Shanies: Album of the Year

It's official... this blog is dead. The last post I wrote was 1 year ago with an identical title, thus flushing almost a decade of music blogging down the drain. But, in one final death rattle, why not at least throw up a top 10 from 2017, right?

10. Propagandhi - Victory Lap
Call me a sucker for angry, Manitoban punk rock, but don't you dare say that this band is any less needed when they came on the scene ~25 years ago. Victory Lap represents another step in the continuous progression of this band where they continually balance between sticking true to their roots on tracks like Failed Imagineer while still pushing the boundaries on musicality and lyricism.

9. Triggerfinger - Colossus
My crazy 'ol favourite Belgians put forth yet another riff rocker this year. Though it is also tempered with a new fusion of electronic music and beats (presumably after a collaboration with Method Man), their true nature of being beautifully sleazy old men still shines through and reminds us why they're Belgium's best (ok, maybe only) hard rock band.

8. Dirty Projectors - Dirty Projectors
One might have thought that the end of David Longstreth and Amber Coffman would have been the end of Dirty Projectors. However, this album came back stronger than ever and with all kinds of exceptionally diverse influences from hip hop, pop, and techno. As with all DP albums, it makes no sense, and yet is somehow incredibly accessible.

7. Royal Blood - How Did We Get So Dark?
I love this band, and I even love this album, however, the fact it only made #7 on this list after topping my list with their debut 3 years ago, I see as a minor failure. Again, it's still a great album, and I dig the direction they're going in with more groovy, turned-down songs like She's Creeping, however, I worry that this band may run out of things to say before too long.

6. Daniel Caesar - Freudian
I'm sad to say that I was late to the game on learning about this incredible artist in my own backyard of Toronto. I only started listening to Daniel Caesar 2 weeks ago, yet already in that time, I'm hooked. I'd call this man a modern-day incarnation of D'Angelo, but even that might be putting limitations on what he's capable of with his elegant mix of R&B, gospel, rap, rock, and lord knows what else.

5. Alert the Medic - Let Them Have Their Fun
I just love this band. They consistently put out albums chalked-full of infectiously happy rock n roll with beautiful harmonies, catchy riffs, and ever-shifting rhythms. It's pop-rock at it's finest and I'll not apologize for worshiping how damned good AtM are at it.

4. Queens of the Stone Age - Villans
Yes, Josh Homme is an asshole who likely has a drug problem and he kicked a photographer in the head a couple of months ago. That sucks, and so does he. But we've always known he was a bit of an asshole, and that's part of what makes him so intriguing. Moreover, hate me if you must, but this albums is REALLY FRIGGING GOOD. Working with producer Mark Cuban, QOTSA has tamed their sound a bit, but added in all kinds of strange dixie and swing influences to rock n roll that make for yet another head rocking, ass-swinging album.

3. All Them Witches - Sleeping Through the War
Epic epicness continues. Their albums seem to string together like one long, stoner-rock arc that continuously blends the beautiful sonic evolution of this band. This is likely their most diverse album from a songwriting perspective, but it still holds together as an exceptional piece of music and leaves plenty of tracks to chomp in on (personal favourites of Alabaster and 3-5-7)

2. Death From Above - Outrage! Is Now
It's official The Physical World  was not a one-off or flash in the pan - DFA is here to fucking rock. This album blends so many of the influences that you've heard across their previous albums (and remixes) into a cohesive sound that jumps back and forth between epically-headbang-worthy and infinitely-all-night-danceable.

1. Bonobo - Migration
Never one to surprise my rock disciples with my top picks, one of my most spun albums and artists this year was British DJ Simon Green, better known as Bonobo, and his 2017 masterpiece, Migration. In some moments, this album is pure to its electronic roots, however, in the true style of this mischievous monkey, other tracks come off as ambient, epic orchestrations. At first glance, this album is great background to a long day, however, as you dig deeper, a wealth of treasures and audio delights await you with each listen.

Shanies: Album of the Year

Yup... it's that time again... time for the big one, or should I say... the big 10. 2014 was a huge year for music, especially heavy music. There were so many incredible releases from acts like Band of Skulls, Jack White, The Barr Brothers, D'Angelo, and Rival Sons didn't even make the cut... but sometimes, hard calls have to be made, and I'll be damned if I'm going to second guess myself.

