30 Echoes: Further Recommended Listening
by Joshua Pickard
The lists have all been compiled, and music has been ranked and filed and catalogued. The end is near –well, the end of the year at least. And so, I find myself poring over certain albums that I’ve visited over the past 12 months, records that deserved far more attention than they received or that I was able to provide, ones worthy of inclusion as we work our way through the last days of the year. Many of these albums found a spot in my personal Best-Of lists but weren’t included in BPM’s AOTY or SOTY lists this year.
As always, this year provided a bounty of riches, artists who blurred the lines between genres, or erased them entirely, challenging us to immerse ourselves in their abundant depths. From the gentle 60’s pop expressiveness of The Lemon Twigs to Bruiser and Bicycle’s dense art-rock orchestrations and Tinashe’s R&B-pop augmentations, this year has seen some truly innovative approaches to familiar sounds.
It’s difficult to gauge forward movement for any given artist – or genre for that matter — when what constitutes “forward movement” has become so inexplicably vague and mysterious. Yo La Tengo released their best album in a decade by reappraising their entire discography while Ron Sexsmith continued to mine pop’s fertile valleys. And we finally heard Janet Weiss back behind the drums in Quasi for the first time in a decade, offering an album steeped in indie rock’s volatile history.
Carly Rae Jepsen continued to develop her own unique pop perspectives, with her “B-side album” The Loveliest Time highlighting her ability to mold meticulous melodies into something versatile and engaging. Others like Toronto hip-hop outfit NODUO and experimental artist Kali Malone pushed themselves in an attempt to redefine their work and find new avenues of creative expression.
In the end, we bring as much or as little as we choose into these musical worlds, all our baggage and hangups and affections, hoping to find some semblance of meaning in their rhythmic landscapes. What will we find? What did we find? What does it mean? I’m not sure I have those answers yet, but I know that I’ll be spending much more time wandering through these albums in search of whatever elusive insights I can glean.
I would suggest that you take time to experience and enjoy these records. Remember to indulge in their curiosities. And be kind to one another.
1. The Lemon Twigs – Everything Harmony [Captured Tracks]
Recommended Song: “When Winter Comes Around”
2. Red Velvet – Chill Kill – The 3rd Album [SM / Kakao]
Recommended Song: “Chill Kill”
3. Spirit Possession – Of the Sign… [Profound Lore]
Recommended Song: “Inhale the Hovering Keys”
4. Xiu Xiu – Ignore Grief [Polyvinyl]
Recommended Song: “Maybae Baeby”
5. Ron Sexsmith – The Vivian Line [Cooking Vinyl]
Recommended Song: “Diamond Wave”
6. Lonnie Holley – Oh Me Oh My [Jagjaguwar]
Recommended Song: “Mount Meigs”
7. Lucinda Chua – YIAN [4AD]
Recommended Song: “An Ocean”
8. Sprain – The Lamb as Effigy or Three Hundred and Fifty XOXOXOS for a Spark Union With My Darling Divine [The Flenser]
Recommended Song: “God, or Whatever You Call It”
9. Bell Witch – Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate [Profound Lore]
Recommended Song: “The Clandestine Gate”
10. Shottie – Stigmatic [Self-Released]
Recommended Song: “Dream Shake”
11. Bruiser and Bicycle – Holy Red Wagon [Topshelf]
Recommended Song: “Lunette Fields Speak”
12. NODUO – NODUO [NOGOD]
Recommended Song: “Light Industry”
13. Joanne Robertson – Blue Car [AD 93]
Recommended Song: “River Shock”
14. Hellsent & Batsauce – Jimi Floss [Icy Palm Records]
Recommended Song: “Through the Mud”
15. Quasi – Breaking the Balls of History [Sub Pop]
Recommended Song: “Last Long Laugh”
16. Tirzah – Trip9love [Domino]
Recommended Song: “No Limit”
17. D2x – Hotel 1105 [Self-Released]
Recommended Song: “The Light”
18. Natural Information Society – Since Time is Gravity [Eremite]
Recommended Song: “Moontide Chorus”
19. Saloli – Canyon [Kranky]
Recommended Song: “Sunrise”
20. Golden Hours – Golden Hours [Fuzz Club]
Recommended Song: “Dead On”
21. Yours are the Only Ears – We Know the Sky [Lame-O]
Recommended Song: “Bad Habit”
22. Tinashe – BB/ANG3L [Nice Life]
Recommended Song: “Treason”
23. Bonnie Prince Billy – Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You [Drag City]
Recommended Song: “Rise and Rule (She was Born in Honolulu)”
24. Tim Hecker – No Highs [Kranky]
Recommended Song: “Monotony”
25. Loraine James – Gentle Confrontation [Hyperdub]
Recommended Song: “Let U Go”
26. Maria BC – Spike Field [Sacred Bones]
Recommended Song: “Tied”
27. Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loveliest Time [604 / Schoolboy / Interscope]
Recommended Song: “Psychedelic Switch”
28. Califone – Villagers [Jealous Butcher]
Recommended Song: “Comedy”
29. Orbiting Human Circus and Music Tapes – Quartet Plus Two [Merge]
Recommended Song: “It’s So Peaceful in the Country”
30. Kali Malone – Does Spring Hide Its Joy [Ideologic Organ]
Recommended Song: “Does Spring Hide Its Joy v1.2”
