tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82426791578538892322023-11-15T07:40:19.673-08:00The List 2022not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-45027994955794095272022-12-21T08:31:00.014-08:002022-12-22T10:57:19.708-08:00Hello and welcome<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This is The List 2022. It is the latest iteration of the traditional annual
rundown of my 20 favourite albums of the year (this is instalment #23, cause I am <i>super </i>old). All
very simple: to qualify, a record needs to have been recorded in the studio, be a full
length album, and have been released in the relevant year. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Hope you enjoy!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-52463170656365827782022-12-21T08:29:00.004-08:002022-12-21T08:29:21.518-08:0020 - GAUPA - Myriad<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOIxPV2w_t1IzcE2t-r1DmUgfKdCv8Dzshpz2crTUYiQRREDFq70EQQ8visi-9zcJsdtEuqmVsAcvNPv__YdQ3OXfJDtZ98CtFYtamBXSUNBOUfYLaQ_oqL1BqDhyAz8AevFYBKoX32S-agIMSvUqVB8sGOiRsTDO9kmDI0_iNzjKArz9Q36DniTAcfA/s1434/20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1426" data-original-width="1434" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOIxPV2w_t1IzcE2t-r1DmUgfKdCv8Dzshpz2crTUYiQRREDFq70EQQ8visi-9zcJsdtEuqmVsAcvNPv__YdQ3OXfJDtZ98CtFYtamBXSUNBOUfYLaQ_oqL1BqDhyAz8AevFYBKoX32S-agIMSvUqVB8sGOiRsTDO9kmDI0_iNzjKArz9Q36DniTAcfA/s320/20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We start with the answer to the question
‘what if <b>Björk</b> fronted a progressive stoner rock band?’. A late entry,
the second record by Sweden’s <b>GAUPA</b> is still growing in my estimation. At
times <i>Myriad </i>leans towards the more traditional end of stoner rock, like
on the infectious ‘RA’, which has a rolling riff right out of the <b>Kyuss</b>
playbook (stoner rock royalty!), but there also are much more intricate riffs on
offer (see, e.g., ‘Mammon’). Indeed, this record is mostly concerned with
pushing the genre. Take ‘Moloken’, which mixes stoner with something
approaching lounge jazz to excellent effect, or ‘Sömnen’ – sung in Swedish – which
is playing around with acoustic folk, and is haunting. As mentioned, Emma
Näslund sounds an awful lot like everyone’s favourite Icelandic experimentalist
pixie. Again, see ‘Mammon’ as a notable example. How much that is just a
Scandinavian singing style, a coincidence, or a choice is hard to know, but the
fact that <b>Björk </b>is repeatedly called to mind<b> </b>certainly adds to
the sense of adventure here for me. More generally, the appeal of <i>Myriad </i>is
that <b>GAUPA </b>are trying new things in a genre that I love but that has a
tendency towards repetition.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-55122655353016004292022-12-21T08:28:00.004-08:002022-12-21T08:28:20.713-08:0019 - Bob Vylan - Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNrdexQrkPtSF8Qp9hwkFVL4IDaPc_Hm0nE1VVMgH_el-l_b0uaYcgPG7PY7inSpcqXBu8JXJ0xdT2WucgbkuhC5QbthD_kYxhQsT1EjF_NNMnssiTWz_Y_nOpNEzF5WDoDj1nNI6YJy89BK2VNSyTbq1YOP6_yE48dGC-3ppz4U2fdnUWdXW8cxsnA/s1200/19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNrdexQrkPtSF8Qp9hwkFVL4IDaPc_Hm0nE1VVMgH_el-l_b0uaYcgPG7PY7inSpcqXBu8JXJ0xdT2WucgbkuhC5QbthD_kYxhQsT1EjF_NNMnssiTWz_Y_nOpNEzF5WDoDj1nNI6YJy89BK2VNSyTbq1YOP6_yE48dGC-3ppz4U2fdnUWdXW8cxsnA/s320/19.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Next up is the second record by London-based
duo <b>Bob Vylan</b>. Incorporating a wide range of genres – hip-hop, punk,
grime, rave, and reggae (basically, you name it) – this is accomplished stuff.
Whichever genres are being deployed at any particular point, though, <i>The
Price of Life</i> is always thematically coherent. The music might shift all
over the map, but the lyrics are laser focused on the evils of financial
inequality, racism, and ingrained privilege in modern Britain. It’s a call to
arms and no quarter is given. The lyrical content here is both incendiary and
poignant, and the quality of the writing in that regard never dips. Highlights
include the reggae laced ode to healthy eating, ‘Health is Wealth’, anti-data
mining protest song ‘Phone Tap’ and, best of all, the tone-perfect jab at
liberal media that is ‘GDP’ (‘The BBC are talkin’ about the GDP / That means
f*ck all to me / I gotta eat’). Come for the wicked breakbeat/riff mix; stay
for the social commentary.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-44198965081308579492022-12-21T08:27:00.003-08:002022-12-21T08:27:14.067-08:0018 - TAPE TOY - Honey, WTF<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkXImO20aKqtiShJU1eU-zx1yXMp26z6jwe1tpRPLBB36NJdQwuKVEhxjD7qRos-dlt8rRxEQgnFDTYgExfNerY_Q4bNxX6AGov_mtr9G0V2FpgLTuRsXMxIYV5zVvVeZT9MdgDNz3ksKC7JNfqRP3m46xRxwFfkafnq2iM12Kq88m2gDRQlU_KakwA/s600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkXImO20aKqtiShJU1eU-zx1yXMp26z6jwe1tpRPLBB36NJdQwuKVEhxjD7qRos-dlt8rRxEQgnFDTYgExfNerY_Q4bNxX6AGov_mtr9G0V2FpgLTuRsXMxIYV5zVvVeZT9MdgDNz3ksKC7JNfqRP3m46xRxwFfkafnq2iM12Kq88m2gDRQlU_KakwA/s320/18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Given that it was released on 6 January, the
debut record from Amsterdam’s <b>Tape Toy</b> gets major longevity points. I’m
still playing it more than 11 months later, which – in a year where Spotify
tells me I listened to 830 artists – is no small thing. That said, <i>Honey,
WTF </i>probably was my album of the year throughout the first quarter of 2022,
so a placing of 18 means it has faded a bit since. <b>Tape Toy</b> have called
themselves ‘bubble-gum grunge’ in interviews, which is both accurate and a
little pretentious. Ultimately, this is an excellent indie rock record. <i>Honey,
WTF</i> is full of catchy tunes, and has a fresh bouncy feel. However, it also
does sometimes veer into something a little scuzzier (see, e.g., the verse on
‘Phone Call’; all of ‘Hold On’). The likes of ‘Crushed’ and ‘Lizzie’ even recall
<b>Momma</b>’s post-grunge racket. Mostly, though, this trends to the poppier
side. If there’s a weakness, it’s the lyrics, which are a bit dodgy: they too
often come over like rote teenage angst. But this is a young band on album 1,
so that can be forgiven. Overall, this is fun and catchy – I adored it for a
hot minute at the start of 2022, and it has enough about it that even after
that initial flush, it has managed to stick around all year long.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-26833984554269558872022-12-21T08:26:00.004-08:002022-12-23T01:44:15.038-08:0017 - BLACK MAP - Melodoria<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3O_SrQwirf-PSIN7b7kkpClPnS6AY4Wuw1UvWAd4xneuWokEOwlNDm1WyOoJNSgFoegH-fGetJFj_wiRyo02NoY8tR58fdx-b9hHJGShcULhH57jmdeUOheXxhyvfDq1gcFjZB_ufwpRDtUasNcFNmHB1lbfdgIwSgAYcm_AgTOvRSxYzi3joOVAsQ/s1200/17.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3O_SrQwirf-PSIN7b7kkpClPnS6AY4Wuw1UvWAd4xneuWokEOwlNDm1WyOoJNSgFoegH-fGetJFj_wiRyo02NoY8tR58fdx-b9hHJGShcULhH57jmdeUOheXxhyvfDq1gcFjZB_ufwpRDtUasNcFNmHB1lbfdgIwSgAYcm_AgTOvRSxYzi3joOVAsQ/s320/17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The third record by hard
