Category: Post-punk

Top 40 albums of 2016-2020: #’s 40 – 36

I realized that I’ve been running and writing 7th Level Music for five years now, and that the five-year anniversary coincided with the end of the last decade. So, in the spirit of “Everyone loves lists!”, I’ve decided to rank my top 40 albums of the last five years. I went with 40 records after I averaged the number of albums I reviewed from 2016 to 2020 and then chopped that number approximately in half.

This wasn’t an easy task (although my #1 album was quickly determined). The list went through four revisions before I felt it was “right.” Lists like this are always subjective, and there are always good, if not great, albums that don’t make the cut. There were also bands like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Oh Sees, WALL, and Here Lies Man that had multiple excellent albums within the five-year span that I wanted to highlight, but I opted to choose one from each (another difficult task) in order to get more artists onto the list.

Shall we begin?

#40: CHAI – Pink (2018)

Japanese pop punk? Yes, please. These four ladies have made some of the most fun music of the last five years. They’ve also created their own sense of fashion by trashing fashion standards and love donuts and dancing. There’s nothing to not like. Lead single “N.E.O.” was like a shot in the arm of pure dance-punk adrenaline.

#39: Caroline Rose – Superstar (2020)

Superstar is Caroline Rose’s best album yet and one that covers everything from doing things your own way to the weird world of fame that found her after she released the excellent Loner album. Rose tackles these subjects with her witty lyrics, funky grooves, and lovely voice, starting off the record with a track called “Nothing’s Impossible” and carrying that positivity through the whole record.

#38: The New Pornographers – Whiteout Conditions (2017)

For the record, The New Pornographers saw everything we experienced in the political landscape for the last four years coming as soon as the 2016 election ended. Whiteout Conditions was A.C. Newman and company’s response to the results. He and the rest of the band knew then what was coming, creating songs like the title track (about the rise of white people embracing fear more than ever and dreading what that would cause down the road) and “This Is the World of the Theatre.” It certainly was, wasn’t it?

#37: Mdou Moctar – Ilana (The Creator) (2019)

Simply a beautiful record of Tuareg music that was all about positivity, embracing light, and searching for and finding peace through love and compassion. Moctar is a phenomenal guitarist, creating stunning riffs and power, and cool dude all around. When I saw him live, he was selling Tuareg jewelry at his merch table to support a school he was building back in Algeria.

#36: L’Epee – Diabolique (2019)

This psychedelic supergroup’s debut album is a stunner and seemed to come out of nowhere. It sounds like it was unearthed from a time capsule buried in a small French coastal town in 1966 and combines the powers of Anton Newcombe, The Limiñanas, and Emmanuelle Seigner. It’s one of those records that can instantly put you into a trance or change the mood of an entire nightclub, let alone a room.

There’s plenty more to come. Stay tuned.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Shame – Drunk Tank Pink

What do you do when you spend a good chunk of your young adult life as a touring rock band, build your identity around said band and said touring, and then have all of that yanked away from you by a pandemic?

If you’re British rockers Shame, you look inward, ask yourselves “What the hell were we thinking? We’re more than…whatever we were during nonstop tours and parties.”, and refocus on how they (and the rest of us) were going to deal with reality in 2020 and beyond. You also write and record an outstanding record like Drunk Tank Pink.

Named after a color used in jail cells to calm, you guessed it, drunks, Drunk Tank Pink has Shame taking their angry, bratty punk sounds down multiple avenues that include post-punk influences like Talking Heads and pop icons like Elton John.

“Alphabet” starts off with snappy drums and singer Charlie Steen telling us flat-out “What you see is what you get.” He and his mates are through with perceived notions and crafted images. They’re just as pissed and antsy as the rest of us, and Sean Coyle-Smith‘s guitar certainly amplifies that notion. “It just goes on,” Steen sings on “Nigel Hitter” – a song about repetition and how life can and will continue whether you want it to or not. “Born in Luton” has Steen raging about feeling trapped alone in his own home (“There’s never anyone in this house!”). The song dissolves into a slow burn of boiling anger at a world that botched its collective response to the pandemic and thus left millions feeling like him.

“I should just go back to sleep…In my room, in my womb, is the only place I find peace,” Steen sings on “March Day.” It’s a rather plucky song about depression, with Steen poking fun at himself and realizing that self-medicating his way through the pandemic wasn’t a good idea. “Water in the Well” has a deceptively wicked bass line from Josh Finerty and some fun horror movie imagery and great percussion from Charlie Forbes that runs around the room like a cackling gremlin.

“I live deep in myself, just like everyone else!” Steen yells on the wild “Snow Day” – a barrage of punk and prog fury that has great, sly lyrics like, “I know what I need, I just haven’t got it yet.” Finerty’s bass is at the front of “Human for a Minute,” which would be a great name for a Gary Numan song but sounds more like a slightly heavy Edwyn Collins track with its groovy swagger and lyrics about finding a new identity with a new lover (“I never felt human before you arrived.”).

