Best of 2105 #1: The Soft Moon - Deeper (Captured Tracks)

I can't remember exactly when I heard The Soft Moon for the first time, but I know it was in 2015 on KEXP. I was enthralled with the couple of tracks I heard and vowed to find out more about the band, but the urge kept slipping my mind. One day, in the summer, I was digging through the used CDs at Red Cat Records in Vancouver and came across Deeper for $5. I bought it on sight.

Taking it home and popping it into my CD player was a revelation. After the first listen through, Deeper lived in my player for about a week straight. I bet I listened to it about 25 times just in that week. And I've continutally come back to it over the past year and into 2016.

The Soft Moon is Luis Vasquez, who lives in San Francisco. His music is an intriguing mish-mash of styles, firmly rooted in the percussive, dark and driving post-punk that Joy Division was best known for. There's a goth element in the tracks too, with Vasquez' half-buried, moaned vocals rising up through the angular music. There's also an odd, almost dance-floor friendly European electronic style to the album, heard in tracks like "Wrong".

The best track on the album is the third track, "Far", which teams a punding electronic beat with warped synth and guitar into a disorienting landscape.

Best of 2015 #2: Faith Healer - Cosmic Troubles (Mint)

When I first heard Faith Healer's debut back in March of 2015, I knew I was hearing something special. I got a copy of the album to review for Earshot and I praised it then as I praise it now.  I was already a fan of Renny Wilson, one half of the band, and I loved everything Mint Records had been putting out in the past couple of years. Renny Wilson is fast becoming one of the most underrated musicians in Canada and everything he seems to make turns to gold. He's a true musical chameleon, turning in textured indy poptronica with his debut 2104's Sugarglider, the drugged out indy pop here with Cosmic Troubles, then later in 2015, his Punk Explosion project mining garage and punk for a bombastically noisy album.

But back to Cosmic Troubles. This album was unlike a lot of music I heard this year. It was dense, it was cute, it was simultaneously obscure and intimately accessible. Renny Wilson's music has a slow, drugged out burn to it, fuzzing out in places, then rising up to twee, jangly indy pop in others, sometimes in the same song. Vocalist Jessica Jalbert's distracted, half-asleep voice added to the oddly trance-like vibe the album has. There's twinges of the Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Velocity City and My Bloody Valentine here. You never know where this album is going to take you next. You feel like your head is swimming and you're a bit unsure of where you are after a couple of listens.

Renny and Jessica's next album (I hope there'll be a next album!) will be a marvelous, droning mess and it'll be glorious. I can't wait!

Best of 2015 #3: METZ - METZ II (Sub Pop)

METZ's debut self-titled album in 2012 was a revelatory album, a shining beacon of energetic noise-punk and just a taste of what was to come. Their second album, II, is a continuation of that sound, and expansion to a certain extent. The music is similar: bruising, sludgy walls of noise-rock and punk. Their sound is very similar to the work of the Jesus Lizard or Big Black. They call their shots, hit hard, then move on. The album is quite short too. They don't waste time making their point. "Spit You Out" is a perfect microcosm of their sound. It has a wall of textural guitar noise propelling anti-social screaming lyrics. A more perfect noise-rock album you won't find in 2015.

Best of 2015 #4: Tacocat - NVM (Hardly Art Records)

Tacocat are probably my favourite new band I discovered this year. I first heard them on Seattle's KEXP, which I often listen to if I have to work at my desk and have a lot of paperwork to do. One of the best things that campus/community radio can do is expose you to the obscure bands in the local scene, and KEXP were definitely championing local heroes Tacocat. This band is the closest thing we have to capturing the joyful and cute punk spirit that Vancouver's cub once created. And I'm a huge fan of cub.

Tacocat have the manic pixie energy of an all-girl garage band from the 60s and the updated slacker snark of a band from the 2010s. Their songs are punky and scrappy, tackling life in Seattle, crappy bus service, women problems, hipsterism and misogyny. They have a wicked sense of humour and aren't afraid to laugh at themselves. They're unbearably cute. They make music fun to listen to, which not a minor thing with the type of music I tend to link. I missed cub. Now I have Tacocat.

Outside of my #1 album of the year, I think I listened to NVM more than any other album in 2015. Their video for "Crimson Wave" is my go to pick for video of the year. They have a new album coming out in April, and have just been tapped to perform the theme song for the revamped Powerpuff Girls cartoon.

Best of 2014 $5 - ttwwrrss - ttwwrrss_2 (Maisonneuve Music)

Hamilton's Sean Thompson is the real name of the electronic musician ttwwrrss (prounounced "towers"). His second album is a tense powerhouse of remarkably forward looking electronica. With so many modern electronic artists relying on cliche, tired breakbeats and beat dropping, Hamilton has weaved together a startlingly engaging mix of techno, dark ambience and industrial. Each track is atmospheric with just the right touch of glitchyness. He's just in his early 20s too. This is just his second album to boot. This album came out of nowhere and stuck in my head all year.

Check out the original review I did for Earshot in May right chere

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Best of 2014 #6: Viet Cong - Viet Cong (Flemish Eye)

This was an earlier pick for album of the year for me. Viet Cong were formed out of the ashes of the great Calgary-based post-punk band, Women. Women had been one of my fave Canadian bands for a while, in fact, their second album Public Strain made my best of list back in 2010 at #4. The band's style of post-punk is very similar to what Women were doing. Women had a more structured and subtle sound, Viet Cong is a bit more chaotic, noisy and gloomy. "Continental Shelf" is the stand out track here, channeling the moody traditional Joy Division style of post-punk through a beefy bass line. A couple of tracks, "March of Progress" and the closer "Death" have some nice, noisy electronic noodling in them. The album is short though, just seven songs. This feels like a teaser for something bigger.

Viet Cong caused some controversy over the summer, when they were accused of having an offensive name. I wrote about this back in September, and honestly, it still ticks me off a bit. The whole social justice movement really boils my potatoes in general. Viet Cong, wanting to focus on music, have decided to change their name, though they don't have a name nailed down yet. So, right now they're The Band Formally Known as Viet Cong.

DNTTA Playlist for January 22, 2016 - Best of 2014 Part 2

Artist - Song - Album (Label)  * indicates Canadian Content 

Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca 

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Saxsyndrum* - Yardbird Flutter - SXD EP (Art Not Love)
UUBBUURRUU* - Cosmic Cannibalism - Swamp Ritual EP (Kapauno)
Dri Hiev* - Ohm - Contravirtual EP (Shake!)
Fist City* - Demon Birds - Greatest Splits (Shake!)
Catholic Girls* - Berlin - Psychic Woman EP (Independent)
Woolworm* - Evil Until I Die - Everything Seems Obvious EP (Hockey Dad)
Mauno* - Pulses - Rough Master (Independent)
Nap Eyes* - Make Something - Whine of the Mystic (You've Changed)
Jons* - Short Swim - Fifteen For Fifteen (Baffled Octopi)
The Electric Prunes - I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night - Nuggets (Elektra)
Stump - Buffalo - Peel Sessions EP (Strange Fruit)
Visage - Fade to Grey - Fade to Grey (Sire)
Parallels* - The Kids Will Save Detroit - Civilization EP (Marigold)

Best of 2015 #7: Shamir - Ratchet (XL Records)

I'm a total sucker for styles of music that borrow from multiple genres, especially if it makes something that's totally unique. Shamir Bailey's debut full-length debut from the summer is such an album. Shamir mashes together high-energy electro, modern R&B, indy pop and hip-hop, then adds in his own oddly high, Prince-esque singing. His music doesn't sound like music of anything being created today. It's also insanely catchy.

DNTTA Playlist for January 15, 2015 - Best of 2015 Part 1

Artist - Song - Album (Label)  * indicates Canadian Content 

Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca 

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FFS - Johnny Delusional - FFS (Domino)
Conduct* - Fear and Desire - Fear and Desire (Public Tone)
Girl Band - Baloo - Holding Hands With Jamie (Rough Trade)
Shamir - Hot Mess - Ratchet (XL)
Viet Cong* - Continental Shelf - Viet Cong (Flemish Eye)
ttwwrrss* - I Need You - ttwwrrss_2 (Maisonneuve)
Tacocat - Bridge to Hawaii - NVM (Hardly Art)
Tacocat - Psychedelic Quinciera - NVM (Hardly Art)
METZ* - Spit You Out - METZ II (Sub Pop)
Faith Healer* - Fools Rush In - Cosmic Troubles (Mint)
The Soft Moon - Far - Deeper (Captured Tracks)
The Soft Moon - Wasting - Deeper (Captured Tracks)

