Ten cool music things that happened in 2016

Mounting distractions throughout 2016 have made me question doing "best of" lists more than any previous year.  I don't see a point in reiterating that Deerhoof and Santigold had great albums this year (because of course they fucking did!).  I've been doing best albums of the year for 11 straight and thinking listing ten albums on a blog nobody reads, in a playlist driven generation... hmm maybe it's time I finally change things up.

So here is a different list, and something positive in a year that is in desperate need of positivity.  Here are ten cool things in music released in 2016!

You guys... the last half of that Jeff Rosenstock album!
Most of WORRY! is Jeff Rosenstock doing what he does best in a fairly predictable manner.  He's still a one-of-a-kind voice for disheveled and jaded punkers punched in the gut by adulthood, but I was feeling some diminishing returns after 20 minutes.  At the album's sappiness peak, "Blast Damage Days", things start to change up.  WORRY! turns into a machine gun of songs, with all the fat trimmed.  They just spit out a good hook and relevant lyric, then bam, right to the next.  It's something I haven't heard done this well since Bad Religion's No Control or Energy by Operation Ivy.

Click this picture of Jeff Glumpet to hear what I'm talking about.

And it isn't just a barrage of retro punk and ska.  "HELLLLHOOOOLE" and "The Fuzz" take you from extreme highs to lows.  All the frustrations and emotions from every song pile up, and set up the lyric "love is worry" better than any single ballad could have.  Ending this chaos with "Perfect Sound Whatever" puts a fantastic "it is what it is" kind of bow not only on the album, but Jeff's whole songwriting and production style.  This clusterfuck of songs is one of the coolest things he's ever done.

Asian Kung-Fu Generation rewrites a fan favorite album from the ground up.
At this point in their career, this is the kind of band that would usually be putting out those heartless remastered anniversary collections.  Instead, AKFG took the risk of messing with one of their most beloved albums, 2004's ソルファ.  I actually love when bands do this, even if they don't end up creating a better product.  In this case though, they may have...

They punch up their ballads with some extra instrumentation, and add extended bridges and intros to some songs (as they have been performed live for the last decade).  ソルファ was the band's first challenge to themselves to be more than an indie pop-punk band, and these veteran takes do those original songs justice.

The Radio Dept. told ya so.

"We Got Game" is still doing a number on me.

It was already interesting enough that The Radio Dept. finally shed their dream-pop facade and made an overt political album, but now that the same issues in Running Out of Love are very real threat to America... boy does this album suddenly become more relevant to a lot more people.




"We know this world is good enough, because it has to be."

Click on this very nice Canadian
to hear a song.

Hey, we all need a hug this year.  Thankfully, John K Samson released Winter Wheat.  His first album since the breakup of The Weakerthans.  In any other situation, Winter Wheat would still be a great album; with JKS' typical songwriting of deep character focus and evocative details.  These past few months, though... When I wanted to turn off the world, but couldn't, Winter Wheat has been my go-to.

Polysics finds another way to blow our minds.

For years, I've been criticizing my favorite band for losing their edge.  What's This??? reclaims it, in a big way.  While this album has its problems (most being too many songs), the first 17 minutes scramble brains with an audaciousness I haven't seen from the band in a dozen years!  For the first time since originally diving into their early discography, I found myself saying "man... I don't know if I can hang with this".  That feeling of sensory overload is wonderful to have again.

Danny Brown hacks rap.

Atrocity Exhibition is gonna be in a lot of 2016 articles, and with good reason.  The gonzo production really sticks out in its genre.  There have been a lot of cries of "This is the craziest thing I've heard all year!"  Obviously, they didn't listen to that Polysics album, but hey, for rap, it does break the mold a bit.  It's got a good 15 minute stretch in the middle, but I'm not wild about this album.  This is why I'm so happy to write this instead of a top ten.  Danny Brown wouldn't have made my top ten, but there is some stuff on here that is cool and worth pointing out.  Like this music video!!

Omar Rodriguez Lopez gets nostalgic


ORL released another stretch of solo albums this year.  It's far too much music to consume, but the one release worth checking out is Arañas en la Sombra.  It's made of old Mars Volta recordings, and features a lot of core Mars Volta members.  I still have warm and fuzzy feelings about the madness that was The Mars Volta in 2001-2008, so this album has been a welcome deja-vu trip.

Kenichi Asai has another banner year.
Living rock deity, Kenichi Asai, usually is reliable for one good record a year.  2016's quota was met early in Sherbets' Crashed Sedan Drive (review here).  What is noteworthy is the announcement of his new band, THE INTERCHANGE KILLS!

