The Absolute Best Records of 2019

Wrapping up my eighth year of doing this dumb website, I'm really impressed by how many great records came out this year.  While it felt like a slow year for a while, it really picked up in the latter half.  Any year where Snuff and Steve Adamyk Band don't make the top ten is a pretty incredible year of music (and both of those records were great, I think they would be easy top ten most years).

To be completely honest, my favorite record of the year was probably the one I helped put out on PopKid:

Shoplifters - Secret Free World - PopKid /Brassneck / Waterslide / Bartolini / White Russian

That said, I feel weird ranking records I released, so I'm going to disqualify them from the official ranking.  It would have been a tough battle for first place as I think I listened to Foxhall Stacks, Shoplifters and Warp Lines more than any other records this year.  Potty Mouth was right up there as well.  Denomi and Turncoat represented Japan this year, though I didn't actually write about the Turncoat record as a vinyl version is going to come out next year, so I'll take pictures of that one once it's out.

It was also great to hear the hitmakers from years past still kicking ass this year.  The Subjunctives, Bob Mould and J. Robbins all put out records just as good as any of their former bands put out in the 90s.

01 - Foxhall Stacks - The Coming Collapse - Snappy Little Numbers (Listen)
02 - Warp Lines - Human Fresh - Dirt Cult (Listen)
03 - Potty Mouth - SNAFU - Get Better (Listen)
04 - Denomi - It's Never Too Late, Go Forward - With One Accord (Listen)
05 - The Subjunctives - Sunshine And Rainbows - Top Drawer (Listen)
06 - Turncoat – My Dear Ex - Waterslide (Listen)
07 - Jacob Turnbloom - Cemetery Luau - Cheddar Goblin (Listen)
08 - Bob Mould - Sunshine Rock - Merge (Listen)
09 - J. Robbins - Un-Becoming - Dischord (Listen)
10 - More Kicks - More Kicks - Dirt Cult / Snap / Beluga / Wanda / Adrenalin Fix (Listen)

11 - Steve Adamyk Band - Paradise - Dirtnap
12 - Snuff - There's A Lot Of It About - Fat Wreck
13 - Notches - New Kinda Love - Dead Broke / Salinas
14 - Adult Magic - Adult Magic - Dead Broke
15 - Chilton - Little Birds - Dead Broke
16 - Laika's Orbit - Chosen No Ones - Dead Broke
17 - Good Shade - Way Out - Dirtnap
18 - Crocodile God - Thirteen - Brassneck / Crackle
19 - Hidden Spots - New Me / New You - Dead Broke
20 - Unlikely Friends - We Blast Last - Bill Clinton

Other Records I Picked Up This Year:

Abolitionist - Ugly Feeling - 1859 Records/No Time Records/Between The Days/Different Kitchen
A Giant Dog - Neon Bible - Merge
Brat Curse - Brat Curse - Just Because
Flashlights - Shadows and Lights - Secret Mission
Herzog - Me vs. You - Exit Stencil
Mike Krol - Power Chords - Merge
The Pretty Flowers - Golden Beat Sessions - Self Released / Dirt Cult
Spit-take - Falling Star - Dead Broke
State Drugs - Takings & Leavings - Snappy Little Numbers / Toxic Pop
Superchunk - AF - Merge

Previously:
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

Notches - New Kinda Love LP

Dead Broke / Salinas (2019)

This will be my last post of 2019 aside from my end of the year list that I'll have up early next week.  There are still some records from this year that I didn't get to, but I wanted to make sure I fit in most of the real heavy hitters.  You can definitely call New Kinda Love a heavy hitter as even though it's come out at the very, very end of the year, it's good enough to be a decent disruptor in my 2019 album rankings.  

I wrote about the first Notches album a few years ago (and somehow missed the 2nd one entirely?) and back then I compared them favorably to Rumspringer.  I still that's a pretty solid comparison, though I think Notches have an even stronger grasp of putting together a killer vocal melody.  They maintain a really great balance of noisy and crunchy guitar sounds with super melodic hooks and choruses.  In some ways they reming me of early Archers of Loaf with their guitar squalls, but Notches are more rooted in a pop punk sound than Archers were.

I really dig this album a lot and only wish I had a little more time to spend with New Kinda Love before writing about it.  I have a feeling that if it had come out a little earlier in the year I probably would end up liking it even more than I do right now, but it's very obvious how strong a record this is with only a week's worth of plays.  Probably the last great record of the decde.

Notches - New Kinda Love:

https://deadbrokerekerds.bandcamp.com/album/new-kinda-love

Brat Curse - S/T LP

Just Because (2019)

I've been trying desperately to get through as many of the 2019 records as I can before I put together my end of the year best of list. While this felt like a slow year for records overall, it feels like the floodgates have opened over the past couple of months.  There's no way I'm going to get through everything as I plan on posting my year end list on Monday, but I'm trying to get through a few last minute additions.

Brat Curse are a band that my buddy Scott likes, he's where I first heard their name mentioned.  Now that I've been able to listen to the record, I can see what he was on about.  Brat Curse are playing a fuzzy, lower fidelity strain of guitar pop that has rough edges where I like them and strong hooks where I need them.  There are elements of Superchunk to their songs, particularly when they slow things down a bit.  But in their faster moments, what they remind me most of is a slightly noisier Tight Bros.  I loved that Tight Bros record and wish they had made more, but Brat Curse is standing in nicely with their debut LP.

I really like this record and though I've only been able to listen to it a few times, it already feels like a grower to me, the sort of album I'm going to enjoy more the more I listen to it.  Could be a good last minute gift to yourself.

Brat Curse - S/T LP:
https://justbecauserecords.bandcamp.com/album/brat-curse

Gene Autry - Merry Christmas Christmas You All 7"

Columbia (1952)

As Christmas day falls on a Wednesday, we're going to skip Ed Lover Dance Day for this week.  While I know a lot of folks would try to make me believe that "Christmas In Hollis" fits the bill as a Christmas song, for me it's just a little too gimmicky and doesn't really put me in the same sort of place as something a bit more melodic.

When it comes to melody at Christmas time, you'd be hard pressed to find someone better than Gene Autry.  Gene Autry is the purveyor of many of my very favorite traditional Christmas tunes and while he doesn't always get mentioned in the same breath as a Bing Crosby or a Perry Como (Or those Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer people), his catalog of Christmas tunes is second to none.

The two songs on this 7" are not two of his most well known, but they are two of my favorites.  Gene was known as the Singing Cowboy in the 50s and was part of many of the kid friendly westerns of the era.  Now I'll be honest, I've never seen any of those, but I'm impressed by the cross marketing he came up with to make those cowboy fans grab a Christmas record of his.  "Merry Texas Christmas You All" is one of my all time favorites.  Over a bed of slide guitar, acoustic strumming and rousing woodwinds, Gene tells us about how Texans see things a bit differently from the sort of Christmas songs you usually hear full of snow, but they are as jolly and festive as the next folks.

"Twas The Night Before Christmas (In Texas, That Is)" goes down a similar path as the A side, paining Santa Claus as more of a cowboy character on his 'buck board' filling little kids boots with candy galore.  While I always really liked these songs as a kid, I've grown to love them even more as I've gotten older, especially as my wife is from Texas.  While she never heard these songs growing up, I've really enjoyed sharing them with her and they've become part of our yearly Christmas music traditions.

Gene Autry - "Merry Texas Christmas You All":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onGs1BaA7co

Gene Autry - "Twas The Night Before Christmas (In Texas, That Is)":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agLmsP3wZIk

The Mavericks - Hey! Merry Christmas!

Mono Mundo (2018)

I came across this album digging through Connor Ratliff's Rolling Stone article where he reviewed fifty plus Christmas records that had come out last year (I keep waiting for his 2019 version, but alas, it hasn't shown up yet).  I came across that list as I was trying to find records similar to last year's sensational JD MacPherson album.  That is one of the all time great additions to my Christmas playlist, so if I could find more like that, I'd be quite pleased.  That's would led me to this Mavericks record.

While I was originally taken by the fun artwork, it was the opening track "Christmas Time Is (Coming 'Round Again)" that sealed the deal and made me pick up the vinyl.  It has that Phil Spector influenced instrumentation along with a timeless vocal melody that I can really get behind.  There's so many wonderful Christmas songs in the world that have been kicking around for decades.  I'm most excited by the folks writing new songs that fit into that mold rather than a new take on a song I already have seventeen versions of.