rock supergroup <b>Black Map</b> exudes quality. The writing is consistently
excellent throughout, the playing is as tight as it gets and it’s all expertly
produced, mixed and packaged. There are riffs aplenty, soaring choruses and
mellow detours in all the right places. The twist here is me getting into the
work of a ‘supergroup’ when I have no knowledge of any of the bands that the constituent
members were in originally: <b>Far</b>, <b>Dredg</b>, and <b>Trophy Fire</b>
all passed me by. Backtracking to them a little, the post-hardcore and prog of
the members’ earlier stuff certainly makes sense as a backdrop to <i>Melodoria</i>,
but this is much more mainstream territory. <b>Highly Suspect</b> are a comparator (which scans, given they’ve toured with <b>Black Map</b>), as are <b>Red Light Company</b>. <i>Melodoria</i>
has been a go to for me this year when I have needed a bit of a soul lift, cause every
song raises the spirits and is uber-produced to just glide into the ear. The
flip of all that is that it<i> </i>isn’t exactly a ground-breaking record, and
I’m unsure what longevity it’ll have as a result. ‘Supergroup’ might, therefore,
be overselling things a bit, but this is fun mainstream rock.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-68493124493234917142022-12-21T08:25:00.005-08:002022-12-21T08:38:53.009-08:0016 - SWEET PILL - Where the Heart Is<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf__BBkvJRKEc1izxFiDNdtvhQYAumS6VdxYuI-gEUPWHouVvKwZNFFV0aqCnSgrFe0eazx97lCBPHTT5gKA0ElDv7iGt2cIPnoisbfOeiJIl96YEbi9JKIHTbEDumexP23pwJqz18fo9kYsQNeAciqfCKo8x07SChlpJqUCiaimuZiuA5U0Gh1FGcbg/s600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf__BBkvJRKEc1izxFiDNdtvhQYAumS6VdxYuI-gEUPWHouVvKwZNFFV0aqCnSgrFe0eazx97lCBPHTT5gKA0ElDv7iGt2cIPnoisbfOeiJIl96YEbi9JKIHTbEDumexP23pwJqz18fo9kYsQNeAciqfCKo8x07SChlpJqUCiaimuZiuA5U0Gh1FGcbg/s320/16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A mix of power pop, emo and smatterings of
post-hardcore, this is an excellent debut record. <i>Where the Heart Is</i>
benefits from both being catchy – hum those choruses – and inventive (the time
signature of the riff on ‘Dog Song’, for example, is… unusual). <b>Sweet Pill</b>
have quite a distinct sound, with the dualling picked ‘mathy’ phrases of their
two guitarists acting as the main focus of most tracks. The closest I can think
of is early <b>Foals</b>, who also had a similar trick in their arsenal. Zanya
Yousseff’s vocals remind me a bit of Hayley Williams from <b>Paramore</b>,
albeit that the comparison between the two bands doesn’t go much beyond that. Admittedly,
as with a lot of emo, the lyrics are sometimes a little bit too, well, <i>emo</i>
for me, but that’s a hazard of listening to this genre. A stellar live album released
late in the year, which showed off just how well they can replicate these
tracks on stage, helped to cement a place for <i>Where the Heart Is </i>on The
List. As debut albums go it’s pretty impressive.</span></p><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-51665373115283890682022-12-21T08:24:00.003-08:002022-12-23T01:45:18.911-08:0015 - SUNFLOWER BEAN - Headful of Sugar<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6tYRLlXq81Grjs2w5aeFaXU2lOUgiaOx0SDkxrD7jWh58PLyWWibw6qyItowiBMNBQj7yEmwX2C_aYn1r6bxzrTVfnzt28ztRKCV-qlmdUwtxWt6cOXhwRYIA6ipOtRGR0XJ33YvIfsSxnuT5X4KJYc5q9lrtXIdU4ORB29PtrihfYjbpn7NgadI8-g/s679/15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="679" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6tYRLlXq81Grjs2w5aeFaXU2lOUgiaOx0SDkxrD7jWh58PLyWWibw6qyItowiBMNBQj7yEmwX2C_aYn1r6bxzrTVfnzt28ztRKCV-qlmdUwtxWt6cOXhwRYIA6ipOtRGR0XJ33YvIfsSxnuT5X4KJYc5q9lrtXIdU4ORB29PtrihfYjbpn7NgadI8-g/s320/15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sunflower Bean</span>’s fantastic indie rock debut, <i>Human Ceremony</i>,
came second on this List in 2016 and still is in occasional rotation for me 6
years on. In contrast, 2018’s disappointing follow up, <i>Twentytwo in Blue</i>,
didn’t come anywhere near a List placing: it was all polish and had
none of the heart of its predecessor. Album #3 could, therefore, have gone
either way. Happily, it’s much closer to their debut in terms of quality, if
quite a departure from it sonically. A lot has happened to <b>Sunflower Bean</b>
in the last 5 years, with drummer Olive Faber transitioning under a good deal
of public scrutiny and singer/bassist Julia Cummings launching a whole other
career in fashion and modelling. And, you know, <i>pandemic</i>. Perhaps it’s unsurprising,
then, that <i>Headful of Sugar</i> feels like something of a new start.
Venturing into synth pop and disco, while also rediscovering the fuzzy guitar
hooks that graced <i>Human Ceremony</i>, this is more varied than anything
they’ve done before. It’s not as focused as their early stuff but gets points
for not always playing it safe. This record is a massive step in the right
direction after a ropey sophomore effort, albeit that it still falls short of
the high watermark of their debut.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-64519156368785234112022-12-21T08:22:00.008-08:002022-12-27T03:27:18.537-08:0014 - 40 WATT SUN - Perfect Light<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93YLd8Ne0-PSSQP_h6dpxsIu61ko1Qidp9KS_Kxv06uPjB7VL3S3DtcBeDheikf3iwzCFuWdbEhVCeCFMFJqJVIZzZFOHh9ulN8hZlLEfRodubBTr01t7JuCHW8PSNwH9j3en1-pgmVaYXe-iZ6k5qjjiq2l9uWHgkwXJfGD9s90jQGOgF6oH8g98og/s2560/14.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2560" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93YLd8Ne0-PSSQP_h6dpxsIu61ko1Qidp9KS_Kxv06uPjB7VL3S3DtcBeDheikf3iwzCFuWdbEhVCeCFMFJqJVIZzZFOHh9ulN8hZlLEfRodubBTr01t7JuCHW8PSNwH9j3en1-pgmVaYXe-iZ6k5qjjiq2l9uWHgkwXJfGD9s90jQGOgF6oH8g98og/s320/14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The work of Patrick Walker
operating under his <b>40 Watt Sun</b> moniker is characterised by minimalism:
this is largely acoustic, sparsely arranged and down-tempo mood folk. It
probably makes the most sense in the context of Walker’s previous life as a
member of now defunct doom metallers <b>Warning</b>. <b>40 Watt Sun</b>’s sound
draws on the same structures as doom/sludge metal – this is folk through the
metal lens (or vice versa?), mostly made on acoustic guitar and piano. <i>Perfect
Light </i>is album #2 for <b>40 Watt Sun</b>, and it’s even more stripped down
than its predecessor. Walker has honed his new formula, and he injects these
musically sparse (but long) tracks with raw emotion – which really is the
point. That fact means you do have to be in the mood, because this record is often
quite miserable. Take the first line of post-rock influenced ‘The Spaces in
Between’: ‘The hardest single time that we fell upon / Overcame us like a god’.
