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10. Fruit Bats – Absolute Loser
Humbug Mountain Song
None of Us
I had never checked out Fruit Bats before but heard good things about new album Absolute Loser. Giving it a spin revealed some delectable folk drenched with melody and pensive lyrics. The ongoing project of songwriter Eric D. Johnson – it was evident he could teach a thing or two about melody. Then I learned he used to teach banjo and guitar at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music – a place I had been frequenting. Occurrences are too ideal sometimes. It’s the perfect album to kick off the day – cup of coffee in hand and a chaotic day ahead. An easy union of piano and lead guitar flutter the baroque pop piece, “From a Soon-to-Be Ghost Town”, while “Humbug Mountain Song” combines front-porch picking with a galloping rhythm. Lyrically, the latter tune takes an interesting perspective on birth and what it must feel like being brought into a strange new world. Ideal as well. “None of Us” employs more lush textures and the wistful “Please believe me when I say, I hope all your wishes come true” before ending with “None of us have seen it all”. “My Sweet Midwest”, while repetitive, is anthemic and extremely catchy. Also inviting is the warm and lively “Good Will Come To You”. This album resonates with its lyrics, easy-going vibe, and unyielding dedication to consistently good songs.
9. The Avett Brothers – True Sadness
Ain’t No Man
Satan Pulls the Strings
The Avett Brothers have been delivering excellent, progressive folk-pop for over 15 years. Each album has the sort of sweet melodies that swim around in your head for weeks. The band is fantastic live, but have never quite captured the energy and emotion of their performances in a studio album – which is fine. They take a different approach and define studio projects as their own statement. But, together with a stellar set of songs and some edgier production, they reach a new level with wonderful new album, True Sadness. A deceiving title for a mostly buoyant group of tunes. “Ain’t No Man” resembles a stripped down gospel tune with a throbbing bass line and handclap-like percussion. The string-laden beauty of “Mama, I Don’t Believe” hints at a grandness further explored on the electronic flourishes of “You Are Mine”. This amalgam of organic and mechanized peaks on “Satan Pulls the Strings” which – featured live previously – utilizes some warped sounds to complement the beat and rollicking banjo lick. It’s a fantastic tune, but this release excels due to the inclusion of several other tightly written gems including “True Sadness” and the calypso-styled “Victims of Life”. Tightly written songs is what this band does best – and maybe have not done better before.
8. Al Scorch – Circle Round the Signs
Everybody Out
Lonesome Low
I wasn’t aware I would see Al Scorch when attending a small show in November 2015. But there he was on the opening bill – and what a sight to behold. I read somewhere afterwards that he was “the finest country-punk-folk-bluegrass banjo player in the country”. My smile during his performance would agree. Al Scorch and his band burned through a rocking set featuring “rock” instruments such as banjo, fiddle, and upright bass. I made sure to check out Circle Round the Signs as soon as it was released. Again, I didn’t know what to expect save some ripping banjo playing…but it turns out he’s quite the songwriter, and there are catchy vocals and beautiful resonance throughout. He was born and raised in Chicago which I believe has given him a diverse and thoughtful view on society – with the requisite toughness. “Lost at Sea” floats over a banjo lick before swelling with huge vocal lines. The frenzied side of his music appears often – the brash “Everybody Out” and brief “Want One” – with stomping rhythms and fiery shouts. While all the high energy bang and clang defines the overall sound, I still think my favorite two tracks are “Lonesome Low” and “City Lullaby”. The former starts with delicate playing and hard-hitting lyrics about low times we all have, and how we get out of it. An intricate soundscape, buttery vocals, and captivating chorus create a stand out tune. The latter is stunning and so clearly euphonic that it was my morning alarm tune for most of the year. Even though this is Al Scorch’s project and his banjo playing is its own personality, I dig that song craft comes first and there is room for the supporting band to shine – and they do often whether brief solos or the underlying base. There isn’t a weak tune on this album, and I’m looking forward to seeing him more around Chicago.
7. Parker Millsap – The Very Last Day
Pining
Morning Blues
Mixing up southern-tinged soul with infectious pop melodies, Parker Millsap delivers winning album, The Very Last Day. He has a fresh take on Americana music with perfectly-timed harmonica, fiddle, and piano fills. But those are down in the details. The foremost presence is Parker’s voice which has a fiery vibrato and tells these little stories with an amazing confidence. “Hades Pleades” alternates lively melodic phrases with percussive hand claps while “Pining” is pure genius. The fervent “Hands Up” has a big-band boogie sound, while the solitary plucking stands out on the graceful “Jealous Sun”. I could not get “Morning Blues” out of my head most of the year and – together with the sinister “You Gotta Move” – features unrivaled, outstanding vocal delivery. The entire album breezes along at a comfortable pace with passionate lyrics about sin and salvation, and a balanced view of the world – which I can appreciate. I suppose his small-town Pentecostal upbringing has much to do with his musings and certainly brings the gospel-blues feel on several tracks. It’s one of those albums that easily entertains throughout, and always gets that “nice, who are we listening to” reaction. My response: “Parker Millsap is just getting started I think.”
6. Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
Burn The Witch
Ful Stop
Long one of my favorite bands, Radiohead tends to never disappoint as they continually drop new surprise albums. Some are instantly pleasing to me, like 2007’s awesome In Rainbows, and others are complex growers. A Moon Shaped Pool shimmers, breaks, and bends against obstacles real and imagined as it becomes aware in your mind and senses. “Burn the Witch” begins the album with intensity as the orchestral arrangement clashes with a pulsating attack. The clamor approaching otherworldly sounds in “Decks Dark” may resemble the lyrical mention of “spacecraft”, but I can feel the organic lines equally as well. “Ful Stop” is a formidable entry of the astonishing electronic-rock chaos into the band’s archive. That tune and the forceful “Identikit”, with its tremendous buried guitar raves give the album a rock counterpoint to the haunting “Glass Eyes” and gorgeous “Present Tense”. Every track is imbued with emotion and inspires feelings, opinions, and colors whether intentional or not. More than ever before, Thom Yorke’s vocals are an instrument in the mix and a striking, wicked one. The album, with tracks delivered in alphabetical order, wraps with the well-known live tune, “True Love Waits”. And why not order it that way, it’s the sum of parts that is the statement of depth and mastery here – and infinitely affecting.
15 -> 11 5 -> 1