Best of 2024

 

 The Un-Herd Music Top 50 of 2024

1. Dangereens - Chic

 

An unexpected (and very welcome) return that adds some GramParsonics to their already impressive mix of Westerbergianisms and RonnieLanery. If you follow the references - and have no allergy to cowbells and handclaps - you'll undoubtedly appreciate.

 

2. Pavid Vermin - Brutality Is My Only Friend

 

The concept here is AI-enhanced grisly death metal lyrics and song titles at the service of British Invasion-era music. Sure, it's a gimmick, but it's a hilarious gimmick. And it wouldn't be anywhere near so entertaining if the music didn't deliver so thoroughly on those classic hooks.

3. The Heats - The Heats

 

I'll straight-up admit this is my personal nostalgia speaking, but I saw these guys countless times back in the day and have always considered their "Have An Idea" album (and "Hunk Of Burnin' Live") a lost power pop masterpiece so, 40 years later, I'm totally stoked to be able to pimp their equally great new album.

4. Hinds - Viva Hinds

Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote have been maturing with each release, and it's a delight to hear where they've landed on this album - unpredictable, vulnerable, confident, quirkily rockin' - without losing their established appreciation for fun.

5. The Weirdolls - Almost Unbreakable Toys

To suss out the influences of the band, just triangulate their original songs with the two covers (Sylvain Sylvain's "Teenage News" and Eddie & the Hot Rods' "Do Anything You Wanna Do"), which'll give fair warning that the word "dolls" isn't in the band name by accident.

6. The Courettes - The Soul of the Fabulous Courettes

Less stomping on the gas pedal as they hurtle towards a discount Spectorian Wall of Sound opens a secondary route to extra melody and charm in Flavia Couri's vocals - but no need for worry, speedsters: it's still a thrill ride.

7. Stephie James - As Night Fades

Gorgeous set of songs with hints of 50s sock hops and 60s saloon singers swirling amid memories of Roy Orbison, echoed drums and guitar twang. A very singular mood, but if it matches your own state of mind there won't be much better.

8. The Yum Yums - Poppin' Up Again

I mean, what more do you need? Ramonescore bamalama mixed with classic rock riffs, nasal teenage vocals, over-the-top Beach Boy harmonies, and sugary hooks for days. If it was easy, everybody would do it.

9. Cheap Cassettes - They'll Never Forgive You For Pop

Flirting with the same raggedly perfect imperfection of mid-period Replacements (and fueled with a similar us-against-the-world defiance) may not be a marketing strategy that gets rewarded in these times, but that album title lets us know the band doesn't particularly care.  

 

10. Various - Silver Patron Saints: the Songs of Jesse Malin

Few tributes are created with this much care. 27 tracks featuring such indie luminaries as Spoon, Low Cut Connie, Rancid, the Hold Steady and slightly more mainstream names like Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joe Armstrong and Tom Morello. If you're not yet a fan of Jesse Malin, you will be after giving this a listen.

 

 

 

11. Pat Todd & the RankOutsiders Keepin' Chaos At Bay

12. Love Fiend Handle With Care

13. Beth Lee Hardly Matters

14. Amyl & the Sniffers Cartoon Darkness

15. The Peawees One Drive

16. Sheer Mag Playing Favorites

17. Laughing Because It's True

18. Gold Star How To Shoot The Moon

19. Extra Arms Radar

20. Valley Lodge Shadows In Paradise

21. The Jesus and Mary Chain Glasgow Eyes

22. JD McPherson Nite Owls

23. Th' Losin Streaks Last House

24. Split System Vol. 2

25. Marc Valentine Basement Sparks

26. Jordan Jones And I, You

27. Bad Moves Wearing Out The Refrain

28. The Fastbacks For WHAT Reason

29. Emperor Penguin Gentlemen Thieves

30. Bottlecap Mountain Electric Love Spree

31. Swami & the Bed of Nails All Of This Awaits You

32. Redd Kross Redd Kross

33. Naked Giants Shine Away

34. Teenage Frames Everything Has Led To This

35. Los Chicos Never Is Too Much

36. Nervous Eaters Rock 'n Roll Your Heart Away

37. Ceramic Animal Cosmic Eraser

38. Quireboys Wardour Street

39. The BellRays Heavy Steady Go!

40. Colman Gota Don't Stop Playing Guitar

41. The Okmoniks Afterparty Fever!!!

42. Silver Sun Mild Peril

43. Minky Starshine Boozers Gloom and a Pinch of Anxiety

44. Junior League Our Broadcast Day

45. Daniel Romano Too Hot To Sleep

46. Buffalo Tom Jump Rope

47. Good Looks Lived Here For A While

48. The Fleshtones It's Getting Late (and More Songs About Werewolves)

49. Kim Deal Nobody Loves You More

50. Band of the Underhand A Cheap Ride To Heaven

Best of 2023

 

