All Around Sound's Favorite Albums Of 2016

I don't think anyone who pays any attention to music trends could've have predicted that after last year's terrific year that we were poised for another great year for music and yet here we are. 2016 offered up an absolute smorgasbord of releases for music lovers of every possible type: Rihanna, Gaga, and Zayn for the pop obsessed; ANOHNI, Okkervil River, Radiohead, for the indie lover; Beyonce, Blood Orange, and Solange for the politically minded. And yet this year, like almost every year, my favorite stand out albums happen to be ones that I felt were unfortunately overlooked. Considering how many good albums came out this year that's hardly surprising but hopefully this list of favorite album ranked in no particular order helps you find some truly great records that came out this year even if it's just a brief job down memory lane. Enjoy and as always feel free to chime in with your own.

Alex Izenberg - Harlequin
It's happened more times than I can count - an artist releases a single or several singles and either that single is the best song on the album by a strangely large margin or is just dramatically inconsistent with the songs on the album. In the case of Los Angeles singer/songwriter Alex Izenberg's debut full length Harlequin the singles "To Move On" and "Grace" do not prepare you at all for album in the best way. They paint a picture, intentionally, of your standard singer/songwriter crooning over guitar or piano with just the right amount of strings to ornament the song and give it added depth. And they're not entirely off base as Izenberg sets himself up to be just that but in an exciting twists glimpsed just barely in "Grace", Harlequin offers up something different: a wonderfully off-kilter experimentalism that finds itself in the wide majority of Izenberg's songwriting efforts. There's no attempts to hide it - album opening track "The Farm" sets the scene with dramatic string flourishes and highlighting Izenberg's distinct vocals. "Libra" and "Archer" inhabit that same realm of vivid dream-like imagery and its effectiveness heightened due to collaborator Ari Balouzian's arrangements. On Harlequin, Izenberg essentially breaks down many singer/songwriter tropes just by virtue of being himself - experimenting with sounds and textures as much if not more than his inventive lyricism.



 

Andy Shauf  - The Party
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Andy Shauf's latest effort The Party is just how steep his learning curve was that led to its creation. His debut full length The Bearer Of Bad News was the end result of 100 songs whittled down and still capable of forming coherent narratives and a cohesive flow. On The Party not only did Shauf work with far less songs but he aborted his original plans to record with an orchestra in favor of essentially handling the whole record himself while working although somewhat loosely in a concept. The Party succeeds on so many levels: the concept is simple but Shauf is able to do a lot with it: crafting characters and weaving tales that occasionally reoccur and intersect. His touch is light in every respect from the lyricism to the arrangement that it's immediately clear that's by design not lack of skill. It's impressive and engaging from start to finish and proof that Shauf is definitely a songwriter to watch.

Bayonne - Primitives
With an affinity for bedroom as well as experimental pop, I'm no stranger to loop based music and yet Primitives, the latest album from multi-instrumentalist/composer Roger Sellers, reinvigorates it in such a bold, yet understated way. The first album under his newly adopted Bayonne moniker, Sellers' manages to marry his study of minimalist music with pop songwriting and the result is a next level album that's intricate as well as exciting from beginning to end. Part of that is Sellers' own enthusiasm as he takes an active part in the layering and sequencing imbuing the electronic base with a live, human element that highlights the strengths in both while creating a sound that's new, exciting, and absolutely fascinating to dip into.

Big Thief - Masterpiece
My discovery of Big Thief is purely the result of their label Saddle Creek putting out releases from several of my favorite artists in the past that when they released the news that they were releasing Big Thief's debut album I made a note to check it out and I'm incredibly glad I did. Songwriting is nothing new to Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek who in addition to making music on their own also had another project together, and yet there's something in the alchemy of the full band that pulls even more intriguing songwriting out of Lenker and Meek. It's hard to imagine "Real Love", a beautiful song just lyrically speaking, without the rock grit. Masterpiece doesn't just succeed on those harder moments but also its lovelier, softer folk moments.

Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book
After his amazing second mixtape Acid Rap, the only people who weren't eagerly anticipating not only its follow up but anything the man did next were people who hadn't heard his music before. From guest appearances on fellow Save Money members mixtapes to last year's Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment record, Chance The Rapper has been building up a golden reputation. Add an appearance on probably the best song on Kanye's Life Of Pablo "Ultralight Beam" and that's pretty much solidified it. Coloring Book finds Chance The Rapper in a considerably different place than he was three years ago and it shows. Coloring Book is a winning combination of fun and spirituality, social commentary and self critique. With an all star cast as well as highlighting some of Chicago's best up and comers, Coloring Book is a mature work of self growth. Chance is counting his blessings but literally and figuratively and sharing the fruits of his labor in a fashion that's downright celebratory. Each song paints a definitive picture of what Chance The Rapper's been up to for the last couple years and it's a joy to hear him return so absolutely triumphant. Label woes and brushes with drugs behind him, Chance The Rapper's Coloring Book celebrates the music, his city, his family and God in a way that even the most resolved atheist can get behind. In fact the most spiritual moments on the mixtape tend to be its highest points.

Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution
Despite being a Grammy award-winning artist, Esperanza Spalding is an artist that certainly no one is talking about as much as they should be. Perhaps it's because she's a jazz musician and most people only pretend to listen to jazz? Whatever the case, Spalding put out one of this year's best albums in the form of Emily's D+Evolution. It's a concept record of sorts but even without really knowing the concept which is Spalding inhabiting an alter ego of Emily, it's a record steeped in imagination as well as talent. Separated from the live show which plays much like musical theatre and provides context, it's songs are still just as strong. Beginning with an ode to creativity energy, Emily's D+Evolution is an album of rich ideological ideas and inventive lyricism that uses its roots in funk and jazz fusion to move it along. Spalding tackles deep subjects on the album but in such an unpretentious way that it's easy for the listener to miss them. It's an album that reveals more about itself and it's multitude of wonders the more time you spend with it.

Jinja Safari - Crescent Head (Crescent Sun/Crescent Moon)
Though singer/songwriters Marcus Azon and Pepa Knight met and formed the jungle pop quintet Jinja Safari in 2010, it wasn't until 2013 when they released their debut self-titled. Sure they had released two EPs and compilation double EP in the years prior but Jinja Safari was a milestone moment for the band after several high profile shows and festivals. Unfortunately it also signaled a sort of beginning of the end, the band took a hiatus to work on side projects and otherwise alleviate industry pressures and expectations. When the band reunited they started recording the tunes that would form their double album Crescent Head.  Named after Azon and Knight's hometown and split into two parts Crescent Sun and Crescent Moon, the double album functions as love letter to the music they painstaking crafted, the fans that enjoyed it, and the band itself. It's deeply ambitious: Crescent Sun a collection of the more upbeat pop songs they're known for and Cresccent Moon a more restrained affair and yet it's masterfully done. Jinja Safari embody both the primal rhythms and jubilant energy and also making subtler, more mature musical choices. It's a shame it's their swan song since Crescent Head as a whole paints a picture of a band not only comfortable with their sounds and their choices but also a band that would continue to push itself in service to creating truly entertaining, enjoyable, and most importantly interesting music. It's a hell of a way to go out especially considering most band breakups don't come with such a thoughtful finale.

Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
Considering how practically flawless Kevin Morby's sophomore record Still Life was, I had high hopes for Singing Saw that even then were exceeded beyond my wildest dreams. Singing Saw finds Morby going grander and more cinematic with help from Sam Cohen of Yellowbirds refining his sound with effecting arrangements. Morby continues to be in rare form and his songs are as thoughtful as they are beautiful - capturing emotion stirring moments rather just telling interesting stories. There's a shift subtle as it may be in Morby's lyricism as Morby turns his gaze towards invoking a rich, balanced portrait of the human experience. And yet, there's still a little of both the reverential and referential in Morby as he calls back themes and subjects of Singing Saw on "Black Flowers" much like did on Still Life.

