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 | Album: 1 of 75 Artist: David Bowie Title: ★ Released: 2015-11-20 Tracks: 1 Duration: 09:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 ★ (09:57) |
 | Album: 2 of 75 Artist: Radiohead Title: A Moon Shaped Pool Released: 2016-05-08 Tracks: 11 Duration: 52:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Burn the Witch (03:40) 2 Daydreaming (06:24) 3 Decks Dark (04:41) 4 Desert Island Disk (03:44) 5 Ful Stop (06:07) 6 Glass Eyes (02:52) 7 Identikit (04:26) 8 The Numbers (05:45) 9 Present Tense (05:06) 10 Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief (05:03) 11 True Love Waits (04:43) |
| A Moon Shaped Pool : Allmusic album Review : A cursory glance at A Moon Shaped Pool may suggest a certain measure of indifference on the part of Radiohead. Its 11 songs are sequenced in alphabetical order -- a stunt befitting a Pixies concert or perhaps a Frank Black box set, not a proper album -- and many of these tunes are of an older vintage: the group began work on the opening "Burn the Witch" at the turn of the century, while the closing "True Love Waits" first appeared in concerts way back in 1995. These are the elements of a clearinghouse, but with Radiohead appearances are always deceiving. A Moon Shaped Pool doesnt play like an ill-considered collection of leftovers; it unfurls with understated ease, each silvery song shimmering into the next. The pulse rarely quickens and the arrangements seldom agitate, yet the album never quite feels monochromatic. Sly, dissonant strings grace some cuts, acoustic guitars provide a pastoral counterpoint to an electronic pulse, Thom Yorkes voice floats through the music, often functioning as nothing more than an element of a mix; what hes saying matters not as much as how he murmurs. Such subtle, shifting textures emphasize Radioheads musicianship, a point underscored when this version of "True Love Waits" is compared to its 2001 incarnation. There, Yorke accompanied himself with a simple acoustic guitar and he seemed earnest and yearning, but here, supported by piano and strings, he sounds weary and weathered, a man who has lost his innocence. What he and Radiohead have gained, however, is some measure of maturity, and with this, their music has deepened. Certainly, sections of A Moon Shaped Pool contain an eerie, disconcerting glimmer, usually attained through power kept in reserve -- nothing stabs as hard as the sawing fanfare of "Burn the Witch," while the winding, intersecting guitars that conclude "Identikit" provide the noisiest element -- yet the album as a whole doesnt feel unsettling. Instead, theres a melancholic comfort to its ebb and flow, a gentle rocking motion that feels comforting; its a tonic to the cloistered, scattered King of Limbs and even the sleek alienation of Kid A. Radiohead are recognizably the same band that made that pioneering piece of electronica-rock but theyre older and wiser on A Moon Shaped Pool, deciding not to push at the borders of their sound but rather settle into the territory theyve marked as their own. This may not result in a radical shift in sound but rather a welcome change in tone: for the first time Radiohead feel comfortable in their own skin. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 75 Artist: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Title: Skeleton Tree Released: 2016-09-09 Tracks: 8 Duration: 39:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Jesus Alone (05:52) 2 Rings of Saturn (03:28) 3 Girl in Amber (04:51) 4 Magneto (05:22) 5 Anthrocene (04:34) 6 I Need You (05:58) 7 Distant Sky (05:36) 8 Skeleton Tree (04:03) |
 | Album: 4 of 75 Artist: Leonard Cohen Title: You Want It Darker Released: 2016-10-21 Tracks: 9 Duration: 36:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 You Want It Darker (04:44) 2 Treaty (04:02) 3 On the Level (03:28) 4 Leaving the Table (03:47) 5 If I Didn’t Have Your Love (03:36) 6 Traveling Light (04:22) 7 It Seemed the Better Way (04:22) 8 Steer Your Way (04:23) 9 String Reprise / Treaty (03:27) |
 | Album: 5 of 75 Artist: Ryley Walker Title: Golden Sings That Have Been Sung Released: 2016-08-19 Tracks: 9 Duration: 1:21:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 The Halfwit in Me (05:54) 2 A Choir Apart (03:11) 3 Funny Thing She Said (06:26) 4 Sullen Mind (06:32) 5 I Will Ask You Twice (02:02) 6 The Roundabout (04:41) 7 The Great and Undecided (03:39) 8 Age Old Tale (08:12) 9 Sullen Mind (live at SiriusXM The Loft) (41:01) |
 | Album: 6 of 75 Artist: PJ Harvey Title: The Hope Six Demolition Project Released: 2016-04-15 Tracks: 11 Duration: 41:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Community of Hope (02:23) 2 The Ministry of Defence (04:11) 3 A Line in the Sand (03:33) 4 Chain of Keys (03:09) 5 River Anacostia (04:56) 6 Near the Memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln (02:59) 7 The Orange Monkey (02:47) 8 Medicinals (02:19) 9 The Ministry of Social Affairs (04:10) 10 The Wheel (05:38) 11 Dollar, Dollar (05:34) |
| The Hope Six Demolition Project : Allmusic album Review : On 2011s Mercury Prize-winning Let England Shake, PJ Harvey connected World War I bloodbaths with the 21st century world in harrowing, moving ways. Its follow-up, The Hope Six Demolition Project, feels like a companion piece with a wider focus and more urgent mood. For this project -- which also includes the 2015 book of poetry The Hollow of the Hand and a film -- Harvey and her Shake collaborator, war photographer Seamus Murphy, emphasized documentation: The pair spent years researching in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Washington, D.C.; later, Harvey was literally transparent about the recording process, making Hope Six at a recording studio behind one-way glass for public audiences at London’s Somerset House. Befitting its origins, the albums sound is blunt and raw, mixing rock, blues, jazz, spirituals, and field recordings into the musical equivalent of photojournalism. Indeed, The Hope Six Demolition Project often resembles a collection of dispatches. "Near the Memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln"s title is as detached as a photographs cutline, while "The Ministry of Defence" offers a slide show of images from Afghanistan spanning "fizzy drink cans, magazines," jawbones, and syringes. However, the best moments echo Let England Shakes emotional impact and immediacy, which made listeners feel like they were in the trenches. Harvey delivers more feeling than reporting when she juxtaposes fading photographs of missing children with relentless brass and beats on "The Wheel" or lets her lyrics pile on top of each other with funereal inevitability on the weary "Chain of Keys." However, the albums weak moments are almost as striking as its strengths. "Medicinals" portrayal of a Native American woman wearing a Redskins cap and drinking alcohol ("a new painkiller for the native people") while surrounded by weeds her ancestors knew were healing plants, is more patronizing than poignant, while the way "River Anacostia" borrows "Wade in the Water" feels heavy-handed. Harvey is more nuanced when she comments on the limitations and complications of reporting and correcting injustices. Though it doesnt address all the aspects of the effects of gentrification on Washington, DCs 7th ward -- a tall order for a two-and-a-half minute rock song -- the ironic distance between "The Community of Hope"s rousing sound and its depiction of "shit-hole" schools conveys some of the situations complexity. An aid workers troubling uncertainty on "A Line in the Sand" ("We got things wrong/But I believe we did some good") makes it one of The Hope Six Demolition Projects most haunting moments, along with "Dollar Dollar," a ghostly expression of Harveys anguish when her car pulls away before she can give money to a starving child. Tellingly, its the only song written from her own viewpoint, suggesting that her commitment to her role as observer on The Hope Six Demolition Project -- as well-intended as it is -- robs it of her best works potency. While its just one piece of a bigger work, on its own the album isnt as satisfying as its predecessor. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 75 Artist: Sturgill Simpson Title: A Sailor’s Guide to Earth Released: 2016-04-15 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:17:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Welcome to Earth (Pollywog) (04:53) 2 Breakers Roar (03:32) 3 Keep It Between the Lines (04:01) 4 Sea Stories (03:16) 5 In Bloom (04:00) 6 Brace for Impact (Live a Little) (05:49) 7 All Around You (03:35) 8 Oh Sarah (04:15) 9 Call to Arms (05:29) 1 Welcome to Earth (Pollywog) (04:53) 2 Breakers Roar (03:32) 3 Keep It Between the Lines (04:01) 4 Sea Stories (03:16) 5 In Bloom (04:00) 6 Brace for Impact (Live a Little) (05:49) 7 All Around You (03:35) 8 Oh Sarah (04:15) 9 Call to Arms (05:29) |
 | Album: 8 of 75 Artist: ANOHNI Title: HOPELESSNESS Released: 2016-05-06 Tracks: 11 Duration: 41:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Drone Bomb Me (04:11) 2 4 Degrees (03:52) 3 Watch Me (03:27) 4 Execution (03:38) 5 I Don’t Love You Anymore (05:00) 6 Obama (04:11) 7 Violent Men (02:10) 8 Why Did You Separate Me From the Earth? (03:36) 9 Crisis (04:42) 10 Hopelessness (03:55) 11 Marrow (03:01) |
 | Album: 9 of 75 Artist: Teenage Fanclub Title: Here Released: 2016-09-09 Tracks: 12 Duration: 45:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 I’m in Love (02:41) 2 Thin Air (03:10) 3 Hold On (03:24) 4 The Darkest Part of the Night (03:15) 5 I Have Nothing More to Say (04:18) 6 I Was Beautiful When I Was Alive (04:43) 7 The First Sight (05:07) 8 Live in the Moment (03:03) 9 Steady State (04:15) 10 It’s a Sign (03:36) 11 With You (03:58) 12 Connected to Life (03:59) |
 | Album: 10 of 75 Artist: Beyoncé Title: Lemonade Released: 2016-04-23 Tracks: 12 Duration: 45:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Pray You Catch Me (03:16) 2 Hold Up (03:41) 3 Don’t Hurt Yourself (03:54) 4 Sorry (03:52) 5 6 Inch (04:21) 6 Daddy Lessons (04:48) 7 Love Drought (03:57) 8 Sandcastles (03:03) 9 Forward (01:19) 10 Freedom (04:50) 11 All Night (05:22) 12 Formation (03:26) |
