Now that MTV News has shuttered, we are the only reputable source available that can quell your taste for new music. It’s not the responsibility we asked for, nor the responsibility for which we have any formal training. Still, it is our burden to bear, goddamnit, and bear the shit out of it we will. Since we have to do everything for you now, we’ve compiled a list of some recent jams you may have been missing lately. Treat this as your free gateway to feeling relevant again and keep your eyes peeled for a sudden uptick of Kurt Loder written guest columns in the near future.
Blur “The Narcissist”
Everyone wants Oasis to get back together so badly (for some reason) that even Blur seem to be openly taunting the band by letting out some more of their perfect Brit-Pop. ‘The Narcissist,’ is Blur’s first new single in eight years and it’s absolutely gorgeous. If the ornate orchestration and production on this first teaser are any indication, we’re looking toward another opus from lead singer and songwriter Damon Albarn. With any luck, it will piss Noel and Liam off enough to get off their asses and make something that ultimately pales in comparison, but we’ll likely have to settle for more childish tweets about it instead.
OSEES “Intercepted Message”
John Dwyer of OSEES (or however they’re spelling it this week) just announced what we are estimating is their thousandth album, ‘Intercepted Message,’ last week. In a statement regarding the release of the title track, Dwyer promised a poppier side of the band on the forthcoming record. Of course, by his definition, ‘poppier’ equates to a sound reminiscent of the Cars dropping an entire sheet of acid and performing a live concert in the depths of hell. All of this is to say, the song is very fucking good and you should stop whatever you’re doing and put it on this instant.
Daft Punk “Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo) [ft. Julian Casablanca and the Voidz]”
Whether or not you choose to believe it, Daft Punk’s blockbuster album ‘Random Access Memories’ came out 10 years ago. To celebrate, the robotic duo released an expanded version complete with bonus tracks that they have the audacity to refer to as ‘demos.’ One major highlight is this incredibly catchy, amazingly produced and unreleased song featuring none other than Julian Casablanca and the Voidz, (who also just released a new single this week). It’s a great addition to your summer playlist and is sure to have you wondering why the fuck Daft Punk put ‘Instant Crush’ on the initial release instead of this one.
Jeff Rosenstock “Liked U Better”
How the fuck does this guy keep doing it? Just when you think he’s reached his creative peak the prolific New York songwriter and savior of DIY punk, Jeff Rosenstock, strikes again. Rosenstock’s solo output has never strayed very far from his Bomb the Music Industry! roots. However, the rough edges of his new surprise single, “Liked U Better,” sounds like it could have been plucked straight from the legendary band’s back catalog. A feat he hasn’t accomplished quite this well since 2016’s excellent ‘Worry.’ Rosenstock is known for one-off singles, so we can only hope a new full-length is forthcoming.
Mutoid Man “Call of the Void”
It’s been a great week for metal releases, and Mutoid Man’s excellent ‘Call of the Void’ is no exception. New York’s super-trio features Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky and Converge’s Ben Koller, in case you need further reason to expand your palate. On their latest single, they manage to blend elements of hardcore, metal, pop, and prog to produce a truly ‘what the fuck even is this?’ sound that will leave you slightly scared but eager for their upcoming full-length ‘Mutants.’ Fair warning, though. If you happen to have any traumatic memories associated with the famed rat casino Chuck E. Cheese’s, you may want to skip the accompanying video.
The Acacia Strain “bog walker”
Having just celebrated the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Massachusetts’ own The Acacia Strain released not just one, but two incredible records this month; the fast and heavy ‘Step Into the Light’ and the doomcore-inspired ‘Failure Will Follow.’ The latter significantly sludges up the sound of the former. One of our writers called the 17-minute-long ‘bog walker’ the new ‘Dopesmoker.’ We’re not sure we know what that means or if we totally agree, but this song is definitely worth the quarter of an hour you’ll lose while listening. You weren’t doing anything better anyway, let’s be serious.
Buck Meek “Haunted Mountain”
Something is clearly in the water over at Camp Big Thief, as nearly every member of the band continues to release banger after banger whether it be as a unit or independently. Lead guitarist, Buck Meek, just released the lead single and title track from his upcoming third solo album ‘Haunted Mountain.’ To celebrate, he inexplicably went live on Instagram and repaired an old Toyota truck for almost a full hour. The actual model is up for debate, but mystique is Meek’s selling point. Engine maintenance aside, this track is a warm ode to finding oneself and gathering the strength to live with your demons. Far from the indie-folk sound that defines Big Thief, Meek settles into the twangy aesthetic that paints his home state of Texas, making this track the only tolerable thing to come from that area in quite some time.