Kishi Bashi - Sonderlust
Perhaps the most enjoyable thing about following the career of multi-instrumentalist/producer Kishi Bashi is that none of his releases have sounded all that similar to one another. Sure two songs from his debut Room For Dream EP found their way on his debut full length 151a but were in an excitingly new context with newer songs. His sophomore effort Lighght somersaulted into Ishibashi's love of jazz fusion and prog rock and String Quartet Live! reimagined songs with string quartet accompaniment. Sonderlust is where Ishibashi hit the wall that so many artists normally hit between their first and second album. Where could he take his lush technicolored take on psychedelic dream pop while still staying true to his core sound as Kishi Bashi? The answer was inward. Ishibashi grounded his songs in his life and looked outside of his trademark violin gymnastics for inspiration. The result is an album rooted in real hopes and dreams that resonates. The sound is ambitious and yet not wholly detached from the jazz fusion and prog rock of Lighght. The lightness of tone and melody that characterized a lot of both 151a and Lighght is all but snuffed out returning briefly in the delightful album ender "Honeybody" and its use there is cathartic: the light at the end of the tunnel. Kishi Bashi believes in love and by focusing not only the bright butterflies fluttering feeling but on the actual work that must be put in to maintain it, Sonderlust ends up as an honest, sincere ode to it.

Lucius - Good Grief
Considering how all around great their debut record Wildewoman was Lucius had quite the task ahead of them avoiding a sophomore slump and less time to gather the songs to do so. But by staying the course even when they thought it would drive them insane, Lucius crafted a wonderful follow up that further expands their diverse sonic palette. The 60's girl group influence is still there but updated and not relied upon too heavily. Lucius focus on the real tumult and strife found in relationships to inform their songwriting and it elevates the moments of joyous celebration to ecstatic heights. Good Grief emphasizes the role of pain and struggle in making the moments of ease and comfort feel truly special.

Mal Devisa - Kiid
In this the age of the surprise album I think it's been forgotten that that's largely how music was released from less high profile artists. Indie bands that had no marketing budget, especially in the old Myspace days would just kind of release their music and hope that it'd reach the listeners that wanted it. And that's essentially how Mal Devisa released Kiid. Although truth be told it was a bit of an event among people who had actually seen her live and had been eagerly awaiting for her to release music. And Kiid doesn't disappoint. It captures Deja Carr's eclectic tastes and interests and offers them up in somewhat tidy package. Kiid goes from folky singer/singerwriter to fiery social commentary to deeply moving soul without ever feeling like it's trying too hard or doing too much. The album moves quick but it's not trying to lose you, Carr just has a lot to say and trusts your ability to keep up. It's a trust more art should have in its recipients and the result of that trust is a diverse offering of powerful songcraft.

Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math
I have a bad habit of ignoring music my friends are listening to until an embarrassingly long time after the fact. My introduction to Margaret Glaspy was an attempt to course correct. My friend Jeanette of The Miscreant/Miscreant Records have nothing but good things to say about her and so I jumped into her music around the time of her second single and didn't look back. Glaspy is an amazing singer, songwriter, and guitarists. What charmed me, aside from the absolutely infectious melodies she builds her songs around, was a kind of don't-give-a-fuck quality to her singing that reminded me of Fiona Apple's The Idler Wheel.... On that album in particular Apple contorted her voice: howled and screamed with no regard for sounding pretty. What mattered was a sincere portrayal of the emotions and Emotions and Math finds Glaspy embarking on a similar journey. It's a portrait of complex woman - a fierce badass still capable of being hurt and wanting to be loved.

Mothers - When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired
With singer/songwriter/poets like Laura Marling and Johnny Flynn ranking among my favorite artists, it's hardly surprising that upon learning that Kristine Leschper, the frontwoman of Athens, GA four piece Mothers, is a poet why their songs resonated so much with me. But while Marling's poetic lyricism tends toward vague realism and Flynn's often detached from the self entirely, the most enthralling aspect of Leschper is that many of the lyrics feel lived in. There's also the packaging: complex rhythm and intricate guitar riffs catapult quiet emotive moments into action. When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired tells many stories: of love wanted and rebuked, of crippling self-doubt, of those questionable choices we make despite swearing we know better and yet ultimately, it's one long quest of the self: of finding yourself within yourself and reckoning with it. That's why despite the album's numerous tales of fractured, failing relationships, it manages to be so hopeful and inspiring. Leschper's charted journey isn't about boyfriends and girlfriends - it's about disarming and reversing one of the album's first eye-opening lyrics: "I hate my body/I love your taste". By album's end the certainty of the self is all that's left; all that's real.

Wye Oak - Tween
The fact that Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack have elected not to call Tween an album while initially confusing probably aids in its digestion. Essentially a collection of songs they had no home for, the fact that they don't consider it a full length or even a EP enables a sort of lowering of expectations that seems unworthy of how good Tween actually is. Recalling both Jenn Wasner's other side projects as well as Wye Oak's growth in general, it populates a unique place in the band's history in that it paints a picture of Wye Oak in transition. It might be an album of experiments and yet it's clear both in their decision to release it and the fact that songs like "If You Should See" and "Watching The Waiting" have made its way onto their setlists that it's a work of strong songcraft even managing to flow despite its various changes in sound and tone. With the exception of "Out Of Nowhere" which functions more as a place setting piece, Tween is a veritable feast of rock pop stunners. Wye Oak might not consider Tween to be a proper album but they've approached its creation with the same innovation and ear for melody that's made favorites out of their other proper albums.



Honorable Mentions:
Adult Jazz - Earrings Off! EP

Anderson .Paak - Malibu

And The Kids - Friends Share Lovers

Angel Olsen - MY WOMAN

Christopher Tignor - Along A Vanishing Plane

Conveyor - Ready Not Ready

Damien Jurado - Visions of Us on the Land

Golden Suits - Kubla Khan

The Heligoats - Back To The Lake

Hiss Golden Messenger - Heart Like A Levee

Jenny Hval - Blood Bitch

Julia Jacklin - Don't Let The Kids Win

Kris Orlowski - Often In The Pause

Kyle Morton - What Will Destroy You

Laura Gibson - Empire Builder

Lucy Dacus - No Burden

Mandolin Orange - Blindfaller

Marissa Nadler - Strangers

Marlon Williams - Marlon Williams

Moses Sumney - Lamentations EP

Noname - Telefone

Peter Broderick - Partners

Pinegrove - Cardinal

Psychic Twin - Strange Diary

Radiation City - Synesthetica

Steve Gunn - Eyes On The Lines

Sur Back - Kitsch EP

Tiny Ruins - Hurtling Through EP

Tuskha - Tushka

Uni Ika Ai - Keeping a Golden Bullseye in the Corner of My Mind

Weyes Blood - Front Row Seat To Earth

Kishi Bashi - Sonderlust (2016)

Considering how tied to the concept of love the wide majority of violinist/composer/loop maestro Kishi Bashi's songs are, it's hardly a surprise that he would find himself creatively blocked when his own love life was suffering a sort of break down. From the tenderly emotive "Manchester" from his debut Room For Dream EP and subsequent reappearance on full length 151a, to the ecstatic giddiness of Lighght's "Philosophilize With It! Chemicalize With It!", love in all its permutations lyrically fueled Ishibashi and grounded his vibrantly colored blend of psych rock and orchestral pop. And after dealing with his writer's block, Kishi Bashi was able to channel that strife into his third full length studio album Sonderlust that essentially manages to pick things up right where he left them.

One of most exciting things about Kishi Bashi's albums - Sonderlust in particular is it shows a growth that's both in line with previous releases while aspiring to be more than just more of the same. Lighght pushed Kishi Bashi's sound firmly into that of his influences in prog rock and jazz fusion and Sonderlust gives the occasional nod to those influences without rooting itself too much in the sounds of Lighght ("Ode To My Next Life", "Who'd You Kill").

