black metal – David James Young

The Top 100 Songs of 2021, Part Three: 60 – 41

Posted on 14/01/202209/08/2022 by davidjamesyoung in Lists

Hey! Sorry it took me awhile to get this up. I got COVID! Heard of it? It’s not great! Anyway, hope you enjoy this sail over the halfway mark. Promise this’ll be done by the end of the month. While you’re at it, why not catch up on Part One here and Part Two here? There ya go!

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60. Silk Sonic – Skate

What do women want? It’s been a hot-button topic for many a year now, and most men are still without answers. Needless to say, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak are not most men. They saw the absolutely massive uptick of women getting into rollerskating over the last 12 to 18 months, and they promptly cashed in with a blissful roller-disco ode to the phenomenon. You could be cynical about it being opportunistic, but “Skate” is way too sunny to succumb to such a dismissal. It’s a broad, beautiful smile of a song – and it’s exactly what women want, too.

59. WILLOW feat. Travis Barker – t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l

Most of you probably haven’t thought of Willow Smith in a decade… and she’s only 21. Somewhere in the throes of her teens and early 20s, the former child star stopped whipping her hair long enough to notice the world around her. This resulted in a guitar-heavy pop-rock comeback for the ages, helmed by red-carpet walker (and occasional drummer) Travis Barker. The same swagger that carried her tween hit is very much intact – she’s the daughter of a Fresh Prince, after all – but its moody, darker corners breathe new life into this still-burgeoning and fascinating career. With soul.

58. The Buoys – Lie to Me Again

One of The Buoys’ first tracks was “Liar Liar” – a rambunctious garage-punk number about a no-good ex, packed with the usual early-20s angst amidst clattering drums and rousing guitars. The topic is revisited four years later on “Lie to Me Again,” with a changed line-up but the constant of frontwoman Zoe Catterall. Here, she approaches the jilted former lover with the kind of calm that can only come before a storm. It’s not as in-your-face as its predecessor, but its impact is promptly doubled by its barbed lyricism and righteously-convicted chorus. This much is true: The Buoys light up.

57. Geese – Low Era

We’re getting to that stage in history where people with compound sentences for birth years are making some of the most exciting new music. One such act are indie-disco punks Geese, who were scooped up in a bidding war circa 2020. Now the Brooklynites have arrived in earnest for us to gander at, “Low Era” feels especially pertinent – reminiscent of when The Rapture and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah hit the scene. Will Geese have staying power beyond this fleeting infatuation? Impossible to tell. For this moment of post-punk zeitgeist, however, they’re the only living band in New York.

56. Gang of Youths – the angel of 8th ave.

Prior to the pandemic, Gang of Youths moved to London and brought in Noah & The Whale‘s Tom Hobden. This season of growth and change persisted, even in the midst of global shutdown. “angel” was GOY bursting forth and rising to the occasion once more, delivering heartland pop with prolix professionalism. Its parade of shimmering strings, syncopated claps and perhaps Max Dunn’s finest bass-line yet ensured that the Gang was back in business. They might not be a big fish in a little pond anymore, but “the angel of 8th ave.” proved that there was still blood in the water.

55. Halsey – Bells in Santa Fe

If you said this time last year that one of 2021’s most fruitful collaborations would be between Halsey and Nine Inch Nails, you might’ve had more concern raised than if you’d started coughing into your fist and offering handshakes. Nevertheless, they persisted. With additional production from unexpected outsider The Bug, “Bells” sets a scene somewhere between Fair Verona and oblivion with its spiralling synthesizer orchestra. Halsey’s increasing desperation as she tears pages from her Bible and comes to term with impermanence make for one of the most arresting performances of her career. It boils, it burns and it transforms into…

54. Halsey – Easier Than Lying

Halsey has flirted with heaviness in the past (see her underrated “Experiment On Me”), but “Easier Than Lying” hits different. That’s not just a saying, by the way – from its snarling bass to its siren-wail outro and the anchoring of its frenetic drum-and-bass backbeat, there’s never been a song in Halsey’s canon quite like this one. With the intense pacing of a car chase, the song’s relentless energy is carried by another ice-cold, sting-in-the-tail performance from none other than Ms. “Without Me” herself. There was a time when Trent Reznor once marched with the pigs. In 2021, Halsey ran.

