WM's Top Ten for 2016

It’s that time of year people, there is snow on the ground, the fireplace is flickering its satanic majesties in the background and I just curled up in my red and green Snuggie^TM with a Jameson neat to give you the gift that keeps on giving.  Yes, it’s time for my Top Ten List of new albums for 2016.  

2016 was a tough year, my spiritual guide Lemmy died three days before it started.  Then Bowie died and everyone else it seems.  But the music of 2016 was amazing.  We saw some new bands and some familiar ones put out an astounding number of great albums.  To put all of those together into a list of ten based on my personal preferences is tough to do because there was so much that I enjoyed this year.  But for you good people, I will do my best.  

10. First up is Mississippi Bones and their fourth release 2600 A.D.: And Other Astonishing Tales.  

Heavy, crusty blues rock from this 6 piece band from Ada, Ohio that is so prolific they don't have time to take themselves too seriously.  2600 A.D. is catchy, very well done and one I found myself going back to frequently this year.  



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9. Next we have from Bordeaux, France Mars Red Sky and their third release Apex III: Praise For The Burning Soul.  The album is a wonderfully crafted, complex journey of sound.  The ability to take a song from the first few notes of massive and crushing fuzz to a delicate meandering piano accompanied only by vocals, as they do in the title track Apex III, shows their mastery of dynamics and arrangement.  

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8. In the eight spot is Nine Years from Montreal, Quebec's Mountain Dust.  Pure, gritty, beautiful heavy blues rock and roll in all it's glory.  Nine Years is one you instantly fall for and fall hard.  It is a turbulent love affair and the emotion is always center stage, but brought forth in tones that shift from boozy bravado to placid introspection.  A tremendous album and now one of my favorite bands.      
   


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7. Orion by King Buffalo takes my seventh spot.  This album is a gorgeous and dizzying journey of heavy riffs and driving percussion delivered with vocal elegance from this Rochester, New York trio.  This is not one of those albums you skip from song to song trying to get to your favorites, it is an experience that can only be undertaken properly from beginning to end.  

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6. Whores. Gold. A raucous front kick in the face that is almost as good as seeing them do what they do in front of a crowd.  This album hits hard again and again and then it hits you once more for good measure after the cops have locked them in handcuffs.  This three piece out of Atlanta, Georgia have made an album that has taken aggression to its most beautiful state, completely raw and unforgiving with the sarcastic brilliance of the lyrics being the only thing as malleable as the title of the album.

     

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5. In my fifth spot I have the return of one of my favorite bands.  Greek stoner legends 1000mods brought us their third full length release Repeated Exposure To... and it is everything I could have wanted. 

 
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4. Coming in at the number four spot is the London four piece Elephant Tree and their self-titled first full length album.  This album is beautiful, cohesive and impressive.  Combining elements of blues, stoner rock, doom and psychedelia this is where music is headed.  The sixth track Echoes is my song of the year and a great illustration of their abilities to bring all these elements together and move music forward.  

 
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3. In the third spot is Swan Valley Heights from Munich, Germany and their self-titled debut.  You know you are listening to something special when after each spin you find something more to enjoy, your favorite song changes again and again until it covers every single one on the album.  This album is a masterpiece. 

 
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2. The second spot goes to Borlänge, Sweden's one and only Greenleaf and their Rise Above The Meadow.  With each listen I am more impressed with the talent, songwriting ability and obvious love of their craft that these four gentlemen possess.  Individually they are all amazing in their own right, together as they show through this release they are somehow even more.   

 

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1.  My album of the year goes to Boston's own Gozu and their fourth release Revival.  What struck me from my first listen of Revival is how resolute these four gentlemen are in their single purpose of  bringing something different and truly their own to the table.  To do so with the precision, style and fearlessness they display on this album is a triumph we all get to share. 
 
 

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King Buffalo: Live Review-Orion

I recently had the chance to catch up with our brothers from Rochester, New York, King Buffalo at Pittsburgh's own Club Cafe. Freeing myself from the mundane activities of a Tuesday evening for the enigmatic efforts of the New York natives I was treated to live cuts off of their freshman LP entitled Orion. A name fitting the spacey and psychedelic aura that has enshrined the trio since the falling of their 2013 Demo EP. If you have yet to spin said demo, do yourself a favor, scroll back a few words and click the link. Tunes like Pocket Full of Knife and Providence Eye don't just fall into your lap every day. The dreamy licks and spiraling rhythmic swirl of Providence Eye where near masterpiece material. Any fan of heavy psychedelia won't need too many spins to find that Orion is up to the task of satisfying those moist ears.