While songs like "Manchester" and "Bittersweet Genesis For Him AND Her" introduced darkness into Kishi Bashi's narratives to show the enduring appeal of true love, Sonderlust treats that darkness less as means of narrative shading and more as rooting his tales of love in reality. Real feelings of doubt, insecurity, and sadness. Sonderlust begins with "m'lover", a dizzying but sweet appeal for reconciliation that along with "Say Yeah" obscures their inherent melancholy with upbeat and engaging pop dressings. Even more overt songs like "Can't Let Go, Juno" and never quite forget to be pop songs first and foremost. It's not until penultimate track "Flame On Flame (a Slow Dirge)" that Sonderlust shows any signs of slowing down or toning down its pop mechanics. In this way Kishi Bashi creates an album that's a sort of cousin to friend Sondre Lerche's own breakup record Please: both seemingly operating under the rule that regardless of the intensity of emotion, how negative the feeling that wallowing heartbreak ballads simply will not do.

Sonderlust is essentially an album about putting in the work to sustain the honeymoon of Lighght and the fantastical first love of 151a. Through moving through the shade, its glitchy "It All Began With A Burst" recalling finale in "Honeybody" feels earned. It's the sun appearing in newly blue skies after storm clouds and the rain and Kishi Bashi's playful enthusiasm is infectious and cathartic. With "Honeybody", Kishi Bashi's creative woes and romantic strife appear to be solved for the time being and love wins out, surging to the forefront past the churning bile of the album's negative emotional displays. On record Kishi Bashi employs drums instead of the beatboxing he's done in his live show since ditching him cumbersome drum machine after his first tour and while he doesn't exactly enact that here, his cadence on "Honeybody" is perhaps the closest Kishi Bashi has gotten to the kind of music a beatboxing would feel at place in.

Sonderlust finds Kishi Bashi at his most electronic while still the orchestral pop flair that's become a core part of Kishi Bashi's sound. By focusing on the personal, Kishi Bashi has created a dynamic record that pushes his sound forward by circumventing the easy and predictable. Hardly surprising considering his past output but thrilling nonetheless.



Kishi Bashi's third full length album Sonderlust is out now on Joyful Noise Recordings.

Listen: Kishi Bashi - "Say Yeah"

When violinist Kishi Bashi finished touring behind his brilliant sophomore record Lighght, he reached sort of an impasse. Where does he go from here? Where 151a was steeped into vibrant psychedelics and blindingly bright chamber pop, Lighght leaned more into his jazz fusion and baroque pop influences. The records represented not only where K Ishibashi wanted to go creatively but also functioned as a sort of sum of his parts rounded out by his collection of string quartet reworks. But that question of what to do next wasn't merely a creative question. After so much time on the road, K's personal life was on the brink of collapse. It was enough to inspire a whole new approach to his normal composition style and dictate a heretofore unseen straying from the norm. "Say Yeah", the first single from his upcoming third album Sonderlust, is not only the introduction to Kishi Bashi's stylistic change but also a lyrical one.

Though Kishi Bashi has for the majority of his career thus far let his violin and loop pedal root his music, "Say Yeah" features a bit more synths than fans of his might be used to. It's a somberer take on his normally effervescent pop but one that highlights Ishibashi's versatility as an artist. "Say Yeah" combines Kishi Bashi's stars-in-your-eyes romance with a bit of realistic appeal, a disco groove, and a bit of the jazz fusion influence from Lighght.

On "Say Yeah" Kishi Bashi trades his characteristic sense of fun and whimsy for a sound that's a lot more human and rooted in reality and the result is electric. Ishibashi's talent for writing memorable hooks is alive and well but by rooting them in his own real emotion, he ensures its sincerity and infuses the crying-on-the-dancefloor track with a winsome sense of intimacy. It's a welcome return for Kishi Bashi that provides a bit of shading to the increasingly larger than life musician.



Kishi Bashi's third full length album Sonderlust is out September 16th on Joyful Noise Recordings. You can pre-order the record now as well as listen to a revealing interview Kishi Bashi gave on All Songs Considered.

All Around Sound's Favorite Albums of 2014

2014 was an odd year - on one hand it seemed like the amount of notable releases were as plentiful as ever before while on the other, a lot of those releases ultimately did not live up to the hype. 2014 was the year a multitude of artists not only reserved for their follow up records but also seemed inclined to pack full of releases - artists like Sondre Lerche and Steve Gunn had more than one album out this year. Lerche offering up the soundtrack to the movie The Sleepwalker he wrote music in addition to return to original songs after his first ever live album while Steve Gunn pursuing two collaborations in addition to his own full length follow up to last year's brilliant Time Off. While every genre and music type was represented this year, 2014 in my humble opinion, was the year of the singer/songwriter. From releases from The New Pornographers, Cold Specks, Hiss Golden Messenger, and dozens more, the singer/songwriter's seemingly dominated this year delivering on the potential of their releases in a way that bands didn't seem quite able to. Despite this, it's been a year of surprises all across the board so without further ado here's my favorite releases of the year in no particular order.

Kevin Morby - Still Life
It's funny that in a year with not one, not two, but three albums from Steve Gunn that the album that most resembled the simple narratives of Time-Off was actually that of Los Angeles' based songwriter Kevin Morby's sophomore record Still Life. But where Gunn's lyricism sprang from a sort of deductive observationalism, Morby's seem like ready additions to the folk canon if not for their experimental twists. Where Gunn's folk rock rambles were aided by his jazz background, Morby relies on his psych and garage rock past to give his songs and extra bit of flavor. But Morby is more than Steve Gunn's foil; Morby's songwriting is undoubtedly his own - it's a free-flowing candor that doesn't detract from its moments of poignancy. Morby's lyrics are plainspoken but articulate; casual but intelligent and in moments like "The Jester, The Tramp, & The Acrobrat" or its callbacks elsewhere on the album ("The Dancer"), it's obvious Morby knows a thing or two about songwriting structure - able to build upon them in ways that are understatedly great.

Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness
There's no denying that last year's sneak peak of Olsen's sophomore album Burn Your Fire For No Witness in the form of the fiery, rock "Forgiven/Forgotten" got a lot of people amped up for the album but ultimately Olsen subverted expectations by making that the lead single - while relying far more frequently on electronic guitar on the album, it's not quite as incendiary as the single would lead listeners to believe. Olsen's still ruminates beautifully in her introspective heartfelt tunes. Burn Your Fire For No Witness is a patient album, especially in its second half as Olsen gets sparser and more intimate but there's little doubt of Olsen's songwriting or ability to make an effecting album. It's an album of arresting beauty where Olsen lays herself completely bare even amid growling guitars.

Landlady - Upright Behavior
When I first discovered Landlady at SXSW, I was so taken with their incredible live energy and commitment to audience participation in "Above My Ground" that pretty much everything else about the band failed to register. It's not until you sit down with Upright Behavior, the sophomore record for Adam Schatz and company that you realize just how much Landlady have going for them. In addition to having an impressive roster of musicians, and engaging live performances - Adam Schatz is a gifted songwriter. His topics are eclectic - from the universal feelings of loss and existential dread ("Above My Ground", "Dying Day") to the zany and specific ("Girl","X-Ray Machine") but what's pervasive in all of Schatz songs is that quiet need for connection, Landlady's songs are the kind that seem to force a sincere reaction out of you - not through any sort of introspection; the reaction seems surprisingly incidental. And yet, that's part of Schatz skill. His songs profiting from both a pop universality and also his occasionally comic wit. Landlady is a good a band as any to fight what was previously a losing battle against irony and cynicism. Landlady's songs, seem unaffected and unassuming but they stir something in you, drawing a wellspring of feelings in their tragically short run times and yet, it's 30 minutes of earnest response that might not have existed without them. Landlady are a band rebelling against a increasingly normalized response against sincerity but if Upright Behavior is any indication they just might win.

PHOX - PHOX
It says a lot about the Baraboo, WI septet and the trust they have in each other that they can make an album as understated but enjoyable as their self-titled full length debut. That's not surprising considering PHOX's members have known each other for years before shacking up together and forming a band but seven members is a lot of people to account for if you don't exactly know what to do with them. Luckily for PHOX this is never the case and their eclectic instrumentation - clarinet, banjo, flute, flugelhorn/trumpet, in addition to the standard guitar/bass/drums helps separate them from the pack. It's an album that resists the siren song of the Mumfordized folk that's become wildly popular. Each song has distinct melodies, unique narrative subjects, and utilizes its multitude of members ably. Monica Martin may be the group's mouthpiece but there's no doubts PHOX is a full band affair. PHOX spends a significant amount of time pursuing the melancholic but even then doesn't lose it's lightness of step and arrangement. They never reach off-putting levels of sadsackery, hitting just the right amount of emotion required. PHOX take the scenic approach to folk pop, rarely giving you those monumental, catchy moments right up front and it's a welcome reprieve from the in-your-face nature of your garden variety indie pop act.

