Wyn Doran Covers Julia Jacklin

Photo by Felton Kizer

In a dream pairing for us, New Hampshire's Wyn Doran has covered Julia Jacklin's holiday song from last year, "baby jesus is nobody's baby now." While Jacklin's original is fairly sparse, Doran's feels even more sparse despite having the same basic instrumentation. The only difference is while Jacklin's version is vocals and guitar, Doran's is vocals and ukulele (I believe it's a uke, at least). It's a gorgeous version of a gorgeous song, and it's the perfect way to bring a non-traditional new holiday favorite back into your playlists this year! Plus, it's not exactly a Christmas song filled with cheer, so it fits right in with Wyn Doran's oeuvre perfectly.

You can listen to Wyn Doran's version of "baby jesus is nobody's baby now" below. For more on Wyn Doran, check out the artist's website.

Ken's Best of 2021 - #5: TORRES - Thirstier

We've been fans of TORRES ever since Mackenzie Scott's 2015 album Sprinter. I saw her live shortly after the release of that album, and I left thinking that the show was OK, but TORRES was going to be great some day. That day came this year with the release of Thirstier. TORRES has been improving with every single release, and Thirstier might be Scott's masterpiece. The album is filled with huge rock songs with a strong pop sensibility. 2021 is the year that alt-pop edged its way into alt-rock, and this is the pinnacle of that moment. TORRES is blending the two genres perfectly, in a way that hasn't been seen since Tina Turner in the 80's. I had to miss a tour of small clubs earlier this year, and it was truly my loss since there is no way TORRES will be playing those venues by this time next year. If the Superchunk/TORRES tour is playing anywhere near you next year, I implore you to check it out.

Songs of note: "Don't Go Puttin Wishes in My Head," "Big Leap," "Hug From a Dinosaur," and "Thirstier"

Jeff's Best of 2021 - #5: Adia Victoria - A Southern Gothic

How is Adia Victoria not the biggest singer on the planet?

I fell for Adia Victoria's work in 2016, when Beyond the Bloodhounds hit the scene. Silences was similarly solid, but it's A Southern Gothic that's really brought her in to her own as a songwriter and performer. This strikes a near-perfect balance of social commentary and traditional musicality, and it's an important and weighty album without feeling like one. It's a very difficult line to toe, and Adia Victoria handles it with ease and grace.

We were excited about this one when it was announced, and I know it exceeded my high expectations. Debuting in the top 10, a lot of other folks agree, too, but she should be massive after this one.

Songs of note: "Mean-Hearted Woman," "Magnolia Blues," "Whole World Knows," "Troubled Mind"

First Listen: New Releases and Missed Music for 10 December

More deck clearing, more late-year releases...

Artist: Palm Ghosts
Album: The Lost Frequency
Quick Thoughts: This came out a couple weeks back and I somehow missed it, and I wish I hadn't. It's a solid indie rock album with some good grooves and multiple highlights. It's a great listen in a busy week, but is especially worth your time as you catch up.
Songs of Note: "But Under the Tenuous Ether Rest Soundly," "In Monochrome," "The Painful Truth"

Artist: The Cutthroat Brothers and Mike Watt
Album: Devil in Berlin
Quick Thoughts: I can't say that sludgey punk rock is really my thing, but The Cutthroat Brothers have created a nice little exception for me. This is a really great listen - a little heavy, feels like it's got a grimy bar feel to it, and it's kind of the perfect listen right now.
Songs of Note: "Bad Candy Girl," "Love, Drugs, Etc.," "Cold Dead Night," "Like a Zombie"

Artist: Mumble Tide
Album: Everything Ugly
Quick Thoughts: I tripped up on Mumble Tide once upon a time, and their new album popped up on the release schedule and I kind of fell in love. This is indie-alt stuff at its core, but some of the songs are a little quieter and melodic while others aren't afraid of getting a little louder. Definitely my favorite this week, looking forward to more time with it.
Songs of Note: "Good 4 Me,""Noodle," "Sucker"

Artist: Nick Shoulders
Album: Home on the Rage
Quick Thoughts: Wanted to highlight this one as well. It's very rootsy and hits more than a few of my favorite bluegrassy notes. If you want a solid Americana record this week, check this one out.
Songs of Note: "Turn on the Dark," "John Brown's Nightmare"

