Is this thing on? Oh good... it still works even when I leave it dormant for a full year.
Anyhoo, pretense be damned, let's talk about music in 2018. It was a pretty incredible year, if not for quality then at minimum for quantity. Usually when pulling these annual awards together, I consider and re-listen to around 25-30 albums, and this year I had almost 50 make the long list.
The rookie award is always a bit of a tricky one, since in this day and age, defining a "rookie" is a bit of a creative exercise, what with people releasing singles and teasers on the internet all the time. Still, as an old man, I hold the LP in highest regard, so that's where we draw the line.
This year, my friend Jamie introduced me to Tash Sultana. In addition to Sultana's fascinating and incredible life story (read: never eat pizza without knowing the toppings) Tash legit plays the guitar like Prince. Flow State is a full length followup to an earlier EP and features all kinds of reverb-heavy guitar led tracks with gloriously tormented vocals riding the sonic waves behind.
Guitar chops shine on tracks like Blackbird, grooves dig on Salvation, pop hooks dig on Murder to the Mind, but for my money, Big Smoke is the haymaker song.
-Senorita, pour my margarita, lick it with salt and make it so much sweeter
Showing posts with label Rookie of the year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rookie of the year. Show all posts
Friday, December 21, 2018
Friday, December 23, 2016
Shanies: Rookie of the Year
Well it's official. Given that my last post on this blog was my 2015 Album of the year... this little corner of the web is truly relegated to a once-a-year rant. That said, these few beautiful days we get free around the holidays afford me the time to shoot my mouth off on the internet about how much more I know about music that you do.
Let's start with the one that's always a bit awkward, since very few bands are ever born into notoriety within a year. And while these guys got their start in little 'ol Bristol back in 2012, it wouldn't be until 2016 that they'd release their debut full length, Lions. They're 60's fuzz meets modern swagger and the only thing eclipsed by their energy is their epic riffage. This is a "Shane band" through and through and I for one can't wait to see where these guys go with their sophomore effort.
So a rousing round of applause goes to my 2016 Rookie of the Year, Tax the Heat. Check the noise below.
-Ripped apart by playing cards yet smiling all the way.
Let's start with the one that's always a bit awkward, since very few bands are ever born into notoriety within a year. And while these guys got their start in little 'ol Bristol back in 2012, it wouldn't be until 2016 that they'd release their debut full length, Lions. They're 60's fuzz meets modern swagger and the only thing eclipsed by their energy is their epic riffage. This is a "Shane band" through and through and I for one can't wait to see where these guys go with their sophomore effort.
So a rousing round of applause goes to my 2016 Rookie of the Year, Tax the Heat. Check the noise below.
-Ripped apart by playing cards yet smiling all the way.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Shanies: Rookie of the Year
I'm about to spend the next week telling you all about how you're incredibly wrong, I'm incredibly right, the music you listen to is terrible, and that my music is infinitely better... but know that I feel terrible about it. I feel this way, because while I inherently know that I'm right in my stance, I've done a terrible job this year of keeping the world informed of my superior ears and opinion and as such, this week and these posts will truly come as a shock to you.
But bear with with me... Evil Shananigans is not dead... just bloodied in a gutter somewhere.
Still, that's never stopped me from dusting off the 'ol keyboard and proclaiming my auditory superiority over all of you. In short, happy holidays, and enjoy the tunes.
As is tradition, the first Shanie of 2015 goes to our Rookie of the year. While there were a ton of great albums that came out this year, the rookie was a no-brainer. Normally, while I love to give this award to some up and coming band to highlight them, 2015 will be the year of the juggernaut.
Dan Auerbach's latest side project The Arcs put forth the kind of album that I've been missing from the Keys since Brothers, but also went in a very different direction. While The Black Keys are typically a riff on the blues, Yours, Dreamily was essentially a soul album. It had some unquestionably trademark Auerbach feels to it, however, showed the kind of songwriting and recording progression of a seasoned vet. You could just as easily take Dan's signature, sweet vocals off this record and give these backs to the likes of Leon Bridges or Aloe Blacc and it would fit like a glove.
A few of the tracks definitely pull out more of the rocker feel that we know and love the Keys for, however, others like Put a Flower in Your Pocket or the album's first single Stay in my Corner are beautiful, slow burns that feature weighty bass lines that pull your ears in and snuggle you close. It's an album that got saw a ridiculous amount of play this fall and that was fitting for countless different moods and moments.
-Try to keep my lies of the whitest white, rolling words I write off this surrenderer's tongue
But bear with with me... Evil Shananigans is not dead... just bloodied in a gutter somewhere.
Still, that's never stopped me from dusting off the 'ol keyboard and proclaiming my auditory superiority over all of you. In short, happy holidays, and enjoy the tunes.
As is tradition, the first Shanie of 2015 goes to our Rookie of the year. While there were a ton of great albums that came out this year, the rookie was a no-brainer. Normally, while I love to give this award to some up and coming band to highlight them, 2015 will be the year of the juggernaut.
Dan Auerbach's latest side project The Arcs put forth the kind of album that I've been missing from the Keys since Brothers, but also went in a very different direction. While The Black Keys are typically a riff on the blues, Yours, Dreamily was essentially a soul album. It had some unquestionably trademark Auerbach feels to it, however, showed the kind of songwriting and recording progression of a seasoned vet. You could just as easily take Dan's signature, sweet vocals off this record and give these backs to the likes of Leon Bridges or Aloe Blacc and it would fit like a glove.
