Year End Lists – Staff
By Willie
Friday December 22, 2017
50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
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I have a special connection with Vince Staples’ music because my partner lives in Long Beach. The first time my partner drove me around Long Beach, I saw the city through the lens of the rappers that call it home and speak about the city through their music — mostly Snoop Dogg and Vince Staples. My girlfriend would remark, “That’s the Roscoe’s Snoop eats at.” “Hmm, I wonder where Vince ‘Real Artesian’ Staples eats. Maybe that vegan Thai place I really like.” As I spent more and more time in Long Beach, I started to actively seek out Vince Staples. When I’m at The Pike I’m peeking; whenever I drive near Ramona Park, I’m scouting for him. It started to become absurd. I can recall a back to school event at Cal State University Long Beach that was actually quite popping, but definitely not somewhere Staples would be. “Maybe he’ll make an appearance. They managed to get Drake a couple years ago. Man, when I went to CSUN we had fucking LMFAO.” Long Beach is as eclectic and grimy as the music of Big Fish Theory. You can walk ten minutes in one direction and hit the ocean, or walk ten minutes in the opposite direction and stumble into a crack house, much like how he can start the record with a jovial track like “Big Fish”…
By Willie
Thursday December 21, 2017
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Seven albums deep, Propagandhi know how to riff. They also know how to write evocative political lyrics. Combine these two qualities and it becomes difficult to craft a subpar record. Seven great albums in a row, Propagandhi have perfected their blast-to-the-face thrash-influenced punk. While peers like Anti-Flag fell flat on their faces after the Bush years, Propagandhi have consistently found fresh ways to keep their politically-charged lyrics relevant — mostly because they strike the listener as a band who actually know what they’re talking about — as opposed to some of their peers who clearly never got past Political Science 101. Victory Lap isn’t their best record, but “Cop Out of Frame” puts a tear in my eye, and “Failed Imagineer” gets me banging my head, which should be enough to crack any best of the year list. –Robert Lowe
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Slowdive are a band that makes it all too easy to wax poetic. Their lush and vibrant music is the soundtrack to everything: depression, elation, love — moments of emotional encumbrance which call for the band’s malleable sounds and textures. Slowdive’s triumphant self-titled is, like every album before it, an arresting record full of surprising substance; a mountain built seemingly from nothing. “Slomo”, the opener, features a handful…
By Willie
Wednesday December 20, 2017
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2017 was a solid year for epic doom metal, with some of the best releases of the last few years arriving in the form of Below’s Upon a Pale Horse, Doomocracy’s Visions & Creatures of Imagination, and Arduini/Balich’s Dawn of Ages. However, if I had to choose just one album that I will be listening to 10 years from now, it would be The Crowning of the Fire King. After disbanding in 1992, Sorcerer acquired a cult status, which their 2015 LP In the Shadow of the Inverted Cross further augmented. Drawing influences from acts such as Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, and Martin-era Sabbath, the The Crowning of the Fire King is a continuation of the band’s debut with a slightly more modern production. Those who enjoy traditional ’80s metal will love the Swedish outfit’s sophomore effort, as the combination of epic songwriting and convincing atmosphere is enhanced by an array of amazing guitar leads, solos, and one of the best vocalists in metal today. All in all, Sorcerer might have only two albums under their belt, but in my book, they are one of the best epic doom metal acts of all time. –manosg
49. Benjamin Clementine – I Tell A Fly
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After listening to I Tell A Fly incessantly for nearly a month, I…
By Willie
Friday December 23, 2016
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What started as an ambitious project became a jaw-dropping odyssey that got bigger and better with each act. Undoubtedly, The Color Spectrum – and even Migrant to a certain extent – have helped expand mastermind Casey Crescenzo’s sonic horizons, so when the band returned to the Acts and released IV, the diversity level was considerably higher. The break felt necessary to keep their relevancy at an all-time high. Moreover, nobody expected to listen to the follow-up one year later, yet here it is in all its splendor. While it was written and recorded at the same time, this shares a different atmosphere.
