The Sounding Board
This week I'm breaking format to rank the albums I've written about this year.
Every Tuesday, the Sounding Board is a space for a short-ish review of a recent-ish release and conversations about new-to-you music. We’ll get things started with a write-up about a newer, likely under-heard album, and invite you to share your music musings in the comments. This week I’m breaking format to rank the albums I’ve written about this year.
In addition to being a basketball player of some renown, Larry Bird was an all-world trash talker.
Bird had the sort of penchant for verbal barbs and the on-court skills to back it up that continue to inspire listicles and Reddit threads decades after Bird last stepped foot on the hardwood. My personal favorite of these widely circulated stories concerns the omnidirectional venom Bird spat at his competitors ahead of an NBA 3-point shooting contest in the late ‘80s. Bird reportedly walked into the locker room, took stock of his competition and before even taking off his warm-up gear, let the room know the shooting title was already his. He asked the gathered accomplished marksmen a simple question: “Who’s coming in second?”
Bird, of course, went on to win the contest.
Different tellings of this apparently not apocryphal story vary on when this occurred and whether Bird was being serious, but every version agrees that Bird said his sharpshooting coronation was a forgone conclusion, and he was right.
In this mid-year ranking of Sounding Board material, Genesis Owusu is Larry Bird. Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge, my personal album of the year so far, is head and shoulders better than any album I’ve written about in this space and obviously going to conclude my ranking of current-year releases covered in this column.
That might sap some intrigue from this exercise, but 2026 has been a good year for music, and The Sounding Board exclusively focuses on albums I at least kind of like, so it was still tough to figure out who was coming in second.
If mildly spoiled mid-year lists aren’t your thing, it’s still worth scrolling to the end of this piece for quick hits on the albums I’m most excited for in the second half of this year. That’s doubly true if lists are your jam, since I’ve also compiled a short list of Best of 2026 So Far lists that aren’t limited to albums covered in this column.
What I wrote: The 2026 iteration of the band shows off some hard-earned wisdom and worldliness on the album, which takes its name from a Central American idiom meaning to fret over someone else’s worries, but for the most part, Hard-Fi sound just like the band responsible for some ripping singles during Tony Blair’s time in 10 Downing Street.
What I wrote: It’s a near certainty that whatever sounds the words “psychedelic indie pop” evoke for you are somewhere on For Dolly.
What I wrote: Word Eater‘s eight songs can all be found somewhere in the vast, foggy quagmire between slowcore and shoegaze. Some Fear imbues the tracks with a sense of dogged determination and weary resolve in the face of heavy headwinds, but a certain sluggishness and gloom is inherent to the chosen sound.
What I wrote: On certain stressful, over-caffeinated days, I can feel my pulse in my glasses. It’s a fluttering throb of tension at my temples that registers as external stimulus but is all internal pressure.
It’s the same spot tickled by the noise blasts and spasmodic rhythms of Soft Rains Will Come.
What I wrote: Big Blue is a slightly shambolic collection of sun-bleached garage rock songs with a light infusion of psychedelia that sounds like it was played through a tape deck and recorded on a second, shittier tape deck.
What I wrote: While Doppelgänger isn’t especially flashy, those who seek it out will find nothing more or less than a well-made, fairly low-key indie rock album and the
What I wrote: Surprise Wish, which came together as James wrapped up college,3 is an agreeable riff-centric slab of slacker rock dappled with flecks of Midwest emo. The emo bits come into focus when acoustic guitar or James’ upper register manage to take suction-cup steps atop thrumming electric guitar gloop that provides the LP’s foundation.
What I wrote: Known Associates, the latest album from the Paranoid Style, is most likely to be a hit with people who definitely think too much about pop culture and probably overanalyze everything else. It has enough evident charms to win over others, too.
What I wrote: Quicksand Heart is an album incredibly indebted to the music of the 1980s, and not just the cool stuff that’s regularly cited as an inspiration by synth-driven bands. The album takes some cues from the likes of the Cure, Kate Bush, the Cocteau Twins and early Depeche Mode, but there’s also big globs of molten ’80s cheese in its cardiac-fixated songs, earnest lyrics and busy, layered sounds. It’s the legacy of mall conquerors, Irishmen rapidly getting too big for college radio and Don Johnson.
What I wrote: On Reality Star, Surfbort proves its brand of agitated dirtbag rock takes a long, long time to go bad. Aside from allusions to Nirvana and the B-52s, there’s little to place the gleefully bashed-out bursts of id, burnt-out spleen venting and adenoidal odes to alienation that comprise the album on a timeline.
