Top 40 albums of 2016 – 2020: #’s 25 – 21

This latest batch of my top albums of the last five years includes a lot of excellent shoegaze and psych-rock. Which made the cut? Read on…

#25: Slowdive – (self-titled) (2017)

Slowdive returned with this gorgeous shoegaze record sounding like they never took a twenty-two-year pause. It’s lush, luxurious, and sometimes loud, and it reminded everyone how much they missed the band and how much everyone needed a warm hug.

#24: Moon Duo – Stars Are the Light (2019)

The cover of Stars Are the Light sums up the album pretty well – psychedelic disco from another planet. It was a welcome return for Moon Duo and a bit of a surprise direction for them, but one much needed and appreciated as we were about to get walloped with a pandemic. This record would become a respite from COVID blues whenever you needed it.

#23: A Place to Bury Strangers – Pinned (2018)

Pinned is the first APTBS album featuring Lia Braswell on drums and backing (and sometimes lead) vocals, and the energy she brings to the band is palpable from the outset. The band somehow gains even more power than they had before and takes on a new sound that bodes well for future endeavors.

#22: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters… (2020)

This double album is chock full of epic riffs, psychedelic freak-outs, and jaw-dropping grooves. It sounds like they went into the studio and unloaded every frustration and desire they’ve had since 2016. It blends Stooges‘ power with Zappa jams, Thin Lizzy funk, and Oh Sees trips.

#21: Here Lies Man – You Will Know Nothing (2018)

I discovered Here Lies Man with this album after their label sent it to me with the question, “What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat?” You have my attention. HLM‘s second record knocked me out of my shoes, and I immediately began telling everyone about them. The Afrobeat rhythms combined with fuzzy bass, synths, and guitars were intoxicating and thrilling. Add to that the band’s philosophy that every album is meant to be thought of as a film / story, and it’s a film you’ll want on 4K Blu-Ray to play through your giant home entertainment system to the annoyance (or love) of your neighbors.

As we reach the top 20 albums of the last five years, we’ll see more shoegaze and psychedelia and the return of a legend.

Keep your mind open.

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Slowdive – self-titled

2017 has been a good year for shoegaze music because two legendary British shoegaze bands returned this year with excellent new material. One of these bands is RIDE, and the other is Slowdive (Nick Chaplin – bass, Rachel Goswell – guitar and vocals, Neil Halstead – guitar and vocals, Christian Savill – guitar, Simon Scott – drums).

Slowdive’s self-titled album is perhaps the lushest, loveliest record of the year. The opener, “Slomo,” immediately seems to lift you off the ground and send you into an idyllic sky with its floating guitars and ghostly vocals about “curious love.” The band has lost nothing in the last twenty years. They only seem to have improved on everything. The title of “Star Roving” (a song about sharing love even when it seems daunting) couldn’t be more appropriate. It’s a sonic blast that burns as bright as a comet.

Goswell’s vocals on “Don’t Know Why” start subtle but then the entire song opens like a flower and becomes a stunning piece about trying to escape the memories of a lover who has moved on to someone else. “Sugar for the Pill” was the first Slowdive had released in two decades, and it immediately set the music world on fire. It’s no surprise, because the song is stunning. Slightly goth bass, echoing guitars, lush synths, and smoky vocals about not being able to live up to a lover’s expectations all mix together to produce one of the prettiest songs of 2017.

“Everyone Knows” bursts with energy, whereas the follow-up “No Longer Making Time” is like a lovely walk through a morning fog that is lifted by the sunrise. Slowdive has mastered the art of making guitars both loud and soothing. “Go Get It” is a master course on how to put together a shoegaze song: shifting levels of distortion and reverb, solid drumming, and mysterious vocals.

The album ends with “Falling Ashes” – which is little more than a rain-like piano riff, subdued guitars, and quiet vocals (often repeating the album’s theme, “Thinking about love.”), but that’s all Slowdive needs to hold you in the moment.

I know most of this review is merely I saying, “This record is gorgeous,” but that’s the best way I can put it. Parts of it sound like Slowdive stepped out of a time machine from the 1990’s, but other parts of it are rich with new energy that’s hard to describe.

“Gorgeous” is the best word that comes to mind.

Keep your mind open.

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