Since I'm seeing traffic from places far across the world from where my friends here in the US and A dwell, I feel like it's time to state this again. Someday I'll figure out how to put it permanently at the top of the page. My intended audience for this blog is really just the friends I've accumulated along the way who share my music tastes but don't have the time or inclination to dig for the out-of-the-way stuff they'd enjoy, often due to the trappings of growing up/old. Accordingly, the presentation is geared toward that audience, but all readership is appreciated. You won't find free download links here (unless the artist has posted them as such), but I always try to provide a full stream. So now that I have that out there, let's roll on with the music.
gates - Bloom & Breathe
It was a must to start off with this emo/post-rock personal instant classic. This ranks up there with my favorite Moving Mountains and Prawn songs/records, especially tracks like "Bloom", "The Thing That Would Save You", "Born Dead", "Low", and the awe-inspiring "Not My Blood". While you're at it, check out some video I've shot of them. They always put on an outstanding show.
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The Great Explainer - The Great Explainer
You know it wouldn't be my blog without at least one band that sounds like they gargle a cocktail of gravel, glass, and gasoline before they play. These guys put out my #8 EP of 2011 and promptly fell off the face of the earth. Other than a short EP that was essentially a teaser for the album, this is their truly triumphant return. From the album art, you can tell that their music embodies the breath and bite of an angry wolf. Both older and newer fans of the style cultivated best by early-mid Hot Water Music should find something to like in "Shadowcaster", "Phrases & Logos", & "Untitled".
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Knuckle Puck - While I Stay Secluded
Here's a band executing the respectable style of pop-punk (as opposed to the disrespectable style) very well. I can't get into this band a ton, but given how much some of my friends dig them, I figured I'd be remiss to not mention them. I'd also recommend their tracks on the Neck Deep split (but stay away from the ND songs...oof).
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Such Gold - The New Sidewalk
Speaking of pop-punk, I see people using that term to refer to this slobberknocker of a punk fucking rock album, and it's quite annoying. It was more appropriate for anything they did before my #1 LP of 2012, the stupendous Misadventures, but this is a step in a much more technical and ambitious direction. It also annoys me to no end when bands continually shift toward a teenage radio-rock sound/audience and people feel the need to defend it as "growth" and "maturing". My friends, THIS is a prime example of what it really means to inject growth and maturity into your sound. Bravo, boys. In fact, it has so many layers that I'm still working to peel back and examine them and come up with my full list of favorites. I will definitely say that fans of Propagandhi (no, they don't sound exactly like them and the comparison is admittedly coming from a non-fan) and Strung Out (I'm 100% in on that one) should definitely give this an honest shot. Just go right for opening tag-team "Engulfed In Flames" and "Faced".
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Helen Earth Band - We Fucking Quit
Horrible cover art aside, this is a worthy and mathy follow-up to my #14 favorite LP of 2011. These guys play a semi-quirky 90s-emo-tinged, less bouncy take on Minus The Bear's Highly Refined Pirates (at least to my ears, I'm sure someone else will think I'm smoking crack or committing blasphemy with that comparison). Everything's about equal here in terms of songs to check out.
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Gnarwolves - Gnarwolves
Truth be told, I think this was a pretty slow year for punk, but Such Gold and these here skate-punk/melodic hardcore lads from England turned it up a notch in the final quarter. I have yet to find a 4- or 5-star song by them, but I don't think I've rated anything besides their very first EP any less than 3 stars, so they're very consistent and usually tend to rip along at a drag car pace.
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Opio & Equipto - Red XX
We'll start out the hip-hop half of this post with a double shot from Hieroglyphics, who are having a strong year despite Del not having a good album in eons. Check out "Understand" or "Love It All".
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Pep Love - Dolla Daily
This might be his best release, and if not it's surely the best since his solo debut Ascension. Go for "Chilley Lime (ft. Tajai)" or "Just One".
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Diamond District - March On Washington
Their debut In The Ruff (my #10 LP of 2009) was a personal classic, so I had high expectations for this and for the most part it delivers. I really hate the cheesy synths Oddisee is starting to employ more often (see the chorus of "First Step"), but the production is so dope on tracks like "Say What You Mean" and "Erything" that it pretty much makes up for it. Tacked-on previously released track "Bonus Flow" is minimal boom-bap perfected, complete with neck-snapping drums. It adds a welcome extra punch at the end of the album.
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Apollo Brown & Ras Kass - Blasphemy
I've been waiting 19 years for Ras to make another solid boom-bap album like his debut Soul On Ice, and I never thought it would happen. But here it is, and it's a good effort but doesn't meet my high expectations thanks to some corny song concepts and occasionally boring production. However, "H2O (ft. Pharoahe Monch)" and "Humble Pi" are both some of the best hip-hop songs produced this year.
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Kev Brown & Hassaan Mackey - That Grit
This is a consistently enjoyable & well produced EP highlighted by "Hassaan Be Rappin'". Kev Brown has put out a ton of material this year, and almost all of it has been solid to instant classic. Hopefully he keeps up this streak because it usually takes him 3 years to put something out.
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That's it for this installment. Thanks for reading. Don't forget to check for the new Wu-Tang Clan and Ghostface Killah albums in the first two weeks of December. That Ghostface album has some real potential. See you in early January.
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