Brooklyn Rider - The Brooklyn Rider Almanac
10 years after their initial formation, New York based indie classical string quartet Brooklyn Rider have settled into a comfortable groove of sorts: their release schedule is surprisingly consistent - more or less releasing an album a year since 2008's Passport. There's touring schedule And yet while falling into a comforting rhythm, Brooklyn Rider has strived and succeeded at avoiding to be predictable. Just take this year's release The Brooklyn Rider Almanac; the essence of what drives the foursome at it's epicenter, it's a release that simultaneously breaks down and relies on Brooklyn Rider's familiarity. "Morris Dance" and "Exit" introduce vocals to what has for the longest time been a mostly instrumental endeavor for the quartet while tracks like "Dig the Say" and "Necessary Henry" absolutely requires their years of rapport to navigate the intricate improvisatory layers. Normally building the album around an reinterpreted classical work, The Brooklyn Rider Almanac instead is formed from the contribution of all living composers who themselves sought inspiration for the Almanac's pieces from other artists/composers. The Brooklyn Rider Almanac is not only a strong, interesting experiment but also one  that challenges and reintroduces the quartet's own mission statement - making for one of the most exciting and engaging albums they've released.

Lewis & Clarke - Triumvirate
Lou Rogai is nothing if not patient - it's reflected in everything that makes Lewis & Clarke worth listening to - their song's leisurely pace, the instrumental efficiency in the arrangements, the steady but surefootedness of Rogai's lyricism. It's virtually no surprise that the band's full length follow up would come years after their last; 7 if you're counting the time since Blasts Of Holy Birth, 5 from the sign of life that was 2009's 4 song Light Time EP. And in that time Rogai has grown more patient still. Triumvirate is a wide-sweeping sprawl of melancholic flourishes and meditative introspection. Triumvirate, Lewis & Clarke's third album, is a stunning work of beleaguered beauty; lush but complex in tone and overall mood; it's a record that contains a remarkably human breath. From it's melancholics flourishes to its meditative introspection, Triumvirate unfurls at a realistic rate of growth and decay. Nothing here is rushed - plodding casually through the philosophical brush instead of relying too heavily on the visceral, Rogai invoking emotion through a sort of learned response; he never directly appeals to the heart but engages each sense equally over the course of his long-form art-pop compositions until you find yourself responding in earnest.

Wye Oak - Shriek
While the latest record from Baltimore duo Wye Oak received its fair share of hype, it was arguably for wrong reasons. Lauded as the guitarless Wye Oak album, Shriek comes after quite a bit of Jenn Wasner dabbling in her other musical projects like Dungeonesse and Flock of Dimes and the influences from those fair more mainstream pop efforts have seeped into Wye Oak for the better. There wasn't anything wrong with Wye Oak's past incarnation as an indie rock band of note but the Wye Oak's synth pop renaissance provided a palette cleanser that Wasner has stated needed to continue to feel invested in the band and it's resulted in some of her most honest songwriting moments amid Shriek's dancier flights of fancy.

Sea Wolf - Song Spells No. 1: Cedarsmoke
It's a marvel that the latest Sea Wolf album, Song Spells No. 1: Cedarsmoke isn't actually considered to be a full blown effort by singer/songwriter Alex Brown Church. The album, the first in what is hopefully an ongoing collection of songwriting experiments pursued between official albums is basically meant to keep fans sated until Church and company have a "proper" full length effort prepped and potentially keep Church's songwriting chops sharp. Song Spells No. 1: Cedarsmoke achieves both those goals but also succeeds in being an incredible effort in its own right housing one of Alex Brown Church's strongest and most immediate songwriting efforts in "Young Bodies".

Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
It sounded almost too much like a novelty - two folkies Amelia Randall-Meath of Mountain Man and Nicholas Sanborn who I had known from his run as a member of Megafaun's touring band team up for an electronic project. The only thing I didn't really count on was the versatility of Amelia's voice or the fact that Nicholas Sanborn is actually a skilled electronic producer. Sylvan Esso wasn't a project that was supposed to exist and yet, no is wishing it didn't. The duo, unlikely as they might seem on paper/without all the fact, creates a sort of charmingly easily accessible brand of electro-pop that it's hard not to get behind. With Sylvan Esso there's no gimmick, just the strength of the songs which happen to all be ridiculously good. It's a record that plays off of each person's obvious strengths and a few hidden ones for good measure while capitalizing on the duo's obvious creative chemistry and an undeniable urge to dance.

Blake Mills - Heigh Ho
While Blake Mills continues to make a name for himself a session musician everyone wants to work with and album credits continue to lengthen, this year saw the return of Mills to his solo project/main songwriting vehicle for the first time since his 2009 debut Break Mirrors and it's an album that's certainly worth the wait. Undeniably the more accessible record, it's ironic that it's also the record where Mills explores and experiments with various guitar tones and techniques far more openly. Mills has learned a thing or two about pop music to level up his songwriting and the results while lyrically broad - the magic comes from what Mills doesn't quite say, what the listener infers like on Fiona Apple featuring "Don't Tell Your Friends About Me". Mills has a talent that still percolates through his broadest moments like "Before It Fell" and "Curable Disease" which are contain the album's most impressive and effecting lyrical agility.

Tiny Ruins - Brightly Painted One
It's rather fitting that Brightly Painted One is the first album from Hollie Fullbrook's Tiny Ruins most Americans will hear. Based on the strength of lead track "Me at the Museum, You in the Wintergardens", it exemplifies everything Fullbrook has to offer - a stunning simplicity built around wonderfully evocative imagery and artful musical moments. Fullbrook is a breath of fresh air in the guise of a folk singer; finding inspiration in unexpected subjects and avoiding obvious tropes, Brightly Painted One is a scenic amble with an ever-changing focus but whose effect remains wholly the same. Fullbrook and her band are the only constant - an angel-voiced Scheherazade navigating the listener around mountains, across seas, and through time with a surprisingly fluidity and lilting gait.

Adult Jazz - Gist Is
When people listen to Adult Jazz - their knee-jerk reaction might be to compare them to the Dirty Projectors. It makes sense to an extent: they both strive to create music that is simply more than a catchy melody. It's music that stimulates the senses but challenges the listener and the performer alike. But the comparison distracts exactly from what Adult Jazz has going for it. Gist Is, a debut that is equal parts auspicious and criminally underrated, Adult Jazz prove themselves as precocious innovators. Take album opener "Hum", first an a capella introduction to the distinct vocals of frontman/songwriter Harry Burgess before undergoing an organic metamorphosis. It's an introduction to the band that's surprisingly apt - rarely does the Leeds four-piece sit on a single thought but neither do they haphazardly rush from one idea to the next; Adult Jazz are both restrained and restless; their creative flow resembling a tangent more than a leap but without all the clutter. Adult Jazz are many things - experimentalists with a meticulously polished creative vision; musicians with an inherent desire for chaos and subversion of expectations. There's no doubt a natural poppiness to Adult Jazz's songs and yet they rebel against that very notion in both theory and practice. It's an album of considerable thought and forethought that also embraces a improvisatory stream of consciousness; it's polished and precise but at times purposefully rough and effectively human.  Adult Jazz is a band of contradictions but those same contradictions are both what give the band its creative power and sets them and their debut album Gist Is apart from all the rest.

