Following in the vein of Joe's introduction from his list, I embraced the fact that I'm totally still an idiot emo kid at heart. Emo and punk were a part of my formative musical experiences (we don't need to talk about the rest), but I was relatively late to the game with virtually anything other than MCR, Panic, and Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle." As time as gone by, I've allowed myself to be enveloped in the raucous emotions that call the genre home. There won't be a ton of local emo on this list, but that mostly seems to be because a lot of the emo bands I love took the year off. That may totally predict my 2020 year-end list, but in lieu of emo, I found a whole lot of other stuff to fall in love with, from piano ballads to country(!) to whatever the Happy Children are were.
The Happy Children - Same Dif (self-released)
(Cover art by Isaac Dell)
Why Not - EP (self-released)
(Cover art by Teagan DeVoe)
Keep for Cheap - Get Along (self-released)
Can we all agree that 2019 sucked? Like, really sucked? There's no real reason to expect 2020 to be better, unless you're able to cling to a possibly quixotic belief in human good, but at least we have Keep for Cheap. This Hamline quintet is proof that we're gonna be okay! The songs on this EP just make me really happy. Like, to the point where my mom asked me if I was okay just because I couldn't stop smiling while listening to "Day Without You" for at least the hundredth time. Get Along, the band's debut, is a ray of sunlight; a gift; a burst of color as pleasant and joy-inducing as the cover art. The songs may be musically exuberant, but they mask a deep sense of relatable melancholy. It's a pretty classic case of happy-sad, without diminishing any of the band's songwriting. This combination makes it the perfectly versatile album: listen to the music when the sun's out and you're enjoying life, listen to the lyrics when you're lonely and full of the big sad. Or listen to both and appreciate how lucky we are to have Keep for Cheap.
Listen to my interview with Keep for Cheap here.
Kate Malanaphy - Soak (self-released)
(Cover art by Alexis Politz)
niiice. - Never Better (Brace Cove Records)
You found it! Here's the emo! And guess what? niiice. is one of the best emo/punk bands in all of DIY! Fight me if you disagree! Never Better, which dropped towards the end of the 2019 polar vortex, was the perfect soundtrack for an anxious winter. The riffs hit hard and the lyrics hit harder. Whether it was by design or not, the overpowering musicianship of the trio almost overcomes the intensely depressive wordplay that Roddie provides. But then, you're just sitting there listening, and "Blunt Force Marijuana" hits you differently. It's still an immaculate mega-banger with a perfect title, but now you're acutely aware that it's a middle-finger to Roddie's father. That's the thing with a lot of emo — songs have ridiculous titles and insanely catchy riffs while still dealing very directly with childhood trauma and mental health. niiice. manages to balance everything perfectly. Roddie, Sage, and Abe are some of the best musicians in the entire state and Never Better will forever stand as a testament to that. I mean, there are trumpets on here, for God's sake. I could go on and on about how special this EP is, but I already did! Just go listen.
(Cover art by Alexis Politz)
VIAL - Grow Up (Brace Cove Records)
"Sloshville" to "Tension" has got to be one of the most jarring song-to-song shifts on a record all year, with the only shared trait being that both songs are undeniably amazing. "Sloshville" has my favorite drums of the year and overflows with gregarious energy; "Tension" is a tranquil, summery song of gentle emotion. These two songs offer a microcosm of what VIAL is: a band of four stupidly talented people making the art that they want to, beholden to no one. They don't make songs so they can fit in somewhere, or adhere to any specific genre; VIAL makes songs and lets them unfold into whatever they may be. Singles "Rough" and "Grow Up" are simple, elegant hymns of millennial melancholy and frustration. "DIY" is one of the most massive bangers of the year - a defiant middle-finger to the white, cis punk establishment. I dare someone to go harder than Kate during any performance of the song. Hint: you can't. "Therapy" is basically two songs in one: it begins wistfully, harmoniously; then, it morphs into a three-chord punk monstrosity. Why? Because VIAL said so. I could keep going song-by-song, but instead, I'll offer this: Grow Up is one of the best debuts of the year. Grow Up is one of the best albums of the year. Grow Up is one of my favorite albums of the year. What more can I say?
