Jeff's Top 10 of 2016 - #1: Ladyhawke - Wild Things

My top album of 2016 is Ladyhawke's Wild Things.

It's my favorite album this year. It's the album I listened to the most this year. There was a moment about a month after this came out where I posted on Facebook something along the lines of "All I do is listen to Ladyhawke now" because I was so addicted to this album. When I wasn't listening to Wild Things, I went back to her older albums and listened to those instead. When I put on my playlist of current obsessions, my wife asked me why I listen to Ladyhawke so much since her songs were probably taking up 10% of the playlist most of the summer. Literally as I write this, my Spotify end-of-year recap came in my email, and three songs from this album are my top three tracks. According to Spotify, I'm in the top 1% of Ladyhawke listeners, apparently.

Can you tell I love this album?

It's the perfect pop rock album, for sure. It's polished but still feels fresh, it's got melodies that stick in my head constantly, I find something new to love in it every single time. I can't say a single bad thing about it, and I realize that I haven't been to a live concert in four years and Ladyhawke is playing Boston in March and I may need to end my drought. I don't think I knew her before this year, and I'm glad I was able to find this album, because it's just been a great listen. If you haven't bothered yet, give it a shot now. It's not too late.

Recommended: "A Love Song," "Money to Burn," "Let It Roll."

Chicano Batman - "Friendship (Is a Small Boat in a Storm)"

Photo by Josue Rivas

With a name like Chicano Batman, it would be easy to dismiss them as a novelty act. I'll admit that their name is the main reason I gave this song a shot. Plus, they all wear matching vintage suits and shirts, which can scream "gimmick." But "Friendship (Is a Small Boat in a Storm)" is this groove based chilled out soul song heavy on keys. There is a heavy Latin influence, which is surprisingly rare in soul music. Most soul tends to vary between slow ballads and fast tempo dance songs, while "Friendship (Is a Small Boat in a Storm)" sits right in the mid-tempo range. It's too slow to really dance to, but fast enough that you'll need to move. This song is just pure groove. Not many bands can pull off opening for Jack White, Alabama Shakes, and Gogol Bordello, but Chicano Batman have.

You can watch the video for "Friendship (Is a Small Boat in a Storm)" below. The new album from Chicano Batman, Freedom is Free, is due out March 3 on ATO Records. You can pre-order a copy on Chicano Batman's website.

Ken's Top 10 of 2016 - #2: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - A Man Alive

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down could be a complete trainwreck of a band. They merge folk, rock, indie, dance, and hip hop. Anytime that many genres blend, it makes it more likely for the album to be a disaster of a hodgepodge and feel completely disconnected. But A Man Alive is an absolute masterpiece. Let me explain how special Thao is. The photo pit at a major festival should be a magical place. You're within feet of rock stars, taking pictures of them, and enjoying the show in front of a crowd that has been jockeying for position all day. However, for some reason, it can be a miserable place. Photographers are trying to get that one great picture and see all others as their competition for that picture. Plus, most are just doing an assignment and see it as a waste of a weekend. That was the attitude when Thao & The Get Down Stay Down played the Newport Folk Festival in 2014. Add a torrential downpour during her set to the mix, and the photo pit should have been completely miserable. Instead, the photographers were actually smiling. One woman turned to me and declared "She's just so much fun!" When a performer can get music journalists to enjoy themselves, it's something truly special. You're going to want to check out the full album, but if you're not completely sold, check out "The Evening," "Meticulous Bird," and especially "Nobody Dies," which is probably my favorite song of the year. What can I say, I love party songs about everyone's imminent demise.

Jeff's Top 10 of 2016: #2 - Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math

My #2 album this year is Margaret Glaspy's Emotions and Math.

I remember when Ken first shared "You and I" with me, and I immediately knew this was an album I needed to hear. Quickly, the title track landed followed by the album, and I fell in love with this album. Glaspy is clearly a talented guitarist and songwriter, and this album is the perfect balance between intricate songwriting and hooky melodies. There's a bluesy tinge to a lot of this, but it ends up really just being a solid singer-songwritery effort that hit every possible note for me. There's not a bad song on the album, and it basically hasn't left my rotation since it came out (except for the couple days it fell off of Spotify, which were some of the worst days of the year).

If you've somehow slept on this one, change that. And if you listen to "Emotions and Math," we can debate together whether the song is actually secretly from the point of view of a canine.

Recommended songs: "You and I," "Emotions and Math," "Pins and Needles."