| Lemonade : Allmusic album Review : Beyoncés sixth album loomed once "Formation" and its video were issued ahead of the superstars Super Bowl 50 half-time performance. Two months and a couple weeks later, it appeared as a culturally seismic visual album. Loaded with layers of meaning and references, and experienced en masse through its televised premiere, Lemonade honored black sisterhood with the presence of Warsan Shire, Serena Williams, and the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner. Subsequently given audio-only release, its title comes from a popular proverb given extra personal relevance by Beyoncés grandmother-in-law, whose citation is heard here during a crucial moment in the sequence. Mrs. Knowles-Carter indeed turns her own lemons into Lemonade. She uses the platform to demand contrition from her adulterous partner, assert her excellence, reflect upon the bonds with the men in her life, and their relationships with other women, and wonders if her trust can be earned back. The cathartic and wounded moments here resonate in a manner matched by few, if any, of Beyoncés contemporaries. She sometimes eclipses herself in terms of raw emotion, as on the throttling Jack White encounter "Dont Hurt Yourself." At the low-volume end, theres more power in the few seconds she chokes back tears while singing "Come back" -- timed with the backing vocal in Isaac Hayes version of "Walk on By" -- than there is in most contemporary ballads. Romantic conflict is nothing new for her, but there is a degree of concentration and specificity, and an apparent disregard for appealing to commercial radio that makes Lemonade a distinct addition to her catalog. (Another distinguishing factor is the length of credits which, due to a vast assortment of collaborators and samples, exceeds that of the self-titled album.) Lemonade can also be heard as the dark flipside of Beyoncé. When "Dishes smashed on the counter" is bleakly observed, just before "Pictures snatched out the frame/Bitch, I scratched out your name and face" is delivered with seething wrath, its hard to not flash back to "Drunk in Love," in which the presumably same couple were revelrous in the same room. After the first three-quarters play out in compelling if somewhat erratic fashion, Lemonade closes with a torrid stretch. "Freedom" is a marching anthem of resilience and preservation, produced by Just Blaze with a glowing guest verse from Kendrick Lamar. The loved-up "All Night" is a tangle of emotions and hints at reconciliation, facilitated by the horns from OutKasts "SpottieOttieDopaliscious." And then, at last, theres the strutting "Formation," simultaneously a tack-on and an ideal finale, where Beyoncé delights in her blackness, femininity, and Southern origin with supreme wordplay. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 75 Artist: Thee Oh Sees Title: A Weird Exits Released: 2016-08-12 Tracks: 8 Duration: 39:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Dead Mans Gun (03:28) 2 Ticklish Warrior (03:06) 3 Jammed Entrance (05:21) 4 Plastic Plant (05:39) 5 Gelatinous Cube (03:27) 6 Unwrap the Fiend, Pt. 2 (04:27) 7 Crawl Out From the Fall Out (07:50) 8 The Axis (06:11) |
 | Album: 12 of 75 Artist: Brian Eno Title: The Ship Released: 2016-03-30 Tracks: 4 Duration: 47:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Ship (21:19) 2 Fickle Sun (i) (18:03) 3 Fickle Sun (ii) The Hour Is Thin (02:50) 4 Fickle Sun (iii) I’m Set Free (05:18) |
 | Album: 13 of 75 Artist: Drive-By Truckers Title: American Band Released: 2016-09-30 Tracks: 11 Duration: 46:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Ramon Casiano (03:57) 2 Darkened Flags on the Cusp of Dawn (02:42) 3 Surrender Under Protest (03:51) 4 Guns of Umpqua (03:51) 5 Filthy and Fried (03:38) 6 Sun Dont Shine (03:24) 7 Kinky Hypocrite (03:13) 8 Ever South (05:44) 9 What It Means (06:25) 10 Once They Banned Imagine (04:11) 11 Baggage (05:45) |
| American Band : Allmusic album Review : From their breakthrough album (2001s Southern Rock Opera) onward, the Drive-By Truckers have never shied away from dealing with the political and philosophical divides that come with life in the American South. But as issues of race, violence, and the failings of the electoral process have come to dominate the national conversation in 2016, the Drive-By Truckers have responded with their most explicitly political album to date. American Band contains a dozen songs that deal with familiar themes for this band in some respects, but instead of pondering "the Southern Thing," these are stories that confront all sides of a great but troubled nation, as racism means not just the mixed message of the rebel flag but the unjust death of Trayvon Martin, and one tries to come to terms with the many ways our culture is slowly changing in some ways and stubbornly refusing to evolve in others. This is music full of both fury and purpose, but with rare exceptions, American Band isnt an album of anger but of puzzlement and concern. Patterson Hoods songs are thoughtful journal entries informed by his experiences as a Southern man who had left his home for the Pacific Northwest, especially "Ever South" and "What It Means." Mike Cooley, as always the Yang to Hoods Yin, writes and sings with greater grit and Southern swagger, but he delivers some of his smartest and most eloquent work to date with "Surrender Under Protest," "Ramon Casiano," and "Once They Banned Imagine," all superb studies of the flaws of human nature. And while American Band roars less than many of the bands previous works, it still sounds like the Drive-By Truckers, carried by the guitars of Hood and Cooley, Brad Morgans superb drumming, and Jay Gonzalezs evocative keyboard work. The Drive-By Truckers are too smart to believe they have the answers for Americas problems, and American Band doesnt pretend to offer them. But they ask the right sort of questions, and these songs werent written for the audience to cheer along, but to encourage a debate that the country seriously needs. American Band is an op-ed column with guitars, and it presents a message well worth hearing, both as politics and as music. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 75 Artist: Bon Iver Title: 22, a Million Released: 2016-09-30 Tracks: 10 Duration: 34:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 22 (OVER S∞∞N) (02:48) 2 10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄ (02:24) 3 715 - CR∑∑KS (02:12) 4 33 “GOD” (03:33) 5 29 #Strafford APTS (04:05) 6 666 ʇ (04:12) 7 21 M◊◊N WATER (03:08) 8 8 (circle) (05:09) 9 ____45_____ (02:46) 10 00000 Million (03:53) |
| 22, a Million : Allmusic album Review : After a few years spent working on things other than Bon Iver, time spent sorting out heavy personal issues, and a radical rethink of the style that launched Justin Vernons project to the upper reaches of indie folk popularity, the always searching musician returned in 2016 with an album that redefined Bon Iver in dramatic fashion. 22, A Million is a complicated and intricate record that features chopped-up lyrics, altered vocals, sped-up samples, alternately shimmering and clipped keyboards, treated saxophones, and the occasional gently strummed guitar. Through most of the challenging album, Vernon and his collaborators create miniature structures of sound and space, letting his vocals drift and cascade through sparse and fractured constructs like a lost soul wandering through empty futuristic streets. Its a long way from intimate folk songs recorded in a remote Wisconsin cabin. In the music, one can hear the influence of Vernons occasional collaborator Kanye West, especially on the mutated R&B tracks like "10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄" and "33 God," where his vocals take on a rap-like cadence, but also in the sense of grandeur and bombast intermittently found there and elsewhere. In direct contrast are the songs that sound very inward and emotionally bleak and twisted, possibly reflecting some of Vernons struggles along the way. The desperate "715 - CR∑∑KS," which features nothing but a choir of Auto-Tuned Vernons singing aching lyrics that sound like theyre being ripped from the deepest, darkest corner of his tortured soul, is maybe the darkest track. In yet more contrast, a few songs on the album retain much of the hushed acoustic feel of his earlier albums, but with weird electronics and tricks around the edges. The beautiful "29 #Strafford APTS" is a folk song at its core, but he adds altered vocals, queasily pitched saxophones, and distorted electronic tones to provide some drama to the song. He does similar things to the album-ending piano ballad "00000 Million" and the tense, almost ambient "21 M◊◊N WATER," turning them from typically sad Bon Iver songs into something weird and oddly more affecting. The only track on the album that falls short of the standard set elsewhere is "8 (circle)," which makes the mistake of being a little too earnestly straightforward and too much like a Bruce Hornsby song. This was probably the one that needed the most manipulation, and its the one that gets the least. One little misstep cant keep 22, A Million from being a return to form, even as it turns the established form on its head and gives it a spin. Its clear that the upheavals in Vernons life and music are a matched set; he turns his pain into art as he does a deep dive into exploration of technique and sound. Its an impressive feat of reinvention that manages to keep Vernons emotional core fully intact no matter how far the music strays from established Bon Iver territory. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 75 Artist: Wilco Title: Schmilco Released: 2016-09-09 Tracks: 12 Duration: 36:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Normal American Kids (02:47) 2 If I Ever Was a Child (02:55) 3 Cry All Day (04:16) 4 Common Sense (03:24) 5 Nope (03:02) 6 Someone to Lose (03:20) 7 Happiness (03:00) 8 Quarters (02:50) 9 Locator (02:18) 10 Shrug and Destroy (02:52) 11 We Aren’t the World (Safety Girl) (02:53) 12 Just Say Goodbye (02:45) |
| Schmilco : Allmusic album Review : Wilcos 11th album, 2015s Star Wars, was a playful and angular set of noisy pop and pop-friendly noise, and it seemed fitting that it literally appeared out of nowhere, with the band sending it out as a free download without any advance warning one July afternoon. Little more than a year later, Wilco has released a follow-up, Schmilco, and in many respects this album is the flip side to Star Wars. Schmilco feels every bit as spontaneous as Star Wars (and much of the material was recorded during the same sessions), but where the earlier album seemed full of the joy of making music, this one is somber and low-key, a set of navel-gazing music even as the tunes confirm that Jeff Tweedys way with a melody hasnt failed him. Acoustic guitars dominate most of Schmilcos 12 songs, with Tweedys vocals right up front, sounding introspective and emphatic at once. On first listen, Schmilco plays like the work of one man and his guitar alone with his thoughts and his sorrows late one night. It takes a couple of spins for the contributions of the rest of the band to really sink in, but once they do, it becomes apparent this truly is a Wilco album, as Nels Clines guitars, Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensens keyboards, and Glenn Kotches drums bring a rich spectrum of dynamics and texture to the songs, while John Stirratts bass anchors these songs both melodically and rhythmically. Just as 1999s Summerteeth sounded like a smart pop album when observed casually but was an emotional horror show beneath the surface, Schmilco feels simple and declarative on first glance, but the deeper one is willing to dig, the more there is to find, both in terms of the bands interplay (which gets better and more intuitive with each album) and Tweedys songs (which boast as much compassion and concern as brooding). Star Wars was Wilcos cheerfully bent version of a summer album; Schmilco is clearly music for autumn, meant for cool nights, crunching through the leaves, and the occasional dark night of the soul. And it speaks volumes about Wilco that they could make two albums so different within such a short space of time, and both times giving us music that sounds like no one else. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 75 Artist: Hiss Golden Messenger Title: Heart Like a Levee Released: 2016-10-07 Tracks: 19 Duration: 1:10:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Biloxi (02:51) 2 Tell Her Im Just Dancing (03:01) 3 Heart Like a Levee (03:52) 4 Like a Mirror Loves a Hammer (04:23) 5 Smokys Song (01:20) 6 Cracked Windshield (05:07) 7 As the Crow Flies (03:14) 8 Happy Day (Sister My Sister) (05:28) 9 Say It Like You Mean It (02:52) 10 Ace of Cups Hung Low Band (04:48) 11 Highland Grace (05:58) 1 Blackeyed Boy (05:04) 2 After the Colors (03:02) 3 Togethers Just a Word (03:23) 4 Living Above the Waterline (02:47) 5 Strawberry Girl Reel (02:27) 6 Little Rain (03:52) 7 John the Gun (02:51) 8 Vestapol (Is Where Im Bound) (03:39) |