The emotion feels genuine, though, and the minimalist sound provides a perfect
backdrop to the weighty sadness of the lyrics and vocal style. I have listened to
this a huge amount since it came out way back in January – like <b>Tape Toy</b>, demonstrating impressive staying power – but in <i>Perfect Light</i>’s case only
in patches, because it brings with it some darkness</span><span face=""Bierstadt Display", sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-75156550791394405512022-12-21T08:21:00.007-08:002022-12-21T08:21:34.298-08:0013 - THE MYSTERINES - Reeling<p><span style="font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwiwbK7OXjFj2xx90sgyceyQGSraPNH-67V7QJNxZYcoFgFLkMumP4Tg8zysq85W7V6TNVvABBzMf8mof6mRs1rfQfPOWURP1buYSgvtBKDlIjF0isYgyVxqH39x4id7nA7FI9uZLWYLLeSdPUYomvKIS3D_RDkQLP5lE3WcsMv2cgnqPmHUmm2pQz9g/s1500/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwiwbK7OXjFj2xx90sgyceyQGSraPNH-67V7QJNxZYcoFgFLkMumP4Tg8zysq85W7V6TNVvABBzMf8mof6mRs1rfQfPOWURP1buYSgvtBKDlIjF0isYgyVxqH39x4id7nA7FI9uZLWYLLeSdPUYomvKIS3D_RDkQLP5lE3WcsMv2cgnqPmHUmm2pQz9g/s320/13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The debut by Liverpool’s <b>The Mysterines</b>
is a grungy rock delight. Built on consistent song-writing (this is a record
that doesn’t dip), there is confidence and swagger here that is infectious. <i>Reeling
</i>is full of scuzzy riffs and rousing choruses, like on thundering opener
‘Life’s a Bitch (But I Like it so Much)’ or the aptly named ‘In My Head’ (it’s
an earworm alright). Even its softer moments – like the bash-ballad of the
title track – pack a punch. Lyrically, there’s some great stuff too, with a
power-over-patriarchy message that eschews victimhood. On ‘Hung Up’, for
example, Lia Metcalfe announces ‘My words like bullets through your heart / But
I will keep on trying / Cause I like to watch you dying.’ While ‘Means to
Bleed’ is a feminist call to arms. Metcalfe isn’t messing around. She leads her
band gleefully as they charge into next year’s festival circuit, which is just begging
for big, bold post-millennial rock like this. <i>Reeling </i>is great – just
the right mix of catchy and punchy. It’s<i> </i>another impressive debut album
from a band to watch.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-59008216189600034762022-12-21T08:17:00.010-08:002022-12-27T03:27:44.378-08:0012 - WET LEG - Wet Leg<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZPWcfKnCZDp8U8eInv5ekrEcAyYrvyt3DHO5RaRObEuWL4cObNZhd5CJrzZpALnPeI6eoEylaZ0GtOPvo07_4lixE5GkC8h87hNhWjk99EKMuUGaL95meJjCYh94wQecLyT3YZaiHyLp1TT3LqqO2rHx3siX0twZz-ZNuGadio9v1mQCS9AXvnukqw/s316/12.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="316" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZPWcfKnCZDp8U8eInv5ekrEcAyYrvyt3DHO5RaRObEuWL4cObNZhd5CJrzZpALnPeI6eoEylaZ0GtOPvo07_4lixE5GkC8h87hNhWjk99EKMuUGaL95meJjCYh94wQecLyT3YZaiHyLp1TT3LqqO2rHx3siX0twZz-ZNuGadio9v1mQCS9AXvnukqw/s1600/12.jpeg" width="316" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another debut, and rare album that (largely)
lives up to the hype, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Wet Leg</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> is a great indie pop-rock record full of
catchy tunes and playful, tongue-in-cheek lyrics. An exercise in both having
and eating one’s cake, </span><b style="text-align: justify;">Wet Leg</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> make fun of hipster cool while embodying
it (a trick the </span><b style="text-align: justify;">Arctic Monkeys</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> pulled off notably too, a good decade and
a half ago now). Musically, </span><b style="text-align: justify;">Wet Leg</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> remind me a bit of </span><b style="text-align: justify;">The Breeders</b><span style="text-align: justify;">
or early </span><b style="text-align: justify;">Sleater-Kinney</b><span style="text-align: justify;">, albeit with a slightly softer edge. The glowing
reviews, repeated ‘sound of 2022’ labels and the general over-exposure had me
primed to dislike this record from the start, but when it came out I found I
enjoyed every track, and it has stayed in rotation well beyond my
expectations. The pre-release singles like ‘Chaise Longue’ and ‘Wet Dream’ –
for all their silliness – remain lodged in the head a number of months on. But
it’s the more ambitious tracks that elevate this above the pack: take the
dreamy ‘Loving You’ (I hear echoes of the wonderful </span><b style="text-align: justify;">Palehound</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> here), or
the stomping ‘Oh No’. Quite what longevity this album will have for me, or what
</span><b style="text-align: justify;">Wet Leg</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> can muster for album #2, who knows. They are, very deliberately,
throwaway in their message and presentation. In any event, as I write, this actually
</span><i style="text-align: justify;">has</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> ended up being (a) sound of 2022.</span></span></span></div></span></div></div>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-61540057622308272212022-12-21T08:16:00.007-08:002022-12-23T01:55:23.292-08:0011 - CHARLEY NO FACE - Eleven Thousand Volts<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN44thRGjww2sY0vbnAZ85MH-Kqq1sQQwgvP_TIxQAYbHoOu2UeG3v4tp5IeXQ-J0hIwR1Kp4SXiIb71qtxUkelbpopvBlZ7eyID8aOt-emZ_pbvK23dNwnnasbfBHXypZLw5y1wgz60tzYhI11MxJFEwjLGj8lk61eAeIZ7dJU6dcG_mqEHIR8FrydA/s640/11.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN44thRGjww2sY0vbnAZ85MH-Kqq1sQQwgvP_TIxQAYbHoOu2UeG3v4tp5IeXQ-J0hIwR1Kp4SXiIb71qtxUkelbpopvBlZ7eyID8aOt-emZ_pbvK23dNwnnasbfBHXypZLw5y1wgz60tzYhI11MxJFEwjLGj8lk61eAeIZ7dJU6dcG_mqEHIR8FrydA/s320/11.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The second full-length record from this
strange, little known band from Portland, Oregon is an inconsistent delight. At
its best, it’s top 5 material, but it has some dips (e.g., take the incessant cowbell
on ‘Flat Circle’ – unwise) which have meant that it’s ended up mid-table.
