#6 on the 2024 Bacon Top 31 — Girl and Girl

January 26, 2025 by Royal Stuart in Top 31, 2024

And the winner for highest Top 31 debut for 2024 goes to: Brisbane, Australia’s Girl and Girl! This is a much-deserved recognition for an album that caught my attention so thoroughly this year that I couldn’t go more than a few days without listening to it. Since I first heard the album in August (it officially came out on May 24), anytime I met up with a music-curious friend who knows my proclivity for sharing good music, I would ask them, right out of the gate: “have you heard the Girl and Girl album yet?” followed shortly thereafter with “imagine Conor Oberst singing Clap Your Hands Say Yeah songs.” I still hold to that description, as it captures the sound of Girl & Girl’s music quite well.

Not only is this the band’s debut on the Top 31, the phenomenal Call A Doctor is the band’s official debut album. The band started out as a full family affair, but of the kind of mix I don’t believe I’ve seen before. On lead guitar and bass were brothers Jayden and Coby Williams, respectively. And on lead guitar/vocals and drums are Kai and Melissa “Aunt Liss” James, literal nephew and aunt, respectively. They started playing music together and released their first video and EP in 2021. In later 2022, Coby left the band, replaced by Fraser Bell on bass. Their self-released EPs, of which they released three between 2021 and 2023, found a wide enough following to get them signed to Sub Pop Records, the label their fantastic debut full-length is on.

Sub Pop Records has been killing it of late. I mean, the storied Seattle label has always been good, but look at the Sub Pop artists that showed up on the Top 31 this year: Naima Bock, Alan Sparhawk, Father John Misty, and now Girl and Girl. Four amazing albums, with more on the way.

I first found Girl and Girl thanks to their KEXP Live In-Studio Performance from May that was released in August. I’m actually going to ask you to pause here and hit play on the video above (or on the KEXP video link, as it starts the same way). “Call a Doctor,” the title song from the album, combined with “INTRO,” is an 8-minute epic, and will give you an immediate indication as to why I fell so hard for the band. Not only is Kai’s vocal track dynamic and invigorating, his knack for storytelling and baring his soul is second to none. The song starts with narration describing a “young hero” who’s in the emergency room, with a doctor telling him he’s actually just fine, while the inner voice inside the young man is telling him “You should call a doctor, you should call a doctor now” over and over again.

The story shifts to what I believe is the fabricated conversation our narrator has with the doctor he “calls.” The doctor’s voice tells the young man that not only is he not sick, but that he believes the young hero is subconsciously choosing to feel unwell to give him an out on life – if the young man is unwell, then he can easily point to that as the reason he is not excelling at life. It becomes apparent pretty quickly that this is Kai, talking to himself about his own issues of dealing with public humiliation and failure – of being deathly afraid of getting something, anything wrong, and in order to avoid being held accountable for any motivation or decision-making, he’s choosing to make himself sick. It’s a form of hypochondria I don’t believe I’ve heard described before, and I can’t speak to how exaggerated or auto-biographical it is, but I can certainly relate to the feelings he shares and the type of inner-voice conversation we all have with ourselves from time to time.

While not a complete concept album, the story told presents a theme of being unwell that carries on into other areas of the album, starting with the next song, “Hello.” This song makes it more plain that we’re hearing Kai’s inner turmoil spoken aloud. He narrates of hearing his name in the placating message he’s receiving from The Wesley Emergency Hall. “Oh, Mr. James, we’re glad you called, these thoughts you’ve had aren’t bad at all.” Followed shortly thereafter with him placating himself, “I guess I could try a more positive Kai.” Kai then exclaims he’d have been better off if he’d not called at all, because the forced positive thoughts that were recommended are “worse than hell.” The song then draws to a furious conclusion, repeating the refrain “so long, fairwell, auf wiedersehen, good night, and adieu, adieu, to you and you and you” from The Sound of Music, again and again and again.

It honestly makes me heave a sigh of relief to know that Kai is still with us. That’s the kind of sharing and openness I’ve not really experienced in music since “Floating in the Forth” by Frightened Rabbit. IYKYK.

Kai has the impressive ability to turn everything inside out, and for some reason it feels even more powerful to know that he’s performing these songs with his aunt. Two more videos have been created from the album, “Oh Boy!, and “Mother,” and they’re great songs. “OUTRO,” the last song on the album reads like a letter to a lover who’s moved away. “I hope you‘re well, ’Cause it’s hell down here. And this summer‘s long, not as long as you are near. And the doctors said any day, I’ll disappear. What a lovely day and such a shame to not be here.”

It all sounds so bleak and sad when typed out. And while Kai’s voice isn’t exactly uplifting, it’s dripping with emotion, and he sings with such fervor and the music is so bouncy, it has the strange effect of not being a depressing, doldrums listen. It is an affirmation of life, well worth repeated listening. I get to see Girl and Girl perform at the tiny Madame Lou’s theater underneath the new Croc on April 30, and I couldn’t be more excited. I urge you check out the album, and then pick up a ticket and join me. It amazes me this album hasn’t yet seen more interest, and I fully believe it’s just a matter of time.