“Great Dog” builds and builds to wild, mosh pit-filling riffs and then plunges off a cliff at the end to leave you breathless. “6/1” has Steen proclaiming, “I pray to no God! I am God!” He’s determined to be in control of his own destiny / fate / life, even more so as he watches so much of the world tear itself apart over petty things while the rich get richer. Coyle-Smith and Eddie Green‘s guitars on “Harsh Degrees” come at you from so many different angles it’s like you’re being attacked by a a dozen Shaolin monks. “I need a solution, I need a new resolution and it’s not even the end of year,” Steen lazily sings on the closer, “Station Wagon.” He’s looking for something, anything, to turn a lame year into something worthwhile. We were all doing that in 2020 and still are not even a full month into 2021. “Look up there. There’s something in that cloud. We’ve seen it before,” Steen says. “Won’t someone please bring me that cloud?”

Drunk Tank Pink comes to us in 2021 to remind us that, yes, 2020 was one of the worst years ever (“No one said this was going to be easy,” Steen says on the final track.), but, you made it here if you were lucky. You survived. You have the moment, the moment all of us have had and ever will have, to move forward and emerge stronger.

You can come out of the drunk tank with a new perspective. It’s okay to acknowledge what you suffered. There’s no shame in that. This album reminds you to put that rage down after you’ve acknowledged it, to learn from it, and to keep moving ahead.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Top 35 albums of 2020: #’s 5 – 1

Here we are. We’ve reached the cream of the cop.

#5: Yardsss – Cultus

This album is “only” three tracks, but one of them is over twenty-three minutes long. The other two are over seven minutes each. Even more impressive? This entire psychedelic / prog-rock album was improvised. Yardsss came in without a game plan and created a monster of a record that you can’t believe was done on the fly.

#4: Caroline Rose – Superstar

This is Caroline Rose’s best album to date. She tackles subjects like fame, flying your freak flag, sex, love, lust, and finding the self with power pop riffs, playful, lovely vocals, and some of her wittiest songwriting to date.

#3: Windhand – Levitation Sessions

I watched several livestream concerts this year, and all were good. This one by doom metal giants Windhand, however, literally gave me chills. That moment came during “Forest Clouds” when I could feel something happening. The hairs on my arms stood up and I couldn’t stop grinning. It was a powerful moment that I needed to remind me that live music will return. Nothing can stop it (or Windhand, it seems), and this entire live album was like being handed a battle axe as a hobgoblin army advances on the city.

#2: Automatic – Signal

I knew right away upon hearing Signal that (A) it was a post-punk gauntlet thrown down at other bands, (B) it was sexy as an underground 1960s dance club in Paris, and (C) it was going to be my favorite debut album of 2020. Everything on this album works at a high level. It makes you feel like a sexy bad ass, and all three ladies in Automatic are such. Tread lightly, however. They’re not screwing around and might whack you with a claw hammer if you cross the line.

#1: Flat Worms – Antarctica

This psych / garage / punk masterpiece by Flat Worms went into my #1 spot upon first hearing it in April 2020 and never moved. It is stunningly powerful and chock-full of killer lyrics about fighting against the rat race, internet addiction, the depersonalization of others, economic inequality, and toxic relationships. This is one of those albums that sounds new every time I hear it. It’s a shame they couldn’t tour to promote it, because this album could’ve and should’ve made them big-time draws.

I’m already hearing good stuff in 2021, so let’s stay healthy and get back to shows and festivals.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 35 albums of 2020: #’s 10 – 6

We’ve reached the top 10 (of nearly 80) albums I reviewed in 2020. Who made the cut? Read on…

#10: The Wants – Container

The only thing bad about this album is that The Wants didn’t get to extensively tour to promote it. Screw you, 2020. Container deserves to be heard by everyone, especially post-punk fans or anyone else who likes their rock with a slight goth edge. I was lucky enough to see them in February 2020 before the country and touring and venues shut down. I hope they’re able to get back to the road soon, because hearing this record live is even better.

#9: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals

This album is so heavy that it might break your turntable if you have it on vinyl. The Black Sabbath influences are evident, but Pigs X7 sound like they had fun while making an album to unleash their wrath upon Brexit, COVID-19, politicians across the pond, and jackasses in general.

#8: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters…

I’d only heard a few tracks by Frankie and the Witch Fingers from earlier records before hearing their new album, Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters… Holy crap. This record floored me. It’s double-album-full of prime psychedelia, shoegaze, and garage rock jams. Let this album consume you.

#7: BRANDY – The Gift of Repetition

I don’t remember where I first heard BRANDY’s music, but I’m glad I did because this is the most fun punk record I heard all year. The repetition mentioned in the album’s title is used to great effect throughout the record with killer beats, riffs, and choruses.

