#12 on the 2023 Bacon Top 31 — Blondshell

January 20, 2024 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

Blondshell by Blondshell

I love getting in on a new band on the ground floor and watching them rise to the top. 26-year-old Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum, otherwise known as Blondshell, is a great example of this experience. I saw her and her band open for Porridge Radio (#12 last year) at the tiny 200-person venue Barboza in September 2022. At the time, she had released exactly three songs (“Olympus,” “Kiss City,” and “Sepsis” – the latter of which is featured in the video above). Three months later, she was signing a record contract with Partisan Records, home of recent Bacon Top 31 faves Fontaines D.C. (#20 in 2022, #12 in 2020, and #26 in 2019) and IDLES (#24 in 2020 and #16 in 2018) among many others. And now, a year later, she’s released a superb, Obama-approved self-titled debut.

Prior to 2020, Teitelbaum performed under the name BAUM, and had a distinctly different musical personality. BAUM’s music was more centrally Pop with a capital P, and she had a minor viral hit with a song called “Fuckboy.” Listening to that song now, while a little catchy, it unsurprisingly sounds immature and hollow. As COVID started to settle in in early 2020 she made the switch to Blondshell (a name she and her sister came up with over dinner one night). After a couple years of rumination and deep thinking, the first Blondshell song to be released, “Olympus,” came out in June 2022. Over the next year, the magic appears to have taken over as she assembled what became the debut album.

Blondshell has clear linear ties to similar sources as Indigo de Souza did, but Teitelbaum feels more singularly Courtney Barnett, a Bacon Top 31 fave (#5 in 2021, #8 in 2018, and #5 in 2015), and further back into 90s rock, like Hole or the Cranberries. When I saw her perform back in 2022 she played a cover to Built to Spill’s “Carry the Zero,” which came out in 1999. Being a huge BTS stan, of course this had some positive influence on me, personally. You can watch her “KEXP Live Performance” to see her and the band in action, or watch the handful of additional videos she’s released from the album:

“Salad”
“Joiner
“Veronica Mars”
“Street Rat”

We’re getting into the portion of the Top 31 where every artist becomes a must-listen. There’s no “give this a try,” it’s all very much “stop what you’re doing right now and listen.” And that’s where I‘ll end this review. Do it. Now.

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#5 on the 2019 Bacon Top 31 — Sharon Van Etten

January 27, 2020 by Royal Stuart

Remind Me Tomorrow by Sharon Van Etten

It took me a little while to warm up to Sharon Van Etten. Her first two albums came out in 2009 and 2010, and I know I heard a song or two off of them at that time, but her music just wasn’t my bag. In the beginning, the Top 31 was a lot more subconsciously, and therefore outwardly, male-centric. But my listening habits have changed quite a bit over the last 11 years. When Van Etten’s Aaron Dessner-produced third album, Tramp, came out in 2012, things started to snap into place around here. That album was at #13 back in 2012. She followed that up pretty quickly with Are We There, which hit the Top 31 all the way up at #4 in 2014.

And then there was nothing. For five long years, Etten didn’t release another album, concentrating instead on acting (she starred in the Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij (Rostam’s brother) Netflix series “OA”, which ran from 2016-2019) and starting a family (she had her first child, a son, in 2017). It started to feel as if the singing career was over for her, and who can blame her with a 2-year old and a lucrative acting gig. But turns out it was just a break, because on January 18, 2019 she released the fantastic Remind Me Tomorrow.

According to Wikipedia, Van Etten wrote the album while she “was pregnant with her first child, attending school to obtain a degree in psychology and starring in the Netflix series The OA (2016) and making a cameo in Twin Peaks (2017).” With so much going on, she seems to have done the impossible: start a family, earn a college degree and do series acting all while putting together one hell of a banging record.

Remind Me Tomorrow is not like Van Etten’s other albums. This isn’t a slow dirge (I mean that nicely). These songs are rock n’ roll, pure and simple. This is Van Etten taking the reins from PJ Harvey, and from Patti Smith before her. In addition to the wonderful “Comeback Kid” shown in the totally 80s video above, check out these other videos and you’ll hear what I’m talking about:

Yes, “Jupiter 4” is slow. But “No One” and “Seventeen” are not, and she’s blowing up everything she used to represent. It feels as if she’s not only expanded what she’s capable of (in music and in real life), but she’s also purposefully stepping away from where she was on her earlier albums. These are not songs of sadness and lamenting and longing, which became her calling card on those earlier albums. The songs on Remind Me Tomorrow are about rebirth, reestablishing herself as something to be reckoned with. This is Van Etten’s world, and I’m so glad she’s allowed us to live in it.

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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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#27 on the 2018 Bacon Top 31 — Frankie Cosmos

January 05, 2019 by Royal Stuart

Vessel by Frankie Cosmos

Remember when I mentioned the glut of edgy female rock singer/songwriters? Of course you do, it was just two days ago. Well, now we’re up to our second Bacon Top 31 submission into the sub-genre, Greta Kline, otherwise known as Frankie Cosmos.

You’ll notice that Kline’s voice is a bit different from Speedy Ortiz’s (or from Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, etc) in that it’s really high. Up to now, I would have claimed that one of the defining features of the genre is the proclivity of the women in the group to have low-register voices. Kline blows that theory out of the water, even while maintaining the other traits of the sub-genre: honest, hard-hitting lyrics with a garage-band-esque production style.

Kline is the former bass player for the Pleasantville, NY band Porches, and she is also the daughter of actors Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates. Armed with a backing band of revolving members, Frankie Cosmos has released three full-length albums. Vessel is by far the best of the three (and her first for the Seattle label Sub Pop). With 18 songs, most coming in at under two minutes (for a total of only 33 minutes), the album pops with a realism that laments the life of a mid-20s spirited punk rocker.

The band have released a number of videos in support of the album. The one above, for the song “Apathy” is the best of the bunch, but you can also check out “Jesse” and “Being Alive”. And then give the full album a listen, and pay attention to the lyrics, as that is where it really shines.

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28. For Ever by Jungle
29. Twerp Verse by Speedy Ortiz
30. Remain in Light by Angélique Kidjo
31. This One’s for the Dancer & This One’s for the Dancer’s Bouquet by Moonface

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#29 on the 2018 Bacon Top 31 — Speedy Ortiz

January 03, 2019 by Royal Stuart

Twerp Verse by Speedy Ortiz

There’s a glut of edgy female rock singer/songwriters in music today. If the sub-genre “Edgy Female Rock Singer/Songwriter” were a monarchy, Patti Smith would be the queen, and PJ Harvey and Liz Phair would be the princesses. The next generation to follow is chockablock with young women vying for the throne, and Speedy Ortiz here at #29 won’t be the last of them to appear on this year’s Top 31.

Sadie Dupuis started Speedy Ortiz as a solo project in the early 10s, but the name has grown to cover a full band, and Twerp Verse is their third release. The guitar-heavy album is grating yet rewarding, with Dupuis’ often dark, poetic lyrics always at the fore. It’s no wonder the lyrics aren’t bright and happy (despite the upbeat sound) — Dupuis picked up her nom de plume from a character in the seminal 80s comic book series Love and Rockets, in which Eulalio “Speedy” Ortiz, the brother of one of the main characters, suffers an untimely death, most likely suicidal.

Twerp Verse cycles through the many pains of life in America in your late 20s. Sexuality, relationships, pain and suffering. Dupuis’ lyrics are unpredictable and enticing, don’t skimp on listening to the words she’s singing. Speedy Ortiz also have a penchant for good music videos; in addition to the Lucky 88 above, be sure to check out “Villain” and “Lean in When I Suffer”.

Hopefully you like what you hear on this album, as there are a few more similar yet different takes on this sound yet to come in the 2018 Top 31.

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30. Remain in Light by Angélique Kidjo
31. This One’s for the Dancer & This One’s for the Dancer’s Bouquet by Moonface

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#11 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

December 21, 2016 by Royal Stuart

The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey

At 47, PJ Harvey seems to be finally sliding into her prime. The Hope Six Demolition Project, her eleventh album in her 24 year career, has been a long time coming. Her previous album Let England Shake came out five years ago, to much acclaim (although I completely missed it on the Top 31).

