#11 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) by Lin-Manuel Miranda

And now for something completely different. Show tunes. That’s right, the soundtrack to a Broadway musical. But not just any musical; a musical that’s “rooted in hip-hop, but also encompass[es] R. & B., jazz, pop, Tin Pan Alley, and the choral strains of contemporary Broadway,” according to _The New Yorker._ This music is unlike anything I’ve heard before, and I’m certain you’ll feel the same.

I have trouble understanding why I enjoy listening to this album so much. It’s first and foremost musical theater, which is not something I tend to gravitate to (I’m pretty sure the only other musical I’ve listened to with any regularity is the Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtrack, and even with that it was the motion picture soundtrack version that I listened to). Additionally, I’ve not yet seen the production. Bizarre, right? Why would you possibly listen to the soundtrack from a musical without first seeing the musical?

Well, first off, you can only currently see it on Broadway, in New York City. Secondly, the show is sold out through the beginning of September, 2016. Seriously. Performances nearly every day from now through September 1, 2016 are entirely sold out. This show is musical, historical, and phenomenal. Listening to the soundtrack, you’ll understand why. I cannot wait until this goes on tour and I’ll be able to sit in the audience and sing along.

“Guns and Ships,” linked above, is my favorite song from the 2 hour, 23-minute long soundtrack. But it is high quality throughout, and it’s definitely going to sweep the Tonys in June. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the genius composer, lyricist, librettist, rapper, and actor behind the musical, began working on Hamilton in 2009. You can see him performing the opening song from the musical in front of President Obama in that year, and it’s clear when watching that performance that he’s headed to glory.

I know this is not typical for the Bacon Review, but I promise you I’m not leading you astray. I need to give special thanks to my friend Ryan, who forced me to listen to the soundtrack thanks to our mutual friend Zach forcing Ryan to listen to it. And here I am, not necessarily forcing, but imploring you to listen to it. You won’t be disappointed.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#12 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Art Angels by Grimes

And now for the third installment of powerful female electronic pop singers here on the 2015 Bacon Top 31. I’ve been a fan of Grimes since I came across her 2012 album Visions sometime in 2013. You may remember her from this video I posted back in February of that year. Grimes is an alter-ego of Claire Boucher, a pixieish woman from just across the border, in Vancouver, BC. She is a tour de force, having written, recorded, engineered and produced the entire album herself. The only parts on the album not created by Boucher are the guest vocals on two songs, respectively from Grimes’ peers in the strong female-led pop, Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes and American performer Janelle Monáe.

There’s a lot going on within this album. According to wikipedia, Grimes learned how to play the guitar, drums, keys, ukulele, and violin for it. There’s intermittent screaming, and dark lyrics sung with her high-pitched and friendly-seeming vocals throughout, but most of it will get you moving in your seat.

With this album I’m breaking my own rules. Somehow it slipped past me that it didn’t come out until November 6, 2015, which means it technically shouldn’t be on this year’s Top 31. It’s too late now; I couldn’t just slot in some other previously-uncharted album here at #12.

I’m jealous of what Boucher has been able to accomplish by age 27. She is more talented than Madonna and less approachable overall, which makes her all the more intriguing. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#13 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

The Horse Comanche by Chadwick Stokes

I love it when we get to the point in each year’s Top 31 when every album makes me want to say “Oh my god, you’ve got to hear this album; it’s SO GOOD, from start to finish.” That’s where we find ourselves today.

The Horse Comanche by Chadwick Stokes. Oh my god, you’ve got to hear this album; it’s SO GOOD, from start to finish. Up until the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I hadn’t heard of Chadwick Stokes. I had a short date with a woman in which we talked about the Top 31, and she recommended a handful of things she’d been listening to this year that I should check out. The dø (at #15) and Chadwick Stokes were both in her list. And while she and I didn’t fall in love, I did fall for these two albums, and for that I’ll be forever grateful. New music can come from the most unusual of places, but personal recommendations are always preferred.

I hear many familiar inluences in the soft but strong songs from Stokes and company, from Elliot Smith to Paul Simon to the little known Seattle artist Tim Seely (whose 2005 album Funeral Music feels like a sibling to The Horse Comanche). You can hear the whole album over on Bandcamp, and here’s a great Tiny Desk Concert from April of this year.