Listen to my interview with VIAL here. The Goblin Edit can be found here, if you dare.
Honorable Mentions
Albums and EPs
(Cover art by Caleb Hinz probably??)
The Happy Children - Same Dif (self-released)
This is unsurprisingly my album of the year. Earlier this year, I was identified as "one of the Ear Coffees" just from my Happy Children shirt. To say that I love this record is incredibly reductive but I don't know what else to say. Caleb, Mitchell, and Sam built up a monstrous, weird, off-the-walls album and set it aflame in a glorious Norse funeral. Ideas and melodies fly past you at mach speed, completely disregarding whether you wanted to hear it or not. You always want to hear more of it, though. Each building block that went into this album's creation could sustain a full-song exploration. The trick is that you'll never get to (at least as of today). They work best as a sum of their parts. Same Dif is full of finality even as it kicks with vitality. What a send-off. I already wrote almost 1,000 words on the album, so I'll leave it at that. 1,000 words wouldn't be nearly enough.
Listen to my interview with Caleb here.
Listen to my interview with Caleb here.
Why Not - EP (self-released)
Growing up is weird. When a band grows up, all the members have to lock in sync and do it together. Even weirder. The challenge is sustained by the fact that so many groups try, but remain in a stunted arrested development. But not Why Not. Isaac, Henry, and Josh totally leveled up their sound and songwriting with EP. No longer wearing their influences on their sleeve, they slipped into their own image flawlessly. Lead single "Ready 4 the World" leaps and bounds from idea to idea, going from punk to almost ska(??) to a doom-y breakdown that collapses the song in its final moments. "Eighth Year," at nearly 11-minutes, guarantees ambition from the start. The fact that it not only works as a song, but is successful in its mission to combine hook-laden punk with skull-crushing prog is a testament to where the band was at when they made it (and where they're capable of going). Plus, Isaac rips a gnarly (first-take?) solo that Joshua really loves. Why Not didn't rest on their laurels either; they've already put out one song that goes beyond EP, with another out this week. In the meantime, enjoy EP for what it is: one of the best local releases of the year.
Listen to my interview with Why Not here.
Listen to my interview with Why Not here.
Keep for Cheap - Get Along (self-released)
Can we all agree that 2019 sucked? Like, really sucked? There's no real reason to expect 2020 to be better, unless you're able to cling to a possibly quixotic belief in human good, but at least we have Keep for Cheap. This Hamline quintet is proof that we're gonna be okay! The songs on this EP just make me really happy. Like, to the point where my mom asked me if I was okay just because I couldn't stop smiling while listening to "Day Without You" for at least the hundredth time. Get Along, the band's debut, is a ray of sunlight; a gift; a burst of color as pleasant and joy-inducing as the cover art. The songs may be musically exuberant, but they mask a deep sense of relatable melancholy. It's a pretty classic case of happy-sad, without diminishing any of the band's songwriting. This combination makes it the perfectly versatile album: listen to the music when the sun's out and you're enjoying life, listen to the lyrics when you're lonely and full of the big sad. Or listen to both and appreciate how lucky we are to have Keep for Cheap.
Listen to my interview with Keep for Cheap here.
(Cover art by Morgan Peterson)
Kate Malanaphy - Soak (self-released)
I couldn't write about Keep for Cheap without also writing about Kate, y'know? In addition to shredding it up on bass and giving KfC the vocal harmonies that make me go like this, Kate releases solo music, and surprise! It's really good! Wow! Working with Caleb of Normal Parents (who is directly/indirectly involved with half of this list), Kate is a shot of emotion straight to the heart. Drowsy yet deliberate piano melds with her timeless voice, equaling one perfect EP. Usually album titles don't directly relate with the songs; Soak goes against the grain and embodies its title wholeheartedly. You can't help but be consumed by how potent the feelings are. To quote my write-up on the lead single, "In some special way, ['Glue'] reminds me of FKA twigs' recent single 'Cellophane.' Piano and production dance around the comet that is twigs' voice as it casts its melancholy shadow across the resplendent heavens. While the vocal stylings are overtly different, Malanaphy harnesses the same spirit. 'Glue' is a subtle step forward, specific and gentle like a dancer. It reveals its beauty in time spent sinking into the gorgeous cavern of musical prowess." Is it a cop-out to quote something I already wrote? Probably. Sorry, but I can't come up with a better way to summarize the perfection of "Glue" and Soak as a whole.
