#29 on the 2017 Bacon Top 31

A Deeper Understanding by The War on Drugs

If you were following The Bacon Review back during the Top 31 of 2014, then you’re already familiar with the band here at #29, The War on Drugs. Their third album, Lost in the Dream, appeared at #13 that year. A Deeper Understanding is their fourth album, and it’s a clear continuation of what they had back then.

My view of the band hasn’t changed — this is dad rock of the highest caliber. Think of the music made towards the end of the Grateful Dead run, or any solo music made by the Eagles after the band went their separate ways (before reuniting, of course), and that’s exactly where The War on Drugs is.

This is a good, poppy album from start to finish. There have been a few good videos from it, including the one for “Holding On” above (the best song on the album), as well as “Pain” and the quirky “Nothing to Find”. If you liked their last album, you’ll like this one every bit as much.

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30. Planetarium by Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, & James McAlister
31. A Moment Apart by Odesza

2009-2016 Top 31s

#30 on the 2017 Bacon Top 31

Planetarium by Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, & James McAlister

Through no fault of its own, this album is merely “interesting,” not phenomenal. I believe it’s hard to collaborate when you’re a fairly big name on your own — as the men in this “supergroup” are, especially Sufjan Stevens and Bryce Dessner (lead guitarist from The National), both of whom have appeared on the Bacon Top 31 numerous times over the years. These artists must find it difficult to create something together that is on par with what they’ve created on their own prior to the collaboration. I’m sure there’s a great supergroup collaboration out there that I’m forgetting — one better than the sum of its parts — but it escapes me. It seems that the supergroup’s output is always going to be worse on the whole.

Be that as it may, Planetarium is worth repeated listening. On its surface, it sounds like an extension of my favorite Sufjan album, The Age of Adz (#3 in 2010), which makes sense given that these songs were originally written back in 2011. It’s difficult to pick out Dessner’s guitar work, but Sufjan is unmistakeable on the handful of songs on which he sings. And I’m unfamiliar with the work of contemporary classical music composer Nico Muhly or percussionist James McAlister.

Between the nice songs with Sufjan vocals are some meandering, orchestral oddities that oscillate from darkness and foreboding to light and airy, without providing much substance to speak of. And that is why we find the album here, near the bottom of the Top 31. Do be sure to check out the Sufjan creation linked in the video above; the man is a genius of both song and visuals. And while this album may not be the best of his output, give it a listen yourself and let me know what you think.

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31. A Moment Apart by Odesza

2009-2016 Top 31s

#31 on the 2017 Bacon Top 31

Happy new year! Here we are again, at the beginning of yet another Top 31.¹ 2017 was an exciting year for me, personally (I married my lovely wife in August, and together we have a beautiful daughter who was born in October).

Politically, 2017 felt like shit. It helps to think there have been many much worse years in American history, but it’s hard to keep that perspective when those worse years all came before I was politically aware.

Musically, the year felt muddled and off. There are many albums I discovered and enjoyed (well more than the 31 I’ll feature here), but overall it feels like there were no amazing albums in 2017. Part of that surely has to do with how busy I was personally, and how terrible things were politically. But I think it also has to do with how I discovered and listened to music. My Apple Music account allowed me to look at all the new releases every week and add any album to my active 2017 playlist, resulting in 111 2017 albums ending up in my music library (which is about 50% more albums than I typically listen to in a given year). That’s a lot of music to absorb in one year (3.7 days worth of music, to be exact).

I’ll be paying attention to my listening habits in 2018 to see if how I’m discovering and listening to music is affecting my opinion, or if the muddle lies in other, currently unknowable factors. I did manage to arrive at 31 favorites for the year. In some ways it was much easier to compile the Top 31, since I had so many more albums to choose from. And there’s even a #1 album. But first, we need to get through the 30 other albums I loved this year. Let’s get started, shall we?

A Moment Apart by Odesza

First up is an electronic duo out of Seattle you’ve probably heard of: Odesza. These two guys who met at Western have made quite a name for themselves in the past five years, going from obscurity to #3 on the US Pop chart in that short time. I hadn’t paid much attention to them or their two previous releases, but A Moment Apart caused me to sit up an listen intently.

The album has a few stellar guest appearances (including Regina Spektor). The song above, “Across the Room” features Leon Bridges, whose own album was #2 on the 2015 Top 31. I recommend watching this nice little documentary about the making of that song. A Moment Apart is fantastic from start to finish. It works best as background music, but beware: you’ll soon find yourself annoying the person next to you with your toe tapping toe and bouncing up and down.

And there we are — another year’s Top 31 is underway. I look forward to talking and listening with you over the next month as we count down to #1 together. Please share your own favorites when you can — I’d love to talk about them and compare with you.

^{1. In case you missed my note at the beginning of December, the Top 31 got pushed out a month this year (and will begin on January 1 in every future year). I’m glad I made this decision, as it allowed me to enjoy the holidays without concern about getting the next day’s post out, and to enjoy all of 2017’s music for the full year. But this also means I need to accommodate the last two months of 2016 that didn’t end up in last year’s countdown. So for those paying attention at home, this year’s countdown actually covers 14 months of music, from November 2016 through December 2017.↩}

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2009-2016 Top 31s

Elbow — Gentle Storm

New Elbow, people. Their new album, Little Fictions, came out on February 3, and it’s everything you’d ever want in an Elbow album.

Look for the Benedict Cumberbatch cameo in the video, above. (Plus they’re coming to Seattle in November!)