Playing around with fuzz-grunge, psychedelia, stoner rock and prog, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b>Charley
No Face</b> are on a <i>trip</i>. And they seem not to care all that much
whether you want to come with them. Take the largely instrumental 9-minute
closer, ‘Death Mask’, which makes no concession to palatability: a swirling,
bass-driven epic that’s as rudderless as it is fun. ‘Satan’s Hand’ is another
long one – clocking in at over 7 minutes – and the first 2 of those are just
scene setting, before things come on all lethargic <b>Black Sabbath</b>. Opener
‘Eyes’ is my favourite here, a track built on an odd drum lick but propelled by
a drawling riff that sounds like <b>Soundgarden</b> slowed to quarter speed. <b>Charley
No Face</b> are the sort of band that pre-internet would have struggled to get
a record deal but would have had a small band of adoring fans in their home
town; now they can reach across the globe. Unapologetically weird, and, admittedly, with some bits that don’t really work, there are nonetheless gems
aplenty to be found on <i>Eleven Thousand Volts</i>.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-23352040664733083222022-12-21T08:15:00.007-08:002022-12-22T13:50:10.920-08:0010 - AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR - Jettison<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdreNHoPaGVOkdMT93GQm3MhaeJsdZdaWkaXuRmrvO0Q_AAB4HIJi7mBjOtbrkYLmv11RsYbvLITIxq4fgqtTthLkRFMvvDvDKxHgGdmRft-kx8do2B6kEonJG968eYf52lfLPKxqZL6J4XFqW6HhdkVcPZH8H7peE1KOmXVQ_ZL8zrPME9iu1I957Bw/s500/zzz420294.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdreNHoPaGVOkdMT93GQm3MhaeJsdZdaWkaXuRmrvO0Q_AAB4HIJi7mBjOtbrkYLmv11RsYbvLITIxq4fgqtTthLkRFMvvDvDKxHgGdmRft-kx8do2B6kEonJG968eYf52lfLPKxqZL6J4XFqW6HhdkVcPZH8H7peE1KOmXVQ_ZL8zrPME9iu1I957Bw/s320/zzz420294.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span>Most years a little post-rock makes it onto my List somewhere. And there were some excellent post-rock records in 2022 that didn’t quit make the cut – shout out to long-listers </span><span><b>The Glass Pavilion</b> (x2, as both 2022 releases were close), and <b>Secret Gardens</b> (which is 70% a fantastic record but has a real dip in quality in the middle). The standout post-rock record for me this year, though, is this effort from <b>And So I Watch You from Afar</b>. They’re a band who have been around for almost 2 decades, and for much of their existence they’ve made post-rock on the heavier, mathy side, with pounding drums, odd time signatures and a bunch of riffs. All that previous work is good, but not so good that <b>And So I Watch You from Afar </b>have ever troubled my List before. <i>Jettison </i>is a much mellower effort, full of large open spaces, string accompaniment and gentle, plucked guitar. It’s a largely instrumental record, albeit with a few spoken samples that introduce some themes along the way. There are occasional nods to the math rock of their past, like on ‘III Lung’, but they’re rare. Conceived as a single piece (to the point that the record is available as a selection of tracks but also as a single track), this is a real <i>album</i>, and one to wallow in. Like all the best post-rock it grows and envelops. This change of pace and focus has turned <b>And So I Watch You from Afar </b>from excellent to essential.</span></span></div></span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-61392106750012248852022-12-21T07:55:00.001-08:002022-12-23T01:59:05.565-08:009 - THE BETHS - Expert in a Dying Field<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmH63OU9lI0K0uGcdS5_c2Dg2jIInfZiWc_FhW5B2U6sh6rNz2eqVmYa8E_REPMQsP8CBs6z8heLmAy3qK0-QG3BaiG4DJO2Br2pbtdc84a0daGACiK7vL4_-0HYUSjc57irUIWU1w4xiDUE8hId6VIE0e4UvrzkC7cMI6eqXWn3WQFaefY9wL8RBYyQ/s720/9.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmH63OU9lI0K0uGcdS5_c2Dg2jIInfZiWc_FhW5B2U6sh6rNz2eqVmYa8E_REPMQsP8CBs6z8heLmAy3qK0-QG3BaiG4DJO2Br2pbtdc84a0daGACiK7vL4_-0HYUSjc57irUIWU1w4xiDUE8hId6VIE0e4UvrzkC7cMI6eqXWn3WQFaefY9wL8RBYyQ/s320/9.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I liked both of the first 2 records by <b>The
Beths</b>, but neither were especially close to a List placing. <i>Expert in a
Dying Field </i>is therefore definitely their breakthrough album for me. The
formula isn’t all that much different, but <b>The Beths</b> have raised the
quality bar here, with a consistency that wasn’t present on their previous
records. It’s also the case that their trademark sugary pop-rock has more edge
on album #3, with some chunkier riffs and a guitar sound that sometimes veers
from their usual fuzzy to <i>scuzzy</i>. My favourite track on the record, ‘A
Passing Rain’, highlights this well, starting all saccharine before building to
the sort of powerchord guitar riff that wouldn’t be amiss on <b>Bush</b>’s 90s
classic <i>Sixteen Stone</i>. Elsewhere, ‘When You Know You Know’ is a sunnier
sing-along, which reminds me of <b>Taylor Swift</b> at her most indie; while
‘Silence is Golden’ unfurls unexpectedly with something approaching a prog-metal structure (if not sound). There are plenty of open-heart surgery lyrics throughout,
exploring loss from various angles. Ultimately, this is another step up from a
band that already was making impressive strides.</span></div>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-31457502078350096432022-12-21T07:53:00.015-08:002022-12-22T13:50:34.411-08:008 - METRONOMY - Small World<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18pt;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcKfApxyb66VeygES2kS2yCCNy5v1IcZUiiS-fyO8MQfcsqEG5wQQetb_FUitj6lLSsX4fjqOO0QWKN1FKcZXpPIrv8XoaRQZGfQBlzlcUyUIbK_1N_R_IQZ4PzA7amY1EJ9IvA2ypa5yMppJQjDJqpiBN-FTYXkK0VfFVDl0FOAh0W79FwBK8WN0PQ/s1200/8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcKfApxyb66VeygES2kS2yCCNy5v1IcZUiiS-fyO8MQfcsqEG5wQQetb_FUitj6lLSsX4fjqOO0QWKN1FKcZXpPIrv8XoaRQZGfQBlzlcUyUIbK_1N_R_IQZ4PzA7amY1EJ9IvA2ypa5yMppJQjDJqpiBN-FTYXkK0VfFVDl0FOAh0W79FwBK8WN0PQ/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><span both="" clear:=""><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><span both="" clear:="">Metronomy </span></b><span both="" clear:="">have been one of my favourite
bands of the last decade, and that’s reflected in the fact that <i>Small
World</i> is the fourth of their records to make my List since 2011. It’s
also probably their best work since <i>Love Letters</i> topped this
countdown back in 2014. There’s a mix of moods on show on <i>Small World</i>,
but it’s fairly clear that most of them have their roots in the experience of
the pandemic. The record begins with the mournful ‘Life and Death’, which is
full of existential angst (‘It was fun / What I did / Got a job / Had some kids
/ See you in the abyss’). But then this dour (albeit excellent) start quickly gives
way to radio-baiting earworm, ‘Things Will be Fine’, which – as its title
suggests – is uplifting lyrically as well as musically. We’re moving forward.
