Best of 2020 #3: Psychedelic Furs - Made of Rain (Cooking Vinyl)

From the moment Richard Butler begins singing on this album, the bands first proper album in 29 years, a wave of nostalgia and longing hit me like a truck. I had truly missed this band and their unique sound. The Furs haven't changed much in their sound. Made of Rain sounds a lot like 1984's Mirror Moves, in that their sound is the sound that made them so beloved. There are snippets of modern post punk in the album, just enough to remind you that this isn't a classic 80s album, but not enough to pull you out of the wall-of-sound melancholic new wave the band was known for. This was in rotation for much of 2020 and 2021 for me.

Best of 2020: #4 Bootblacks - Thin Skies (Artoffact Records)

 Over the past couple of years, Canada's Artoffact Records have built an impressive roster of industrial and post punk band, both domestic and international. Bootblacks are a band that fits right into their sound. A pulsing post punk band with swirling electronic beats and propulsive industrial rock vibes. 

DNTTA Log for October 1, 2021

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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Parler Bien - Si Je Suis* - Histoires du Compte-Essex (Independent)
Chicago Underground Trio - Zagreb - Slon (Thrill Jockey)
Apollo Suns - Song for Sterling* - Vital Signs (Independent)
Stereolab - Jenny Ondioline - Upsalapalooza (Independent)
cEvin Key - Night Flower* - Resonance (Artoffact)
Kanga - Home - You and I Will Never Die (Artoffact)
Stereotaxic Device - Man Made God - Stereotaxic Device (KK)
The Hex - Glass Eye* - Victoria's Secret 2021 (Baffled Octopi)
Uniform - Life in Remission - Shame (Sacred Bones)
Vagina Witchcraft - Pyro* - Vagina Witchcraft (Independent)
Cabaret Voltaire - Vasto - Shadow of Fear (Mute)

Best of 2020 #5: METZ - Atlas Vending (Sub Pop Records)

 METZ have been a constant on my year end Top 10 lists. A fantastic noise-punk band from Toronto, their output has been consistently great. Atlas Vending is a good album, but a bit long in the tooth when it comes to noise-punk. METZ are maturing as a band, and this album sees them branching out into more melodic territory without losing the fist to the face sound of abrasive noise. The songs are longer too. Are they losing their edge? Maybe the next album will be the litmus test...

DNTTA Playlist for September 24, 2021

 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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Super Punk - Flying Goblin* - Kim Jong Goes to Cegep (Hell for Breakfast)
Grapes of Wrath - Lithium* - Brave New Waves Session (Artoffact)
Nirvana - Hairspray Queen - Incesticide (DGC)
Tacocat - This is Anarchy - NVM (Hardly Art)
Gemstones - Drive* - Nevermind (Independent)
yoo doo right - Don’t Think You Can Escape Your Purpose* - Don't Think You Can Escape Your Purpose (Mothland)
Dresser - Blemish* - Seventeen Blocks and Then Some (Independent)
Alice Bell - Copper Price* - Adjustable Heart (Serkeus)
SNFU - Hale Bop* - A Blessing But With it a Curse (Rake)
Dri Hiev - Power and Pity* - Vital Signs (Independent)
Anybodys - And the Rest is Science* - Acts of Endurance (Independent)
Gottweist - Weight of the World* - Prophecy (Independent)

DNTTA Playlist for September 17, 2021

 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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Ian Daniel Kehoe - Colour Application* - Disco Body Buzz (Tin Angel)
Mctwist - One Time Only* - RNDR005 (Render)
Bright Idea - Glitchin’ Aboot* - RDNR005 (Render)
Operators - I Feel Emotion* - Vital Signs (Independent)
respectfulchild - Beauty* - Vital Signs (Independent0
vinu-vinu - Septembre* - Exilio Transitorio (Independent)
waants - I Won’t Be Sad* - Love U Forever (LHM)
Peppermoth - Light on Mars* - Ventrillokissed (Big Mind)
Smaller Hearts - Back to Ones* - Attention (Independent)
Agath Christ - Easy* - Beg EP (Delicate Automatic)

Best of 2020 #6: A Certain Ratio - ACR LOCO (Mute Records)

    This album came out of nowhere for me. I had no idea that A Certain Ratio (ACR) were still recording. That being said, this is the first proper album in 12 years. ACR have been around since 1977 and were a seminal left-field, dance and funk fueled post-punk band. They're from the UK, but their sound always had more in common with the no-wave scene of late 70s New York. ACR LOCO feels like it was recorded in a New York loft in 1978 with James Chance or ESG lurking somewhere around the production or engineering part of the record. "Bouncy Bouncy" is classing proto-punk-funk, plumbing the nascent grooves of hipster disco and hip-hop. Lyrics echo the late 70s social problems of hippie and disco culture. This is album is a retro mindtrip that's worth digging into in our 2020s world. It sounds fresh despite being drenched in 70s nostalgia.