Elizabeth & The Catapult - Like It Never Happened
Elizabeth Ziman is a mainstay in New York City's singer/songwriter circle and with her third album Like It Never Happened it's not hard to see why. Ziman manages to perfectly balance a sense of playful ease with honest and effective lyricism in a way that's refreshing in absolutely every single way. A pop aficionado, Ziman's most winsome moments both on Like It Never Happened and in general are when she's able to imbue her personality into her songs. Like on the titular "Like It Never Happened" where Ziman offers up the wry lyrics with a rather straight-faced delivery that makes it doubly enjoyable. Ziman's strength comes from her unique approach to the singer/songwriter genre - she's a purveyor of love songs but there's no sense of whimpering inactivity from Ziman. She's a woman of action, aware of her own romantic weaknesses and pursues the for the narrative mileage without letting herself be solely defined by them. Like It Never Happened's appeal is that even at it's most poppy, it never comes off as cutesy. It's a sincere record where Ziman shows off the best parts of herself; owning her personal weaknesses in a way that make them quite flattering without her having to spin them as such. From it's arrangements to Ziman's shifting instrumental focus (guitar versus piano), Like It Never Happened shows Elizabeth & The Catapult at her very best. Everything is polished but not to the point of being overly produced and it's a collection of songs that really demonstrates what Ziman's capable of.

Kishi Bashi - Lighght
When K. Ishibashi decided to embark on a solo career after countless years as an ensemble player for artists like of Montreal and Regina Spektor he did so with pretty much everyone's blessing. In a lot of ways his initial releases (his inaugural Room For Dream EP and debut full length album 151a) were made with what he learned from his collaborators balancing practiced patience with bursts of unheralded ingenuity. On Lighght, Kishi Bashi overcame any notion of the sophomore by leaning more into his influences than on his previous releases - jazz fusion and progressive rock explode Kishi Bashi's established cinematic scope with pyrotechnic grandeur. K.'s straight forward pop efforts "Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!" and "Carry On Phenomenon" are almost infuriatingly infectious while other songs "Bittersweet Genesis For Him AND Her" and "Q&A" flourish from their emotional resonance. It's an album leagues stronger than his already superb debut that imbues the studio work with Kishi Bashi's intensely affable live energy and ever-growing technical prowess. It's an album that only Ishibashi himself could've predicted he could make but one where the amount of hard work is evident despite it's effortless delivery.

SoftSpot - MASS
Brooklyn art-rock trio SoftSpot are not a singles band. That's not to say they're albums don't possess standalone songs on them but SoftSpot are a band with a considerable knack for the album medium. The treat it with a sacredness that pretty much ensures that they'll be rewarded for their piety. SoftSpot's debut was such a fully realized effort with a total cohesion of ideas, for their follow up it was never a question of whether it would be so; merely what would those ideas be and how would the band implement them? On their sophomore record MASS, SoftSpot dial back the intensity of Ensō in order to create a work that stands separate from it. MASS is far more languorous record than Ensō and yet, there's no denying its ideas gestate far more quickly. On MASS, SoftSpot may condense their gestation of ideas but not its flow relying far less on sprawling track lengths than before. It's surprisingly at odds with SoftSpot's deceleration but fitting ultimate making their more vivacious efforts like "You/Yours" and "Crosswinds" much more effective. There's no question SoftSpot has ideas in spades but MASS proves sometimes all you really have to do with them is let them simmer.

Sondre Lerche - Please
One of the most exciting things about following the career of Norwegian singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche is how absolutely committed the man is towards finding new ways to tackle pretty universal topics. That in a nutshell is what Lerche brings to his approach towards pop music - it's how Lerche can, after a decade-long career still dip into the well of love songs but still put out something that seems fresh. On Please, Lerche's seventh studio album, Lerche takes his one chance to handle something as less inclusive as his divorce and manages to imbue in it not only a sense of broad appeal but avoid the usual trapping of a break up record in the same stroke. Lerche doesn't allow himself the luxury of a pity party on Please, nor does it pretend that he hasn't gone through something life-altering but true to form, he finds a way that's better than the expected to reach that sense of commonality - by creating a record that's downright celebratory. A celebratory of his flaws, her flaws, our flaws in general; Lerche's not pulling any punches but he's mature enough not to play the blame game and in that regard he's able to play off of and play with his undeniable charm and avoid the dangers of sentimentality.

Hundred Waters - The Moon Rang Like A Bell
When Hundred Waters unleashed their debut self-titled record into the world, it was an unfathomable work of art; completely separate from the notion of genre with an artistic vision that was light years ahead of what was currently happening in the musical industry on the most epic of scales. So when Hundred Waters announced their intention not only to follow it up but rather quickly doing so - it was anyone's guess what the hell that would even sound like. How could Hundred Waters build on a sound that was so absolutely unique and yet incredibly difficult to pin down? And yet, Hundred Waters managed to do so. The Moon Rang Like A Bell while leaning far more heavily into their almost all of the various genre slashes you might use to describe their sound - electronic, art, rock, pop while still not entirely adhering to any of them. Their sophomore record continues a sort of creative narrative you weren't entirely sure Hundred Waters were creating until the work emerged - they've tightened up, lasered in, and ironed all the seams - the result is a work that explores Hundred Waters' interests - their grand artistic moments even grander - hushed and solemn but unfettered; their pop leanings more leaned into. It's a work no one could have predicted they'd make and yet, fits so perfectly among their previous album that demonstrates their ability to channel the magic of their collective creativity as they see fit. Their fully realized debut wasn't just the alignment of their creative energies, it was only a peek into the hivemind and a benchmark for which they could easily surpass. The Moon Rang Like A Bell leaves you with only one question at it's quietly satisfying conclusion: what the hell are Hundred Waters going to do now?

Pattern Is Movement - Pattern Is Movement
On their sophomore record All Together, Philly experimental pop duo Pattern Is Movement planted many of the seeds for what would become their self-titled record and yet, it's a record that probably wouldn't exist as it does now if not given the time they put between it and the 2008 record. Quietly inspired by hip hop & R&B in the past (both singer/keyboardist Andrew Thiboldeaux and drummer Chris Ward come from hip hop backgrounds), Pattern Is Movement is the record where they let those influences really come through while avoiding treating it like too much of an affect. From Ward's J Dilla inspired drumming to the subtle use of autotune on Thiboldeaux's normally unaffected vocals, Pattern Is Movement lean heavy into their R&B roots but through their pure reverance of the genre as well as the reliance on their own ideas, Pattern Is Movement comes off as a properly honest effort and less like a part of the culture-biting trend.



A Spotify playlist featuring full streams of all the albums on this can be reached here. Thanks for reading~
 
Honorable Mentions:

Damien Jurado - Brothers And Sisters Of The Eternal Son

Frankie Cosmos - Zentropy

Friend Roulette - Grow Younger EP

Grandma Sparrow - Grandma Sparrow & His Piddletractor Orchestra

Mirage - Blood For the Return EP

Saintseneca - Dark Arc

Salt Cathedral - OOM VELT EP

Steve Gunn - Way Out Weather

White Reaper - White Reaper EP

Wild Beasts - Present Tense

Will Stratton - Gray Lodge Wisdom

Pitstop: Buried Beds

When it comes to the art of selecting an opening band, Kishi Bashi is proving to not only a quick study but a gifted master. For the East coast leg of his most recent headlining tour (this time to promote recently released sophomore effort Lighght), he selected Philadelphia based chamber pop group Buried Beds. While the presence of a viola on stage was enough to theoretical link Buried Beds with Kishi Bashi by nature of their string-centricness, their tendency to quickly and efficiently rend all your preconceived notions about what you're about to hear makes Buried Beds the perfect support.



Buried Beds curiously operates on a higher tier of songwriting prowess; crafting delightful pop songs out of unlikely subjects from story tales, paintings, to dream journeys. Buried Beds are imaginative but not without restraint - able to present their fantastical vision in easily consumable slices of pop that nevertheless brim with an obvious heightened sense of musicianship. A fivesome onstage, Buried Beds greatest asset both in performance and on record is their versatility easily able to shift between lush, elegant arrangements, cacophonous percussiveness ("Breadcrumb Trail", "1000 Acres"), and sharp edged intricate rock-fueled pop ("Steady Hand", "Future Death") while retaining its resplendent harmonies. Any instrument could be the focal point or merely the jumping off point for an even more exciting musical journey and whether watching or simply listening to Buried Beds one thing is clear: the band is anything but predictable.





Buried Beds' most recent album In Spirit is available to stream on their website here.

Kishi Bashi - Lighght (2014)

With the success of his debut album 151a firmly in the rear view, violinist/loop pedal wizard Kishi Bashi is stepping out with another collection of bliss-inducing psychedelic-hued orchestral pop songs in Lighght (pronounced just like 'light' and taking its name from minimalist poet Aram Saroyan's one word poem of the same name).

Though taking its structure more or less from 151a, Lighght is more than just more of the same and Kishi Bashi more than just a one-trick pony. Tracks like album opener "Debut - Impromptu" and Eastern flavored interlude "Impromptu No. 1", K. gets to flex his classical chops in a much more obvious way offering up compositions that though brief give a glimpse into Ishibashi as more than a consummate pop professional.

"Debut - Imprompu" rightfully sets the stage for Lighght's whimsical flight of fancy - a delightful bit of "Once Upon a Time..." before the catapulting flight of "Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!". Released earlier as a one-off single, the tune is remixed here adding more colorful deviations if that was at all possible.

Kishi Bashi has a talent for timbral play and musical world building that's both enviable and impressive. While layering is an integral part of Kishi Bashi's method, the fact that each part seems so beyond superfluous is a feat of real artistry. While expanding his own already characteristic sound, Kishi Bashi is able to imbue some of his evident influences namely those of jazz-fusion/prog rock variety to create absolute majestic moments ("Once Upon a Lucid Dream (in Afrikaans)").

On Lighght, Kishi Bashi's most playful moments are subtler than 151a, more lyrical centered than the more pop-centric clap-laden "Bright Whites" or "It Began With A Burst". On the whole, Lighght establishes Kishi Bashi's sense of restraint - the lyricism potent and poignant and on just the right side of seriousness. The grand music moments occasionally earthbound instead of the continuous rapid flight of its predecessor. That's not to say Kishi Bashi has clipped his wings but rather by spending more time grounded truly earns those moments when he allows the Earth to give way and the melodies to soar. By spending less time aloft, Kishi Bashi avoids a caricature-esque turn from seeking bigger and bigger music moments while adding additional layers of depth. It's exploration meets innovation, experimentation in brilliant technicolor shades that manages to be both forward-seeking and strangely centered; the very definitive property of Kishi Bashi's effusive charm.

Kishi Bashi's sophomore record Lighght is out May 13th on Joyful Noise Recordings. Pre-order available now. You can stream it via Bandcamp.

All Around Sound is Turning Four - Day 5: Kishi Bashi

It was a strange sort of serendipity that brought me to Kishi Bashi - or rather the sense of serendipity a showgoer feels when the opening act for the band you actually paid to see is not only good but incredible. I had long been a fan of Sondre Lerche and trusted his pretty much flawless skill in electing such talented openers but nothing prepared me at all for Kishi Bashi. When he took the stage with violin in hand and practically an armory of instruments at his disposal I settled in for a show and certainly was not disappointed. It wasn't the spectacle of your typical one man band but the pure display of bonafide musicianship and enjoyment that won me over. Everyone longs for that one 'I saw this band when they played to pretty much no one in a bar in the middle of nowhere' story and Kishi Bashi is more or less mine. Except you can replace "bar in the middle of nowhere" with the Bowery Ballroom and "no one" to a packed house of unexpected (but delighted) observers. Nevertheless I had that moment, shared with a bunch of strangers, and seeing his gradual rise from virtually unknown opener to venue packing headliner is a point of pride for me. As I continued to catch him live and noted the borderless development of a unique trademark sound a question always nagged at me that never quite got answered (or asked) the few times I've been able to strong arm Kishi Bashi into talking to me - what sort of music does K. even listen to? So I asked him and got this mix.

Kishi Bashi's contribution:

Kishi Bashi's 21 favorite mostly funky classic moments in prog rock / jazz-rock fusion  (in no particular order):

WARNING: DANGEROUSLY HIGH LEVELS OF MUSICIANSHIP. SOME OF THESE MAY BE ENJOYABLE TO MUSICIANS' EARS ONLY!

All Around Sound's Favorite Tracks of 2013

While 2013 turned out to be an off year for many of my favorite bands, there was surprisingly no shortage of new music from them anyway. While every year I seem to lament the decline of the album as a cohesive narrative and more as a home for a single or two, 2013 proved me wrong in that regard - many of my favorite songs (the songs that stuck with me long after I put down my headphones, etc.) happened to be from my favorite albums but when making this list I have only two rules: 1) No songs from my favorite albums should be on the favorite tracks list. 2) No repeat appearances by the same artist. This year more than any other it was harder than ever to stick to these rules (I've broken them in the past but not this year! I promised myself.) So without further delay, here's some of my favorite tracks of this year in no particular order other than release date.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)", II
I'm ashamed to admit that I essentially forgot all about this tune/this year's latest UMO record until right around Best Of season. While the majority of II sounds rather like it could've easily been included UMO's self-titled debut, "Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)" stuck out as one of those tunes that's so remarkably distinctive. Much of Unknown Mortal Orchesta's songwriting aesthetic involves such heavy repetition that it's hard to remember that it's actually pretty damn inventive. Take "Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)" whose lyrics I never really took note of until UMO released their acoustic Blue Record - manages to spin a whole delicate yarn out of a fun fact about sharks. It also really highlights Ruban Nielsen's vocals in a way I never appreciated them before - soft and supple, even as the track pulses forward unrelentingly.



Local Natives - "Breakers", Hummingbird
It's no coincidence that my favorite track from Local Natives' triumphant sophomore effort is the first single. While Hummingbird is unfettered emotional flood, "Breakers", curtails a little bit of that in favor of a subtle build and noticeable pop sensibility much like a port in the storm. It's no coincidence that it's smack dab in the middle of the album either. It's a refreshing breath of exactly why you should like Local Natives and delightfully so. The swooping, craning vocals, the intense drumming, the surging melodies and atypical songwriting structure, these are all undeniable parts of not only what makes "Breakers" work but also Local Natives' own strengths. "Breakers" is Local Natives operating at peak performance. Maturing between albums but still creating something not wholly unfamiliar with just the right influx of new ideas, "Breakers" is a track that has dominated an insane amount of my time since its initial release and rightly so - it's an utterly captivating piece of pop songcraft while serving an important purpose in the context of its album. It's great - no ifs and or buts about it.  




The Cave Singers - "Have to Pretend", Naomi
A very special (one-sided) relationship formed between the Cave Singers and I when they opened for Fleet Foxes at United Palace. Despite being absolutely incredible, when they played a dancier number ("Black Leaf" and invited the audience to leave their seats to rock out with them, no one did. It was tragic and in retrospect I should've gotten up and made a total goof of myself if only to validate the band's awesomeness. "Have to Pretend" is essentially another go at infectious dance music for the folk rock band and it's a rather valiant effort. The kind of song that'd probably move a venue full of jaded/lazy New Yorkers easy that manages encapsulate what makes Cave Singers so damn enjoyable. The band continue to demonstrate a charming familiarity in creating ear catching folk rambles and Peter Quirk remains a consummate front man his rasp adding a bit of grit to easy breezy melodies of "Have to Pretend".




Night Beds - "Ramona", Country Sleep
My introduction to Nashville based singer/songwriter Winston Yellen aka Night Beds was in "Even If We Try", a emotive little ditty that made ample use of the man's golden immaculate falsetto. Little did I know a song like "Ramona" could come from such a man. That's not to say the two songs are that remarkably different - Yellen's lyricism is still top notch as are his vocals but "Ramona" far more faster paced than I expected from the man whose vocals flourished at such a slow crawl. Unsurprisingly, "Ramona" marked the end of Yellen's sole proprietorship of Night Beds and shift towards that as band leader, lead vocalist, and songwriter. "Ramona" is an entirely different breed of song but one that ultimately still finds displays what's so endearing about Yellen. Even finding room for his falsetto at the song's apex.