#6: Hum – Inlet

The biggest surprise release of the year also turned out to be one of the best albums of the year. No one expected or even considered a new, full-length album by 1990s shoegaze legends Hum, but along came Inlet to knock off our socks and remind us that these guys can mop the floor with just about any other band out there.

Only five more to go! Who takes the title of best album of 2020? Come back tomorrow to find out.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 35 albums of 2020: #’s 15 – 11

We’re more than halfway through the list now. Let’s not waste time.

#15: Ela Minus – Acts of Rebellion

Part-electro, part-goth, all great. Ela Minus made us move, stand up and fight, and otherwise get off our collective duffs during a year when we needed to be shaken out of our funks.

#14: October and the Eyes – Dogs and Gods

Have you ever seen Cult of the Cobra from 1955? In that movie, a woman who can turn into a cobra tracks down the men who, for kicks, infiltrated her cult’s rituals, and kills them one by one. She falls in love with one of the men, however, and you can guess the rest. This album is pretty much what the Cobra Woman would have playing on her ear buds as she stalked and seduced her victims.

#13: Falle Nioke and Ghost Culture – Youkounkoun

“Barké,” a song from this EP, stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it. The record mixes Afrobeat and electronica in perfect amounts, resulting in slick dance tracks and hypnotic songs.

#12: Kelly Lee Owens – Inner Song

Kelly Lee Owens makes electronic music that can make you dance, sigh, relax, or meditate – all sometimes in the same track. Her second album continues to set the bar high for others behind her. I say it many times, but I don’t mind repeating it – She’s both an inspiration for me to make my own electronic music and at other times throw my digital turntables out the window due to thinking, “Damn, that’s just not fair.” after hearing her tracks.

#11: Public Practice – Gentle Grip

Trust me, this post-punk debut album is as intriguing and sexy as its cover. I’d been waiting for a full-length Public Practice album since 2019 when they released a few singles and I saw them live in Chicago. The wait was well worth it. Gentle Grip is outstanding and leaves you eager for more.

The top 10 are next!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 15 singles of 2020: #’s 5 – 1

Here we are at the top of the list!

#5: Too Free – “Elastic”

Yes, another song by Too Free. This thing is a sexy floor-filler EDM track that has an underlying hint of goth menace to it that immediately catches your ears.

#4: Jon Hopkins – “Singing Bowl (Ascension)”

If 2020 did anything right, it forced all of us to sit and be here. There was often nothing else to do. It was a year of zazen if you let it be so. Along comes Jon Hopkins with this lovely, stunning track suitable for meditation and making out – again two things that we were given a lot of time to do in 2020. Everyone needed to hear this last year, and any other year before or since.

#3: Matt Karmil – “PB”

I don’t know what “PB” means. Peanut butter? Pittsburgh? Pulsating beats? Yeah, that’s probably it, because this dance track is full of them.

#2: Kelly Lee Owens – “Melt!”

Yes, Ms. Owens has two tracks in my top 15 singles of 2020. I think she is the only person alive who can pull off an absolute club banger about global warming. She does nothing but amaze me and make me want to smash my digital turntables with a twelve-pound sledge hammer.

#1: Flat Worms – “Market Forces”

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that my favorite single of 2020 comes from my favorite album of 2020. Everything about this song works on a high level – beat, riffs, lyrics, and vocals. It moves and slugs like a professional boxer as it throws out lyrics about getting off your ass and shaking illusions out of your head so you can embrace the present and reality.

There you have it. Keep your mind open.

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Top 35 albums of 2020: #’s 25 – 21

The top 25? Already? Yep. Here we go.

#25: Death Valley Girls – Levitation Sessions: Live from the Astral Plane

Your live psychedelic rock album can’t miss when the first track is a guide to astral projection. You also can’t miss when it’s full of wild rock, passionate vocals, and, for all I know, tantric magic.

#24: Deeper – Auto-Pain

Wow. I mean…Wow. This post-punk record covers some serious subjects (suicide, existential angst, boredom, ennui, technological creep) and does it with serious chops and resolve.

#23: All Them Witches – Nothing As the Ideal

All Them Witches returned with possibly their heaviest album to date. Nothing As the Ideal is almost a Black Sabbath record in its tone and sheer sonic weight. It sounds like they were getting out all their frustration of not being able to tour on the record. It’s a cathartic gem.

#22: Protomartyr – Unlimited Success Today

Protomartyr put out one of the mots intriguing records of 2020. Unlimited Success Today is layered with stunning guitar chords, powerhouse drumming, and mysterious lyrics that sometimes read and sound like a madman yelling atop a milk crate in the middle of a busy intersection in your town.