53. Citizen – I Want to Kill You

The lead single of every Citizen record since their modern genre classic debut Youth has felt like its own reset. “Cement” forged into slinking alt-rock; “Jet” rode the wave of… well, The Wave… and now “I Want to Kill You” has introduced disco drums and post-punk frenetic ferocity. The best part is that it all still feels like Citizen each time – Matt Kerekes’ writhing yelp, the steely fretwork of the Hamm brothers and that propulsive emotional build that ensures Citizen From Toledo, Ohio can be heard around the world. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and Citizen are absolutely jacked.

52. Polish Club – Stop for a Minute

Polish Club can get as goofy as anyone. They play silly games, make knowingly-hideous album art… even in this song’s video, frontman David Novak chows down on a sanga while dancing in a tux. What “Stop for a Minute” does best, however, is cut through the bullshit – even in what’s arguably the most fun musical environment the duo has ever set up for itself. That seething frustration seeps through the cracks in the mirrorball that separate the art from the artist, rattling from the ceiling against the bass drum kick. It’s not the clown crying anymore: It’s pissed disco.

51. Toby Martin – Linthwaite Houdini

Be it a pregnant city dweller or a radicalised immigrant teenager, Toby Martin has always thrived telling stories that aren’t his own with a surprising sense of belonging. The lead single from his third solo album is no exception, where he hears tell of a small-town escape artist whose grand scheme doesn’t go according to plan. Amongst the wallowing trumpet and the slinking waltz drums, Martin’s writing encompasses the envisioned triumph and the ultimate tragedy that emerges from a story as unique as this one. The truth is stranger than fiction, and few Australian songwriters truly get that like Martin.

50. Olivia Rodrigo – brutal

“Where’s my fucking teenage dream?” For an artist that was introduced to the world via post-Lorde piano balladry, few could have expected the veneer to crumble quite like it did on Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album opener. As that riff churns, she wants it on record that this sweet life of celebrity and status is far from perfect – in fact, it’s tearing her apart inside. “brutal,” true to its name, is the heaviest song on SOUR by a considerable margin. It’s a living, seething testament to the year pop was allowed to rock again. Teenage angst, meet This Year’s Model.

49. Tasman Keith feat. Kwame – ONE

It started off as a rib, when short-king MC Tasman Keith got photos taken with the towering Kwame. What ended up revealing itself over the coming weeks, however, proved this: These motherfuckers weren’t playing. “ONE” is the best song either artist has been a part of – and considering the calibre of their already-illustrious careers, that’s not said lightly. From its urgent beat to its belligerent flow, there’s absolutely no backing down on any front. When the duo knocked this out of the park on The Set, Kwame boasted: “Rap song of the fucking year.” You’re inclined to believe him.

48. Springtime – Will to Power

Gareth Liddiard had a surprisingly fruitful year. Tropical Fuck Storm’s lockdown record finally came out, he reinvented his catalogue live with Jim White and he undertook a new journey entirely with Springtime. Liddiard, White and The Necks pianist Chris Abrahams are no strangers to music with a freer, looser form than your average. That factors into their debut single “Will to Power,” but it’s far from the only story. It’s a sprawling, darkly-shaded take on Liddiard’s barbed Australiana through a strange, dirty lens. Against cascading guitar, creaking piano and the sturdy drumming shuffle of the unmistakable White, Springtime truly blossoms.