A Deer A Horse “Bitter”
We’re bumping this one up again because apparently everyone failed to get the memo the first time around. Brooklyn’s A Deer A Horse released their excellent album ‘Grind’ in the spring of 2022 while you were probably complaining that nobody makes good heavy music anymore. Their layered and careening sound is incredibly hard to place, but if you imagine System of a Down (back when they were still good) and Sleater-Kinney getting their songbooks mixed up, you’ll already have the incredible single ‘Bitter’ stuck in your head. Go ahead and put that Melvins record down and start living in the now. It’s okay to try new things.
Wilco may not have a bad record, but every band has their least good one. For Tweedy and Co., it’s “The Whole Love.” The band is in an experimental mode here, with mixed results. On TWL, a layer of industrial, electronic atmosphere is painted on to their usual assortment of country, rock, and folk tunes. It’s sonically interesting, but the melodies are hard to find and the band is playing like they’re a little bored. There are plenty of gems here, but with 11 other albums to go back to, we won’t blame you if you only half-like “The Whole Love.”
Not content to simply have an eponymous album, Wilco dropped “Eponymous Album… THE ALBUM!!” Wilco (The Album) is the band at their least daring, and you know what? It’s pretty good! Critics gave them some shit for nestling so comfortably into straight ahead country/rock, and for opening “Wilco (The Album)” with “Wilco (The Song),” but most of the tunes on this one are a toe-tapping nice time played by guys who really know what they’re doing. I’m sorry, is Jeff Tweedy not allowed to have a little fun once in a while? The man wrote “Jesus, Etc.” Give him a fucking break!
Wilco goes garage rock on the lawsuit-courting “Star Wars,” released as a free download on their website in 2015. Like almost all their albums, “Star Wars” was recorded in the band’s Chicago loft, and the sprawling sessions produced another record that they released the following year— the tighter, folkier “Schmilco.” This highly active era was a real treat for fans. “Star Wars’ is drenched in fuzzy guitars, joyfully messy jamming, and loose, off-the-cuff-sounding lyrics (“I never knelt at the news/My parrot perished in the pews/I climb back into the yolk/It always ends in a tie” …Uuuuuh, okay, Jeff!). It’s the kind of record you don’t have to think too much about, which always makes it a charming surprise to go back to. And since Wilco forced their way into the LucasFilm canon, we’re expecting a Disney+ series starring them any day now.
Wilco’s most recent effort is a double album of exactly what it sounds like: country western music with an edge of critique for the western country that spawned it. “Cruel Country” leans into its influences with equal relish and discomfort, and the result is 21 songs of gorgeous longing that you could play at your local redneck bar without getting beat up. It’s an exploration of the American musical tradition Tweedy loves while examining its unsavory connections to right wing nationalism, in the vein of protest artists like John Prine and Neil Young, all delivered beautifully over alternating bass lines, sliding guitars, and honky tonk pianos. You and your Republican uncle might find common ground on this one if he doesn’t read the lyrics too closely.
“Star Wars “gets a sequel, and similarly to “The Empire Strikes Back,” this one is even better than the first. Like its predecessor, the title of this record indicates the band isn’t taking things too seriously, (“Schmilco” is a play on the fantastic album “Schmilsson” by Harry Nilsson— a man who famously loved to get silly and sing about coconuts from the perspective of multiple characters, some with borderline offensive accents) but the chaos is more controlled here. Most of “Schmilco’s” 12 tracks are acoustic guitar-driven meditations on being young, growing old, and wondering what the hell it all means. It’s not depressing, it’s not uplifting, it just is.
Wilco’s strongest record in a decade hits with a murmur. Opting for open-tuned, cheap-o guitars and, according to Tweedy, “drums so depressed they can hardly walk,” “Ode To Joy” takes the minimal approach to achieve the most intimate record of the band’s career. They also continue their streak of borrowing titles, this time repurposing the name of Beethoven’s “9th Symphony” as an ironic underline of the record’s melancholic slow burn. “Ode To Joy” plays like a collection of the most well-produced demo tracks you’ve ever heard, and rewards thorough re-listens.
In 1996, Jeff Tweedy quit smoking weed and then made a perfect double album. The last time I quit the devil’s lettuce, I realized “Adventure Time” is not as funny as I thought it was when I was high. It’s up for debate which of these accomplishments is greater, but what is not debatable is how well “Being There” has stood the test of time. The album is full of fun genre exercises, from shoe-gazey alternative to Pet Soundsian baroque pop, all tinged with the psychedelic weirdness that would define their next few releases. And I can hear you screaming “ThEN wHy iS It rANkEd #6?!?!?!” into the phone you’re skimming this on. Relax. It’s because 5-1 are that. fucking. good.
