Happy holidays from Team Sisson, and congratulations on receiving Chris Schuck's 23rd Annual Surprise Birthday Bash for Jesus. As always, we've picked and exquisitely sequenced tracks from 20 of our favorite albums of 2024 for your listening pleasure. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
1. The Smile - "Bending Hectic"
Album: Wall Of Eyes
Vinnie (aka DJ Luppa) aand I caught The Smile at the Midland in the summer of 2023 and that was one helluva show! If you're somehow not aware, the Smile is Thom and Johnny from Radiohead and the drummer from Sons of Kemet, Tom Skinner. I spent most of that show with my jaw on the floor watching Tom Skinner, appreciating the crazy stuff Johnny was doing with pedals and general noisemaking and barely making out anything Thom said (maybe the sound was better in the middle of the theater, but we couldn't understand a word he was saying). "Bending Hectic" was released as a B-side single just a day or two before that show so it's been around for a while, but luckily for you it wasn't included on a proper album until this year's Wall of Eyes. W of E is superb front to back and "Bending Hectic" came in #1 on my Spotify wrap for most plays in 2024. I just love how it's a gentle Radiohead song for the first 5:27, then turns into a cacophony of unpleasant noise a la the There Will Be Blood score (which was done by Johnny Greenwood) and finally that drop at 5:58. Oh my god that's so good. I should also mention they released a second album, Cutouts this year which is also worth a listen. Pretty good right? Guess what? We're just getting started baby!
**Also, speaking of singles, last year we kicked off the Bash with a single by Party Dozen, "Wake In Might." Usually I would wait until the following year when the album is released to add it to the Bash playlist, but it was so damn good I just couldn't wait. They finally did release a proper album, Crime in Australia, in September of this year and whoooboy is it good! The sounds and grooves they pull out of just drums and a sax are really impressive. I hope you check it out. Here's "Coup De Gronk."**
2. Cloud Cult - "I Am A Force Field"
Album: Alchemy Creek
This is a weird one for me. There was a brief time about ten years ago when I was really into Cloud Cult, having been introduced to them while streaming 89.3 The Current out of Minneapolis. The problem is when I discovered a lot of their music was centered around the lead singer, Craig Minowa, overcoming the death of his two year old son Kaidin in 2002 I just couldn't handle it anymore. I had a two year old son at the time of that discovery and I just couldn't imagine what that must have been like, but actually I could because every time I heard one of their songs it took me to that place or fear and dread and misery and mourning. It's interesting because as music fans we (or at least I) always want to know what songs are "about." Lyrics are often so abstract you don't know what if anything they mean. This is a case where I wish I'd never found out the meaning. So, what has changed? I don't really know. Maybe nothing. Even as I type this I'm listening to Alchemy Creek and there are lyrics that are borderline destroying me. It's a beautiful record though so I hope you guys all get a chance to hear it.
3. bby - "hotline"
Album: 1
"hotline" was the first track we added to our Best of 2024 list way back in January. In fact, it was a single that was released in August 2023 so I guess we might have considered it for last year's Bash but there wasn't an album until this year. Often, the first few tracks we add to the Best of ___ list don't end up on the Bash because they get the most plays throughout the year and when the end of the year comes around I'm kind of sick of hearing them. bby was in that same boat as I was really not feeling them when I started to finalize the track listing, but then I watched the video for "hotline" and I was hooked all over again. The youthful exuberance of these guys is one of the things I love most about music. From what I can gather, they formed in 2023 and have quickly cultivated an existence that includes weekly "hang-outs" in their "HQ" (practice space?) which is in a warehouse in east London. Per Deon (the bassist) "You sign up online and get chosen – not everyone that RSVP’d gets in. Then – lucky you! – when you get here, someone from the band will greet you and sign your name off the list and take you to our room. The actual space itself is a warehouse and massive. We walk you through and it’s more of a party or gathering than a gig." So basically instead of hauling gear all over London to play random shows, they host their own intimate shows every week. What a great idea! We're only three tracks into the Bash and you've already heard two UK artists. How many more will there be........