 

 

The Un-Herd Music Top 50 of 2023

1. Sparklehorse Bird Machine
Thirteen years posthumous, a final statement curated and patched together with obvious love and respect for the quirky genius of Mark Linkous. Miraculous it exists at all; wholly miraculous it's so good.

2. Art Bergmann ShadowWalk

Where previous album took a macro view of the end of life, this one goes micro & personal. Harrowing, unflinching, courageous, honest. Nudges itself in same continuum that includes lodestar masterworks like Sister Lovers and Plastic Ono Band.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Low Cut Connie Art Dealers

Adam Weiner's adherence to traditional rock values (in this case, the same early R&B/Rock&Roll forces that forged the likes of Springsteen and Graham Parker) may repel trend-chasers, but that doesn't mean Low Cut Connie can't be the rest-of-us's favorite band.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. The Delta Riggs The Real Electric

Grafts standard indie rock influences to an appreciation for disco bass lines (& occasional employment of hip hop rhythms) and somehow discovers something immensely satisfying and sincere.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Geese 3D Country

A modern rock album that fits in exactly nowhere (and not even close to the genre suggested in the title). Eclectic, expert, indescribable, genre-less. And all the better for it. Companion EP "4D Country" delivers similar quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Lydia Loveless Nothing's Gonna Stand In My Way Again

This'll get filed under alt.country, which is fair enough, but the way Loveless wittily and mercilessly lacerates herself like a female Paul Westerberg is all rock 'n' roll.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Ten Tonnes Dancing, Alone

Pop wunderkind Ethan Barnett flirts with ancient verities like classic songcraft, undeniable hooks, and earnest reflection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Meyerman Happy To See You

Last release was a 2011 UHM top ten, and this unexpected re-emergence hits the same heights. Lyrical concerns now lean into sincerity as much as smartassery, but their power-poppin' rock-out w/ hooks-out gameplan gloriously remains.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Pat Todd & the RankOutsiders Sons of the City Ditch

A Saints-like horn section on one track and a cover of David Johansen's elegy for the Dolls "Donna" make this typically bangin' collision of Johnnies Cash & Thunders stand out from previous discs.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Barrence Whitfield & the Savages Glory

This band's blistering garage rock approach to soul, blues, & rock has been coming up aces for 4 decades and they're still ready to take on all comers. And, lo, how that sax doth honk.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Autogramm  Music That Humans Can Play

12. Belleville  Before I Go

13. The Blips  The Blips Again

14. Lion Island  Pilot Termination Kiosk

15. Odd Robot  Deathmates

16. Black Pumas  Chronicles of a Diamond

17. Foxy Shazam  Dark Blue Night

18. The Church  The Hypnogogue

19. Diamond Dogs  About the Hardest Nut to Crack

20. The Midnight Callers  Rattled Humming Heart

21.  The Hangmen  Stories to Tell

22.  The Jim Jones All-Stars  Ain't No Peril

23.  Bar Italia  Tracey Denim

24.  Spacey Jane  Here Comes Everybody

25.  Mason Lowe  Morning People

26.  Trench Dogs Stockholmiana

27.  Island of Love Island of Love

28.  Olivia Jean  Raving Ghost

29.  The Men New York City

30.  Crocodiles  Upside Down In Heaven

 

31.  Uni Boys  Buy This Now!

32.  Sunny War  Anarchist Gospel

33.  Dwarves  Concept Album

34.  Bass Drum of Death  Say I Won't

35.  The Whiffs  Scratch 'n' Sniff 

36.  Kurt Baker  Rock 'n' Roll Club

37.  The 1981  Move On

38.  Alex Lahey The Answer is Always Yes

39.  EUT  Be My Reactor

40.  Miss Chain & the Broken Heels Storms

41.  Durand Jones  Wait Til I Get Over

42.  The Pearl Harts  Love, Chaos

43.  Worriers  Trust Your Gut

44.  Twin Temple  God is Dead

45.  Baba Ali  Laugh Like A Bomb

46.  Somerdale  Let's Get Started

47.  Nude Party  Rides On

48.  Backstreet Girls  In Lust We Trust

49.  Class  If You've Got Nothing

50.  Rich Ragany & the Digressions  What We Do (To Not Let Go)

Best of 2022

 