47. Holy Holy – How You Been

Somewhere in the shadow realm between pop that rocks and rock that pops lies Holy Holy. Across four studio albums, the Melbourne-via-Tasmania duo who have slowly but surely built a reputation as one of the country’s more likeable and endearing indie hit-makers. “How You Been” showcases the duo at their key strengths. Frontman Timothy Carroll’s performance is heartfelt and rousing; guitarist Oscar Dawson’s buoyant production, meanwhile, allows everything from the rubbery bass-line to the triumphantly OTT solo to cohesively gel. It’s an electric pop effort designed for dancing like no-one’s watching – much like Carroll himself in the accompanying video.

46. Limp Bizkit – Dad Vibes

hot dad ridin in on a rhino

45. Deafheaven – Great Mass of Color

In retrospect, perhaps we could have all seen Deafheaven’s stylistic departure coming. They have, after all, seemingly always existed on the very fringes of heavy metal itself – what’s one extra push out of the genre entirely? “Great Mass of Color” was a headfirst dive into the great unknown – one that, admittedly, could have seen the Northern Calfornia quintet land flat on their face. Instead, however, the band was immersed in a crystallised bliss that revelled in its tranquil undercurrent in tandem with its bursting, resplendent refrain. It’s like a dream, to borrow a phrase. You want to dream.

44. Ruby Fields – R.E.G.O

Ruby Fields is lots of things, but a rockstar is not one of them. She’s just Rubes, slinging beers at the local to get by and shooting the shit with the regulars. “R.E.G.O” is a rumination on this lifestyle – living paycheck to paycheck, but having the inextricable bonds of friendship keeping it afloat. “Haven’t you always wanted to feel like that?” Fields asks, again and again. She’s saying what we’re all thinking, and she knows it. It’s bolstered by her impeccable band, with a special nod to Adam Newling’s fret-bending lead work. Worth a coin in the tip jar.

43. Turnstile – MYSTERY

2021 was Turnstile’s year. No ifs, buts or maybes. The Baltimore natives elevated American hardcore to a level arguably not seen since John Belushi moshed to Fear at 30 Rock – the same building, coincidentally, that Turnstile saw out the year performing inside as part of Late Night. There, they played the track that launched their year: “MYSTERY,” a song that dares anyone feeling froggy to go ahead and leap. Brendan Yates’ boisterous yelp, pondering the great unknown, ricochets off churning guitars and walloping drums to forge something full of life that proudly goes down swinging. Consider the mystery solved.

42. No Rome feat. Charli XCX and The 1975 – Spinning

Around August, Charli XCX dropped an ambigious tweet with a question that left her devotees guessing: “rip hyperpop?” Her two singles since this have indicated a new direction is imminent for March’s Crash, which means that “Spinning” might be her last true hurrah as a glitched-out pop weirdo for the time being. If that’s the case, what a way to go out. Trust the Dirty Hit all-stars to assemble an all-star dirty hit – an all-syrup squishee bender with intense hypercolour and a robotic empire of Charlis parroting the titular phrase on a telling loop. She’s making us dizzy, still.

41. easy life – skeletons

“skeletons” is so excited to get going, it practically trips over itself – cue the tumbling drums and smash-cut to the word of the day. It’s a disarming beginning to a song that coasts on smooth sailing, but that may well be the point. A closer inspection, of course, sees that this future-soul cut from the Leicester lads portrays purported paranoia over a partner’s playful past. It’s a little Mac Miller; a little Rex Orange County; a little Hot Chip. There’s some fascinating moving parts at play here. What easy life have concocted, ultimately, is guaranteed to rattle some bones.

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Listen to the DJY100 thus far in the Spotify playlist below:

Back next week with part four!

The Top 50 Gigs of 2014, Part Two: 25 – 1

Posted on 02/02/2015 by davidjamesyoung in Lists

Part one if you need to catch up. This officially marks the end of list season. See you this time next year!

25. The Blurst of Times @ Factory Theatre, 25/10

Vibes aplenty, not a dud set among the batch and a true celebration of mostly-Australian awesomeness. What more can you say? This one we’ll hand to the legendary Dion Ford of Palms: “It was such a great day, not even Shania ‘I’m not easily impressed’ Twain could deny its excellence.”

24. The Bronx @ Metro Theatre, 20/6

If it’s a calendar year in Australia and The Bronx haven’t visited, did it actually happen? One of their final shows in support of 2013’s fourth album arrived with little more than their greatest hits and a spurt of energy that can only come with racing toward the finish line.

23. Ms. Lauryn Hill @ Sydney Opera House, 27/5

It’s turned into both a scarce rarity and a monumental risk – what to make of the illusive Fugee fifteen years and change removed from her seminal sole LP? As luck would have it, she remains a joyous, invigorated performer; backed by a sensational band and a rekindled spirit. To Zion!

22. Pixies @ Sydney Opera House, 23 and 26/5

Seeing The Breeders and a Deal-less Pixies within months of one another felt more or less like visiting your mum’s and then your dad’s after a divorce. They’re happier without one another and doing really well on their own. Life’s good. All we are saying is give Pixies a chance.

21. Cloud Nothings @ Oxford Art Factory, 10/12

Nearly two years on from their breathtaking Sydney debut, Dylan Baldi and co. proved that a three-legged dog is just as menacing. Cuts from Here and Nowhere Else thrived, but a propulsive “Wasted Days” finale – clocking in at just over sixteen minutes – sealed the deal. Rock & roll is fun.

20. The Dillinger Escape Plan @ Metro Theatre, 24/2

With a rare appearance from Glassjaw and Japanese sensations Dir En Grey, the Escape Plan tore Sydney a new one at their first headlining show in four years. Shit got as wild as you would hope, including a grand finale involving Greg Puciato figuratively hanging upside down from the rafters.

19. You Am I and Heavy Friends @ Vic on The Park, 1/1

That’s how you kick off a year, boys and girls. There’s Courtney Barnett jamming on Divinyls. There’s Phil Jamieson, climbing a speaker stack like it was 1998 and busting out “Cathy’s Clown.” There’s the Red fucking Wiggle, Murray Cook, playing Iggy Pop and Bruce Springsteen songs. So fucking rock.

18. The Bennies @ Beatdisc Records, 16/3

It was the Brady Bunch of tour weekenders – Luca Brasi and Postblue met The Bennies and Apart From This in a fatal-four-way overseen by local legends Oslow. Improv dub jams, pies to the face and enough juicy tunes to turn Parramatta’s little shop of rock into the ultimate hot-box.

17. Manchester Orchestra @ Metro Theatre, 15/11

There was a mixed reaction to Cope, Manchester Orchestra’s fourth studio album. When it comes to their live shows, however, it’s unanimous – they are unmissable. Especially if Kevin Devine is along for the ride. A borderline-religious “Where Have You Been” capped off a stellar performance. Forever and ever.

16. Kishi Bashi @ Newtown Social Club, 1/7

One man, one violin, a couple hundred admirers watching on from the front and figuratively surrounding him for over half the set. Warm, joyous intimacy. Tender, beautiful songs – some old favourites among the devotees, some fresh from Ishibashi’s excellent Lighght LP. This entire show felt like falling in love.

15. Kanye West @ Qantas Credit Union Arena, 12/9

The storm-in-a-teacup wheelchair debacle aside, this show was proof that Kanye stands as one of the single most charismatic performers in the world right now. He can command an entire audience for two hours entirely on his own, with little more than a backdrop and a catwalk. Make a circle.

14. Ben Folds and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra @ Sydney Opera House, 14/11

It’s about the closest thing that pensioners get to a rock concert, but Folds is still managing to keep his orchestral collaborations enticing for all ages and all levels of BF fandom. A stunning “Rock This Bitch” was the centrepiece, improvising an entire arrangement with jaw-dropping and hilarious results.

13. DZ Deathrays @ Rad, 30/5

If this completely sold-out Wollongong show showed us anything, it was that the risk of coming down to the leisure coast had paid off tenfold. Bodies flew, riffs fired up and the Brisbane boys effortlessly showcased why they’re such a dominant force in Australian music right now. Carn the Gong.

12. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu @ UNSW Roundhouse, 23/3

In a venue best known for hosting angsty, black-clad bro-bands, the amazing technicolour world of J-pop came to life with the debut visit of one if its most unique characters. From its bizarre interludes to KPP’s adorable attempts at speaking English, this was an entryway into a whole new universe.

11. Reggie Watts @ Sydney Opera House, 19/10

No two Reggie Watts shows are ever the same. You never know what will happen next. One minute, it’s an a-cappella croon about fish; the next it’s a 10-minute LCD Soundsystem homage. Wherever you end up, both the journey and the destination are unforgettable. Beyond comedy, beyond music, beyond improv.

10. Bruce Springsteen @ Allphones Arena, 19/2

Every last excess and indulgence was allowed at the arena rock show of both this year and the year before it. How does the Boss do it? Five guitarists – that’s how. Playing Darkness on the Edge of Town in full – that is fucking how. A three-hour show book-ended by show-stopping covers – The Easybeats’ “Friday on My Mind” at the top, Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream” at the end – and filled to the brim with just about every E Street classic you could hope for. Y’all come back now, y’hear?

9. Deafheaven @ Oxford Art Factory, 9/1

After dropping the most intense, mystical metal album of 2013, it was only fitting that Deafheaven’s maiden voyage to Australia delivered the most intense, mystical metal show of 2014. Every movement was striking, every sound piercing, every song all-encompassing and breathtaking in their spectrum. Certainly not something that anyone present would be forgetting anytime soon.

8. Lemuria @ Hermann’s Bar, 1/2

Some nights, the stars align. This was one such night – the perfect line-up, the perfect group of friends, the perfect venue. Bringing Lemuria to Australia for the first time was such an exciting prospect for many people who had been charmed by their sweetly-harmonic yet hard-hitting mix of pop-punk and indie-rock over the years. Having the delightful Erica Freas, Pinch Hitter and Kissing Booth all on board made matters even greater, to the point where there was not a face to be seen within a 100-metre radius that wasn’t plastered with a smile. Let’s hope that those stars align again some day soon.

7. Dolly Parton @ Qantas Credit Union Arena, 18/2

There is one guarantee from a Dolly Parton show, and that’s fun. Few entertainers in the world today put on a show as fun as the immortal country star. It’s all glitter and rhinestones and gloriously camp sing-alongs, from “Jolene” to “Islands in the Stream” and a couple of bat-shit covers (“Yakety Sax,” “Shine” by Collective Soul) for good measure. It’s as ridiculous – and as fabulous – as you’d expect. This is Dolly’s world, you’re just living in it.

6. Future Islands @ Oxford Art Factory, 27/7

Ever since that Letterman performance, the weight of expectation has been heavy on the back of Future Islands. It’s not as if it’s anything they couldn’t handle, of course. By the time they arrived in Australia as a part of Splendour in the Grass, they were headed to completely sold-out headlining shows that cemented their reputation as the hottest band in the indie realm. The entire show was a dazzling showcase of what it means to truly believe in your music – it’s hard to find anyone who’ll deliver a performance the way that Samuel T. Herring does. Once that song from that Letterman performance came to life once again, all bets were off.

5. Violent Soho @ Manning Bar, 8, 10 and 11/7

What kind of year was it for Violent Soho? For starters, it was their tenth year together as a band; and also a year following the release of their exceptional Hungry Ghost LP. It was a year they went from hopeful underdogs to the most unstoppable force in the Australian rock climate. It was a year that saw them complete a national tour that completely sold out, even after adding multiple dates. A shift was signalled; and their ascension to the next level was justified. What more can you say about these wild, brawny shows than the band’s own joyful double-expletive – hell fuck yeah.