The one unfortunate thing is that this first song is probably the highlight of the album.  Aside from the excellent title track "Hey! Merry Christmas!," most of the other songs are merely good.  While fun songs to throw down on a mix, listening to the whole album start to finish does kind of highlight the overall shortcomings of record.  Still, the songs "Hey! Merry Christmas!" and "Christmas Time Is (Coming 'Round Again)" are bonafide hits and many of the others work fine plugged into my sixteen and a half hour Christmas playlist.

The Mavericks - Hey! Merry Christmas! (YouTube full album playlist):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3MEA2U72fk&list=OLAK5uy_kENw09AzNWrPu-gie8MXikAW9vOShbt-E

Los Straitjackets - Complete Christmas Songbook 2xLP

Yep Rock (2018)

Every year I spend a lot of time fine tuning my Christmas music playlist.  It's a yearly tradition where I add some new tunes, remove some that no longer hold up and generally try to set the mood for the holiday season.  This year, nothing from 2019 has really jumped out at me, but I have picked up a couple of records from last year, one of which is this Los Straitjackets LP.

This LP compiles their Christmas 10" Yuletide beat, their LP 'Tis The Season For Los Straitjackets and a few 7" and compilation songs.  Since I already had the LP and 10", I also already had the vast majority of the songs on this double LP, but for some reason I was still drawn to add this to the collection.  Partly for the few extra songs I didn't have, but also so I could have everything in one nice, easy to play package.

These songs are great. Christmas tunes done in the surf instrumental way very similar to what the Ventures did on my favorite ever Christmas album.  Maybe too similar from time to time as the Los Straitjackets version of "Sleigh Ride" is essentially a cover version of the Ventures tune.  But Los Straitjackets also take on songs that the ventures never did and it's here where their contributions to Christmas really shine.  "Marshmallow World" is one of the best and it's actually the song that made me look into these guys in the first place.  I think I heard it first in The Gap one year and my wife managed to figure out who it was.  I'm glad she did as Los Straitjackets have really become one of my favorite yearly Christmas traditions.

Los Straightjackets - Complete Christmas Songbook:
https://losstraitjackets.bandcamp.com/album/complete-christmas-songbook

More Kicks - S/T LP

Dirt Cult / Snap / Beluga / Wanda / Adrenalin Fix (2019)

We've got another late entry into the 2019 record list sweepstakes, creating havoc for me as I try to put together my best of list.  This is one of the reasons why I always wait until a day or two before the end of the year to post my list.  There's always a few records that I end up getting at the last possible moment.  When a record is as good as this More Kicks album is, I absolutely do not mind the list disruption.

What a great power pop record this is, reminding me right away of the less frantic moments of the Cute Lepers at times.  There are so many tremendous hooks and vocal melodies throughout the album.  They are on display during the more uptempo numbers like "What A Mess You Make" and "It's a Drag" just as much as they are on the more subdued "You Left A Stain On Me" and "Ain't That Just The Way."  There are moments where I get the same sort of feelings as I get when listening to early Ted Leo and there are other times where I'm positive this is straight up Mega City Four worship.  No matter what references I hear hints of, I'm always in the moment and digging what More Kicks are laying down.

I feel like I listened to a lot of bands in 2008-2010 that straddled that line between garage, power pop and pop punk.  Over the decade, I feel like most of those bands drifted too far into the garage territory for me.  There used to be a sweet spot for me and I haven't heard a band hit it like More Kicks has with this record in many years.

More Kicks - S/T:
https://dirtcultrecords.bandcamp.com/album/more-kicks

Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary LP

Music On Vinyl (2015, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for 25+ years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

There are not many records as important to my musical education as By All Means Necessary was when I first heard it.  This was pretty early into my hip hop explorations of the early 90s.  I had seen some BDP videos on Yo MTV Raps and had liked pretty much all of them, but it was the purchase of a Yo MTV Raps compilation CD that introduced my to one of the greatest hip hop songs ever written, "My Philosophy." The extended remix on that comp was something that I played over and over and over.  I was totally obsessed, so of course I had to find the album it came from.