Story-wise, Act V finds the protagonist (“The Boy”) during his last days, incapable to mend the wrongs he’d done during his ego-tripping. Plotting revenge on his nemesis (“The Pimp and the Priest”), the consequences lead to his imminent death. Such dramatic events call for a matching soundtrack, and The Dear Hunter deliver. From pop, rock, and Americana leanings to swing or folksy cuts, the tunes are constantly complemented by an entire orchestra, which sometimes takes the forefront, too. Building up to the grand finale, we arrive at it with “A Beginning”, an amazing and touching coda to this brilliant album. Acting both as an end and as a new start (as…
By Willie
Thursday December 22, 2016
50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
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Someday, when books are written about Kanye West’s career and all his artistic decisions are carved open, The Life of Pablo will come to be seen as an enduring pseudo-autobiotragedy – a modern day Station to Station or Astral Weeks. Already, The Life of Pablo has attained a flagrantly unnatural and unholy state; West may no longer be hyperventilating or screaming, but the demons he faces are still real. That opening verse of “Ultralight Beam” – “Deliver us serenity, deliver us peace / Deliver us loving – we know we need it” hints at a genuine desire for salvation, yet he still can’t go five minutes without threatening the school coach or somehow embarrassing his extended family. The man is fire masquerading as ice; a hammer in a nail-free world. But name me one genius that ain’t crazy. –Irving Tan
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There’s something to be said for knowing when to hang up the mic. We’ve all seen bands age poorly, releasing tired-sounding efforts that neither expand upon their repertoire nor satisfy the craving for a return to “the glory days.” Sensing that their days were numbered, especially due to the burgeoning personal lives of each respective band…
By Willie
Wednesday December 21, 2016
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50. Alcest – Kodama
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The atmosphere of Japanese folklore comes alive through Alcest’s vision in the euphoric odyssey of Kodama. While predecessor Shelter was an enjoyable diversion from what was expected, this sees Alcest once again emphasizing sweeping post-rock atmospheres colliding with intense metal soundscapes. “Je Suis D’ailleurs”, “Untouched”, and the heavenly title track traverse multicolored waterfalls of sound, with dizzying atmospheres to get lost in. Alcest are once again casting aside genre labels and harnessing a more sophisticated approach than the typical dynamic motifs one hears in their genre. They keep to the dreamy – yet abstract and complex – musical explorations in which they have always excelled. Kodama once again proves that Alcest are still making music at the peak of their potential. –Ben K.
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Danny Brown is the greatest rapper alive because he needs to be. Too many atrocities separate the formative years that have contributed to this madness and the inspiring run of albums that have detailed his descent, and despite the numbers on the board, it will always be a descent. So posits the opening track: “Everybody say, ‘You got a lot to be proud of’ / Been high this whole time, don’t realize what I done.” They say with fame…
By Willie
Friday December 18, 2015
50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
10. Dance Gavin Dance – Instant Gratification
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Holy shit. Hooooooooooooooooooly shit, you guys. Just picture me, sitting here, profound grin across my face as I read every single comment about Bring Me The Horizon coming in at #42…
Let’s just say I’m truly thankful to be able to join you today, all of us together again for another holiday season and the yearly Sputnikmusic Staff Top Ten. First up is… waiiiit. Album art with like, lots of overly-detailed small stuff happening inside a much, much larger frame? Do a double-take, if you want (search your feelings, you know it to be true…). What you’re looking at is unmistakably Dance Gavin Dance album artwork, and Instant Gratification, now a certified ‘Best of 2015’ record, is unmistakably a Dance Gavin Dance album (let the comments flow, guys… really, don’t hold back).