4. Billy Bragg @ Manning Bar, 18/3

It might have been a classier affair a few days before at the Opera House, but the Bard of Barking was back to basics with his airtight new backing band in tow at this rare club show. The two-hour-plus show found the time to be both tender (“Tank Park Salute,” “California Stars”) and triumphant (“Sexuality,” “To Have and Have Not”); as well as politically charged in the wake of the March in March (“All You Fascists Bound to Lose,” the glorious finale of “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards”). No matter where Bragg and co. took the mood of the evening, the adoring crowd was there every step of the way. Viva la revolution.

3. Arcade Fire @ Qantas Credit Union Arena, 28/1

Six years separated visits from Arcade Fire, both tied in with appearances atop the bill of the Big Day Out. While last time around had the band in the relatively-intimate surrounds of the Enmore, the years between proverbial drinks were substantially kind to the Canadian collective – to the point where they were comfortably filling out an arena. With support from Diplo, of all fucking people. Yes, Arcade Fire have graduated to being one of the biggest bands in the world – both from a profile-based and numerical perspective. With this grandiose performance came a justification for their elevation – a career-spanning, glittery journey through chamber pop, indie rock, roller disco and INXS (because why not?). One hopes against hope that it’s not another six years before they return, but even if it is they’ll make it worth the wait. They always do.

2. St. Vincent @ Sydney Opera House, 25/5

2014’s Vivid Live line-up brought us a myriad of joyful performances from veterans, newcomers and locals alike. It really was the most magical time of year – each trek from the wharf at Circular Quay guaranteed a wonderful night was in store. The most stunning of them all came in the form of Annie Clark, pop music’s reigning, defending champion of the weird and the wonderful. Last in town for a similarly-unforgettable performance alongside David Byrne, Clark returned focus solely to her name on the back of an exceptional eponymous LP. The set, which saw Clark team with a sharply-choreographed backing band, spiralled and twirled around jagged indie-rock, lush balladry and slow-motion heartbreak. A truly beautiful cacophony that ran the emotional gauntlet and left all in attendance completely gobsmacked. Long live the queen.

1. The National @ Opera House Forecourt, 7/1

You could have taken any single moment of this show and held it up to justify why it was the greatest live experience of the year. Matt Berninger toppling over the crowd, crowdsurfing to “Mr. November.” The band churning out an intense, soul-swallowing “Afraid of Everyone.” A completely-unplugged, all-in “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.” The list could go on and on. It was a matter of taking in the surrounds – the Opera House behind us, the Harbour Bridge to the east, the sun setting and night-time seeping in – and allowing it to blend into the truly beautiful music on offer from a band truly at their peak from both an artistic and a cultural standpoint. Nothing else could have come close to this show, purely on the basis that there was nothing else like it for the rest of the year.

PHOTO CREDITS:
25. Rachel Tinny, FasterLouder
24. Maria de Vera, Life Music Media
23. Wolter Peeters, Sydney Morning Herald
22. Daniel Boud, Boudist
21. Nick Lalak, Nick Lalak Photography
20. Christian Ross, The 59th Sound
19. Shanti Roy, Lost Through the Lens
18. Nick Lalak, Nick Lalak Photography
17. Nick Lalak, Nick Lalak Photography
16. Clare Hawley, theMusic
15. Mark Metcalfe, Billboard/Getty Images
14. Ashley Mar, The Brag
13. Provided by the venue
12. Aki Ishii, Tokyo Girls Update
11. Noah Kalina, Art Forum (photo not from show)
10. Bradley Hunter, The Daily Telegraph
9. Adam Davis-Powell, Demon Race Productions
8. Andrew Dominguez, Carless Distribution (photo not from show)
7. Richard Dobson, The Daily Telegraph
6. Katrina Clarke, The Brag
5. Toby Taylor, Toby Taylor Photography
4. Courtney Dabb, Push to Fire
3. David Youdell, Reverb Street Press
2. Mark Metcalfe, Zimbio/Getty Images
1. Yaya Stempler, FBi Radio