Best of 2015 #8: Girl Band - Holding Hands with Jamie (Rough Trade)

Ireland's Girl Band fill a void which sorely needed filling: unhinged, demented noise rock. Not since Mclusky broke up (I know we still have Future of the Left, but it's not quite the same...), no band has really fit the bill to take up the mantle for the sound they pioneered. Girl Band's debut, Holding Hands with Jamie, is a definite contender to follow up for Mclusky's style of noise rock. Girl Band entwine shouted and often undecipherable lyrics with shrieking walls of guitar noise, swirling vortices of feedback and occasional saxophone wails. They should appeal to fans of Mclusky, Shellac or The Fall. Given I like all of those bands, I love what this band is doing. Their second album should tell us the score, if they captured lightning in a bottle for their debut, or if they have the chops to keep doing what they did so well on their first album.

Video Playlist #3: The Best of the Rest 2015

I'm due for a new video playlist, plus I'm in the middle of talking about my favourite albums. So, I figured, why not combine the two ideas?

Every year I pick my 10 favourite albums, but I consider a lot more music than just those 10 albums I finish up with. There's also a lot of shorter EP's and compilations that come out that I never count in my Top 10. So, here's a bunch of other music that I liked this year that didn't make my Top 10!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc1htX3q-F0&list=PL0QOmyo1JgZcermv_mtQyWnmQV3t5fyDO

1) Sleater-Kinney - "A New Wave", from No Cities to Love (Sub Pop)
2) Purity Ring* - "Bodyache" from Another Eternity (Last Gang)
3) White Reaper - "Make Me Wanna Die" from White Reaper Does is Again (Royal Mountain)
4) Foals - "What Went Down" from What Went Down (Transgressive)
5) Ought* - "Beautiful Blue Sky" from Sun Coming Down (Constellation)
6) Braids* - "Miniskirt" from Deep in the Iris (Flemish Eye)
7) Tame Impala - "Let it Happen" from Currents (Modular)
8) Tough Age* - "Snakes and Ladders" from I Get the Feeling Central (Mint)
9) Public Image, Ltd. - "Double Trouble" from What the World Needs Now (PiL)
10) John Grant - "Disappointed" from Grey Tickles, Black Pressure (Dine Alone)
11) Fake Tears* - "Second Wind" from Nightshifting (Mint)
12) Soak - "Sea Creatures" from Before We Forgot How to Dream (Rough Trade)
13) Algiers - :"Blood" from Algiers (Matador)
14) Weed* - "Muscles" from Running Back (Lefse)
15) Seoul* - "The Line: from I Became a Shade (Last Gang)
16) The Backhomes* - "The Chase" from Tidalwave (Independent)
17) Tanlines - "Palace" from Highlights (True Panther Sounds)
18) Low - "What Part of Me" from Ones and Sixes (Sub Pop)
19) Grimes* - "Nightmusic" from Art Angels (4AD)
20) Dri Hiev* - "Contravirtual" from Contravirtual EP (Shake!)
21) Mauno* - "Burn This" from Rough Master (Independent)
22) Tough Age* - "Nicolas Bragg" from Tough Age Play cub's Hot Dog Day EP (Mint)
23) UUBBUURRUU* - "Cosmic Cannibalism" from Swamp Ritual EP (Kapauno)
24) Odd Limbs* - "Shadow Drops" from Walking on Light (Independent)

Best of 2015 #9: Conduct - Fear and Desire (Public Tone)

Winnipeg's Conduct hit me like a suckerpunch. Fear and Desire seems to come out of nowhere and floored me upon first listen. With a hefty pedigree behind it (an American record label and the legendary noise-monger Steve Albini behind the boards), this band is poised for something huge. Conduct are a behemoth of sound, mixing part of noise-rock, post-punk and industrial into their wall of sludge. The songs are alternately brutally short to punishingly long. This band demands you to pay attention to them, and you will until Fear and Desire ends, and your brain feels like it's been pulverized to powder.