#21: Gordon Koang – Unity

Possibly the most uplifting album of 2020, Unity is the tale of refugee Gordon Koang finally becoming an Australian citizen. Koang is a musical superstar in Africa, but fled the continent due to civil war and threats on his life. Despite all his tribulations, Unity is a record full of hope (not to mention fun Afrobeat tracks) that we needed last year.

The top 20 of 2020 are coming up next!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 15 singles of 2020: #’s 10 – 6

We’re already at my top 10 singles of 2020. Time’s already flying by!

#10: Liam Kazar – “Shoes Too Tight”

This came out of nowhere and turned out to be one of the catchiest, sharpest singles I heard all year. Mr. Kazar can’t come out with a full-length album soon enough for my liking. This song shows a level of playful artistry sorely lacking in a lot of music right now.

#9: Matt Karmil – “210”

This house track drops like an empty Red Bull can onto a dance floor full of sweaty, sexy people. I’m not sure I can sum it up better than that.

#8: Protomartyr – “Processed By the Boys”

This track from Ultimate Success Today is a great example of what Protomartyr do so well – blending mysterious lyrics and vocals with rock chops that border on psychedelia.

#7: Heartless Bastards – “Revolution”

This surprise single came out of Erika Wennerstrom being frustrated with damn well everything in 2020. She summed up how we all felt and gave us a rallying cry for 2021.

#6: Teenager – “Good Time”

Listening to this is some of the best music fun I had all year. It was stuck in my head for days after first hearing it. It’s a song about how love is fleeting to a sweet groove that is nothing short of smile-inducing.

Only five left to go! Who makes it to the top? Come back tomorrow to learn!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 35 albums of 2020: #’s 30 – 26

Let’s get right to it. Shall we?

#30: The Death Wheelers – Divine Filth

It’s a soundtrack for a post-apocalyptic / zombie / biker film that doesn’t exist (but should) made by four dudes who can swing musical styles (metal, doom, surf, prog) on a dime and love B-movies. You can’t miss.

#29: Oh Sees – Levitation Sessions

The folks at the Reverb Appreciation Society came up with a great idea this year – live-streamed shows that would coincide with a release of the live show in various formats (digital, vinyl, cassette). This one from Osees / Oh Sees was the first one I watched this year, and it was a blast. My wife, cat, and I were dancing around our house to the wall of sound at one point.

#28: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Chunky Shrapnel

Speaking of live music and prolific bands, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard released one of several live albums this year, and this one was the soundtrack to a concert film that saw a limited streaming release and will hopefully be in theaters at some point. Like any live KGATLW show, it shreds.

#27: Damaged Bug – Bug on Yonkers

John Dwyer, lead cat in Oh Sees, not only released several Oh Sees projects in 2020, he also released a new Damaged Bug record – this one a tribute to outsider musician Michael Yonkers. The whole record is full of Yonkers covers, and all of them are great and make you want to search out his other work.

#26: Teenager – Good Time

This is a fun post-punk record and one of the singles from it, “Romance for Rent,” is one of my favorite songs of 2020. The whole album gets in your head and you won’t want it to leave.

Come back tomorrow to see who’s in the top 25!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 35 albums of 2020: #’s 35 – 31

Why thirty-five albums in this list? I reviewed almost eighty albums released last year (and many others released at least a year ago). I always recap the top half of the list, so thirty-five was about right. Everyone agrees that 2020 was a crappy year, but we had a lot of good music. A lot of bands and artists had nothing else to do but create amazing music to keep them and us sane.

#35: Rituals of Mine – Hype Nostalgia

This is a sharp album about being an outsider, love and lust, and knowing when to draw a line in the sand. It mixes electronica and synthwave well and constantly intrigues you.

#34: Sofia Kourtesis – Sarita Colonia

This EP is one of the best electro / dance records I heard all year. It wasn’t on my radar until I stumbled onto it via Bandcamp. It was a breath of fresh air as lovely as it sky on its cover this year.

#33: Melkbelly – PITH

These Chicago punks / post-punks / rockers / do they really need a label? came out swinging with their new album. It’s one of those records that make you think, “Damn, they’re not screwing around.”

#32: Oh Sees – Protean Threat

Am I the only one who thinks that if you cut up the album cover for Protean Threat into four squares and rearranged them in the right pattern that it would reveal a secret image? The album is one of many releases from Oh Sees / Osees this year, who might’ve been the most prolific band of 2020. It’s a wild, fun time, of course, full of blazing rockers and krautrock jams.

#31: New Bomb Turks – Nightmare Scenario (Diamond Edition)

This is easily my favorite re-release of the year. Ohio punk legends New Bomb Turks released a raw version of their classic mid-1990s album Nightmare Scenario for the album’s twenty-fifth anniversary. It shreds and was a much needed adrenaline boost in a year when we didn’t have much to be excited about in terms of entertainment and did have a lot of anger to expel.

Who cracks the top 30? Come back tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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