Tune Towns

I missed Dischord band Beauty Pill the first time around in 2004, but thanks to friends who are huge fans I did check out their second record in 2015. What I heard was a more atmospheric, melodic group than I expected, and this track was the one that really perked up my ears. The first minute’s fairly understated verse melody delivers some biting lyrics - “we’ve established what you are, now we’re just haggling over the price” - before launching into a beautiful space-rock chorus that carries the last half of the song. Layers and layers of asking if “you recognize that this is noise, right?” Brian Wilson in every bedroom, and for once, one of each is not enough.

Real Lies pull off an impressive feat with their Real Life album, reimagining Pet Shop Boys for the 2010s. The Streets and New Order are obvious touchstones as well, and they’re less in thrall to titanic hooks than to mood, but the subtlety serves them very well.

The Madeira are one of the leading lights in the current (3rd? 4th?) wave of surf guitar music. They’re incredible players, but often their music is too smooth for my taste, I look for a little more rawness and aggression in my surf. However, this fantastic song, “Dawn In Cadiz,” plays to their strengths, a slow melody shimmers and sways through several variations that don’t stray too far from the central theme. It’s a textbook example of how to stroll right up to the line of overplaying a simple song, but not crossing it. Unfortunate cover art aside, Ancient Winds is one of 2015′s best in another fantastic year for instrumental surf music.

Eric, this one’s for you! Remember 3rd Bass, Serch’s posse before this record came out? This came up on shuffle recently, then I found myself quoting it to my wife without catching where it came from. Great early ‘90s East Coast track, probably already a little dated in 1992, but on the other hand it’s a timeless sound. 

Furious hardcore that demands attention, Girls Living Outside Society’s Shit exploded into 2015 from January on. Their five-song demo is over in about eight minutes, but that’s all the time you need for five pro-trans, pro-equality, pro-human mission statements that are as righteous as punk rock gets.

Not a metalhead by any stretch, I had to check with my friends who are to see if this is like the corny Dragonforce version of black metal or not. Happily, they agreed that Melechesh’s 6th record Enki is killer. Shrieked vocals aside, this is some of the most powerfully joyful metal I’ve heard in a long time, the euphoria of actually playing these riffs bursts through the high-end production. They’re one of the leading melodic black metal bands from the Middle East, and this record boasts a complex but immediately gratifying integration of tones and scales from that tradition. The title track here is a great introduction to a band that, based on my experience, has a ton of crossover potential.

Here’s my Spotify playlist of songs I liked in 2015. I’m going to be going through some highlights for the next few weeks, posting much more regularly and also adding to this playlist as I keep playing catchup with all the other lists that are out. One amazing resource that I recommend is the Hyperconsensus 2015 project from user troutmask at rateyourmusic.com. It’s compiled from over 200 year-end recommendations from every kind of source, niche blogs to mainstream daily newspapers, with loads of detailed statistics and references.

“Say It Once” kicks their sophomore record Why Choose into another gear, moving from brittle and sparse Young Marble Giants territory into the more vital depth of Gang Of Four and Delta 5. Art- and sound-wise, the circa-1980 influence is obvious, but Shopping successfully engage present concerns lyrically and with subtle instrumental touches, especially on background synth parts. 

Live, Yonatan Gat’s band is one of the best going. They play in the center of the floor, with all the lights turned down except one small lamp next to each member of the trio. The music is largely improvised, based on some of the themes heard in the album but moving far afield with an urgency that rarely fails to overwhelm everyone in the room.

I bookmarked this song earlier this year and just returned to it while reviewing 2015 releases, and am so glad I did! This is what I thought Savages were going to sound like: raw, slightly goth, post-punk. But where Savages’ debut mostly stuttered, stiff and calculated, Sweden’s Makthaverskan swings and threatens to come unhinged, especially in singer Maja Milner’s wailed vocals. The “Paint It Black” quote in the main guitar line sure helps ingratiate this song on first listen, but there’s a unique path forged here that makes “Witness” worth returning to.