Next up is ‘It’s Good to be Back’, which is effectively about the miracle of
vaccination and the rebirth of live music, all set to a synth-dance groove that
will stay with you. Later on, ‘I Lost My Mind’ is a reflective acoustic
summation of life in lockdown, while (best on show) ‘Hold Me Tonight’ returns
us to the upswing. This is <b>Metronomy</b>’s most varied record musically
but also their most focused thematically. It doesn’t quite reach the heights
of <i>The English Riviera </i>or<i> Love Letters</i> for
me, but it isn’t all that far short</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18pt;">.</span></div><p></p><br />not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-24639944426185253562022-12-21T07:51:00.010-08:002022-12-23T02:04:47.827-08:007 - CLUTCH - Sunrise on Slaughter Beach<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKEDv4dWRynCYXpL4bUEOXIDiVVjoVEB4ktpR7RDGzk2_SliwzU56pHlHHsBbRQFNW2cM7bSfdFP6qD8Fc1o4PC3eV-jKV0aRoK00OQ9xbmF20KbDf-b1QMInWUKDWJYGVxQUq8f2Yyyjd0wcScG_HFFxXnLTDcK6Lhq0TLESjmkjhaCaK1IY89w_3kg/s1200/7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKEDv4dWRynCYXpL4bUEOXIDiVVjoVEB4ktpR7RDGzk2_SliwzU56pHlHHsBbRQFNW2cM7bSfdFP6qD8Fc1o4PC3eV-jKV0aRoK00OQ9xbmF20KbDf-b1QMInWUKDWJYGVxQUq8f2Yyyjd0wcScG_HFFxXnLTDcK6Lhq0TLESjmkjhaCaK1IY89w_3kg/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I first came across <b>Clutch</b> when they
supported <b>Therapy?</b> at the Oxford Zodiac (now the Oxford O2) in 1999, so they’ve been in my
life for a <i>while</i> now. The inclusion of <i>Sunrise on Slaughter Beach </i>here
means that the last 6 <b>Clutch</b> records have all made this List. One of
those – <i>Earth Rocker</i> – has grown into one of my favourite records of all
time; I still play it at least 10 times a year. Even leaving aside that high
watermark, though, a <b>Clutch</b> record is always likely to place: they just
know how to rock me up in the right way. So, it’s perhaps interesting that I initially
was very disappointed with <i>Sunrise on Slaughter Beach</i>. It felt off the
pace compared to their usual quality, and I nearly gave up on it. I’m very glad
I didn’t, cause it has ended up placing higher than any previous <b>Clutch</b>
album. Even <i>Earth Rocker</i> only managed a modest 9<sup>th</sup> place in
2013 (albeit that it has never stopped growing in my estimation since). <i>Sunrise
on Slaughter Beach </i>is probably now my second favourite <b>Clutch</b> record,
although it’s hard to put my finger on exactly why. As usual, there are not
huge surprises here – blues infused stoner rock is the name of the game. <b>Clutch</b>
do <b>Clutch</b>. But there is something more anthemic about a number of the
tracks, especially the likes of ‘Mercy Brown’ and ‘Skeletons on Mars’, which
just sound <i>bigger</i> than the band have done in the past. This record isn’t
likely to change anyone’s world, but it features some of the best riff-driven
blues rock that you’re likely to come across.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-22323666025006759712022-12-21T07:48:00.007-08:002022-12-21T07:48:40.132-08:006 - FRESH - Raise Hell<p><i><span style="font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfehNHqp5fkgcthYfIWOiyKjmoMvGzylpMhQoasvWsUyc2oPtHHtXnPHjbJIvcIDzBvdwmiQ8BDbp9eC7XYNGI9X0SbI8ebYXkC0WcUFpX2csuRTGxLzzEOCSwOXP5kG4TpsXWqUdpVxYW_nIrlVVLKcrVXxEQO30QirNbl8RpKOxhJ8gEZnUNNdfc4w/s1024/6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfehNHqp5fkgcthYfIWOiyKjmoMvGzylpMhQoasvWsUyc2oPtHHtXnPHjbJIvcIDzBvdwmiQ8BDbp9eC7XYNGI9X0SbI8ebYXkC0WcUFpX2csuRTGxLzzEOCSwOXP5kG4TpsXWqUdpVxYW_nIrlVVLKcrVXxEQO30QirNbl8RpKOxhJ8gEZnUNNdfc4w/s320/6.jpeg" width="320" /></a></i></div><div style="font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>Raise Hell</i> is the third
record by London-based punk-emo band <b>Fresh</b> but it has been my
introduction to them. It’s a great record, which uses <i>pace</i> extremely
well, shifting from mid-tempo to upbeat and back as the tracks ebb and flow.
It’s also a sunny record, at least musically, evoking summer nights and
festival days. Catchy and poppy at times, but with a raw edge too, <b>Fresh</b>
mix it up. There are elements here that remind me of other bands that have featured
on this List: specifically, both <b>The Beths</b> and <b>Tape Toy</b>. When I
recommended this album to a friend, he said that it sounded like <b>Pretty
Girls Make Graves</b>: a reference that was lost on me initially but after
investigation is indeed another good comparator. <b>Fresh</b> have a traditional
punk DYI ethic – a quick glance at their tour schedule makes it clear that they
play <i>lots</i> of shows – and that is reflected in the music too, albeit in
some unexpected ways. One example of that is the use of synth, which is rare
for a punk band and is peppered throughout <i>Raise Hell</i>; more than that, though,
they serve up an unusually unvarnished synth sound. At times it comes over
almost like weird 8-bit ditties over the top of grungy guitars. Different and memorable.
Lyrically, like <b>Sweet Pill</b>, some of the writing is a bit too emo for me
(‘I was never your girlfriend / I don’t deserve that affection’ – <i>jeez</i>).
