MANUAL DEXTERITY

The Promise Ring’s Nothing Feels Good is 20 years old today! Check out an interview with guitarist and designer, Jason Gnewikow, about this album’s artwork from the Summer 2010 issue.

Tim Kasher No Resolution 15 Passanger

It’s that time of year again and with 2016 being such a pile of shit of a year in general, some really great music was released to brighten up those dark days. The following is a list of artists and albums that made my days and nights of this past year a little bit more tolerable.

American Football/Owen (Mike Kinsella) (Polyvinyl Records)

Mike Kinsella had a big year by not only releasing a spectacular new Owen album, The King of Whys, but surprising everyone with a new American Football album, which of course is heartbreakingly beautiful. In addition to these two albums being in almost constant rotation, I delved deeper into Kinsella’s Owen catalog and listened to New Leaves (2009) a lot, as well as At Home with Owen (2006) and Ghost Town (2011). Sleeping problems plagued me this past year, and Kinsella’s gentle voice often accompanied as I drifted off to dream land. 

Enemies Valuables (Topshelf Records)

Sad to say that Ireland’s Enemies recently called it a day, but before they parted, they dropped a helluva swan song with Valuables. Before this release, I listened to their previous album, Embark, Embrace, quite a lot over the past year as it was great to lose your mind in while working or driving. While I still need to write a proper review of Valuables, I will say briefly that it is an amazing album that shows them at peak performance, which I’m sure they would’ve eclipsed had they not quit. 

Frameworks Time Spent 7″ (Topshelf Records) / Smother (Deathwish Inc.)

Florida’s Frameworks released two stunning releases this past year in the form of a 7″ EP and a full-length. Both releases filled that void of listening to something heavy when the mood called for it, and also annoyed my older music-tasteless coworkers to no end. I still maintain from my review of Smother a few months back that the song, "Tangled”, is one of the best songs of the year.

Great Apes California Heart (Asian Man Records)

While I probably didn’t listen to this album as much as I should have, it is still one of my favorites from this past year. Brian Moss came up with a cool concept for California Heart that plays out throughout the album. Something about Moss’s vocals always engage me into listening to whatever his band releases and this album is no different. 

Into It. Over it. Standards (Triple Crown Records)

After spending a month in the Vermont wilderness writing and then some time recording with John Vanderslice, Evan Weiss emerged with his latest release, Standards. Weiss is in top form on Standards. His releases have progressively gotten more mature, but also more intricate and detailed. Many listens of this album happened under a pair of headphones during soccer matches or just to drone out noise around me in general. 

Knola To The Rhythm (Skeletal Lightning)

This album came out of now where this year and blew my socks off. Emotionally charged lyrics with driving music took hold of me every time I listened to it. Even though I listened to this album half as much as others, this album is definitely in my top 3 albums this year.  I can’t recommend this album enough.

Mimisiku The Thrill of Living (Count Your Lucky Stars)

This is another band/album that blew me a way this year. I listened to this driving home from work quite a few days as it’s nearly the exact length of my drive and it made the drive so much better. It’s one of those albums that if I hear one song from it, I just have to play the whole album. it’s just an overall fun and energetic album that hasn’t gotten old. 

Signals Midwest At This Age (Tiny Engines)

“You're Gonna Be Golden” came up last night on shuffle while I was working and I couldn’t help but sing along to it, loudly, and I think that a lot of Signals Midwest songs have a high sing-a-long factor to them. I’ve said before that I enjoy singer Maxwell Stern’s writing on their albums and At This Age is another pinnacle of achievement for them. This album is another one that ranks high on favorites this year. 

Tiny Moving Parts Celebrate (Triple Crown Records)

Minnesota lost Prince this year, but gained a new album from local boys Tiny Moving Parts. While losing Prince is immeasurable, Celebrate helped soften that blow, even if slightly. This album and their previous album, Pleasant Living, filled my ear holes with a lot this year and was basically my anthems for the entire summer. 

Honorable Mentions