Regretfully Overlooked in 2016: Anohni

I always liked hearing Antony and the Johnsons when they came up on KEXP, but I never felt compelled to listen to their music outside of those select, serendipitous moments. In 2016, the band’s lead singer Antony Hegarty, otherwise known as Anohni, released her first solo album, Hopelessness. Where Antony and the Johnsons were good, this album is great. Anohni’s voice is a Björk 45 slowed down to 33 RPM, and the music is a mash of electronic, analog, and otherworldly. Get on it.

Regretfully Overlooked in 2016: Chance the Rapper

Not only did Chance the Rapper create an amazing album last year (it’s called Coloring Book, and I recommend you go find it and listen to it right now), but he also won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2016. And I didn’t hear the album until January of this year. Whomp whomp.

Fleet Foxes — Third of May / Ōdaigahara

This is the first new Fleet Foxes music in six years. I’m not usually one to put lyric videos on the Bacon Review, but this being the Fleet Foxes, I’m making an exception. The song above, at nearly nine minutes long, is a bit rambling. But given I’d thought we’d heard the last of Robin Pecknold and crew, I don’t care. Their new album, Crack Up, comes out June 16 on Nonesuch.

#1 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

22, A Million by Bon Iver

Yep, Bon Iver. Good ol’ Justin Vernon finds himself atop the 2016 Bacon Top 31, with his stellar, jaw dropping third LP 22, A Million. This album is Bon Iver’s Kid A. I remember that feeling, back in 2000 — after having had that magical moment where Radiohead’s OK Computer just *clicked* a couple years prior, and I began defining the musical world as “Radiohead above all else” — and played Kid A for the first time and thought “What the FUCK is this?” Then I listened to it again. And again. And probably didn’t stop for the rest of the year. That’s exactly how it went for this new Bon Iver album.

This is an amazing record. It’s over-the-top use of autotune (as I said when reviewing Blonde at #4, this is The Year of the Autotune) is arresting until you’ve heard the album for the fourth of fifth time and you realize it’s magical.

Vernon has a spot-on falsetto — it’s his signature voice — and of course it’s featured prominently here, run through many layers of digital filters and fuzz, to create something wholly unique. I encourage you to watch this live performance from December (thank you NPR!), to watch Vernon make these sounds on the fly. It’s a marvel to watch, and it blows me away he’s able to accomplish it all live, on stage.

Bon Iver has been on the Top 31 only twice, for his 2nd LP, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, at #6 back in 2011, and his Blood Bank EP at #17 back in the very first Top 31, in 2009. His first album, For Emma, Forever Ago, from 2008, would definitely have been on the countdown. It’s a masterpiece of a different sort. But for me, 22, A Million is his best work to date. I’m going to listen to this album for many many many years to come.

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2. Visions of Us On the Land by Damien Jurado
3. A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead
4. Blonde by Frank Ocean
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

#2 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Visions of Us On the Land by Damien Jurado

My 2016 was most defined by the artist here at #2, Damien Jurado. In a way, Jurado has been a part of my time here in Seattle since moving here in 1997. I first saw him perform when he opened for Death Cab for Cutie at what was then called Graceland (and is now El Corazón) back in 2001 (I’m pretty sure I was standing right next to this guy). And I’ve been following Jurado’s career ever since.

Unlike most every other band out there, I can say — unequivocally — that Jurado has gotten better and better. This is not just your typically clichéd comment about an aging rocker. For once, I mean it. Jurado’s last three albums, a trilogy created with producer Richard Swift, demonstrate that his songwriting is at the top of his game.

Jurado has been through his fair share of trials and tribulations. I had the immense pleasure of seeing Jurado perform twice this year, first at the Neptune back in May (with a full band), and then again, solo, in the beautiful St. Mark’s Cathedral on December 3. When you see him in concert, he is always sitting in a chair with his acoustic guitar on his lap. Which made the show at St. Mark’s all that more surprising, because he was performing standing up. Three-fourths of the way through the concert, he asked for a chair to be brought up to the stage, performed another song, and then told a long story that revealed the reason he asked for a chair ten minutes prior: he was having a panic attack, right there on stage. The show never stopped, the music was as powerful as always, and he performed through it. But wow if that’s not a moving experience.

All three of Jurado’s recent albums have been on the Top 31. Maraqopa at #5 in 2012 and Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son at #0 in 2014 (there was a clerical error that year that forced this album off the proper countdown, but it would have been in the Top 5 for sure). And now here at #2 is the coup de grace. It’s a truly phenomenal record.

I worry about where Jurado will go from here, with this trilogy now complete. Is this the pinnacle? Does he have more music in him? Will he work with Richard Swift again? I selfishly want even more out of him. But at least we have these three albums to listen to, forever. Visions of Us On the Land is his twelfth studio album. Jurado could stop writing music forever and be more than content in his body of work. Either way, I’ll be quite happy.

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3. A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead
4. Blonde by Frank Ocean
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

#3 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead

Radiohead have only been on the Top 31 twice, both times in 2011, which is when The King of Limbs and its remix album, TKOL RMX 1234567, their previous albums to A Moon Shaped Pool, came out. But the band’s members have been on the Top 31 a few more times:

• Jonny Greenwood in 2012 with his score to The Master
• Tom Yorke’s side project Atoms for Peace with AMOK in 2013
• And Jonny Greenwood again, this year, with his collaboration Junun

A Moon Shaped Pool is a great album, and it’s a great Radiohead album. You can see other videos from the album here and here. I don’t really need to say anything else about it.

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4. Blonde by Frank Ocean
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

#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