The sobriety album. This one divided fans and critics alike, but for my money, it’s the most underrated record of the bunch. It’s the first album the band made after Tweedy received treatment for opioid addiction, and some listeners bristled at the departure from the esoteric songwriting and deconstructed arrangements of its predecessors. Others of us, however, felt that slightly longer guitar solos and more abstract lyrics were not worth a man dying over. Wilco would get weird again later, but “Sky Blue Sky” is vulnerable and direct, giving itself over to the gratitude (and occasional boredom) that comes with seeing the world through clear eyes for the first time in a long time.
It’s the last Wilco album of the 90s, and the first to sound expensive. “Summerteeth” is heavily overdubbed compared to mostly-recorded-live early stuff, and the record goes all over the place searching for the radio hit it ultimately failed to produce. The album may have never reached its intended destination at the top of the alternative rock charts, but the meandering journey is truly amazing. Gosh, guys— I guess it really is about the friends we made along the way!
“A.M.” is Wilco’s debut after forming from the ashes of Tweedy’s former band Uncle Tupelo. Like many impressive introductions, this is the opening statement of a group sitting on a treasure trove of good tunes, and you can hear the excitement. Aptly titled, “A.M.” is their most radio-friendly record, and consists of big, power-pop arrangements with catchy hooks, plus a lot of steel guitar. The production is less polished than everything after, and the lower-fi sound gives you the feeling of sitting in on band practice with the countless cigarette breaks and tuning of guitars edited out. Recently, “A.M.” has been the subject of controversy by being placed higher on this list than “Summerteeth” and “Being There,” enraging Gen-X audiophiles everywhere. Don’t get your flannels in a bunch about it, Brad— it’s only the definitive and unequivocal ranking.
Wilco at their weirdest. It’s got two songs that clock in over the ten-minute mark (“Spiders (Kidsmoke),” “Less Than You Think”). It’s got long stretches of quietude that erupt into trashy, panic-stricken guitar solos from Tweedy (“At Least That’s What You Said,” “Handshake Drugs”). It’s got punky, uptempo bar-rock (“I’m a Wheel”) and pure-pretty indulgence (“Hummingbird”). If you don’t like it, you don’t like Wilco, in which case, I don’t know why you’re still reading this.
If you scrolled all the way to the end just to make sure we got this one right, congrats on the validation. “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” was infamous before it was famous— the band was given total creative control from Reprise Records, only to be dropped by the label when the suits didn’t like the results. The label’s lack of vision (or, apparently, working ears) resulted in a lengthy fight from which the band emerged owning the masters to YHF, eventually finding a home at Nonesuch Records— a label that, in the greatest irony since the “Gift of the Magi” (I think? I haven’t actually read it), is owned by Reprise. None of these contract disputes are as interesting as the music itself though. “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” is the band’s “Kid A,” their “Dark Side of the Moon,” their “Punk Goes Pop Vol. 5”— an opus that will be adored, pored over, and held up as a masterpiece for decades to come. Not many albums are cool enough to get the band that made it fired, but this one is, and you’ll feel cool for getting it.
Brief contributions by Mike Patton on an EP (who appears later in this article) notwithstanding, Puciato remains the definitive DEP singer…even if Minakakis lends his talents to the classic “Calculating Infinity.” Puciato not only added a new vocal range but the dude is jacked as hell and is sort of a circus freak that could blow fire which added an element of danger to the already chaotic shows.
After two albums from the California rock group, Mosley was ditched by Faith No More in favor of musical maverick Mike Patton. They went on to record four albums with the singer before a long hiatus, in which Patton proceeded to play with the rest of the bands in the world.
Picking up the torch so that AC/DC could continue making the two-chord arena staples we know and love, Johnson got his time in the band off to an immaculate start with the “Back In Black” album. With a perfect send-off from Scott on their previous album, “Highway to Hell,” things went as well as they could have considering a tragically early death was involved.
There is no better frontman to deliver a history lesson of sorts alongside galloping bass and exquisitely-harmonized guitars. Dickinson’s legendary stage presence pumped up Iron Maiden to the giant that it is today – and his part-time gig as an airline pilot ensures that they don’t have to bother with such trivial trials and tribulations as tour vans.
