Another Year of Pissed-off and (Mostly) Charged-up Music: Jonathan Shawās 2019 in review
Cloudrat (photo by Adam De Grosse)
Impeachment as media spectacle? Drone strikes and U.S. boots on the ground in Yemen and Somalia (and lots of other beautiful, exotic locales)? White nationalism ascendant? Soul-crushing economic exploitation and rapacious disregard for the health of the Earthball? 2019 had it all! And things aināt gettinā any better!Ā Ā
For some folks, music is balm or an escape route into aesthetically transcendent spaces of wonder. I understand both of those notions, and have made use of those musical functions during this difficult, upsetting, infuriating, exhausting year. But precisely because I have found this year to be so very, very difficult, upsetting, infuriating and exhausting, I have more often tuned in to music that matches my grim moods. Hence this list.Ā Ā
As ever, I make no claims for the āgreatnessā or ābest-nessā of the music. These are the records that I spun most often this year, the ones that fought for rotation with all of the other records I should have been listening to (always another six or seven reviews I should have been writing and dozens of records I should have given more attention toā¦), and won. If pressed, I would call Venom Prisonās Samsara and Cloud Ratās Pollinator the records of the year. But thatās just one listenerās opinion. You figure it out. Aside from those two, the records on the list below appear in alphabetical order. Iād say āenjoy,ā but thatās not really the point.
Cloud RatāPollinator (Artoffact)
Pollinator by Cloud Rat
They call their music āgrindpunk,ā which is sort of useful as a framing device. But thereās so much more going on throughout Pollinator: crusty passages, feral noiserock, post-whatever. Somehow, Cloud Ratās synthesis of all of those elements feels completely seamless. And the songs are terrific.Ā
Ā Venom PrisonāSamsara (Prosthetic)
Samsara by Venom Prison
Relentless, remorseless deathgrind from Wales. Political, militantly feminist, sonically and psychologically violent. Nuff said.
Ā AcrylicsāSinking In (Iron Lung)
Sinking In LP (LUNGS-145) by ACRYLICS
IĀ canāt stop listening to this one. A bit of hardcore burl, a bunch of post-punk angularity and some crazy good guitar tone. These Santa Rosa punks have only been at it for a few years, but youth is a real attribute here. Their snottinessātempered just enough by a canny musical sensibilityāfeels authentically lived in, rather than posed. Best punk record Iāve heard all year.
Ā DepressorāHell Storms over Earth (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)Ā Ā
Hell Storms Over Earth by Depressor
A much-needed archival release that collects hyper-obscure tapes and 7-inches and a few previously unavailable tunes from this thoroughly underappreciated industrial-crust band. It sounds like shit. Itās supposed to. Itās really, really good.
Ā EpectaseāAstres (I, Voidhanger)
Astres by EPECTASE
If Cloud Rat synthesizes, Epectase gives you whiplash as their songs shift from one mode of metal music to another: from black metal to emo (I knowā¦) to stadium-rock soloing to atmospheric, mannerly prog. The confounding thing is that it works. Adventurous stuff.
Ā Lightning BoltāSonic Citadel (Thrill Jockey)
Sonic Citadel by Lightning Bolt
Twenty-five years? Seriously? And the Brians still find ways to make their singular variety of noise-punk interesting and exciting. A couple songs do more than flirt with tunefulness this time around: they strut with it, finding the rockānāroll that curls its lip somewhere in the midst of all the bandās brightly hued chaos.
Ā Moor MotherāAnalog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes (Don Giovanni)Ā
Analog Fluids Of Sonic Black Holes by Moor Mother
Camae Ayewa, who records as Moor Mother, is a poet, and she fuses her powerful vocal performances with an ambivalent futurist embrace of the machine, a primitivist engagement with the body and a twisted hip hop sensibility. The most harrowing record you will hear this year.
Ā Sheer MagāA Distant Call (Wilsuns RC)
A Distant Call by SHEER MAG
The Philly band continues its unrestrained (and winning) worship of radio-friendly hard rock, circa 1979. But the record is a lot more than a pleasantly polished surface or nostalgia act. Listen close. Youāll hear a coherent lefty politics and a dose of hopeful working-class soul. Music for stained denim and a soft-pack of smokes.
Ā Uniform & the BodyāEverything That Dies Someday Comes Back (Sacred Bones)
Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back by Uniform & The Body
Unpleasant and endlessly listenableātrust the Body, collaborating here for the second time with noise act Uniform, to figure out how to make that work. Electronics spark from Clublandās druggy depths through the lizard brainās neural pathways to your nightmareās brightly flickering fluorescent tubing. Yikes. Play it again.Ā Ā
Special shout-out to I, Voidhanger Records for continuously pushing the boundaries of metal music with their brazenly nutso and unflaggingly interesting releases throughout the year.Ā Ā
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Cloud Rat "Clipped Beaks / Silk Panic" CD is here! Twenty-three tracks collected from the inimitable Cloud Rat. The audio here comes from previous and upcoming splits with Crevasse, Test, The World is a Vampire, Disrotted, and Moloch. The collection comes with a comprehensive and stunning 8 panel insert. We also just added a handful of new Cloud Rat shirts to the online store! http://deadtankrecords.com #cloudrat #grind #moloch
Reposted from @joelsartore Scientists donāt know much about the elusive Northern Luzon cloud rat of the Philippine island of Luzon. It dwells mainly in the upper branches of trees in lowland tropical rainforests and montane rainforests, from sea level up to the high mountains. Photo taken @zooplzen. #cloudrat #luzon #rat #mammal #animal #wildlife #photography #animalphotography #wildlifephotography #studioportrait #PhotoArk @insidenatgeo https://www.instagram.com/p/CnIDGG5vJgk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Quality
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Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming