3 Years of Boney!
Today (yes 4/20 lol) marks the third anniversary of my joining this wonderful (?) site. Not everything that happens here is positive, but the good far outweighs the bad. I've discovered so much great music I would never have otherwise heard here and for that I will always be grateful. List is digs/recent spins. |
| 1 |  | Midnight Choir
Amsterdam Stranded
Thanks a million to butcherboy for sending this band my way. This was an immediate stunner, wonderful atmospheric melancholy front to back. An album I believe I will forever cherish. |
| 2 |  | Yo La Tengo
Electr-O-Pura
This one is oddly overlooked/underrated here with under 100 ratings and lacking a review but it's a fantastic slice of fuzz rock and dream pop. "Pablo and Andrea" is a triumph, packing melody, atmosphere, and texture into a perfect, nostalgic four-minute pop song. |
| 3 |  | Hop Along
Bark Your Head Off, Dog
I always enjoyed Painted Shut but this one struck me really hard with all its subtle twists and turns and has had me re-evaluating Painted Shut as a masterwork as well. Potential AOTY. |
| 4 |  | Anna von Hausswolff
Dead Magic
Potential AOTY [2]. Dark, haunting, powerful music. "Ugly and Vengeful" sends chills down my spine. |
| 5 |  | Wye Oak
The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs
Found this quite disappointing, after a very strong three album run there's very little to like about this. It's pleasant but there's virtually nothing in the way of memorable songwriting or melody. |
| 6 |  | Pixies
Doolittle
Obviously one of those bands I should have checked out a long time ago. Surfer Rosa was good but didn't particularly impress me. This one however is awesome, it's easy to underestimate at first but really the foundation of a thousand indie bands in the last 30 years can be found here. Not a true "classic" but an excellent album nonetheless. |
| 7 |  | Turnpike Troubadours
Diamonds and Gasoline
An incredible country album, sure it's got twang and the sound isn't terribly unique but every song hits the mark in some way. "7&7" in particular is perfect with its account of seeing and avoiding a former lover at the supermarket. And "Evangeline" is just...well, you should try it for yourself. |
| 8 |  | Kacey Musgraves
Golden Hour
I'm still rather shocked by how much this has blown up. It's a certain improvement over the somewhat lackluster Pageant Material. Hype and anti-hype aside this is an excellent, warm set of songs. |
| 9 |  | Simone Felice
The Projector
Hit me hard at first though unfortunately grew off me a bit but there's still some very solid songwriting here. Just skip the awful spoken word track towards the end and you're golden. |
| 10 |  | Grouper
Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
I checked this out both in anticipation of her new album next week and because of its (timely) inclusion in the top 10 of Pitchfork's top 30 dream pop albums list. Dream pop it isn't quite but nonetheless it's an enchanting piece of music with wonderful melody after wonderful melody buried under slow, near ambient drear. |
| 11 |  | Josh T. Pearson
The Straight Hits
New album from the mastermind of Lift To Experience. Unfortunately this has little of that album's grand atmosphere being instead a mixed bag of indie rock/Americana tunes held back by some awkward vocal affectations. Fun but not awfully memorable. |
| 12 |  | The Voidz
Virtue
I'm surprised this hasn't blown up here as much as on RYM but either way it's a really fun if overlong album with a ton of great, varied tracks. |
| 13 |  | The Microphones
Mount Eerie
Definitely my favorite thing I've heard from Phil Elverum's oeuvre so far. A dark, narrative-focused masterpiece that reveals new elements with every spin. |
| 14 |  | My Morning Jacket
Z
I've been listening to this band for a long time but for some reason never got around to this one. It's amazing, while it took a bit for James's vocals on this to grow on me I now love every track, just a nicely diverse rock album with elements of psychedelia, folk, country, soul, power pop and even a hint of reggae thrown in - all clocking in at a relatively tight 47 minutes. |
| 15 |  | OP8
Slush
A bit of an oddity, a late 90s collaboration between Lisa Germano and members of Giant Sand. The first 7-8 tracks are really strong, atmospheric sort of Americana elevated by Germano's husky vocals. "If I Think of Love" in particular is a gem. |
| 16 |  | Mazzy Star
So Tonight That I Might See
Another one I've been meaning to hear forever and was convinced to finally try by the p4k dream pop list. I'm not totally sure how to feel about it yet but while "Fade Into You" (which I've of course heard a ton before) is amazing the rest is rather unpleasantly lethargic and dreary. |
| 17 |  | Richmond Fontaine
The Fitzgerald
The next one I've picked up in my ongoing exploration of the Richmond Fontaine discog. This one is unrelentingly sad even by RF's standards, a suite of slow, stripped down songs about people living near a casino town. |
| 18 |  | The Strokes
Is This It
I've known a couple Strokes albums for years but never actually jammed this one. It's a bit underwhelming admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of how motorized and clean everything sounds but there are some great tunes here, I can't deny that. |
| 19 |  | Swirlies
They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days...
Still one of my favorite discoveries of the last year, blending shoegaze, dream pop, indie rock, noise pop and weird sound collage experiments into a unique, colorful, and dynamic experience. |
| 20 |  | Sunhouse
Crazy on the Weekend
The eternal dig. |
|
