Sweat Kollecta’s Peanut Butter Traffik Jam by Traffik Island

Zach Olsen the lead singer from Flightless Records band ORB gets experimental in this solo project’s sophomore release. You can hear the playfulness that exudes from this collection of tracks featuring synth sounds, samples, and beats of all kinds. Trippy and fun with cameos from Mr. Rogers, Bob Ross, and others this album would be perfect for that great drive or ride home from work on a Friday with the weekend ahead of you. The last two songs are a bit more flushed out and sound a bit more reminiscent of actual ORB songs or maybe even another Flightless band, or hell even another Aussie band. There is too much good music coming from the land down under right now. 

Standout track: Go!

Nothing As The Ideal by All Them Witches

Country music isn't the only thing coming from Nashville, Tennessee these days and All Them Witches make sure to remind us of that with their new release from September. This is psychedelic and spooky. Heavy and folksy at the same time. Like if you blended Tool and the Doors with a dash of maybe like Neil Young? There is something sort of violent or brutal about the songs in a way that most metal bands are unable to accomplish just by being “heavy”. I just picture these songs being about characters from a Cormac McCarthy Novel or some sort of prophetic doomsday cult. For a three piece they create a lot of sound and they are all very great musicians with several of the songs verging on prog rock. Great for a walk to clear your head. 

Standout track: The Children of Coyote Woman

Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was by Bright Eyes

The once young prodigy Conor Oberst now 40 years old returns with Bright Eyes after an 8 year break with his typical lyric heavy songs to make you cry or slit your wrists to.  Don’t do that kids. In our current pandemic world this album fits snug as a bug and features some really BIG songs that show Conor’s maturing compositional talents with walls of sound and a million different instruments. Happy go lucky sometimes and beautifully depressing other times and sometimes actually just plain old depressing with a track about a dog locked in a hot car. After all these years his voice hasn't really changed at all which can’t be said for some of the other singer songwriters with over 25 year careers. 25 years? Jesus fucking christ I am getting old as fuck. Seriously, though if you like lyrics he is and has always been a poetic genius and it shows on this album.

Standout Track: Mariana Trench

The Slow Rush by Tame Impala. 

Kevin Parker released this album early in the year and I am certain that in a non covid world this would have been one of those Summer party albums that you just can’t escape and sort of spreads all over the city like...well...like a virus I guess. You know the albums like that. The ones you hear coming from every passing car stereo and in every bar and just in the air sort of emanating from house parties and in phone commercials. It didn't hit that level of hit nothing really did this year as the joy metrics are understandably lower this year, but it is an absolute banger of an album with dance party vibes and sultry funk vibes. Synth pop sometimes and bits of hip hop flair picked up from all the work he has been doing with rappers lately, Kevin has gone from a one man garage band to some sort of musical monster spinning in a room surrounded by synth machines and instruments. Like If Goro from Mortal Kombat were a DJ. His sound is becoming more and more defined and will infect modern culture and the music world I am certain. His ability to build and sculpt sounds is ever prevalent in this album and his lyrics are getting better too. 

Standout Track: Posthumous Forgiveness (dude can afford to just take two great tracks and legit cram them together.)

K.G. by King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard

Wow. More Australians. Must be something in the water. KGATLW with their 487th studio album in the past 3 months only have one in my end of year list while they had two albums in my favorites list last year. This one abandons the angry heavy handed somewhat thrashy sound of their last album and dives back into their trippy 60s esque psychedelic groove. As the album's subtitle suggest this is their second voyage into microtonal tuning and features some really good clean guitar sounds in some of the best songs. I really feel like they have spent more time playing with panning and creating room atmospheres in K.G. Overall it’s King Gizz. I mean you know what you are getting and by that I mean you kind of don’t know what you are getting and that’s why I love this band. It’s like the weather in Kentucky, if you don’t like it now stick around and it will change. 

Standout Track: Straws in the Wind. 

RTJ4 by Run The Jewels. 

Who the fuck flows better than RTJ? Da baby? Lil Baby? Ittlebitty Baby?  Fuck outta here. Some people called this album prophetic when it dropped like the shit they were saying was new when really the problems they were rapping about were issues for years, just hyper condensed this year. It is however a perfect soundtrack for the warranted and necessary protests that happened this year and need to keep happening as long as these trigger happy police walk among us. Hell Killer Mike gave one of the best and most moving speeches of the year in Atlanta during the protests.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo2-Xuko8XY

Killer Mike attacks his enemies with every bar whether it be corporations, the media, poverty, and especially cops.  The production by El-P is top notch as usual and his bars are great too. So many good featured guests on this album.

Standout Track: Pulling The Pin featuring JOSH HOMME AND MAVIS STAPLES?!

Viscerals by Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

A couple years ago a buddy of mine who knows I am a big fan of Stoner Rock bands like Kyuss and Sleep told me I should check out a band called pigs and I was like “Cool! they are called pigs?” and he was like “well actually it’s uh lemme see here...Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs” to which I replied “well sir you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.” This English band is very reminiscent of the aforementioned band Sleep and God damn do they bring that downtempo doom groove. There is a little bit of punk or hardcore sensibilities from vocalist Matt Baty who I can’t tell if he is a good singer or if he can actually sing at all, but like... in a good way. This is great workout music. Put this shit on and do some weight training in the nude standing in front of a full mirror staring into your own eyes timing each lift to the beat like a psychopath. 

Standout Track: World Crust

The New Abnormal by The Strokes

The Strokes are one of my all time favorite bands and they sort of rescued me and showed me the light during a very dark age of music when they released “Is This it” so I was excited when I started hearing rumblings that they were working on new stuff and then when Ode to The Mets from this album leaked they basically had me at hello. Then as other songs (and amazing videos) started to trickle in I knew it was going to be great. They are evolving. It sucks for some people and I don’t understand those people because bands need to evolve and to change and to grow or you are just stuck with ACDC or I don’t know...The Ramones? 

Fuck you I love the Ramones. 

Change is good. This album introduces more synth and some more elements and themes than they have used in the past and while I have read that they didn't enjoy making this album and aren't too fond of it I like to think they are just playing it cool, because they are the fucking coolest. 

Standout Track: Ode To The Mets. One of my all time favorites from one of my all time favorites. 

Only For Dolphins by Action Bronson

Sometimes I think people forget Action Bronson is a rapper. With all the TV shows and Youtube videos and books and paintings and hell the dude was in a Scorsese movie last year. He is back at it this year with this release and while I will admit it isn't his strongest album, it is still good. I think it lacks some of the production magic The Alchemist brings to the studio, but from what I hear A.B. wants to take control of doing his own music more... so more power to him. Actually I just looked it up and the best beat, the one in Mongolia, was done by Bronson. The second best beat in “Sergio” was the only one The Alchemist did on this LP. It’s good shit though. It’s Funny at times, features references for people in their 30s (this shit kicking harder than the four turtles), great flow as usual. Fun themes and a sort of ocean vibe throughout. Rapping about food of course. I mean maybe I just like the dude. This aint about you, it's about me and what I like.  I think my wife has a crush on him though... 

Standout Track: Latin Grammys

Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart by Black Lips

WARNING: You probably wont like this album. You probably wont like this band.

There exists a specific type of person in this world. I’ve met a few in my time. You can’t really tell if they are wild or you are too domesticated.  Shockingly uneducated one second and then one of the smartest and most articulately eloquent people you've ever met the next. Most of them are the type that you know (everyone knows one) who could have been world leaders if they had just applied themselves, but they’d rather get high or drunk or lost instead. I’ve always thought Black Lips are made up of people like that. It’s hard to even put a finger on what genre the band is. It’s like punk, but it’s not? Gutter punk meets flower punk? Hippies that look like they’ve been in a few meth fueled fist fights? Like someone who listens to Hank Williams and The Stooges and chews tobacco in cowboy boots and a studded leather jacket, reads Kerouac and Burroughs and enjoys breaking the law. I don’t know. Like I said it’s hard to put a finger on, but fuck genres anyway. I mean Look at these guys! 

In this album they dive head first into country and honky tonk/rockabilly with their Georgia and Tennessee backgrounds. They've touched on that style in other albums, but not like this. They give two shits about what you think and the album reflects that. It is raw, vulgar, crude, and you can really get the whole trailer park experience in just one album. IT IS SOOOOO GOOD.

Standout Track: Gentleman

Protean by Osees or Thee Oh Sees

John Dwyer is back at it again with Thee Oh Sees 23rd studio album in like 15 years. Notice I called them Thee Oh Sees instead of Osees like they want to be called now and will certainly change their minds about. I almost left this one off the list. It sort of sounds like it was written and recorded in a week.  A part of me wants to hate this album or at least dislike it, but I don’t. it’s weird and schizophrenic and all over the place stylistically, but it’s rad. It’s a sound that is garage and lo fi, but also polished and futuristic like a 78 mustang Cobra with a Tesla setup underneath. It would fit pretty well in the upcoming Cyberpunk game. If that ever comes out. Also check out Dwyer’s voice acting in Upbeat Ritual.

Standout Track: Dreary Nonsense.

Nobody Lives Here Anymore by Cut Worms

There is no doubt in my mind that if both Lennon and Harrison were alive today and still making music John would have worn out his welcome and George would just keep getting better. I couldn't help but pretend I was hearing “the new George Harrison” album when I listened to this Brooklyn based (by way of Cleveland) singer songwriters’ album of Harrisonesque jingle jangle mildly honky tonk songs awash in dreamy harmonies and acoustic guitar. Just listen and you will know what I mean. Max Clarke channels Harrison so well it gives me goosebumps at times. A whopping collection of tracks with over an hour of music, this album is probably one of my favorites from this year's list...of favorites. 

Standout track: Looks Like Rain.

X: The Godless Void and Other Stories by ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

Trail of Dead are like one of those magic eye posters for your ears. Focus too hard and it will sound a lot like a blurry mess, but let your ears relax and you will soon notice the beauty in their songs. I’ll be the first to admit that they sort of haven’t evolved much over the years, but this album features a few more tricks and with some new band members replacing old ones there is a hint of extra horsepower in the revs from this old engine. The track “Gone” sounds immediately different from standard Trail of Dead with some interesting vocal effects and a sort of Peter Gabriel or even INXS vibe. It soon comes together into that classic Trail song where it is basically just a big long build up, but that's just them giving us what we came for. I can’t tell if it’s harmonies or some sort of effect or just multiple vocal layers on the track “Who Haunts the Haunter” but those harmonies are very cool and being that they have more than one “lead” singer I like to think they are playing with harmonies more. Bands like this really depend on touring and selling tickets and merch to eek out a living so they can keep going, so I hope they are doing okay during the pandemic.

Standout Track: All Who Wander

In Decay, Too by Com Truise

Released December 4th the day I was considering posting this list, “In Decay, Too” is the sequel album to Synth Lord Com Truise’s awesome 2012 Album “In Decay”. It’s lots of his usual funky retro synth wave vibes and I’ve only listened to it once, but it’s amazing as usual. Perfect late night driving music with great beats and whirling synth sounds. It’s impressive the soundscapes he is able to create with just a few synths and a good beat. The track “I dream (for you)” with its droning creepy atmosphere and robotic ghost voices is a departure from the standard synth fair and a great track. One track “Reciprocity” caught me off guard because I recognized the exact bass Synth he is using  and I myself have used it in one of my tracks called “Zemblanity” link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_RBXYvVs6M

Overall I would typically wait to listen to an album a few more times before I add it to the list, but this one comes from a reliable source for dope shit so it made it in. 

Standout Track:  Chemical Legs

Well that concludes it. Hope You enjoyed a few songs from the list this year. Feel free to reach out to me about any of it. You know where to find me.