Sunday, December 30, 2018

Top 10+10 albums of 2018 (+entitled track of the year)

Hello all. It's been a full year musicwise for me, since having to maintain a radio show is an urge to search and find new and interesting music. And, while this can at times feel like an extra burden when added to the everyday life race, in the end it proves rewarding, to say the least. Even at that, looking at other people's lists as the 2018 is ending, I see even more incredible things that escaped my radar, but, then again, this is what lists are for; to discover everything you have missed.
So. here is my list for 2018, coming extra reinforced this year since it features 20(!) albums:


1. Dwarves - Take Back the Night

While it's generally been too hectic and busy throughout 2018 and I never have time to blog as I used to in the old days, the latest opus by grandmasters Dwarves compelled me to drop some lines here when it came out. And while, yes, it was still a bit early to throw out album of the year nominations, Take Back the Night sounded like the one even since then. Although they never actually took much time off and they were always present in one way or another, it seems like the Dwarves are going through a new and fresh teenage phase in the 2010s, enriched with a veteran maturity (hmm not exactly a word to be used here, especially looking at the album cover, but I think you get it). This albums grabs the torch from 2014's Invented Rock 'n' Roll and takes it even further, to heights that it undisputedly puts seeing the Dwarves live at the first place in my bucket list.



2. Alteri - Miseria

What a discovery! This band came out of nowhere for me and sound a lot like the band I would personally imagine to be in ideally. Coming from Cologne, Germany and having risen in 2017 from the ashes of Graben (which I discovered as well in retrospect), Alteri are hardcore/crust punk, atmospheric death metal and death 'n' roll at the same time, in just the right amounts. Miseria is a record that flows flawlessly and promises great things for tomorrow. This is a new favourite band I've just found.


3. Begravningsentreprenörerna - Jämna Plågor

These Finns with the swedish-sounding name and album title are a new discovery as well. They made their first appearance with an EP five years ago and they had been silent since then until they finally delivered their debut LP this year. Although their members come from bands with very different and diverse sounds from within the finnish underground (deathsters Vorum and crust punks Tinner, for instance), Begravningsentreprenörerna present a brilliant first album which, of course doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything like that, but it serves everything in just the right amounts. '90s european rock 'n' roll, '70s hard rock, proto-metal, classic NWOBHM recipes along with many other distinct elements fuse together Jämna Plågor, a sure entry inside this list for me from first listen.



4. Nurse of War - Εις Τόπον Χλοερόν (Is Topon Chloeron)

Athens disco punk all the way! Nurse of War is one more of those cases that I just HAD to shout about despite my zero free time and I did so again on this blog when I had discovered their incredible 2-track single Σιδηρά Παρθένα. Some weeks later, Εις Τόπον Χλοερόν was unleashed on their bandcamp and it immediately ensnared me with its pop architecture dressed with pure rock 'n' roll feeling and '60s garage keyboards throughout. The macabre and dark sarcasm of the lyrics and the sound samples from cult greek movies heard here and there are definitely a plus, and, all in all, we're talking about a record you want to dance to under a dusted discoball until your feet are sore.


5. Michael Guratza - Songs that Speak the Truth

Michael Guratza unexpectedly released this just when 2018 kicked in, on January 2nd. To call Michael (also vocalist/ guitarist/ general mastermind of Bat Signal) a talented musician is the definition of understatement. Songs that Speak the Truth takes you through an inner journey inside the artist's thoughts and feelings, all framed with an indie/ folk/ americana soundscape where the compositions are anything but trivial and are apparently cared for down to the very last detail. Michael's music deserves to be heard by many more people and I hope this happens very soon.


6. Hank Wood and the HammerHeads - s/t

New York garage punk at its best. This is Hank Wood and the Hammerheads' third record, and I think it will be the one to make the difference. While they've been around since the beginning of the decade, I think this is finally the album that lives up to the band's fame of explosive and energetic live shows, according to what everyone's that's seen them reports. With the almost black-sounding voice of Hank and the '60s psychedelic keyboards adding to the whole groove, this is a defintive answer to the face of those poor old "rock 'n' roll is dead" characters.


7. Turbonegro - RockNRoll Machine

A pretty expected entry for me, or at least this is what almost everyone who knows me personally will tell you. The latest Turbonegro album was met with disappointment from the majority of the fans, and I was not really too keen at first either, to be honest. Noone can blame them for misdirection though, as the two songs released during the previous two-year period (Hot for Nietzsche and Special Education) emphatically stated that the band was bound to move to a more glam/ melodic path, away from the aggressive death punk of (Tony Sylvester's debut with the band) Sexual Harrassment, back in 2012. So, if we set aside specific expectations, we have a great record in which Turbonegro experiment with lots of '80s synthwave keyboards, but at the same time they also keep it familiar with AC/DC riffing and sexy and playful themes. Love deathpunk, hate racism!




8. Dirty Wombs - Accursed to Overcome

Full of anticipation after 2016's Wrecked Youth EP, I can say I still was unprepared for this. The Patrans return with their second full-length release and they take their hardcore punk to further heights inserting classic heavy/thrash guitar solos and riffing almost everywhere. In an album that is apparently recorded live in its whole, encapsulating this way explosive amounts of energy and power, Dirty Wombs take a big step to greater audiences, something they more than deserve, as their successful US tour last November demonstrated. Listen to the best and most complete greek hardcore punk record of the year.


9. Supersuckers - Suck It

With the survival of the band at stake after Eddie Spaghetti's surgery for throat cancer removal in 2015, Supersuckers did return this year with a regular record; "regular" meaning that it's not a country one like they did three years back with Holdin' the Bag, but a full-band rock record. Suck It finds Eddie & co in great form, although, if you expected to get something along the lines of their great comeback Get the Hell four years ago, you could be disappointed. This one musically steps more on the Get It Together days, but with definitely more nerve. This is a record that showcases Eddie's skill of songwriting who can pull off sentimental and meaningful rock melodies at pure will, while lyrically things are definitely darker and more cynical this time around. Those who know have already taken notice; the rest, make sure to discover it now and give it a full chance.



10. Καταχνιά (Katachnia) - Κρεσέντο Απελπισίας (Crescendo Apelpisias)

Amid purists that have started accusing Καταχνιά (even since 2016's Στη Σκιά Μιας Λαιμητόμου) for allegedly losing their initial special touch because they have enriched their sound with good amounts of melody and a more catchy approach, comes the new opus of the band, and I have no choice but to humbly bow before its maturity and multi-level approach. Crust punk for the masses? Yes, why not? As long as it doesn't compromise its core message and its extremity, I am all in. Καταχνιά remain extreme but have somehow become more accessible at the same time, maintaining the hype which they fully deserve. If you're among those that automatically stop liking a band just because this band is liked by more people, it's your loss.


on the bench:

11. Azusa - Heavy Yoke
Debut album by this supergroup featuring members of Dillinger Escape Plan, Extol and Sea+Air, which can safely be described as a bipolar rollercoaster. This hardcore/ experimental/ mathcore/ whatever fusion is something I cannot quite "understand", yet it strangely hooks me.








12. Nalyssa Green - Bloom
I was not quick to listen to this and for some reason I put it aside initially until I saw that many friends recommended it and then I had to check it out. It turns out that sweet Nalyssa is a natural songwriter and has a talent for putting emotions on notes in her own unique way. Discover her.


13. Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Highly anticipated after 2016's Devil Is Fine that established the Swiss-US musician in the scene, Stranger Fruit has more complete compositions and is a "fuller" album in general, something that adequately satisfies expectations. One can safely predict that we have many things to expect from this project in the years to come.


14. The Steams - Wild Ferment
Just another Black Angels clone? No thanks. Only that this is anything but the case here. The Steams had caught my ear amid the rain of new releases but what really made me love them was seeing them live and this is the best way for a band to get your attention, if they're up to it. Young psychedelic rockers in sound, punks in attitude. Way to go!


15. Zeke - Hellbender
This was the year that Zeke returned with a brand new record and that fact alone is impossible to go unnoticed. And if this record is a return to the primitive full-throttle-no-brakes Zeke sound, it's an instant masterpiece.


16. The Last Drive - s/t
I basically feel too small to write anything about a Last Drive record. Nevertheless, I will say that I was not overly excited with 2009's Heavy Liquid, but the band is going through a new youth the last years and their new self-titled album is here to prove it. All hail the Drive Tribe!


17. Idles - Joy as an Act of Resistance
What a brilliant band. Tons of personality, appetite for musical boldness, punk edge. Although I still prefer their raw and wild debut Brutalism from last year, this is a more calculated approach to their sound screaming that the Idles are here to stay.


18. Arctic Flowers - Straight to the Hunter
This is Portland's melodic post-punks' third album and I admit that I would rate their previous two releases as closer to mediocre. Coming from this, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Straight to the Hunter is an incredible work with Alex's voice blending perfectly with the music. The future is theirs.


19. Twin Temple - Twin Temple (Bring You Their Signature Sound.... Satanic Doo-Wop)
The new occult hipster hype is here, but, apart from the almost excessive attention to the image detail, here we have some groovy well-played and enjoyable old-school rhythm & blues/proto-garage that makes a very strong case in favour of the Dark Lord. I, at least, was tempted, to say the least.








20. Snakes - No More Songs About Wildflowers
The state of Maryland is known to have a very special case of musical scene. Apart from very good doom/sludge metal, it produces top-tier country music in general. Snakes are charismatic George Cessna's band and their dark folk/country special mix speaks to the hearts of all of us who find King Dude just a tad too cheesy.




As a bonus, and because Reveal (the band I've been a total sucker for since a couple of years ago when I discovered their incredible second album Flystrips) didn't have a new full-length release this year, here is the undisputed song of the year, taken from the band's Opaque/What Pigs Get 7" single, which carries the new Reveal sound and has me begging for more new material:

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Screaming Dead Balloons - L'Un Ar Id (2019)

Screaming Dead Balloons come from Larissa, Greece and they've been around for more than five years now, playing their own groovy mix of noise/psychedelic/kraut rock.
L'Un Ar Id is the title of their upcoming album which is to be released by Vault Relics on 18 January 2019. Here is one preview off it:


Go to https://vaultrelics.bandcamp.com/ to check the album cover and tracklisting and to reserve your own copy of the 12" vinyl, as pre-orders have alreaty started.


Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Nurse of War - Σιδηρά Παρθένα (2018)

This is one to definitely check out! The term "disco punk" never made this much sense. I don't really know whether we should expect something "full-lengthier" soon, later or not at all, but the material already here (and especially 2018's single) has me on my toes!



Sunday, February 25, 2018

Dwarves - Take Back the Night (2018)

The fuckin' Dwarves are back! Four years after Invented Rock & Roll which, for me, signaled the beginning of a fresh brand new youth for the band in some way, Take Back the Night is here to breathe new and fresh life to the myth. The album is a tequila shot (like any good punk album should be) and it just calls for neverending repetitive listens.
It's still a bit early in 2018, but I strongly feel that this could very well be the undisputed top punk album of the year. Ηave a listen for yourself:



Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Ozark

"The Byrdes and their teenage kids, Charlotte and Jonah, are, for all intents and purposes, an ordinary family with ordinary lives. Except for the job of Marty, a Chicago financial advisor who also serves as the top money launderer for the second largest drug cartel in Mexico. When things go awry, Marty must uproot his family from the skyscrapers of Chicago and relocate to the lazy lake region of the Missouri Ozarks."
Netflix's short description, while it can't possible contain every possible aspect of the story, it is pretty much straightforward. For me, it's definitely my favorite new crime series of 2017, and definitely among my all-time top 5. It reminded me of several other series I've loved over the years: Breaking Bad in the aspect of finding oneself in impossible life choices that just obligate you to take some kind of desperate action, Justified in the aspect of finding about a US local area unknown to me before (the Missouri Ozarks in this case). There are several other personal references that could be added here, but the point is that Ozark is a must-see all through its 10-part first season. It's the first time for me to enjoy Jason Bateman in a dramatic role, and the guy is just incredible, while the rest of the cast and production does a remarkable job as well.
This is one of these series that no moment is boring and keeps you on your toes with every development, while every character is well-thought-for and handled in an exemplary manner. I wouldn't want to give away anything about the whole plot, I just need to compel you to watch this. You'll thank me later.

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Michael Guratza - Songs that Speak the Truth (2018)

This is one of the first great surprises in Greek underground music in 2018. Michael Guratza (also the singer/guitarist/mastermind of Bat Signal from Thessaloniki) released this gem on just the second day of the year. Even being aware of his talent and musicianship from his work with his band, this here was anything but expected for me. Michael strips his tunes completely naked of needless and unnecessary bearings and delivers them just as they are; only with his voice and guitar. And this is exactly what they need, since they alone have a reason of existence and are full of emotion. If I had to describe it musically, it all moves within a folk/americana/alternative area, at times borrowing other elements as well (like traditional greek rhythms, for instance), and with Michael giving them his own distinct character. The lyrics add a special spice to it all, overall making this work worthy of getting as much attention as possible. Discover this hidden treasure and spread the word. It really deserves it.