#22 on the 2023 Bacon Top 31 — Ratboys

January 10, 2024 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

The Window by Ratboys

There seem to have been a slew of artists on the 2023 Top 31 who have been writing, performing, and producing music for over a decade before finally hitting my radar and/or making something great enough to beat out the competition. Please add Chicago’s Ratboys to that list. The band formed back in 2010 when their lead singer, Julia Steiner, and guitarist David Sagan were going to Notre Dame. They released their debut album, AOID, in 2015. Four albums later, here we are with their fantastic fifth full-length, The Window.

I haven’t yet compared Ratboys’ The Window against their previous work, but I feel safe in saying there’s a reason their new album has risen above the fray to land here on the Top 31, and that reason goes by the name Chris Walla. You may know Walla as a huge part of the formation and longevity of Death Cab for Cutie. He left DCFC in 2014 after 17 years, but has continued producing other band’s work to great success, including The Long Winters, The Decemberists, and Tegan and Sara.

Ratboys has a little more fuzz in their twang, but they remind me of a number of past Top 31 alt-country artists. Steiner’s vocals most closely resemble Jenny Lewis (#24 in 2014). There’s a little Big Thief (2017, 2019, and last year), and some definite Katie Crutchfield in there (aka Waxahatchee, whose Saint Cloud was #1 in 2020). If you’ve liked any of those bands, then The Window is for you.

Still having doubts? Then check out the band’s unbelievably good live set they performed at KEXP back in October. I only just watched it for the first time today, a couple days after I wrote the rest of this review, and just one day before this review is published (thanks Pete for pointing it out to me!), and now I’m wondering if I’ve ranked this album too low on the Top 31. That extended guitar solo in the middle of “Black Earth, WI” is Doug Martsch-esque. It‘s too late now to change it, but mark my words: when Ratboys’ next album is in the Top 10 for the year it comes out, I’ll come back here and read this review and remember exactly why it’s at #22.

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#18 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Mitski

January 14, 2023 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

Laurel Hell by Mitski

Mitski Miyawaki, who writes and performs under her first name, Mitski, quit music in 2019. Shortly after her critically-acclaimed fifth album Be The Cowboy entered the mainstream, at the final show of her tour supporting that album, she announced to the crowd that it would be her last show indefinitely, and she meant it. “I was thinking this was the last show I would perform ever, and then I would quit and find another life,” she told Rolling Stone when looking back at that time in the build up to the February 2022 release of her wonderful sixth album, Lauren Hell. Her triumphant return, in more ways than one.

Lauren Hell was not a return to form or an unexpected surprise to me — it was the catalyst to finally understanding Mitski and her music. Despite placing her fourth album, Puberty 2, at #24 in 2016, I’ve never really connected with Mitski before. Her fifth album, the one that got her so much popularity that she had to sever all ties from the music world “indefinitely” barely hit my radar in 2018. I think I probably listened to it only once, maybe twice, never to be heard again. Even in the build up to this year’s list, with Lauren Hell, — similar to Big Thief at #24 this year — I knew I should like it, and I tried a few times but it just didn’t click.

Then I compiled the 2022 list towards the end of the year, as I do every year. I took a stab at where things would likely land, and this album was somewhere in the upper 20s. But in the day or two before I was to write about it, like I do every album on the list, I played the album a few times back to back to back. This time, the light bulb turned on. This was not a bottom-of-the-list album, it was better than that. So I shuffled things around. I didn’t push it too far up – I’m not crazy enough to think it’s better than 17 other albums from 2022 – but where each album is placed is meaningful to me, and having this album fall in the middle of the list is saying something. This album is great.

The songs of Lauren Hell are predictable in the best way possible. They start off quieter, they swell to a crescendo in the middle, and then they fall slowly at the end. They’re approachable, and impeccably crafted indie pop. She carries the torch first lit by Kate Bush, carried forward by Tori Amos, and most recently hoisted up by St. Vincent (2009 #24, 2012 #15 with David Byrne,2017 #27).

