I know, that’s a lame description, but I am not sure how to tidily describe the following songs that wore down my digital turntable needle in 2020. Bands that tend to feature guitars, insistent grooves, a touch of Velvet Underground influence and a nice dollop of lyrical humor. Songs that aren’t going to lead to my wife asking me to turn the volume down a little bit. But my advice to you when playing the following songs — turn the volume up a bit! Just a bit though.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Cars In Space (Sideways to New Italy)
I think I learned of this Australian quintet from my buddy Jim Hoffmann way back when their first EP came out several years ago. I loved them immediately. They reminded me of The Feelies but with an early R.E.M. vibe. The melodies are super catchy and sunny. Sideways To New York would be the perfect album to put on when you’re driving down the coast or cross-country, and let your thoughts drift off into the clouds. That is, if we are ever able to do that again.
“Cars in Space,” is the song I chose here, and I do love the way the guitars swirl around in my body. In fact, it’s hard to type this while listening to it as my body keeps swaying around in my chair. This song definitely was in my top 10 most played in 2020 and the whole album will likely remain in high rotation in 2021.
Kiwi Jr. – Murder in the Cathedral (Football Money)
I was shocked to find out that Kiwi Jr. are from the Prince Edward Island area of eastern Canada and not Brooklyn, NY or San Francisco. They certainly dabble in the 90s-era slacker rock of bands like Pavement and later, Parquet Courts, but there’s something sweeter and nicer about them. So, I guess it does make sense that Kiwi Jr. is Canadian. Canadians are just nicer than Americans and Brits. I suppose I could have accepted that they’d be from New Zealand as well — the other country of nice-seeming people.
What can I say about their debut album, Football Money? I can say that when I put it on, I skip zero songs. It’s uniformly brilliant from beginning to end (though too short at 29 minutes). I bop my head around with a smile on my face on every song. And the lyrics are intelligible so you can sing along if you like. Like on the song “Gimme More,” you can join in with the lads as they sing, “gimme more gimme more more more,” and feel like you are a member of the band. Happily, they have a 2nd album coming out later this month, so it’s likely I’ll be posting about them again later in 2021.
Boat – To All The Sweaty People (Tread Lightly)
This song makes me miss seeing live music. It also makes me miss being young. When staying out late, getting drunk, heading to a club and dancing around to some high-energy band along with a crowd of other like-minded and sloshed folks seemed the epitome of a perfect night and not the sequence of unpleasant experiences it seems today. Yes, I am old. My bones break more easily now. The stench of unshowered young people is harder to block out. I start to fall asleep around 10pm. And there’s nowhere to park. But support your local music venues, cause they’re really hurting! Had to say that.
When I listen to Boat and especially this song, “To All The Sweaty People,” it takes me back to the mid-90s, when I was a newbie to San Francisco and would head over to Slim’s in the SOMA neighborhood and see whoever was playing. It was the heyday of bands like Pavement and Young Fresh Fellows, sloppy rockers, draped in flannel but not part of the grunge scene at all. They were too stoned and ironic for that. This Seattle quintet has been around for fifteen-ish years, so they wouldn’t have been around during that scene, but they more than capably have grabbed the torch from their forebears, who were my heroes at the time, and I thank them for making me feel young again.
Hockey Dad – In This State (Brain Candy)
Another band/duo that I discovered in 2020, thanks to Metacritic.com. This 2nd Australian entry on the list is further proof that the White Stripes had it right when they showed it only takes two to make a band. Guitars and drums and superb song-writing chops flow abundant across this entire album. Though bass has been overdubbed on the recording, if you see them live (I couldn’t find a live clip for this song, but check this out to see them live, without a bass) you will be amazed by the instinctive interplay of guitarist/vocalist Zach Stephenson and drummer/backing-vocalist Billy Fleming. If you know your alt-rock duos, I would say these guys musically, land somewhere between Japandroids and Jeff the Brotherhood. Oh, and I dunno if their name is a reference to the alt-rock darling Soccer Mommy, but I will choose to think it is for my own amusement.
Shopping – No Apologies (All Or Nothing)
I thought I’d include the live version of “No Apologies” instead of the studio one (which you can hear above if you have Spotify) as it shows how locked in this trio of UK musicians are when they play. The tempo is a bit slower than the album version but I love seeing how all three members sing, the way their voices overlap and intertwine and the clean sound where you can clearly hear the driving bass, angular guitars and tight-as-nails drums. I’ve loved Shopping ever since hearing them on an online mix back in 2015. Even though they are singing about some serious political issues, I can’t help but feel in a better mood after (and during) listening to them.
Ohmme – 3 2 4 3 (Fantasize Your Ghost)
When I first heard Ohmme’s 2020 album, Fantasize Your Ghost, it was a little after midnight, I was in my studio, quite stoned, doing some stretching. Thank goodness I was already on the ground, because 30 seconds into opening track, “Flood Your Gut,” I was floored. Who the hell was this Ohmme? I stood up, using all my strength against the power of this duo’s sound — alternately crunchingly loud and heavy and quiet and minimal — and researched them on the interwebs. Could this intricate, layered music be made by just two people? I thought the same thing with Hockey Dad, but with Ohmme, it definitely sounds like more than two musicians playing here. Perhaps there’s some overdubs or looping, but apparently it’s all played and sung by Chicago musicians Sima Cunnngham and Macie Stewart.
The title of this song, “3243,” refers to the time signature switches that are used. A total prog-rock move for sure, but they do it so effortlessly, all you can sense listening to it is that it sounds really off-kilter but unique and amazing. I tried to count the rhythms on a subsequent listen and my brains began to leak out my ears. So I don’t recommend you do that. Just appreciate this special duo/band that put out one of the best albums of 2020.
Fuzzys Warbles 