#26 on the 2019 Bacon Top 31 — Fontaines DC

Dogrel by Fontaines DC

From one literal throwback to 70s music, now to one that’s a throwback in style if not in the time it was recorded. Fontaines D.C., a five-man post-punk group out of Dublin, fall right in line with a separate scene from Marvin Gaye’s world of the 70s. Fontaines are hard-hitting, loud and obnoxious, evoking feelings of Joy Division, The Clash and even maybe a little bit of that early-U2 fervor.

I first fell in love with Fontaines by listening to KEXP 90.3 FM, my favorite Seattle-based (but more prominently available online) radio station. They received equal airplay to the station’s #2 album of 2018, Idles (#16 in my Top 31 of 2018), and were often played back to back with that band despite not releasing their album until April 2019.

If you’re a fan of guitars, barking vocals, and music with a message, then Fontaines DC are right up your alley. If you liked Idles’ Joy as an Act of Resistance from 2018, then you’ll especially love it. Give it a listen now.

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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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2009-2018 Top 31s

#16 on the 2018 Bacon Top 31 — IDLES

Joy as an Act of Resistance by IDLES

This one is going to need some explanation. Upon first listen of any IDLES song, you may find yourself saying “what the fuck, Royal, this is just loud angsty testosterone-filled noise.” On the surface you wouldn’t be wrong. But if you dig a little deeper, listen to the lyrics, read a bit about the band, learn where they’re coming from, you start to see the magic in the madness. Give it a minute, and that lightbulb may turn on for you as it has for me and many others whose musical opinions I value.

IDLES are a band of five tattooed, crooked-grinned lads out of Bristol. Lead singer/songwriter Joe Talbot sings in a heavy, almost barking voice that only a punk rocker could love. The band somehow fills the void between Nick Cave, Rammstein and The Clash, but with songs structured around unexpected subject matters like toxic masculinity, hatred of tabloid journalism and the stillborn birth of Talbot’s daughter Agatha. Below the cacophonous veneer is a vulnerable, endearing group of men trying to find their way in the late 2010s.

Once you hear that pain, suffering and fear shared within these songs, the tone changes. They still function as a form of release, but instead of empathy not of testosterone. Joy as an Act of Resistance is the band’s second album, and I’ve read that 2017’s Brutalism, created before the death of Talbot’s daughter, but after the death of his mom, is equally enthralling.

Joy is full of songs I can get behind, and the band takes visual representation of their songs to a new level as well, with videos out for quite a few of the album’s songs:

• Colossus (shown above)
• Great
• Samaritans
• Danny Nedelko

I asked at the start of this year’s Top 31 “Does my age cause me to prefer something more mellow to listen to, or does the nature of how I listen force my hand?” and this album is a perfect example. I can’t listen to this album at home without getting some angry looks from my family. And I didn’t really want to listen to it at home with my family. This album is a solo-listening affair, and I just have very few opportunities for that any more. It took a lot of work to get over the hump with it, but I’m glad I did — listening in my car, in headphones at work, etc. And I implore the same of you: give it a long chance at hooking you, and you’ll be surprised.

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17. Hell-On by Neko Case
18. Superorganism by Superorganism
19. Living in Extraordinary Times by James
20. Thank You for Today by Death Cab for Cutie
21. Black Panther: The Album by Kendrick Lamar
22. Suspiria (Music for the Luca Guadagnino Film) by Thom Yorke
23. Merrie Land by The Good, the Bad & the Queen
24. Room 25 by Noname
25. WARM by Jeff Tweedy
26. God's Favorite Customer by Father John Misty
27. Vessel by Frankie Cosmos
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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2009-2017 Top 31s

#23 on the 2018 Bacon Top 31 — The Good, the Bad & the Queen

Merrie Land by The Good, the Bad & the Queen

Damon Albarn, despite all expectations to the contrary, has staying power. Having far outgrown the quibbles he and his first band, Blur, had with competing London rockers Oasis, Albarn has accomplished so much in his musical career that it’s astounding to think he’s only 50 years old, with so much more living — and, presumably, music — left to do.

Blur released their first album, Leisure, in 1991. Including that seminal album, Albarn has been a principle part of the production for eight Blur albums, six Gorrilaz albums, six various collaboration albums, one solo album and now, with Merrie Land, two albums with the collective known as The Good, the Bad & the Queen. That’s 23 albums in 27 years, an astounding feat for anyone. His 23rd album, here at #23; I swear I didn’t plan that.

The Good, the Bad & the Queen is by all measures a proverbial “supergroup”, featuring the aforementioned Albarn as the principle lyricist/vocalist, and a band made up of: The Clash’s bassist, Paul Simonon; The Verve’s guitarist, Simon Tong; and “perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived” (according to Brian Eno), Tony Allen. (Allen was the drummer and musical director for Fela Kuti’s band Africa from 1968-1979, whose work was the main influence for the Talking Heads’ album Remain in Light that was covered so beautifully by Angelique Kidjo and appeared at #30 just a week ago. So if you follow the bouncing ball: Tony Allen created Afrobeat with Fela Kuti, which in turn influenced the Talking Heads which was then covered by Kidjo and now the originator appears here in an entirely different context. I just blew my own mind.)

Merrie Land is the supergroup’s second album, but is markedly different from their 2007 debut, which was produced by Danger Mouse and was created under very different political circumstances. Albarn has stated that the new album, which was produced this time around by Tony Visconti (who — get this — won a grammy for his production of Angélique Kidjo’s 2007 album Djin Djin), is rooted in his personal goodbyes to the pre-Brexit Great Britain. Listen closely to the dark lyrics, and you can figure out exactly where Albarn’s loyalties lie.

Albarn takes the visuals of the music to new heights, with the album cover featuring an image from a 1945 horror film called Dead of Night where a ventriloquist is taken over by his dummy. Going further into the ventriloquist arena, Albarn dons dummy makeup and stars in a lip-syncing video for each song from the new album:

• Merrie Land
• Gun to the Head
• Nineteen Seventeen
• The Great Fire
• Lady Boston
• Drifters & Trawlers
• The Truce of Twilight
• Ribbons
• The Last Man to Leave
• The Poison Tree

That’s a level of dedication to creative output that most musicians don’t or won’t tackle, but Albarn gives out like candy, and it’s much appreciated. If you’ve ever been a fan of Albarn in any of his many incarnations, then you should check out Merrie Land right now.

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24. Room 25 by Noname
25. WARM by Jeff Tweedy
26. God's Favorite Customer by Father John Misty
27. Vessel by Frankie Cosmos
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

Subscribe to the 2018 Bacon Top 31 Apple Music playlist
2009-2017 Top 31s