| Heart Like a Levee : Allmusic album Review : On 2014s Lateness of Dancers, M.C. Taylors Hiss Golden Messenger embraced a more blues- and gospel-oriented sound without leaving behind their trademark folk-inspired Americana. Heart Like a Levee is another step forward; its roots come from the soul, funky R&B, and gospel-ized blues the South delivered so abundantly during the1960s and 70s via Muscle Shoals, Stax, Volt, Hi, Goldwax, and Josie. These songs reflect a period in 2015 when Taylor struggled with the decision to forsake the security a day job offered his family and pursue music full-time. His cast includes old friends Phil and Bradley Cook of Megafaun, Bon Iver drummer/percussionist Matt McCaughan, and Mountain Man vocalist Alexandra Sauser-Monnig. Newcomers include vocalists Tift Merritt and Sonyia Turner, and saxophonist Michael Lewis. "Biloxi" opens with congas and a drum kit, strummed acoustic guitars, Taylors mandolin, and a high-lonesome Dobro that weds country and soul à la Delaney & Bonnie. The title track is a tender, taut reflection of self-doubt, vulnerability, and commitment. Mandolin, banjo, Wurlitzer, and backing singers buoy Taylors delivery: "...Is it too heavy honey/Did I carry my piece of the fire? …If you let me honey/Ill set the world on fire for you…." The swampy, funky gospel blues in "Like a Mirror Loves a Hammer," with its nasty clavinet, multi-tracked saxophones, and plodding bassline wed the eeriness of the early Staple Singers, the soaring choruses of Joe South, and the funky jamming of the Meters. "Cracked Windshield" harkens back to the Lateness of Dancers era, but "As the Crow Flies" offers the kind of Wurlitzer line Spooner Oldham minted: it gets grafted onto a raucous, Memphis-style rockabilly piano -- à la Jim Dickinsons Dixie Fried -- and multi-tracked lead and backing vocals recall a David Porter production. The steamy slide guitar break is icing on the cake. "Happy Day (Sister My Sister)" is glorious, uplifting country-soul gospel. Turners and Sauser-Monnigs backing vocals add heavenly ethereality to Taylors earthbound singing. "Ace of Cups Hung Low Band" dances the tightrope between swampy blues and choogling roots rock with strings and punchy saxophones adding heft and texture. Closer "Highland Grace" is an uncluttered attempt at soul as Taylors interplay with his backing singers is intuitive, sweet, and stirring, carried by acoustic piano (think Dan Penn), saxophones, shuffling backbeat, in-the-pocket bass, and strummed guitars. Despite its many references, Heart Like a Levee is just not a throwback record. Taylor combines, inhabits, and adapts his inspirations in the present through the strength of his writing. His melodies are basic; his words are anything but. They bridge the temporal to the eternal, the carnal to the divine, the homespun to the historic; they resonate directly through the grain of his unaffected yet emotionally expressive singing voice. Due to its bright, open production and quirky presentation, Heart Like a Levee is a watermark for Hiss Golden Messenger. Seldom have hard times sounded this uplifting. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 75 Artist: Cavern of Anti-Matter Title: Void Beats/Invocation Trex Released: 2016-02-19 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:12:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Tardis Cymbals (12:51) 2 Blowing My Nose Under Close Observation (04:07) 3 Insect Fear (05:21) 4 Melody in High Feedback Tones (03:54) 1 Hi-Hats Bring the Hiss (09:06) 2 Liquid Gate (02:00) 3 Pantechnicon (08:49) 4 Black Glass Action (03:17) 1 Planetary Folklore (06:05) 2 Echolalia (04:18) 3 Void Beat (09:38) 4 Zone Null (02:54) |
 | Album: 18 of 75 Artist: Solange Title: A Seat at the Table Released: 2016-09-30 Tracks: 21 Duration: 51:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Rise (01:42) 2 Weary (03:14) 3 Interlude: The Glory Is in You (00:18) 4 Cranes in the Sky (04:11) 5 Interlude: Dad Was Mad (00:46) 6 Mad (03:55) 7 Don’t You Wait (04:06) 8 Interlude: Tina Taught Me (01:15) 9 Don’t Touch My Hair (04:18) 10 This Moment (00:49) 11 Where Do We Go (04:24) 12 Interlude: For Us by Us (00:53) 13 F.U.B.U. (05:14) 14 Borderline (An Ode to Self Care) (03:03) 15 Interlude: I Got So Much Magic, You Can Have It (00:27) 16 Junie (03:06) 17 Interlude: No Limits (00:40) 18 Don’t Wish Me Well (04:16) 19 Interlude: Pedestals (00:58) 20 Scales (03:39) 21 Closing: The Chosen Ones (00:42) |
 | Album: 19 of 75 Artist: Lambchop Title: FLOTUS Released: 2016-11-04 Tracks: 11 Duration: 55:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 In Care of 8675309 (11:51) 2 Directions to the Can (03:32) 3 FLOTUS (03:30) 4 JFK (05:32) 5 Howe (04:06) 6 Old Masters (04:44) 7 Relatives #2 (05:26) 8 Harbor Country (03:27) 9 Writer (03:41) 10 NIV (04:35) 11 The Hustle (05:30) |
 | Album: 20 of 75 Artist: Angel Olsen Title: My Woman Released: 2016-09-02 Tracks: 10 Duration: 47:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Intern (02:45) 2 Never Be Mine (03:40) 3 Shut Up Kiss Me (03:21) 4 Give It Up (02:55) 5 Not Gonna Kill You (04:56) 6 Heart Shaped Face (05:32) 7 Sister (07:45) 8 Those Were the Days (04:17) 9 Woman (07:32) 10 Pops (04:41) |
 | Album: 21 of 75 Artist: William Tyler Title: Modern Country Released: 2016-06-03 Tracks: 7 Duration: 40:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Highway Anxiety (09:06) 2 I’m Gonna Live Forever (If It Kills Me) (05:25) 3 Kingdom of Jones (03:32) 4 Albion Moonlight (03:17) 5 Gone Clear (06:08) 6 Sunken Garden (04:17) 7 The Great Unwind (08:22) |
 | Album: 22 of 75 Artist: The Avalanches Title: Wildflower Released: 2016-07-08 Tracks: 21 Duration: 59:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Leaves Were Falling (00:15) 2 Because I’m Me (04:12) 3 Frankie Sinatra (03:44) 4 Subways (03:10) 5 Going Home (02:06) 6 If I Was a Folkstar (04:33) 7 Colours (03:32) 8 Zap! (01:58) 9 The Noisy Eater (03:14) 10 Wildflower (01:14) 11 Harmony (03:48) 12 Live a Lifetime Love (02:30) 13 Park Music (00:54) 14 Livin’ Underwater (Is Somethin’ Wild) (01:56) 15 The Wozard of Iz (02:59) 16 Over the Turnstiles (00:41) 17 Sunshine (03:37) 18 Light Up (01:34) 19 Kaleidoscopic Lovers (03:55) 20 Stepkids (04:32) 21 Saturday Night Inside Out (04:59) |
| Wildflower : Allmusic album Review : In the 15-plus years since they released their masterpiece of sample-based electronica, Since I Left You, the Avalanches have been legendary ghosts kept alive by hopes, rumors, and memories of greatness compounded by a lack of anyone coming along to fill their shoes. With the release of 2016s Wildflower, the group stages a comeback that sadly falls short of expectations, but still ends up being a pretty good album anyway. In fact, if it hadnt been made by the Avalanches, it may even be a great album. The record is filled with their trademarks: heavy doses of summer sun so bright they seem to glisten more than shine, beats that seem to be constructed from bubblegum and rubber bands, samples that are witty and fit together like puzzle pieces. Kicking off with a track that sounds like part two of "Since I Left You," "Because Im Me" seems headed for the same patch of nirvana when it is suddenly derailed by some rapping from Camp Lo that grounds the heavenly sounds in some real-life grit. Not only is the rapping here a distraction, its the first of many guest appearances that serve to spoil what made Since I Left You so special. It had a timeless, immaculately constructed sound that was insular in the best way, made by a band of like-minded record geeks merrily toiling away over samplers and vinyl to create something brilliant. All the guest appearances on Wildflower not only wreck that feeling, but they are unnecessary. The Avalanches are masters at creating new melodies out of old records, fresh feelings out of lost snippets of sound; now they are kind of cheating by bringing in a bunch of people to do the heavy lifting for them -- and its kind of like cheating when they dont have to. Not only do the many rappers (Danny Brown, MF Doom, Biz Markie, and others) sound out of place, the plethora of indie rockers (like Toro y Moi, Father John Misty, and Jennifer Herrema) do too. They all seem slapped on after the songs were already done, adding very little to the sounds already there. Only the two tracks featuring Mercury Revs Jonathan Donahue ("Colours," "Kaleidoscope Lovers") work well since they sound like true collaborations. Skipping the songs with guest appearances leaves behind an album that sounds like fragments of a worthy follow-up in many ways, with smile-inducing tracks like "Subways," which borrows huge chunks of Chandras song of the same name, soundtracks for daydreams ("Sunshine"), and short sampledelic bits that end too quickly. Its a shame the group didnt expand on these self-contained songs more, leave off the pasted-in vocals that clutter things up and detract from the magic in the grooves, and build them into something more like Since I Left You. By focusing on outsiders instead of trusting their crate-digging genius, the Avalanches shortchanged themselves and ended up making the best psychedelic Chemical Brothers album ever instead of making another classic Avalanches album. | ||