Over the past eight years, and despite all the (astounding) drama that has befallen the band, Dance Gavin Dance have managed to release an impressive six LPs: one that was okay, two that were great, one that was awesome (this one), and two that changed the game forever. Based on my recollection, the first five never even sniffed our Top 50, and yet, behold! In 2015, Instant Gratification lands right here, in our Top Ten. Hell, even its…
By Willie
Thursday December 17, 2015
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30. Cult Leader – Lightless Walk
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In 2012, I felt a renewed faith in “heavy” music. When Gaza dropped No Absolutes In Human Suffering, it was refreshing, to say the least. Three years later, Cult Leader have risen from the ashes and released an album mired in Gaza lore, but drenched in a new identity. Murky and of the moment, Lightless Walk sees the band chart out their own path with a more focused metal sound. The album is sludgier and grimier than anything Gaza ever released. And while that band’s breakup still stings, Cult Leader more than make up for all of those lonely nights. –Eli K.
29. Paradise Lost – The Plague Within
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Since the early ’00s and the gradual reinstatement of Paradise Lost among the flagship bands of European death/doom metal the same questions come to mind once the cycle of each and every full length release has been completed: where will they go from here? Will they still be relevant? Truth be told, the Shadowkings have shown to be extremely resourceful in redefining their style, while taking calculated risks regarding the addition of “foreign” elements. For…
By Willie
Wednesday December 16, 2015
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50. Fightstar – Behind the Devil’s Back
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Following a surprise hiatus and the ongoing reunion rumors of front-man Charlie Simpson’s seemingly buried boy-band past, anyone could be forgiven for thinking that 2009’s superb Be Human would be Fightstar’s swan song. However, the English post-hardcore, come-alternative metal quartet pleasingly return with a vengeance on their fourth LP Behind the Devil’s Back. Including metallic riffs and thunderous drumming, this is arguably their heaviest record yet, with the raw aggression on display often being astounding. Thankfully, the band have far from sacrificed those killer melodies, with the dual vocal dynamic and some nifty synth additions being a genuine strength. Lacking the diversity of their previous two albums, it may take a few listens to differentiate some of the tracks, but with no filler over an extremely lean thirty-seven minutes, fans are sure to adore this triumphant comeback. –DaveyBoy
49. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – ‘Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress’
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With a band like Godspeed, the task isn’t so much explaining how the album’s merits lifted it to the Top 50, but trying to – as sympathetically as possible – describe why…
By Willie
Wednesday December 17, 2014
50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
10. Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues
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Stream: “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” (3:16)
From the opening punch of the track of the same name, Transgender Dysphoria Blues is a haymaker of unapologetic transgender perspective made to come across in one of the few avenues of emotion we humans actually comprehend and respect: music. If Laura Jane Grace simply wrote a press release, or an essay, or spoke at a convention, it wouldn’t mean a damn thing, but the thousand pound hammer of “You want them to notice the ragged ends of your summer dress / You want them to see you like they see any other girl / They just see a faggot” set to a marching, military snare beat is a statement that will wake people up and make them take notice.
