Best of 2019

Emily King – Scenery

*Top 40 and pop music in general is not where my leanings still align in terms of tastes, but via FUV or Spotify I tuned in for “Remind Me”  by EK and suddenly I was hooked into a groove. It reminded me of a third album reprise by a modern-day Prince meets Erykah Badu. 

Andrew Bird – My Finest Work Yet

*Bragging rights aside from another tongue-in-cheek name and chest-hair-adorned cover art, never has an album from start to finish been so impeccably timeless to the point where you pick it up anywhere and it just sounds perfect. Maybe since “Z” by My Morning Jacket or Wilco’s “Summer Teeth.” As on some previous efforts, here Andrew Bird doesn’t need to use thesaurus-able words and gaping chamber strings, “My Finest Work” is pure rock n’ roll and reflective folk staples with rockish hooks “Olympians” and “Sisyphus” and the introspective folky “Manifest.” 

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Fishing for Fishies

*Both King Giz’s 2019 LP’s were stunners, with “Fishing” being a readily accessible Brit-rock and bluesy album and “Infest the Rat’s Nest” a modern thrash-metal doozy. This Aussie septet never ceases to dish out quality LPs.

Chris Forsyth – All Time Present

*Instrumental soaring guitar rock which opens with an autumnal string bender. These are mountain soundtracks dredged in Buckley, Neil Young, Pavement and modern psychedelics, plain and simple.

Garcia Peoples – Natural Facts

*Best live act over the past few years translates (shocking) well on record with this and their earlier “Cosmic Cash” living up to the New Jersey jammish band’s live repertoire. Constant touring regiment, check them out at year-end shows or residencies at Nublu or LPR.

Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising

*Plunging Laurel Canyon pop-rock sounds like a Joan Baez meets Beck or Jon Brion remixing Brian Wilson outtakes with dense instrumentals, loops and steel guitars. 

The Flaming Lips – King’s Mouth: Music & Songs

*While not the Lips’ finest offering since “Yoshimi” or “The Soft Bulletin,” the “King’s Mouth” is the most forward-looking and realistic offerings of their last half-dozen releases. There’s something grounded in the narrative voice of The Clash’s Mick Jones over songs showcasing an art exhibit from Wayne Coyne. The theme of a false king and big baby narrated by a British punk icon are just too fitting for the past few years reality TV show in the US, too.