11/16/25.

The Educated Fools (Nantucket, Massachusetts) "Tantric Decapitation: 69 Mins of Trichotomy and Liquefaction" is true to its name. There's something for everyone who loves garage/noise/garbage.

This album would make musicians as diverse as Dick Stusso, CPN Hollywell (Twisted Teens, CPNPC), The Rolling Stones all nod their heads at the audacity and awesomeness of this music.

Jump in, jump out, but be sure to jump back in again.

11/20/25.

I'm not really sure how I missed this when it came out in April. Maybe it's the sheer volume of music. Or maybe I can blame it on Record Store Day.

The Convenience are a two-piece band out of New Orleans, Louisiana. They don't sound anything like the bands we've been slinging out of New Orleans (CPNPC, Twisted Teens, Silver Synthetic). Instead, The Convenience have an angular guitar sound that reminds me of bands like Field Music, Spoon or Parquet Courts.

I've never done a top 10 list, and I didn't intend to this year. Really, I just wanted to remind people how amazing the Charlie Ivan Band LP is. A top 10 list seemed to be the ideal way to accomplish this task. I wanted only to review 2024 on this blog - not necessarily just 2024 releases. I decided the actual top number would be whatever I came up with after looking over every post of 2024. I actually assumed it would be more than 10, but my fairly cursory review led me to exactly 10, so I'm sticking with the first run through.

You can review the year by clicking "ARCHIVE" on the left. Here we go:

10. Love Banana 7". "Get In" sucked me in with its Clean-like sound.

9. theCatherines "If I Had Known Then". "Minigolf" might be the sweetest childhood song I've ever heard.

8. fantasy of a broken heart "Feats of Engineering". I immediately thought of Frog, but what kept me coming back was all the unexpected musical directions with still great melodies.

7. Maple Fyshh, "You Are Leaving My Mind: The "Mariko" and "Dokitto Station!!" Era". Sometimes surfy, always poppy. I spent November listening to this over and over.

6. Balloon "Gas 'n' Air". There's definitely a bit of recency bias here, but "Hooligan" and "There Is Love" are really two of my favorite songs of the year.

5. Mekons "Fear and Whiskey". Any band that simultaneously can make me think of The Pogues and The Go-Betweens moves to the front of the class. I can't believe I waited this long in life to give into the magic of Mekons.

4. BMX Bandits "Dreamers On The Run". I bought two BMX Bandits LPs this year, but "Dreamers On The Run" gets the nod as the 2024 release. "Setting Sun" is just amazing. "Bee Stings" was also reissued in 2024.

3. Beachwood Sparks "Across The River Of Stars". Probably my most listened to LP from the 2024 posts. "Torn In Two" is beautiful as are many songs off this album. I also saw them play at The Great American Music Hall.

2. Charlie Ivan Band "Where The Dogs Go To Die". This one just won't let go. I can't help but think of fellow Aussie Michael Beach, but there are just so many good songs here. "Sky's Bleeding" into "I'll Take You Down" was my favorite one-two punch of the year.

9/21/25.

"The Future Is A Valley" is the new release from Michael Slyne and his project Slyne and the Family Stoned (New London, Connecticut). Slyne appears to be a prolific musician who has released a ton of music in the last 6 years under various monikers - this being one of them.

For me, this is fairly hard music to pin down. I definitely hear Sonic Youth throughout - but the sonic change is even more whiplash than Sonic Youth. I mean there are times I feel like I'm listening to quasi metal-like riffs. And while this doesn't necessarily sound a lot like the work of CPN Hollywell (cpnpc, Twisted Teens, and Chardonnay), I feel like Slyne and Hollywell share a rock n' roll sensibility and work ethic.

12/3/24.

CPNPC is one of several bands that appear to share members with each other - Chardonnay, Twisted Teens and Sonya Badigian and CPN Hollywell, all have cassette through cpnpc (New Orleans, Louisiana). CPN Hollywell seems to be the common denominator.

This is good old-fashioned swampy rock n' roll with a huge dash of pop sensibility. Think of bands like Chronophage and Wounded Lion crossed with The Verlaines (listen to the chord progressions on "Two Soldiers" or "Erased"), and Parquet Courts.