4. Swamp Thing - "SOS"
Album: Slap Slap
I'm honestly not sure how I came across Slap Slap, but I'm glad I did. This kind of sound is totally my jam! "SOS" has become a bit of a running gag at our house. On Halloween, after Isaac and I got back from trick-or-treating in our neighborhood (Charlie had peeled off to run around with his friends at this point), we were sitting by the fire pit and doing a you pick one I pick one thing with the Bluetooth speaker. I had just discovered Slap Slap that day and I picked "SOS" every time, partly to drive him crazy (which it did), but also because it's just a great Halloween track. Now I play it every chance I get to see his reaction, which is usually to fly into a rage and attack me! I had never heard of this Canadian hip-hop trio, but it turns out they have "have a ritual of delivering dark, b-movie inspired, heavy duty thunderclaps every Halloween." Looking back at their discography it looks like they've released an album around Halloween every year since 2014, and there were a couple more before that. Looking at the play counts on Spotify it doesn't look like any of this effort has led to anything resembling a hit, yet they continue to do it every year. Kind of sounds like the Birthday Bash doesn't it? It's been years since anyone was interested in this thing yet here I am year after year sweating it out to try to make a cool thing for you guys. Much respect Swamp Thing!
Also check out: "Pure Quality"
5. Idles - "Gift Horse"
Album: TANGK
One of my goals every year is to make a Bash playlist that includes as few repeat artists as possible. For a while I thought this might be the years I'd have zero repeats, but here we are, track 5 and we're hearing from Idles...AGAIN. Don't be too sad though. TANGK rocks and so do Idles. Oh, and if you're counting, there are five repeat appearances this year. Hmmm, that might make a pretty good trivia question!
Also check out: "Dancer," "POP POP POP"
6. Nathan Jacques - "Words of Caution"
Album: Dark Wanderer and the Bounty Heart
Now we move on to another very ambitious effort by the Massachusetts born, LA based independent Americana artist Nathan Jacques. Dark Wanderer is a double album whose concept is as follows (from his website): "In the mid 1900s, singing cowboy movie star Nathan Jacques released his second film...Dark Wanderer and the Bounty Heart. Convoluted and dreary subject matter not found in singing cowboy movies at the time led to Jacques' negative critical response. Nevertheless, that didn’t knock the skip from his step nor the shine from his smile." The initial Bash track listing featured "Loveless Country" which we consider the standout track, but there were a lot of great options. Overall we're really smitten by this album so I hope you give it a listen!
Album: Foxing
Foxing hail from just down I-70 in St. Louis. While I've heard of them for a long time, I've never really heard them until I happened upon their new self-titled album this summer. I've seen Foxing described as post-rock, Midwest emo, industrial, etc. but I would say this album defies singular classification. I will say, the first thing I noticed was there's a lot of screaming on it, which is usually an automatic skip for me, but I stuck with this one and by the end I was hooked. This might be the most interesting and ambitious album I heard all year. If that's not glowing enough praise, here's what the Sputnikmusic review said: "When Foxing stake their name to something, they fucking mean it. There’s no way to delve into the band’s self-titled, self-produced album without immediately discussing how heavy and unhinged this thing is. It’s arguably the most powerful and complex record I’ve heard since mewithoutYou’s masterful [Untitled] career finale, and it’s also the most off guard I’ve been caught by a release’s sheer fury since ‘Vices’ barged down the doors to Daisy. This is the kind of company I’d place Foxing in: it’s an immediate tour de force that goes full throttle instantly and unrelentingly, battering listeners with its sheer intensity. Remember how 2018’s Nearer My God oscillated between panicked, earth-shattering climaxes and emotive anthems on its way to establishing itself as the band’s de facto classic? Consider this: Foxing is Nearer My God in even fuller crisis, with no guard rails, wavering on the brink of complete mental collapse. It’s the best release I’ve heard – regardless of genre – in at least half a decade. Welcome to Foxing’s real magnum opus." I also have to give it up to the humor of this band. The video for the first single, "Greyhound," is set up as a press conference the band called at an event space in St. Louis where none of the media outlets that they ACTUALLY INVITED showed up. I really hope you guys give Foxing a listen.
8. MEMORIALS - "Cut It Like A Diamond"
Album: Memorial Waterslides
One thing you will notice on this year's Bash is a shocking lack of saxophone! That's what makes the 3:00 mark of "Cut It Like A Diamond" maybe my favorite moment on the whole playlist. From their bio: "MEMORIALS is Verity Susman (Electrelane) and Matthew Simms (Wire, Better Corners, It Hugs Back, Uuuu, Fitted). The duo channel the spirit of free jazz to create cosmic journeys through the garden shed into psychedelic rock, far out folk and wild analogue electronics." I will point out this is already the fourth UK band on the list, with many more to come....