While "My Philosophy" is the highlight of By All Means Necessary, let's be honest, it would be the highlight on just about any album.  The rest of By All Means Necessary is equally vital and powerful throughout the duration.  From the storytelling prowess of "Stop the Violence" to the battle rap perfection of "I'm Still #1" to the reggae fusion of "Part Time Suckers," KRS-One stands taller than just about any other MC out there.  In 1988, this was super cutting edge and the growth from Criminal Minded to By All Means Necessary was a quantum leap in terms of beats and production.

To me, this album and Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back are the corner stones for the late 80s and early 90s golden era of hip hop.  Rap would have sounded a lot different without these two groups paving the way and it's a testament to their visions that both records could sound so potent over thirty years later.

Boogie Down Productions - "My Philosophy":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1vKOchATXs

Boogie Down Productions - "I'm Still #1":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw_UMdFSSlo

The First Part - Offset From The Normal 12" EP

Self Released (2019)

I was very pleasantly surprised to have this new 12" EP by The First Part show up at my door a couple of weeks ago.  I really liked a CDEP of theirs a few years back, but had honestly lost track of them a little bit.  As I get older, I notice I have a more difficult time keeping up on current bands and what they are up to.  I do my best, but inevitably things slip through the cracks for one reason or another.   I'm glad this EP didn't become one of them.

Boasting a former member of "90s pop punk sensations" Jill, I'm going to be inclined to like these guys since I was such a big Jill fan back in the day.  But if this record was a total turd, no amount of good will for a prior band would make me like the new one.  Crooked Fingers really blows, for example, and those first two Archers of Loaf records are among my very favorite ever.  Luckily, I can happily report that the four songs on this EP are pretty great.

One of the things I remember about the bands first EP is how I felt they had a similar, mid tempo pop structure that reminded me of bands like Hospital Job.  While I would still classify the tempo on the bulk of this EP as "mid," I feel like these songs have more of a pop punk feel to them.  Maybe a little closer to Jill, particularly in the vocal melodies.  My favorite song of the bunch is "We're No Strangers" and while it certainly doesn't feel dated, it makes me think back to the 90s in the best possible way.

This is a great record.  That said, I always have weird feelings for 12" EPs.  It always seems like it would make more sense to stick more songs on there.  Why not have thrown the songs from that first CDEP on the B side?  Anyway, my bizarre person feeling about EPs aside, this is a worthwhile record to check out for the pop kids out there.

The First Part - Offset From The Normal:
https://thefirstpart.bandcamp.com/album/offset-from-the-normal

The Missed - Stiff 7" - Gray Vinyl (/50)

Just Because (2019)

I hadn't heard of The Missed prior to receiving the 7" in the mail from Just Because.  I little perusing around the internet and I think this is their second release, after a tape that came out a couple of years ago.  It's possible they have more out there, but Discogs isn't particularly helpful and The Missed isn't an especially easy band name for Google to parse the results of.  Regardless, they seem to be a reasonably new band if nothing else.

I like all four songs on this release.  The guitar has a nice warm tone with just the right amount of fuzz.  The band is playing catchy rock and roll, it's not really poppy enough to be pop punk or fast enough to be labeled as garage, if you are trying to dole out basic genre assignments.  But whatever you want to call them, they've cranked out four really solid songs.

Of the four, my favorite is "I Wanna Know."  The choppy guitars in the verse build up to a really nice hook in the chorus and each time I've listened to the song, I end up bobbing my head along.  That's always the sign of a well written hook.  Worth checking out.

The Missed - Stiff 7":
https://justbecauserecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-missed-7

Black Sheep - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing 2xLP

Get On Down / Universal (2014, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for 25+ years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Like most folks in the 90s, I was taken by the Black Sheep video "The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)" which I saw on Yo MTV Raps pretty often in 1991.  That song is one of those that broke out of Yo and had pretty big impact on the rest of the world.  Recently I heard used on a car commercial with CGI hamsters, so for whatever it is worth, this isn't one of those songs that didn't make a dent in the mainstream.