Top 50 Albums of 2014, Part One: 50 – 41

Posted on 11/12/201430/12/2014 by davidjamesyoung in Lists

It’s the most magical time of year — list season! A couple of days ago, I kicked into my top 100 songs of the year, which you can catch up on over here. Over the next month, I’ll be sharing that as well as my top 50 albums of the year. While there was a lot of controversy over the fact that no album went platinum this year, I feel it’s more a sign of the times than an indication of the quality of the music released in 2014. Across the 300-plus albums I experienced throughout the year, I completely ran the entire spectrum; from the uplifting and inspiring to the menacing and terrifying and back again. Let’s take a look now at the records that defined the year for me and see what you think. Love them? Hate them? Haven’t heard them? Let me know!

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HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Hilltop Hoods, Lanie Lane, Indian, Colossvs, Panopticon, Fishing, Swans, Xerxes, Sturgill Simpson, Collarbones, Mary Lambert, Cynic, OFF!, Shellac, Mastodon, The Roots, Woods of Desolation, The Magic Numbers, Spoon and Pharrell Williams…

50. La Roux – Trouble in Paradise
Spotify || Rdio

Did you honestly ever expect to see or hear from Elly Jackson again? After her universe of hype imploded in her early twenties, she’s made sure that if La Roux was to ever return, it was going to be precisely calculated and on her own terms. The hooks are just as sharp, the production just as crystallised and pristine – but it’s delivered with a smarter and more restrained look at broken hearts and ambiguous relationships. Think of Trouble in Paradise as less of a sequel to the project’s exceptional 2009 debut and more of a reboot of the franchise.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Silent Partner, Kiss and Not Tell, Tropical Chancer.

WATCH:

49. IDYLLS – Prayer for Terrene
Bandcamp

From the depths of Brisbane, a firebrand of heavy Australian music re-emerged with a new lineup and a new approach to their tactical, cacophonous grindcore. The introduction of squealing, churning saxophone mixed in a touch of the avant-garde, while the album’s longer songs allowed the band to explore their own musical surroundings with arresting, impressive results. Prayer for Terrene was more than just some sort of post-apocalyptic soundtrack – it was the sound of a band realising its full potential and making the most out of it. An essential step forward from a band leading the pack in their field.

THREE TOP TRACKS: PCP Crazy, Crashing Boar, Lied To.

LISTEN:

48. Behemoth – The Satanist
Spotify || Rdio

Everything about The Satanist is defiant. A band venturing into its tenth album should have none of the vitality and maintained-rage that is omnipotent and omnipresent within the tracklisting here. Furthermore, The Satanist is defiant in respects to to Behemoth itself still being here – frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski was struggling with leukaemia for a couple of years, a devastating blow in any context. Perhaps it’s this that has given the band the rush of adrenalin it needs – a scream to the heavens, a clear and open statement of unfinished business. The devil rides on.

THREE TOP TRACKS: The Satanist, O Father O Satan O Sun!, Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel.

WATCH:

47. Loudon Wainwright III – Haven’t Got the Blues (Yet)
Spotify || Rdio

At 68 years young, the senior Wainwright has a lot of grief with you people. His dog’s misbehaving, there’s nowhere to get a beer, the news is always awful and – to top it all off – he might have depression. Maybe. If he doesn’t, he will soon. At least, so we think. It doesn’t matter what subject he tackles – it’s always given a unique spin and approached with Wainwright’s distinct kind of wry, often black, humour. With The Blues, the Third remains one of the more underrated songwriters around. He just hasn’t had his respect paid – yet.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Harlan County, Harmless, Man & Dog.

