2018 Year End Longlist, Part 1

It's that time of year again - actually that time of year seems to arrive sooner every year - and I'm in the process of whittling down my longlist to arrive at my Top 20 for my FOURTEENTH ANNUAL (!!) countdown show on UMFM on NYE. As I narrow the field I'll start sharing what I considered but didn't make the cut and due to a particularly LONG longlist, I'm just going to post a track from each without any commentary. There's no order to what I'll be listing in each entry, but some of these song selections might end up on my Top 20 songs even if the album didn't make the Top 20 as a whole. Hope you make some discoveries as you work your way through the list.

Curtis Roush - Cosmic Campfire Music [Modern Outsider]


Anna Burch - Quit the Curse [Polyvinyl]


Gizelle Smith - Ruthless Day [Jalapeno]


Kirsten Ludwig - We Get It Now [Oscar St. Records]


The Brothers Nylon - Bitches Cold Brew [Resistant Mindz]


Eric Chenaux - Slowly Paradise [Constellation]


Imarhan - Temet [City Slang]


Jeff Rosenstock - POST- [Polyvinyl]


The James Hunter Six - Whatever It Takes [Daptone]


Calexico - The Thread That Keeps Us [Anti-]


Yamantaka//Sonic Titan - Dirt [Paper Bag]


MAST - Thelonious Sphere Monk [World Galaxy]


Typhoon - Offerings [Roll Call]


Superchunk - What A Time To Be Alive [Merge]


Palm - Rock Island [Carpark]

Hackney Colliery Band - "Superhero Disco (The Reflex Version)"

Early Christmas present from label Wah Wah 45s as they approach their twentieth anniversary. Hackney Colliery Band are longtime RR faves and it's nice to hear the Reflex version of "Superhero Disco" as part of this mammoth (26 songs!) compilation of nuggets from the UK label remixed, re-worked or otherwise reconsidered. Also featuring tracks from the likes of Henri-Pierre Noel, Dele Sosimi and the Gene Dudley Group among others, this is a nice taste of what the label consistently cooks up, but with a few extra spices thrown in.

Coro Qom Chelaalapi Meets Lagartijeando - "Lapacho"

Lagartijeando first came to my attention last year when they released El Gran Poder on Wonderwheel Recordings. It's a marriage of electronic beats and traditional Andean music and it is totally in my wheelhouse. Now Lagartijeando has teamed up with the choir from an indigenous tribe called Coro Qom Chelaalapi. To quote the blurb on the Bandcamp page: "The choir formed as a means of passing down their culture to future generations in the absence of any formal records. They have been declared a living cultural heritage by UNESCO." Needless to say that got my attention and this all-too-brief EP is a delight and an unique release. Don't sleep on Revision.

Admiral - "Lonely Palms Couch Party"

I don't know what or where a "Lonely Palms Couch Party" is, but if this is the soundtrack I want to be invited. Such a relaxed groove to this tune. That underwater bass line and the crisp snap of the snare keeping the party moving while the organ stabs make it interesting.

Otis Jr. & Dr. Dundiff - "Need To Know"

If - like me - you were a fan of "The 1" from Louisville duo Otis Jr. & Dr. Dundiff then you need to know that their sophomore release is due out December 14th. Cool clearly builds on what was established on Hemispheres and first single "Need To Know" features the signature vocal swoop at the beginning of the track as it did on so many of the cuts from their debut. Adding this album to my Christmas list.

Julia Jacklin - "Body"

The Jacklin is Back(lin)! Aussie RR fave Julia Jacklin dropped a new track last month and it seems fitting that it took til now for me to come across it as the tune itself is a slow burner that demonstrates Jacklin's laconic delivery and storytelling capabilities in equal measure.

Kirsten Ludwig - "Something I Wanted To Know"

I'm not sure when I first landed on Kirsten Ludwig's Facebook page, but at some point I 'liked' it and so when her new album We Get It Now showed up in this morning's mail from Oscar St. Records, the name resonated. And on the topic of resonating, while I was in from opener "Back to Bed," it was the closing track that did me in and fully won me over. There is a hush to this entire record, but it's most effectively deployed on this languid waltz of a tune that is the epitome of melancholy. Ludwig's voice barely rises above a whisper and yet it soars beyond the reach of the ringing, reverbed guitars. This is some Galaxie 500 fronted by Tamara Lindeman type stuff here and the beautiful pairing of music and voice might distract you from just how gutting lyrics like "I wish you knew / The woman I was / Two years ago / When I felt like someone" actually are.