Mitski conveys a little bit of “off-kilter” similar to those artists in her videos as well. Watch “Love Me More” above, as well as “Working for the Knife” and “Stay Soft,” and you’ll find a performer fully invested in themselves and without shame. She continually puts herself in strange and unusual positions that are fantastic to watch while listening to her beautiful constructions. I didn’t sit with them to try and sort out the deeper meaning, but I’m convinced it’s there. Let me know if you find it. I’ll be over here listening to the album and trying to sort out what’s taken me so long to get to where the rest of you have been all along.

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19. Full Moon Project by Phosphorescent
20. Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C.
21. I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
22. Too Much to Ask by Cheekface
23. Dripfield by Goose
24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#24 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Big Thief

January 08, 2023 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief

Sometimes I have a complicated relationship with an album or a band. (In case it wasn’t obvious, I think a lot, probably too much, about music.) Big Thief is a prime example of the kind of relationship I’m referring to. Simply put, they make me feel guilty. To be fair, they’ve never heard of the Bacon Review and have no idea who I am, so I can’t really say they make me feel guilty. It’s not their fault. And it’s not the fault of the radio stations who promote the band with repeated in-studio performances. Nor is the fault of my friends who continually bring up the band, hoping for some camaraderie around their excitement (hi Pete). I have no one to blame but myself.

I can appreciate them, and I have for many years. While their debut album Masterpiece didn’t make it on the Top 31 in 2016, their second album Capacity came in at #23 in 2017, and the third and fourth albums Two Hands and U.F.O.F collectively hit #4 in 2019. And here we are with their fifth critically acclaimed, massively promoted (for an indie rock band), Best New Music 9.0 out of 10 Pitchfork ranked album, and I have to force myself to put it on.

Every time I do, I enjoy it. But every time I finish it, I move on to something else, and a week or two go by before I remember it and put it on again. That’s not my habit for albums I love – I don’t have the drive to listen to the band on repeat for a week straight. It’s as if my brain has a blind spot for them. I do very much feel this is a problem unique to me, hence the guilty feeling. But – I know what it is I’m missing out on, and I’m here to tell you about it, to in no small part alleviate that guilt.

Big Thief are from Brooklyn, NY. They’re fronted by the pixie-ish, Joanna Newsom-esque principle song writer and guitarist Adrianne Lenker, and they feature Buck Meek on guitar and backing vocals, Max Oleartchik on bass, and James Krivchenia on drums. Nothing fancy about that lineup, aside from the fact that all five of them are exceedingly skilled at their craft. Lenker writes and sings lyrics that float by your ears on feathers, and the band plays behind her with a fervor that only a close-knit group of bandmates can muster.

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You is essentially a double-album. At 20 songs, it clocks in at over 80 minutes, and there are a wide variety of musical styles crammed into those minutes. Hit play on the video for “Red Moon,” above. It sounds nice, a typical progression for the band, a bit country, a bit stompy, but very infectious, even when you get to the “That’s my Grandma!” in the middle with the off-key whistling. There’s not really a damn thing wrong with it. The rest of the album is just like that. Not in tone, but in likability.

Pick up this album and give it a whirl. Prove to yourself (and then to me) that this guilty burden is mine and mine alone. I guarantee you’ll like this album. Everybody does. Even me, when I remember to put it on.

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25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#2 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Big Red Machine

January 30, 2022 by Royal Stuart

How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? by Big Red Machine

Every year there’s the big obvious acts that continually appear on the Top 31. At the top of that list are both The National and Bon Iver, both of whom have had #1 albums (2010 and 2016) along with three additional, separate appearances on the Top 31 each. In fact, I haven’t done the math, but I’m confident in saying that Aaron Dessner (20% of The National) and Justin Vernon (99% of Bon Iver), combined, have been responsible for the largest percentage of all music I’ve listened to in the last 15 years.

The two of them have done many things together, arguably the most prominent being the work they’ve done together as Big Red Machine. Their first foray into a partnership was a collaborative song called “Big Red Machine” on the Dessner-produced Dark Was the Night compilation in 2009 (#10 that inaugural Top 31 year). According to wikipedia, Dessner reached out to Vernon via MySpace, and they collaborated on the song remotely, and didn’t meet in person until a follow-on performance for the collaboration was hosted later that year. They continued to work together while producing and creating with their respective bands. They formed a record label, 37d03d, which released the first full Big Red Machine album in 2018 (self-titled, #13 that year). In addition to Dessner and Vernon, that album also features Phoebe Bridgers, Dessner’s brother Bryce and Bryan Devendorf from The National, and multi-instrumentalist Richard Parry from Arcade Fire, among many others.

Then they turned their attention to Taylor Swift, or many she turned her attention to them. The two albums that came out of their collaboration had a big impact on my 2020 Top 31, coming in collectively at #4 last year. But Swift is not the only Dessner/Vernon produced artist I’ve enjoyed. From the very first Top 31 in 2009, with the aforementioned Dark Was the Night compilation and Bon Iver’s Blood Bank EP, there have been only two years (2014 and 2015) that one or both Vernon and Dessner did not appear on the Top 31 as performer or producer. Sharon van Etten, Local Natives, Frightened Rabbit, Taylor Swift, Kanye West — they’ve all benefited from the magic touch of Aaron Dessner and/or Justin Vernon in the last 15 years.

There were also a couple of Big Red Machine singles to come out in 2020 that haven’t appeared on any albums: “No Time For Love Like Now” with Michael Stipe, and a get-out-the-vote in Wisconsin cover of Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up” featuring 4 of out 5 members of The National and others.

And now we’re finally up to the present, with How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?, the supergroup’s 2nd full-length album under the Big Red Machine name. The album features a daunting list of guest appearances: Taylor Swift on two songs, James Krivchenia of Big Thief, Anaïs Mitchell on three songs, Ilsey (a prolific singer/songwriter who has written for and sung with a dizzying number of artists you’ve heard of), Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Naeem (otherwise known as rapper Spank Rock), a song called “Hutch,” dedicated to the lost-too-soon lead singer of Frightened Rabbit, Scott Hutchison, featuring Sharon van Etten, Lisa Hannigan, and Shara Nova (lead singer of My Brightest Diamond), La Force (aka Ariel Engle of Broken Social Scene), Ben Howard, and This is the Kit (Kate Stables).

Whew.

There are many highlights to this album (as there should be for a #2 album of the year). The Robin Pecknold / Anaïs Mitchell sung “Phoenix,” shown in the lyric video above, is my personal favorite (mostly because it’s the favorite of 4-year-old, who demanded I play that song over and over again throughout the summer of 2021). But even the most stripped down songs, such as the two where Aaron Dessner finally takes the spotlight all by himself, playing guitar and singing on “The Ghost of Cincinnati” and “Magnolia” in what can only be described as his best Elliott Smith impersonation. The Taylor Swift collaboration “Renegade” is a poppy, Swiftian jaunt you’ll love – it could have easily been created for Swift’s 2020 albums folklore or evermore.

It’s hard not to look at How Long as the capper of one hell of a musical decade for Dessner and Vernon. There’s no way that either of them is done making music. But if you look at the arc of U2, R.E.M., or The Stones, now is about the time in their respective careers that the drive to create something new and different clashes with the desire to slow down, spend more time with family, and rely heavily on the income from previous hits rather than create something new and earth shattering. Selfishly, I hope they choose a different path and continue to give us everything they’ve got. We’ll find out soon enough – 2022 is a new year, and maybe there’ll be another Bon Iver or National album, or some new Dessner- or Vernon-produced project that will simply blow us all away. I can’t wait.

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3. Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast
4. A Way Forward by Nation of Language
5. Things Take Time, Take Time by Courtney Barnett
6. Little Oblivions by Julien Baker
7. Valentine by Snail Mail
8. sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs
9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

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#4 on the 2019 Bacon Top 31 — Big Thief

January 28, 2020 by Royal Stuart

Two Hands + U.F.O.F. by Big Thief

Sometimes it takes me a while to get into a band that you would otherwise think would be right up my alley. Big Thief, here at #4 with yet another double-album release in 2019 (if you’re counting at home, that‘s four total artists that each released two albums in 2019 and appeared here on the Top 31: Sault, TR/ST, Foals, and now Big Thief), are exactly that. They have all the right pieces and parts: lead female singer with a crackling voice, jangly and unmistakably “indie” guitars, and they hail from Brooklyn, New York. And yet, it took them releasing two utterly amazing albums in one year for me to sit up and pay attention.