10. Michael Cera - True That

I hated myself a little bit for enjoying this album as much as I did, but you know what... I was eventually able to divorce Michael Cera the actor (save his part in The End...brilliant) from the musician. This creepy album feels at times like it's dredging up the Ghosts of the Beatles, not just because it kinda sounds late-Beatlesque, but also because it's really gloomy and weird. But I like it.



9. Baptists - Bloodmines

And now for something completely different. What blows my mind the most about this album isn't how drivingly heavy it is, nor is it even Nick Yacyshyn's monsterific drumming, but the fact that Bushcraft was only realeased a year before in 2013. This is how you do loud music... thanks again BC!



8. Death From Above 1979 - The Physical World

10 years between albums? Did waiting suck? Yes. Was it worth the wait? No. This album could have easily been released in 2007, but that doesn't stop it from still being one of the best releases of 2014. What do we get after waiting 10 years? Likely a lot less anger and a lot more groove, but that really works for this gritty two-piece's sound.



7. Black Jesuses - Black Jesuses

Who? A random side-project of one of my favourite bands, The Parlor Mob, Black Jesuses' release was met with a bit of a whimper, but it still contained an album full of incredible hard rock tunes, especially for a two-piece (though I feel like that excuse doesn't hold weight anymore after the incredible history of rock duos we've seen now). Either way, go listen to 7 to 3 right now.



6. Obliterations - Poison Everything

Just when you thought Baptists were going to have the hardest album of the year, you could not have been more wrong. As a huge Black Mountain fan, I remember being very excited with the early news of Stephen McBean's new loud-as-shit side project. To add to that excitement, after producing a couple of mind-blowing EPs, the crew went into Grohl's Studio 606 to lay down Poison Everything. Throw 'em on Southern Lord and you've got a recipe for sexy.



5. Napalmpom - The Unconditional Love of Napalmpom

In addition to winning the award for greatest band name ever, Napalmpom was a band I stumbled upon a couple of months ago thanks to Public Animal. This Calgary 5-piece is a great reminder of what rock n roll is... not just in sound, but in spirit, effort, and fun! You can hear their massively contrasting influences in their debut LP, yet somehow, these Westerners manage to pull it together into a record that rocks, inspires, moves, cries a little, hugs you, bitch slaps you in the mouth, dumps a beer on your best friend, punches your girlfriend in the left tit and drops the mic and leaves this dimension. But in a really fun, cool way.



4. Destrage - Are you Kidding Me? No.

I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO THIS ALBUM FOR ALMOST A YEAR AND I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE HELL IT IS OR HOW THE HELL THESE CRAZY ITALIAN BASTARDS DO WHAT THEY DO. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED IS THAT I ENJOY IT IMMENSELY AND THEREFORE WILL NOT FURTHER QUESTION THE ITALIAN MADNESS-NOISE.



3. Alert the Medic - The Phantom Moves

From the moment I heard the opening drone of this album, I was hooked. While I would nearly wear out the first two tracks on the record, the entire album would become a place of comfort and solace that I would return to whenever I wanted to feel good about myself. These easterners know how to write exceptional, harmonically layered rock that can in one moment bring a crowd to their feet, and in another, bring a tear to your eye.



2. Public Animal - Habitat Animal

The live shows, while amazing, are simply not frequent enough to keep my inner animal satiated. Fortunately, this disc unleashes the beast with great volume. Who would have ever thought that a supergroup formed of some of my favourite bands of all time could come together to produce another of my favourite bands of all time who would make one of my favourite albums of all time? Funny that, huh?



1. Royal Blood - Royal Blood

Granted this British duo are sweeping up awards and acclaim across the globe at an unprecidented rate. Their meteoric rise to fame is ridiculous given the recent state of the music industry, however, when you listen to their self-titled debut, you understand why: this album is near perfection. Nearly each of the 10 tracks could have stood alone as a single and may still - 5 of them already have, with each breaking the UK top 50 and 2 hitting the #1 spot. Yes, look at me raving about this album just like everyone else... aren't I so unoriginal? Shouldn't I be focusing more of obscure music?

Deal with it. Sometimes there's a reason shit gets insanely popular, and if you can't hear it, I don't understand how you hear the world... you and I just got different ears, son.



Thanks for reading! It was fun as always to spout my musical tripe all over the internet... see you in 2015!

-Bow down to my thick cerebral cortex, don't let logic get in the way

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