Now, aside from a great band name, and a solid lead single in "Messenger Boy" (full album in 2017); what really got me excited is the recruitment of ex-Number Girl bassist, Nakao Kentarō.  Number Girl is the kind of band I always look for excuses to rave about.  At their worst, they were this amazing mashup of Fugazi, Superchunk, and Pixies.  At best, a very ahead of the curve punk-hardcore outfit.  Whenever any members of this short lived band show up in anything, my interest increases by 800%.

The "other" Stranger Things.

Click this adorable picture of Yuck to read
some more nice things I said about their record

Listen, I liked the Netflix show, Stranger Things.  I'm looking forward to season 2.  The album, Stranger Things, deserves some credit though!  No, it's not the show's soundtrack.  It's a shoegaze pop alum by Yuck.  Built To Spill's Untethered Moon was my favorite 2015 album, and Stranger Things is the closest sounding thing to it this year.




METAFIVE puts out the best damn album of the year.
OK, I won't totally abandon top ten.  I'll pick a number one; METAFIVE - META.

This Japanese electronic pop supergroup has been an obvious pick for most of the year.  Towa Tei brings his usual color and flair (wisely reigned in by his cohorts), Cornelius contributes his brilliantly simple and efficient compositions, Leo Imai has a perfect English voice to make the whole thing digestible, and Takahashi Yukihiro (of Yellow Magic Orchestra) holds the whole thing together with veteran precision.  I hope this group sticks around for years.

"We were put to shame acting kind" (The Radio Dept. - Running Out of Love)

pro: heavy in heart and content
con: light in hit singles

This could have been a pretty easy review to write an intro for.  A pithy "Hey, remember the eighties?" or even an appropriate "Hey, remeber The Radio Dept.?"  As it turns out, the reason for a six year gap between albums for this Swedish dream-pop act partly lends itself as to why this review has a different tone than anticipated.

The great (not-so) secret about The Radio Dept. is that they are a punk band at heart.  Their soft mumbling, and etherial sounding synths, set to a dance-floor like tempo, instantly evoke the image of sappy love and loss.  A hard look at their lyrics tell a different story.  The band does not shy from their distaste of their own record label, and being regarded as a band for romantic teens.  Fighting against being what many want them to be has left them at a creative stalemate for six years.  With patience, it seems The Radio Dept. has finally gotten the chance they've been fighting for.  

On the aptly titled Running Out of Love, the "dream-pop" mask is being pulled away more than ever before.  What lies beneath is a very real testament about their homeland's losing battle against xenophobia and fascism.  "Sloboda Narodu" begins with the end.  The end of patience and hopeful thinking.  Aside from a few more electronic bells and whistles, The Radio Dept. hasn't departed far from their last LP; but the clever nods to punk protest are over.  Running Out of Love has a clear message: the fear of "what if" has been replaced with "what is".

Addressing the creep of alt-right takeover in Sweden comes in the topics of the arms industry ("Swedish Guns"), protest suppression ("We Got Game"), capitalist apathy ("Occupied"), and those who put their heads in the sand ("Can't Be Guilty").  With "Teach Me To Forget", The Radio Dept. does not close things out with any real hopeful message.  It sounds more like a heartbreaking fantasy of giving up.

Let's get back to the music.  The Radio Dept. started out with a lot more My Bloody Valentine grime than the New Order like barrage presented today.  Across four albums, this has been a slow transition, so the usual opposition isn't quite as vocal as you would hear from most fanbases.  I've personally enjoyed the transformation.  The heavy synthesized beat that dominates most of the soundscape feels natural, and they have complete control over how it effects the tone of their songs.  I usually prefer rough edges in my music, but Johan's vocals are worth discerning.  They've brought plenty of relevance to their discography by giving each release its own sound.

As far as this album's legacy, there is a hell of a lot to live up to after the heavily praised Pet Grief and Clinging To A Scheme.  The six year gap only gave fans of those albums more time to take in.  Running Out of Love's songs lack that immediate hold "Heaven's on Fire" or "The Worst Taste in Music" do on the listener.  Even going back to songs like that, I clearly imagine them tugging heartstrings in big movie soundtracks.  Everything on this latest release seems dependent on the rest of the entire package to resonate.  I wasn't sure if Running Out of Love has the impact to stand out in their own discography, or in 2016 releases.

Then the U.S. National Election happened.

"that's what works for me" (Nerf Herder - Rockingham)

Why you'll love it: A more creative way to be funny
why you'll hate it: joke songs.  songs that just namedrop pop culture

One of the most idiotic things you can do today is self identify as a geek.  Over the past few years, righteous or simply just cruel "geeks" have spoiled all the fun there is to be had in the world; and that's putting it softly.  The bigger question than "Who the heck wants to listen to Nerf Herder in 2016?" (hey, I do, jerk) would be "How can Nerf Herder put a good face on such a toxic environment?"  The answer to that is with ridiculous humor and glassy-eyed nostalgia.