 | Album: 23 of 75 Artist: Margo Price Title: Midwest Farmer’s Daughter Released: 2016-03-25 Tracks: 11 Duration: 43:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Hands of Time (06:09) 2 About to Find Out (03:12) 3 Tennessee Song (04:40) 4 Since You Put Me Down (04:52) 5 Four Years of Chances (04:33) 6 This Town Gets Around (02:55) 7 How the Mighty Have Fallen (03:11) 8 Weekender (04:40) 9 Hurtin’ (On the Bottle) (04:12) 10 World’s Greatest Loser (01:33) 11 Desperate and Depressed (03:31) |
 | Album: 24 of 75 Artist: Paul Simon Title: Stranger to Stranger Released: 2016-06-03 Tracks: 16 Duration: 53:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Werewolf (03:25) 2 Wristband (03:17) 3 The Clock (01:02) 4 Street Angel (02:11) 5 Stranger to Stranger (04:35) 6 In a Parade (02:21) 7 Proof of Love (05:44) 8 In the Garden of Edie (01:48) 9 The Riverbank (04:11) 10 Cool Papa Bell (04:02) 11 Insomniac’s Lullaby (04:33) 12 Horace and Pete (02:30) 13 Duncan (04:43) 14 Wristband (03:28) 15 Guitar Piece 3 (01:10) 16 New York Is My Home (04:30) |
| Stranger to Stranger : Allmusic album Review : "The Werewolf" opens Stranger to Stranger, Paul Simons thirteenth solo studio album, with a heavy rhythmic thud -- bass, drums, and maracas lumbering along in a modified Bo Diddley beat not a far cry from the Whos "Slip Kid." Simon isnt looking to the past, though: hes writing toward an inevitable sunset, mindful of mortality -- just like he was on 2011s So Beautiful or So What -- but hes firmly grounded in a tumultuous present, embracing all the cut-and-paste contradictions endemic to the digital age. With the exception of a pair of hushed acoustic numbers and the expansive title track, all positioned to provide necessary pressure relief from the density of the rest of the record, Stranger to Stranger feels built from the rhythm up, a tactic familiar to Simon since 1986s Graceland. Unlike the easy gait of Graceland, the words here are clipped and rushed, sliding in with the bustle of the rhythm. Its not that the songs arent melodic -- hooks arrive in snatches, sometimes forming through the rhythms themselves -- but the tracks are cloistered and colorful, accentuated by traces of gospel and doo wop; theres even an apparent "Love Is Strange" sample. Echoes of tradition existing within this modern framework are telling, underscoring how Simon is making music where the past is ever-present but not consuming: hes shifted his aesthetic to mirror his times, a tactic common in his solo career. In many ways, Stranger to Stranger is as bracing and ambitious as Surprise, his 2006 collaboration with producer Brian Eno -- this is especially true of its opening triptych, all created with Italian dance musician Clap! Clap! -- but the tenor of this album is different. Where the specter of 9/11 hung heavily over Surprise, Simon seems at peace on Stranger to Stranger, acknowledging the twilight yet not running toward it because theres so much to experience in the moment. Hes choosing to push forward, not look back, and the results are invigorating. | ||
 | Album: 25 of 75 Artist: Iggy Pop Title: Post Pop Depression Released: 2016-01-22 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Break Into Your Heart (03:54) 2 Gardenia (04:14) 3 American Valhalla (04:38) 4 In the Lobby (04:15) 5 Sunday (06:06) 6 Vulture (03:15) 7 German Days (04:47) 8 Chocolate Drops (03:58) 9 Paraguay (06:25) |
| Post Pop Depression : Allmusic album Review : Fate has a way of putting things into an interesting context. When it was announced that Iggy Pop would be collaborating with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, the music press buzzed with anticipation about the project. What would the proto-punk icon and the snarky hard rock smart guy come up with? The surprise answer is, in many respects, 2016s Post Pop Depression, an unwitting but loving tribute to Pops friend and collaborator David Bowie. Post Pop Depression arrived two months after Bowies death, and was completed before his health problems became common knowledge. More than anything, though, this music evokes the sound and feel of Pops first two solo albums. 1977s The Idiot and Lust for Life were cut with Bowie in Germany as Pop struggled to make sense of his life and career after the Stooges collapsed. With the reunited Stooges gone following the deaths of Ron and Scott Asheton, Post Pop Depression finds Pop returning to the work he made in 1977, in ways that count the most. Post Pop Depression is smart and thoughtful, intelligent without being pretentious, and full of bold but introspective thinking. While Josh Homme is certainly no David Bowie, hes a skilled musician who challenges Pop in a way many of his previous producers have not. The sound of Post Pop Depression occasionally gestures to Bowies work, with and without Pop, but Homme has given this music a personality of its own. Dark and richly textured, Post Pop Depression puts Pops craggy but authoritative voice and intelligent tirades front and center. Homme and his rhythm section of Dean Fertita and Matt Helders have created strong, muscular backdrops for Pops lyrics that add to their power. They counter his thoughtful anger with sounds that are rich, cleanly designed, and a successful compliment for the stars work. Pop has suggested that Post Pop Depression may be his last album, and if thats true, it wraps up his career with a strong and atypical work. It tips its hat to Bowie, but also to the freedom and creative possibilities Pop discovered in their collaborative work. It confirms that Pop has never lost the ability to surprise and upend expectations. In the bitter rant that closes "Paraguay," Pop declares he wants to run away and live as "your basic clod." Its an ironic thought, closing an album that once again proves Pop never was and never will be an ordinary guy. | ||
 | Album: 26 of 75 Artist: Cate Le Bon Title: Crab Day Released: 2016-04-15 Tracks: 10 Duration: 36:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Crab Day (03:51) 2 Love Is Not Love (03:04) 3 Wonderful (02:38) 4 Find Me (02:53) 5 I’m a Dirty Attic (03:08) 6 I Was Born on the Wrong Day (02:20) 7 We Might Revolve (03:49) 8 Yellow Blinds, Cream Shadows (04:05) 9 How Do You Know? (03:27) 10 What’s Not Mine (07:27) |
 | Album: 27 of 75 Artist: Shirley Collins Title: Lodestar Released: 2016-11-04 Tracks: 10 Duration: 42:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Awake Awake / The Split Ash Tree / May Carol / Southover (11:09) 2 The Banks of Green Willow (03:18) 3 Cruel Lincoln (03:28) 4 Washed Ashore (02:57) 5 Death and the Lady (04:45) 6 Pretty Polly (04:17) 7 Old Johnny Buckle (01:43) 8 Sur le Borde de lEau (03:53) 9 The Rich Irish Lady / Jeff Sturgeon (05:59) 10 The Silver Swan (01:26) |
| Lodestar : Allmusic album Review : As both a singer and an archivist, Shirley Collins is a massively important figure in British traditional folk music, but shes also been something of an enigma since she gave up performing and recording in the 80s. To take her at her word, Collins lost confidence in her ability to sing when she froze on-stage during a production at Londons National Theatre. While shes made occasional appearances speaking about folk history and was persuaded to appear on some sessions by David Tibet of Current 93, it was generally believed Collins musical career was over. However, in one of the more pleasant recent surprises in U.K. folk, Collins invited some musicians and recording technicians to her cottage in East Sussex to help her make a record. The result, 2016s Lodestar, is her first solo album in four decades, and its a bit different than her classic recordings of the 60s and 70s in both sound and feel. Collins was 80 years old when Lodestar was recorded, and her voice is noticeably rougher and lower than it was in her salad days. And while the musicians are in fine form here, Lodestar sounds a bit looser and more casual than her iconic recordings; the emphasis seems less on a historically accurate presentation of these songs and more on arrangements that are comfortable and satisfying for Collins and her players. In the liner notes, Collins describes recording field performances of some of these tracks while visiting the United States with archivist and historian Alan Lomax in the 50s, and in a sense, Lodestar was recorded in similarly informal surroundings, though the homebrewed sessions generally sound splendid. (They also make for some interesting details, such as the birds cheerfully singing as Collins makes her way through the violent ballad "Cruel Lincoln.") And though Collins doesnt have the same voice she did when she was younger, her sense of drama and her gift for defining a character in song have not dimmed a bit, and in some respects, the added texture of her instrument only makes her performances more apt. What comes through most strongly on Lodestar is that Collins doesnt seem at all interested in reclaiming old glories, or pandering to a new generation of listeners. Lodestar is the work of a woman who sings for the love of singing, and is as invested in the mysteries and joys of these timeless songs as she was half-a-century ago. The album isnt a comeback but a continuum, and a welcome return from a true oracle of traditional song. | ||
 | Album: 28 of 75 Artist: case/lang/veirs Title: case/lang/veirs Released: 2016-06-14 Tracks: 14 Duration: 43:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Atomic Number (02:58) 2 Honey and Smoke (03:03) 3 Song for Judee (03:12) 4 Blue Fires (02:57) 5 Delirium (02:46) 6 Greens of June (04:13) 7 Behind the Armory (02:20) 8 Best Kept Secret (03:17) 9 1,000 Miles Away (02:57) 10 Supermoon (03:48) 11 I Want to Be Here (02:47) 12 Down I-5 (03:02) 13 Why Do We Fight (02:35) 14 Georgia Stars (03:18) |
| case/lang/veirs : Allmusic album Review : When artists of note collaborate on a project, the greatest obstacle is usually balance. The participants may truly respect one another, but as talent, ego, and personality enter the picture, someone is inevitably going to dominate the proceedings, and someone else will end up in the shadows. Neko Case, k.d. lang, and Laura Veirs seem keenly aware of this on the album case/lang/veirs, an album of songs the three singers and songwriters wrote and recorded between 2013 and 2015. And these songs often suggest a conscious effort to make sure everyone gets her share of the spotlight and that everyones strengths are put to good use. Oddly enough, one of the consequences of this is that k.d. lang, the strongest vocalist here, doesnt get as much time at center stage as one might expect, and ultimately she makes less of an impression than her partners. One could argue that lang potentially has the most to lose in this project; while Case and Veirs have healthy followings, lang is the genuine star here, but she hasnt made an album thats been as celebrated as her reputation in some time. While this project could have given lang a chance to step out of her comfort zone and try something new, here shes content to stick to atmospheric midtempo numbers that fit her skill set beautifully, but offer little in the way of surprises (beyond the irritating fake woodwinds on "1000 Miles Away"). However, Case and Veirs give her a chance to sing harmonies with vocalists who approach her own level of skill for a change, an opportunity she seems to relish, and here Case sounds most like the albums MVP. Cases cool, introspective indie rock approach dominates the albums melodies and production, her lead vocals are both naturalistic and dramatically effective, and she harmonizes beautifully with lang and Veirs. And Veirs ends up shining unexpectedly bright on case/lang/veirs; the sweet, homey modesty of her vocal approach is a pleasing complement to the more dramatic stylings of Case and lang, and she contributes a gorgeous uptempo pop tune to the set, "Best Kept Secret," as well as an affecting homage to Judee Sill. As much as case/lang/veirs strives to be an album that brings together three truly important artists, what it does best is broker a worthy compromise between their individual gifts and musical identities. While case/lang/veirs doesnt approach the greatness these women have managed on their own albums, it does offer more than a few beautiful moments they could not have achieved on their own. The result is a fascinating, rewarding experiment that deserves to be repeated. | ||
