This year felt like a blur; at times there was a hope that things would return to a more 'normal' rhythm, but they haven't really. Music wise I spent a lot of time listening to old favourites and music I already knew, perhaps as a kind of way of feeling more normal? The result of this year's best of newly heard is a collection of music that mostly comes from genres I've not listened to that much in the past, certainly on the electronic side, from long hours of having something on the help me concentrate. As usual the succinct playlist, taking less than one hour of your time, is available on Spotify. So, in no particular order:
Sundial - Bicep
A friend tipped me off to this track, and it has a beautiful, hypnotic, vocal that floats over the rhythm that I just can't get out of my head. The rest of the Isles album isn't bad, but none of it anywhere near as good as this particular track.
Lost Gravity - Tinlicker
I don't want to dismiss Tinlicker's music, probably classed as progressive house, as good music to work and concentrate to, but that's probably how I landed here. It's been nice to get lost in, and the title track from the Lost Gravity EP is one I keep returning to. It has a beautiful airy feel with the high vocals, not unlike my previous choice. Perhaps there's a pattern here?
Decay Dream - Legowelt
The clipped and chopped melody of Decay Dream reminds me of Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello and his toggle guitar technique (think of the opening of Know your Enemy), but with programmed drums. The whole Dark Days is good, with some nice variety between sparser sections and songs, and very layered parts.
Hour of the Wolf - Tribulation
In what is my most straight up rock/metal choice of the year Hour of the Wolf from Where The Gloom Becomes Sound is a great riff, and one of many on that album. It's also unique on this list as being released this year.
The Lament from 2018's Down Below and Melancholia from The Children of the Night are worth mentioning as excellent tracks should you want to carry on exploring Tribulation's work. Their first two albums are much more Death Metal than the recent ones.
Odal - Agalloch
It's hard to pick a specific song for this entry, as mostly I've been listening to the whole The Mantle album together (I mostly listen to whole albums anyway), and it would feel very unrepresentative to pick one out, given the blend of styles between black, doom, folk and maybe progressive? metal that Agalloch wander back and forth between.
Given that caveat, perhaps the instrumental Odal is a good sample for anyone not familiar with them. It's very atmospheric, and moves between sections in a way that makes me feel like I'm on a journey through a landscape of very varied terrain.
Drive - Austin Lucas
Austin Lucas is an artist that I've heard for a while, but Alive in the Hot Zone is the most 'rock' work he's done, and I associate him more with a country and acoustic music, such as 2008's Common Cold, which is when I first heard him, and even saw him live sometime around 2013-14. Even with the change in style, the songs are as soul baring as ever.
Normally when I need to think a bit, and not be distracted by what's around me, I like to go for a walk; and this song is a driving person's version. Perhaps they're driving towards something, or away, but it's the time on the road that gives them the chance to think it through.
Other Notables
In addition to my traditional 'top six', there are a few other entries worth mentioning, even if they didn't make it. I had a lot of fun listening to Feel by Mammoth WVH, which is very straight up 'rock', but of the most excellent sort.
The almost obvious omission is anything from Public Service Broadcasting's album Bright Magic, as normally PSB end up featuring on my Best Of lists, starting with the first one back in 2013. While there are a couple of tracks on their I really like, such as Blue Heaven and Ich und die Stadt, which uses Kurt Tucholsky's 1930 poem Augen in der Großstadt spoken over an ambient background track, no one track really hit home enough for me to say I loved it - and them's the (arbitrary) rules. As a whole the albums also feels a little disjointed, perhaps a result of trying to explore the city during the COVID shutdowns? They're still good songs and get a place on the extras section of the playlist.
Numb by Archive is a hypnotic and unrelenting song that somehow also worked its way into my head, from a band that I've been completely oblivious to for before. Laura Jane Grace's SuperNatural Possession from 2020's album Stay Alive is also a great song, and I love that she's still producing solo material as Against Me! appears to be on a bit of a hiatus at the moment.
Full Playlist
- Sundial - BICEP
- Lost Gravity - Tinlicker
- Decay Dream - Legowelt
- Hour of the Wolf - Tribulation
- Drive - Austin Lucas
- Odal - Agalloch
- Blue Heaven - Public Service Broadcasting, Andreya Casablanca
- Numb - Archive
- Feel - Mammoth WVH
- SuperNatural Possession - Laura Jane Grace
- Ich und die Stadt - Public Service Broadcasting, Nina Hoss