#4 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

(video above is NSFW)

Blonde by Frank Ocean

I’m not gonna lie: I like the sound of extreme autotune. So long as it’s being used to push the limits, calling attention to its own “digital-ness,” then I’m all for it. You heard this quite prominently in Francis and the Lights, back at #21 on this year’s Top 31. And here we are all the way up at #4 with another heavily autotuned masterpiece, Frank Ocean’s Blonde.

Like Beyoncé at #6, Frank Ocean is a name I knew but didn’t pay much attention to before 2016. This is only Ocean’s 2nd release, coming out four years after his widely-acclaimed pop debut Channel Orange. I listened to Channel Orange back in 2012, but dismissed it as being way too over-hyped. I’m glad I didn’t give up on Ocean for good, because Blonde kills.

Not to beat a dead horse, but probably for the same reasons I love Beyoncé’s album so much, the endless sea of stellar partnerships makes this album so great. There are a TON of guest artists on this album, from André 3000, to Beyoncé herself, James Blake, Rostam Batmanglij (featured at #19), and even a string arrangement by Jonny Greenwood (featured at #10). I’m pretty sure there are about 80 collaborators / personnel listed on the wikipedia page for this album). You could fill an entire Grammy awards just with the people on it.

But unlike Beyoncé’s album, this is not something for everyone. The song structure is a bit on the bizarre (which is another reason why I like it so much), but when it clicks, it’s fantastic. There are even a couple spoken-word “songs” on it that I skip outright. But I encourage you to give this at least three listens before dismissing it. If you’re like me, it’ll sink it’s claws in well before you finish the third lap, and then you won’t want to stop listening.

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5. Are You Serious by Andrew Bird
6. Lemonade by Beyoncé
7. Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest
8. Goodness by The Hotelier
9. The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow
10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
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 2016 Bacon Top 31

Are You Serious by Andrew Bird

There seems to be a bit of a recurring theme happening in the Bacon Top 31: persevere, and greatness will come back to you. DJ Shadow, Band of Horses, Yeasayer — these bands have all been around for quite a long while, but it wasn’t until their umpteenth album came out that they found the greatness they once enjoyed much earlier in their careers. The same can be found here at #5, with Andrew Bird and his 13th studio album Are You Serious.

This is Bird’s best album yet. He’s clearly matured as a songwriter, and his songs — written with the creative flourish of an accomplished poet — are damn near perfect. There are a number of high points in this album, but none so fantastic as “Left Handed Kisses,” a dueling duet sung with the captivating Fiona Apple (who is no stranger to the Top 31, her most recent album having reached #1 back in 2012). (I posted the video for “Left Handed Kisses” back in March)

If Serious is Bird’s best album, “Kisses” is his best song ever. From the sparse guitar, the powerful interplay between Bird and Apple, down to the beautifully strong lyrics such as:

For it begs the question
How did I ever find you?
Now you got me writing love songs
With a common refrain like this one here, baaa-aaa-aa-by

The “baby” at the end of that song is drawn out across many notes, the common refrain heard in many a love song across all of folkdom. The coda at the end of the song is what slays me, sung in alternating lines from Bird to Apple and back again:

Now it’s time for a handsome little bookend
Now it’s time to tie up all the loose ends
Am I still a skeptic or did you make me a believer?
If you hesitate, you'll hear the click of the receiver

No, they’re not talking on the phone. The “click of the receiver” is the metaphorical hang-up at the end of a bad relationship. And it’s those little hoops that Bird’s lyrics make you jump through that I absolutely love. This album is full of them. If you’re a fan of great lyrics, beautiful violin, and semi-quiet background songs (“don’t be thrown by “Capsized,” shown in the video above. This is one of the more rocking songs on the otherwise subdued album), this one is definitely for you.

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6. Lemonade by Beyoncé
7. Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest
8. Goodness by The Hotelier
9. The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow
10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
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

#6 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Lemonade by Beyoncé

There’s a first time for everything. Yes, here at #6 is Beyoncé. If you’re questioning why, then that must be because you haven’t listened to Lemonade yet. This is a force of an album. Rolling Stone gave it ★★★★★, a rating the (somehow still relevant after all these years) magazine has given to only 22 other albums in its history.

I think you could have guessed that I didn’t used to be a Beyoncé fan. I didn’t actively dislike her or her music, I just didn’t pay attention to her and her music. Of course I’d heard some of her songs, but before Lemonade I would have been hard pressed to name even one. I had forgotten that she was the former “centerpiece” of 90s phenomenon Destiny’s Child. What drew me to her? It was the hour-long video that went along with the release of the album. I missed it when it aired on HBO on April 23. But there was enough of a rumbling out there caused by its release that I sought out the video and watched it a few weeks later.