WATCH:

46. Chumped – Teenage Retirement
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

The cover art of Teenage Retirement is a photo of a dude on his lonesome, chilling out in his pool and watching the world go by. It’s reflective of perhaps the best way to enjoy the debut album from this exceptional Brookyln outfit who, in a way, are picking up where albums like the Speedy Ortiz and Waxahatchee records from 2013 left off. It all ties into forward-thinking alternative rock with an all-important and oft-ignored central female voice – and as far as that realm was concerned, few dominated with such aplomb the way Chumped did. We’ll all float on.

LISTEN:

THREE TOP TRACKS: Hot 97 Summer Jam, Old and Tired, December is the Longest Month.

45. Miranda Lambert – Platinum
Spotify || Rdio || YouTube

Country’s crazy ex-girlfriend next door doesn’t do things by thirds. Her albums are always packed to the brim, with an A-team of producers, co-writers and instrumentalists filling each song. It’s this that has allowed her to rise to the top of the food-chain on her own terms – while her bro-down peers want any random girl up in their truck, she’s telling the same dudes that they “can’t ride in her little red wagon.” She may as well be saying that they couldn’t lace up her boots – and she has the songs to back it up. Giddy up.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Priscilla, Platinum, Old Shit.

LISTEN:

44. Vales – Wilt & Rise
Bandcamp

Sometimes, what you need is a record of furious, unforgiving post-hardcore. Not that fringe-flicking shit with the superfluous keyboardist and the neck tatts – we’re talking about the purest definition of the term, insofar as that it’s a progression from the standards and moulds set. Wilt & Rise goes beyond your average tough-guy shit and is completely devastating on its own terms, delivered with pure conviction and a seething, unshakable rage. The band are not only the most important new voice being heard above the drone in their native UK, they’re threatening to do the same on a global scale.

THREE TOP TRACKS: White Horse, Dead Wood, Wildfire.

LISTEN:

43. Copeland – Ixora
Spotify || Rdio

Immediately, there was a sense that Aaron Marsh and co. were headed far beyond any cash-in reunion territory when they announced their reformation – there was a new album on the way, six years removed from their finest hour, You Are My Sunshine. If Ixora did anything as an album, it validated their return to the fold. Copeland remains Aaron Marsh’s most important vehicle, with each new song delivering on stirring indie rock and heartstring-plucked balladry that stand up with any of their prior works. Ixora blossoms and blooms, reminding listeners to never take bands such as these for granted.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Ordinary, Erase, I Can Make You Feel Young Again.

LISTEN:

42. Neil Cicierega – Mouth Silence
Soundcloud

User:neilcic has been responsible for more internet sensations than you’d ever begin to think. Put it this way: If the phrase “Snape, Snape, Severus Snape” means anything to you, then there’s plenty more where that came from. Here, Cicierega delivers a sequel to his Smash Mouth-obssessed debut, and no-one is safe. He continues to terrorise the world of pop culture and 90s nostalgia with some truly nightmarish pairings – Soundgarden and The Carpenters, System of a Down and Elton John, Oasis and Oasis. It’s jarring, it’s bizarre and it’s hypnotising in its brilliance. Keep the internet weird, son. BEST!

THREE TOP TRACKS: What Is It, Wndrwll, Crocodile Chop.

LISTEN:

41. Mariachi El Bronx – Mariachi El Bronx
Spotify || Rdio

Barely a year after yet another exceptional record from The Bronx, their alter-egos have emerged in a fanfare of trumpets, percussion and enough sing-alongs to last until The Bronx V. Despite an all-too-simple game plan and a very specific stylistic palette to draw from, MEB have substantially matured their sound across three albums; adding in a much-needed personal touch to the traditional folk music. There’s a lot of introspection going on in regards to the album’s lyricism, which serves as a beautiful contrast to the outward and extroverted music. Their greatest achievement yet – it’s high-time you joined the procession.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Everything Twice, Sticks and Stones, Right Between the Eyes.

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