I’m a big fan of the video above, for the song “Our Lives Our Time,” which is my current favorite on the album (but that will probably change tomorrow — there’s so many good songs on this record!). The video has all the right elements for a video: it’s simple but effective, and keeps you watching through the whole thing to see what changes as the camera slowly spins. The changing dates on the billboard in the background appear to relate to various key civil rights moments on Earth, from the release of Mandela from prison to Massachusettes becoming the first state to legalize gay marriage.

I’m surprised I haven’t heard Stokes on KEXP this year, or maybe I have but it was before I was paying attention. If you love the bulk of the albums I mention on the Bacon Review, then you’ll love this album, too. It’s too good to pass up.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#14 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Grace Love & the True Loves by Grace Love & the True Loves

And now for the first Seattle band on the countdown, and it’s a doozy. Grace Love and the True Loves don’t sound like what you’d imagine is “the Seattle sound,” but as a city we’re not new to the soul scene.

This band has it all, across eight members. Powerful, room-filling vocals from the one and only Grace Love herself; a tight, three-piece horn section; perfect guitar and bass; and drums and percussion holding it all together. This is emotion-inducing, life fulfilling music. They don’t call it soul for nothing.

If you’re a fan of Aretha, or more recently, Sharon Jones (whose own album was #12 on the countdown last year), then you’ll definitely like Grace Love and the True Loves. Get it, now.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#15 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Shake Shook Shaken by The dø

You’re going to start noticing a theme here on the Top 31. This band, The dø, from Paris, fits a mold you first heard at #17 in the Swedish band, Amason: strong, lyrical, female vocals backed by a mix of analog and synthesized electrified sound. I’m not sure if it’s me that’s in a phase that is particularly drawn to this formula, or if there just happens to be a plethora of really good indie pop music coming out right now. Either way, I’m happy.

Shake Shook Shaken is the band’s third full-length, and it technically came out in 2014 in other parts of the world, but since I didn’t hear of it until recently, I’m using the U.S. release date (January 27, 2015) to allow the album to be on this year’s countdown. It’s my Top 31, dammit. I do what I want.

Plus, this album is so good, I want to give it maximum exposure. The dø are a duo, Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy, who met ten years ago. I haven’t been able to check out their other two albums, but I hope to soon. According to the peak chart positions of their albums, as shown on Wikipedia, the French sure do love them some dø. I’m guessing you will, too.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#16 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

La Di Da Di by Battles

We’re at the heart of the Top 31 now. #16 on the countdown, on the 16th day of the month, the epicenter. Battles is as good a band as any to represent the mid-point of this year’s list. They’re probably one of the more difficult bands to get into on the list, but once you get past that barrier of entry, there’s plenty to like about them.

This is the second time this New York based experimental, prog- and/or math-rock band has appeared on the countdown. Their 2011 album Gloss Drop was #21 that year. For that album, they were struggling with the departure of the one person in the group that provided vocals on a few songs (check out their excellent debut, Mirrored, to hear what Tyondai Braxton sounds like in the band). They successfully replaced him with guest vocals from Gary Numan, among others. For their new album, La Di Da Di, they went minimalist. There are no vocals on this album, and it’s better for it.

Electronic noises of all kinds, backed by John Stanier’s amazing drumming, and you’ve got a unique sound unmatched by any other act out there today. Listen to the song featured in the rather boring video above, “The Yabba.” If you like what you hear, you’ll enjoy the rest of the album. I recommend putting it on in the background and giving it a few listens before moving on (if you must). I bet it’ll seep in enough to stick around longer than you expect.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#17 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Sky City by Amason

I like Sweden. Like Iceland, if an album from a Swedish artist lands in my lap, I’ll most likely enjoy it. Amason is the second Swedish band on this year’s countdown. Another Swedish favorite of mine, Dungen, also came out with a new album this year, and I didn’t hear it until I’d already started the countdown, unfortunately too late to get it into the countdown.

All three of these Swedish bands mentioned above have connections beyond their country of origin. Amanda Bergman (also known as Idiot Wind), lead singer of Amason, used to be married to Kristian Matsson (also known as The Tallest Man on Earth, and whose divorce from Bergman creatively fueled his album Dark Bird is Home, #26 on this year’s countdown). Gustav Ejstes, guitarist in Amason, is a founding member of Dungen. Amason could be called a “Swedish super group” in the same sense that Broken Social Scene is a “Canadian super group.” I’m a big fan of super groups. Pooling talent always seems to net great music.