But, as already noted, it’s probably unfair to listen to emo bands and then
complain that they’re <i>too</i> emo. Anyway, all the boo-hooing hasn’t stopped
this album from getting within a hair’s breadth of the top 5. The high placing
is largely due to just how downright listenable these songs are, and the fact
that there are no weak links: every track shines.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-50876932759548466582022-12-21T07:45:00.008-08:002022-12-23T02:08:15.613-08:005 - SORRY - Anywhere But Here<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQOMJ-GxLT6wPUoZOFzpeWDFQ3nMvaZtnRL3PP3OLWp6xyEXNWyDOrVMmkX20KCpyASkEGCoTeFczgt705R4LYPs_IyC7bFBcEnIZqOygIwv78q-EYgrX8TfVPyP_ArAF68qcaqJwXWfqiTj9ms5FDv_ZEOqqMgRe2qAMA25c76o1gdn7p2xSAgIwbA/s700/5.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQOMJ-GxLT6wPUoZOFzpeWDFQ3nMvaZtnRL3PP3OLWp6xyEXNWyDOrVMmkX20KCpyASkEGCoTeFczgt705R4LYPs_IyC7bFBcEnIZqOygIwv78q-EYgrX8TfVPyP_ArAF68qcaqJwXWfqiTj9ms5FDv_ZEOqqMgRe2qAMA25c76o1gdn7p2xSAgIwbA/s320/5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">After a 6<sup>th</sup> place finish in 2020
with their stellar debut, slacker indie pioneers <b>Sorry</b> go one better
with an even stronger sophomore record. There might not be anything quite as
instant as ‘Starstruck’ or ‘Right Around the Clock’ here, but there’s greater
depth and consistency throughout. <b>Sorry</b> are growing as song-writers. It’s
probably telling that, when my ‘Spotify wrapped’ stats appeared, <b>Sorry</b> came
out as my 2<sup>nd</sup> most played artist of 2022 (1<sup>st</sup> was the
artist that tops this List, and 3<sup>rd</sup> was <b>Nirvana</b>…). <b>Sorry</b>
placed second because alongside this excellent album I’ve also continued to
play their debut regularly, as well as their curio EP from last year. <i>Anywhere
But Here </i>is the best of those 3 releases: it ups the game by broadening its
influences. Lament to lost love ‘Key to the City’ is a trip-hop track in
disguise, especially in its last third; ‘Baltimore’ mixes the spikey indie of
the 2000s with post-rock; album-closer ‘Again’ is a synth driven prog-indie
delight. And the lyrics are uniformly excellent again too. Take the exploration of
the mind of a gambling addict that is ‘Quit While You’re Ahead’ (‘Quit while
you’re ahead / How can I when I’ve got winning combinations in my head?’). A
fantastic live show in Bristol on Halloween certainly helped cement my love of
this record, but it was already well established. <b>Sorry</b> have released two
albums and an EP since the start of 2020, and I’ve loved them all: meaning that they
surely are early contenders to be one of the bands of the decade
for me.</span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-59044710864028093772022-12-21T07:44:00.007-08:002022-12-23T02:09:34.939-08:004 - MY KID BROTHER - Happy.Mad.Weird.Sad<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span both="" clear:="" face=""Bierstadt Display",sans-serif" mso-themecolor:="" text1=""></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnGQXoRDAWEDURa1-0pvNFOcXy1427UfU1JGuuLigN5HJZ0mfZ-8NdPGTgvAAHfZe9RgYbey36QwbhJ7vb7_fxjI-JrDzlQZafeyWEtnVl9SwFPDdEFGlcyAFszgJPKT9ah-j1_P2YaQ6M7aDPL7hTOmdDrJ4SH_RKfOHpjZCEQPLDFODRGWEJb-mXg/s1500/4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnGQXoRDAWEDURa1-0pvNFOcXy1427UfU1JGuuLigN5HJZ0mfZ-8NdPGTgvAAHfZe9RgYbey36QwbhJ7vb7_fxjI-JrDzlQZafeyWEtnVl9SwFPDdEFGlcyAFszgJPKT9ah-j1_P2YaQ6M7aDPL7hTOmdDrJ4SH_RKfOHpjZCEQPLDFODRGWEJb-mXg/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span both="" clear:=""><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I discovered Leesburg, Virginia’s <b>My Kid
Brother</b> in a slightly odd way: I was reading a discussion thread about
exciting emerging metal bands, hoping to truffle out some new noise. Someone
had listed <b>My Kid Brother </b>as a metal band to watch, in a post that was
followed by lots of angry replies about how they are not at all metal. Which is
true, they’re an indie band. The video to the wonderful ‘Spilt Salt’ parodies
metal videos, though – and does so really well – so I’m assuming the post
author saw that and got confused. I’m glad they did (sorry loads of people
yelled at you, dude), because <b>My Kid Brother</b> are notably better than any
of the actual metal bands that were mentioned on the thread. Whether it be
during the harmonisation of mid-tempo opener ‘Never Break Your Heart’, the
bouncy indie-pop of the aforementioned ‘Split Salt’ (I adore that track), the
quasi-disco of the aptly titled ‘Disco Days’, or the piano driven rock of
‘Shoulders’, the unifying factor here is melody. These tracks are beautiful,
heartfelt and – most of all – memorable. I have hummed almost every song on the
record on repeat. The slight dip is the disappointing ‘Roots’, which is perfectly
ok but feels out of place with its <b>Raconteurs</b>-evoking scuzz.
Nonetheless, this record benefits from a consistently high standard of song-writing
and is well worthy of its 4<sup>th</sup> place finish. Not bad for a metal
album that isn’t a metal album.</span></span></div><p></p><br /><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-91930518954947539942022-12-21T07:39:00.007-08:002022-12-23T02:15:04.912-08:003 - METRIC - Formentera<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Bierstadt Display", sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRebCGr8FD4yZmEOIXKhBUoYRKfnJ3A9n64SRtNakrDYZHMjdaUhmJWqw1LcHCE8l8E2sTmCTbWp8GkbQS0dcJqvBK-JD38EDuEqwZg8PTaLosEvUtFZCRRET3Xxhhtz70plgmzb1l6sfyEko4wMpljH3oop7lOQJUnAYgp-JwAXxED-nL3y99-84xMg/s640/3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRebCGr8FD4yZmEOIXKhBUoYRKfnJ3A9n64SRtNakrDYZHMjdaUhmJWqw1LcHCE8l8E2sTmCTbWp8GkbQS0dcJqvBK-JD38EDuEqwZg8PTaLosEvUtFZCRRET3Xxhhtz70plgmzb1l6sfyEko4wMpljH3oop7lOQJUnAYgp-JwAXxED-nL3y99-84xMg/s320/3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have played </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Metric</b> albums before, but
none of them ever left much of an impression. This time it clicked, and as a result I</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ve been revisiting
– and enjoying – their previously dismissed back catalogue. </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Formentera </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">is
certainly the high watermark for me, though, probably because it’s the first
record of theirs that I fell for, and I fell for it hard. The amazing
‘Doomscroller’ is a formidable start and hard to see beyond when one thinks of
the record. A 10+ minute masterpiece, with its unerring bassline pinning you
down while all hell breaks loose, before the whole thing shifts gear entirely
(more than once). Lyrically vital (‘ruling classes trickle piss from champagne
glasses’) and musically so confidently ambitious, it’s a track that has more to
it than most albums. But </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Formentera </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">is far from a one trick pony. Other
highlights for me include the rolling synth ballad ‘Enemies of the Ocean’ (with
its wonderful big band chorus), the instant dance-pop classic ‘Oh Please’, and
the ethereal ‘Paths in the Sky’, which is a fittingly excellent way to end
things. But the truth is this record is essential listening and every track on
it is fantastic. I think that I prefer </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Formentera </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">to both of my last two
List toppers from 2021 and 2020 – which says a lot about the two records that
I’ve ranked above it. </span></span></div><p></p>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-1483582693105238892022-12-21T07:37:00.014-08:002022-12-22T13:52:01.603-08:0002 - GREYHAVEN - This Bright and Beautiful World<p><span face=""Bierstadt Display", sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYZAsPMiKjupRKWXqRskt4nQVauE_1Y_JrQJxOOJ3TtvJoyC0hfuug6wx399r3FG0sY61wFMSoo__X1WVQ-qiXu75YssjdmeqqVidnI1SpVEE56Keggcuh5J6k6T6hJ7d-i3b4kNsowYiiD7h9mTr1eNsj32v7Oib_yyJCv0KY0vPvMTTk7VBuaHyVQ/s1200/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYZAsPMiKjupRKWXqRskt4nQVauE_1Y_JrQJxOOJ3TtvJoyC0hfuug6wx399r3FG0sY61wFMSoo__X1WVQ-qiXu75YssjdmeqqVidnI1SpVEE56Keggcuh5J6k6T6hJ7d-i3b4kNsowYiiD7h9mTr1eNsj32v7Oib_yyJCv0KY0vPvMTTk7VBuaHyVQ/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">On their third record, progressive post-hardcore
(verging on post-metalcore) up and comers <b>Greyhaven</b> have absolutely nailed
it, pure and simple. Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky (mullets! bad
