BY TOM MURPHY In a year of outstanding, meaningful releases across all realms of music, here are a mere 43 that stood out and commanded repeated listens: ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF – ICONOCLASTS Transcendent, elemental, operatic darkwave jazz drone. BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW – SOFT NEW MAGIC DREAM Post-synthwave dream pop for abandoned Backrooms arcades. BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY – THE PURPLE BIRD The most pointed, poignant, tender, humane revolution folk record in decades. BRIA SALMENA – BIG DOG Sensuous, swaying slowcore, hypnogogic Goth popgaze. BUCK GOOTER – KING KONG LIVES: THEREMINSANITY Deep observations on mortality, rebellion and transcendence in the language of lo-fi industrial synth psychedelia. CHES SMITH – CLONE ROW Instant IDM prog fusion classic. CHRIS STAMEY – ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE An inspired reincarnation of genius AM radio power pop. CLAIRE ROUSAY – A LITTLE DEATH Impressionistic snapshots of warmly hazy memories and daydreams. CLIPPING. – DEAD CHANNEL SKY An amalgamation of 70s art rock, 90s big/break beat and noise. CLOAKROOM – LAST LEG OF THE HUMAN TABLE Heartwarming shoegaze jangle sludge. DEERHOOF – NOBLE AND GODLIKE IN RUIN 10 Jazz Funk Math Pop Greats. DOUBLEVEE – PERISCOPE AT MIDNIGHT Emotionally vibrant, warmly cinematic indiepop. ETHEL CAIN – PERVERTS Like a slowcore ambient album made by Cowboy Junkies. FIREFRIEND – FUZZ AND BLUE RADIATION Four sides of snapshots of the fiery psych shoegaze revolutionaries in all their live performance glory. FLETCHER TUCKER – KIN Hypnotic drones infused with pastoral mysticism and personal myth-making. FOTOFORM – GRIEF IS A GARDEN (FOREVER IN BLOOM) Truly leaning into feeling melancholy and dissolving it with blissful melodies. GOON – DREAM 3 Breaking soul deep despair with joy cast as daydreamy psychedelia. GUERILLA TOSS – YOU’RE WEIRD NOW Impassioned, psychedelic, hip-hop-infused dance punk. HAYDEN PEDIGO AND CHAT PILE – IN THE EARTH AGAIN Heartbreaking songs of finding shards of hope in a world devastated by greed and neglect. HIDE – SPIT OF SWALLOW EVERY SOUL WILL TASTE DEATH Industrial noise punk explosions of radical empathy for our collective internalized despair and outrage at late capitalism. No. 144
27 Publizr Home