More coming soon

So giving nothing less than perfect, GB's album "Start Today" is an account of that all too familiar teenage buzz. With tracks like "New Direction" and "Degradation" you'll be recalling dear memories, like you and your friends hopping class to slam in a dusty yard, stumbling into trouble, and swinging away wishing your hometown had more to offer...starting to sound like the lyrics of a Gorilla Biscuit/Ramshackle Glory mash up. Well, regardless of what comes to my mind the spirited lyrics of "Start Today" will get your heart pumping for that change you always dreamt of as a kid. What a way to start the day.

Preparing for a Goldrush Music Festival bill with many artists unknown to me, I was struck by the soul-cleansing clarity of Columbia, Missouri band Nevada Greene's album Across Our Wide Misery. With intertwined guitars characterized by the meditative stamina of math rock but with a smooth flow more akin to The Durutti Column circa LC, the crystalline lines of "Early Morning Jogger" twinkle lightly like glistening morning dew or the sun reflecting off a faraway grain silo. Without over-the-top climaxes, Nevada Greene's music charts a straighter course, reflecting the rolling pastoral beauty of prairie flatlands with a charmingly unassuming and unrushed Midwestern temperament.

There probably isn't a more brutally honest Hunx & His Punx song than "Too Young To Be In Love", but the grit and rawness of "You Think You're Tough" is a song that always find its way back to me. The entire song is just one gut-wrenching feeling. Good memories, bad memories, it doesn't matter. Once you hear that drum roll you can't help but say, "oh shit, I hate myself for falling for someone who's tough."

This was immediately evident on lead single and title track “Pray for Rain” which jumps out of the speakers with a slappy beat that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on the dance-pop emanating from my mom’s mini-van back in the day. Daniel Hindman’s blurry guitar textures from Moon Tides still reverberate, but are now made to swing and bounce above a low-flying synth bass. Sarah Vesprille inhabits the song with commanding clarity, entreating the listener to embrace presence with questions first sensible and concreate: “Are you careless like a child?/ Do you stumble? Are you wild?”; then more sensual and abstract: “Are you hot and heavy jungle?/ Visions lifted in the lace?/ Was it just a little taste?/ Did you say it to his face?” For the chorus, she focuses on the feeling of negotiating between dueling personalities within you and boils it straight down to a visceral mantra, “Are you cut in two?/ Cut all the way through?” The hiccuped vamping on the outro concludes that maybe one can be both confident and playful. First thing in the morning, this is a great song for waking up, taking stock, and hoping for the best.

Songs from Movies or Soundtracks. Kaleb brought the pain with this theme. I went in a couple directions here, some recents tunes mixed with a couple classics. Some of these songs are part of my soundtrack and will be a big part of the feature film about my life. I know you can't wait. Enjoy!! Burn Hollywood Burn - Public Enemy Full on rage towards Hollywood. Sing is loud and proud 'Burn Hollywood Burn!' This is classic PE from the best era in Hip Hop. Tycho - Awake One of my favorite songs, seems to me that it would fit well into a movie. When I make mine, it will make an outstanding backdrop to a montage scene. A chill but epic montage scene that should some fundamental growth by the main characters. Ha! One of These Mornings - Moby A song from the remake or Miami Vice. Laura was really into the soundtrack and this is a great tune from a damn good movie. Palo Alto - Devonte Hynes One of the recent soundtracks that I've gotten into. A smooth melancholy tune that captures the mood of the movie as well. A fixture in my 'chill' mix. Straight Otta Compton - N.W.A. In honor of the movie that came out this summer. A great movie about the rock stars that blew our minds in middle school. Being from a small town in south central Wisconsin, these song sure made an impact. Going Through Your Purse - Material Issue Off of the record "Freak City Soundtrack" And this was a big part of my soundtrack my junior year of High School. Also it was one of my 'lost' records from that period, good to have you back mid 90's Material Issue.

Modest Mouse - Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine: The leadoff song from the album my college friends referred to as “The Bible,” there’s a lot to take from these lyrics. But the reason it’s on this list is that Hannah made an incredible video for it that I never get tired of showing. The pathos of phrases like “do you need a lot of what you got to survive?” is highlighted by the writing on skin and spelling out “give a shit” on eggshells makes a darker moment kind of funny.