Orion delivers a psychedelic-punch that few modern day rock bands can deliver. Throughout the evening the Pittsburgh fans enjoyed Sean's guitar devotion and distortion pedal mastery which evoked a by-gone era of guitar virtuosos. Sure, there are tons of excellent guitar players out there, many that can incorporate the very same things with the right amount of distortion, but Sean and King Buffalo just let it come from the heart... and that my friends it what sets them apart. Scott and Dan's work pulse through the bodies very fibers, raising the hair on the sonically intoxicated listeners. Soaring higher, Orion's sub-structure of songs melds and fuses with one another building into an euphoric frenzy that complete the record. Subsequent listens only allow the listener to realize the immense growth King Buffalo have achieved throughout these recent years. Not only is it apparent throughout Orion, but even more so during a live set.

Orion is due out August 5th and can be purchased here. Pick up a copy and immerse your auditory cortex in King Buffalo's space-blues caravan or catch them on tour!

Members:
Scott Donaldson - Drums // Vocals
Sean McVay "Uranium Jesus" - Guitar // Synth // Lead Vocals
Dan Reynolds - Bass // Synth



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Sunday Split: Lé Betre / King Buffalo

The devil's in the details, they say. I'd argue the devil IS the details. What else could explain how Goddamn delicious things can turn out when mass production is given the middle finger and boutique labels craft a product this enticing? I don't know who sold their soul, but the attention STB records devotes to its DIY ethos is incredible. The label has already proven they're no underdog, taking mere minutes to sell out of nearly every album they've released. But how has it remained sustainable? Especially considering the dearth of vinyl pressing plants paired with increased demand (not to mention all that Record Store Day bullshit).

Last month, STB delivered a 12" tandem from Goya and Wounded Giant, executing telegraphed stoner/sludge/doom and flattening our senses. The gorgeous slab o' wax brought with it an announcement of what fans could expect next: A heavy blues split showcase between Sweden's Lé Betre and Rochester's King Buffalo. Any way you dissect it, this beast covers every hunky corner and finds two perfect marriages. First, the bands fit side-by-side like round pegs, demonstrating echoes bounced off one another while suffering no busted continuity from Side A to Side B. Second is the marvel of bracketed senses, locking the visual with the aural and sending listeners skyshot into another time and place.

Lé Betre's plucky, psych-y fuzz-fest is auspiciously introduced on the quick cruise of Gowns & Crowns. Spooky elements keep us grounded only so long before we're brought up from the thicket and flung to another continent in another era. Snake Eyes smacks us upright under massive riffs, lifting like smoke and plunging like slow-motion boulders razing the hillside. Marcus Jonsson's vocal goes classic without being derivative as a riff-resin accumulates, ultimately sending us toward a fuzz-bath closer.

By The Great White Lights slows with a somber strum before rupturing into a punchy, mossy exposal. Basslines motor this stoner-blues cruise before breaking under the simplicity of fireside lament. Jesper Eriksson sifts ash in search of bony answers, shifting moods and tempos. Stomps become shuffles, shuffles become focused trots. And the coiled, revved heaviness of Mother crushes under the weight of all of Side A. Riffs weave, cymbals emit dust, and the trodden whole is fucking brilliant. As the thickness parts, take a breath. Lé Betre end on one final, gravel-drenched promise.

Vinyl's warmth augments King Buffalo's brand of spray-painted fur, blasting a blues crunch on New Time. A distant vocal float chases the steady stoner bass-roll, while guitars flaunt a late, fixated solo. Whew, thickness abounds! Alternatively, Like A Cadillac maintains the riff-'n-roll atop a more upbeat, beer-spilt bar jam. Guitars rolls downhill and storm back, breaking strummy passages with dust storm spirals, shimmying with furry comfort and smiling at every oncoming bump in the road. This is just too fun.

On the eleven-minute Providence Eye, KB build repetitive blues progressions toward a spacey dust-roll, an extended jam of deliberate assertions. Structuring steadily, one brick after another, this closer escalates heavenward on the gradual foundations formed. Thunderous roll-outs swell and contract to craft a sound that's immersive and captivating. Guitars flex for their marquee just before pacing gives a second wind. These cats know what they're doing, hitting the brakes and plugging holes with chugging riffs. Lacing their trademarks through a steady dousing of sandy, spicy deliciousness, this trio's punching their ticket.

Experiencing these sounds on any format other than vinyl is certainly better than a kick in the neck with a golf shoe, but why reach for ground beef with prime rib on the grill? The precision and care put into the craft reach their pinnacle on this split, offering the warmest and truest delivery of an already incredible sound. Whatever's coursing through the veins of STB Records is adept at sniffing out chops, and everyone involved with this split gets today's nod.

Check out the links below at 12:00 Noon EST on February 21st. Trust us, they'll go fast.

STB Records | STB Bandcamp | STB Facebook | Lé Betre Bandcamp | Lé Betre Facebook | King Buffalo Bandcamp | King Buffalo Site | King Buffalo Facebook