Best of 2015: #10 - FFS - FFS (Domino)

We start this years countdown of my favourite music of the past year with two great tastes that taste great together. FFS is a collaboration between modern new wave band Franz Ferdinand and veteran new wave legends Sparks. At first, this seems like a collaboration that won't gel, but the more you think about it, the more it make sense. Apparently, this project had been in the works since 2004, when the Mael brothers of Sparks wrote "Piss Off" for Franz Ferdinand, and then sat on the backburner until 2015. "Piss Off" finally sees light on this album, and it's pretty spot on in terms of how the bands would come together. Sparks brings a lush, quirky and melodic weirdness to Franz Ferdinand's spiky and punchy new wave/dance rock stylings, and FF chop up the smooth and rounded edges of Sparks' style of orchestral new wave. No one band takes precedent over the other, with both bands pitching in equally on the sound, the lyrics and the music. The Maels shine early in the album, with "Johnny Delusional" and "Call Girl" having the Sparks piano-driven style of new wave, and the Maels more high-pitched and poppy vocals. "Police Encounters" has Franz Ferdinand's muscly punch and angular vocal style. The tongue in cheek, self-referential "Collaborations Don't Work" is a fun send up of people who thought the team up between bands wouldn't come together. It would be great to see these two bands continue with FFS, but even if it's a one-off collaboration, it's still worth the time to dig into this album and enjoy it!

Who We Lost in 2015

Little Jimmy Dickens
Curtis Lee
Tim Drummond (Bob Dylan's band)
Kim Fowley
Ward Swingle
Edgar Froese (Tangerine Dream)
Thom Wilson (producer)
Sam Andrew (Big Brother and the Holding Company)
Steve Strange (Visage)
Gavin Clarke (UNKLE)
Lesley Gore
Clark Terry
Chris Rainbow (Alan Parsons)
Leonard Nimoy
Daevid Allen (Soft Machine)
Mike Porcaro
Bruce Crump (Molly Hatchet)
Andy Fraser (Free)
Michael Brown (The Left Banke)
AJ Pero (Twisted Sister)
Scott Clenemin (Death)
Preston Ritter (The Electric Prunes)
Dave Ball (Procul Harum)
Rob Burns (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Percy Sledge
Jack Ely ("Louie Louie")
Ben E. King
Craig Gruber (Rainbow)
Errol Brown (Hot Chocolate)
B.B. King
Tranquility Bass
Ray Kennedy
Archie Alleyene
Jim Ed Brown
Ornette Coleman
Chris Squire (Yes)
Red Lane
Dan Joyce (Negativland)
Lynn Anderson
Stephen Huss (Psyche)
Sam Price
David Shelley
Hal Willis
Dennis Greene (Sha Na Na)
Bryn Merrick (The Damned)
Gary Richnath (REO Speedwagon)
Martin Kearns (Bolt Thrower)
Phil Woods
Keepsta Knicca
Steve Mackey (The Stooges)
Smokin' Joe Kubek
Cory Wells (Three Dog Night)
Leon Bibb
Andy White (The Beatles)
Allen Toussaint
"Philthy" Phil Taylor (Motorhead)
P.F. Sloan
Ron Hynes
Scott Weiland
Gary Marker (Captain Beefheart)
Rainer Bloss
Mick Lynch (Stump)
William Guest (Gladys Knight and the Pips)
Steve Wright (The Easybeats)
Lemmy Kilmiester
John Bradbury (The Specials)

Top 10 Albums of 2015

1) The Soft Moon - Deeper (Captured Tracks)
2) Faith Healer* - Cosmic Troubles (Mint)
3) METZ* - II (Sub Pop)
4) Tacocat - NVM (Hardly Art)
5) ttwwrrss* - ttwwrrss_2 (Maisonnevue)
6) Viet Cong* - Viet Cong (Flemish Eye)
7) Shamir - Ratchet (XL)
8) Girl Band - Holding Hands with Jamie (Rough Trade)
9) Conduct* - Fear and Desire (Public Tone)
10) FFS - FFS (Domino)

Honourable Mentions: Sleater-Kinney - No Cites to Love (Sub Pop), Purity Ring* - Another Eternity (Last Gang), White Reaper - White Reaper Does it Again (Royal Mountain), Foals - What Went Down (Transgressive), Ought* - Sun Coming Down (Constellation)

I'll be counting them down Friday, January 15th 8-9 PM.