What I wrote: The latest release from Julian McCamman’s Brooklyn-based project2 is loaded with layered, gradually evolving and decidedly mid-fi songs. Tracks tend to start at a simple center and reveal their full bloom petal by scruffy petal.
What I wrote: A deep, pitiful ache is the connective tissue of the new Gumshoes album, ironically titled Happy New Year. Like each of UK-based singer-songwriter Sam Sparks’ last few albums as Gumshoes, the LP’s release coincides with the arrival of the new year, and it is a concept album. For 2026, Sparks leaned heavily into both bits, penning nine tunes from nine different points of view inspired by the same central thought: “I must be the world’s loneliest son of a bitch.”
What I wrote: The trio, with help from some friends, has broken the long silence with BFM,2 an album as likely to get heads bobbing and shoulders swaying today as it would have been as a more timely follow-up released several years ago – or really any point in the last 35 years. Pope has homed in on a charmingly shaggy and warm sound that exists at the Four Corners-esque boundary shared by college rock, alt-country, bookish ‘00s indie rock and lo-fi.
What I wrote: While riotgaze is a kind of clumsy portmanteau, it is an instructive shoutout to the fuzzy guitars and fiery women of yesteryear that clearly had a profound influence on When a Flower Doesn’t Grow.
What I wrote: Nearly every trait I find charming in an indie rock record is represented somewhere in this LP’s 10 folk-punk-leaning tracks. Big hooks, plenty of feedback, arbitrary studio chatter, lead vocals that occasionally sound like they were shouted through a wrapping paper tube that was forced into a kazoo, surprisingly sweet background harmonies, bouts of strident shouting, drastic swings in tempo and intensity, a sprawling assortment of instruments and tongue-in-cheek existentialism are all present on post recovery.
What I wrote: Cola’s latest bears the genetic markers of Television, the Modern Lovers, the Cure, the Smiths, the Talking Heads, Wire, Killing Joke and the myriad bands who have revived, remixed or ripped off elements from those luminaries. Cost of Living Adjustment is an album packed with lead vocalist Tim Darcy’s droll-but-not-dispassionate observations about how the world works and abstract imagery, backed by a blend of Ben Stidworthy’s sonorous, impellent bass, Evan Cartwright’s lively drums, and Darcy’s chiming guitar, all kept firmly tethered to earth by a spacious, artfully muddy mix.
What I wrote: Those who decide to check out bitknot based on strong word of mouth, positive but limited press or pure happenstance are in for a thoughtful, noisy treat. It’s an album that opens with an abrasive blast of feedback and is preoccupied with the odd intersectionality of existence.5 Harsh noise, sing-song melodies, pneumatic bounce and all manner of glitched-out electronic fractals are part of the frequently shifting, sometimes hostile soundscape.
What I wrote: A Wave That Will Never Break pulls off a nifty feat. It’s an exceptional art-rock album that is unmistakably by WU LYF and also uses its seven songs to gently redefine what a WU LYF album sounds like. Band-defining features, like anthemic song structure, Roberts’ arresting yowl, Evans Kati’s emotive guitar, Tom McClung’s prominent, hyperkinetic bass playing and Joe Manning’s versatile, frequently busy drumming are fully intact. However, one difference is immediately apparent: The cathedral-rattling reverb synonymous with Go Tell Fire is essentially absent from A Wave.
What I wrote: If blistering hardcore is something you’re in the market for, Dry Socket’s intensity and sense of musicality make Self Defense Techniques a bracing, exhilarating, truly exceptional example of the form.
What I Wrote: Cootie Catcher guitarist Nolan Jakupovski, one of the Toronto quartet’s three songwriters, is being facetious when he sings “A little effort goes a long way/ Oh, it’s too much to ask,” on late-album highlight “Puzzle Pop,” but it’s a succinct summation of Something We All Got‘s atmosphere. That’s highlighted and underlined when Jakupovski’s voice is joined by the band’s other voices, Sophia Chavez and Anita Fowl, in almost-harmonizing, “Let’s just let nature run its course.”
What I wrote: Eyes Full, Zoh Amba’s debut long-player as a singer-songwriter, is built on an intriguing premise.
Amba is a renowned avant-garde saxophonist. They’re also a small-town Tennessee native who at the age of 17, left their hometown of Kingsport for the big city. After spending time and making music in San Francisco and New York City, Amba, now in their mid-20s, reconnected with their first instrument, guitar, and with the help of a couple of close collaborators, turned an observational lens toward the people and place that evidently remain important to Amba.
What I wrote: Less than 12 months after their last long-player, the U.K.-based band is back with a new, very good and anatomy-fixated album, Every Single Muscle.
It would be impressive enough if vocalist-guitarist Sam Willmett and vocalist-bassist Tilly Harris cranked out 10 to 12 songs for the album. Still, Every Single Muscle is an 18-song behemoth as towering and odd as the looksmaxxed cow with a John Kricfalusi-style mug on the album’s cover.
What I wrote: In the wrong hands, an omnipresent squeeze box could be a tacky gimmick or downright hellish.
In Finn Manning’s hands, the accordion is noticeable but not overpowering. It both complements and improves the more standard rock instrumentation, adding a rich droning texture to what is otherwise a fine collection of sadboy rock songs. Each track has a warm, welcoming, hearth that the guitar, bass and drums can mingle around. It’s a lovely effect and helps mark Masquerade as one of the best debuts of the young year, and one of 2026’s most enjoyable albums overall.
What I wrote: When we last heard from the Philadelphia-based five-piece, snotty sneer and reverb were still pillars of the band’s sound. Nearly four years have passed since then, and Gladie is back with the band’s biggest, best, and most mature album, No Need to Be Lonely.
That maturation comes with a few pit stops in warm, roots music-influenced terrain, but for the most part, it doesn’t rob Gladie of any feistiness. It’s still a band with energy and tight riffs to spare, and most of No Need to Be Lonely’s songs qualify as uptempo, if not outright rave-ups that would have made sense on a previous Gladie album. They just sound fuller, richer, and clearer than the hypothetical earlier version. It’s an upgrade that allows lead vocalist Augusta Koch to shine, emphasizing her cleverness as a lyricist and the voice-cracking emotionality of her singing voice.
What I wrote: Like Lime Garden’s likeable 2024 debut, the Brighton-formed quartet’s second long-player is a 10-song dispatch of sometimes moody, usually dance-y indie rock that bears the influence of music that either did or could have scored an iPod commercial in the Apple device’s heyday, sprinkled with a scintilla of hyper pop fairy dust. However, Maybe Not Tonight is an improved execution of that formula in nearly every way.
To borrow some modifiers from a couple of trailblazing robots who feel like a precedent for some of Lime Garden’s most dance club-friendly moments: It’s a harder, better, faster, stronger album. It’s clearer, more confident, catchier and more emotive, too.
What I wrote: Whether he’s rapping, singing, waxing philosophic, raging against racism or making uneasy peace with the inherent unfairness of life, Owusu is excellent. He can double-time over a frenetic beat, lead a sing-along over a funky synth line, create mania while rocking out and even convincingly embrace a country-adjacent croon using his lower register. When performing live, he’s an obvious star, a throwback bandleader bursting with the kind of energy and off-the-charts charisma needed to blow crowds away. During a 2021 interview with the Guardian, Owusu compared himself to Prince, and the consensus seemed to be “fair enough.”
That staggering talent was readily apparent upon the release of his excellent and eclectic first album, 2021’s Smiling With No Teeth, which includes both a fiery rebuke of neo-Nazis and an interpolation of the Full House theme song. Owusu’s versatility and virtuosity were reinforced by the well-reviewed 2023 concept album, Struggler, which assumed the point of view of an indomitable cockroach. While still genre-agnostic, it toned down the stylistic swerves to emphasize post-punk tones. Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge, Owusu’s recently released third album, is varied, vibrant, loud, often angry and one of the year’s absolute best long-players. It’s a deft combination of the genre-hopping bombast of his debut, the darker, ‘80s influence of his sophomore album and au courant commentary.
As a rule of thumb, I try to limit The Sounding Board’s focus to LPs released within the past month that I at least kind of like with no more than five aggregated reviews at the time of writing. Sometimes I bend the rules a little, but the year’s most notable and gushed-about albums have nearly no shot at appearing in this column.
However, I’m not the only person with opinions about music on the internet (or even this site). If you’re looking for thoughtful analysis of the best at-large releases from the first six months of 2026, here are some of the lists that I most enjoyed reading, and in one case, listening to.
The music release calendar now broadly mirrors the established movie release pattern. Big-budget crowd-pleasers drop in the summer months to hopefully mint Song of the Summer contenders. Meanwhile, critical catnip tends to land toward the end of the year when it will be fresher in mind for award nominations and year-end lists.