Amason is no different. I first featured them on the Bacon Review back in February, when they were suggested to me by a Swedish friend of mine. Since then I’ve listened to the album many, many times. It falls into the psychedelic-indie-rock mold, with lots of echo-chamber vocals and time signature changes. If you’ve liked Dungen or other prog- / psych-rock acts in the past, you’ll have a lot to like in Sky City.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#18 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World by The Decemberists

Oh how the mighty have fallen. From #2 in 2009, to #3 in 2011, and now all the way down to #18 for this year’s Top 31, The Decemberists are still great amongst most of the music being produced today. But compared to themselves, they’ve done better.

What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World has some fantastic moments, and some great music videos that go along with them. And I’ve posted about all of them over the past year. Check out the video for “Make You Better,” starring Nick Offerman; or “Cavalry Captain,” which was a video, a phone number to call, and a few other odd turns, all used to promote the off-shoot EP Florasongs, which also came out in October of this year; or the cream of the crop, “A Beginning Song,” as a simple lyric video, downplaying the visuals to allow the beauty of the music to shine through.

Thanks to all those earlier posts, and for lack of a new music videos to post, I’ve instead placed a strange video from Jimmy Kimmel Live above (edit: apparently they took the video down, so instead I’ve put up a different video for your enjoyment), where the Decemberists performed a handful of off-the-cuff clips, words provided by YouTube comments. It’s quite funny at times, but the snark is heavy. The band is not new to snark, but the opening song to What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, “The Singer Addresses his Audience” is so snarky it almost spoiled the whole album for me. The song takes to task the super-fan, as well as any band that has to “sell out” to make a living. It’s the worst kind of hipster uppityness, and it’s unflattering.

Overall, there are many redeeming things about the album, if you’re able to get past the opener. Once a band gets to seven albums, you can’t expect that each new album will be better than the last. There will be lulls. And if your lull still puts you at #18 in the Top 31 (and the 2nd three-peat act this year), you’re still doing alright.

If you’re not yet familiar with The Decemberists, I suggest starting with literally any other album of theirs before diving into this one. But if you’ve liked The Decemberists in the past, I can say with confidence you’ll like this one, too. Give it a whirl.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#19 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Untethered Moon by Built to Spill

And now for one of my most favorite bands. Built to Spill is the band I’ve seen perform the most (I’ll be seeing them for a sixteenth time in February). And they’re one of my longest-loved bands as well, having first heard them shortly after I moved to Seattle in 1997. They were even featured on the very first Top 31, back in 2009, at #9 with their album There is no Enemy.

There were six years between that album and Untethered Moon, but it certainly doesn’t sound like it. This is a classic Built to Spill album, and lead singer / songwriter Doug Martsch is as good today as he has been for the bulk of his songwriting career. Unlike their Pacific Northwest counterpart, Modest Mouse, whose recent output sounds nothing like their earlier work, Martsch and company have consistently put out album after album, all filling generally the same space on the musical spectrum.

There are some great songs, and some duds, on this new album, but it holds my attention from start to finish. That can probably be tied to the strength of the opening song, “All Our Songs,” and the final song on the album, “When I’m Blind” — the two longest songs on the album, both featuring a great, high-speed climax that can only be defined as that Built to Spill Sound™.

The video above, for “Never be the Same,” is an odd video experience. It centers around a gathering to watch another video that came out earlier this year, for “Living Zoo,” also from Untethered Moon. (I suggest watching that video, too, to get the full picture.) It shows Martsch going absolutely ape shit for the actor in the video, complete with strange dialog and weird cuts that make no sense other than to simply demonstrate how strange and funny Martsch is.

If you’ve liked Built to Spill at any point in the last 20 years, you will like this album. Buy it.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#20 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Viet Cong by Viet Cong

The album that ushers us into the Top 20 came out way back in January, so it feels almost like it’s been around too long to be on this year’s countdown. It could also be that this album, the self-titled debut from Calgary, Alberta, Canada’s Viet Cong, sounds a bit like a couple other albums I’ve loved over the past few years — namely, the psych-rock sounds of Cloud Control and Foxygen that featured on the 2013 Bacon Top 31.

But there are other sounds, too: Animal Collective. Dungen. Jangly, dissonant guitar. Excellent use of both left and right channels (this is perfect for the headphone generation we’re currently living through), It’s a short album, only 37 minutes long. I mentioned when I linked to their NSFW video for the song “Continental Shelf” back in February that Matt Flegel’s vocals reminded me of Spencer Krug (from Moonface, Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, and others), but listening lately, I’ve been hearing more Peter Murphy. Listen to “Silhouettes” in the video above, and you’ll hear echoes of Joy Division, Interpol, and Editors.

The references for this album are plenty (clearly), and that’s a good thing. You will recognize and love this sound when you put it on. Then let it wash over you, and realize just how good it really is.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#21 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

The Magic Whip by Blur

We’re going from an uncategorizable band at #22 to an ultimately categorizable one here at #21 in Blur, the undisputed kings of modern Brit pop (if you Oasis fans haven’t yet given up, there’s no time like the present). It’s pretty amazing that a band can break up due to infighting between the lead guitarist and principle songwriter in the middle of recording an album (2003’s Think Tank, their last album) and then reunite and put out a new album 12 years later that sounds as if they never took a break. But that’s exactly what Blur has done.

Now, this isn’t their best album. Not by far. But compared to what else has been released in 2015, this is a great album in its own right. I first talked about The Magic Whip here back in June, when they released the video for “Ong Ong.” I think the “Ong Ong” video is far superior to the video above, for the song “Lonesome Street,” but I like to offer up a variety of musical sights and sounds to the handful of you that are actually paying attention.

If you’ve liked Blur in the past, get this album now. If you’ve liked Gorillaz, The Good The Bad and the Queen, or solo Damon Albarn, you will like this album. If you’re a fan of solid Brit pop, this album is for you. Do it. Now.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#22 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Savage Hills Ballroom by Youth Lagoon

The band at #22 is difficult to categorize. Experimental, psychedelic, dreamy — these words come close, but don’t seem to fit quite right. Youth Lagoon, the stage name of Trevor Powers, is from Boise, Idaho, but given his sound, you’d be forgiven if you’d guessed Brooklyn.

Playing with a mix of electronic and analog sounds (trumpet, piano, and cello all feature throughout), it’s Powers’ high, sometimes cracking falsetto that sets this music apart from others that came before. There’s a little Arcade Fire, a little Destroyer, even some Kishi Bashi in there if you tilt your head just right.

Savage Hills Ballroom is Youth Lagoon’s third album. I haven’t heard his previous albums, but from what I’ve read, it doesn’t sound like I need to. It appears this album is a good departure from his previous work. If you do end up going into his back catalog, or if you have heard it and have an opinion about it, do share, won’t you?

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#23 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Not Real by Stealing Sheep

There’s been a definite male bias to the Top 31 so far. We had to get through eight male-led bands before we got our first female-led band, here at #23, with Liverpool, England’s Stealing Sheep. But it was worth the wait!

Stealing Sheep is made up of three women, all of whom sing and play various instruments. There’s an electronic bent to their music, but they play mostly electrified instruments to create the synthesized-sounding notes. Their harmonies tend to be dissonant, and since they all sing lead at different points on the album, the tone of the songs changes subtly from one to the next. It‘s a nice effect.

And they clearly have a love of the visual, as well. There are a number of videos out from Not Real, their 2nd album. In addition to the awesome video above, the other songs that have been made into videos from this album are “Deadlock” and “Not Real” (which also has a “live version” video that’s nice to watch, too, if only to see how the band makes their music on stage). And their 2012 album, Into the Diamond Sun (which I have not yet heard, but plan to) has a number of videos worth watching as well. I love a band that still cares about the music video.

As we get further into the Top 31, you’re going to hear a number of bands that fit this female-led electronic sound. Knowing that Stealing Sheep is still great but also the lowest-ranked should tell you just how much good music we’re in store for. Buckle up.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#24 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Beat the Champ by The Mountain Goats

I’m a big fan of John Darnielle, otherwise known as The Mountain Goats, and have been for a long long time. His 2012 album Transcendental Youth was #19 that year, and his latest album, Beat the Champ, makes the Top 31 here at #24.

There is nothing surprising or new about Beat the Champ; It’s just more Darnielle goodness. The above song, “The Legend of Chavo Guerrero,” captures exactly what you can expect from the album’s more upbeat songs. And just like any Mountain Goats album, there’s a handful of quieter, melancholy songs. On “Unmasked” he even evokes a little Elliott Smith.

Death, depression, and reality are Darnielle’s strengths. And it’s what I like about him. My favorite of his, “No Children,” from his 2002 album Tallahassee, is a favorite of John in the Morning over at KEXP, and I’ve been listening to The Mountain Goats ever since. Darnielle is nothing if not consistent. If you’ve liked anything of his in the past, you’ll like Beat the Champ. ’Nuff said.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#25 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Gliss Riffer by Dan Deacon

As I mentioned when reviewing the Live in Seattle album by Moufang / Czamanski at #30, I don’t listen to a ton of “electronic music” these days. That’s not to say there aren’t a few bands with fully-synthesized music on this year’s countdown, but I wouldn’t call those other bands “dance music.” Dan Deacon, coming in at #25 with his third album, Gliss Riffer, is 100% dance music.

I posted about Deacon earlier this year, when my son pointed me to Deacon’s awesome video for his song “When I Was Done Dying,” and while I had heard the song prior to my son mentioning it to me, I hadn’t given the album its due. Since then, I haven’t really stopped listening to it. I’ve gone back to it at least once a week (partly due to my son requesting that I play “his song” anytime he gets in the car).

“When I Was Done Dying” is the highlight of the album, but there’s some great variety of music, vocals and beats across the album, making it super fun. Speaking of vocals — I really enjoy how Deacon handles them on this album, using them as just another instrument, breaking them up electronically, rendering them unintelligible and otherworldly, or running them through enough distortion to sound robotic. Without that distortion, the vocals on these songs would be indistinguishable from most other electronic music. Deacon makes them his own.

Overall, this album is light and fun. Put it on, and I dare you to sit without moving. Try it; it’s impossible.

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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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Past years’ Top 31s

#26 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Dark Bird Is Home by the Tallest Man on Earth

The man at #26 is the first artist on this year’s Top 31 to have been here before. Quite a few bands have been on the countdown twice, but very few artists have made the Top 31 three times. Dalarna, Sweden native Kristian Matsson, otherwise known as The Tallest Man on Earth, has done exactly that. The Wild Hunt was #25 in 2010, and There’s No Leaving Now came in at #18 in 2012.

Dark Bird is Home, his fourth album (and third for the great record label Dead Oceans), is a departure for him, in that he didn’t do it all himself. In the past, Matsson has played all the instruments and engineered his own recorded work. But this time around he brought in a full band to back him up, and an engineer to properly record them all. In this KEXP performance earlier this year, Matsson called this album “louder” but I think “fuller” is a more apt description. There’s just more of everything that I love about the Tallest Man on Earth.

None of Matsson’s albums have been uplifting affairs, but this album in particular is quite rough, once you start listening to the lyrics. This was written at a time when Matsson was divorcing from his wife, singer-songwriter Amanda Bergman, also known as Idiot Wind. I’m not the type of person to concentrate on lyrics, so the fact that this album is about such a sad topic didn’t register with me until I read about it earlier this week. The music itself is quite uplifting, and that’s what I loved about it. Now knowing the lyrics are so deeply personal, I love it even more. What do you think?

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#27 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Gunnera by Pfarmers

We continue the long-running love of all things Menomena and The National here at The Bacon Review with Pfarmers. A collaboration between Danny Seim (Menomena), Bryan Devendorf (The National), and Dave Nelson (Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent), Pfarmers is actually the first of two collaborations between those two bands that will appear on this year’s Top 31.

I’m a big fan of members from bands trading players and making more music, giving me elements of what I liked about all of them in a new form. Pfarmers sounds more like Menomena than the National, but just barely. Most of the album is made up of songs that don’t really fit a mold: a bit electronic, a bit analog, and trippy throughout. The high energy song above, “The Ol’ River Gang” is definitely the highlight of the album. The rest of the songs are slower, background-like thinking pieces.

If you liked Menomena or The National, then you’ll like Pfarmers. If you don’t like either of those bands, then you probably won’t like Pfarmers. But give the song above a listen, you may be surprised.

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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

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#28 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Swimmer to a Liquid Armchair by Ricked Wicky

I’ve never been a Robert Pollard fan, in any form. I know there are fervent Guided by Voices fans out there that will feel it’s heretical to deride anything the man has done, so I’m going to clarify: I don’t dislike his music. I just never tried. And he’s so prolific, I never found the right on-ramp to the vast Pollard interstate highway system.

Until now. It took Pollard breaking up GBV for a second time (first in 2004, and again in 2014, perhaps for good this time?) for me to take notice. His new project is called Ricked Wicky, and from what I can tell, there’s not much that distinguishes this band from any of his previous, other than the fact they have one more fan: me.

