10. Mike Posner, A Real Good Kid
In April, Mike Posner started a nine month walk across the country. In an interview with CBS, Posner said that his hope from the walk was to fall in love with being in the present moment and being perfectly incomplete. Facing the death of his father to cancer, his friend and collaborator Avicii to suicide, and breakup with his girlfriend, Posner's world came crashing down and he found himself pondering life and death, family, friends, and how he had come to define success. On A Real Good Kid, Posner pours his heart and soul into a collection of songs that bring us into the mind of a broken man looking to find a new inner peace and perspective on living.
9. Peter Perrett, Humanworld
Addiction to Heroin and crack took decades from Peter Perrett, but not his music or musical ideas. Now, at the age of 67, Perrett is making some of the best music of his career. As The Guardian wrote, Humanworld isn't just good by the standards of albums made by people who spent years on hard drugs, or by the standards of late career revivals: it's simply a very good album indeed. It 'manages to avoid both the possible traps: trying too hard to sound current, or trying too hard to recapture past glories. Instead it's clean, and sharp, and melodic guitar rock.'
8. Marillion, With Friends From The Orchestra
I have become a huge Marillion fan over the past few years. It all started when I started spending time with 2006’s Marbles which has since become one of my favorite albums. Once I did, I found myself going down the rabbit’s hole of all things Marillion going back to when Steve Hogarth joined the band in 1989. It’s crazy to think that I had paid them little attention for so long. It’s also crazy to see them still together and sounding as great as ever after 30 years.
With Friends From The Orchestra, the band revisits and reimagines nine songs from their extensive catalog. Was this necessary? I would have said ‘no’ until I listed to them. Now I will say a resounding ‘yes.’ In fact I will say that a few of these new versions are better than the originals including This Strange Engine. Whether you are a fan or Marillion or have no idea who they are….do yourself a favor and spend some time with this album.
7. Rex Orange Country, Pony
English singer/Songwriter Alexander O'Connor, who records under the name Rex Orange Country closed out the year for me with Pony, his major label debut, which was released a few weeks ago. It was 'that' album that I had been waiting for all year, but did not know it until I heard it. American Songwriter pointed to his 'unique pop prosody and production skills and inventiveness.' Jazz-tinged songs full of catchy hooks and charm, Pony is as NME writes, 'a total delight.
6. FINNEAS, Blood Harmony
Turn your attention away from the hype of Billie Eilish and towards her brother Finneas, the creative engine behind her music. On his short EP Blood Harmony, Finneas is right out in front where he belongs. Best said by Atwood Magazine, 'From the heartbreaking mourning of a friendship lost in “I Lost A Friend”, to the symbiotic, infatuated co-dependency of “Die Alone”. Blood Harmony explores soundscapes that range from radio-ready pop hits to stripped down ballads, never losing its polish or unique cinematic quality, and reveals that FINNEAS is a master at telling stories about those who surround, or once surrounded, him.'
5. The LaFontaines, Junior
Catchy, ballsy, hard edged, melodic, and packing a punch. That is how Rock N' Load Mag described The LaFontaines third album Junior. Fusing Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop, and R & B in ways that are both bold and brashy (Bring The Noise), these Scotts grab your attention and don't let it go. This is a killer album that I have not been able to turn away from since its release.
4. Lana Del Rey, Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Del Rey’s talent has been misunderstood throughout her career, writes Spencer Kornhaber in the Atlantic, 'but with the freighter-heavy and canyon-gorgeous new album Norman Fucking Rockwell, maybe she’ll be seen for the essential writer of her times that she is.'
As someone who has not only misunderstood Rey, but has also not taken her seriously as an artist, I approached NFR with skepticism. I can confirm that Kornhaber is 100% on point! Singing 'exquisitely of freedom and transformation and the wreckage of being alive, Pitchfork contributing Editor Jenn Pelly aptly penned that NFR establishes Rey as one of American's greatest living songwriters.
3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Ghosteen
How does one grieve over the loss of a child and the endless tidal waves of emotions that overwhelm one's ability to just breath let alone live? Over three albums, concluding with Ghosteen, Nick Cave has been grappling with the tragic death of his teenage son in 2015 which left him utterly broken.
On Ghosteen, the shock of Cave's son's death has passed, but devastation and isolation have slowly transformed into memories and loneliness and Cave finds himself asking more questions than ever. Now it's on to "what do I do now, where do I go?(Sputnik). There are no easy answers as Tracy Thorn masterfully conveys in her review of the album. “The past with its savage undertow” appears in two songs – in one it lets go, while in another, it will never let go, there is no escape. And you feel that both are true. There is no resolution. Songs hint at the possibility of recovery, then evert to despair. The need for acceptance of loss is in constant tension with the impossibility of acceptance."
Yet, by the end of the album, you get a sense that he has come to terms as he sings "it's a long way to find peace of mind, and I'm just waiting now for my time to come." This is an astonishing album that is a must listen.
On Ghosteen, the shock of Cave's son's death has passed, but devastation and isolation have slowly transformed into memories and loneliness and Cave finds himself asking more questions than ever. Now it's on to "what do I do now, where do I go?(Sputnik). There are no easy answers as Tracy Thorn masterfully conveys in her review of the album. “The past with its savage undertow” appears in two songs – in one it lets go, while in another, it will never let go, there is no escape. And you feel that both are true. There is no resolution. Songs hint at the possibility of recovery, then evert to despair. The need for acceptance of loss is in constant tension with the impossibility of acceptance."
Yet, by the end of the album, you get a sense that he has come to terms as he sings "it's a long way to find peace of mind, and I'm just waiting now for my time to come." This is an astonishing album that is a must listen.
2. RPWL, Tales From Outer Space
1. Tool, Fear Inoculum
Tool fans, such as myself, waited 13 long years for the band's follow up to 10,000 days. And now we have Fear Inoculum to consume and ponder. As Sputnik Music wrote, this album is a 'massive, compelling piece of music that unfolds beautifully and balances Tool’s unique style with plenty of rewarding new elements. Any fears that they would not live up to their past can be abated; Fear Inoculum is truly groundbreaking and one of the best albums of the decade.' I agree!
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