The quartet has a traditional mix of guitar (Buck Meek), bass (Max Oleartchik), drums (James Krivchenia), and vocals (Adrianne Lenker, who also plays guitar). The last time we heard from Big Thief on the Top 31, we were listening to their 2nd album, Capacity, all the way back at #23 in 2017. Fast forward to right now, and U.F.O.F. was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the Grammys (it didn’t win).

Like the Recording Academy, I no longer misunderstand the band, and I can finally claim to be a true fan, excited to pass on that love to you. I admit I’ve not been able to parse Lenker’s lyrics (I don’t hear lyrics in songs, usually), but her singing, often doubled up on herself, is pushed forward in the mix, all the way to the fore, so close to your ears you can feel her breath. Meek’s guitar work is at times delicate and finger-picked, providing a metronomic beat that provides a bed for Lenker to lie down upon. Krivchenia’s drum kit sounds reserved, and small, preferring tight percussion to elaborate solos that reminds me of Paul Banwatt’s drumming for Rural Alberta Advantage.

It’s impossible for me to tell you which of these two albums is better than the other. They both hit different buttons for me, but I’ve reached for both equally since they both were released. You’re just going to have to listen to them both yourself and report back which one you prefer.

PS — I’m really peeved that the band hasn’t released any proper videos for any of the songs from either of these albums. This dumb audio-only clip will have to do.

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5. Remind Me Tomorrow by Sharon Van Etten
6. I Am Easy to Find by The National
7. 5 + 7 by Sault
8. Giants of All Sizes by Elbow
9. i,i by Bon Iver
10. Kiwanuka by Michael Kiwanuka
11. The Destroyer (Parts 1 + 2) by TR/ST
12. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? by Billie Eilish
13. Cheap Queen by King Princess
14. Anima by Thom Yorke
15. Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Parts 1 + 2 by Foals
16. Gallipoli by Beirut
17. My Finest Work Yet by Andrew Bird
18. Four of Arrows by Great Grandpa
19. Designer by Aldous Harding
20. Norman Fucking Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey
21. Our Pathetic Age by DJ Shadow
22. Juice B Crypts by Battles
23. Pony by Orville Peck
24. Hyperspace by Beck
25. Eraserland by Strand of Oaks
26. Dogrel by Fontaines DC
27. You’re the Man by Marvin Gaye
28. Big Wows by Stealing Sheep
29. 1000 gecs by 100 gecs
30. In the Morse Code of Brake Lights by The New Pornographers
31. Radiant Dawn by Operators

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#23 on the 2017 Bacon Top 31

January 09, 2018 by Royal Stuart

Capacity by Big Thief

Oh, Brooklyn. It must be nice having so much indie rock talent just laying around. Such as Big Thief, whose sophomore album Capacity comes in at #23 on the Top 31.

Nothing about Big Thief is shockingly good; the band fails to shock at every turn. Instead, this is a great, quiet, peaceful album that may just put you to sleep if you’re not careful. If you’ve enjoyed other female singer-songwriter acts I’ve featured in the past, such as Sharon van Etten or Fiona Apple, then you’ll find something to enjoy in this album. Adrianne Lenker’s voice is low and steady, and will cause you to lean in just a bit to truly hear what she’s trying to say.

I was not familiar with Big Thief before this album hit my radar, so I can’t speak to their first album, Masterpiece, which came out in 2016, although in poking around the internet it looks as if I should have heard. Excuse me, I have some further listening to get to.

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24. The Tourist by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
25. CCFX EP by CCFX
26. Woodstock by Portugal. The Man
27. MASSEDUCTION by St. Vincent
28. On the Spot by Hot 8 Brass Band
29. A Deeper Understanding by The War on Drugs
30. Planetarium by Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, & James McAlister
31. A Moment Apart by Odesza

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2009-2016 Top 31s