Harvey has always been on the outskirts of my musical taste. I’ve enjoyed hearing her songs when they come up on the radio, but I’ve never connected with an album of hers before this one. This album is pure rock and roll, with a little bit of a message. The name of the album is in direct response to the HOPE VI projects, which were part of a gentrification / “social cleansing” movement in Washington, DC.

The album was created under interesting circumstances, according to Wikipedia:

in sessions open to the public as part of an art installation at Somerset House in London called Recording in Progress. The sessions were forty-five minutes each in length… Viewers could see Harvey create the album through one-way glass with producers Flood and John Parish, who both worked on Harvey's previous album, Let England Shake.

Parish has been PJ Harvey’s longtime producer and collaborator. And even if you’ve not heard of Flood, you’ve heard his music. The man is responsible for so many seminal albums, including U2’s The Joshua Tree and Nine Inch Nail’s Pretty Hate Machine, it’s no wonder I love this PJ Harvey album. Give it a listen. I have a feeling you’ll love it, too.

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12. Amen & Goodbye by Yeasayer
13. Sea of Noise by St. Paul & The Broken Bones
14. You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen
15. Painting Of A Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit
16. Why Are You OK by Band Of Horses
17. Not To Disappear by Daughter
18. Sunlit Youth by Local Natives
19. I Had a Dream That You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
20. ★ by David Bowie
21. Farewell, Starlite! by Francis and the Lights
22. This Unruly Mess I’ve Made by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
23. LNZNDRF by LNZNDRF
24. Puberty 2 by Mitski
25. Light Upon the Lake by Whitney
26. A Corpse Wired for Sound by Merchandise
27. Away by Okkervil River
28. case/lang/veirs by case/lang/veirs
29. Love Letter for Fire by Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
30. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future by Underworld
31. Preoccupations by Preoccupations

#5 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

December 27, 2015 by Royal Stuart

Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett

Much like Royal Headache — who were featured at #31 on the list — Courtney Barnett is Australian and likes to rock. Technically Sometimes I Sit And Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, is her debut album, even though we’ve been hearing her for at least two years thanks to the good EPs she’s had floating around since 2011.

We’re now in the top five of the countdown, which means you really should buy this album right now. KEXP listeners rated it #1 in 2015. I wanted to, too, but believe it or not, there are four more albums that came out this year that are better than this one.

That said, Sometimes is solid three-part rock & roll from start to finish. When performing live (example here, for KEXP, last year), Barnett sings in a low punk-rock voice, a la (ugh) Courtney Love. But recorded, her voice is a little more clear, with a bit more enunciation, reminding me of a younger PJ Harvey or Liz Phair.

As for songwriting, her lyrics are fantastic. The stories she tells, somehow both deeply personal and universal at the same time, carry you along and remind you of places you’ve been in your own life. At 27, Barnett is wise beyond her years, but it works.

There are many good songs on this album, and there are a few good videos as well. In addition to the great animation for “Dead Fox” above, there’s “Pedestrian at Best,” which I wrote about earlier this year, as wellas videos for two more great songs: “Depreston” and “Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party.” I don’t see how you can draw anything other than the same conclusion I did: this woman kicks ass.

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6. I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty
7. Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes
8. Another Eternity by Purity Ring
9. Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance by Belle and Sebastian
10. Return to the Moon by El Vy
11. Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) by Lin-Manuel Miranda
12. Art Angels by Grimes
13. The Horse Comanche by Chadwick Stokes
14. Grace Love & the True Loves by Grace Love & the True Loves
15. Shake Shook Shaken by The dø
16. La Di Da Di by Battles
17. Sky City by Amason
18. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World by The Decemberists
19. Untethered Moon by Built to Spill
20. Viet Cong by Viet Cong
21. The Magic Whip by Blur
22. Savage Hills Ballroom by Youth Lagoon
23. Not Real by Stealing Sheep
24. Beat the Champ by The Mountain Goats
25. Gliss Riffer by Dan Deacon
26. Dark Bird is Home by The Tallest Man on Earth
27. Gunnera by Pfarmers
28. Swimmer to a Liquid Armchair by Ricked Wickey
29. To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
30. Live in Seattle by Moufang / Czamanski
31. High by Royal Headache

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