Of note:

* Half Past Two - Half Past Two (Ska-tastic!)
* Citified - Lie Like a Painter
* Bill Callahan and Bonnie Prince Billy - Blind Date Party
* Aeon Station - Observatory
* DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ - The Makin' Magick II Album/The Makin' Magick II Singles Album
* Bat Fangs - Queen of My World
* Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Barn
* Kitten - Personal Hotspots
* Old Moon - Altars
* Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

EPs:

* Half Past Two - Holidays (Ska-tastic covers of "Holiday" songs.)
* Gorillaz - Meanwhile EP
* Hilary Woods - Federal Hymns
* Ok Cowgirl - Not My First Rodeo
* NYX - Mutualism Remixed
* Elohim - Journey to the Center of Myself, Vol. 3
* Tierra Whack - Pop?
* Chrome Sparks and Reo Cragun - Void
* Clear Mortifee - Fairies: Act II
* Alex Smers and Aska Matsumiya - Light Past Blue
* San Fermin - In This House
* Jlin - Embryo
* Coucou Chloe - ONE
* Saint Etienne - Her Winter Coat

Live albums/Compilations/Reissues/Christmas:

* Green Day - BBC Sessions (Green Day is better than you remember.)
* Julia Stone - Everything is Christmas
* Kylie Minogue - Disco (Extended Mixes)
* Nicole Atkins - Memphis Ice
* Jeff Tweedy - Live is the King
* Hundredth - Welcome to 'Somewhere Nowhere'
* Oasis - Knebworth 1996
* Crooked Still - Shaken by a Low Sound (Deluxe)
* Travis - The Invisible Band (Deluxe Edition)
* Ivan and Alyosha with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra - Live at Benaroya Hall
* Various Artists - It's Hard to Dance When It's Cold and There's No Music: The Kill Rock Stars Winter Holiday Album Volume 2
* Fleet Foxes - A Very Lonely Solstice

Also out:

* Big Boi and Sleepy Brown - Big Sleepover

The Dogmatics - "Automat Kalashnikov"

The Dogmatics are one of those Boston bands I know I need to know more about. The band have been around for around forty years at this point. They had stopped releasing music for thirty years, and then released a new song on Rum Bar Records back in 2019. Well, they're back with another single. "Automat Kalashnikov" sounds like pure classic Dogmatics. Everything about it sounds like they just found a tape in a closet from their first run and decided to put it out. Even the name "Automat Kalashnikov" sounds like a song title from the early 80's. Most of the early Boston punk bands have slowed down or gotten a lot more polished if they're still making music, but not The Dogmatics. This is as wonderfully rough and raw as anything released during that era. And we mean that as the highest compliment.

You can listen to "Automat Kalashnikov" below. The song is available now as a single from Rum Bar Records. You can get a copy over at Bandcamp. For more on The Dogmatics, check out their website.

The Rumjacks - "Bloodsoaked in Chorus"

Irish punk is one of those genres you either love or hate. Personally, I can love it, but a lot of it really aggravates me. The Rumjacks are one of those bands I find myself loving. Their latest single, "Bloodsoaked in Chorus," has a little something that sets it apart from traditional Irish punk. Sure, it has all of the normal elements of Irish punk, but it's doing something a little differently that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Reading the press release explained what The Rumjacks are doing differently here. It's a ska song with Irish instruments replacing the horn section. That does sound like it could be an absolute disaster, but it's a great pairing that makes for a fun song despite how lovesick the song actually is.

You can watch the video for "Bloodsoaked in Chorus" below. Brass for Gold is due out February 11. You can pre-order/pre-save the EP here. For more on The Rumjacks, check out the band's website.

