25. Widowspeak
Sure, Widowspeak vocalist Molly Hamilton is a dead ringer for Hope Sandoval, but the band's new spin on dark, mid-80s post-punk cowboy rock is a lot different from Mazzy Star's elegant, noisy torch ballads. On tracks like lead-off single "Gun Shy" and "In The Pines," Widowspeak evoke a seductive, gothic vision of dusty highways haunted by murderous villains and back them with big western guitar riffs. They should have included their perfect cover of Chris Issak's "Wicked Game" though.
24. Wooden Shjips - West
Fire up the candles, turn off the lights, become acquainted with your drug of choice, tune in, turn on, and drop out to the latest LP from bay area space cadets Wooden Shjips. After several years of releasing every half-baked jam they could come up with on a myriad of formats, their particular brand of exploratory psychedelic rock is peaking HARD on West. All seven tracks are built on a bed of Can-inspired drum beats that allow the guitars , keyboards, and vocals to wander all over the place in search of a perfect spot to come down. West is a perfect soundtrack for your next journey to the center of your mind.
23. Run DMT - Dreams
Mike Collins of Run DMT made a 30 minute cassette tape called Dreams this year, which melted shards of classic pop music and hypnotic sound collages of trippy, split-second hooks into a pair of extended suites that rewarded both intense and passive attention. Back in October, I wrote "Pressing 'play' on this tape is the gateway to another planet, where feelings and colors and sparkling flashing lights drift without a tether, where showers of syrupy synth muck rain all over your face, and sunshine pop, doo wop, northern soul, and post-Motown 60s 45s make you wanna dance listlessly until they fade out in washes of beach waves and clarion calls of lighthouse spotlights..." Yeah, that sounds about right!
22. Earth - Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light 1
Once Dylan Carlson finally kicked hard drugs and discovered major chords, Earth became one of the most interesting bands on its namesake planet. He'd already spent a decade-plus in the deepest of trenches, making torturous sludge epics that wallowed in despair, feedback, and speaker-wrecking Black Sabbath worship, so a turn towards the light seemed like the perfect idea. The press for this record indicated that Carlson was influenced by classic British folk-rock this time, but the expansive tracks on Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light 1 confirm that Carlson is one of the most distinctively AMERICAN composers working today. Things are still slow as balls, and that allows Earth to build monoliths of every day 99 percenter dread that move like rain clouds creeping over suburban strip malls. With his all-black clothes, craggy face, and storyteller's eye, Dylan Carlson is emerging as the Johnny Cash of post-9/11 America.
21. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
(Vice)
Remember when Jim Suptic of the Get Up Kids came out and basically said "don't blame us for all that awful mall emo bullshit"?! I'd imagine the Black Lips feel the same way for unleashing all the mediocre Nuggets-inspired garage rock bands that litter the internet right now like so many eager sheep. Instead of cranking out another LP that revisited their heydey as the hippest band on the planet, they took a left turn and enlisted pop superproducer Mark Ronson for some much-needed gloss and direction, and trusted Deerhunter's Lockett Pundt to produce the rest. Arabia Mountain might be a bit on the longish side, but it packs in the best songs the band has written to date, kicking off with the sleazy saxophones of "Family Tree," and then it rounds itself out with the Ramones-worship of "Raw Meat" and the joyous classic rock n' roll of "New Direction." It's the best album the Black Lips have released so far, and it shows all their half-ass imitators what's up, for real.
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