 | Album: 29 of 75 Artist: Kendrick Lamar Title: untitled unmastered. Released: 2016-03-04 Tracks: 8 Duration: 34:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 untitled 01 | 08.19.2014. (04:07) 2 untitled 02 | 06.23.2014. (04:18) 3 untitled 03 | 05.28.2013. (02:34) 4 untitled 04 | 08.14.2014. (01:50) 5 untitled 05 | 09.21.2014. (05:38) 6 untitled 06 | 06.30.2014. (03:28) 7 untitled 07 | 2014 - 2016 (08:16) 8 untitled 08 | 09.06.2014. (03:55) |
 | Album: 30 of 75 Artist: Frank Ocean Title: Blonde Released: 2016-08-20 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:00:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Nikes (05:14) 2 Ivy (04:09) 3 Pink + White (03:04) 4 Be Yourself (01:26) 5 Solo (04:17) 6 Skyline To (03:04) 7 Self Control (04:09) 8 Good Guy (01:06) 9 Nights (05:07) 10 Solo (Reprise) (01:18) 11 Pretty Sweet (02:38) 12 Facebook Story (01:08) 13 Close to You (01:25) 14 White Ferrari (04:08) 15 Seigfried (05:34) 16 Godspeed (02:57) 17 Futura Free (09:24) |
| Blonde : Allmusic album Review : Boys Dont Cry, the magazine distributed at pop-up locations the day this unlike-titled album was released, featured an essay in which Frank Ocean affably reflected upon his infatuation with cars. Allusions to parallels between vehicular travel and other aspects of life, such as making music, were drawn, his relief in completing the Channel Orange follow-up made apparent. For those who felt the proper debut wasnt forthcoming enough with hooks or traditionally structured songs, this is bound to seem less like a luxurious joyride on a freshly paved motorway than it does an interminable stay in a repair shop waiting lounge. In terms of pop appeal, none of it approaches "Novacane" or "Thinkin Bout You." The focus is more on Ocean, the extensive list of "album contributors" -- possibly a combination of studio collaborators and mere inspirations -- notwithstanding. Hes often accompanied by only keyboards or a guitar or two; less than one-third of the tracks include the sound of his voice and that of a beat within the same space. Over the course of an hour, all the sparsely ornamented ruminations can be a bit of a chore to absorb, no matter how much one hangs on each line. The writing talent on display, however, is irrefutable, whether its a sharp aside, the precision and economy in the chorus of the Beyoncé-backed "Pink + White," or the agony evoked in "Self Control" (with an outro multi-tracked to pull heartstrings). Through references to movement, and events that take place in automobiles and swimming pools, Oceans words continue to be fueled by his memories of youth and young adulthood in summertime, while recreational pharmaceuticals are a factor more than ever. The lines regarding relationships are acutely descriptive with frequently abrupt transitions from deep to shallow observations. Theres a little more playfulness to go along with the wistful heartache, Oceans perverse sense of humor shows most when he follows his mothers stern anti-drug message with an ebullient vocal-and-organ number that opens with him "gone off tabs." In the closing "Futura Free," one of several cuts where processing distorts his voice the way a fun house mirror deforms a body, there is much weight to him to remarking "Dont let em find Pac/He evade the press/He escape the stress," then declaring "I aint on your schedule." Hes clearly bemused with the industry and fan entitlement. An undoubtedly reactive work, this is undiluted and progressive nonetheless. | ||
 | Album: 31 of 75 Artist: Cass McCombs Title: Mangy Love Released: 2016-08-26 Tracks: 12 Duration: 59:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Bum Bum Bum (04:59) 2 Rancid Girl (04:22) 3 Laughter Is the Best Medicine (05:18) 4 Opposite House (04:14) 5 Medusas Outhouse (04:55) 6 Low Flyin Bird (06:01) 7 Cry (04:45) 8 Run Sister Run (05:51) 9 In a Chinese Alley (03:15) 10 It (05:11) 11 Switch (04:14) 12 Im a Shoe (06:06) |
 | Album: 32 of 75 Artist: 75 Dollar Bill Title: Wood/Metal/Plastic Pattern/Rhythm/Rock Released: 2016 Tracks: 4 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Earth Saw (?) 2 Beni Said (?) 3 Cummins Falls (?) 4 Im Not Trying to Wake Up (?) |
 | Album: 33 of 75 Artist: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Title: Nonagon Infinity Released: 2016-04-29 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Robot Stop (05:22) 2 Big Fig Wasp (04:54) 3 Gamma Knife (04:21) 4 People‐Vultures (04:45) 5 Mr. Beat (04:56) 6 Evil Death Roll (07:14) 7 Invisible Face (03:01) 8 Wah Wah (02:54) 9 Road Train (04:18) |
 | Album: 34 of 75 Artist: Lucinda Williams Title: The Ghosts of Highway 20 Released: 2016-02-05 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:26:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dust (06:19) 2 House of Earth (05:28) 3 I Know All About It (05:46) 4 Place in My Heart (05:13) 5 Death Came (06:14) 6 Doors of Heaven (05:33) 7 Louisiana Story (09:05) 1 Ghosts of Highway 20 (07:20) 2 Bitter Memory (04:07) 3 Factory (04:01) 4 Cant Close the Door on Love (05:36) 5 If My Love Could Kill (05:09) 6 If Theres a Heaven (03:34) 7 Faith & Grace (12:42) |
| The Ghosts of Highway 20 : Allmusic album Review : Calling her own shots seems to agree with Lucinda Williams. While the singer/songwriter has long had a reputation for taking her time between albums, shes back with another double-disc set, The Ghosts of Highway 20, just a year-and-a-half later. She launched her own label with Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone in the fall of 2014. In many ways, The Ghosts of Highway 20 feels like a companion piece to Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone in its emotionally direct approach and willingness to let the songs play themselves out at their own pace. -- they drift with the current, but they dont meander, and they get where theyre going in their own sweet time. Most of the performances on Highway 20 are anchored by the guitar interplay of Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz (the latter also co-produced the album with Williams and Tom Overby), and while their performances seem low on flash, especially given the estimable talents of these players, they have a faultless instinct for the moods and rhythms of these songs, and this is an album where nuance truly takes center stage. However, while Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone was an album that covered a wide variety of themes, the 14 songs on The Ghosts of Highway 20 all seem to turn on some sort of struggle -- against depression ("Dust"), against the limitations of our lives on Earth ("Doors of Heaven"), against the past ("Bitter Memory" and the title song), and against betrayal ("I Know All About It"). Even as Williams calls up nostalgic images of life in Louisiana ("Louisiana Story"), shes still trying to free herself from memories of hurts inflicted by her loved ones, and her appeals to the Lord for guidance and peace ("If Theres a Heaven" and "Faith & Grace") sound and feel sincere, as if the shackles of her physical being are just too much for her. Williams vocal performances here represent a remarkable high-wire act, as she brings her emotions to the surface without resorting to histrionics. Her musical adaptation of Woody Guthries "House of Earth," a curiously erotic dialogue between a whore and a customer, is all the more striking for its refusal to play broad. After releasing one of the best and boldest albums of her career with Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, Williams goes from strength to strength with The Ghosts of Highway 20, and it seems like a welcome surprise that shes moving into one of the most fruitful periods of her recording career as she approaches her fourth decade as a musician. | ||
 | Album: 35 of 75 Artist: Eleanor Friedberger Title: New View Released: 2016-01-22 Tracks: 11 Duration: 45:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 He Didnt Mention His Mother (03:58) 2 Open Season (04:42) 3 Sweetest Girl (03:01) 4 Your Word (03:41) 5 Because I Asked You (03:44) 6 Never Is a Long Time (03:26) 7 Cathy With the Curly Hair (03:26) 8 Two Versions of Tomorrow (05:46) 9 All Known Things (05:07) 10 Does Turquoise Work? (02:28) 11 A Long Walk (05:49) |
 | Album: 36 of 75 Artist: Jenny Hval Title: Blood Bitch Released: 2016-09-30 Tracks: 10 Duration: 36:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Ritual Awakening (01:42) 2 Female Vampire (03:37) 3 In the Red (02:21) 4 Conceptual Romance (04:32) 5 Untamed Region (04:51) 6 The Great Undressing (04:00) 7 Period Piece (02:41) 8 The Plague (05:57) 9 Secret Touch (04:39) 10 Lorna (02:06) |
 | Album: 37 of 75 Artist: Tim Hecker Title: Love Streams Released: 2016-04-08 Tracks: 11 Duration: 42:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Obsidian Counterpoint (04:55) 2 Music of the Air (04:08) 3 Bijie Dream (02:16) 4 Live Leak Instrumental (02:56) 5 Violet Monumental I (04:58) 6 Violet Monumental II (03:13) 7 Up Red Bull Creek (02:41) 8 Castrati Stack (04:01) 9 Voice Crack (03:14) 10 Collapse Sonata (04:12) 11 Black Phase (06:15) |
 | Album: 38 of 75 Artist: Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band Title: The Rarity of Experience Released: 2016-03-04 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:12:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Anthem, Pt. 1 (02:45) 2 Anthem, Pt. 2 (06:10) 3 The Rarity of Experience, Pt. 1 (02:20) 4 The Rarity of Experience, Pt. 2 (04:43) 5 High Castle Rock (10:28) 6 Harmonius Dance (09:56) 1 The First Ten Minutes of Cocksucker Blues (11:59) 2 Boston Street Lullaby (05:14) 3 Old Phase (08:11) 4 The Calvary Cross (10:36) |