moustaches!), <b>Greyhaven</b> deliver on the promise shown previously –
particularly on their second record, <i>Empty Black</i> – with something really
outstanding. One can hear some influence here from (now sadly defunct)
metalcore stalwarts <b>Every Time I Die</b>, especially in the occasional
inclusion of southern blues rock amidst the chaos, although <b>Greyhaven</b>
venture far further into the ‘post’ landscape than <b>Every Time I Die</b> ever
did. <b>The Callous Daoboys</b> are another, more contemporary (and, so far,
more acclaimed), touchstone. But they have never reached anywhere near these
heights (NB: <b>The Callous Daoboys</b>’ own 2022 record is good but did not
come close to a List placing). <i>This Bright and Beautiful World </i>is a
journey into depression and damaged mental health: make no mistake, it is<i> </i>ironically
named. There is nothing bright nor beautiful here (one might note, instead, the
title of the opening track: ‘In a Room Where Everything Dies’, which better
reflects the album’s tone). It’s bleak stuff, but this record undoubtedly
benefits from being thematically focused. Its real trump card, though, is the
music. <i>This Bright and Beautiful World </i>writhes and twists in a host of
unexpected ways. Unusual time signatures, changes in tempo, and a mixture of
bile and melody: this is intricate and curated carnage. <b>Greyhaven</b> will
undoubtedly be too much for many, with the metalcore screams obscuring the
quality on show. There’s no doubt that a track like the truly vicious ‘Foreign
Anchor’, for example, requires a hardy disposition. But this record also sees <b>Greyhaven</b>
branching out, with the astounding ‘Fed to the Lights’ showcasing their melodic
prog credentials, and the groovy ‘All Candy’ making it clear, almost
arrogantly, that they can do radio-friendly just as well as unfriendly if
they’re of a mind – a highlight of this record</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> while being wholly
unrepresentative of it. </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">This Bright and Beautiful World </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">is an exemplary album:
one of the best heavy music records of the last decade, up there with the likes
of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Boss Keloid</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Melted on the Inch</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Tool</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Fear
Inoculum</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Speaking of outstanding heavy albums…</span></span></div>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-4737971175310304722022-12-21T07:34:00.016-08:002022-12-27T03:28:31.481-08:0001 - ITHACA - They Fear Us<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-ImOrvXc3pYPnbrg-UgFq8di_5jC3DH2fp0x5xV-mah31xogNeEbToaVnSk-09uZWOXFLsbqdJlYMlToAz7N9sejBuKuJ-42DeHszU_r-TP_FMNtqb-viHUgUdNpW-plbJZplUOPwQE85F-ow1eVgeWIzsauxDRXAYCygAJDoE4oj2ZgY6aRGTovng/s469/1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="469" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-ImOrvXc3pYPnbrg-UgFq8di_5jC3DH2fp0x5xV-mah31xogNeEbToaVnSk-09uZWOXFLsbqdJlYMlToAz7N9sejBuKuJ-42DeHszU_r-TP_FMNtqb-viHUgUdNpW-plbJZplUOPwQE85F-ow1eVgeWIzsauxDRXAYCygAJDoE4oj2ZgY6aRGTovng/s320/1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /><span>It’s hard to know where to start here. I
don’t think I’ve ever had an experience with an album like I have had with this
one, where the obsession was so deep and intense. Cards on the table at the
start. <i>They Fear Us</i> is not just my favourite album of 2022: I now
consider it to be my favourite album of all time. And, at this point, I’d say <i>comfortably</i>
so, even though it has only been out for five months. I have, without variance,
viewed <b>Amplifier</b>’s self-titled debut as my favourite record since its
release in 2004 – an unchallenged 18-year stint at the summit of all records
ever made. No longer.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span both="" clear:=""><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In the first 2 weeks of its release, I
listened to <i>They Fear Us</i> around 90 times. In the next four weeks I
listened to it roughly another 80. That means in the first 6 weeks I played it an
average of four times a day. There was one day where I played it 16 times. <i>Sixteen</i>.
In the same day. It was over 2 months before there was a day where I didn’t
play it at least once. By the start of December ‘Spotify wrapped’ told me I had
listened to it just under 300 times. Which equates to <i>129 hours </i>of my
time. And I’ve played it a fair bit since the start of December too, meaning
that number is misleadingly low.</div></span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span color="windowtext"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span both="" clear:="">This eulogy comes with a health warning. </span><b>Ithaca</b><span color="windowtext"> are
a melodic metalcore band, and so will be a lot to swallow for some (most?)
readers of this List. The vocals are often shouted rather than sung (although
there is a lot of beautiful, melodic singing too), and the riffs are bone
shattering. Like </span><b style="clear: both;">Greyhaven</b><span color="windowtext">’s excellent </span><i style="clear: both;">This Bright and Beautiful
World</i><span both="" clear:="">, this is not for the faint-hearted. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span both="" clear:=""><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span both="" clear:=""><i>They Fear Us</i> is </span><b style="clear: both;">Ithaca</b><span both="" clear:="">’s second
record. I found their debut, 2019’s </span><i style="clear: both;">The Language of Injury</i><span color="windowtext">, in early
2020, so it was too late for it to be considered for the 2019 iteration of this
List. It probably would have made it on, although it would’ve been a low placer
if so: a strong metalcore record, but nothing exceptional.</span></div> </span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="cclear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In contrast, there’s no question that <i>They
Fear Us</i> is an exceptional record – read almost any review of it, including
a glowing one in <i>The Guardian</i> (not a publication well known for its
support for obscure metalcore bands). But I’m also self-aware enough to know
that context must have had something to do with me liking it <i>quite </i>so much. Not sure why it struck such a chord for me in the way it has, but I guess that’s
the joy of the subjectivity of music. What I <i>can</i> say is that a key thing
that has kept me coming back is how ambitious – musically, lyrically and
aesthetically – this record is. <b>Ithaca</b> have spoken about their
frustration as to the lack of ambition in metalcore. To say they have taken it
upon themselves to remedy that is a ridiculous understatement.</div></span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;">There are a number of themes that recur on <i>They
Fear Us</i>. One of them is the empowerment of the marginalised. As the album’s
title indicates, the ‘have’s’ are afraid of the ‘have not’s’, and there is huge
power to be found in acknowledging that fact. As Djamila Boden Azzouz howls on the
title track, ‘you think we’re lightyears away … but we’re catching up… / you
should know that you’re prey.’ Whereas, on ‘Fluorescent’, she bemoans the
stacked deck of the system: ‘The flowers never bloom / When it’s the vase that
decides’. ‘Camera Eats First’ hits out at body-shaming as well ruminating on public
value-signalling as a mask for abhorrent private views or actions. ‘Number
Five’ is – in part, at least – about female marginalisation (‘When did I have
to start begging / For a single scrap of sentiment?’) and, ultimately,
empowerment. Indeed, <b>Ithaca</b> have been explicit in interviews that ‘divine
feminine power’ underpins this album. This can even be seen on the album’s cover,
where Bouden Azzouz sits bright and vital in a (now iconic) orange dress,
amongst her subservient pale, male bandmates. I love the fact that <b>Ithaca</b>
have sometimes billed themselves as a ‘male-drummed’ band, to highlight the
silliness of the ‘female-fronted’ label that’s so often applied to bands that
happen to have a woman vocalist. The band also have been very clear that they
have queer members and that they actively support gay rights (Pink guitars!
Symbols are important…), as well as articulating a strong anti-racist stance.
