#18 rays

To keep the pool of candidates manageable, I made the arbitrary choice to restrict my lists to what I purchased on vinyl. As well, these are presented in alphabetical order, because ranking them seems so painful (choosing just ten was hard enough). Each title is a link to some sort of audio sample.

18 Rays - 18 Rays (Antinote) Sleeper hit for me, and “I Feel Rain” is super stoned, sleepy eyed pop brilliance and an absolute ear worm. The rest of the EP is top shelf downtempo, with a melancholic pop edge. Shout out to the bassline in “These Empty Stairs”, huge guitars in “Long Time Ago”, and the (mellotron?) flutes of “North West Plaza”.

Bendith - Bendith EP (Aficionado) Maybe the best release all year. Like a Welsh, mostly acoustic Espers…but better? Baroque, medieval, psychedelic, sad, beautiful. Every track is a standout, including an excellent rendition of the traditional Japanese Takeda lullaby. But it is “Cân Am Gariad”, a cover of Lesley Duncan’s “Love Song”, that brings me to tears.

Earth Trax x Newborn Jr. - Mirage (Les Yeux Orange) The B-side is really fun, getting to hear Newborn Jr strike out alone on a looped country fried jammer bringing to mind Todd Edwards, and Earth Trax laying down a burner. But the A-side is just monstrous, especially the title track. When those absolutely huge ravey chords come in and subtle acidic trails start firing…hands in the air.

Max Manetti - Max Manetti EP (Über) Some awesome combo of Coyote and Mushrooms Project at their most horizontal, but also its own thing. Stoned out tempos, dubby basslines, tons of hand percussion, sun-baked guitar, and lysergic synths and vocal samples all over the place. Its all amazing, toes-in-the-sand beachy brilliance, but the b-side in particular kills.

Modern Manners - Modern Manners 001 (Modern Manners) “Amor y Odio” is just so classic: sparse breakbeat and bassline, trippy synths, and mournful Spanish guitar (shades of Coyote’s “Eve”!!). “Running With Me” has a nice loungey almost bossa nova rhythm with tasteful organ, jazzy laid back guitar, and soulful vocals. “Instant Illusion” finishes with a playful bassline anchoring a relaxed downtempo drift. (MM 002 is also most excellent...bring on 003!).

Mori Ra - Akebono / Tasogare (Balearic Social) Ive played these records ALOT. The most balearic of Mori Ra’s many great edits/reworks. A lot of it sounds like it could come from the early Cafe del Mar volumes. The AA side of Akebono, “Exodus” is a real stand out…hypnotic, floaty, and uplifting. As well as the A side of Tasogare, which is a jammed out jazzy banger.

Nancy Noise - Kaia (Beyond Paradise) “Kaia” should go down as an all timer, all desert swept acoustic, twinkly keys, and muted spaghetti western trumpets. Completely epic. “Azizi’s Dance” also kills it, with perhaps my favorite bassline of the year and those totally classic housey pianos. The remixes of “Kaia” are also on point, with Leo Mas & Fabrice grooving it out and Man Power throwing it all over a breakbeat and upping the cosmic factor. Also a lot of love for Leo Mas & Fabrice’s “Balearic Lovers” mix on the remix EP.

Pender Street Steppers - Pender Street Steppers (Mood Hut) The A-side is jaw dropping and the standout is the synth-saxy house shuffle, spy movie guitar, and hazy vox of “Raining Again”. “Mirror (Dub)” is light-as-air dub that is really compelling, spacey, and easy to fall into. And just try not to tap your toes when the groove kicks in and that whistle melody starts in “Molto Bene”. The B-side has some excellent Hut-style house, but doesn’t quite reach the ridiculous heights of the A-side.

Private Agenda - Dusk/Dawn (NuNorthern Soul) Both “Dusk” and “Dawn” are gorgeous, subdued, catchy, and immaculately crafted. The remixes are the real story however, especially Faze Action’s and Ron Basejam’s takes on “Dawn”. The former has the feel of a White Isle classic, with tropical and percussive synths, a bouncy beat, and Cantoma guitars. The latter gets so much glorious mileage out of a disco leaning break and a delicious sax line.

Various - We’ll Sea Pts. 1 & 2 (Mireia Records) RSS Disco’s “We’ll Sea” lays a catchy vocal hook over an absolutely classic organ-led downtempo groove, and the sum of these simple parts wrenches my heart. Just timeless. “Porto” is more uptempo, with an awesome filtered bassline and mystical and soaring vocals. Conga Fever finishes part 1 with a loungey, noir-esque guitar/organ groover. On the A-side of part 2, the Marcus Worgull edit of Gil Scott Heron’s “I’m New Here” is sublime, layering his dusty acoustic and croon over a subtle and hypnotic shaker-led beat.