 | Album: 39 of 75 Artist: Shovels & Rope Title: Little Seeds Released: 2016-10-07 Tracks: 16 Duration: 58:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 I Know (03:38) 2 Botched Execution (03:23) 3 St. Anne’s Parade (04:21) 4 The Last Hawk (04:14) 5 Buffalo Nickel (04:02) 6 Mourning Song (04:13) 7 Invisible Man (03:42) 8 Johnny Come Outside (03:49) 9 Missionary Ridge (03:30) 10 San Andreas Fault Line Blues (03:15) 11 BYWR (03:14) 12 Eric’s Birthday (01:20) 13 This Ride (03:31) 14 I Know (kitchen demo) (03:17) 15 St. Anne’s Parade (kitchen demo) (04:26) 16 The Last Hawk (kitchen demo) (04:18) |
 | Album: 40 of 75 Artist: Let’s Eat Grandma Title: I, Gemini Released: 2016-06-17 Tracks: 10 Duration: 48:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Deep Six Textbook (05:39) 2 Eat Shiitake Mushrooms (06:12) 3 Sax in the City (04:54) 4 Chocolate Sludge Cake (06:36) 5 Chimpanzees in Canopies (03:32) 6 Rapunzel (05:20) 7 Sleep Song (06:24) 8 Welcome to the Treehouse, Pt. I (02:47) 9 Welcome to the Treehouse, Pt. II (04:38) 10 Uke 6 Textbook (01:59) |
 | Album: 41 of 75 Artist: Anna Meredith Title: Varmints Released: 2016-03-04 Tracks: 11 Duration: 47:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Nautilus (05:31) 2 Taken (04:50) 3 Scrimshaw (04:44) 4 Something Helpful (03:13) 5 R-Type (04:42) 6 Dowager (05:23) 7 The Vapours (06:34) 8 Honeyed Words (03:17) 9 Last Rose (03:32) 10 Shill (02:48) 11 Blackfriars (02:58) |
 | Album: 42 of 75 Artist: Brigid Mae Power Title: Brigid Mae Power Released: 2016-06-10 Tracks: 8 Duration: 39:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 It’s Clearing Now (07:39) 2 Sometimes (05:06) 3 Let Me Hold You Through This (03:30) 4 Is It My Low or Yours (03:44) 5 Lookin at You in a Photo (04:30) 6 I Left Myself for a While (05:10) 7 Watching the Horses (05:06) 8 How You Feel (04:26) |
 | Album: 43 of 75 Artist: Róisín Murphy Title: Take Her Up to Monto Released: 2016-07-08 Tracks: 9 Duration: 46:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Mastermind (06:35) 2 Pretty Gardens (05:07) 3 Thoughts Wasted (05:22) 4 Lip Service (04:27) 5 Ten Miles High (05:19) 6 Whatever (02:53) 7 Romantic Comedy (05:36) 8 Nervous Sleep (07:41) 9 Sitting and Counting (03:57) |
 | Album: 44 of 75 Artist: Okkervil River Title: Away Released: 2016-09-09 Tracks: 9 Duration: 57:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Okkervil River R.I.P. (06:41) 2 Call Yourself Renee (07:07) 3 The Industry (04:31) 4 Comes Indiana Through the Smoke (04:45) 5 Judey on a Street (07:16) 6 She Would Look for Me (07:03) 7 Mary on a Wave (05:11) 8 Frontman in Heaven (07:44) 9 Days Spent Floating (In the Halfbetween) (06:54) |
 | Album: 45 of 75 Artist: KING Title: We Are KING Released: 2016-02-05 Tracks: 12 Duration: 57:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Right One (04:46) 2 The Greatest (03:15) 3 Red Eye (04:38) 4 Supernatural (extended mix) (06:45) 5 Love Song (03:41) 6 In the Meantime (04:36) 7 Carry On (03:53) 8 Mister Chameleon (03:35) 9 Hey (extended mix) (06:36) 10 Oh, Please! (04:51) 11 The Story (extended mix) (05:13) 12 Native Land (05:40) |
| We Are KING : Allmusic album Review : This accurately self-termed electro-soul trio debuted in 2011 with an EP that resembled reinterpretations of imaginary recordings made by Wonderlove, Stevie Wonders background vocalists, circa Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants. All three songs, measured and spirit-lifting in nature, radiated warmth through rich harmonies and crafty programming. Supported by the likes of Erykah Badu and Questlove, Kings impact was instant. Within a year, they elevated cuts by the Foreign Exchange and Robert Glasper Experiment. Additional singles trickled out slowly, surely. The trio likewise didnt spread itself thin when it came to further collaborations, highlighted by "Right at the Core," Paris smoldering duet with Bilal. Almost five years after their first step, the Strothers and Bias released their slow-cooked We Are King. For those who have been aware since the beginning, the album might seem anticlimactic. Only seven of the 12 inclusions are completely fresh. The 2011-2014 output, however, is cleverly dispersed throughout the sequence, with all of the EP cuts appearing as extended versions that enhance flow. Most of the new tracks are up to the high bar they set for themselves. Three of better ones -- two floating love songs leaving it all behind and a proud, percolating tribute to Muhammad Ali -- are emphasized with front-loading. King dont take a caravan across the Sudan, but "Red Eye," in which they "fly through the Nigerian night sky," makes a clear connection with the Jones Girls of "Nights Over Egypt," and continues their recurring spiritual and/or romantic journeys theme. They even present the albums finale, "Native Land," as a cunning sequel to "The Story," and land at home. The flashiest they get is with a monologue, some horns, and a guitar solo, all of which appear on the hot-pursuit ballad "Oh, Please!" Otherwise, We Are King is all about plush, impeccable grooves and spine-tingling harmonies. Its without fault. | ||
 | Album: 46 of 75 Artist: Swans Title: The Glowing Man Released: 2016-06-17 Tracks: 8 Duration: 1:58:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Cloud of Forgetting (12:43) 2 Cloud of Unknowing (25:12) 3 The World Looks Red / The World Looks Black (14:27) 4 People Like Us (04:32) 1 Frankie M (20:58) 2 When Will I Return? (05:26) 3 The Glowing Man (28:50) 4 Finally, Peace (06:15) |
 | Album: 47 of 75 Artist: The Handsome Family Title: Unseen Released: 2016-09-16 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:07:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Gold (04:00) 2 The Silver Light (03:51) 3 Back in My Day (03:30) 4 Tiny Tina (04:10) 5 Underneath the Falls (04:13) 6 The Sea Rose (03:41) 7 The Red Door (05:14) 8 Gentlemen (03:48) 9 King of Dust (05:06) 10 Green Willow Valley (04:33) 1 Weightless Again (03:40) 2 So Much Wine (03:50) 3 Cold, Cold, Cold (03:13) 4 Far From Any Road (02:50) 5 After We Shot the Grizzly (03:35) 6 The Loneliness of Magnets (03:45) 7 Woodpecker (04:22) |
 | Album: 48 of 75 Artist: Skepta Title: Konnichiwa Released: 2016-05-06 Tracks: 12 Duration: 44:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Konnichiwa (03:17) 2 Lyrics (02:35) 3 Corn on the Curb (05:00) 4 Crime Riddim (04:35) 5 It Ain’t Safe (03:41) 6 Ladies Hit Squad (04:38) 7 Numbers (03:18) 8 Man (Gang) (03:34) 9 Shutdown (03:08) 10 That’s Not Me (03:04) 11 Detox (02:48) 12 Text Me Back (04:25) |
 | Album: 49 of 75 Artist: Christine and the Queens Title: Chaleur humaine Released: 2014-06-02 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:00:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 iT (03:38) 2 Saint Claude (04:00) 3 Christine (03:54) 4 Science fiction (03:39) 5 Paradis perdus (03:35) 6 Half Ladies (04:19) 7 Chaleur humaine (03:57) 8 Narcissus Is Back (03:29) 9 Ugly-Pretty (03:25) 10 Nuit 17 à 52 (04:22) 11 Here (04:27) 12 No Harm Is Done (03:30) 13 Intranquillité (03:14) 14 Amazoniaque (03:40) 15 Safe and Holy (04:08) 16 Jonathan (03:24) |
| Chaleur humaine : Allmusic album Review : It took a while to introduce Christine and the Queens self-described "freakpop" to the world. The groups debut album first arrived in 2014 as Chaleur Humaine in frontwoman Héloïse Létissiers native France, then it was issued in the United States in 2015 as Christine and the Queens, and finally as a deluxe U.K. edition of Chaleur Humaine in early 2016. The acclaim for the album -- whatever its title -- only grew with each release, and rightfully so: Christine and the Queens dont just embrace differences, they see them as beautiful. Within the albums lovely synth pop, theres strangeness and strength; "Im doing my face with magic marker," Létissier sings on "Tilted," a subtly irresistible track with the power of an anthem in the making. A similar independence pulses through the gorgeous "Saint Claude," which depicts the moment of walking away or committing entirely with heart-stopping beauty. As the album unfolds, Christine reveals herself as less of a disguise and more of a prism for Létissiers distinctive outlook. She addresses her pansexuality throughout the album, subtly on songs like the aforementioned "Tilted" and more directly on "Half Ladies" and "iT," a call-and-response track with the Queens where her backing band sings "Shes a man now/And theres nothing we can do." This fluidity extends to the ease with which Létissier blends French traditions with contemporary pop, hip-hop, and R&B. She mixes all of the above on "Paradis Perdus," an interpolation of Kanye Wests "Heartless" and Christophes 1973 hit "Les Paradis Perdus," transforming them into something with its own emotive power. Elsewhere, Christine and the Queens balance the urgency of songs such as "No Harm Is Done" and "Safe and Holy" and gentler moments like the Perfume Genius duet "Jonathan" and "Night 52" with a grace reflecting Létissiers former life as a dancer. Indeed, Christine and the Queens emotional and musical agility only makes their heartfelt, thoughtful pop that much richer and rewarding. | ||
 | Album: 50 of 75 Artist: Kevin Morby Title: Singing Saw Released: 2016-04-15 Tracks: 9 Duration: 43:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Cut Me Down (03:32) 2 I Have Been to the Mountain (03:14) 3 Singing Saw (07:15) 4 Drunk and on a Star (04:18) 5 Dorothy (05:08) 6 Ferris Wheel (03:05) 7 Destroyer (04:26) 8 Black Flowers (05:47) 9 Water (06:40) |
 | Album: 51 of 75 Artist: Underworld Title: Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future Released: 2016-03-16 Tracks: 7 Duration: 44:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 I Exhale (08:10) 2 If Rah (07:12) 3 Low Burn (06:44) 4 Santiago Cuatro (04:00) 5 Motorhome (06:23) 6 Ova Nova (05:31) 7 Nylon Strung (06:51) |
 | Album: 52 of 75 Artist: Various Artists Title: Day of the Dead Released: 2016-05-20 Tracks: 39 Duration: 3:35:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Touch of Grey (05:17) 2 Sugaree (05:00) 3 Candyman (05:34) 4 Cassidy (03:13) 5 Black Muddy River (07:38) 6 Loser (05:15) 7 Peggy-O (05:35) 8 Box of Rain (05:30) 9 Rubin and Cherise (05:46) 10 To Lay Me Down (06:21) 11 New Speedway Boogie (05:21) 12 Friend of the Devil (04:31) 13 Uncle John’s Band (04:27) 14 Me and My Uncle (03:04) 15 Mountains of the Moon (03:53) 16 Black Peter (02:25) 17 Garcia Counterpoint (07:12) 18 Terrapin Station (Suite) (16:50) 19 Attics of My Life (04:15) 20 St. Stephen (live) (06:39) 1 If I Had the World to Give (02:37) 2 Standing on the Moon (05:34) 3 Cumberland Blues (03:16) 4 Ship of Fools (05:12) 5 Bird Song (06:09) 6 Morning Dew (05:35) 7 Truckin’ (04:55) 8 Dark Star (03:57) 9 Nightfall of Diamonds (08:27) 10 Transitive Refraction Axis for John Oswald (03:59) 11 Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad (04:05) 12 Playing in the Band (09:46) 13 Stella Blue (04:39) 14 Eyes of the World (05:09) 15 Help on the Way (07:39) 16 Franklin’s Tower (06:29) 17 Till the Morning Comes (05:02) 18 Ripple (04:25) 19 Brokedown Palace (04:51) |