Ken's Top 10 of 2016 - #3: Margo Price - Midwest Farmer's Daughter

Midwest Farmer's Daughter is one of those rare albums that I couldn't seem to get enough of throughout 2016. It was just that album I always went back to when I got bored and couldn't decide what to put on in the background at work. Her throwback country sound just gets me perfectly. If you're the kind of person who needs at least 2 minutes to answer the question "Do you like country?," Margo Price is for you. Her appearance on Marc Maron's WTF podcast and her performance at this year's Green River Festival just increased my love of Midwest Farmer's Daughter. Turns out "Weekender" is actually about her brief time in jail. I even went back to listen to her old soul band, Buffalo Clover. Her live show completely won me over, and "Four Years of Chances" reaches an absolute epic level live. It never quite caught me on the album, and I swore it was some old Dolly Parton or Bobbie Gentry cover until I looked at the album and realized that's where I knew it from. Somehow she's not playing theaters yet, so make sure you check her out in the clubs while you can. She's due for Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell levels of success very soon.

Jeff's Top 10 of 2016 - #3: Tancred - Out of the Garden

My #3 album is Tancred's Out of the Garden, a 90s-alt throwback solo project that I found late but never really stopped listening to.

Sometimes an album just catches you, and this one did that for me. I did not expect to hear what felt effectively like a Letters to Cleo/Juliana Hatfield-style effort from a member of Now Now, but here we have it. I learned later that this was produced by Anna Waronker (best known for being the singer/songwriter of That Dog) and it continued to come together. Lead track "Bed Case" sets the tone, and the rest of the half-hour album just doesn't let up. It feels fresh and modern even though it wears its influences on its sleeves, and given that this is Jess Abbott's second album under this project, you can hear how the transformation of the sound compliments her songwriting style so well.

Honestly, the top three albums I have this year probably changed positions on me a dozen times. You won't go wrong by giving this a listen, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Recommended songs: "Bed Case," "Pens," "Poise"

Ken's Top 10 of 2016 - #4: Drive-By Truckers - American Band

My obsession with Drive-By Truckers has been going pretty strong for 15 years now, ever since the release of Southern Rock Opera. In my own opinion, they haven't released a bad album in that time. Even a mediocre Drive-By Truckers album is still pretty great. Their latest release, American Band, is my favorite release of theirs since 2004's The Dirty South. Their albums tend to be a mixture of serious, darker songs along with some that border on novelty, with some thinly veiled politics mixed throughout. American Band drops the thin veil and sense of humor and is their most overtly political and serious album yet. Mike Cooley claimed that he "... wanted to piss off the assholes," and with songs about getting rid of the Confederate flag ("Surrender Under Protest"), Black Lives Matter and police shootings ("What It Means"), and the sex lives of conservative Christians ("Kinky Hypocrite"), it's safe to say they may have accomplished their goal. In a year when members of Rage Against the Machine teamed with Chuck D of Public Enemy in a nostalgia based cash grab disguised as an attempt to Fight the Power, American Band was a welcome reflection of protest and anger.

Jeff's Top 10 of 2016 - #4: Jeff Rosenstock - Worry

My #4 album this year is Jeff Rosenstock's Worry.

This one caught me by surprise and got more and more additive the more I listened to it. I didn't even list this as my favorite album of the week it came out, but did predict accurately that this would age well, and it absolutely did. This is like that classic 1990s alt-rock album you loved and forgot about, with great hooks and melodies and some nice crunchy guitars to go along with it. It's obnoxious and fun, the lyrics are off-center and provide a solid look into what a less serious album can sound like in this day and age.

Overall, just an album that fills me with joy almost every time I listen to it. If you've missed this up until now, you have to check it out.

Recommended: "The Fuzz," "Wave Goodnight to Me," "Staring Out the Window of Your Old Apartment"

Jeff's Top 10 of 2016 - #5: Kaia Kater - Nine Pin

My #5 album this year is Kaia Kater's Nine Pin.

Kaia Kater hit my radar a few years back, and we were both pretty excited about Nine Pin around these parts. The result here is an album that is the sort of raw Americana that I love, with some great musicianship and some interesting songs while still feeling traditional and timeless. It's a really stellar album because of how under the radar it is, but it deserves a lot more attention than it got. The whole thing is just a gorgeous, haunting listen from top to bottom, and it deserves a look if you haven't given it one already. I've gone back to it twice in the last couple weeks because I love it so much.

So get on this. Just a great listen.

Recommended: "Harlem's Little Blackbird," "Harvest and the Plough," "Rising Down"

Ken's Top 10 of 2016 - #5: Nots - Cosmetic

Whenever I see anything about Nots, I'm always surprised that they aren't from England and instead are from Nashville. Even though I know there are bands from Nashville besides country bands, you don't really expect there to be much of a post punk scene in Tennessee. Nots are this perfect combo of late 70s post punk groove and 90s art punk noise and riot aggression. I made the obvious comparison earlier by bringing up Sonic Youth and Bikini Kill, but that still stands. The album closer, "Entertain Me," is my favorite seven minute song I've heard in years. It's a noisy, badass epic. "Cosmetic" is a shorter song, but it's still filled with bursts of perfect noise. Cosmetic is a side of Nashville you're probably not familiar with, but you'll want to be.