Bad Year
My Escape
Snappy Little Numbers (2019)
Snappy Little Numbers make some snappy packaging. Cover art, one-sided vinyl and specialty colors shouldn’t drive musical decision-making but, let’s face it, in the digital era it definitely makes a difference when you pick up a record that stands out from the pack. And as an uncle who has spent a lot of time watching Ninjago and making internal judgments that it’s basically the modern toy line version of G.I. Joe, well…this Bad Year record was all too eye-catching.Bad Year is a Denver pop-punk band with a lot of familiar faces from previous bands. The voices sound a lot like fellow Denverites BlackDots but as far as I can tell, I don’t think they share members – just sonic elements. They do, however, have current and former members of Down By Law, Spells, My Pal Trigger, The Manxx, and a whole bunch more.In other words, the band is experienced. It shows in the arrangements, which utilize simple less-is-more songwriting with flourishes in just the right spots to give it that extra kick. The guitars are often repetitive, setting the tone for vocal harmonies that push the songs into the next gear. It’s somewhat choppy, working in contrast to group vocals … Read more
Bernays Propaganda
Vtora Mladost, Treta Svetska Vojna
Moonlee Records, Geenger Records, Pop Depresija, Ill in the Head, Balkan Ve (2019)
Nothing is certain except that everything will change. The fact that change is one of the only things you can … Read more
Black Lips
…Sing In a World That’s Falling Apart
Fire Records/Vice Records (2020)
In an era of heart-on-sleeve Americana, the Black Lips are up to something else on …Sing In a World That’s … Read more
(මහසෝනා)*
යන්ත්ර.මන්ත්ර.ගුරුකම්!
Virvpi Propaganda (2020)
Given that I’ve put together year-end lists of the strangest albums I heard for the past couple years, I was … Read more
Personality Cult
New Arrows
Dirtnap (2020)
I like to find new bands. One of the challenges as I get older is exactly that. I listen to … Read more