The record as a whole is one that I have grown to appreciate more and more as I've gotten older.  For whatever reason when I was fourteen in 1991 I was a little disappointed the first couple of times I listened to my CD.  I think it's because the vast majority of the album is much more laid back than the video that made me pick it up to begin with.  However as the years have gone by, my appreciation has only grown and in some ways I like the rest of the album even more than the single that initially caught my interest.

Most beats are the sort of mellow Native Tongue style jazz loops that I always associated most closely with A Tribe Called Quest.  But Dres and Mista Lawnge have a darker approach that doesn't have the sort of upbeat hopefulness that Tribe pulled off.  Black Sheep are more content to wallow in the shadows a bit and spin songs that are a bit edgier, but also allow Dres to opportunity to showcase his smooth multisyllabic flow.

This version of the LP is one of the only ways to get all of the songs from the original CD on vinyl.  Most single LP versions are missing "Flavor Of The Month (Revisited)" (which seems pretty insane when you think about it) and the closing track "Yes."  For me to upgrade my CD to vinyl, there was no way I was going to lose those songs.

Black Sheep - "The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9F5xcpjDMU

Black Sheep - "Flavor of The Month"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F01fzPwBwc4

Jacob Turnbloom - Cemetery Luau LP - Pink Vinyl (/100)

Cheddar Goblin (2019)

Jacob Turnbloom is the main singer in one of my favorite bands, Mrs. Magician.  He's started up a record label called Cheddar Goblin and his first release is a solo record of his own.  It's going to be hard to not compare them to prior work done with Mrs. Magician, but if you are a Mrs. Magician fan, I cannot fathom you also not digging Cemetery Luau.

More than anything, these songs remind me of early Mrs. Magician.  The types of songs they were releasing on their 7"s prior to Strange Heaven or some of the tracks compiled onto their B Sides compilation.  You aren't going to get the sheen of Bermuda, but you also aren't going to get the lo fi hiss of the Jacob Turnbloom Death Tape.  Cemetery Luau is kind of that perfect middle ground, and that really lets the songs shine through.  Even though this is a solo album, it's not one of those sparse 'dude with a guitar' records.  Jacob handles the bass and drum duties as well resulting in a full band sound.

While there are minor surfy elements in Jacob's guitar playing, to me I find the songs on this album to have more of a Bakesale era Lou Barlow in Sebedoh type of lived in quality to them.  Low key for the most part and mostly concerned with telling the story of the song.  And the songs tell great stories.  Jacob Turnbloom is one of my favorite current lyricists as he always manages to cast a wry eye at the world and at relationships, but never comes across as bitter or hopeless.  I really love this record.  It's one of the best in a year crowded with some pretty incredible records.

Jacob Turnbloom - "Ride The Past Waves Of The Future"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjBA0qxxcg8

Jacvob Turnbloom - "Suncoast Digest":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqmqrPrJJv4

Chilton - Little Birds LP

Dead Broke (2019)

Chilton is a newer band and Little Birds is their debut album.  This record was put out by Dead Broke, who are on just an absolute tear through 2019 when it comes to releasing incredible records.  Chilton is another notch in their belt and I can't say enough good things about it.

Here's the deal with Chilton, in my opinion.  If you miss Seaweed and that sort of aggressive, but melodic, rock from the 90s, Chilton has you covered.  Vocally, the singers from Chilton and Seaweed have undeniable similarities, but musically the bands are kindred spirits as well.  Both have a knack for noisy guitar squalls that still manage to convey a hook and both bands are able to capture an energy on their records that elude so many other bands.

Here we are in December and I'm still writing about a record that will undoubtably end up on my year end best of.  For most of 2019 I felt that it was something of a quiet year for new music.  Yes there had been some really great releases, but quantity-wise, things seemed to be a little slower than years past.  All of a sudden, over the last two months or so, I feel like there's been on onslaught of great music.  2019 is closing out incredibly strong and suddenly making my year end list is becoming a more arduous task than I originally thought it would be.  I'd like to thank Chilton and Dead Broke for adding to the pile of great records to go through.

Chilton - Little Birds:
https://deadbrokerekerds.bandcamp.com/album/little-birds

Edan - Beauty And The Beat LP

Lewis (2005)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for 25+ years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Beauty And The Beat is probably the best hip hop album that I've heard the most recently.  Even though this came out nearly fifteen years ago at this point, I still consider it a modern album and don't group it in with my favorites from high school.  I got the CD version of this right when it had come out as I was familiar with Edan having worked on tracks with Mr. Lif and also a friend had recommended the first Edan record, Primitive Plus, to me.  I did like Primitive Plus, but it was on his sophomore release where Edan truly blew my mind.

The beats on this album are incredible.  They border on being psychedelic, but always stick to a tried and true rhythm that allows the rapping to stay focused and on point.  Edan takes chances as well and the biggest payoff for me is the album closer, "Promised Land."  Over a string fueled beat, the lyrics have this unique repeating quality where a line closes one section and then starts off the next.  It's difficult to explain without hearing it, but an example is "I slapped a 40-ounce out of a young man's hand / and fed him lesson's of life to formulate a plan / I wore the Prime Meridian as a wrist band... / I wore the Prime Meridian as a wrist band / and gave away my riches but I still remained a rich man / I thought of freedom and I jetted to the Promised Land"  It probably doesn't reads on paper as interesting as the actual execution sounds, but it's hands down one of my very favorite hip hop songs of all time.

Funny thing is that I picked up this album on Discogs at a somewhat inflated collector price.  I didn't pay an absurd amount for it, but I paid enough and was OK to do so as the album had been out of print for quite a while on vinyl.  Literally the day after I got my shipping notification I found out that the album was being rereleased as part of the Record Store Day Black Friday list.  I could have picked it for about twenty bucks less than I paid for my copy.  Bad timing I suppose, but I am still happy to finally have a copy of this on vinyl.

Edan - Beauty And The Beat:
https://edan2.bandcamp.com/album/beauty-and-the-beat

The Subjunctives - Sunshine And Rainbows LP - Red Vinyl

Top Drawer (2019)

The final full length Sicko album, You Are Not The Boss Of Me, came out in 1997.  Ever since then, it feels like there's been something of an eMpTiness.  A missing piece of music that I had been able to count on for the prior few years.  As far as American pop punk goes, my favorite bands were Mr. T Experience, Zoinks and Sicko.  By 1998, Sicko broke up, Zac left Zoinks and the Mr. T Experience wasn't making records that I really liked that much anymore.

My interest in overseas bands was already reaching a fever pitch and with the essential disappearance of my three favorites from America, I pretty much figured pop punk was something I'd have to find outside of the states.  There have been exceptions over the years, but for the most part this has remained true for me.  Japan and the UK have long housed my favorite bands that play hooked filled, loud guitar punk rock.

It's 2019 and Ean from Sicko has released an album with his new band The Subjunctives.  This isn't the first time that I've listened to a new Ean band.  I've always liked most of his output.  Tales From The Birdbath had some wonderful songs and the more recent Date Night With Brian also produced some real hits.  But, those bands didn't scratch that Sicko itch, they tended to lean a little more to the indie rock side of things, which is fine by me, I like good indie rock too.  Then came the Subjunctives.  Ean playing pop fucking punk.  I love it.

The Subjunctives are definitely going to get Sicko comparisons.  It's impossible for them not to.  While the Subjunctives have a similar energy and knack for killer hooks, sonically they also share a similar space with Sugar.  The warm, crunchy guitar sound is one that Mr. Mould would be proud of and the songs, in general, are a tad slower than what Sicko cranked out.  To their benefit.  As Ean and Co. tell tales of growing older and the joyful tedium of day to day life, the music is perfect.  Fast where it needs to be (No one is going to accuse "Waste My Time" of being a slow song), but finding that perfect upper mid tempo groove needed to spin their yarns.

Ean doesn't sing every song on the album (the ones he doesn't are also fun and a nice change of pace), but he does handle the lion's share.  This is easily my favorite post-Sicko Ean project.  Combine this with the fantastic songs that Denny and Josh are cranking out with their band, The Drolls, and for the first time in a while, I'm not mourning the loss of Sicko.  I'm excited about what everyone is working on now and planning for the future.  Though it doesn't hurt that Sicko reunion shows are happening from time to time.  They help scratch that Sicko itch as well.

The Subjunctives - Sunshine and Rainbows:
https://thesubjunctives.bandcamp.com/album/sunshine-and-rainbows