And that was all it took. One sitting, an hour long, running through all 12 of the albums tracks, with a stellar video performance for each one. From that point on, “Hold Up” — the 2nd song on the album — was stuck on repeat in my head. I bought the CD / DVD version of the album (yes, the CD, because it wasn’t available in vinyl or on the streaming services I subscribe to at the time), and then listened to it on repeat for a few weeks straight.

Every single song on this record kicks ass. It has guest appearances by a ton of people, like Jack White, The Weekend, James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Diplo, and Ezra Koenig. It’s decidedly sparse in places, and pops in all the right ways. The lyrics are often pissed off and vulgar. In all ways, this album should be considered a stretch by Beyoncé, pushing her out of her pop music safe zone. Instead, it’s her best work yet, and it kills. You have not lived until you’ve heard this album. Get on that.

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7. Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest
8. Goodness by The Hotelier
9. The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow
10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
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

#7 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest

The album at #7 has a strong contender for my favorite song of the year. “Fill in the Blank,” by Seattle’s own Car Seat Headrest, is an anthemic, angsty, hard rocking song that has all the makings of an instant classic: fantastic chorus, insanely building bridge, loud guitars and quiet pauses. The song makes a Kramer-esque entrance on Teens of Denial, bursting into the room and causing you to jolt upright. (There’s only a lyric video available for that song, so I chose to go with “Vincent” to feature above, another great song from this album.)

Car Seat Headrest is the brainchild of Will Toledo, who is only 24, from Leesburg, Virginia, and Teens of Denial is his twelfth album release. But it’s only his first album produced via traditional studio processes, with a full band, released on Matador records. I’m not sure when he moved to Seattle, but we’re lucky to have him.

This album feels very Lou Reed, Strokes, Sex Pistols and Joy Division all while somehow being immediately current. It slams your head against the wall and makes you like it. The previous release, Teens of Style — the first Matador release — is more of a compilation of previously recorded Car Seat Headrest songs, rerecorded and reimagined. It’s good, too, but it’s no Denial. How one can record and release 11 albums and only on his twelfth really nail it is beyond me. I can only believe that he’s just getting started, here at 24, ready to take on the world.

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8. Goodness by The Hotelier
9. The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow
10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
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

#8 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Goodness by The Hotelier

*AHEM* The Bacon Review thanks you for your patience as it took us longer to recover from the holidays than we had previously thought possible. Now then, where was I. Ah yes, #8.

This album, Goodness, has surprised me by its longevity. It’s by a little known band out of Worcester, Mass, called The Hotelier. Formerly known by the rather blah name The Hotel Year, the guys in the Hotelier have been trying to make a go of it for a few years now, finally striking gold (in my book) with Goodness, their third full-length.

Pure emo through and through, Goodness falls somewhere in the void left behind by The Dismemberment Plan, with a dash of Ben Folds Five. At times hard rocking, at others, quiet — the album starts with a spoken-word poem for crying out loud — there’s a little something for everyone in this album. I aim to listen to the band’s previous album, with its Yoda-esque title Home, Like Noplace is There, but I recommend skipping the band’s debut (under the name The Hotel Year). I have it, it’s crap.

The Hotelier have come a long way since that 2011 album, and I predict they have a long way to go before we hear the last of them.

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9. The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow
10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
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

Taking a short break

A quick note to let you know that the 2016 Bacon Top 31 is taking a short break while I am away on vacation. We’ll pick up where we left off on January 2.

In the mean time, I suggest you watch the latest video from viral video masters Ok Go and then go watch all the videos they’ve ever created.

#9 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow

I’ve been a fan of DJ Shadow from the beginning. Endtroducing…… his 1996 debut, sits somewhere in my Top 10 of the 90s, and each of his albums since have had something fantastical about them. (Side note: I can’t for the life of me figure out why I didn’t include The Less You Know, the Better, his last album before this new one, in the 2011 Bacon Top 31. It probably has to do with the fact that the album came out in October. I must have missed it until 2012 had begun. Either way, huge misstep there.)

This new album, The Mountain Will Fall, is the closest he’s gotten to the magic of his debut. Throw in the fantastic Run the Jewels (who made the Top 31 themselves back in 2014), who appear on the album featured in the perfect song “Nobody Speak” shown in the video above. Take a moment to watch and listen to that video. This is music and music-video making at its greatest.