Ken's Best of 2021 - #6: Little Hag - Leash

To be completely honest, I didn't really like Leash that much when it first came out back in September. It was good, but considering how much I loved her 2020 album Whatever Happened to Avery Jane?, I wanted to love it more. So, like we did back in the 80's and 90's before we had virtually every single album at our fingertips and we were dropping anywhere from $8 to $20 on an album, I kept listening to it. Slowly I started finding more and more to love about the songs on Leash. Was it a little more poppy than the previous album? Definitely. But the more I listened the less pop it was. Or, it was at least this bizarre form of pop that would be the Taylor Swift of Bizarro world. A song like "Cherry" perfectly encapsulates this. It didn't click for a while. The first few times I listened it was ok, but it's slowly become one of my favorites on the album. It's this gloriously heartfelt song that brings the 50's crooner thing into modern pop... but only on some bizarre planet that appreciates better music than ours does. At this point I'm furious with myself for not enjoying this album properly for the first few months of its existence. 

Songs of note: "The Whole World," "Cherry," "Blood," and "Get Real!"

Jeff's Best of 2021 - #6: Laura Stevenson - Laura Stevenson

There are two acts that are responsible for this blog existing, and one of them is Laura Stevenson.

We've been fans since "Master of Art," we've loved so much of what she's put out, but I personally found The Big Freeze to be a sharp turn from the edgier roughness of a lot of her previous work. Not bad, just different. Laura Stevenson acts as a sort of reintroduction and feels like a musical reset button from an artist dealing with a lot all at once, thus making it perfect for these pandemic times.

Stevenson approaches this record as a new mother while also recovering from some caretaking duties, and her confessional style that carried over from The Big Freeze is one I can relate to in a lot of ways as a current parent and on the other side of a traumatic caretaking period of time as well. It's kind of cliche to say that such-and-such artist "gets me," but I feel like this album may as well be a conversation with a friend over a few beers as we commisserate over all the stuff that probably should have killed us a few times over.

When I was going through my list this year, I was surprised that this made it as far up as it did compared to other albums I spent more time with on a whole. This one, however, is probably just a little more personal to me, and I get a little emotional even writing about it. In the inherent subjectivity of "best of" lists after eighteen months of collecting reconsiderings of who we are and what we do, this album persists. It's beautiful, it's wonderful, it's essential, it's meaningful. And Laura, if you see this? I hope you're doing okay.

Songs of Note: "Moving Cars," "Continental Divide," "State," "Don't Think About Me"

Sad Daddy - "Charlie Pickle"

Photo by Annemarie Sundell

We first discovered Sad Daddy because one of their members is Melissa Carper, but turns out they've been a band since 2010. All four members (which also include Brian Martin, Joe Sundell, and Rebecca Patek) met up in Martin's cabin in Greers Ferry, Arkansas during the 2020 lockdown and started working on a new album. Eventually they brought in recording equipment and recorded in the cabin live in a circle. The first single from the forthcoming album, "Charlie Pickle," sounds exactly like it was recorded this way. This is pure downhome country. It's a sound that predates what we think of as classic country. It just sounds like a group of friends hanging out and playing music. Despite being as rootsy as it could possibly be, there isn't a shred of that hokey or winking you get sometimes with this type of music. "Charlie Pickle" is classic American roots music that you're simply going to love.

You can watch the video for "Charlie Pickle" below. Way Up in the Hills is due out January 28. The album can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here. For more on Sad Daddy, check out the band's website.

Kim Gordon & J Mascis - "Abstract Blues"

Kim Gordon and J Mascis have known each other for years, and even lived relatively close to each other for a while in Western MA, but this marks the first time the two have released music together. "Abstract Blues" is a monster of a single, with the only surprise being how straightforward of a rock song it is. Well... as straightforward of a rock song that Kim Gordon and J Mascis could be involved with. The song originally dates back to last year when the two wrote and performed it for SMooCH, a benefit for Seattle Children's Hospital. It's an absolute dream pairing that sees Gordon's raw vocals over what is pretty much a song long Mascis guitar solo for almost three minutes. If you're a fan of either (and who isn't?), this is a must listen. The song also features a B-side of "Slow Boy," which is decidedly more punk. It starts off with almost thirty seconds of pure feedback before erupting into Mascis' guitar and Gordon's intense growling vocals. It feels like a cover of a classic punk song, but I'll be damned if I can place it.

You can listen to "Abstract Blues" below. The single is available now through Sub Pop Records' singles club. You can get your copy here. For more on Kim Gordon, check out the artist's website. For J Mascis, you can find his website here.