That means while some excellent music was released in the first half of 2026, the best stuff is likely ahead of us. While publicly available release schedules for October and beyond are currently sparse, announced releases over the next few months look promising.
July: Jack White – Frozen Charlotte, Panda Bear and Sonic Boom – A ? of WHEN, Buju Banton – Too Too Bad, Yard Act – You’re Gonna Need a Little Music, Charli XCX – Music, Fashion, Film, Tom Tom Club – Let There Be Love, Cheekface – Podium.
August: Margaret Glaspy- I Am Both, Becky G – Baraja Bendita, Kiwi Jr. – Blowin’ Up, Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal – DOOMED!, Squirrel Flower – Say A Prayer to the Gods of Getting Going, Wild Pink – Still Coming Down, Dinosaur Jr. – There Near, Ty Segall – Chrome.
September: Arab Strap – Half-Told Tales, Chat Pile – Who Loves the Sun, The Thermals – Under Crushing Rain, This is Lorelei – The Singer in My Band, The Tubs – Hard Life, Frankie Rose – Hila, Smidley – Murphy House, Adult DVD – Adult DVD, Blondeshell – Violins.
October: Fat Dog – Cancel Me (I’m Tired), Eels – Cookie Happened.
I know I intentionally omitted some big releases I’m not especially excited about and probably unintentionally overlooked some worthy albums. Just know it’s absolutely intended to be a personal slight to your specific tastes.
About the writer
Ben Hohenstatt
Ben Hohenstatt is an Alaska-based dog owner who moonlights as a music writer and photographer.
For more information, consult your local library or with parental permission visit his website.
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The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
Department of
Conversation
What did we watch?
Superstore, Season One, Episode Five, “Shoplifter”
One thing I like about sitcoms – especially in This Day And Age – is how you can introduce new elements to characters that radically change who they are and have them become part of the status quo, like Amy’s daughter. It’s not quite on the level of ambition of The Good Place but I strongly suspected it learned from it.
“YO! OLD WHITE DUDE! BLACK PEOPLE ARE TAKING OVER!”
“Jonah touched a dead guy! Jonah touched a dead guy!”
“Okay, is anyone feeling ‘apathy’? Anyone?”
The fact that Jonah has the vibes of a slacker but actually puts in 110% on everything is so funny to me.
“Amy, could you come in and say a few secular words?”
“You told her I was incompetent? … You talk about me at home?”
“Maze Runner! We must chat when you get back, I have so many opinions.”
“I don’t got no fear of death! Tupac Shakur.”
“Whatever it is, you can trust me, I–”
“I got my first period!”
“I’ll get your mom.”
“She told me the doctor said she was too fat to work!”
“Did your mom ever say anything positive about me? … Not about me.”
“I wonder if I’ll eat my placenta.”
“God, I’m good at flirting!”
“‘scuse me, I’m an eleven year old girl, do I prefer pads or tampons?”
“You know that’s the couch he died on, right?”
There’s a lot of plots in this episode.
“It travels. That one’s a traveller.”
“Okay, I’m just gonna say it: I like her less than I like other people.”
“I’m never stepping foot in this dump again.”
“And God grants us another miracle.”
“How much gas you put on that thing?”
“None. And that fabric is supposed to be fire-retardant.”
The Prisoner of Zenda
Swashbuckler Summer Entry #3. 1952 version. Evidently this is a near shot-for-shot remake of the ’37 iteration with Ronald Colman, which diminishes some people’s appreciation for it, but I haven’t seen the Colman and I have seen this, and on its own, it’s completely charming. (I’m more forgiving of remakes in pre-home video days, anyway.) The Technicolor is gorgeous, and Stewart Granger is terrifically appealing in his double role as Rudolf Rassendyll, Englishman, and King Rudolf, slightly dissipated monarch of Ruritania; as the first Rudolf, especially, he’s very good at making a character who could easily be only admirable actually likable; he’s funny and charismatic as well as honorable. James Mason is irresistible as Rupert, a would-be henchman who actually winds up sliding into the primary antagonist spot by virtue of being smarter and more Machiavellian, and the film actually lets him escape justice to fight another day. (Sequel bait, of course, but it’s still nice to see a fun villain escape his comeuppance.)