If you’re not familiar with DJ Shadow, it’s time for you to crawl out of that hole you’ve been in for the last 20 years. If you know him, then you like him, and you’ll like this album. Highly recommended.

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10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
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

#10 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express

And here we are at the Top 10, starting with a little-known album that came out at the end of 2015: Junun. This album, a collaboration between Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, and the Indian ensemble The Rajasthan Express, is crazy good. Produced by Greenwood and recorded, mixed and engineered by longtime Radiohead producer and collaborator Nigel Godrich, these songs have an other-worldly sound that transports my severely under-traveled ears to many unexpected places.

Like George Harrison’s commitment to the Maharishi in 1968, Greenwood and Godrich have immersed themselves of the sounds of India and the Middle East, producing something that is a blend of culture and sounds unlike any other. Certain songs on the album have a distinct Greenwood / Radiohead feel to them, specifically “Allah Elohim,” (shown above) which features a typical Greenwood bassline propelling the song forward, some quiet guitar sounds and his trademark playing of the ondes martenot, an instrument that is akin to the theramin and appears on many Radiohead albums. “Allah Elohim” may very well be my favorite song of 2016. It’s… it’s just perfect.

Across the album, the horns, percussion, backup vocals and harmonies brought into the mix by The Rajasthan Express give power to these songs. This is a large group of skilled musicians, each stretching in their craft and producing something beautifully layered and unique. It will get you moving, and send you on a trip unlike any other. I can’t recommend it enough.

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11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
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

#11 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

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

#12 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Amen & Goodbye by Yeasayer

The band at #12, Brooklyn, NY’s Yeasayer, thrives on the bizarre and the gross. They like to push the limits of what you’re able to withstand as a consumer of popular media, to make you question your long-held beliefs about what is palatable. In a similar fashion to Tool, their videos tend to feature otherworldly elements that leave you striving for some semblance of normal. But unlike Tool, and in stark contrast to the similarities in their music videos, the band’s music isn’t as off-putting to the masses.

In past Top 31s, (#4 in 2010, #30 in 2012) I’ve compared their sound to Duran Duran. This album is less so. It’s more unique, and somehow more Yeasayer-sounding. This is progress. I loved their 2010 sophomore album, Odd Blood, but their 2012 album Fragrant World barely made the Top 31 that year. Amen & Goodbye, while not exactly the same as Odd Blood, is much more connected to that older sound that I loved.

I don’t think I expected Yeasayer to stick around as long as they have. They don’t seem to garner a whole lot of attention, and their off-putting videos and graphics (see above) would seem to drive people away from their music. But I suppose I’m not that unique in my love for them. Here’s to many more years of great Yeasayer albums.

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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

#13 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Sea of Noise by St. Paul & The Broken Bones

Soul music has played a big part of the Top 31 in the past. So it should be little surprise that Birmingham, Alabama’s St. Paul & The Broken Bones would land here at #13 with their second album, Sea of Noise.

I’ve not heard the seve-piece band’s debut, which came out in 2014, but I aim to. This is soul music as you know and love it, and it will get you moving in your seat. These guys have even opened up for the Rolling Stones, so that should tell you something.

Lead singer Paul Janeway has a deep, resonant voice that commands attention. Backed by horns, keys, drums, bass and guitar, the band plays songs that sound as if they should have come out a few decades earlier, produced by a band full of non-white performers. But this is 2016, and St. Paul & The Broken Bones a breaking all the rules. Check out this album as soon as your ears are free.

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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

#14 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen

Now that we’re into the better half of the Top 31, there tends to be for me more invested in the albums featured. Take this album at #14, Leonard Cohen’s masterful — and final — album. Cohen was a month into his 83rd year when he released You Want It Darker. He died three weeks after its release, bringing new light to the album’s overt themes of death and god.

Cohen released his first album at 33, after failing to earn a living writing poetry and fiction. You Want It Darker was only his 14th release across his 49-year musical career, a pace of an album every 3½ years. That should tell you something about his dedication to his craft. This album is indicative of his later efforts, with Cohen’s spoken-word poetry layered over sparse strings, guitar, and quiet brushed percussion. There should be a section at the record store called “gravel,” dedicated to the later-year Cohen, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan albums that all speak volumes to the lifetimes these men have bared openly for us, the listeners.

As it was for David Bowie’s final album (featured earlier in the 2016 Bacon Top 31), Cohen’s death permeates every beat of this album. It’s impossible to listen to it without picturing the man on his deathbed, contemplating the previous 82 years and what it all meant. This is not a bad thing, it’s not a dark cloud that hovers. But it’s not happy either. It simply is. One has to imagine that once he got into his eighties, he’d had a long and fruitful life, content with where he’d been and what he’d done. His legacy will live on well past 2016, and this album will play a big part in that.

Hallelujah.

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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

#15 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Painting of a Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit

Coming in like a sad Scottish raincloud to shit on your parade, we have Frightened Rabbit here at #15 with their fifth full-length album in the last decade, Painting of a Panic Attack. If you’ve been reading the Bacon Review for any length of time, you’d know that I love these five guys out of Selkirk, Scotland. They’ve been on the Top 31 three times (2010,2012, 2013) and would have been on here at least two more times if I’d only been charting my Top 31 prior to 2009.

I live in Seattle, and Frightened Rabbit makes for the perfect soundtrack to the dark, long, and wet winters we have in the Pacific NW (and in Scotland, I’ve heard). The members of Frightened Rabbit are masters songs that wallow in sadness and depression but turn into a resounding chorus of redemption and overcoming of adversity. It can sound a touch formulaic or simple at times, but that’s something I love about them. This is not deep, introspective music. This is straightforward, hit you over the head, emo rock & roll. And it is glorious.

And nothing beats a good Scottish accent.

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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

#16 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Why Are You OK by Band Of Horses

Sometimes a band you’d long given up on surprises you. Such is the case with the album at #16, Band of Horses’s fifth album Why Are You OK. Every since “Is The a Ghost” got stuck in my head sometime in late 2007, I’ve had trouble liking this band. Their debut album, Everything All the Time, is a great album. They really nailed it with that one. Each album since then has been a shadow of that original greatness.

And I’m not saying this new one is better than their 2006 debut. This is — finally — the follow-up album I’ve been waiting for them to make all along. It was produced by Jason Lyle of Grandaddy, and maybe that has something to do with the subtle-but-important differences that show up. “Casual Party,” the first single from the album, featured above, is a classic Band of Horses song. It sounds like them, they’re having fun, and it’s catchy and rocking.

The rest of the album builds off that song, to leave you with a warm glow inside. I had the pleasure of seeing these guys perform at the Paramount earlier this year, and the live versions of these songs are every bit as good as they sound recorded. And lead singer Ben Bridwell is having a blast. He’s the type of guy that seems like he’d be friends with everybody, he’d be the one to buy you a round just for being you. And that’s the sense you get out of this album, too.

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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

#17 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Not To Disappear by Daughter

When listening to the album featured here at #17, a coworker of mine declared “this is what it would sound like if The National were fronted by a woman.” And wow if he wasn’t spot on. Daughter, from England, has been on Top 31 before, when their debut album, If You Leave, made it up to #11 in 2013. That was a fantastic album, and their sophomore album, Not To Disappear, is a continuation of that beginning.

Quiet, brooding, with strong drum lines and dark lyrics, the band makes you feel as though you’re sitting in a dimly lit and dank basement room, talking to a troubled friend in hushed tones about things only the closest of friends can talk about. The lead singer, Elena Tonra, has a voice that is just beyond clarity, causing you to lean in closer to hear her.

Definitely if you liked the band’s first album, you’ll like this, too. But even if you’ve not heard of Daughter before, this album is worth a listen. Seek it out.

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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

#18 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Sunlit Youth by Local Natives

Five guys from Los Angeles, Local Natives make catchy, slightly emo indie rock that is at once recognizable, warm, and approachable. This is the third time the band has appeared on the Top 31, with the debut and sophomore albums making it into the top 10 in 2010 and 2013.

This new album isn’t a departure from their past efforts, it’s not surprising, or a new direction for the band, and it doesn’t feature any new members. This is Local Natives, doing what they do, in ways you expect and I utterly appreciate. It makes for a somewhat difficult review, as there’s nothing new to report. But I will say this: you should be listening to this band if you don’t already. And you should listen in chronological order. Sunlit Youth, while still a great album, is their third best. Fall in love with their first two, and you be in lockstep with this new one in no time.

And give the video above a listen. I would prefer to have shown you a video with actual recordings featured on the album, but the band doesn’t have anything but lyric videos out there. But I got the next best thing: a La Blogothèque Take Away Show. If you’re not familiar, feel free to get lost…

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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

#19 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

I Had a Dream That You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam

The two gentlemen at #19 have been featured on the Bacon Top 31 a combined five times over the years, as Hamilton Leithauser is the former front man for (now defunct) The Walkmen (#26 in 2010, #9 in 2012, and his solo album was #11 in 2014), and Rostam is the longtime producer and cowriter for Vampire Weekend (#6 in 2010, and #3 in 2013). So you know their first album produced together is also going to make it onto the Top 31.