The opener, "Portland", quickly establishes how Parry Gripp can hold on to the kind of dirty humor Nerf Herder was known for in the early 2000's, without digging his heels into the mud and clinging to the transgressive humor we've outgrown.  "Portland" is such a stupid, random song, it's hilarious.  It starts off with the pretense of being a takedown of Portland hispsters, but all the burns become more oddball until Parry admits that he only knows six things about Portland.

On Rockingham, quirky weirdness becomes the substitute or chaser for when things get a bit too cruel or creepy.  On "Close Your Eyes And Dream", nocturnal voyeurism (surprisingly a Nerf Herder staple) is mostly padded with references to Tommy DiNardo, and Bagatorardis.  When Parry's obsession on "Allie Goertz" starts to get a bit too worrisome, in comes the drummer, communicating through a Speak-N-Spell that he's too old for her.

A couple extremely loyal tribute songs make for some of the best tracks on Rockingham.  "The Girl Who Listened To Rush" and "We Opened For Weezer" do much more than just name-drop a whole bunch of references.  The respective signature sound of these two bands are represented with quite a bit of detail.  That little bit of extra love and care goes a long way.  I wish they had put the same kind of effort into some of the other heavily referential tracks.  "I'm The Droid (You're Looking For)" and "Doctor Who" (couldn't even come up with a clever name for this one?) are literally nothing more than just listing things from the fiction.

A couple other tracks at least put up a little bit of effort.  "Ghostbusters III" uses the idea of a relationship (or hook-up) that will never realistically manifest, as an excuse to spit out a lot of references.  "At The Con" is guilty of just ranting off types of cosplay, but the lines come so fast and furious, I admit a few caught me off guard. It probably shouldn't, but "Gettin' busy with a Pikachu" makes me giggle.

If there is still doubt that this is unmistakably a Nerf Herder album, the ballad "Stock Photo Girl" should put that thinking to rest.  It's straight out of the same vein "Nosering Girl" and "Garage Sale" came from.  The uncomfortably pathetic story painstakingly unfolds, and is funny every step of the way.  It's like an episode of Louie you can sing along to!

It's still joke songs.  There are still some throw away tracks.  Nothing Rockingham does will make anyone into converts, but Nerf Herder really excelled with the album for the little niche they're in.  It's a scary tightrope to both come out of obscurity and release something for a community that is in total unrest at the moment.  It would have been really easy for Nerf Herder to come off as stubborn curmudgeons, or fangless panderers, and they did neither.  Nerf Herder is OK, and Tommy Dinardo is OK, and that that's all that really matters.

"押すとこれがどうなる?" (Polysics - What's This???)

Polysics
What's This???

why you'll love it: Off the charts wild punk rock energy
why you'll hate it: headache-inducing nonsense, too long

Seven minutes into 2016's most appropriately titled album, a single thought emerges from the ruins of my scrambled brain.  "Be careful what you wish for..."

Full disclosure, Polysics is my favorite band.  They have been for about a decade now.  One minute into one of their supercharged electro-spaz punk live sets, that decision had already been made.  Closing in on two decades now, Polysics have worshipped at the feet of their new-wave idols, carved out their own unique style, gone down the brain-busting punk route, have done the big arena sound, made some crowd pleasers,  made some insane ranting songs, dabbled in balladry, blazed on traditional instruments, and wrote songs in step with computers.   The one thing they haven't really dove headfirst into is showing off their technical chops.  It's also been a while since they've made anything that really challenges the listener.

Finally, Polysics have given us a reason to fear them once again, with a 19 track pandora's box of synthesizers, guitars, and screaming.  What's This??? will literally make you shout "What's This???"  The layering is seemingly infinite, the tempo is impossible to grasp on the first few listens, and the pace is enough to make one hyperventilate.  This album is proof of audiogenic epilepsy!

It may take a dozen spins, but the first 7 tracks do have a method to their madness.  What's This??? starts off innocently enough with a typical instrumental and lead single tracks.  They're much better than recent intro/singles, but nothing formula breaking.  "アルプスルンルン" and "Funny Attitude" busts things wide open.  "アルプスルンルン" is monster of intensity, with enough violent swings to cause motion sickness.  "Funny Attitude" suckerpunches you with one of the most sugar-coated choruses in Polysics history, delivered with a "ton of feathers" mentality.

Coming back to these first 7 songs have been a blast, not only because of how layered they are, but the pinballing of tempos stays fresh with plenty of innovation and diversity.  One of my favorite moments of the album is the moment of grace in "アルプスルンルン" that transitions not like flipping a switch, but reeling you in.  The electronic drum crunch that signifies another tempo change in "アルプスルンルン" and "Dig Down" provide that great Wile E. Coyote suspended in air moment before the violence continues.  "Dig Down" has rocketed to the top tier of my favorite Polysics songs.  It sounds like playing every videogame ever made at once... and winning!