Listen to my interview with Kate here.
Listen to my interview with Kate here.
niiice. - Never Better (Brace Cove Records)
You found it! Here's the emo! And guess what? niiice. is one of the best emo/punk bands in all of DIY! Fight me if you disagree! Never Better, which dropped towards the end of the 2019 polar vortex, was the perfect soundtrack for an anxious winter. The riffs hit hard and the lyrics hit harder. Whether it was by design or not, the overpowering musicianship of the trio almost overcomes the intensely depressive wordplay that Roddie provides. But then, you're just sitting there listening, and "Blunt Force Marijuana" hits you differently. It's still an immaculate mega-banger with a perfect title, but now you're acutely aware that it's a middle-finger to Roddie's father. That's the thing with a lot of emo — songs have ridiculous titles and insanely catchy riffs while still dealing very directly with childhood trauma and mental health. niiice. manages to balance everything perfectly. Roddie, Sage, and Abe are some of the best musicians in the entire state and Never Better will forever stand as a testament to that. I mean, there are trumpets on here, for God's sake. I could go on and on about how special this EP is, but I already did! Just go listen.
VIAL - Grow Up (Brace Cove Records)
"Sloshville" to "Tension" has got to be one of the most jarring song-to-song shifts on a record all year, with the only shared trait being that both songs are undeniably amazing. "Sloshville" has my favorite drums of the year and overflows with gregarious energy; "Tension" is a tranquil, summery song of gentle emotion. These two songs offer a microcosm of what VIAL is: a band of four stupidly talented people making the art that they want to, beholden to no one. They don't make songs so they can fit in somewhere, or adhere to any specific genre; VIAL makes songs and lets them unfold into whatever they may be. Singles "Rough" and "Grow Up" are simple, elegant hymns of millennial melancholy and frustration. "DIY" is one of the most massive bangers of the year - a defiant middle-finger to the white, cis punk establishment. I dare someone to go harder than Kate during any performance of the song. Hint: you can't. "Therapy" is basically two songs in one: it begins wistfully, harmoniously; then, it morphs into a three-chord punk monstrosity. Why? Because VIAL said so. I could keep going song-by-song, but instead, I'll offer this: Grow Up is one of the best debuts of the year. Grow Up is one of the best albums of the year. Grow Up is one of my favorite albums of the year. What more can I say?
Listen to my interview with VIAL here. The Goblin Edit can be found here, if you dare.
Honorable Mentions
- Abe Anderson - Slacker (Brace Cove Records)
- ahem - Try Again (Forged Artifacts)
- Alien Book Club - Alien Book Club (self-released)
- The Argument - Dangerous Ride (self-released)
- Baby Boys - I'm Set (Grand Jury Music)
- Baumgardner - Tar (self-released)
- The Clean Tramps - The Nightmare Club (self-released)
- Dad Bod - "Rot" (self-released)
- Double Grave - Ego Death Forever (Forged Artifacts)
- Dreams We've Had - Everything and You (self-released)
- Floodwater Angel - "Asparagus" (self-released)
- Goodnight Gorillas - Splash! (self-released)
- Gully Boys - Phony (self-released)
- In Lieu - Hatemail (self-released)
- Last Import - Last Import (self-released)
- Lettering - Harbinger/Less Violent (Brace Cove Records)
- Mister Wes - Fairway Rd N (self-released)
- NATL PARK SRVC - The Future Is Now (self-released)
- Sal Paradise - Table for Two (self-released)
- Stone Arch Isles - Homemade Jams & Season Sublime
Comments
Post a Comment