Leithauser’s gravelly, strained croon combined with Rostam’s excellent production — along with their own instrumentation and a litany of backup performers — creates for a solid rock and roll album. The two first worked together on a couple songs on Leithauser’s awesome solo album, and this is the first time they’ve created an entire album together.

If you’re a fan of either of these mens’ amazing back catalogs, then you should seek out this album. They’re also coming through town in January, playing two shows at the Tractor on January 21. I’m heading to the late-night show. Will you be there?

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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

#20 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

★ by David Bowie

We lost quite a few great musicians in 2016. Prince. Leonard Cohen. Sharon Jones. Phife Dawg. And Bowie. David fucking Bowie. I can’t say his death was the hardest to take. They were all difficult. But it wasn’t easy, that’s for sure.

He presented himself to us as a pure entertainer, his life for the stage, and Bowie orchestrated his death in exactly that same way. He released ★ (aka Blackstar), his 25th album, on his 69th birthday, January 8, 2016. Two days later he died of complications from liver cancer, something he’d been secretly battling for a year and a half. From Tony Visconti, the coproducer of the album:

“He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His death was no different from his life — a work of art. He made ★ for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn’t, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry.”

This is a sad, exhausting album. The sadness comes from the overt lyrics, which Bowie wrote about the experience of cancer treatment and impending death. The exhaustion comes from knowing what Bowie must have been feeling, himself, as he wrote it, which comes through in every slow tempo, every bass beat. It’s the perfect counter to the previous album on the countdown, Farewell, Starlite! Sure, there are many albums I’d reach for to memorialize Bowie by before reaching for this one, but ★ is still the perfect swan song, and I can’t recommend it enough.

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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

#21 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Farewell, Starlite! by Francis and the Lights

I didn’t discover this album until five days ago, even though it came out in September. I’d had a different album for this spot until I realized it was disqualified due to it having come out in November (putting it into the time frame for next year’s Top 31). So I was glad that this album came along, and I’m glad it’s powerful enough to show up here, at #21.

Francis and the Lights is a man who had his name legally changed to Francis Farewell Starlite. While Starlite has been performing as Francis and the Lights in front of as well as behind the mic since 2007, Farewell, Starlite! is his debut album. And it’s full of auto-tuned goodness. It’s dancey and poppy and makes me feel good inside. There’s not much more I can say about it.

Be sure to watch the video above, for the song “Friends.” It features Kanye West and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, along with Starlite, who dances like an idiot before joining in lockstep with Vernon in a jokey little choreographed routine. It’s brilliant in it’s silliness.

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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

#22 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

This Unruly Mess I’ve Made by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

These guys really know what they’re doing. They’re insanely popular, and they’ve built it all up themselves. But if you listen to the music created by lyricist / rapper Macklemore and his music-producing cohort Ryan Lewis, it becomes clear they’re just fumbling through it all like everybody else. The brutal honesty of Macklemore’s lyrics on this new record, the duo’s second full-length collaboration, step well beyond the refreshingly lucid lyrics of their debut, The Heist.

Next to chart-topping songs like “Downtown,” (which is insanely raunchy — when was the last time you heard a song with the word “scrotum” in it?), and “Dance Off” (which video is shown above, featuring none other than Idris “‘Stringer’ Bell” Elba), Mack sings about the inner turmoil of being an imposter for his success, of being white and finding it difficult to fight for #blacklivesmatter, of being a dead-beat father who’s never around. The album’s truths are at once arresting and refreshing.

But then it comes to the global acceptance of them. Nothing brings out my own insecurity about being a white American male more than listening to Macklemore do his thing. I feel guilty listening to him with my son, especially when we get to the song “White Privilege II” and the spoken-word passage of the mom clearly talking to Macklemore and saying

“You’re the only hip-hop that I let my kids listen to
’Cause you get it, all that negative stuff it isn’t cool”

Because it causes my son to ask questions, questions that are hard for me to answer, that make me uneasy in my “whiteness.” And while it’s not true that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis is the only hip-hop I let my son listen to, all of his points hit a nerve (as it’s supposed to).

And that’s where Mack’s lyrics shine — in that moment where you stop, and you think, and you examine your own world and decide “am I doing everything I can in this fucked up world of ours?” and realize you most certainly are not, and you start to edge yourself towards being that ultimately unattainable “better person.” And you keep on trying, thanks in small part to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

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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