 The Un-Herd Music Top 50 of 2022

 

1. The Jazz Butcher The Highest In The Land

Like Bowie's "Blackstar" this is an intimate last release by an artist ruminating on his impending mortality. The main difference being that Pat Fish makes you sing along as he breaks your heart.

 

2. Fuzzbubble Cult Stars From Mars 

As far as I can tell, it took 20 years for the band to follow their debut and, incredibly, this infectious collection of Lennon-esque vocals & Cheap Trickian power chords may have been worth the wait.

3. Sweet Things Brown Leather

Opening up their Stonesy sound with ballads, slide guitar, and a hint of country/southern rock only makes it more Stonesy - but this is the mean cold-blooded late 60s Stones, so just know that any stray yayas in yer system are about to get out.

4. Blackbirds FC Magiclands

 

It's hard to imagine anyone improving on the mellow melodic heights of the Go-Betweens, but this Melbourne band may have done just that. Impossible to resist.

5. The Rubs (dust)

 

One man band Joey Rubbish delivers so many hooks in these 11 songs you'd be excused for assuming it's a best-of collection. Hints of 80s synth pop, 00s garage, Kinks, Beatles, Thin Lizzy without ever sounding like anything other than the Rubs.

6. Gold Star Headlights U.S.A. (pts I & II)

 

Low key indie pop perfection with a deep & lasting atmosphere of melancholy. Somehow immediately pleasing while also a grower.

7. Spoon Lucifer On The Sofa

 

At this point it's doubtful a new Spoon album will take anyone by surprise, unless the surprise lies in the recognition that Britt Daniel & co. somehow just keep getting better.

8. Starcrawler She Said

 

Part of what's been so fun through this band's first 3 albums is the impending sense of a monstrous wave about to break. You can feel they're gonna be deservedly huge, you just don't know when. The time should be right about now. 

9. Simon Love Love, Sex & Death Etc

Melodic, witty, and a little foul-mouthed, Simon Love is single-handedly saving power pop from the wimpy jangle hordes. If there was any justice in the world (there isn't) he'd already be some kinda star.

10. Ceramic Animal Sweet Unknown

 

Dan Auerbach produced Pennsylvania band has a knack for matching vocal melody with an ear worm guitar hook. Nothing overly flashy, but satisfying in the extreme.

 

 

 

 

11. The Lings The Lings

12. Extra Arms What Is Even Happening Right Now?

13. The Sparklers Miss Philadelphia

14. Dot Dash Madman in the Rain

15. Young Guv III

16. Gyasi Pronounced Jah-See

17. Uni Boys Do It All Next Week

18. Foxy Shazam The Heart Behead You

19. The Hoodoo Gurus Chariot of the Gods

20. The 1990s Nude Restaurant

21. Diamond Dogs Slap Bang Blue Rendezvous

22. Popular Creeps All of This Will End In Tears

23. Interrupters In The Wild

24. 2nd Grade Easy Listening

25. Surf Curse Magic Hour

26. Faz Waltz On The Ball

27. The Handcuffs Burn The Rails

28. Diane Coffee With People

29. Sour Ops Deep Fake

30. Gasoline The Orange Album

31. Fantastic Negrito White Jesus Black Problems

32. Kevin Stevenson Reality Alley

33. The Dip Sticking With It

34. Emperor Penguin Sunday Carvery

35. Too Much Joy All These Fucking Feelings

36. Banditos Right On

37. Cheap Star Wish I Could See

38. Tuk Smith & the Restless Hearts Ballad of a Misspent Youth

39. Mattiel Georgia Gothic

40. House of Love A State of Grace

41. Sino Hearts Lightening the Darkness

42. Bishop's Daredevil Stunt Club Please Stand By

43. Cheap Cassettes Ever Since Ever Since

44. Pink Mountaintops Peacock Pools

45. Nicky Egan This Life

46. Gladie Don't Know What You're In Until You're Out

47. The Chelsea Curve All The Things

48. No. 2 First Love

49. Triptides So Many Days

50. The Speedways Talk of the Town

Best of 2021

 

 

 The Un-Herd Music Top 50 of 2021

 

1. Art Bergmann Late Stage Empire Dementia

He's been a hard luck legend of the Canadian underground for 40 years now, and while it's something of a surprise this album exists at all I can't say it's any surprise that it's so effin' excellent. 