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#8 on the 2020 Bacon Top 31 — Matt Berninger

January 24, 2021 by Royal Stuart

Serpentine Prison by Matt Berninger

Matt Berninger may very well be my favorite performer, ever. If you’ve been following The Bacon Review for the last 11+ years, then there’s a good chance you’d know this already, given how much prominence the lead singer of The National has been allotted over the years. Including his main band’s appearances on the Top 31 (four times: #6 2019, #4 in 2017, #3 in 2013, and #1 in 2010), his side project, El Vy (#10 in 2015), and Berninger’s appearances in other performers’ albums (such as Chvrches and CYHSY), the man has been mentioned nearly every year that the countdown has existed.

I mention this history because it plays a big part in how I listen to and quantify the new stuff he puts out. It’s not just “how does this music compare to everything else this year?” but also “where within all the music of his that I love does this rate?” Never an easy question, and it inevitably changes over time. For instance, while The National’s High Violet ranked #1 in 2010, I don’t consider it the best amongst the four albums the band has on the countdown. (That honor currently goes to 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me. Ask me again tomorrow and I’ll give you a different answer.)

Serpentine Prison, Berninger’s first true “solo album,” is a great effort. No, it’s not a National album, but it’s damn close. And I’m sure it will stick with me a lot longer than the El Vy album has. Sonically, the album sounds similar to what a National album might be if they left the bombast that comes with a lot of their songs on the shelf. Prison is soft-spoken, and because of that it doesn’t immediately hook you. It’s more of a slow burn.

This is the kind of album that feels like good background music at first, but by the middle of the album you find yourself leaning in, listening intently, and picking out the hints of the album’s collaborators. The album has a good, down to earth feel that sounds full and polished, thanks to producer Booker T. Jones. (He of Booker T. & the MG’s and a ton of collaborations from the 60s on (including Otis Redding, Willie Nelson, Rita Coolidge, Bill Withers, and Neil Young, just to name a few.) Jones plays on a few songs as well, and helped bring together a slew of other big names to participate in the making of the record, including Andrew Bird, Gail Ann Dorsey (who featured prominently on The National’s 2019 album I Am Easy to Find), Brent Knopf (Berninger’s partner in crime in El Vy), and The National’s Scott Devendorf. The song above, “Distant Axis,” is probably my favorite of the album. The video is quite fun as well.

Berninger has been keeping himself busy since the last National album in 2019. In addition to creating this solo album, he’s released a couple of new songs worth listening to that don’t appear on the album. His fantastic duet with Phoebe Bridgers, called “Walking on a String,” is from Zach Galifianakis’s feature length “Between Two Ferns,” in which Berninger and Bridgers appear in the movie Phoebe Bridgers and The Spiders from Bars, along with two members of The Walkmen. He also released a cover of Mercury Rev’s “Holes” as part of a benefit series called “7-inches for Planned Parenthood.”

Perhaps after reading all this, you agree that Berninger is worthy of the praise I heap upon him. I can understand if his baritone and delivery aren’t your cup of tea, but I don’t think it’s possible to deny his greatness. Serpentine Prison is a worthy solo debut, and I highly recommend that you pick it up as soon as possible.

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1. Saint Cloud by Waxahatchee
2. Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple
3. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers
4. folklore + evermore by Taylor Swift
5. Untitled (Black Is) + Untitled (Rise) by Sault
6. RTJ4 by Run The Jewels
7. Shore by Fleet Foxes
8. Serpentine Prison by Matt Berninger
9. The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens
10. Making a Door Less Open by Car Seat Headrest
11. Dreamland by Glass Animals
12. A Hero’s Death by Fontaines D.C.
13. Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez by Gorillaz
14. Mordechai + Texas Sun EP by Khruangbin
15. Introduction, Presence by Nation of Language
16. Free Love by Sylvan Esso
17. Miss Anthropocene by Grimes
18. 3.15.20 by Childish Gambino
19. Women In Music Pt. III by HAIM
20. The Third Mind by The Third Mind
21. Superstar by Caroline Rose
22. Impossible Weight by Deep Sea Diver
23. We Will Always Love You by The Avalanches
24. Ultra Mono by IDLES
25. Visions of Bodies Being Burned by clipping.
26. Thin Mind by Wolf Parade
27. The Loves of Your Life by Hamilton Leithauser
28. Palo Alto (Live) by Thelonious Monk
29. color theory by Soccer Mommy
30. Fall to Pieces by Tricky
31. Quarantine Casanova by Chromeo

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#24 on the 2017 Bacon Top 31

January 08, 2018 by Royal Stuart

The Tourist by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

What else can I say about Clap Your Hands Say Yeah that I haven’t said already? The band has been on the Top 31 twice before (Their third album, Hysterical was #16 on the 2011 Top 31 and their fourth, Only Run, #19 in 2014). Additionally, front man Alec Ounsworth’s 2009 solo record, Mo Beauty, was #20 on that year’s, the inaugural, Top 31.

Go read those prior reviews to learn about CYHSY’s backstory. The band members continue to evolve, with this new album featuring nobody that was on previous albums aside from Ounsworth. But it’s his voice and energy that draws me to the band and their music, so dutifully back into the fold I go.

Ounsworth and band will be coming to the Tractor on February 12, in support of the reissue of their 2007 sophomore album Some Loud Thunder. That show will be worth it if only to hear them perform “Satan Said Dance” one more time. Maybe I’ll see you there?

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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

#19 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

December 13, 2014 by Royal Stuart

Only Run by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

I have liked the band at #19 since I first heard a song of theirs thrown at me by KEXP back in 2005. I remember being bowled over by them immediately. Then hearing the band’s name, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, I couldn’t think of a more strange yet more appropriate name for what I’d just heard.

Fast forward to this past August, when I saw the band perform at the Croc:

I’ve now seen CYSHY eight times, and the transformation of the band over the last nine years has been amazing to witness firsthand. Alec Ounsworth, the band’s principal songwriter, lead singer, and driving force, has calmed himself. No longer does he bounce around on stage, as he once did oh so many years ago. He sounds very much the same, allowing his broken, high-pitched, David-Byrne-meets-Gordon-Gano voice to carry him through.

And later on in the same article:

Barely moving around, not quite leaving the mic, [Ounsworth] looked tired. The set was still fun, and the rest of the crowd seemed pleased with what they were hearing. Perhaps it was an off day for him. But more likely, I feel he’s a reluctant star. The band’s debut album, self-released, was an overnight success, and still holds up well nearly 10 years later. It will be one of a handful of albums that defines the early 2000s for many years to come. And that can be a hell of a lot of weight on somebody.

The band’s second album, Some Loud Thunder, was generally panned by critics, so that just adds to the difficulty Ounsworth has had to endure. Hysterical, the band’s third album, from 2011, started to show signs of life, and brought me, personally, back into liking the band. Only Run, their fourth in just nine long years, is the best of “new CYHSY.” But the years have clearly taken their toll on Ounsworth, who appears as if he’d prefer to stay at home and make music rather than tour around and play 9-year-old songs to a crowd that doesn’t appear to appreciate his new work as much.

Well I’m here to say I do appreciate his new work. All of it, in fact. Hysterical was on the 2011 countdown at #16, and Ounsworth’s solo album, Mo Beauty, ended up on my first-ever countdown at #20. Only Run is better than both of those albums, and it only ranked at #19 because there was a lot of good music this year. There’s even a track on the album that features Matt Berninger (lead singer of The National).

I hope Ounsworth and CYHSY continue to create and play music well into the future. I hope the exhaustion I saw in him back in August was just a temporary thing. And I hope you like this album. The more of us who like it, the more likely they are to continue to making great music.

Side Note: In looking for the video to put at the top of this post, I came across this great song by German DJ/producer Claptone featuring Alec Ounsworth on vocals. The song is called “Ghost” and the video is kinda creepy, but watch it so you can listen to the song. And of course, there’s a site that documents an interview the two of them did of each other.

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20. Augustines by Augustines
21. El Pintor by Interpol
22. I Never Learn by Lykke Li
23. Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes by Thom Yorke
24. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
25. Voices by Phantogram
26. Morning Phase by Beck
27. Hungry Ghosts by OK Go
28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

#20 on the 2009 Musical Advent Calendar

December 12, 2009 by Royal Stuart

Mo Beauty by Alec Ounsworth

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah haven’t really panned out to be the second coming of Talking Heads that I thought they would be. “Some Loud Thunder”, the follow-up to their eponymous debut, was a bit of a let down in 2007. And excepting an appearance at a couple festivals and on Jimmy Fallon, the band hasn’t done much since. But Alec ounsworth has kept himself busy. With the very strange and somewhat unlistenable Flashy Python, Alec is apparently exorcising all his demons. This is a good thing, enabling Alec to concentrate a little bit more on his solo career, of which Mo Beauty is his debut.

“That Is Not My Home (After Bruegel),” embedded above, is an excellent song from this album. Give it a listen and you’ll agree that the only thing it shares with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is Ounsworth’s voice. The instrumentation, the more cohesive sound from the band, that’s all new and deliberate.

This album just barely made the cut, as it only came out on October 20. Consequently, I haven’t really had a chance to let this album soak in. But from what I have heard upon every listen, it’s place in the top 20 is warranted. Those horns, mixed with the heavy drumming and Ounsworth’s ever-eccentric vocal “talents” are (literally, *ahem*) music to my ears. Maybe “second coming” is a bit strong. But I’m finally liking what I’m hearing from the singer, and I’m anxious to see where he takes it next.

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21. Here Comes Science by They Might Be Giants
22. Noble Beast by Andrew Bird
23. Hungry Bird by Clem Snide
24. Actor by St. Vincent
25. Elvis Perkins in Dearland by Elvis Perkins in Dearland
26. XX by the XX
27. Grrr… by Bishop Allen
28. Keep It Hid by Dan Auerbach
29. It’s Blitz! by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
30. Beware by Bonnie “Prince” Billie
31. Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear