#21 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Jockstrap

I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap

What sort of music do you hear in your head when you learn a band is named “Jockstrap?” Well, you’re wrong. Jockstrap is the brainchild of English duo Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye, and they sound pretty much exactly the opposite of what you’d expect with that name.

Their sound is a bit tough to pin down. Ellery sings, and plays a mix of guitar and string in various places across the album. Her vocals are beautifully breathy, clear as day, as if she’s lying next to you in the grass, singing directly into your ear while the sun dances across your faces. Then Skye’s electronics come screaming in, all heavy beats, unapproachable melodies, and playfully tweaked samples. At least that’s what the first three songs sound like. But much like the weather of my native Oklahoma, if you don’t like what you’ve got, just stick around because it’s fixin’ to change. Pitchfork said of their chaotic soundscape that the band “is still rummaging through a trunk of masks.” Feels apropos.

Ellery and Skye met as students of the vaunted Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. After putting out a handful of well-regarded EPs from 2018-2020, they were able to gel long enough to assemble a full LP, their debut I Love You Jennifer B. “Glasgow,” featured in the video above, with its easy listening guitar and strings playfully dancing together throughout is likely the most universally approachable song on the album. Of the song, Skye said it “is our coming of age, moving forward, long-distance, traveling, beautiful bosk, wonderful thicket song.” “Concrete Over Water” (click for video) is another personal favorite, and so, so loverly.

If those are too “normal” for you, check out the video for “Greatest Hits,” which feels like a throwback to the 90s. The video, which features a fictional trial between two aging musicians, is quite fitting with its Night Court vibes. And then there’s the fourth video from the album, for their song “50/50” — an industrial sounding, dance-beat driven song better suited for the tweaker kids on the dance floor.

Jockstrap’s sound is all over the place, but that doesn’t mean it’s poorly done. This is a stellar debut, front to back, and I encourage you to not give up on it if you don’t find what you’re looking for at first. The payoff is worth it.

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22. Too Much to Ask by Cheekface
23. Dripfield by Goose
24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#22 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Cheekface

Too Much to Ask by Cheekface

Cheekface are a riot. The Los Angeles-based trio led by Greg Katz on guitar and lead vocals, Amanda Tanner on bass and backup vocals, and Mark “Echo” Edwards on drums call themselves “America’s local band,” three basic words that reveal a surprising amount about them and what they stand for. Katz and Tanner’s lyrics dive deep into anxiety and sociopolitical unease, topics near and dear to my heart, and Katz delivers them with a talk-singing patter that is dry, witty, and absolutely dripping with sarcasm. The post-punk/power-pop blend works extremely well.

The song above, “We Need a Bigger Dumpster,” became an anthem on my beloved KEXP shortly after Too Much was released, reflecting so accurately the feelings we all experience when we’re forced to face the state of the world around us. Please hit play on the video above and revel in its stock-footage ridiculousness. It was the power of this one song, as played on KEXP and heard for the first time while my son and I were driving to Port Townsend for the 2022 Thing festival that caused us to immediately download the album to hear the rest of its majesty. Throughout the rest of the year, any time “Dumpster” came on the radio, which was often, my family would sing the super-catchy, much-repeated lyrics at the top of our lungs. All music should be this fun.

In my research for this post I learned that some fans of Cheekface, the band whose third LP Too Much to Ask is the #22 album of 2022, call themselves Cheek Freaks. I don’t think I’ll ever be a big enough fan to rise to Freak status, but here in early 2023 I can’t unequivocally say I’m not headed in that direction. Perhaps now you’re pointed down the same road I am. If so, give the album a listen and see what you think. On top of that, the band has released a 3-song accompaniment to Too much, called Don’t Ask (b-sides) EP. It is equally as good and catchy. “Why’d they put the headache so close to my brain?” is a question I never thought to ask but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Enjoy.

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23. Dripfield by Goose
24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#23 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Goose

Dripfield by Goose

Jam bands aren’t my thing. They’re a lot of other people’s thing, but not mine. I understand, intellectually, why people like jam bands, start to obsess about their favorite one, and eventually become Deadheads, Phish Phans, or Gizzard Wizards (these names may be entirely fabricated), finding themselves following their favorite jam band around the world to continually worship at the feet of their chosen god. But unlike the guilt I feel when not listening to Big Thief, I feel no guilt for not having fallen in with the jam band scene.

Goose, from Norwalk, Connecticut, are proving to be the catalyst for a shift in my thinking. Not only is Dripfield, really, really good, but I also got to experience them in their true form this past summer: live, in person, at Thing festival just outside Port Townsend, Washington. Both the album and the experience have left me changed, softer on my stance regarding jam bands, and open and ready to explore more. My jam-band-aficionado friends — you know who you are — are not-so-silently rejoicing.

I’ve not listened to Goose’s first two albums: 2016’s Moon Cabin and Shenanigans Nite Club from 2019. But from what I’ve read, those albums were mere stop-gaps to getting the band back out on the road. In true jam-band fashion, they slowly built a following based on consistently good live shows, almost in spite of their recorded work. Part of that following involved Ezra Koenig, lead singer/songwriter of long-time Bacon Review favorites Vampire Weekend. Koenig likes the band so much, he asked them to create a 20 minute, 21 second-long remix/cover of Vampire Weekend song “2021” from Father of the Bride (#3 in 2019) for their 2021 EP, 40:42.

All that performing work over a five year span allowed Goose to hone a near-perfect 60-minute set to record for in studio for their 2022 release, Dripfield. The band’s third full-length album is, even by the band’s own admission, their first real album. It has a number of gems, including ”Hungersite,” shown in the video above. A personal favorite is the first track on the album, “Borne,” and the title song is pretty great as well. All three of these songs have the band at their best (despite the visual side of the videos being a touch on the boring side): lead singer Rick Mitarotonda’s smooth vocals and solid, guitar-driven hooks along with multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach’s keyboards rounding out the top end while the rhythm section (Ben Atkind on drums, Jeff Arevalo on percussion, and bassist Trevor Weeks) drive the songs deftly forward.

Hearing these songs as recorded in the studio is nice, but hearing them performed live is otherworldly. The band’s day one headliner slot at Thing festival this past August couldn’t have been better: their set time followed a pair of perfect openers in Sparks and Father John Misty (another Bacon Review favorite), clear skies with a stiff breeze coming in from Puget Sound, and a crowd of thousands enjoying their much-needed freedom after a couple years of pandemic-forced introversion. Goose played eight songs in their 90-minute set, each clocking in at well over 10 minutes long. It was a thing of beauty.

I walked off the festival grounds that night a changed man. I had been shown the light of the jam band experience, and I was left wanting more. That’s the Goose way. Join me in my newfound excitement! Check out their wonderful album Dripfield, and then book tickets to see them when they come to Seattle in April. Maybe I’ll see you there.

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24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#24 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Big Thief

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief

Sometimes I have a complicated relationship with an album or a band. (In case it wasn’t obvious, I think a lot, probably too much, about music.) Big Thief is a prime example of the kind of relationship I’m referring to. Simply put, they make me feel guilty. To be fair, they’ve never heard of the Bacon Review and have no idea who I am, so I can’t really say they make me feel guilty. It’s not their fault. And it’s not the fault of the radio stations who promote the band with repeated in-studio performances. Nor is the fault of my friends who continually bring up the band, hoping for some camaraderie around their excitement (hi Pete). I have no one to blame but myself.

I can appreciate them, and I have for many years. While their debut album Masterpiece didn’t make it on the Top 31 in 2016, their second album Capacity came in at #23 in 2017, and the third and fourth albums Two Hands and U.F.O.F collectively hit #4 in 2019. And here we are with their fifth critically acclaimed, massively promoted (for an indie rock band), Best New Music 9.0 out of 10 Pitchfork ranked album, and I have to force myself to put it on.

Every time I do, I enjoy it. But every time I finish it, I move on to something else, and a week or two go by before I remember it and put it on again. That’s not my habit for albums I love – I don’t have the drive to listen to the band on repeat for a week straight. It’s as if my brain has a blind spot for them. I do very much feel this is a problem unique to me, hence the guilty feeling. But – I know what it is I’m missing out on, and I’m here to tell you about it, to in no small part alleviate that guilt.

Big Thief are from Brooklyn, NY. They’re fronted by the pixie-ish, Joanna Newsom-esque principle song writer and guitarist Adrianne Lenker, and they feature Buck Meek on guitar and backing vocals, Max Oleartchik on bass, and James Krivchenia on drums. Nothing fancy about that lineup, aside from the fact that all five of them are exceedingly skilled at their craft. Lenker writes and sings lyrics that float by your ears on feathers, and the band plays behind her with a fervor that only a close-knit group of bandmates can muster.

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You is essentially a double-album. At 20 songs, it clocks in at over 80 minutes, and there are a wide variety of musical styles crammed into those minutes. Hit play on the video for “Red Moon,” above. It sounds nice, a typical progression for the band, a bit country, a bit stompy, but very infectious, even when you get to the “That’s my Grandma!” in the middle with the off-key whistling. There’s not really a damn thing wrong with it. The rest of the album is just like that. Not in tone, but in likability.

Pick up this album and give it a whirl. Prove to yourself (and then to me) that this guilty burden is mine and mine alone. I guarantee you’ll like this album. Everybody does. Even me, when I remember to put it on.

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25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#25 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Weyes Blood

And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood

Natalie Mering has been writing and performing under the nom de plume Weyes Blood since 2011. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow is her fifth album in that span, but only the first one to make it onto the Top 31. Based on the way this album has landed squarely in my regular rotation, the absence of her previous four albums is 100% my fault.

Mering grew up in a deeply religious Pentecostal Christian family of the “born again” variety. (This is now the 2nd time religion has come up as a big part of the upbringing of the featured artist. I wonder how many more times we’ll see it.) Born in Santa Monica, her family moved around a few times before landing in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She left the nest and headed west to Portland for college and started playing in bands regularly. In 2011 she released her debut album as Weyes Blood, The Outside Room. She released a couple more albums in 2014 and 2016 and started to garner some critical acclaim. But it wasn’t until her fourth, 2019’s Titanic Rising, that that acclaim started to catch up to her.

She defines And In The Darkness as part two of a trilogy that began on Titanic. As mentioned in Pitchfork, part one “was a foretelling of catastrophe, and its follow-up is a dispatch from the center of it.” I’ve not yet been able to hear Titanic, but I aim to soon.

Mering’s voice hits in the same register as Aimee Mann, and a lot of the production throughout the album could be mistaken for Mann’s work — a high compliment in my book. Heavy orchestration and strong lyrical storytelling are found throughout. She’s lands at the intersection between Mann and Father John Misty (I would fear the power of that love child).

Her videos have a FJM-like tongue-in-cheek quality to them as well. In addition to “Grapevine” above, which features surreal and dark animated figures behind the performing Mering, she’s released another dark, surreal, and animated video for “It’s not me, it’s everybody”. I’m not sure if the style of these videos is indicative of all Weyes Blood videos, but they both feature blood so I’m inclined to think that’s an overarching theme.

Give this album its due – it sinks in deep and grabs your guts in a way that only a few albums can.

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26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#26 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — DOMi & JD BECK

NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK

Jazz is very slowly working its way into my listening habits. I’m still put off by a lot of the more freeform works, but when it provides some recognizable structure I’m able to really enjoy it (see Thelonious Monk’s Palo Alto Live, #28 in last year’s Top 31). The lone jazz entry in this year’s Top 31 comes from an unexpected duo: 22-year-old Frenchwoman Domi Louna and 19-year-old Texan JD Beck, known collectively as DOMi & JD BECK.

The cool kids / aliens have been making music together since they met in 2018, when they were presumably 15 and 18 year old prodigies in their respective fields. You could be forgiven for expecting their music to be the result of some computer-based output, but then you see them perform. Check out their Tiny Desk Concert from August. The frenetic pace of Beck’s drum playing and DOMi’s keyboards, it’s all real and very analog.

The duo were picked up pretty early on by Anderson .Paak, who featured them as backing musicians starting in 2019. There’s more early evidence of their work together behind Thundercat and Ariana Grande in this Aqua Teen Hunger Force video from the all-streaming 2020 Adult Swim Festival. That video is so enjoyable to watch, both DOMi and JD BECK, as well as Thundercat’s leadership and Grande’s nonchalance. Pitchfork labeled the duo “the 100 gecs of jazz,” which feels spot on.¹

The album contains a who’s who of guest stars, from the aforementioned Anderson .Paak and Thundercat, to Mac DeMarco, Busta Rhymes, and Snoop Dogg, and jazz luminaries Herbie Hancock and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. The duo also have the power of Anderson .Paak’s production company behind them. See the video for “TAKE A CHANCE” shown above. It was directed by .Paak, and features he and the duo on an album-related heist.

The duo’s screen appearances are fun and nonsensical, and make me love them more. On top of the video above, another high-profile video was created for their song “SMiLE.” The video was also directed by Anderson .Paak, and stars a heavily made up Mac DeMarco as jazz musician McBriare Lanyon, the fictional mentor of DOMi and JD Beck, and for whom they are throwing a surprise birthday party. Thundercat, the late comedian Teddy Ray, and a slew of .Paak-related folks all show up to the party.

Give NOT TiGHT a listen. It might not be your cup of tea, but it’s hard to argue with DOMi and JD BECK’s musicianship and ease with which they flow out of your headphones.

^{1. 100 gecs were criminally underrated by me, appearing at #29 in 2019. They should have been in the top 10 that year. I’ll probably look back on this DOMi & JD BECK review and feel the same in a few years.↩}

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27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#27 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Ethel Cain

Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain

The second new-to-the-Top 31 artist this year is Ethel Cain, the fictional creation of Hayden Silas Anhedönia, from Tallahassee, Florida. Her debut album, Preacher’s Daughter is my #27 of 2022. While I love the song “American Teenager” shown in the video above, don’t be fooled into thinking her music and this album is full of similar pop treacle. Anhedönia’s typical musical style is slow and sultry, and she can be found sandwiched between Lorde and Lana del Ray in the “Jack Antonoff-esque” section of your nearest Tower Records. While she does sound similar to those other artists, Anhedönia differs from her Antonoffian competition in that she produces all her own songs.

She grew up in a tight-knit Southern Baptist community, her dad a deacon at their church, where she and her mom sang in the church choir. This small-town religious upbringing, and how it felt being a suppressed and ostracized non-binary gay teenager in the South is felt throughout the album, if not in lyric than in feel. On top of those already difficult social circumstances, according to Pitchfork she unveiled her true self as a transgender woman at age 20 via Facebook. This ultimately freed her to be everything she needed to create her art. Amazingly, in the interviews I’ve read and watched, she makes it clear that her upbringing was not all pain and difficulty, despite any preconceptions you and I may bring to the table about being transgender and raised in a majorly religious Southern Christian home. There were hard times, for sure, but she also is careful to point out all the good she’s carried forward with her from her days of daily churchgoing.

The dark, dulcet tones that run through the album are punctuated by extremes in volume and excitement, from upbeat songs like “American Teenager,” to the droning, heavy choruses of “Thoroughfare” and “Sun Bleached Flies.” Together, there’s a large soundwave that blissfully compels you through the full 76 minute opus. In this KEXP live performance from August of this year, Anhedönia talks about the direct influence that the KEXP live sessions from Florence and the Machine and Daughter (#11 in 2013 and #17 in 2016) had on her sound.

I encourage you to listen to Ethel Cain’s KEXP session. She belts three stripped-down versions of songs from Preacher’s Daughter (plus “Crush” from her equally great 2021 EP Inbred) while playing the piano and her band backs her up on guitar and percussion. It’s otherworldly. Then pick up her debut. It’s a perfect listen for those long cold winter nights.

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28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#28 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Various Artists via KEXP

Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists

In 2022, KEXP — the radio station that broadcasts at 90.3 on the FM dial in the Seattle area and worldwide at kexp.org — turned 50. The station has recorded countless “Live at KEXP” sessions that they then post on their YouTube channel. From those sessions, they’ve produced ten “Live at KEXP” collections over the years. These are wildly varying mixes that lovingly reflect the eclectic nature of the station and all its DJs loves and influences. And that finally brings us to why we’re here: Live at KEXP, vol. 10, my #28 album of the year.

First, a bit about the history of this much-loved radio station: it started as “KCMU” when four UW students in 1972 wanted an outlet and learning environment for journalism and on-air music to students beyond what had been previously available via KUOW, the original UW station (which had been severely reduced due to university budget cuts in the early 70s). It has been through a variety of changes over the last five decades: shifting from KCMU to KEXP thanks to an agreement with Paul Allen’s Experience Music Project in the early 2000s; a formalization of format from a mix of news and DJ-led music to only music in the 90s; and a successful transformation from solvency being provided by university or investor backing to being fully listener supported.

The mission of the station has never wavered: “to enrich [listeners’ lives] by championing music and discovery. [The station’s] vision is a connected and compassionate world embracing curiosity and a shared love of music.” They mean it when they say “KEXP: Where the music matters.” While I can’t pinpoint the connection exactly, it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t have the love of music that I do without KEXP in my life. And KEXP has truly been “in my life”:

• While my wife and I were in the hospital for the birth of our daughter, we made a request to the station during a quiet moment in the delivery room that was played on air by John in the Morning, along with a sharing of our story, and heard live on our personal speaker in the room
• It is KEXP I think of when I think back to my personal experience around 9/11 – with my alarm going off early in the morning to the sounds of KCMU in 2001, John’s telling of the first plane hitting the Towers is as clear in my head now as it was that morning
• At the start of the pandemic, the station adapted quickly to the new rules of society, figuring out how to broadcast from DJ’s homes, and the station’s secondary motto “You are not alone” became a powerful mantra to listeners worldwide, including me and my family. The support the station provided then continues today as the station digs deeper into the support that the station brings to our lives through the music and stories they share.

Having been a Gold Club member multiple times over the years, and privy to the secret stage shows the station held in the tiny Children’s Theater at the Seattle Center during Bumbershoot, I’ve been witness to many intimate and monumental musical performances thanks to the station. It’s those types of performances that fill out the Live at KEXP releases, and Volume 10 is no exception. There’s “En La Front” from a 2022 performance by Argentinian singer/songwriter Barbi Recanati next to “Lump” from a 1995 performance by The Presidents of the United States of America, a 1997 Modest Mouse performance of “Dramamine” (that will simply bring you to tears due to the recent untimely passing of MM drummer Jeremiah Green due to cancer) next to “Legend Has It” from the 2017 Run the Jewels set linked in the video above. My personal favorite from the album is “Süpürgest Yoncadan” from the 2019 performance by (new to me and the Bacon Review) Turkish psych-rock band Altin Gün shown at the top of this post.

I am (we are) so lucky to have an outlet as consistently strong as KEXP to introduce me (and you) to new music from around the world that I (we) would never hear otherwise. I mentioned earlier that the station is listener supported, and consequently the album is not available to hear on the streaming services. You’ll need to go to your local (Seattle) record store to pick up the vinyl, or you can pay (minimum $10) to download the album from Bandcamp. Or of course you can just peruse the full library of performances on KEXP’s Youtube channel. All proceeds from the vinyl and from the album go directly back to the artists featured. And then when you’re done buying the album, why don’t you head over to kexp.org and throw the station a few bucks as well — without them we would not be talking here, today.

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29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#29 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Daisy the Great

All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great

Many bands will be new to the Bacon Review when they show up in the 2022 Top 31, but the honor of being the first new band on this year’s list goes to Brooklyn-based Daisy the Great. The six-member band is led by dual lead singers Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker, and my brain categorizes them thusly: smart, hook-driven pop; First Aid Kit without the twang.

All You Need Is Time is the band’s 2nd album, and it’s a happy, upbeat pivot from a lot of the other “serious” music you hear (and love!) coming out of our pandemic malaise the past few years. Daisy the Great’s debut, I’m Not Getting Any Taller, came out in early 2019 but completely missed my radar. The band rose to internet fame in 2021 when their very first released song, 2017’s “The Record Player Song¹” became the object of a viral “one breath challenge” on TikTok. Users created 20,000+ videos featuring the song’s chorus, which generated over 270 million aggregate views on the app.

I believe that makes Daisy the Great the first TikTok-famous band to hit this blog, but TikTok is not how I found them. My friend Ryan Spain² introduced them to me, by way of a musical puzzle. He shared that he had been playing the opening track (shown in the video above) obsessively for a few weeks, and had surprisingly unlocked a massive easter egg in the song. As a fan of puzzles, and of the art of making music that has a literal deeper meaning that can be discovered upon multiple listens, I’m not going to ruin the surprise for you (but ask directly and I’ll happily reveal). I will not be surprised if you happen to fall in love with the song upon repeated listening, or because of the discovery itself, or both.

The band has been prolific when it comes to the visual side of music. In addition to the “Time Machine” video above, there are seven additional videos for six other album tracks:

• “Record Player” with an additional animated version, performed with pop trio AJR
• “Glitter”
• “Cry in the Mirror”
• “Easy”
• “Aluminum”
• “Liar”

Check them all out, as they’re clearly gifted in song craft as well as creating candy for the eyes. And then go listen to the rest of the album, it’s worth it.

<sup>1. Not to be confused with another non-album single called “Record Player,” the reimagined version of the TikTok hit that appears on the Deluxe Edition of All You Need Is Time and features the same choral hook as the original.↩
2. Ryan’s been mentioned numerous times on the Bacon Review over the years. He and I met across a friendly poker table nearly 20 years ago, and it was his advent-themed Top 24 music list that he compiled annually in the 00’s that was the catalyst for what become the Bacon Top 31. Ryan continues to help with the production of this Top 31 — the Spotify and (new this year!) YouTube Music playlists exist because of him. If you like that those playlists exist, or really even that the Bacon Top 31 exists, you can thank Ryan directly on Discord at username GoingOptimal#3697. ↩</sup>

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30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#30 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I thought the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were done. Their last record came out in 2013 (Mosquito, which didn’t register on the Bacon Review that year), and no one had heard from them in literal years. So when the Yeah Yeah Yeahs tweeted “Cannot wait to play you some tunes old and NEW! New music! New Era!” in May 2022, along with a set of upcoming shows in NY and LA in October, the music blogging industry started to froth at the mouth.

Cool It Down, the band’s fifth LP in their 20+ year history, came out on September 30. The release of the album was preceded by the lead single / loud declaration of reemergence “Spitting Off the Edge of the World,” which featured Perfume Genius (#15 in 2010) on guest vocals. It’s a slow, droning, powerful statement, indirectly related to the climate crisis. “I see the younger generations staring down this threat, and they’re standing on the edge of a precipice, confronting what’s coming with anger and defiance,” lead singer Karen O about the song. “It’s galvanizing, and there’s hope there.”

The rest of the album is just as good. It feels more grown up, less raw, than their earlier efforts. There are more instruments at play, including a plethora of keyboards. It’s still unmistakably Karen O, and therefore unmistakably Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Picking a favorite song from the wealth of goodness isn’t easy, but once I watched the video for “Wolf,” shown above, starring Britt Lower (who you’ll recognize from Apple TV+’s “Severance”), I suddenly had a favorite. The band has also released videos for the “The Big Sleep” and “Spitting Off the Edge of the World.”

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs aren’t for everyone, and I doubt there’s anyone reading this who hasn’t already decided which side of the YYYs line they fall. If you didn’t like them before, there’s nothing here that’s going to change your opinion. But if you’ve been a fan anywhere in the last two decades, this will do nothing to change that opinion, either. Give it a listen at the links below to confirm.

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31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#31 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — FKA twigs

Welcome to the fourteenth annual Bacon Top 31. 14! At the completion of this list, I’ll have written a blog post for 436 albums since I began back in 2009. And I still look forward to writing and sharing my top albums, every year. It’s likely because I don’t write throughout the rest of the year. Rather, I listen. My music consumption remains as active as ever: I constantly seek out new albums, and I’m almost always listening to the album I most recently found. The act of collating, ordering, writing about and weighing each against the others as well as the events of the year that led them to be loved by me hits many different pleasure points in my brain.

14 years as an amount of time feels relatively short, until you really start to examine what has transpired in the interim. In 2009, for instance, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th US president and Michael Jackson died; Captain Philips’ cargo ship was boarded by pirates and Captain Sully Sullenberger landed his plane safely in the Hudson River (both stories were recreated as movies with Tom Hanks in the lead, in 2013 and 2016, respectively). In 2009, the iPhone 3GS was released, Facebook had not quite reached 500 million users (they’re now at nearly 3 billion users monthly), and Instagram had not even been invented yet!

That’s enough about the past, let’s get back to the present. For the next 31 days I’ll be counting down my favorite albums from 2022. I hope you read and listen alongside me, confirm or deny your own preferences against mine, and find some new music you hadn’t yet heard. Let’s get to it.

CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

By the time Tahliah Debrett Barnett, otherwise known as FKA twigs, released her first official recording, 2012’s EP1, at 24, she’d been making a name for herself as a backup dancer in music videos, for the likes of Kylie Minogue, Jessie J, and Ed Sheeran. EP1 had four songs, and a year later, EP2 came out with an additional four songs. Twigs learned early on how to channel the raw energy that comes from dancing in sex-and-image-first videos into her own music: she produced a video for each of those eight songs on the first two EPs, understanding the influence those visuals could have on her listening world.

In 2014 she released her first full length, LP1, which was the #10 album that year. That album had twigs singing in her signature falsetto, softly and intimately as if she’s lying next to you on the same pillow, with her lips next to your ear. CAPRISONGS is much more forward, more bold.

The album is technically a mixtape, but don’t look to me to define the difference between that and an album — I tried to figure it out, but failed. Twigs brings the term to the fore by peppering the album with the sounds of a cassette tape being loaded and a tangible, tactile PLAY button being pushed. Perhaps calling this a mixtape rather than an album is the easiest way twigs could break her own mold. Her falsetto is still there, but so, too, is her naturally-unaffected voice, sometimes pushed through machine modification, sometimes angrily barked. Many guest singers and rappers appear alongside twigs throughout the record: Pa Salieu, Dystopia, Rema, Daniel Caesar, Jorja Smith, and Unknown T all make an appearance. The Shygirl fueled “papi bones” is a personal favorite, with its driving, dance-heavy beat that demands the listener move their body. The Weeknd makes the biggest splash on the album, with the duet “tears in the club” featured in the video above.

fka Twigs is an enigma, a blend of beat-heavy indie pop, avant garde artistry, and primal urge. She flourishes at the intersection of Björk (artistic musical expression), Grimes (indie dance yumminess), and The Knife/Fever Ray’s Karin Dreijer (thrill and horror imagery), and if you like any one of those artists then you’ll feel right at home with CAPRISONGS. Seek it out at the links below, and then check back in tomorrow for something entirely different.

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#0 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Rostam

Changephobia by Rostam

The 2022 Bacon Top 31 will be kicking off in earnest on Sunday, per usual. I’m here a couple days early to correct a year-old mistake. Back in January, midway through the 2021 Top 31, my lovely wife, Anna, began speculating what my top 5 of 2021 would be. She had the benefit of knowing what picks #16–#31 were, because I’d been publishing those picks daily throughout the first half of January. And she had the added benefit of me having pushed all kinds of music on her throughout the year, so she already had a strong feel for what I’d been liking.

She started rattling off a few names that would land near the top the 2021 list. “War on Drugs for sure, and Big Red Machine. Nation of Language…” — the corners of my mouth start to curl up as she goes through her mental musical rolodex — “Fleet Foxes… Rostam? His new one came out this year, didn’t it?” — and my expression shifts immediately, from a smirk to mild panic.

My mind starts racing… Rostam! I haven’t listened to him in a couple months, but damn Changephobia is a great album… Did we start listening to it in 2021 — when did it come out? I quickly bring up Wikipedia: released June 4, 2021. SHIT. Now what do I do? The rest of the Top 31 is already locked in… there’s no way to fit it in without pulling something else out, and I’m certainly not cutting something from my remaining top 15 of the year to make room for a clear Top 10 album.

So I resolve to amending the list. I’ve had to do it once before, back in 2014, after all. Changephobia will just have to be a #0 for 2021, out of the official ranking for the year but every bit as important as the rest of the list. I knew what I needed to do, but then time got away from me, the rest of the year flew by, and here we are on the cusp of the 2022 Top 31, and I’m finally writing about one of the best from 2021.

You may not know who Rostam is, but if you’re reading this, chances are you’ve heard me talk about him before. His full name is Rostam Batmanglij (رستم باتمانقلیچ in his Iranian parent’s native Persian¹), and he has been all over the Bacon Review since it began in 2009:

• He was a founding member of Vampire Weekend whose albums hit #6 in 2010 and #3 in 2013. He left the band prior to their fourth album, but he still produced a couple songs on that album, which hit #3 in 2019.
• He produced and co-wrote two songs on Hamilton Leithauser’s debut solo album, which hit #11 in 2014.
• He wrote one and produced another song on Frank Ocean’s Blonde (#4 in 2016)
• Wrote and produced three songs on Francis and the Lights’ debut album (#21 in 2016)
• He and Hamilton Leithauser released a joint album that hit #19 in 2016).
• and he produced Haim’s Women in Music Pt. III which hit (#19 in 2020

That is no fewer than eight separate Bacon Top 31 albums he’s been an integral part of, and I left his 2nd full-length album off the 2021 list. Ugh, I hate myself². At least I’m making up for it here. Changephobia is a lovely album. I got to see him perform solo for the first time in August 2022, at Neumos. Despite him lacking a full-bodied stage presence (this was his first show post-covid, and he’s not used to owning the spotlight on his own – look at that laundry list of big names he’s propped up on his shoulders, above), it was a magical experience.

Changephobia is a great follow-up to his 2017 debut, Half-light, which was my #2 album of 2017. If you’ve not heard either album, I urge you to do so. Hit play on the video above to hear his voice first hand (and don’t miss the who’s who of guest stars in that video: HAIM, Charli XCX, Wallows, Kaia Gerber, Remi Wolf, Nick Robinson, Bryce Willard Smithe, Samantha Urbani, Demi Adejuyigbe, Seth Bogart, Huck Kwong, Ariel Rechtshaid, Matt DiMona, Ghazal Hashemi, Carter Howe, Julian McClanahan, and Chris Paloma all make an appearance in the back of that cab).

If listening to his original music doesn’t cut it, then listen to these two non-album covers he’s done: Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York,” which I had on repeat all Christmas season this year. The man is a genius, and I can’t wait to hear what he does next.

And that is how we finally wrap up the previous year here on the The Bacon Review. This is a one-person operation over here, desperately needing a systems manager / editor. Until I magically get a budget and an ability to hire, mistakes will continue to be made, but I’ll do everything I can to stop them from happening! In the veritable words of Matthew Wilder, “Ain’t nothing gonna break-a my stride, nobody gonna slow me down, oh no, I got to keep on moving.” See you on Sunday to start up the 2022 Top 31!

<sup>1. Isn’t that language just beautiful to look at? I love Arabic script, and may someday learn to write a language that uses it just so I can make calligraphy with it.↩
2. The technological reason that led to the omission is just plain dumb: I use a smart playlist in Apple Music to pull together all the albums I download for a given year. The 2021 version had two new rules applied to that playlist that I thought would help me greatly: I told it to exclude anything with “single” or “ep” in the name. Guess what two letters appear next to each other in the word “Changephobia.” Worry not, the 2022 smartlist does not have those rules repeated.↩</sup>

#1 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — The War on Drugs

I Don’t Live Here Anymore by The War on Drugs

We’re now a month into 2022, I’m 48 years old, my kids are 13 and 4, and I’m finally willing to admit it: I love dad rock. My parents raised me on classic rock (shout out to KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa, Oklahoma). My tastes have been shaped by a heavy foundation of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Eagles (for better or worse). I’m aware that a lot of what I have loved in the past decade could be categorized as dad rock – previous Top 31 #1s like The National, Elbow, Phosphorescent, and Bon Iver all qualify. But none of those are so obviously Dad Rock with a capital D as the #1 of 2021: The War of Drugs. I’m fairly certain if you look up “dad rock” in the dictionary, you’ll find a glamour shot of lead singer / songwriter Adam Granduciel, with his flowing locks, vaseline smeared on the lens, with ghostlike images of his band flanked around him.

I Don’t Live Here Anymore, their fifth studio album, quickly jumped into the running for top album when it was released on October 29, 2021. At the time, I had already convinced myself that Big Red Machine was going to be my #1, given how much my family loved hearing How Long Do You Think It‘s Going to Last over the year. But the first time I heard that strong piano ring out on the opening song of Anymore (“Living Proof,” shown in the video above - hit play on that right now while you read on), my knees got shaky, my confidence wavered. There’s just something about Granduciel’s raspy voice, his beautiful songwriting, his strong melodies — this album grabbed ahold of my playlist and muscled its way to the front. My wife fell in love with it, too – we must have listened to the album at least three times a week from the day it came out. And the excitement when it comes on hasn’t yet worn off – will it ever?

The War on Drugs perfected the form: that classic rock sound of the 70s and 80s, in songs about lost love while driving down the highway over sweeping crescendos and slow guitar solos. This album took me back to my childhood so much that I actually sent the album to my dad for Christmas, and of course he loves it, too. Truly Dad Rock. I dare you to listen to the fourth song, “I Don’t Wanna Wait,” and not picture in your mind’s eye a musical montage showing Crockett and Tubbs flying across the waves of the Atlantic in a speedboat on their way to break up a cocaine deal gone bad.

Granduciel, whose real name is Adam Granofsky, leads the charge in the band, but there’s five other members who make up the current lineup: David Hartley on bass, Robbie Bennett on keyboards, Charlie Hall on drums, Jon Natchez on sax and Anthony LaMarca on rhythm guitar. Various members have dropped in an out since they formed in 2005 (including Kurt Vile, who was an original member before breaking off for his own solo work), but this lineup has been intact since their third album, Lost in the Dream took the world by storm (and appeared at #13 in the Top 31 that year).

This is now the third album put out by this particular War on Drugs lineup. In addition to Dream, their last album, A Deeper Understanding, also appeared on the Top 31, but it was near the bottom at #29 in 2017, mainly due to me not giving the proper chance. It won Best Rock Album at the Grammys that year. I have no excuse, but I do plan on returning to it, thanks to the strength of Anymore.

And Anymore is such a strong album. I recommend headphones when you put it on. Granduciel is legendary for the amount of time he spends on the production of his albums. Hints of Jimmy Iovine’s production of Tom Petty’s Damn the Torpedoes run throughout. It’s a pristine recording, something you can’t hear just anywhere. One of my favorite sounds in all of music is the quick, high-pitched yet intimate sound that the pads of fingers make when quickly moved up and down the neck of a guitar while searching for that next chord. Listen for it – once you hear it, you can’t stop hearing it.

Granduciel and band have found the top of the mountain. The tip top comes at the second song on the album, “Harmonia’s Dream.” At nearly six and a half minutes, it builds an amazing wall of sounds across two verses and choruses before taking a turn at 2:45 when the keyboards pierce through at the three minute mark into an extended bridge that will leave you in a fit of anticipation but the time the full band kicks in again at the 4:45 point. Then everything hits all at once and you’re moving and shaking uncontrollably when the guitar solo kicks in at 5:15. “You’re on your own” the band sings in harmony – and they’re right. The world has melted away, the bad is gone, and you’re left with pure joy.

The title song is also fantastic, with the gorgeous harmonies of Lucius filling in the chorus.

Granduciel appeared on Song Exploder to talk about the making of this song, how Lucius got involved, how the end of the first stanza is filled with nonsense words… it’s a good listen.

The War on Drugs hit peak form, and I’m very curious to hear where they head next. Similar to the Nation of Language album at #4, I have trouble imagining them continuing without breaking out of their tried-and-true format. But they’ve done it consistently now for three albums, so maybe the formula is so dialed in that it doesn’t need to change. It’s clear that what started in the 70s and 80s has retained enough uncharted territory to leave room for new music here in the 2020s. I’m so excited to hear what’s next, and hopefully it hits on all the right 40-year-old notes.

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2. How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? by Big Red Machine
3. Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast
4. A Way Forward by Nation of Language
5. Things Take Time, Take Time by Courtney Barnett
6. Little Oblivions by Julien Baker
7. Valentine by Snail Mail
8. sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs
9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

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#2 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Big Red Machine

How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? by Big Red Machine

Every year there’s the big obvious acts that continually appear on the Top 31. At the top of that list are both The National and Bon Iver, both of whom have had #1 albums (2010 and 2016) along with three additional, separate appearances on the Top 31 each. In fact, I haven’t done the math, but I’m confident in saying that Aaron Dessner (20% of The National) and Justin Vernon (99% of Bon Iver), combined, have been responsible for the largest percentage of all music I’ve listened to in the last 15 years.

The two of them have done many things together, arguably the most prominent being the work they’ve done together as Big Red Machine. Their first foray into a partnership was a collaborative song called “Big Red Machine” on the Dessner-produced Dark Was the Night compilation in 2009 (#10 that inaugural Top 31 year). According to wikipedia, Dessner reached out to Vernon via MySpace, and they collaborated on the song remotely, and didn’t meet in person until a follow-on performance for the collaboration was hosted later that year. They continued to work together while producing and creating with their respective bands. They formed a record label, 37d03d, which released the first full Big Red Machine album in 2018 (self-titled, #13 that year). In addition to Dessner and Vernon, that album also features Phoebe Bridgers, Dessner’s brother Bryce and Bryan Devendorf from The National, and multi-instrumentalist Richard Parry from Arcade Fire, among many others.

Then they turned their attention to Taylor Swift, or many she turned her attention to them. The two albums that came out of their collaboration had a big impact on my 2020 Top 31, coming in collectively at #4 last year. But Swift is not the only Dessner/Vernon produced artist I’ve enjoyed. From the very first Top 31 in 2009, with the aforementioned Dark Was the Night compilation and Bon Iver’s Blood Bank EP, there have been only two years (2014 and 2015) that one or both Vernon and Dessner did not appear on the Top 31 as performer or producer. Sharon van Etten, Local Natives, Frightened Rabbit, Taylor Swift, Kanye West — they’ve all benefited from the magic touch of Aaron Dessner and/or Justin Vernon in the last 15 years.

There were also a couple of Big Red Machine singles to come out in 2020 that haven’t appeared on any albums: “No Time For Love Like Now” with Michael Stipe, and a get-out-the-vote in Wisconsin cover of Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up” featuring 4 of out 5 members of The National and others.

And now we’re finally up to the present, with How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?, the supergroup’s 2nd full-length album under the Big Red Machine name. The album features a daunting list of guest appearances: Taylor Swift on two songs, James Krivchenia of Big Thief, Anaïs Mitchell on three songs, Ilsey (a prolific singer/songwriter who has written for and sung with a dizzying number of artists you’ve heard of), Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Naeem (otherwise known as rapper Spank Rock), a song called “Hutch,” dedicated to the lost-too-soon lead singer of Frightened Rabbit, Scott Hutchison, featuring Sharon van Etten, Lisa Hannigan, and Shara Nova (lead singer of My Brightest Diamond), La Force (aka Ariel Engle of Broken Social Scene), Ben Howard, and This is the Kit (Kate Stables).

Whew.

There are many highlights to this album (as there should be for a #2 album of the year). The Robin Pecknold / Anaïs Mitchell sung “Phoenix,” shown in the lyric video above, is my personal favorite (mostly because it’s the favorite of 4-year-old, who demanded I play that song over and over again throughout the summer of 2021). But even the most stripped down songs, such as the two where Aaron Dessner finally takes the spotlight all by himself, playing guitar and singing on “The Ghost of Cincinnati” and “Magnolia” in what can only be described as his best Elliott Smith impersonation. The Taylor Swift collaboration “Renegade” is a poppy, Swiftian jaunt you’ll love – it could have easily been created for Swift’s 2020 albums folklore or evermore.

It’s hard not to look at How Long as the capper of one hell of a musical decade for Dessner and Vernon. There’s no way that either of them is done making music. But if you look at the arc of U2, R.E.M., or The Stones, now is about the time in their respective careers that the drive to create something new and different clashes with the desire to slow down, spend more time with family, and rely heavily on the income from previous hits rather than create something new and earth shattering. Selfishly, I hope they choose a different path and continue to give us everything they’ve got. We’ll find out soon enough – 2022 is a new year, and maybe there’ll be another Bon Iver or National album, or some new Dessner- or Vernon-produced project that will simply blow us all away. I can’t wait.

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3. Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast
4. A Way Forward by Nation of Language
5. Things Take Time, Take Time by Courtney Barnett
6. Little Oblivions by Julien Baker
7. Valentine by Snail Mail
8. sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs
9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

There are many ways to listen to the 2021 Bacon Top 31. Subscribe now and enjoy the new albums / songs as the countdown is completed!

Full Album
All albums in their entirety.

• Apple Music Full Album Playlist
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Radio Station
A single song selection pulled from each album.

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View all previous Bacon Top 31s

#3 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Japanese Breakfast

Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast

Despite striving myself on my punctuality, I’m often late to the party. Japanese Breakfast, a band of indefinite size and location fronted by Korean-born, Oregon-raised renaissance woman Michelle Zauner, is a prime example. Their album, Jubilee, that I have so valiantly placed at #3 on my Top 31 for the entirety of 2021, did not enter my audio purview until December 28, 2021. If I’d posted my Top 31 in December, as I used to do until a few years ago, this album would have not been included at all.

Instead, I learned about it thanks to the fantastic KEXP community, who voted this phenomenal third album from the band as their #1 album of the year. I didn’t even hear the live broadcast of that announcement. I read about it a few days later, decided to listen to the album that had struck everyone’s fancy, and was subsequently left trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces of my exploded brain that had scattered around the living room.

This is pop music in its purest, most exciting form. Zauner’s wit, song structure, and bubbly voice – equal parts Grimes and Jenny Lewis – weave a tapestry of pure joy for ten solid songs. The peak of the joy comes at song #2, “Be Sweet,” featured in the video shown above. That chorus – “Be sweet to me baby. I want to believe in you, I want to belieeeeeeve” – is so sickly sweet, I die.

The last song on the album, “Posing for Cars,” is the least pop-like song on the album, but the extended, Doug Martsch-esque guitar solo showcases Zauner’s skills on the instrument. And skilled she is. In addition to having penned three albums with Japanese Breakfast, Zauner is also the director for nearly all of their music videos. And these aren’t some cheap band-performance videos. They’re full-on stories, sometimes strung together into epics. The other two videos from Jubilee are “Posing in Bondage” and “Savage Good Boy,” featuring Micheal Imperioli (best known as Christopher Moltisanti from the Sopranos), and is meant to be a prequel to the story shown in “Bondage.” Zauner has also directed videos for Better Oblivion Community Center, Charly Bliss, and Jay Som.

As if that weren’t enough, she released her first book in 2021. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir debuted at #2 on the NYTimes Best Seller List in April. And it’s now being adapted into a film by Orion Pictures, of which the soundtrack will be supplied by Japanese Breakfast.

Jubilee has been nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, and the band for Best New Artist Grammys (not sure how that works, given that this album is their third as a band). Pitchfork, in their 7.8/10 review of Jubilee, declared 2021 as “Jbrekkie Season,” and I have to agree. This doesn’t feel like the top – this feels like we’re only at the beginning of something huge, like, the birth of a new Michelangelo. I absolutely cannot wait to see what comes next.

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4. A Way Forward by Nation of Language
5. Things Take Time, Take Time by Courtney Barnett
6. Little Oblivions by Julien Baker
7. Valentine by Snail Mail
8. sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs
9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

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#4 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Nation of Language

A Way Forward by Nation of Language

This one, A Way Forward, the sophomore release from Brooklyn, NY, band Nation of Language, is going to take you back. Honestly, the album couldn’t be more poorly named, as everything about it drips nostalgia. You may remember Nation of Language from last year’s Top 31, when their stellar debut album, Introduction, Presence, came in at #15. As the band has settled into themselves, expanding their corner of the indie pop world, they’ve dug deeper into the 80s pop archives. “New wave indie pop” is the genre Wikipedia puts them in. My uneducated mind wants to call it merely “synth pop,” but you get the idea.

The trio, Ian Richard Devaney (lead vocals, guitar, synthesizer, percussion), Aidan Noell (synthesizer, backing vocals), and Michael Sue-Poi (bass guitar), have created an album full of treacle. Song after sugary song, this album makes you want get up and move. Devaney’s vocals always sound as if he’s standing back in the corner of a cavernous room, singing breathy, sometimes intelligible words. And that’s ok! Because these songs are not about the lyrical content – it’s all about the keyboards, the dance groove, and the 1980s ethos.

Whereas last year’s album felt a little disjointed, due to the album being a collection of singles that had been released over the years prior, A Way Forward shows what the band can do with purposeful creation of a whole. As you start the album, the first couple tracks ease you into what they’re all about. Then you hit track 3, “Wounds of Love,” and you’re fully invested, standing up at your desk and lightly shifting your hips from side to side. The song shown in the video above, “The Grey Commute,” comes in at song five, and you‘ve abandoned all hope of getting any more work done.

Watch the video for song six, “This Fractured Mind,” and I dare you not to dance infectiously along with Devaney. It‘s impossible. Nation of Language have a mountainous task ahead of them – how do they keep this momentum rolling, and make their sound less nostalgia, all their own? While I love what they’ve done on these last two albums, I’m dubious they can continue in this same direction without bringing something new to the sound. Only time will tell, and for now, I’m going to enjoy the hell out of it.

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5. Things Take Time, Take Time by Courtney Barnett
6. Little Oblivions by Julien Baker
7. Valentine by Snail Mail
8. sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs
9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

There are many ways to listen to the 2021 Bacon Top 31. Subscribe now and enjoy the new albums / songs as the countdown is completed!

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Radio Station
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View all previous Bacon Top 31s

#5 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Courtney Barnett

Things Take Time, Take Time by Courtney Barnett

Welcome to the Top 5 of 2021! Courtney Barnett has been so consistently prominent in my active playlists, it feels as though she’s been around forever. I had thought of starting this review of her latest fantastic release, Things Take Time, Take Time, with something along the lines of “Courtney Barnett’s entire solo career has been charted on the Bacon Top 31.” While that statement is entirely true, it lacks the proper oomph when I look back and realize, dumbly, that Barnett has had only two previous albums: 2015’s Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (#5 that year), and 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel (#8 that year).

Check out my earlier reviews for the history of the Melbourne, Australia-born singer/songwriter. Since her last album album, her guitar-playing has gotten even more electric, and thanks to the pandemic, it’s being given more prominence. Unlike past albums, Things Take Time has only two musicians on the entirety of the album, creating a sound that is more sparse and direct than previous efforts. Barnett still brings her unbelievably slow, nearly spoken-word vocals to the fore, while also filling in guitar, bass, piano. And Stella Mozgawa plays drums, percussion, and keyboards.

With her third album here in the Top 10, I think it’s safe to say I’ve got a thing for Barnett. She’s got a sense of humor, irony, and pun that comes through both in her lyrics as well as her videos. In addition to “Before You Gotta Go,” featured above, check out “Rae Street,” “If I Don’t Hear From You Tonight,” and “Write a List of Things to Look Forward To.”

Courtney Barnett continues to refine her delivery for the better. Even if you haven’t enjoyed what she’s put out so far, I recommend checking out Things Take Time. It only takes one full play to start to understand the nuances and beauty of her craft. Give it a play, you won’t regret it.

