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In alphabetical order after number one...
1. Something Fierce, Don't Be So Cruel (Dirtnap)
I wanted to keep this year-end business strictly alphabetical, but 2011 happened to have a clear winner, and of course Portland's Dirtnap released it. I listened to Don't Be So Cruel more than any other album this year. I wrote about Something Fierce more than any other band this year. This album delivers everything I want from anthemic punk rock: heartache, rage, regret, wonder, faith, pessimism, joy and (duh) hooks galore. I really do think this album should find its way to future shelves and history books as a worthy companion to London Calling. I adore it.
Arctic Flowers, Reveries (Inimical)
Portland's phenomenal Arctic Flowers delivered on the promise of its early recordings with Reveries, which seamlessly stitched myriad sounds--anarcho-punk and crust and post-punk and even some goth--into a sprawling thing of beauty.
GrandFather, Stand in the Corner and Punch Yourself in the Face to Have a Good Time (self-released)
GrandFather's full-length (available as a download at Bandcamp) wins my "Whoa, This Came Out Of Nowhere" award this year. This perfectly titled album is a fierce pummeler with a million fighting styles. Portland's lucky to have this band around. Expect big things.
GridLink, Orphan (Hydra Head)
Possibly the best grind album since Assuck's Misery Index, which came out fifteen years ago (ack!), Orphan is ten minutes of unrelenting, skin-peeling noise pollution. Straight up sick. All hail Jon Chang.
Griever, Inferior EP (Vitriol)
This is how I described Griever back in August: "Griever is what might have happened to Sunny Day Real Estate if Jeremy Enigk had developed an unhealthy crush on Eyehategod instead of a wholesome taste for Christ." I stand behind that statement. This is harsh and gorgeous music for sad stoners. There's nothing else like it.
Pregnancy Scares, demo (self-released)
Pregnancy Scares plays the sinister, slightly spooky sort of superfast hardcore that scads of dime-a-dozen Youth Attack acolytes are attempting these days. This Ottawa, Ontario band just does it really, really well--better than anyone in the world right now, in fact. Keep an ear out.
Retox, Ugly Animals (Ipecac)
Wherein Justin Pearson (The Locust, Holy Molar, Swing Kids, millions more) and friends ditch proggy powerviolence trappings and emerge from the studio with the best truly pissed punk record of the year.
Ripper, Into Oblivion (Blackwater)
This Portland band seems to be committed to lurking in the shadows, which is a shame, because Into Oblivion is a spectacular blast of spiky, Motorhead-obsessed punk fucking rock that should have a much larger audience.
Royal Headache, s/t (R.I.P. Society)
Royal Headache's debut is the best slab of world-weary, lovesick, dizzy-drunk rock 'n' roll since the Strokes' Is This It.
Steve Adamyk Band, Forever Won't Wait (Dirtnap)
Dirtnap capped its triumphant 2011 with this perfect pop-punk record. I like to imagine the Green Day dudes hearing this and hanging their heads in shame. "Holy shit," says Billie Joe, as Mike Dirnt weeps. "We used to be this good," says Tre Cool. And then Green Day decides to make good music again. A dumb dream, sure, but the Steve Adamyk Band might be just that powerful.
Total Control, Henge Beat (Iron Lung)
Henge Beat was the most critically acclaimed punk-ish album of 2011, and for good goddamn reason. Total Control does dour and sexy post-punk better than any of its contemporaries, and Henge Beat is an addictive listen, a sonic tour of a drearier but somehow more seductive world right next to ours.
THE ELEVEN BEST SONGS OF THE YEAR
Arctic Flowers, "Fall to Pieces"
A ferocious demonstration of everything Arctic Flowers does so well. LISTEN
Barreracudas, "Baby Baby Baby"
Tough to pick just one from Barreracudasâ brilliant Nocturnal Missions, but âBaby Baby Babyâ is the tune I couldnât help but crank while high on life and love this year. Glam-punk power pop at its best. LISTEN
The Coathangers, "Hurricane"
The year's number one murder song. I think it's actually about desperately wanting to fuck someone, which just makes the psycho vibe even more exhilarating. So many bands took cues from various strains of goth this year, but it was the Coathangers' take on no wave damage that made me wanna get dark and dance like a lunatic. LISTEN
Company, "Rising Up"
"Rising Up" is the best song from Company's EP, Die On This Island, and Exhibit A in my case for this band's status as Portland's Most Terribly Underappreciated Punks. It sounds to my ears like the band is split down the middle between dudes who love the Replacements and dudes who love Avail. But fuck comparisons. It is simply great melodic punk rock that deserves more listeners. LISTEN
The Happy Thoughts, "Never Gonna Do It"
This is the sound of an idiot falling in and out of love over and over and over again. And you're that idiot, so you listen to this brief blast of heartbroken sentimentality over and over and over again. LISTEN
Hunx and His Punx, "Keep Away From Johnny"
A few months back, a friend of mine mocked me for digging Hunx and His Punx. She said it was all so gimmicky and silly. I concurred, adding: it is also all so tender, moving, glorious, sexy and sad. Steams my windows and makes me cry every time. Oh, and she's not my friend anymore. LISTEN
Royal Headache, "Never Again"
If I wasn't committed to keeping things alphabetical, this tune might top my list. Just listen, please. Goddamn, that voice. That lo-fi fuzz. That everything. LISTEN
Screeching Weasel, "Baby Talk"
Screeching Weaselâs best song since âClaire Monetâ, which came out eighteen years ago. That figure makes my tummy ache. Anyway, Ben Weasel at his best is better than almost everything. Put this one on the greatest hits collection, dude. LISTEN
Shannon and the Clams, "You Will Always Bring Me Flowers"
Shannon is one of Hunxâs Punx, but she also leads her own crew through girl group garage rock numbers like âYou Will Always Bring Me Flowersâ, a resolutely old-fashioned and unapologetically sappy ode to being lovesick. Your mom would like this song. Your mom is right sometimes. LISTEN
Something Fierce, "Empty Screens"
I listened to this song more than any other tune this year. It soundtracked every wonderful and horrible feeling I've had in the last nine months. It is the best song on a perfect album. It is a gift. LISTEN
The Steve Adamyk Band, "Bored of Love"
And here my list dedicated to heartbreak and heart happiness ends, with the Steve Adamyk Bandâs plaintive account of loveâs waning days. This is the song I blasted when I couldnât figure things out, when I needed sounds to get me through the night or at least a few black minutes of a drive through the night. âIâm not tired of you, Iâm tired of me,â goes the chorus, taking me with it. LISTEN
WWeek 2015