Also check out: "Lamplighter"
9. Kendrick Lamar - "reincarnated"
Album: GNX
Who had a better year than Kendrick? It's one thing to be Team Sisson's Best Rapper of the 21st Century. For most that would be enough, but for Kendrick? That's just icing on the cake! If you were living in a cave this year you might not know Kendrick and Drake got into a bit of a hip-hop kerfuffle this summer that effectively was won with Kendrick's virtual defenestration of Drake on "Not Like Us," which for our money is hands down, without a doubt the song of the year. Holding true to the best album of the year format, "Not Like Us" wasn't eligible for the Bash, but days before we firmed up the final track listing K-Dot surprise released GNX. If you haven't heard it check it out. There are like two tracks produced by the same producer of "Not Like Us" (Mustad) that sound verrrrry similar. There's also some production by Taylor Swift's go-to producer Jack Antonoff. But whoever is producing, Kendrick is over the top with his usual inventive, captivating, shape-shifting style. "reincarnated" sounds a lot like an homage to Tupac because that's what it is! If I wasn't irrationally worried about kids being in the room when the Bash was being played I would probably had given you the opener "wacced out murals." GNX is all killer no filler though. Now, that being said, I would still rank it above Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, but below GKMC, TPAB & Damn, so I'm not saying it's K-Dot's best work, but Kendrick's mediocre work is better than the best work of most. As Kendrick would say about me, "he a fan, he a fan, he a fan." .....oh wait, maybe not like that!
Also check out: "squabble up"
10. Honeyglaze - "Don't"
Album: Real Deal
I'm not sure how I came across this south London trio but I was smitten when I hit play on the first track, "Hide". These guys and gal aren't really breaking any new ground with their sound, but what they do they do extremely well. There are a lot of great tracks but to me the standout is clearly "Don't" Hope you like it!
Also check out: "Pretty Girls"
11. Wilco - "Hot Sun"
Album: Hot Sun Cool Shroud
Our affinity for Wilco has been well documented. Among my best friends growing up were two dues that moved to my tiny town (NOBODY moved to my tiny town so this was a big deal) from St. Louis and were Uncle Tupelo fans. My first ever live show was Golden Smog. One of Leanna and mine's first dates was to a Wilco show at the Blue Note. Our first dance was to "I'm the Man Who Loves You." I spilled a beer all over Gabe the last time they were in town. So yeah, we go way back. That said, recent albums have not necessarily received white glove entry to the Bash. In recent years, while strong, Schmilco, Ode To Joy & Cruel Country have all been left off the final track listing. However, we really enjoyed Cousin last year, and we really really enjoyed their EP Hot Sun Cool Shroud this year. Recently they've did three night residencies in Austin, Tulsa & St. Paul where they did a completely different setlist each night. Austin and St. Paul I get. Tulsa????? I'm trying not to be offended here, but don't they know I don't live in Tulsa? Anyway, hope you like "Hot Sun."
Also check out: "Annihilation"
12. Strand of Oaks - "Communication"
Album: Miracle Focus
Sharp-eared listeners may remember we included Strand of Oaks' "JM" on the 2015 version of the Birthday Bash. To be honest we had lost track of SoO since then, but were re-acquainted when I listened to episode 180 of Allen Epley's podcast Third Gear Scratch featuring an interview with Timothy Showalter (aka Strand of Oaks). I may have said this last year, but if you haven't already done so, please check out Third Gear Scratch. Allen Epley has some KC connections, having attended William Jewel and playing in some local bands, most notably Shiner, before moving to Chicago where he now tends bar and has a regular musician gig with the Blue Man Group. The guests on TGS aren't what you might call heavy hitters, but that's sort of the point. If you've ever wondered what it would have been like if you'd tried to be a rock star, this show might make you feel better about your decision to be an accountant instead, although I'm invariably inspired by the sacrifices professional musicians make, not because they want to, but because they have to in order or follow their muse. It's an incredibly honorable pursuit and we're all better for it, but it rarely leads to fame and riches. All that being said, maybe it did lead to some fame outside of music for Timothy Showalter who acted in a show called Mayans MC (apparently a Sons of Anarchy spinoff?). Anyway, the SoA we used to know was more guitar heavy while "Communication" is way more synth heavy, but the songwriting is still superb. Superb, one of the great words in the English language.