A few of the tracks definitely pull out more of the rocker feel that we know and love the Keys for, however, others like Put a Flower in Your Pocket or the album's first single Stay in my Corner are beautiful, slow burns that feature weighty bass lines that pull your ears in and snuggle you close. It's an album that got saw a ridiculous amount of play this fall and that was fitting for countless different moods and moments.
-Try to keep my lies of the whitest white, rolling words I write off this surrenderer's tongue
Monday, December 22, 2014
Shanies: Rookie of the Year
Holy shit, this thing still exists? Well, just because I've been neglecting this blog (holy shit, people still blog?) for the better part of the year, doesn't mean for a second that I'm about to pass up my opportunity to shoot my mouth off once again this holiday season and bring you what by my best half-drunken estimates is the SEVENTH annual Shanies. You know the rules: I'm right, that's really the only rule.
This year's Rookie award was a bit of a no brainer. In previous years, this award had started to feel like a cheater's field for supergroups and bands building second projects (see previous winners Mutoid Man, Them Crooked Vultures, and The Damned Things), however, this year we had a band do it right. If I would have asked you in 2013 what you thought of Royal Blood, you likely wouldn't have had much to say since they were only just forming and playing shows at venues my shitty bands had played before.
However, to make such a neglectful statement these days would either involve massive head trauma, a distane for music, or a 2-year straight binge on Jack Daniels and methamphetamines. Simply put, Royal Blood is the real deal. This Brighton 2-piece's volcanic rise to fame unquestionably involved a touch of luck, however, that luck was backed by talent and the most monstrous sound you've heard out of a duo since the Black Keys or the White Stripes.
They released an EP back in March to rave reviews and seemingly overnight began supporting some of the biggest acts in the world and playing festivals all over before finally releasing their self-titled LP to a number 1 position on the UK charts. Yes... at only a year old, this band hit #1 in the UK, and broke the top 30 for every major market.
But you know me, I've never been about the stats when it comes to music; I've always been about the riffs. These boys deliver them in droves, so sit back and enjoy your 2014 Shanie for Rookie of the Year.
An honourable mention must go out to the epic Napalmpom from Calgary.
-So I'll sleep when I'm dead and I'll live when I'm awake
This year's Rookie award was a bit of a no brainer. In previous years, this award had started to feel like a cheater's field for supergroups and bands building second projects (see previous winners Mutoid Man, Them Crooked Vultures, and The Damned Things), however, this year we had a band do it right. If I would have asked you in 2013 what you thought of Royal Blood, you likely wouldn't have had much to say since they were only just forming and playing shows at venues my shitty bands had played before.
However, to make such a neglectful statement these days would either involve massive head trauma, a distane for music, or a 2-year straight binge on Jack Daniels and methamphetamines. Simply put, Royal Blood is the real deal. This Brighton 2-piece's volcanic rise to fame unquestionably involved a touch of luck, however, that luck was backed by talent and the most monstrous sound you've heard out of a duo since the Black Keys or the White Stripes.
They released an EP back in March to rave reviews and seemingly overnight began supporting some of the biggest acts in the world and playing festivals all over before finally releasing their self-titled LP to a number 1 position on the UK charts. Yes... at only a year old, this band hit #1 in the UK, and broke the top 30 for every major market.
But you know me, I've never been about the stats when it comes to music; I've always been about the riffs. These boys deliver them in droves, so sit back and enjoy your 2014 Shanie for Rookie of the Year.
An honourable mention must go out to the epic Napalmpom from Calgary.
-So I'll sleep when I'm dead and I'll live when I'm awake
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Shanies: Rookie of the Year
It's that time again... time for me to spread my unwanted and unnecessary opinion about the state of music in 2012 all over the internet. As usual, my annual awards, the Shanies, are based entirely on my own opinion, follow a loosely defined and often changing set of rules and should be taken with the tiniest of grains of salt. If you believe me (which I wouldn't) this is remarkably the 5th annual instalment of these awards. I say that not to impress you or make you think that this gives me some form of credence, but to help you realize that I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon, so get used to it.
The rookie of the year award is always a difficult one, since there is much ambiguity around the word 'rookie'. Last year, for example, the recipients were 3 old rockers who cumulatively, had probably won more awards than most of the rock community. However, they were doing a new project. This year, I chose to define the award by a group's first LP release.
And that is because it allows me to give the award to Brisbane's DZ Deathrays. While having 3 EPs dating back to 2009, this was their breakthrough year with the release of their incredible LP, Bloodstreams. This grungy, dance-beat rock-duo recorded a groundbreaking album, toured the world and just ended their year with a annual home-town tradition concert.
Honourable mention goes to Failure Epics (Jon Epworth), who really should have won for hitting all the criteria for rookie.
-Hangman's neckties and words that sting like black flies
The rookie of the year award is always a difficult one, since there is much ambiguity around the word 'rookie'. Last year, for example, the recipients were 3 old rockers who cumulatively, had probably won more awards than most of the rock community. However, they were doing a new project. This year, I chose to define the award by a group's first LP release.
And that is because it allows me to give the award to Brisbane's DZ Deathrays. While having 3 EPs dating back to 2009, this was their breakthrough year with the release of their incredible LP, Bloodstreams. This grungy, dance-beat rock-duo recorded a groundbreaking album, toured the world and just ended their year with a annual home-town tradition concert.
Honourable mention goes to Failure Epics (Jon Epworth), who really should have won for hitting all the criteria for rookie.
-Hangman's neckties and words that sting like black flies
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