The Mountain Goats - “The Ultimate Jedi Who Wastes All The Other Jedi And Eats Their Bones"

According to Rian Johnson, the director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, this new song from The Mountain Goats is canon. 

Molly Burch - "Try"

Not a cover of the Blue Rodeo classic, this tune from Los Angeles' Molly Burch does have a throwback roots feel, but much more of a Laurel Canyon thing. Love the keys.

Gypsy Mamba - "Volcano Sunset"

Alpha Pup's been killing it lately. Josef Leimberg's LP was in my Top 10 of 2016, and in the past two days they've dropped tracks from Ronald Bruner Jr. (Thundercat's bro) and now this tasty cut from Gypsy Mamba's forthcoming Magnetic Syndromes.

Snoh Aalegra - "Feels"

Described as the lovechild of Amy Winehouse and Lana Del Ray on Twitter, it's an apt summation and "Feels" seems especially fitting coming off a weekend that gave me a lot of them. Shout out to @whoistheELLE

Chip Wickham - "Sling Shot"

This shit bounces like crazy!!! Cannot wait for the full-length. La Sombra's out tomorrow.

Bastien Keb - "Pick Up"

Not as flame as "Chicken Stomp," the first track from Bastien Keb's forthcoming 22.05.85 is a bit of a slow-burner, but it's a promising taste of more to come.

Otis Junior & Dr. Dundiff - "Why Can't You (Just Come For Conversation)"

WAAAAY back in March of 2016 I featured a cut from this duo and it ended up being my number one song of 2016.  It's pretty much twelve months to the day that the pair finally drop a full-length - Hemispheres - on Jakarta Records. Here's the first single.

Miles Mosley - Uprising

The actual uprising may happen sooner (cough cough Saturday? cough), but UPRISING, the debut record from Miles Mosley - a Kamasi Washington collaborator - comes out in just 11 days. Mark your calendar accordingly. That's the one that notes it's Martin Luther King Jr. day today.

Shadowgraphs - "Countryside"

Out of North Carolina and and out on Golden Brown in April, Venomous Blossoms from Shadowgraphs seems hella promising based on "Countryside" and that swirling organ.

Minus the Bear - "Invisible"

Had kinda forgotten about Minus the Bear. But "Invisible" puts them back on the radar with those great guitars and a killer hook that has me looking forward to Voids release on March 3, 2017 on Suicide Squeeze.

Quelle Chris - "Calm Before (ft. Cavalier and Suzi Analog)"

This track percolates. Can't wait to drink up the full-length when it drops February 10th.

Shadow J. Brown - "Doctor Mister Wunderkind"

This instrumental from one of my favourite discoveries of 2016, Shadow J. Brown, is a nice easy way to slide into 2017.  The bass is insistent but those keys are mellow af.

Dirty Projectors - "Little Bubble"

It's been a minute since we've had some new Dirty Projectors so this is among my most anticipated releases of the new year. Sounds like Dave's been listening to some James Blake in the interim.

2016 - Top 20 Albums

So, after a healthy batch of great records profiled in seven longlist posts, it's time for the fantastic stuff. My Top 20 was revealed on the 12th annual countdown show on UMFM, but if you didn't catch that on NYE, here's the skinny.

20 Tiff The Gift - It Gets Greater Later [Don't Sleep Records]



19 Library Tapes - Escapism [Independent]



18 Wadada Leo Smith - America's National Parks [Cuneiform]



17 Dori Freeman - Dori Freeman [Free Dirt Records]



16 Bill Laurance - Aftersun [GroundUP]



15 Jamila Woods - HEAVN [Closed Sessions]



14 Klô Pelgag - l'Etoile thoracique [Independent]



13 Kadhja Bonet - The Visitor [Fat Possum]



12 Black Mountain - IV [Dine Alone/Jagjaguwar]



11 Shabaka and the Ancestors - Wisdom of the Elders [Brownswood Recordings]



10 Josef Leimberg - Astral Progressions [World Galaxy/Alpha Pup]



09 BADBADNOTGOOD - IV [Innovative Leisure]



08 Anderson. Paak - Malibu [Steel Wool]



07 HINDS - Leave Me Alone [Mom + Pop]



06 Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book [Independent]



05 Kaytranada - 99.9% [XL Recordings]



04 Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math [ATO Records]



03 Aidan Knight - Each Other [Fulltime Habit]



02 David Bowie - Blackstar [RCA]



01 A Tribe Called Red - We Are The Halluci Nation [Radicalized Records]