It only took 22 years for this one to play out. Following 1984, Van Halen lost the schoolboyish yelping of Roth in favor of Hagar. A bitter rivalry between “Van Halen” and “Van Hagar” fans broke out, with the band choosing to settle the matter by recruiting Extreme singer Gary Cherone for Van Halen III. Ultimately, Roth rejoined for the band’s final album, A Different Kind of Truth. A fitting final chapter.
Yes, really. After Saner left the group during their earliest days, lead guitarist Brent Hinds and bassist Troy Sanders took it upon themselves to take over vocal duties, with rhythm guitarist Bill Kelliher adding more growls during live performances. From their fourth album, Crack the Skye, onward, drummer Brann Dailor added his more nuanced vocals to the fray. Here’s hoping for a Mastodon barbershop quartet album down the line.
Like the song says… “Everything Belongs.” Meaning… it’s still Thrice, so there are no bad records, but this one is lowest on the list mostly because a lot of the songs feel forced and uninspired. Plus, 2018 was a really rough time for us and we don’t wanna talk about it. In fact we don’t want to talk about anything from the past 5 years, so don’t ask “how are you doing?” the answer is always “bad.”
If there’s one thing I know in this life, it’s that this album is actually great… but the highly questionable decision to include the lyrics “YOU ARE LISTENING TO A VAGRANT RECORDS ADVANCED PROMOTIONAL STREAM” on every song definitely hampers its potential. But fuck it, we still sing along to those lyrics every time we see them play one of the songs off this album live.
Thrice announced the end of their hiatus with this album, so it holds a special place in the hearts of fans. However, due to the political nature of some of the songs, ranking it any higher might put us in trouble with the U.S. government. We would not fare well in a safe house in Russia, if you catch my drift.
One could argue Thrice owe their entire career to their debut album, a perfect mix of melodic punk, hardcore, and some thrash. Rough around the edges in all the right ways, everything about this youthful record paved the way for a 25+ year career. This record would have been ranked higher, but honestly we don’t want the band to be mad at us.
Their major label debut, the band is currently touring for its 20th anniversary, playing the album in its entirety. The album itself is sweet, but there’s something unsettling about hearing your favorite band on the radio and seeing their songs in karaoke books. It’s much more preferable if some normie says “Oh… never heard of them” than “Oh, I like that one song I heard on KROQ!”
The band wasn’t happy with the sound of the original release, so 20 years later they’ve given it a second chance and re-released it as “Revisited.” They also added some guest vocal features, albethey subtle, from members of Holy Fawn, Curl Up And Die, Architects, Manchester Orchestra, Be Well, and Hot Water Music. The result is an aging hardcore fan’s wet dream.
Thrice’s most recent album sees them finally realize their more mature, alternative sound. We ranked this album so high mostly because it’s got a lot of jazzy stuff and it makes us feel good to pretend like we understand music on that level. We sort of hope they release a country album next so we can fully become the cliche we were meant to be.
Their last album before hiatus, this is the one that hits every Thrice fan right in the feels. The farewell tour was one for the books, and consider me a sucker for punishment for hitting multiple dates just to weep like a little baby during “Anthology.” Then with water in my eyes, I moshed to “Phoenix Ignition.” Good times.
The fan and band favorite, this album is so beloved that upon its release, enrollment in Morse code literacy courses skyrocketed. The cipher at the beginning of first track “Image of the Invisible” actually translates to “Send help… we are trapped on a major label for one more album!”
Speaking of… wanna know a quick and easy way to get out of your record deal? Announce you’re releasing a 4 disc, 24-song concept album! Only the dudes in Thrice could have a somewhat peaceful break with a major label, sign with a smaller, indie label, and put out some of their strongest work ever; all while writing, producing, engineering, and mixing everything themselves. You don’t want to play poker against this band, that’s for sure.
It might be prudent to group the four Alchemy albums as one, but that’s not how they were released, and wouldn’t be fair to the other, non-elemental albums. Their instincts on these six-song EPs and the way they capture each element perfectly is the pinnacle of songwriting. Above all, The Alchemy Index is the perfect collection to combine all four elements into a bong rip (lighter, bongwater, smoke, weed, respectively).
The greatest album of all time. Many imitators, no duplicators. The band actually played it in its entirety in 2022 for some hometown shows and at Furnace Fest, bringing the most elder hardcore dudes out of mosh retirement this side of Botch. Personally, if I were able to choose a way to die, #1 would be peacefully surrounded by family, #2 would be a heart attack moshing to the breakdown in “To Awake and Avenge the Dead,” making the EMS team carry me out during “So Strange I Remember You.”