What's This??? is no perfect work of madness, sadly.  Straight up, it's too long, even for a fan that seemingly can't get enough Polysics.  19 tracks (at just under one hour!!!) is a deliberate reference to their 19 year anniversary, but the reference doesn't justify what feels like b-side filler for a good 20 minutes of this album.  Most aren't bad songs, but just come off as weak in the company of the better tracks.  "Tempo Tempo Tempo" predictably slows down and speeds up in fun ways.  "Robot Mayim Mayim" does in fact sound like a robot mayim mayim. "Dopplerごっこ" plays with call & response.  "Flying V" is a straightforward fun song about...i think volleyball?  It would have fit in on Karate House, not What's This???  These are all ok songs, but feel too dependent on their gimmicks to capture What's This???'s most prominent aesthetic.

There's only three songs that I feel don't work at all on this 19 track behemoth of an album.  "Vow Vow" has no umph.  "春夏秋冬" is a just as irritating duet as "Kitchen Ban Ban" off 2010's Weeeeeeeeee!!!.  "1.2.3.4" has its heart in the right place, but is far too slow and predictable to hang with anything else on this album.  It's a longer and more repetitive version of "ありがとう" off 2008's We Ate The Machine.

The one thing this album needed was a sweet cooldown ballad near the end.  Sadly, "Hurry Up" is not it.  Even in the shallow selection of Polysics ballads over the years, "Hurry Up" ranks pretty low.

That may seem like a lot of gripe for an album I love dearly, but once again, this sucker is an hour long, and boy do I love half of it.  "Sun Electric" is one of the best singles they've ever made.  It's a fantastic combination of man and machine they've been fine tuning as a trio for 6 years now.  I love the guitar work on "Take Away".  I love the steamroller of sound approach to "Nail" and "Be A Human".  "299" is more proof of when Polysics wants, they can still craft that perfect blend of cutesy pop and punk rock madness.

What's This??? is the most unhinged Polysics has sounded in well over a dozen years.  For the first time since discovering their discography, they gave me that "woah, I'm not so sure I can hang with this" feeling.  I never thought I'd get it again.  This is certainly not for everyone, and that's what makes it so great!  Because of all the extra chaff, this probably won't be one of my favs of 2016, or even one of my top three Polysics albums when it's all said and done; but this feels like a proud landmark release for the band.  It's that last bit of uncharted territory for their sound, and once again sets a bar for modern punk rock lunacy.

"Trying to forget what’s in the past" (Yuck - Stranger Things)

why you'll love it: groovy slo-mo retro rock
why you'll hate it - derivative, middling to poor lyrics

Welcome to your annual check up on 20-ish years ago!  Last year, Bully took us back to the 90s with their debut, Feels Like.  This year, it's Yuck carrying the banner.  Yuck's style is a bit more sloopy shoegaze, less power-pop.  The comparisons to Dinosaur Jr. are true as math.  Max Bloom even has a J Mascis slur to his delivery on slower songs like "Hold Me Closer"

Oh yeah, let's talk about Max Bloom a bit.  Yuck had a well recived debut in 2011, followed by the singer leaving the group.  This is usally a kiss of death for most bands.  The lineup change left a mark, because all I read about from fans is how this band has fallen off a cliff with the loss of their original singer.  Stranger Things has been generally regarded as a good* release
(*but not as good as it should have been!)
Here is the funny thing, the promotions of Stranger Things has been my first exposure to Yuck, and I think it all sounds A-OK.  I even went back recently to hear this debut everyone is so wistful for, and honestly, it didn't grab me as much as this album.  I think they have an improved sound now, and the songwriting/vocals don't strike me as any worse now than they were.  The only gripe against Max Bloom I can muster is that on a couple songs ("I'm OK" especially) he sounds like Dave Grohl.  I'm not saying that sounds bad, but it's odd enough to distract me from an otherwise pretty good song.

Theories of "What you're first exposed to is what you like the most" aside, here's what's on the album - a lot of distorted guitars played at melodic pace.  "Hearts in Motion" and "Yr Face" generate some wonderfully powerful Built To Spill influenced reverberating chords.  The songwriting is probably the albums biggest downfall.  "Hold Me Closer" goes for that "Tiny Dancer" reference a bit too hard to be taken seriously.  The lyrics to "Stranger Things" is either the most dry satire I've ever heard, or sopping with enough angst to make Good Charlotte roll their eyes.  For the most part though, the music is good enough to carry where the songwriting can't get to on its own, especially on the last few tracks.

Stranger Things stands on its own even if you aren't stuck out of time, although being a big fan of the genre certainly helps.  Despite how scorned some fans may feel, it's an entirely competent and well performed release.  The riffs are creative, and they make 4+ minute songs sail right on by.  These songs are essentially from the "shoegaze bummer rock" genre, and they somehow adjust it all into a good time on Stranger Things.