We spend all year talking about metal and reviewing albums that come at us like a non-stop storm that’s impossible to weather. But in our downtime, we listen to plenty of other things. These are presented in alphabetical order, and it’s not quite the daring list I’d like it to be. But it’s been a hard, unforgiving year, and these are the records that gave me sense, placated my anger, warmed my agitation, and brought needed comfort.
BIG GARDEN, “To the Rind” (Gilead Media): It’s a non-metal list, and these are metal guys on a mostly metal label paying homage to the grunge heyday of the 1990s with absolute exuberance. Thou’s Mitch Wells is the driving force behind Big Garden, and his Thou bandmate Matthew Thudium provides vocals, taking us back to when Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Hum, and Pearl Jam were driving forces behind popular music. This record is a joy to experience, and you can tell how much they loved making this throwback beast. (June 30)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.instagram.com/big_gardennnn/
To buy the album, go here: https://gileadmedia.net/products/big-garden-to-the-rind-lp
For more on the label, go here: https://gileadmedia.net/
INDIGO DE SOUZA, “All of This Will End” (Saddle Creek): “Younger and Dumber,” the final track on Indigo DeSouza’s excellent “All of This Will End,” is one of the best songs of the entire year, a letter to her less-experienced self from a place of more knowledge, acknowledging pain she let others exact. It’s a great reminder to be kind to our younger versions. “You Can Be Mean,” “Wasting Your Time,” and “Smog” are other highlights of this indie rock artist’s emotional and vulnerable collection, her third and best yet. (April 28)
For more on the band, go here: https://facebook.com/Indigofaraway/
To buy the album, go here: https://saddle-creek.com/collections/new-releases/products/all-of-this-will-end
For more on the label, go here: https://saddle-creek.com/
MEGA BOG, “End of Everything” (Mexican Summer): This project helmed by Erin Birgy feels like something that leaked out of wormhole from the 1970s late nights, feeling like it holds lounge smoke, poppy sentiment, and experimental weirdness that’s disarmingly charming. “The Clown” is an earworm that tunnels well within your brain, and other high points are “Cactus People,” “Don’t Doom Me,” and the closing title track. Its NSFW cover art actually gives you a good idea about what you’re about to experience as it pays off the naked strangeness. (May 19)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/megabogmusic/
To buy the album, go here: https://shop.mexicansummer.com/
For more on the label, go here: https://mexicansummer.com/
MITSKI, “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We” (Dead Oceans): Honestly, any year Mitski releases a record, it’ll most likely end up on my list. If you’ve been on TikTok, there’s no way you haven’t heard her breakout hit “My Love Mine All Mine,” and that’s a pretty good representative of this warm, folkish, approachable record that dials back the experimentation just a bit. “Heaven,” “I Don’t Like My Mind,” and “Bug Like an Angel” are personal favorites, though there’s not a bad song on here. (Sept. 15)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/MitskiLeaks/
To buy the album, go here: https://www.secretlystore.com/dead-oceans
For more on the label, go here: https://deadoceans.com/
PILE, “All Fiction” (Exploding in Sound): Rick Maguire’s long-running Pile can be earnest, menacing, and emotionally pulsating all in the same track, and the band’s eighth record “All Fiction” more than capably follows up 2019’s great “Green and Gray.” The record starts off unassuming with the quiet and echo-rich “It Comes Closer” before we’re into snarling and snaking “Loops,” with Maguire jabbing, “Tell me are you being honest? I would never lie to you.” You can practically taste the deceit. It keeps pushing and pulling from there, keeping your undivided attention all the way. (Feb. 17)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/pileof/
To buy the album, go here: https://www.explodinginsoundrecords.com/store
For more on the label, go here: https://www.explodinginsoundrecords.com/
SLOWDIVE, “Everything Is Alive” (Dead Oceans): Slowdive’s demise in 1995 (their Mojave 3 days aside) and sudden reunion a decade ago capped off a dead space for the hyper-influential English band, and “Everything Is Alive” is their second record since reforming. It’s also one of their best, an album that easily grows on you and continues to work into your bloodstream. Their shoegaze tendencies remain, but these songs feel a little more human, containing tracks that might feel like they relate a little more to your life. Maybe that’s aging or experience or the grief that they were wrestling, but this band is still a dream come true, and the best parts are “Andalucia Plays,” “Kisses,” and “Prayer Remembered.” (Sept. 1)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Slowdive/
To buy the album, go here: https://www.secretlystore.com/dead-oceans
For more on the label, go here: https://deadoceans.com/
SPRAIN, “The Lamb as Effigy” (The Flenser): Sprain sadly is no more, but their “The Lamb as Effigy” (it has a much, much longer actual title) was like an electrical stab to the brain. If you’re easily rattled by music that’s bluntly honest and exposed, you might want to consider your surroundings before tackling this. Trauma is front and center, the words can pierce your flesh, and the music feels like a living, breathing organism that was made up on the spot, which makes it feel so damn spontaneous. The run time is almost two hours, and there are times where you feel like you’re witness to a mental meltdown in real time. But it’s so jarring and memorable and indescribable and weird and warped that maybe I understand why Sprain exists no more. (Sept. 1)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/spraintheband
To buy the album, go here: https://nowflensing.com/collections/sprain
For more on the label, go here: https://nowflensing.com/
YVES TUMOR, “Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)” (Warp): Sean Lee Bowie’s reign as Yves Tumor has been a riveting and revelatory one, and their fifth record is a mix of electronic power, pop, rock, punk, R&B and a ton more, but it’s their charisma that really makes these pieces and this album work so well. From the first time I heard this album, I couldn’t get multiple songs out of my head such as “Lovely Sewer,” his duet with Kida; killer opener “God Is a Circle”; “Operator” that totally reminds of Prince; and “Fear Evil Like Fire.” (March 17)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/yvestumor/
To buy the album, go here: https://warp.net/shop
For more on the label, go here: https://warp.net/
WEDNESDAY, “Rat Saw God” (Dead Oceans): If I had to pick a favorite non-metal record, this fifth album from North Carolina’s Wednesday might be the one. It took me a few listens to get used to the band’s frayed and warped rock that tends to be wonderfully all over the map. The band is noisy and punchy, and their southern roots show quite a bit, which is a wonder to behold, especially taking on the many gems hidden here including “Chosen to Deserve,” which is one of my favorite songs of the year, “Bath County” “Turkey Vultures,” and electric epic “Bull Believer.” (April 7)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/WednesdayTheBand/
To buy the album, go here: https://www.secretlystore.com/dead-oceans
For more on the label, go here: https://deadoceans.com/
JESS WILLIAMSON, “Time Ain’t Accidental” (Mexican Summer): Austin singer-songwriter Jess Williamson made her mark with me on her last album “Sorceress,” and her new record “Time Ain’t Accidental” continues that momentum. There’s a sense to Williamson’s music that is relatable, like the tales she tells in her country-rich songs are things you’ve experienced as well, and she’s giving you a piece of her heart that’s battered like yours. “Hunter” and “Chasing Spirits” get the record off the ground early, and along the way we visit “Something’s in the Way,” “Stampede,” and “Roads,” and at the end of it, you feel like you know the artist a little more personally, which only helps her achieve peak engagement. (June 9)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/jesswilliamsonmusic/
To buy the album, go here: https://shop.mexicansummer.com/
For more on the label, go here: https://mexicansummer.com/
Meat Mead Metal 