Born Ruffians - "Needle", Birthmarks
In terms of a contender for outright best track from an indie pop group released in 2013, Born Ruffians would win that coveted honor. There really is no arguing that fact. In addition to being an absolutely brilliant album opener, it's got big pop hooks which is sort of casually slides into. It's not big from the get go. No, instead Born Ruffians perform a magnificent slow build that cements the track's complete and utter pop decimation. The band is firing on all cylinders after the triumphant return and it shows. "Needle" is a pretty much immaculate piece of songcraft that pretty much transcends Birthmarks. Normally that might be a bit of a bad thing but here's it's quite good and hopefully a sign of things to come. The bar has been set and Born Ruffian pretty much have only themselves to beat.



Night Panther - "Fire", Shaking Through Vol. 4
It's always a good sign when the live version of a song is favored above the recorded version and that's the case with Night Panther's "Fire". Already a favorite cut on their self-titled debut record they released this year, there's a certain magic of the group that's thankfully been captured by those dedicated engineers over at Weathervane Music and their Shaking Through sessions. "Fire" is perhaps the best introduction to Night Panther for the tragically uninitiated featuring their trademark sassy dance pop and creamy falsettos which is guaranteed to make you want to dance - unless you're dead.



Empress Of - "Tristeza", Systems EP
Empress Of's "Tristeza" is a testament to how you can be completely consumed by a piece of music by feel alone. The emotive gem is in Spanish and yet is so beautifully sung and played that you don't even really understand what she's singing to be utterly captivated by her words. There's very little else to focus on besides the words but even despite the language barrier - enough of its meaning can be gleaned from tone. That and Rodriguez's brilliant vocal choices as she mimics the intense intakes of breath that occur during an extreme cry session.



Thin Hymns - "Lady Mountain", Black Water EP
While Thin Hymns had essentially won me over with their Logic & Theory EP, this year's Black Water EP was beast of an entirely different breed. Where Logic & Theory was more experimental than it was pop, Black Water carried no such distinction. That's not to say that they hung up their tonal shifts and textural interplay entirely but Black Water took Thin Hymns propensity for complex soundscapes and pinned them to melodies whose poppy tendencies were far more immediate. "Lady Mountain", arguably the most stellar of Black Water's four tracks, is the perfect blend of Thin Hymns experimental proclivities and a noticeable forward momentum. It's expansive - clocking in at 6 minutes and change but never suffers even an instant of lethargy. It rolls forward pretty much unceasingly while the band interlocks in a multitude in an interesting array of formations.



BRAIDS - "Amends", Flourish//Perish
While Montreal art pop trio BRAIDS create the kind of albums that not only follow a cohesive flow but seems to take organic songcraft to its very limits, there's always a song tucked in their that I manage to love more than the others. On Native Speaker it was "Plath Heart" and on Flourish//Perish, it turned out to be the very first single "Amends". While not officially a dance band everything about "Amends" lends itself towards that reaction. From its steady (though syrupy) pulse, to its wide expanse, it's not only serves a dance fodder but it's also one of those tracks (especially live) where BRAIDS sophisticated polish is entirely responsible for that effect. Each layer is regarded with an exceptional amount of care like the assembly of a stain glass window and the combined effect is way more impressive than all of its various moving parts.



San Fermin - "Sonsick", San Fermin
If I'm being completely honest, almost any off the San Fermin record featuring the lovely ladies could probably ended up on a list like this. While San Fermin in its whole is a complicated, varied, and potentially polarizing record there's no doubt to anyone who hears say "Crueler Kind", "Sonsick", "Oh Darling", or even "Daedalus (What We Have)" that while Ellis Ludwig-Leone is a talented composer, he can write an exceptional pop hook. And yet, the success of that is certainly due in part to the appearance and delivery of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig. Their vocals are bold, brassy, and immaculate. What separates "Sonsick" from San Fermin's other brushes with pop however is in the just-so way everything comes together in it. The brass, the lyrics that resonate outside of the album's concept, the way that slowly rises into triumphant splendor - not as an ebb and flow but as flood of heartwarming emotion.



Son Lux - "TEAR Part 1"/"TEAR Part 2", TEAR
Son Lux has a had a pretty exceptional year. Working with yMusic on their new album, as well as with Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti on their collaboration Sisyphus (formerly s/s/s), it's hard to imagine Ryan Lott has any time for his own music and yet, he certainly has. While 2013 saw the release of another full length in Lanterns, Lott's experimental piece TEAR is more than worthy of its own praise. A song in two parts, TEAR does precisely what Son Lux does so well - takes a song apart at its very foundations and plays around with all the various combination those parts can make when paired differently. It's a nifty enough idea in theory but even more impressive is how Son Lux can pull such a thing off without revealing his hand. By inviting you into to his creative method somewhat, he shines a light on his own brilliance but also obscuring the truly important bits of what he's doing by music sleight of hand.



Mister Lies - "Magichour" ft KNOWER
While the summation of his debut record Mowgli did very little for me, "Dionsyian" and the constant almost unrelenting praise from mutual friends has essentially insured that I approach each Mister Lies release from now until pretty much forever with an open mind and a trusting heart. This approach was rewarded quite quickly with "Magichour". Featuring Los Angeles duo KNOWER's Genevieve Artadi on vocals, "Magichour" is like a rocket ride. Slow and methodical as the gear is checked and everyone prepares for lift off before everything gels in the most magical way. It's the kind of track where absolutely everything about the track works to its favor. Mister Lies' own touches in the form of the arrangements and construction and even the little experimental flourishes create a unique and engaging path while Artadi's vocals light and feathery serves to illuminate that path and all it's wonderful curves and bends.




Hop Along - "Sister Cities", Shaking Through Vol. 4
Frances Quinlan is the kind of frontwoman every rock band should have - articulate both in her songwriting and vocal delivery, openly emotive with a punky edge "Sister Cities" spotlights all Quinlan's strengths without sidelining the rest of band.  Probably Hop Along's best song thus far, "Sister Cities" takes everything that worked so well on Hop Along's 2012 debut Get Disowned and distilled them into a single song. Quinlan's narrative voice is clearer and sharper, the band tighter and fiercer when the need arises. There's none of the genre-suspension of Get Disowned but that's hardly necessary. Instead " Sister Cities" is content to be the sort of intelligent rock song that keeps you coming back over and over again. In that it succeeds in spades.



The Shakin' Babies - "Easy Meal", Stoked Casual
While I was almost instantly charmed by Minnesota doo wop/garage rock hybrid The Shakin' Babies at this year's FMLY Fest Brooklyn, it wasn't until I was home curled up with their excellent debut record Stoked Casual that I realized just how many levels the band operate on. Songs like "Mary Wants to Rock" sounded like your standard rock 'n roll jam but as I listened to deeper cuts The Shakin' Babies revealed themselves are clever and occasionally humorous songwriters hiding tales of devil worship and drug addiction under sugary sweet melodies. "Easy Meal" just happens to be my favorite of those dual operating tracks. Lyrically describing a shark attack I was at a loss for whether it was an elaborate metaphor or if it was really just that. The correct answer may never be known (I suspect it's both) but the track is downright infectious - a perfect demonstration of the bands 60s inspired garage pop.  



North Highlands - "Halo", "I'll Do My Best"/"Halo" 7"
When news that Brooklyn indie pop outfit North Highlands had new songs in the works I could hardly contain my excitement. Their debut album Wild One was a surefire favorite and an eclectic blend of styles that converged into this interesting folk-inspired dance-pop played on rock instruments. No one could accuse North Highlands of copying their style. On their latest release the "I'll Do My Best"/"Halo" 7", North Highlands didn't pick up where they left of. No, instead they turned their sights toward surf rock. But North Highlands are nothing if not creative and their dip into summery beach pop was anything but typical. "Halo", surprisingly doesn't sound like North Highlands jumping the shark and trying a new genre on for size. Instead "Halo" (and "I'll Do My Best") is their own take still featuring their sweetly sung, dance inducing brand of indie pop goodness. A slightly new look for North Highlands sure but not one that incredibly far removed from their Wild One days.




