So the end on June is upon and so I thought it was time to bring the blog back to write about the albums from this year that I've really enjoyed. I don't know what it is but I feel like its been a pretty quiet year for great albums (I still haven't listened to new Daft Punk) but there's definitely been some strong releases.
I've decided that these will be in no order just ones I can think of off the top of my head.
Wavves - Afraid Of Heights
Indie Rock
Coming off a favourite of mine in King Of The Beach Wavves went into a different direction, instead of his raw lo-fi indie surf rock style which suited him perfectly he has changed to much cleaner rock sound. Thankfully he pulls this off well, lyrically its deeper but still playful so to keep with how it has always been with Wavves. I really enjoyed the direction hes gone and have found these songs incredibly easy to listen to, fun album fo sur.
Czarface - Czarface
hip hop
I was slightly late on getting into this album, there really wasn't a hip hop/rap album out that had grabbed me (that A$AP album is garbage apart from the featuring artists) so went out in search and this came up as well as the Ghostface/Adrian Younge (solid) this is the better of the two. Czarface is the new project of Wu Tang member Inspectah Deck with the help of 7L and Estortic bringing together a superhero alter ego in Czarface. This album is full of fun wrestling samples and some slick rhyming with some nice features from Action Bronson and a couple of his Wu friends Ghostface and Cappadonna.
Mikal Cronin - MCII
Pop
This album is catchy as fuck and intriguing at the same time. This is the first Mikal Cronin album I've heard and I love how hes found a way of writing simple pop songs with a bit of edge instrumentally. It's hard for me to put this into a category maybe its a pop album but with some of the noisy riffs that he has added brings into play a more alt rock edge. Lyrically is on point the whole way through and makes this an album that I keep coming back to this year.
Psychedelic rock
I've been a fan of these guys for a couple of years and was also lucky enough to see them last week and they were great btw. This album is next level for me, the riffs are magic and I feel like Alex Maas has killed it vocally on this album. The distorted riffs are there, the way it is all brought together on this album might be why its their best work it seems like it all clicked. It's the classic retro psychedelic sound that they and the Brian Jonestown Massacre have kept alive over the last decade.
Thee Oh Sees - Floating Coffin
Garage Punk
This album is easily my favourite of this year, I enjoyed it a little after early listens but at this stage its clear cause I just can't stop going back and listening to the damn thing, its taken over. I wasn't sure if I could enjoy these guys anymore after Carrion/Crawler but its like they took that album and pushed it even further. They have those great instrumental jams in there, the crazy
rock moments where you lose your shit, they have what a psych band and a punk band put together would sound like. I think this is almost mental for the most part but put together so well that its held together and never gets sloppy. It'll rock your socks off!
