nuggets-esque Greatest Hits of psychedelic garage rock. “New Direction” was the song that initially sucked me in. Clearly a song of the year candidate but after many many spins, I’d have a tough time picking out the best of this ridiculously good set of tunes. They just keep coming one after the other. I’m not even sure how to describe the touchstones for this band to someone. Ramones, Yardbirds, Sonics, Cramps, the Who, Violent Femmes? Hell, even stuff like “Dumpster Dive” sounds like The Stones circa 1965. It mines 50 years of American underground music and comes out the other end with the best of all of it. Incredible.