I also like the connection Rudolf develops with Antoinette, who loves the king’s half-brother (the technical antagonist)–it’s rare to see an attractive man and woman playing non-relatives who aren’t romantic with each other but form a bond of odd mutual respect based on each appreciating that the other one is deeply in love with someone else, like two romantics hoping for the best for each other even if they don’t like each other’s taste.
Phenomenal final swordfight here. I have a theory that since audiences in general don’t know much about fencing, a good cinematic swordfight has to involve both cool swordplay (which is glorious to behold even if you aren’t knowledgeable about it) and some use of more intimately familiar items and tactics, and this excels at that, using broken windows, furniture, ropes, etc. to diversify the fight and add mini-escalations and shifts in tactics.
Tales From The Crypt, “The Secret” is the Season 2 finale and despite the presence of the great Grace Zabriskie (and a decent premise), the last ten minutes scream “we were out of money”. (It’s really goofy too in a way that does not fit even this show.) “Loved to Death” amusingly tells most of the story of Obsession in only 26 minutes, with some subtext about Hollywood and image versus reality, without any of the movie’s obvious sympathy for Nikki’s plight. Mariel Hemingway and David Hemmings play the twisted mirror versions of their iconic/not so iconic movie parts. Tales From The Crypt has a similar misogyny to noir and old school horror, which tracks given its origins. The women are often dangerous/evil and yet they do have agency, something McCarthy takes from Hemingway to his own detriment. Hemingway’s character correctly tells Andrew McCarthy “That’s nice” when he says he’s working on a screenplay.
Stavros Halkias: Live At The Lodge Room – Depends on your mileage for Stavros and the former Cumtown guys, still pretty damn funny, especially Stavvy doing some crowd work about botched threesomes.
The Twilight Zone episode “The Chaser” is another Obsession precursor, albeit also without as much focus on Nikki (though with one surprisingly chilling moment in that regard): mostly just a “you wanted adoration, asshole? TAKE IT” fable.
I think I heard about this in relation to Obsession! Amusingly Barker got the idea from stumbling onto a rerun of Treehouse of Horror II.
Nirvanna the Show the Band the Movie – I’ve never seen any of the web / TV stuff that led to this movie, but I’d heard enough excited chatter about this from friends (one of whom went so far as to pitch an article to Little White Lies even!) that I figured I should check it out, and I’m pleased to report it was very enjoyable, funny and clever without needing too much context. They’ve baked in enough of their own past stuff to make everything work well for newcomers, and the lo-fi comedy stylings made for some nice surprises when the scope of the film broadened into more elaborate territory. I had a very good time and may have to head back into their archives in the near future.
Twilight Zone, “Judgement Night” – hmm, good sense of mystery but the twist here didn’t really work for me. I’ll see if I can figure out some more useful thoughts by Thursday.
Elementary, “Hemlock” – I haven’t said much about Joan’s relationship with her neighbor. Mainly because it’s pretty dull, in part because I knew it would not last. About the most interesting thing about it is, Sherlock saw how uninvested Joan was weeks before she realized it. Well, that and her boyfriend drops dead at the end of this episode, poisoned. The mystery is far more interesting and involves a bored and lonely Sherlock taking a “my husband have run away” case that turns out to tie to predatory loan collectors and America’s addiction to debt, and that has some good twists. Brian George guest stars as the father of Joan’s ill fated boyfriend. And while the title might refer to the use of poison, I have to think it’s also a shout-out to Sesame Street’s version of the great detective, Sherlock Hemlock.
The Twilight Zone, “Judgement Day” – A somewhat obvious and slightly heavy handed story is carried by the direction and by Nehemiah Persoff. More to come.
Frasier, “Detour” – Charlotte tells Frasier she is moving back to Chicago, and while he is digesting this, he tries to drive to the train to Portland. But somehow they end up sleeping the night in the middle of nowhere with a very odd family. This shouldn’t work, but the rapport between our lovers creates goodwill, and the family is played by Stephen Root, Celia Weston, and Todd Louiso, and all are really good. There is also a second plot involving confusing a woman interviewing to substitute for Daphne and a woman interviewing to be the stripper at Marty’s bachelor party, and that is just filler.
What did we listen to?
Argybargy, Squeeze
Back on Squeeze after, what, four or five years? Anyway, I liked this a lot – bubblegum pop but with more substance in both lyrics and music; the signs is incredibly dense – sometimes a bit too much, but generally I like it – and the lyrics tell weird little stories of normal life.