| Day of the Dead : Allmusic album Review : The Grateful Dead were not known for their modesty so perhaps its fitting that Day of the Dead, the 2016 tribute album assembled by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of the National for the Red Hot Organization, sprawls with abandon. At five-and-a-half hours, the 59-track album -- divided into three separate sets, like any good Grateful Dead concert -- is longer than any individual Dead show but its not necessarily as far-reaching. The Dessners favor very specific traits within the Dead, eschewing folk, boogie, blues, and cowboy songs in favor of ever-expanding experimentalism. Bob Weir may sit in with the National for an album-closing "I Know You Rider" but hes essentially been back-benched: his penchant for good-time rock & roll has been erased and he has a mere seven songwriting credits here, and three of those are band compositions ("Dark Star" being repeated twice). This means Day of the Dead is anchored on Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter songs, all filtered through an out sensibility indebted to Phil Lesh. Some of the contributions break this mold -- Charles Bradley lays into a funky "Cumberland Blues," Courtney Barnett sneers through "New Speedway Boogie" -- but its rare to hear the kind of winding, intertwined guitar interplay that characterized so much prime Dead. It surfaces when Weir sits in with the National and Wilco, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks contribute a rangy, excellent "China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider," and J Mascis graces Kurt Viles "Box of Rain" with a gorgeous solo, but these are accents on an album that strips away any of the seedy, crunchy elements of jam band music. Whats left is striking, albeit an idiosyncratic interpretation of the Dead. If very few cuts here are especially rhythmic -- an odd thing, considering the Dead had two percussionists -- the emphasis on shifting textures is alluring, reaching a pinnacle on a 17-minute interpretation of "Terrapin Station" that emphasizes its suite structure and shimmers with a quiet elegance. Whether it showcases a singer with a guitar or circular improvisations on a theme, most of Day of the Dead follows a similarly understated, tasteful path and, ultimately, thats whats impressive about it: it is a tribute to the Grateful Dead as sonic adventurers, pioneering new avenues into space and beyond. | ||
 | Album: 53 of 75 Artist: Hinds Title: Leave Me Alone Released: 2016-01-08 Tracks: 12 Duration: 37:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Garden (04:07) 2 Fat Calmed Kiddos (03:02) 3 Warts (02:35) 4 Easy (02:24) 5 Castigadas en el granero (03:46) 6 Solar Gap (02:25) 7 Chili Town (03:17) 8 Bamboo (03:49) 9 San Diego (02:30) 10 And I Will Send Your Flowers Back (03:34) 11 I’ll Be Your Man (03:17) 12 Walking Home (03:12) |
 | Album: 54 of 75 Artist: Robbie Fulks Title: Upland Stories Released: 2016-04-01 Tracks: 12 Duration: 45:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Alabama at Night (03:52) 2 Baby Rocked Her Dolly (02:49) 3 Never Come Home (05:25) 4 Sarah Jane (02:26) 5 Aunt Pegs New Old Man (03:02) 6 Needed (05:07) 7 South Bend Soldiers On (03:58) 8 America Is a Hard Religion (02:23) 9 A Miracle (03:19) 10 Sweet as Sweet Comes (03:30) 11 Katy Kay (03:16) 12 Fare Thee Well, Carolina Gals (06:17) |
| Upland Stories : Allmusic album Review : Robbie Fulks is a brilliant songwriter and a very funny man, but that sense of humor sometimes hindered his work as much as it helped. His biting wit tended to undercut the humanity of his more serious songs, a quality that kept some of his earlier albums from reaching as deep as they could and should. Fulks seemed to have overcome this flaw on 2013s Gone Away Backward. The album was a stark, bone-dry set of acoustic songs that recalled the sound of Depression-era country as it spun tales that were compassionate but unflinchingly honest. Gone Away Backward was one of Fulks very best and most acclaimed albums, and hes clearly learned a great deal from it. 2016s Upland Stories feels like a companion piece of sorts, playing on a somewhat broader field musically but sounding nearly as spare and just as clearly focused. Fulks has gathered a handful of gifted accompanists for Upland Stories (including Wayne Horvitz, Fats Kaplin, and Todd Phillips), and their performances provide the ideal tone for these songs. The players support these songs gracefully without ever intruding on them, and Steve Albinis crystal-clear recording and mix favor them beautifully. The themes and arrangements of Upland Stories are often more modern than those of Gone Away Backward, but the uncluttered approach is similar, and the results are just as satisfying. The literacy of these songs is impressive, but they sound conversational, like stories meant to be read aloud. And Fulks understated but emphatic vocal delivery helps the small town details of "Fare Thee Well, Carolina Girls" and the bittersweet life lessons of "Needed" hit their emotional targets dead on. ("Aunt Pegs Old Man" and "Katy Kay" also reveal Fulks hasnt lost his sense of humor, hes just applying it with a greater degree of care.) As spare and gently satisfying as a warm spring afternoon, Upland Stories is a reminder that the brilliance of Gone Away Backward was no fluke, and that in his mid-fifties, Robbie Fulks is only getting better, both as a songwriter and as a recording artist. Highly recommended. | ||
 | Album: 55 of 75 Artist: Soundwalk Collective, Jesse Paris Smith feat. Patti Smith Title: Killer Road Released: 2016-06-02 Tracks: 9 Duration: 50:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Killer Road (04:29) 2 My Heart Is Empty (06:51) 3 Evening of Light (05:02) 4 Saeta (04:45) 5 Secret Side (04:00) 6 Fearfully in Danger [Live] (06:42) 7 I Will Be Seven [Live] (06:18) 8 The Sphinx [Live] (07:07) 9 My Only Child (04:48) |
 | Album: 56 of 75 Artist: Danny Brown Title: Atrocity Exhibition Released: 2016-09-30 Tracks: 15 Duration: 46:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Downward Spiral (02:52) 2 Tell Me What I Don’t Know (02:31) 3 Rolling Stone (03:47) 4 Really Doe (05:19) 5 Lost (02:07) 6 Ain’t It Funny (02:57) 7 Golddust (02:24) 8 White Lines (02:23) 9 Pneumonia (03:39) 10 Dance in the Water (02:37) 11 From the Ground (02:18) 12 When It Rain (03:15) 13 Today (03:07) 14 Get Hi (03:33) 15 Hell for It (03:49) |
 | Album: 57 of 75 Artist: Maxwell Title: Now Released: 2001-08-21 Tracks: 12 Duration: 50:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Get to Know Ya (intro) (00:04) 2 Get to Know Ya (04:18) 3 Lifetime (05:29) 4 Was My Girl (03:11) 5 Changed (04:07) 6 NoOne (04:38) 7 For Lovers Only (03:40) 8 Temporary Nite (04:21) 9 Silently (05:20) 10 Symptom Unknown (05:37) 11 This Womans Work (04:00) 12 Now / At the Party (05:25) |
 | Album: 58 of 75 Artist: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Title: Ears Released: 2016-04-01 Tracks: 8 Duration: 38:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 First Flight (04:38) 2 Wetlands (03:35) 3 Envelop (04:56) 4 When I Try, I’m Full (03:56) 5 Rare Things Grow (03:45) 6 Arthropoda (03:37) 7 Stratus (03:04) 8 Existence in the Unfurling (11:08) |
 | Album: 59 of 75 Artist: Billy Bragg & Joe Henry Title: Shine a Light: Field Recordings From the Great American Railroad Released: 2016-09-23 Tracks: 13 Duration: 43:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Rock Island Line (02:55) 2 The L&N Dont Stop Here Anymore (04:29) 3 The Midnight Special (03:34) 4 Railroad Bill (02:49) 5 Lonesome Whistle (02:53) 6 KC Moan (02:40) 7 Waiting for a Train (02:46) 8 In the Pines (03:31) 9 Gentle on My Mind (03:39) 10 Hobos Lullaby (03:57) 11 Railroading on the Great Divide (03:08) 12 John Henry (02:42) 13 Early Morning Rain (04:13) |
| Shine a Light: Field Recordings From the Great American Railroad : Allmusic album Review : There isnt much that a folkie loves more than a train. The images and lore of an engine rolling down the tracks, taking both ticketed riders and boxcar-hopping hobos to new destinations and grand adventures, are staples of American songwriting, both past and present. So its no great surprise that two accomplished part-time folkies, Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, would cook up a project like Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad. For this album, Bragg and Henry booked a rail trip from Chicago to Los Angeles aboard the Texas Eagle 421 Service, bringing a recording engineer and a portable recording rig with them. At various stops along the way, the duo recorded classic blues, folk, and country songs with railway themes at various train stations and boarding platforms (except for one tune cut at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, where iconic bluesman Robert Johnson recorded some of his best-known recordings in 1936). The notion of two studious folksingers singing train songs in train stations, with the murmur of passengers and arrivals in the background, sounds like it could be meant as a joke, or perhaps a bit that got left out of the movie A Mighty Wind. In practice, Shine a Light doesnt sound like a prank, but it often comes off as a project built around a big gimmick, and one thats only partly successful. From a standpoint of audio or performance quality, it doesnt seem like much was gained by recording these songs on the run, unless youve always wanted to know what these guys would have sounded like as buskers. And while Bragg clearly approaches this material with the utmost seriousness and respect, theres something curious about hearing such hardcore Americana being sung by a man with a thick Essex accent. Henry possesses a clearer and more pleasing voice, though in moments its a touch too sweet for the material, and the chalk-and-cheese blend of Braggs and Henrys voices sometimes works and sometimes doesnt. Theres no arguing that the two men chose material that perfectly suits the theme, but "John Henry," "Hobos Lullaby," and "Rock Island Line" are songs that have been recorded so often over the years by so many artists, theres barely anything left to be discovered in them. Bragg and Henry can sing them with sincerity and respect, but they cant make them sound fresh or surprising, and all the colorful ambience in the world cant change that. Shine a Light is an album of big ideas and lofty intentions, but the truth is this probably would have been better if Bragg and Henry had found a nice concert hall where they could have recorded it in front of an audience that wasnt running to catch a train. | ||
