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The Apples in Stereo, “IV. From Outside, in Floats a Music Box”

Were it not for the presence of “floats”, this would be the kind of title you might find on a really pretentious prog album. I guess “twee” and “pretentious” are just two sides of the same coin.

The Men, “Ridin’ On”

After a couple albums of mellowing out some, The Men kicked it back into aggressive garage rock mode with Devil Music. It’s my favorite mode from them, so I was very happy to hear them bring it back. The more mature sounding stuff was fine, but I generally am happier with mayhem in my rock.

The Young Fresh Fellows, “A Fake Hello”

Tad Hutchinson is really going the extra mile on the drums here. He doesn’t have to, Scott McCaughey’s singing can carry this little tune. But Hutchinson was always the Fellows’ secret weapon, I love his work across the board.

Queen, “Body Language”

Hot Space contains the magnificent “Under Pressure”. It also contains a bunch of other songs, about which the less said, the better.

Ghostface Killah, “Run”

On The Pretty Toney Album, Ghostface really broke out from the shadow of the Wu-Tang Clan. Not that he transcended it or anything, but this record is really off on its own thing, it doesn’t really sound like a Wu-Tang record. Other than Ghostface’s presence, of course. But I think that’s a good thing, it’s enabled him to have a great career, with no real barriers to where he wanted to go. Because of that, it’s probably my second favorite Ghostface record.

Baroness, “Jake Leg”

The second Baroness record, Blue Record, seems to my ears like it’s a more confident album than the first one. Alongside that confidence is a willingness to make things a little prettier. It’s a little more prone to doing stuff that soars just a bit more than the previous album.

Pusha T, “Nosetalgia”

Damn, that guitar squeal, so good. And Kendrick coming in on “you wanna see a dead body?” is absolutely incredible.

ALL, “Honey Peeps”

You know, I never really gave this album a real shot. The previous album seemed so sour and included some really bad lyrics, so after buying this one due to inertia, I never really engaged with it. This is a decent tune, though. I wonder what I’d think if I went back and gave it a whirl at this point. It doesn’t make the lyrics go away, though.

People Under the Stairs, “Same Beat (The Wesley Rap)”

Fun DMC is such a good album name.

Clem Snide, “Some Ghost”

After a ten year break between releasing any music under the name Clem Snide, Eef Barzelay released Forever Just Beyond in 2020, and it’s a delight. Probably my favorite of his releases since Soft Spot. The songs are sweet, the production is intimate, and it’s all melancholy and warm and cozy. It’s a lazy nap in a sunbeam, with maybe a wistful dream drifting through your head.

Mary Wells, “My Guy”

We’ve had this one before.

The Magnetic Fields, “I’m Sorry I Love You”

One of the more memorable tunes from 69 Love Songs, probably due to the vocals, but I do like the guitar part on it as well.

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, “Slave Moon”

Ah, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. Say it soft, and it’s almost like praying. Say it loud, and there’s stoner metal playing. Anyway, here’s ten minutes of fuzz, enjoy!

High on Fire, “Spewn From the Earth”

Matt Pike had a big 2018. In addition to Sleep emerging from a fifteen year, uh, slumber to produce the very good The Sciences, he also put out a High on Fire record, Electric Messiah. High on Fire is one of the more consistent bands around, and so it is with this record: you’re going to get a Lemmy-esque bark, you’re going to get those big stoner riffs, and you’re going to get some solos. Just a crunchy good time.

Earl Sweatshirt, “Grief”

Odd Future was a whole thing that is one of the earliest pop culture things that I might have liked but that I feel totally missed me. I know some vague things about it, that Tyler, the Creator was kind of the center, and that Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt were involved. But, I dunno, I guess the rest of it all just sailed right past me. That said, I really like Earl Sweatshirt’s stuff, so I probably should go back and listen to Odd Future. I mean, if there are records with the collective on it. I dunno, man, I’m out of touch here.

Vulfpeck, “LAX”

Vulfpeck, the funk band that met in Michigan and is now in LA, have just been moving their own way through the music industry from the beginning. They’ve self-released their stuff, they’ve produced a ton of releases not always neatly organized in albums, there are a bunch of related acts that they release music from, and it’s all frankly kind of inspiring that they’ve had success kind of creating their own cottage industry.