Transgender Dysphoria Blues isn’t comfortable, but I’ve got to imagine it’s nowhere near as frightening and downright dangerous as it must be to actually live as a transgendered individual in our modern society. But the…
By Willie
Tuesday December 16, 2014
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30. The Antlers – Familiars
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Stream: “Intruders” (5:25)
By now, everyone knows what to expect from a record by The Antlers, and Familiars sees the American indie rock/dream pop outfit choosing not to buck that trend by tunneling even deeper into the niche that they’ve been carving for themselves since 2006’s Uprooted. That being said, if results continue to be as good as this, few will complain. “Palace”, Familiars‘ opening track and lead single, is a ringing endorsement of the band’s default setting, with its multifaceted arrangements and striking lyrical play (“Now he hangs your mirrors separately/So one can’t show you what the other reflects,” whispers vocalist Peter Silberman at one point) finding a precise balance between melancholy and erstwhile nostalgia. Elsewhere, “Intruders” is a masterclass of the dramatic musical narrative: “Well this is my house/So fuck your doubts and your cute battalion,” intones Silberman poisonously over a bed of swelling strings. For a group of artists who have always specialized in the art of being subtle, these are…
By Willie
Monday December 15, 2014
50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
50. Thou – Heathen
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Stream: “Into the Marshlands” (6:58)
Thou have been creating some of the most soul crushing doom metal ever set upon human ears for the last several years. Heathen is no different. It’s an unholy manifestation of distorted guitars and the burliest of burly riffs. Yet, Heathen also expands the New Orleans doom-mongers’ sonic palate in new atmospheric directions, with mournfully layered chords creeping their way into even the heaviest of places. It’s an unrelenting triumph to the emotion that is able to be coaxed from extreme music. –Adam Thomas
49. Kenn Nardi – Dancing With the Past
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By Willie
Wednesday December 18, 2013
50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
10. Jenny Hval – Innocence is Kinky
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Language is the issue at the heart of Innocence is Kinky: how it changes by dialect, accent, personality, interpretation. “The voice,” Jenny Hval posits on “The Seer”, the album’s closing track, “is a wordless tissue, the fog from Heart of Glass. Listen to the lips that feed you.” Who feeds you? For what are we listening? Why the fog from Werner Herzog’s Heart of Glass (an infamous little movie where the actors underwent hypnosis)? Hval will answer these questions, but only in the abstract; her aims are for provocation, surely, which is nothing especially new in this digital landscape. But more importantly, Hval means to steer the conversation onto itself, taking many folks to task for their role in the presentation of gender and sexuality in the public view, and does so by cultivating a new sound and appropriations of well-worn (now shimmering, damning) genre tropes.
Which is to say: man, this album rocks. Hval’s aim is unwieldy, rounding out delicate folk reminiscent of 2011’s more spacious Viscera with feedback scorched rock tunes treated with the same scope and fervor that marked that auspicious solo debut. Some songs find the head-turning meeting point between them, as one does in the standout “Is…
By Willie
Tuesday December 17, 2013
50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
30. Frightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse
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Whether unabashed optimist or sterling cynic, everybody can hear a bit of themselves in Pedestrian Verse. It’s a collection of solemn songs, and anybody who’s even vaguely familiar with Frightened Rabbit should have expected that from the minute they learnt of its existence. But this time around, it isn’t such a bad thing to be a downer– the beautiful thing about this record is that despite its dispirited undertones, it certainly has its own way of coping with things– constructive melancholia. Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison is no stranger to woe, but his lyrics have never embraced that as much as they do here. There’s no need for Hutchinson to pretend anymore– he’s too old for that. He can get away with singing “Let’s promise every girl we marry / We’ll always love them when we probably won’t” in opening track “Acts of Man,” because he’s including himself in the very demographic at which he’s scowling. Frightened Rabbit’s music has always been about breaking promises, if not forgetting about them entirely; it just seems that with Pedestrian Verse, the trick is accepting it’ll always be that way. –Jacob Royal
29. The Wonder Years – The Greatest Generation
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By Willie
Sunday December 15, 2013
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50. Summoning – Old Mornings Dawn
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Summoning have proven time and again that they are absolute masters of their craft, however small their niche may be. Not only are they arguably the best symphonic black metal band ever to play the genre, they take a concept that permeates black metal as a whole and do what nearly all others cannot: turn it into something that is alive and sentient. Old Mornings Dawn brings back the imagery of Middle-earth like only Summoning could, with massive tracks featuring their signature keyboard-laden soundscapes, lumbering guitar melodies, and echoing screams. It has been 7 years since we last heard from Summoning, but they continue to conjure dreams of Tolkien’s universe within our mind’s eye. –Kyle Ward
49. Vali – Skogslandskap
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Vali’s Skogslandskap is one of the most heartfelt and dainty records of 2013. Released at the end of August, just before autumn could start to raise its tenebrific head once more, it is a record that supremely fills the role of a loyal comrade…
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