 | Album: 60 of 75 Artist: Ty Segall Title: Emotional Mugger Released: 2016-01-22 Tracks: 11 Duration: 38:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Squealer (03:47) 2 Californian Hills (03:09) 3 Emotional Mugger / Leopard Priestess (05:21) 4 Breakfast Eggs (02:36) 5 Diversion (03:36) 6 Baby Big Man (I Want a Mommy) (02:44) 7 Mandy Cream (03:16) 8 Candy Sam (03:17) 9 Squealer Two (03:23) 10 W.U.O.T.W.S. (03:02) 11 The Magazine (03:57) |
| Emotional Mugger : Allmusic album Review : Anyone who was wondering if Ty Segall was ever going to deliver another set of raw, scuzzy garage rock after the relatively polished approach of 2013s Sleeper and 2014s Manipulator will be happy (or alarmed) to know Segall is very much in touch with his noisy side on 2016s Emotional Mugger. Segalls guitar is front and center throughout this album, and the lean, buzzy tone of his axe defines these 11 songs as his chugging chords and single-note leads roar past the lo-fi keyboards and assorted electronic noisemakers that punctuate the tracks. The albums melodic sense owes more to vintage glam rock than garage rock roar, but Segall makes the most of his semi-chaotic primitivism here, which ought to agree with anyone who eagerly embraced his early and less-polished work. Emotional Muggers surfaces are sometimes a bit abrasive, but the melodies demonstrate that Segalls pop sensibilities never stray too far from the surface, and if youre willing to listen through the occasional layers of buzz and howl, youll find this isnt as far from his more disciplined efforts as you might imagine at first glance. Segall recorded most of Emotional Mugger one-man-band-style, which doubtless informed the albums purposefully grimy attack, but he had the good sense to bring in Melvins drummer Dale Crover to keep time with an impressive assault on the Equals "Diversion," a cover that works better in this context than anyone would expect. As Segalls profile has risen in the 2010s, its a welcome thing that he hasnt diluted his musical vision and is still willing to let his music howl when the spirit moves him, and Emotional Mugger is a stiff shot of raw, cocky joy that hits its target beautifully. | ||
 | Album: 61 of 75 Artist: John Cale Title: M:FANS Released: 2016-01-22 Tracks: 10 Duration: 40:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Taking Your Life in Your Hands (05:43) 2 Thoughtless Kind (05:27) 3 Sanctus (Sanities mix) (05:19) 4 If You Were Still Around (05:18) 5 Close Watch (05:15) 6 Broken Bird (05:10) 7 Chinese Envoy (03:51) 8 Changes Made (03:54) 9 Damn Life (?) 10 Risé, Sam And Rimsky Korsakov (?) |
| M:FANS : Allmusic album Review : John Cale had been careening through nearly a decade of chaotic and paranoid rock music when he took an abrupt stylistic shift with 1982s Music for a New Society, a set of stark and minimal melodies performed with a quiet touch that made the occasional bursts of volume all the more violent, accompanying lyrics that dealt with a variety of damaged lives. It was one of Cales best and most powerful works, and more than 30 years later, Cale has revisited the songs with fresh creative eyes on the album M:FANS. Cales new interpretations are significantly more aggressive than the originals, and are based largely in electronic textures (the new arrangements of "[I Keep A] Close Watch" and "Thoughtless Kind" could pass for a gloomy variant on contemporary R&B, and "Chinese Envoy" now has a cool, pop-wise sheen), though they trade nearly as strongly in dynamics as the original performances. If the original album played as a set of stories about desperate characters looking for something like salvation, M:FANS sounds more like a series of scenes set in some future world shorn of hope, and the flashes of humanity and compassion that lurked in songs like "Thoughtless Kind" and "If You Were Still Around" are few and far between here. But where most artists who re-record material from their back catalogs often produce something thats a pale shadow of the original, with M:FANS Cale has come up with an album with a personality and intent far removed enough from the 1982 album that it has a genuine life of its own. If M:FANS represents a world that is colder and less forgiving than the time and place that spawned Music for a New Society, it also confirms that Cale is still a strong and vital artist, and one capable of offering two very different sets of perspectives on these songs that are both bold and compelling listening. | ||
 | Album: 62 of 75 Artist: Ian William Craig Title: Centres Released: 2016-07-08 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:11:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Contain (Astoria version) (10:04) 2 A Single Hope (06:26) 3 Drifting to Void on All Sides (04:14) 4 The Nearness (07:45) 5 Set to Lapse (02:47) 6 Power Colour Spirit Animal (06:28) 7 Arrive, Arrive (02:39) 8 A Circle Without Having to Curve (09:52) 9 An Ocean Only You Could See (06:02) 10 Purpose (Is No Country) (03:18) 11 It Need Not Be Hopeless (04:21) 12 Innermost (03:28) 13 Contain (Cedar version) (04:21) |
 | Album: 63 of 75 Artist: Richmond Fontaine Title: You Cant Go Back If Theres Nothing To Go Back To Released: 2016-03-18 Tracks: 13 Duration: 48:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Leaving Bevs Miners Club At Dawn (01:34) 2 Wake Up Ray (03:38) 3 I Got Off The Bus (03:47) 4 Whitey And Me (Dont Ride Him Down) (05:23) 5 Lets Hit One More Place (02:55) 6 I Cant Black It Out If I Wake Up And Remember (05:12) 7 Dont Skip Out On Me (04:07) 8 Two Friends Lost At Sea (04:34) 9 Three Brothers Roll Into Town (03:44) 10 Tapped Out In Tulsa (03:01) 11 The Blind Horse (02:13) 12 A Night In The City (05:30) 13 Easy Run (02:59) |
 | Album: 64 of 75 Artist: Gruff Rhys Title: Set Fire To The Stars Released: 2016 Tracks: 24 Duration: 43:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 John Malcolm Brinnin (00:28) 2 Set Fire to the Stars (04:01) 3 After Hours/Panic (02:24) 4 Tremble (Down) (00:31) 5 Tremble to the Light (03:20) 6 Tremble (Up) (00:32) 7 After Hours/Tension (00:54) 8 Log Cabin 1 (01:12) 9 Log Cabin 2 (01:00) 10 Log Cabin 3 (00:45) 11 John Adoring at Yale (00:43) 12 Set Fire to the Strings (01:21) 13 After Hours/Tender (01:52) 14 John & The Poem (01:29) 15 Chop Shop (02:40) 16 Atom Bomb (01:47) 17 After Hours/Contentment (02:47) 18 Ticking Clock (02:01) 19 Military Madness (01:02) 20 Caitlins Theme (02:37) 21 Tremble (Joy) (00:49) 22 Dylans Demons (02:06) 23 It Was Hot That Summer (05:54) 24 [untitled] (00:43) |
 | Album: 65 of 75 Artist: Emma Pollock Title: In Search of Harperfield Released: 2016-01-29 Tracks: 11 Duration: 44:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Cannot Keep a Secret (04:24) 2 Don’t Make Me Wait (04:09) 3 Alabaster (04:32) 4 Clemency (02:39) 5 Intermission (04:47) 6 Parks and Recreation (03:12) 7 Vacant Stare (03:29) 8 In the Company of the Damned (03:34) 9 Dark Skies (03:29) 10 Monster in the Pack (04:27) 11 Old Ghosts (05:42) |
 | Album: 66 of 75 Artist: Charles Bradley Title: Changes Released: 2016-04-01 Tracks: 11 Duration: 40:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 God Bless America (01:31) 2 Good to Be Back Home (03:01) 3 Nobody but You (03:57) 4 Aint Gonna Give It Up (03:53) 5 Changes (05:46) 6 Ain’t It a Sin (03:51) 7 Things We Do for Love (03:28) 8 Crazy for Your Love (04:18) 9 You Think I Dont Know (But I Know) (03:27) 10 Change for the World (03:32) 11 Slow Love (03:38) |
 | Album: 67 of 75 Artist: Steve Gunn Title: Eyes on the Lines Released: 2016-06-03 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Ancient Jules (06:00) 2 Full Moon Tide (04:48) 3 The Drop (04:45) 4 Conditions Wild (04:36) 5 Nature Driver (04:00) 6 Heavy Sails (04:01) 7 Night Wander (04:18) 8 Park Bench Smile (03:24) 9 Ark (05:21) |
 | Album: 68 of 75 Artist: The Coral Title: Distance Inbetween Released: 2016-03-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 44:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Connector (04:13) 2 White Bird (03:30) 3 Chasing the Tail of a Dream (03:44) 4 Distance Inbetween (04:19) 5 Million Eyes (05:25) 6 Miss Fortune (03:32) 7 Beyond the Sun (04:00) 8 Its You (03:28) 9 Holy Revelation (03:10) 10 She Runs the River (03:16) 11 Fear Machine (04:00) 12 End Credits (01:51) |
 | Album: 69 of 75 Artist: Allen Toussaint Title: American Tunes Released: 2016-06-10 Tracks: 14 Duration: 51:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Delores’ Boyfriend (03:33) 2 Viper’s Drag (03:17) 3 Confessin’ (That I Love You) (02:52) 4 Mardi Gras in New Orleans (03:14) 5 Lotus Blossom (04:20) 6 Waltz for Debby (03:17) 7 Big Chief (02:14) 8 Rocks in My Bed (04:39) 9 Danza, Op. 33 (03:26) 10 Hey Little Girl (02:38) 11 Rosetta (04:10) 12 Come Sunday (05:12) 13 Southern Nights (03:32) 14 American Tune (04:59) |
 | Album: 70 of 75 Artist: Kiran Leonard Title: Grapefruit Released: 2016-03-25 Tracks: 8 Duration: 56:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Secret Police (02:32) 2 Pink Fruit (16:15) 3 Öndör Gongor (07:37) 4 Caiaphas in Fetters (04:19) 5 Dont Make Friends with Good People (09:22) 6 Exeter Services (04:00) 7 Half-Ruined Already (02:31) 8 Fireplace (10:16) |
 | Album: 71 of 75 Artist: The Comet Is Coming Title: Channel the Spirits Released: 2016-04-01 Tracks: 12 Duration: 41:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 The Prophecy (01:48) 2 Space Carnival (03:35) 3 Journey Through the Asteroid Belt (05:33) 4 Nano (01:16) 5 New Age (05:27) 6 Slam Dunk in a Black Hole (02:25) 7 Cosmic Dust (03:26) 8 Star Furnace (05:35) 9 Channel the Spirits (04:04) 10 Deep Within the Engine Deck (01:23) 11 Lightyears (04:46) 12 End of Earth (02:15) |
 | Album: 72 of 75 Artist: Oren Ambarchi Title: Hubris Released: 2016-10-28 Tracks: 3 Duration: 40:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Hubris, Part 1 (21:49) 2 Hubris, Part 2 (01:55) 3 Hubris, Part 3 (16:34) |
 | Album: 73 of 75 Artist: Heron Oblivion Title: Heron Oblivion Released: 2016-03-04 Tracks: 7 Duration: 44:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Beneath Fields (07:30) 2 Oriar (04:11) 3 Sudden Lament (03:50) 4 Rama (10:28) 5 Faro (05:16) 6 Seventeen Landscapes (07:13) 7 Your Hollows (06:13) |
 | Album: 74 of 75 Artist: Melt Yourself Down Title: Last Evenings on Earth Released: 2016-04-26 Tracks: 9 Duration: 36:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Dot to Dot (04:27) 2 The God of You (03:45) 3 Listen Out (03:53) 4 Communication (01:27) 5 Jump the Fire (04:14) 6 Bharat Mata (05:04) 7 Big Children (Gran Zanfan) (04:46) 8 Body Parts (05:03) 9 Yazzan Dayra (03:41) |
 | Album: 75 of 75 Artist: Psychic Temple Title: III Released: 2016-05-06 Tracks: 14 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Overture (?) 2 When I Know (?) 3 You Aint A Star (Prelude) (?) 4 You Aint A Star (?) 5 Getting Home (?) 6 Im Not Far Behind (?) 7 Feral Children of the Canyon (?) 8 Dont Try (?) 9 Brother O (?) 10 NO RECALL (Prelude) (?) 11 Neon Belly (?) 12 I Dont Need Nothin (?) 13 Road Song (?) 14 NO RECALL (?) |