None of which is the norm for the genre, even in 2022.</div></span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Another (related) theme throughout <i>They
Fear Us</i> concerns trauma – specifically, that people are not defined by
their trauma, but that it is healthy to engage with it, so as to overcome it. Musically,
this is deliberately signposted as the record evolves, with the more violent,
heavier, tracks on the early part of the album slowly transitioning towards its
more melodic and progressive final third. Lyrically, too, <i>They Fear Us</i>
moves from anger through to growth and kindness. Take the mirroring of the
album’s first and final tracks. It begins with trauma (and the ‘blockage’ that
it causes for people) on the thunderous ‘In the Way’. ‘There’s no place here
for compassion’ shouts Bouden Azzouz. Contrast that with the beautiful ballad
that closes the album (a song that is surely the least metalcore thing that any
metalcore band have ever done), ‘Hold, Be Held’, where she sings that ‘there is
compassion here’. Where ‘In the Way’ acknowledges that a process of healing is
beginning (‘here it goes’), by ‘Hold, Be Held’ that process is ending (‘there
it goes’). Emotional evolution is also evident in the final, delicate refrains
of the record which – listen closely – play over a bed, low in the mix, of a
snippet of its opening track. Compassion literally overcoming the trauma that
bore it. Elsewhere, ‘The Future Says Thank You’ focuses on the idea that
confronting pain in the present, rather than hiding from it, is an act of
healing for your future self, if not yet for you. This is again replicated on
‘Hold, Be Held’: ‘Don’t try to hide your shaking’, asks Bouden Azzouz. Confront
your damage to disarm it.</div></span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="cclear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, for all its emotional wallop, <i>They
Fear Us</i> is ultimately a metalcore record, and, as such, it’s important to say
that it features some of the best skull-mashing riffs ever recorded. The riff
from the title track alone is one for the ages, and the final riff – built to throughout
the song and thus earned – on ‘The Future Says Thank You’ is <i>incomprehensibly</i>
good. This album is just as ambitious sonically as it is lyrically. It may
engage in head banging of the very highest level, but it also draws on a wide
range of genres well beyond the narrow confines of metal. Shoegaze is one influence
(check out the end of ‘Fluorescent’), as is breakbeat (listen to the drum
sound on ‘They Fear Us’ – it’s got a sharp hip-hop edge). 80s new wave creeps
into the chorus of ‘In the Way’, and ‘You Should Have Gone Back’ is a
full-blown prog song masquerading as a metal track. Finally, as already noted,
closer ‘Hold, Be Held’ is a dreamy ballad (complete with guest vocals from
Yansé Cooper, who takes us well into the realms of soul).</div> </span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of the tracks are packed full of dense guitar
arrangements, thanks to the incredible chemistry between Sam Chetan-Welsh and
Will Sweet. But that density is offset by just how infectious those tracks are
too. Dom Moss on bass and James Lewis on drums also deserve kudos, because they
ensure things stay tight – they are the keepers of the hooks. This album never
risks falling into the trap, which occasionally has caught the likes of <b>Tool</b>,
of disappearing too far into the reeds. You can <i>always</i> just bang your
head and forget the rest if you want. The riffs are never far away.</div></span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, every single track is, for me, 5*.
<i>They Fear Us</i> is an utter masterpiece. Simply put, amongst the thousands of records that I have listened to over the decades, I like this one the
best.</div></span></span></div>
not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-90675320870002349812022-12-21T07:32:00.004-08:002022-12-22T10:58:50.539-08:00Taster Playlist for the List 2022<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This is a taster playlist on Spotify, which has 1 track for each of the 20 records on this list. Just to get you started...</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span color="windowtext"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4EUsR8S7fbBk5Pb8Pgpxku?si=4161708012ee40e2" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2022</a></span></span></li></ul></div>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8242679157853889232.post-455606440308934052022-12-19T05:43:00.017-08:002022-12-21T09:27:17.912-08:00Previous Years<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext">Links to all my previous lists, as well as Spotify taster
playlists for each of them.<br /></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://thelist2021.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2021</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4LnZaq62PLRKQTAPGvviPE?si=61d1f336d92f4fa0" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2021</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://thelist2020.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2020</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0uWhs1IqkaGb8KvFl1zzhj?si=2SyIu8fOSoe_oZFHOmkBWw&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2020</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://thelist2019.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2019</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0dzzWgDyLmcZmAIkLKfZb5?si=VhPEE9-_R1GFVBS1-aoW0g&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2019</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://thelist2018.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2018</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2bRVwoLnHdI326QSC5foNf?si=Dwq8zt-xSZSQ0tZNDKvOUA&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2018</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://thelist2017.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2017</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1aVNcde5IQw9sfas4jHeQf?si=dYSNZJRvR0u1UBWHwHuDww&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2017</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://aotythelist2016.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2016</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5fJlTVIGwLWErsHJWUTZ77?si=gs7YNGJSQu2ESSMC0cg4Dw&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2016</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://thelist2015.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2015</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4OHPHmA1jcYgoi8Az4zmbN?si=jY8k1xkLRfqSkbnRVZEJRg&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2015</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://thelist2014jag.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2014</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/06OXi9qt1J6ZN4NpYev1zA?si=zXZI9PRaTPm9kV3OiDl6Iw&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2014</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://ayyaptthelist2013.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2013</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3idyLlkfhIW4pw2Y5zZc2a?si=oH6N3YddTbyO3Ah-G46NRQ&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2013</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://thelist2012.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2012</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/74PekSGHyLqzGmjiMyiCwF?si=c8SBWFEhQuGA2YRm_buhFw&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2012</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://ayyaptthelist2011.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2011</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5WWdEDENt07EBjob6yroho?si=bN4EiPA5SQ-34Z5m7PhvRw&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2011</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://thelist2010.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2010</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/03gAuGXvptW5HkVTEfWDms?si=4CKZwiRGRgmsk-HGqvJRRA&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2010</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://thelist2009music.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2009</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0hS4f1BsijEZiBHVghDOEs?si=w-6hw5MVTru9SsMydabSNQ&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2009</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://ayyaptthelist2008.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2008</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3D28Pti4xb0UW2pzBK8cyp?si=yaUMQuXJTvOR2C54y_aPWA&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2008</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://allyouyoungandprettythingslist3.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2007</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6PycSUiYDG4TKg086V4DRj?si=fCGiOVdQQaaP6Mwfd5RphQ&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2007</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://allyouyoungandprettythingslist2.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2006</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1CCJeukk2ZHmbrN6sTf0JR?si=7NY5nFkeReOPT6DrpCxQ8Q&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2006</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://allyouyoungandprettythingslist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2005</a><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2GdrEz0eEdzot8rdcKEjDT?si=GAT4qaCERTakUrlqvA2UmA&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2005</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://thelist2004jag.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List 2004</a> (added online in 2014)<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5u6Uf21MQC68zMSccLMWoJ?si=ZaTSQvImTD6oD2njFrLwew&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2004</a></span></span></li></ul></span><span color="windowtext"> <br /></span><span color="windowtext"><a href="http://thelist20002003.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The List(s) 2000-2003</a> (added online in 2014)<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7LnGRwEqLKXmuYNTjmeQub?si=B_NqARCJSBGalEFlpACQtg&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2003</a></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6c9Ra1apzzl9riiBd3vUFQ?si=wGvIhZy_QrmUpTYcC8YVbA" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2002</a></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span color="windowtext"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6HRYDPwhjzRP8mojNyGLxX?si=ItjbJRi1RzGA1-_64ED0qw&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2001</a></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2tGZgZzyYjd0FwZ1aAeXy7?si=2sW4svmwT4uwhxMje5ZI1A&nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify taster playlist for The List 2000</a></span></li></ul></span></span></div>not_2day_galvatronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12017525086640073087noreply@blogger.com