Also check out: "Party At Monster Lake"
13. Father John Misty - "She Cleans Up"
Album: Mahashmashana
For an artist that has been in our collective consciousness for over a decade, FJM still manages to sound fresh with every release. Like a lot of you, we first became acquainted with Joshua Tillman after he left Fleet Foxes and released his first solo album, Fear Fun in 2012. As I recall "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" was in the running for the Bash that year. As for Masashmashana, if there were unlimited time we would have brought you the title track. Unfortunately that effort clocks in at 9:19 so you get "She Cleans Up," which is a freaking fantastic song, but I fear some of you may already be sick of it as I'm guessing if you've already heard it, you've been compelled to play it over and over and over again like we have. What a great song! FTJ is touring the US in early 2025 before heading over to Europe in the Summer. I don't see any tour dates anywhere near KC, but if you mosey on over to Bandcamp you can buy his performance at the Midland Theater from 8/9/22. Looks like he has a few live shows available there but not a lot so there must have been some magic in the Midland that night! Next time he comes around you can bet we'll be there.
Also check out: "Mahashmashana," "Josh Tillman and the Accidental Overdose," "I Guess Time Makes Fools of Us All"
14. OldBoy Rhymes - "Strange Kids"
Album: The Sane Asylum
This summer I remember wondering whatever became of my favorite Rhode Island rapper Sage Francis, but I saw something shiny and moved on. Less than a week later "American Pyramids" by OldBoy Rhymes appeared on the Spotify Release Radar playlist. Mr. Lif and Sage were features on the track which caught my eye, and the sick beat and gravel voiced OldBoy Rhymes caught my ear. Turns out this guy was newly signed to Strange Famous which I learned is Sage's record label. Pretty random right? I honestly have had a hard time finding out any info about OldBoy. From his bio: "From the dark tundra of Alaska to the heaving jungles of Papua, OldBoy Rhymes has experienced a lot -- from terrorist attacks to home invasions. He's befriended billionaires, kids in "third world" slums, and people at all levels in between, OldBoy Rhymes has lived a crazy, multi-polar life, and his lyricism is drenched in the love and angst he soaked up along the way....OldBoy’s journey includes a visit to a mental health ward and a life-and-death street scuffle. It almost ends in a plane crash." Sounds like a crazy life. During all of that he somehow developed some serious skills with a mic and the beats are sick. No idea how he was discovered, but I'm sure glad it happened.
Album: Letter to Self
Dubliners SPRINTS have been around since 2019, but only released their first full album in January of this year. We've been rocking out all year to this one so we struggled to pick which track to include. " Initially you were going to hear "Adore Adore Adore", but then we changed our minds and picked "Cathedral" before making a last minute switch to "Heavy." You really can't go wrong with anything on Letters to Self though.
One cool thing about these UK rock bands is they don't wait forever between releases. SPRINTS already has a single out ("Feast") with a pretty kickass video that presumably will be on their next record
16. Chris Fox & the Beasts - "How It Blows"
Album: Rubatosis
This fall I was listening through my Best of 2024 list and lamented the severe lack of anything I would call lovely. Shortly thereafter I came across Rubatosis and exclaimed, Eureka! What a lovely album! According to his Spotify bio, "Chris Fox & the Beasts if the moniker for folk songs written b Fox and recorded with the help of his friends. Splitting time between New Jersey and the Catskills, the "band" features friends of Fox adding their charms to song about lovelorn ghosts and the dog days of Summer." Looking at the number of YouTube subscribers the band has (4.....yeah, 4), I'm pretty sure we're the only Best of 2024 list to feature Rubatosis. Pass it along, these are some good tunes!
