We are (slightly more than) halfway through a year that, by my calculations, is the best year for music in some time. Here are ten albums I have liked so far:
- The Oh Sees - Help
Best band in the world. When I saw them last weekend they were so good that I found a fucking dollar on the ground during their set. - Strange Boys - And Girls Club
Just when I try and get out of garage revival, these guys almost singlehandedly pull me back in. “Man You’ve Never Known” and “Woe Is You and Me” are instant classics. - Night Control - Death Control
A Blankdogger for people who hate Blankdoggers. I bet when (if?) this dude comes out with another proper release it’s going to slay and David Byrne will start talking about him in interviews and stuff. - Mi Ami - Watersports
Almost no one else I know likes this album at all, but to me it’s like these guys tried to go back in time and correct the nigh-unforgivable sins they committed on the second Black Eyes LP. I appreciate the effort, as well as the remarkable amount of Public Image Limited they have clearly been listening to. - So Cow - s/t
Some Scottish guy who grew up in South Korea or something writes an album of pure pop so solid that if this were rap and you could randomly end peoples’ careers Jonathan Richman would be really upset. - Intelligence - Fake Surfers/Crepuscle With Pac-Man (Like a bunch of nachos stuck together, this counts as one)
Everyone knows I like the Intelligence. Everyone likes the Intelligence. Next. - Manikin - Stop the Sirens
Factory-style postpunk that crams in just enough regular punk and melody (A couple of these guys do double duty in the Hex Dispensers. Story checks out.) to keep from going limp. One of the more underrated bands around. - Earthmen and Strangers - s/t
I’ve been waiting for this one since I saw them in Memphis last September. Didn’t disappoint one bit. Good regular rock music. Good Angry Angles and Digital Leather covers. Good! - Eat Skull - Wild and Inside
While this band will probably never top the “Dead Families” single (the title track off which is easily my favorite song to come out of the “lo-fi”/whatever-the-fuck thing), everyone seems to agree that this LP delivers on its promise a lot more directly than their first one did. They’ve also been namechecking the Chills in interviews a lot lately. Bully for them. - Nothing People - Late Night
Another great bounce back from another “great singles-to-middling-first-LP” trajectory. I bet it’s because the guy from Monoshock joined the band.
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