Ricked Wicky came to my attention thanks to the video above, for the great rock-pop song “Poor Substitute.” When I went looking for the album it came from, I discovered that Swimmer to a Liquid Armchair was actually the third release from Ricked Wicky this year. Pollard is truly the most prolific man in rock & roll. I think Swimmer is the best of the three releases, but you could easily pick up I Sell The Circus or King Heavy Metal and feel they rise to the top of the heap.

While I’ve never been a Pollard fan before now, I’ve been a fan of his style of music for a very long time. Ricked Wicky is what 4-part rock and roll should be. It sounds so much like the Long Winters that I know and love, when I first heard “Poor Substitute,” I had to make sure it wasn’t John Roderick singing. You’d think writing so many songs so quickly would diminish the quality over all, but you’d be wrong. These albums are solid, front to back. I suggest you pick one or all of them up immediately.

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29. To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
30. Live in Seattle by Moufang / Czamanski
31. High by Royal Headache

What is the Bacon Top 31?
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#29 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar

“I remember you was conflicted” — the first line of the poem that Kendrick Lamar repeatedly recites in a slow-reveal across the length of To Pimp a Butterfly — captures exactly how I feel about it. This album makes me angry. Angry at how unapproachable (in a jazz-based rap sorta way) a lot of the songs on the album are. Angry at how women are treated in all of the videos from this album. Angry at the myriad of difficulties and frustrations that Lamar is rapping about. Angry for being a middle-aged white American male, a major source of most of those difficulties and frustrations. Angry at being culturally disconnected here in my Pacific Northwest bubble, removed from that pain and unaware and unmotivated as to how I can most easily understand what it is that Lamar is rapping about. Reading Ta-Nehisi Coates only gets me so far. “Conflicted” is a perfect way to sum up how I feel about it all.

Musically, this album is alternately great and terrible. There are some fantastic songs, and Lamar is clearly a talented musician, but there are also songs that are patently unlistenable, that I end up skipping when I listen to the album. I can’t remember the last time I felt the need to skip a song on an album. I just don’t do it. But Lamar found a way to push me over the edge.

My favorite song on the album is “King Kunta,” but the video for that song made me more angry, and I couldn’t put it at the top of this post.¹ “Alright” is a great video, even if the song isn’t my favorite. I love watching Lamar float around, and balancing on that light pole. It’s black & white. Without the music it would still make for compelling watching.

This album clearly gets me thinking about a lot more than just music. I recommend watching this short interview with Lamar from MTV earlier this year. The dialogue Lamar kindles is the main reason Butterfly is on the Top 31. I can’t say I love it, and I doubt I’ll listen to it a lot going forward, but by bringing these conflicting issues to the fore, he’s opened up something we all should consider with ourselves at one point or another. Without it is to remain privileged, closed off, removed. I’m working on that. I hope you are, too.

^{1. You can watch the video for “King Kunta” here if you’d like. It’s generally safe for work, and clearly I have my own issues to work through (thank god for therapy). There are two other videos from the album available for viewing: “i” and “These Walls,” both of the same unwatchable ilk as “King Kunta.”↩}

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30. Live in Seattle by Moufang / Czamanski
31. High by Royal Headache

What is the Bacon Top 31?
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#30 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Live in Seattle by Moufang / Czamanski

Time was, I would listen to “techno” music all the time. Underworld, the Orb, Aphex Twin, Orbital, Chemical Bros. — this was the world I lived in. And I’d find myself at a club, every weekend, gyrating and flailing (I’m not sure I should call it “dancing”) to whatever the DJ was spinning. But that was the 90s, and things are quite a bit different for me now.

Musical tastes change, priorities shift, and the prospect of doing something akin to exercise past 11pm on any given night no longer brings the appeal it used to. But every so often I come across something that brings that drive, that desire to move, back. Enter Germany’s David Moufang (aka Move D) and the Netherlands’ Jordan Czamanski (aka Jordan GCZ, also of Juju & Jordash), collectively known as Moufang / Czamanski.¹

Performed back in May 2013 but not released until October of this year, this set is the definition of background music. Put it on, and watch yourself become more effective at your behind-the-screen desk job. But be careful, because you may hit a point (probably around the 78-minute mark) where you find yourself bouncing in your seat, taken out of whatever it is you were typing, fully immersed in this digital landscape.

^{1. Add in a second Nederlander, Gal Aner, also of Juju & Jordash, and you get yet another group: Magic Mountain High. Check them all out.↩}

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31. High by Royal Headache

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s