Metallica, Metallica
I know this is one the band made to get away from long, difficult-to-play songs and back to something easier, and I wonder how much fans consider this too commercial – everything has the breeze and elegance of simplicity to it. Even the riffs are simpler, creating the feeling of waves hitting.
I think this is generally considered Squeeze’s best, and it kicks off with two of their very best tracks.
Worst of All Possible Worlds’ Hamilton episode is possibly required listening if you’re interested in how #Resistance and 2010’s liberal art aged pretty badly. The crew is smart enough to respect Lin-Manuel Miranda’s talent and nevertheless believe “the aims of this show and the actual history are incompatible.”
Bounce, Sondheim’s original version of Road Show, his musical about the Mizner brothers. It is apparent that there was never gonna be a perfect incarnation of Road Show/Bounce/Wise Guys. If I had to guess, the best possible outcome was a mix between Bounce’s sillier beats and Road Show’s darkness, which would have allowed for more poignancy and therefore more of a reason to get invested. (“A House For Mama” was cut and it may be one of Sondheim’s best songs?!) Richard Kind was on Putting It Together discussing the show and comes off as a sweetheart and proud of, at the very least, fulfilling his dream of being in a Sondheim/Hal Prince musical.
1001 Albums, etc.
My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything: excellent stuff. I haven’t listened to much MBV recently but my fuzzy memories told me that I preferred this one to Loveless and revisiting made me suspect that’s probably still true. There are such good songs underneath the mad guitar noise here.
Pixies – Surfer Rosa: I love a lot of the Pixies classics but I find some of their other stuff just a little bit annoying, which has stopped me ever going all in on them. Still obviously a good album but they’re not one of MY personal indie-rock favourites.
Metallica – …And Justice For All: the best of the Metallica albums I’ve heard so far, I largely enjoyed the proggy instrumental sections even if most of the vocals put me off and their decision to mix the bassist out of the album is fucking stupid.
Dinosaur Jr – Bug: again, not one of MY indie rock heroes, but there’s some great stuff here. I think “Freak Scene” might just be my favourite Dinosaur Jr. song. The closing track spoils the vibe a bit, I don’t mind a screamy lo-fi interlude but ending your album with six minutes of it leaves a sour taste.
Dagmar Krause – Tank Battles: The Songs of Hanns Eisler: one of the more leftfield picks in this section of the list, this is a cabaret-style album based on songs written during the war. It’s a lot of one thing, but I enjoyed it as counter-programming to the noisy guitar stuff and the theatrical compositions occasionally reminded me of Sparks, unexpectedly.
k.d. lang – Shadowland: incredible voice, so-so songs. I’m not the biggest country fan, admittedly, so the fact that I found this Solidly Decent probably means it’s pretty damn good. I was pleased that it wasn’t as overproduced as a lot of big-name country music.
American Music Club – California: I’ve heard a couple of tracks by these guys / Mark Eitzel solo in the past but never really explored further. The sadder, slower stuff here is pretty compelling and beautiful, the more upbeat rock stuff largely left me cold.
Morrissey – Viva Hate: I noticed when setting up my tracking spreadsheet for this project that there are far too many solo Morrissey albums on the list, this first one is pretty enjoyable though and the singles include a couple of classics. You get a pass for now, Morrissey.
Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation: SY are one of my favourite bands, this has never been one of my favourites from their sprawling discography despite it being the consensus Best One. I don’t think I’d heard this remastered version though which does address one of my issues with it (original production feels a bit dull and muddy to me), I think it’s basically up with their best work now but there are still 4 or 5 other albums I’d rank personally above it.
I’ve really fallen down on keeping up with The Sounding Board this year, so I’m grateful to have this as both a reminder and a list of which albums to hit first. Certainly Genesis Owusu was going to be my top pick for that anyway, since I woke up today humming “DEATH CULT ZOMBIE.”
Ah, good to see Genesis Owusu at the top. I guess I need to dive even further into him, though I’ve generally been an advocate.
A few of the upcoming albums intrigue me. I know very few of the bands mentioned in the mid-year countdown.
Year of the Month update!
This July, we’re opening up submissions for your writing on any of these movies, albums, books, etc. from 1979.
Jul. 14th: Lauren James: Flowers in the Attic
Jul. 19th: Tristan J. Nankervis: Guards! Guards!
Jul. 28th: John Bruni: All That Jazz
Jul. 29th: Lauren James: Ghost Story
And for August, send us your pieces on any of these movies, albums, books, etc. from 2001!