Salt Cathedral - "Fields", Salt Cathedral EP
Arguably one of my favorite discoveries of 2013, Salt Cathedral are a band that appeal to virtually ever part of music-loving ways - a fantastic live band with intricate yet accessible song composition and real sense of original vision, Salt Cathedral (formerly il Abanico) are hopefully destined for big things. To the great benefit of the Brooklyn via Columbia band, pretty much any song from the sextet's EP could've ended up here but "Fields" with its radiant, sunny sheen just happens to properly articulate what's to love about the band. The progressive rock recalling layering, the rhythmic complexity,the soaring emotive and deeply felt vocals - it's all there, masterfully doled out and interlocked into a heady rush of pure elation that is "Fields"



Kishi Bashi - "Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!"
There really is no denying Kishi Bashi's unique talent for layers. Which seems unsurprising considering it's the main method of his song composition but K. has an ability to exceed above and beyond your expectations there. Another one of K.'s fantastic psychedelic trips, "Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It" takes flight almost immediately with its vibrant, soaring melodies. Kishi Bashi always seems to be at his most innovative when dreaming up unique ways to dress up love songs and there's certainly no shortage of creativity here. "Philosophize With It! Chemicalize With It!" is a wildly enjoyable flight of fancy that finds the perfect balance between its high energy and an emotive core. K.'s words ring true but they also shimmer and glide while they do so. They're a fresh take on an age-old idea that Kishi Bashi finds a way to make extra resonant.



Gracie - "Jackson II"
Gracie is anything but a conventional artist and that's probably most apparent on "Jackson II" a track for the mixed media project for Kai Flanders' novella 'The Red Bicycle'. Inspired by/accompanying the novella's first chapter Gracie makes pretty inventive use of the chapter's two most important elements - a plane and the titular red bicycle. But they're subtle touches - not utilized to excess while the track bops along at it's leisurely pace on just the right side of dance-y. It's the kind of track the even separate from 'The Red Bicycle' soundtrack manages to be delightfully engaging and charmingly clever.



The Debauchees - "I've Got Energy", Big Machines and Peculiar Beings
What can I say about The Debauchees that I haven't already said before? I've written about them a bunch of times in their rather short band life and they continue to amaze. On "I've Got Energy" they put their absolute best foot forward allowing their music to speak for what could've been an agonizing/annoying gimmick. Teaching themselves their instruments after deciding to be in a band, being young with clearly classic music tastes, the single ahead of their excellent debut album Big Machines and Peculiar Beings combines fiery intensity with Sydney Chadwick's cool purr. The Debauchees offer up the kind of tunes that'd make any rock purist proud and rightly so.



ARMS - "Sleepwalker", EP2
Truth be told, a large part of my excitement concerning the release date of ARMS Summer Skills follow up EP2 was purely based on my ability to own and listen to "Sleepwalker" whenever I damn well pleased. I had spent over a year hearing the track at every ARMS show I attended (which happened to be A LOT) and it always stuck out to me the best display of Todd Goldstein's pop chops and my new favorite ARMS songs. That's not to say the other songs weren't enjoyable in their own ways but "Sleepwalker" was at the forefront of my memory and the wait for their EP to find a home was made all the more laborious due to its absence from my collection of dangerously repeated tracks. While Goldstein set out to tell stories outside/separate of ARMS supernatural thriller Summer Skills, "Sleepwalker" delivered where no other EP2 cut did. Invoking a visceral reaction due not only to Goldstein's intelligent, descriptive lyricism but also the track's moments of pop mastery. When Goldstein sings "I want you always", it's evidently the track's climax, the tipping point where the track finally lets loose all its built up energy and the result is nothing short of deeply enjoyable. It doesn't barrel forward to the end like such a dam burst is to wont to do but there's no more build up, the track unravels and marvelously so. "Sleepwalker" succeeds where no other EP2 track does because it pairs arresting musical moments with the frenetic energy ARMS reserves mostly for their live sets. Goldstein still retains the knack for building these engaging little worlds but the charm of "Sleepwalker" is in its domino effect as Goldstein's meticulous world building crumbles in ts frantic finish.
  


Chris Holm - "Sealed", Kilos
Chris Holm's solo record Kilos, his first stepping out from bands Young Dreams and Bloody Beach (and a multitude of others, I'm sure), happens to be an album of experiments. That sounds a little like Holm putters around unsure of what he's doing but he does that much is exceptionally clear. The album is a blend of Holm's varying influences and inspirations that somehow managed to be stay moored by his passions in them. From the sort of tropicalia hip-hop hybrid of "H.A.A.R.P." to the psychedelic rock stylings of "Raleigh's Peak", it's an album of unprecedented musical exploration. Each song is special and good in its own way but, and forgive me if I'm gushing, "Sealed" is a real standout. It's Chris Holm's try at singer/songwriter pop game like pals Sondre Lerche and Matias Tellez but it's uniquely his own, making extensive use of layers and textures and this sound and that in a way that embellishes not distracts from Holm's songwriting. There's some poignant lyricism crafted here that definitely establishes Holm's solo talents and not just his talents are an ensemble artist. "Sealed" is the moment I realized Kilos would not be enough. Holm's needs to make more solo music and often. Here's hoping he does so.



R. L. Kelly - "Feels Real", Angeltown
Since being introduced to R.L. Kelly's empowering brand melancholy pop at Orchid Tapes' Brooklyn showcase, it's been my utmost pleasure to keep taps on her, watching and hearing her grow her small but powerfully engaging collection of songs. While there's been no shortage of great R.L. Kelly songs this year, my favorite might very well be "Feels Real" which was featured on Orchid Tapes Los Angeles show compilation tape Angeltown. Not quite sparse as "Life's a Bummer" but not as crunchy as "You're Not the Only Monster in Hell. It's a pleasant little number that engages in some absolutely earcatching musical moments with not only the vocals but its guitar melodies.




Lapland - "Metal Lungs", Lapland
Brooklyn based singer/songwriter Josh Mease underwent a bit of a renaissance, reemerging under the moniker Lapland. It takes a particularly gifted songwriter to have not only a song but a whole album engage bases on songwriting talents alone but that's precisely what Mease does with Lapland. "Metal Lungs"combines normal singer/songwriter heartbreak fodder with a rather uplifting take on it. Invoking dusty Midwestern plains, "Metal Lungs" sounds like a rallying cry as Mease's moving, creamy vocals are employed like a cleverly concealed weapon.



Sondre Lerche - "Rejection #5", Public Hi-Fi Sessions #01
Despite the fact that 2013 held all the faint whispers of a full length record in the works from Norwegian popsmith Sondre Lerche, sadly it was not meant to be. Instead it seems like in 2014, Lerche will be doubling down on releases and that suits me just fine. However 2013 wasn't completely without its fair share of Lerche jams and in addition to takes on Scott Walker's "The Plague" and Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball", Sondre Lerche let two songs free from his majestic pharaoh's tomb of an archive in the form of Two Way Monologue era "Rejection #5" and "Screen Door" for Jim Eno's Public Hi-Fi Sessions. The twist being of course that "Rejection #5" was unfinished until recently and was recorded with Eno taking part for the release. Though written around Two Way Monologue it's got a very Phantom Punch era sassiness thrown in for good measure. The fact that it's basically a new track at this point shows that not only has Lerche not lost touch with his roots but that his genre-bending ways aren't long forgotten. "Rejection #5" is a funky little number which manages to bring the past 5 years or so of Lerche's musical career full circle with a clever little reference to George Lazenby. Unexpected collaborations and inspirations abound and the result is a song of pretty much boundless confidence. The kind of song that'd soundtrack Travolta's cocky strut if Saturday Night Fever was remade with modern music for some weird reason. A jam in every sense of the word that's a more than suitable placeholder for Lerche's forthcoming 7th full length.



Honorable Mention:
Alex G - "Joy"

Conveyor - "Pushups", "Mammal Food"/"Pushups" 7"

Daughn Gibson - "Kissin on the Blacktop", Me Moan

Gracie - "Creature Pleaser", Bleeder EP

Hiss Golden Messenger - "The Serpent Is Kind (Compared to Man)", Haw

Incan Abraham - "Tuolumne", "Tuolumne"/"Whidbey" 7"