 

 

 

2. The Courettes Back in Mono

The echoed drums, baritone sax deep in the mix & girl group melodies wed Spector's Wall of Sound with the raggedy looseness of 60s garage punk. A triumph all around.

 

 

 

3. Hayley Mary The Drip  

There's a layer of melancholy lying just underneath the driving guitar buzz that lends these highly melodic tunes an impressive staying power. Technically only an EP, but match it with the previous year's "The Piss, The Perfume" and you've got an album for the ages.

 

 

4. Steve Conte Bronx Cheer

An album that not only screams New York, but also offers - in its barrage of hard rock hooks - testament to the reasons why Conte was first choice as Johnny Thunders' fill-in in the reformed New York Dolls.
 

 

 

5. Jelani Aryeh I've Got Some Living To Do

Precociously talented at such a young age, Jelani Aryeh grabs pieces from pop, soul, R&B, and indie and puts them together in refreshingly original ways.

 

 

 

6. We Are The Union Ordinary Life

There are layers of social, political, and lyrical reasons to appreciate this album, but none of that would matter much if the music (a quantum leap forward for both ska-punk and pop-punk) didn't pack such a punch. 

   

 

7. Amyl and the Sniffers Comfort To Me

While Amy Taylor still doesn't exactly sing, she chants and rants with a charisma that sits perfectly amid the band's ACDC-meets-Radio Birdman attack. And while it's understandable she gets tagged as a female Iggy Pop, it's also evident that she's powered by a more righteous anger than any male counterpart might muster.

 

 

8. Made Violent Wannabe

Every now and then I'll find a small miracle - in this case, garage punk with an infectious 50s sock hop sensibility in its melodic construction - that forces me to champion the band as an underdog. Will we ever hear from them again? Who knows. In the meantime, we've got "Wannabe."

 

 

9. Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs Real One

A declarative reminder this kind of music is far too scarce. Not metal, not punk, not indie or alternative - no need for a hyphenate at all - just melodic, aggressive, proudly electric rock that refuses to leave my player. 

 

 

 

10. Reigning Sound A Little More Time With Reigning Sound

Reaches back to their first 2 albums (the pedal steel of "Break Up Break Down" and the garage punk R&B of "Time Bomb High School") and creates what might be their crowning achievement. 

 

 

 

 

11. L.A. Exes Get Some

12. Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders There's Pretty Things in Palookaville

13. Ike Reilly Because the Angels

14. The Blips The Blips

15. EUT Party Time

16. Brothers Steve Dose

17. Peppermint Kicks Peppermint Kicks

18. Daniel Romano Cobra Poems

19. Ryan Hamilton 1221

20. You Am I The Lives of Others 

 

21. Sour Ops X

22. Shannon & the Clams Year of the Spider

23. Mad Rollers Get Mad

24. Ryan Allen What a Rip

25. Real Sickies Love is for Lovers

26. Tommy Womack I Thought I Was Fine

27. The Wildhearts 21st Century Love Songs

28. Kiss the Tiger Vicious Kid

29. Aimee Mann Queens of the Summer Hotel

30. Curtis Harding If Words Were Flowers

 

31. Radio Days Rave On

32. Split Squad Another Cinderella

33. Blunt Bangs Proper Smoker

34. Geoff Palmer Charts and Graphs

35. Too Much Joy Mistakes Were Made

36. Hurry Fake Ideas

37. Cocktail Slippers Shout It Out Loud

38. Ellen Foley Fighting Words

39. The Forty Nineteens The New Roaring Twenties

40. Suzi Quatro The Devil in Me 

 

41. Boy Golden Church of Better Daze

42. Watts Shady Rock 'n' Rollers

43. Needles//Pins Needles//Pins

44. Yola Stand For Myself

45. The Fleshtones Face of the Screaming Werewolf

46. Beatrice Deer Shifting

47. Emperor Penguin Corporation Pop!

48. Parquet Courts Sympathy For Life

49. Elise LeGrow Grateful

50. Nick Waterhouse Promenade Blue