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6. Little Oblivions by Julien Baker
7. Valentine by Snail Mail
8. sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs
9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

There are many ways to listen to the 2021 Bacon Top 31. Subscribe now and enjoy the new albums / songs as the countdown is completed!

Full Album
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Radio Station
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View all previous Bacon Top 31s

#6 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Julien Baker

Little Oblivions by Julien Baker

I’ve done a great disservice to the artist here at #6. Little Oblivions is the third album by singer/songwriter Julien Baker, yet it’s the first of her’s to appear on the Top 31. I’ve enjoyed her previous album, 2017’s Turn Out the Lights, but it came out mere days before I put together my list for 2017, and so it consequently missed inclusion. And don’t even ask about her debut, 2015’s Sprained Ankle.

I’ve mentioned Baker a couple times in other reviews, as she’s quite chummy with Lucy Dacus (#23 this year) and Phoebe Bridgers (#3 last year). The three of them teamed up as boygenius on an ep back in 2018, and left us begging for more. If you’re a fan of any of those three, you’re a fan of all three. But each has their own voice and spin on where they take the role of “honest and fucked up.”

Of the three, Baker’s voice is strongest. Where Bridgers is delicate, and Dacus is smooth, Baker is wrought. Self-doubt, suicidal tendencies, and alcoholism are common refrains in Baker’s songs, all dripping with the raw emotion that proves she’s lived every bit of it. And there’s so much power behind it all, too. Baker can (and often does) take a song from a quiet, intimate moment to a literal screaming-at-the-top-of-your-lungs crescendo, you’ll find yourself losing your voice singing along on the way to the grocery store.

Little Oblivions is much more rock band-oriented than her two previous albums. There’s a sparseness to her earlier work that has been shed for a more traditional guitar/bass/keyboard/drums setup, all performed by Baker. Baker plays nearly all the instruments on her albums - just like Prince. Baker, 26, has established herself as a true musical force in her 10+ years as a recording artist. She hasn’t hit Billie Eilish levels of popularity, but there’s a sincerity to her music that Eilish lacks, along with a distinct, pleasing absence of pop hooks. In addition to the fantastic song “Faith Healer,” shown in the video above, check out the awesome stop-motion animated video for “Hardline” as well.

Do yourself a favor and get aboard the Julien Baker train. We’ve already left the station, but if you start now you can catch up to us by the next station. All aboard!

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7. Valentine by Snail Mail
8. sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs
9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

There are many ways to listen to the 2021 Bacon Top 31. Subscribe now and enjoy the new albums / songs as the countdown is completed!

Full Album
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Radio Station
A single song selection pulled from each album.

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View all previous Bacon Top 31s

#7 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Snail Mail

Valentine by Snail Mail

At 22 years old, Lindsey Jordan has accomplished more than most. She’s released a critically-acclaimed debut album under her solo project name Snail Mail (2018’s Lush). She’s moved out and moved back in with her parents (thanks, Covid-19). And she’s released an even more widely acclaimed sophomore Snail Mail album, the exquisite Valentine, dropping in here at #7.

There are many comparisons to draw from when trying to quantify Jordan’s music. THere’s the inevitable comparisons to Hole, or Juliana Hatfield. And anything she does wouldn’t have been possible without the existence of Liz Phair. Today, I talk about Snail Mail in the same breath as King Princess, Lucy Dacus, and Phoebe Bridgers. But none of these do her sound justice.

Her voice is more breathy, as if she’s on the verge of losing it. The songs go from slow ballads about relationships on their last legs, to groovy songs about recovery (according to Pitchfork she did a stint in rehab in November, 2020), to hard rock surprises like the title song shown in the video above.

I liked her debut album, but connected with it too late to include on the 2018 Top 31. Lush feels less polished, less experienced than Valentine. But if you like the song in the video above, then you’ll really connect with Lush, as that album is the more hard rock of the two she’s put together. Despite billing herself as a solo act, she has a full band performing behind her lead vocals and guitars. Bass, keyboards, drums, rhythm guitar, and backing vocals are all there. And even some guest stars: last year’s #1 on the Top 31, Katie Crutchfield (aka Waxahatchee) sings background vocals on “Ben Franklin” (the aforementioned song about recovery – watch the video).

As I mentioned, Jordan is only 22 years old. There’s a lot more ahead for her, and I’m anxious to see where she heads. The growth seen between albums one and two was huge. The next album has got to be even better.

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8. sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs
9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

There are many ways to listen to the 2021 Bacon Top 31. Subscribe now and enjoy the new albums / songs as the countdown is completed!

Full Album
All albums in their entirety.

• Apple Music Full Album Playlist
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Radio Station
A single song selection pulled from each album.

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View all previous Bacon Top 31s

#8 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — tUnE-yArDs

sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs

The artist here at #8 is not new to the Top 31, but I did not expect them to be here. tUnE-yArDs, the Oakland, CA duo, have releasing music together since 2009, and I love their first three albums. BiRd-BrAiNs, their 2009 debut, did not make the inaugural Top 31 — but that was no fault of their own. I didn’t hear the album in time, and have grown to love it since. Their second and third albums both landed in the Top 10 (w h o k i l l #4 in 2011 and Nicky Nack #6 in 2014).

I was impressed with their originality. I wrote in my 2011 review “using loops of [Merrill Garbus’s] powerful voice along with other analog sounds to create electronic beats/rhythms/melodies…culminating in a cacophony of sounds that are vaguely African in origin.” They found a sound totally unique and unmistakable, infectious and groovy. But after three albums of greatness, the uniqueness had started to wear thin. By the time their fourth album, I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life, came out in 2018, I just couldn’t get into it, and I promptly put it down and never picked it up again.

When sketchy., their fifth album, came out in March, I felt a sense of duty to listen to the album, but the first time through it failed to hook me. I put it down. And likely would have not picked it up again were it not for a friend praising the album on social media. I engaged him in conversation, questioned his taste, and he implored me to give it another go. I’m so glad I did.

sketchy. (yes, it’s annoyingly styled that way, lowercase with a period. They style the band name as “tUnE-yArDs,” so I guess I’ll indulge them on the album name styling as well) is a return to form for Garbus and her musical partner Nate Brenner. Check out “hypnotized” in the video above, as well as the endlessly catchy “nowhere, man“. Much like the Low album at #10, this music can sound abrasive and difficult. But if it’s too much, perhaps “hold yourself.” is more your speed. It’s slower, more subdued, but still every bit Garbus and Brenner.

Do what you can to rise above the noise, and hear the whole of what’s being presented to you. I think you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised.

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9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

There are many ways to listen to the 2021 Bacon Top 31. Subscribe now and enjoy the new albums / songs as the countdown is completed!

Full Album
All albums in their entirety.

• Apple Music Full Album Playlist
• Spotify Full Album Playlist

Radio Station
A single song selection pulled from each album.

• Apple Music Radio Station Playlist
• Spotify Radio Station Playlist

View all previous Bacon Top 31s