Also check out: "Ghosts (Out in the Night),"
17. Deerlady - "Believer"
Album: Greatest Hits
From Wikipedia, "Deer Woman, sometimes known as the Deer Lady, is a spirit in Native American mythology whose associations and qualities vary, depending on situation and relationships. Generally, however, to men who have harmed women and children, she is vengeful and murderous and known to lure these men to their deaths. She appears as either a beautiful young woman with deer feet or as a deer." Deerlady's "Masterpieces" was featured on an All Songs Considered episode sometime this year and I immediately added it to my Best of 2024 playlist. As I recall it was a Lars pick but who has the 10 seconds it would take to confirm that? Not me. I'm living in the moment, and in this moment I'm all in on "Believer." Deerlady is Mali Obomsawin, Magdalena Abrego. Mali Obomsawin is a bassist/singer-songwriter from Odanak First Nation, and Magdalena Abrego, is a Chicago-born guitarist whose parents migrated from Mexico and Puerto Rico. Mali Obomsawin is a Berklee-trained bassist and composer who tours the jazz festival circuit as the leader of the Mali Obomsawin Sextet. In 2022, she released an acclaimed free jazz album called Sweet Tooth, which she sang entirely in the Abenaki language. Magdalena Abrego also studied jazz guitar performance at Berklee before moving on to the New England Conservatory of Music, where she’d eventually become a faculty member. Those are some serious bona fides! It seems like the Bash is not complete without at least one female sung track featuring a simple 4/4 beat and simply strummed guitars that may or may not get heavy. It took us 17 tracks to get there this year but if you were waiting for it, there was the drop!
Also check out: "There There"
18. Starflyer 59 - "909"
Album: Lust for Gold
There's always room for a little shoegaze! Starflyer 59 have been around since I was a freshman in high school although somehow I only found out about them this year. Yet another example of why I continue to do this every year. Imagine how many awesome bands that you probably love that you've never heard of simply due to circumstance? Anyway, Starflyer 59 is the project of Jason Martin who hails from Riverside, CA which is the home of Barry Bonds, Reggie & Cheryl Miller, Don Imus and fo course, say it with me, Skee-Lo. If you like "909," and I'm confident you do, you'll like the rest of Lust for Gold.
Also check out: It's linked above but I'll link it again. The "909" short film is really something to behold!
19. Been Stellar - "Start Again"
Album: Scream from New York, NY
Been Stellar were critical darlings this year, or so I thought. I'm surprised I actually haven't seen them on many year end lists, but man oh man did we wear out Scream from New York, NY this year. Most of the press on this band centers around them being the "it" band from NY right now, filling shoes formerly owned by Sonic Youth, The Strokes, Interpol, etc. Given the album title I guess they're embracing this role. Wherever they're from though the songs are freaking fantastic. They spent the September & October opening for former and very nearly 2024 Bash artist Fontaines DC on their North American tour. Man I wish they would have come through here. Oh wait, upon further research they DID come through here! They played the Granada in Lawrence Oct 4th. Sounds like it was a great show. As another "it" NY band LCD Soundsystem put it, "I'm Losing My Edge."
20. Bill Ryder-Jones - "This Can't Go On"
Album: Iechyd Da
I'm pretty sure I first heard of BRJ while perusing the Quietus Best Albums of the Year So Far list. Apparently iechyd da means good health in Welsh. Sorry guys. I'm running on fumes here. I just re-listened to this album and it might be my overall favorite of the year. I really wanted to move "This Can't Go On earlier in track listing because there's a lot of sameness in the middle that this one would break up, but it just fits perfectly here at the end. As the song title goes, the Bash can't go on any farther. At least for this year!
Also check out: His Take Away version of "This Can't Go On", ""How Beautiful I Am," "If Tomorrow Starts Without Me"
Damn! That was pretty good right? Here are some of the albums we also considered this year.
Faye Webster - Underdressed at the Symphony
Alejandro Escovedo - Echo Dancing
Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven
Fontaines DC - Romance
Sadistik - Oblivion Theater
Wishy - Triple Seven
Brittany Howard - What Now
Sego - Two Boys
Dirty Three - Love Changes Everything
Milkweed - Folklore 1979
Japandroids - Fate & Alcohol
Captain Howdy & The Sunset Serenaders - Howdy Reigns
English Teacher - This Could Be Texas
Dustbunny - Machinery
Geordie Greep - The New Sound
MAITA - want
Great Grandpa - Doom
Amyl & The Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness
Yard Act - Where's My Utopia
Warmduscher - Too Cold To Hold
Once again, happy holidays from Team Sisson and have a great 2025!
1 comment:
Awesomeness!!!
Post a Comment