Monday Mixtape, Vol. 222

in

Turnstile is one of my favorite bands of the past few years, and their older albums prior to GLOW ON are more hardcore, more screaming, and a ton of head banging. They’re not as good as GLOW ON, but damn do they ic rock. Example numero uno: “Real Thing.”

I’ve really been digging Blondshell’s new album, and “Kiss City” is another track to enjoy.

I’m still digesting The National’s new album. I didn’t like it at first, I think I like it more now, and “Tropical Morning News” is my favorite thus far.

Few more tracks from a few more artists that play on these playgrounds.

Top 25 Albums of 2019

in

My favorite albums of 2019 are here! As happened with the Top 100 Songs of 2019, there really wasn’t a clear cut winner for me. I almost wanted to give it to Vampire Weekend for being so damn consistent, but their album was too long with a few weak tracks that kept them out of the #1 ranking.

After some debate, I realized the album that I enjoyed the most was PUP’s Morbid Stuff. It’s one of those great rock albums, and PUP is such a fun and loud band that loves being loud. They’re the musical man child of Japandroids and New Found Glory. Their live shows must be nuts.

As for the remainder of albums, there’s a number of notables, including my favorite newcomer (for me), Rex Orange County, a singer/songwriter without a great voice or much notable traits that I can point to other than the fact that he sounds like his own. It’s not always about some amazing voice or guitar licks, sometimes it’s just being yourself that makes music so great.

Read More