Every year, December barrels in and, weighed down by some fabricated online obligation and/or inspired by every corner of the www, I hastily throw together an incomplete/unordered list of my favourite albums from the year. More often than not, this list contains a large segment of post-October releases. Blame it on the seasonal priorities of record labels, but also, more likely, the permanent damage in the memory structure of my brain.
So, here begins a helpful (for me) future reference guide...
Ted Danson With Wolves — Don't Tell Me What's Wrong With You, Because I Will Find Out And Tell You. It Will Make Sense To You And Work.
Don't ask me what genre this is, because I'm sure it has the word 'post' in it, and that's normally a cringe-worthy identifier. Mathy, sludgy, saxxy and those great shit vocals that sound as though they were simply shouted from fourteen feet back from any recording device. See also: Intentions (R.I.P) and Hira Hira (R.I.P). Best local thing this year, hands down. And not just because it's named after the Best Named Shop in Sydney (whenever-forever). [Bandcamp]
Velcro — Velcro
A reluctant release, recorded years ago and privately hidden away, resurrected for occasional editing tweaks and a twelfth attempt at mixing/mastering and uploading. And that's exactly as it sounds. Insecure and fragile, with veil attempts at pop sensibleness. A brilliant contextual sidenote to the author's main Ocean Party project. [Bandcamp]
Mothers — When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired
"You love me mostly when I'm leaving", plus a million more lines that just rock you back and forth like the baby you wish you still were and then gently, ever so bloody gently, slice your chest cavity open and pluck your life-beater from its hearty cage. Sadness, hold the hopelessness. A well articulated, comforting display - and acceptance - of depression. [NPR]
Kanye West — The Life of Pablo
Note to future self: ignore the pre-release singles during the building process of a Kanye album. Sure, we're all required as quick-fire polling instruments, assisting in directing the sound of the release, but all of West's most recent work (Yeezus and Twisted Fantasy) is best consumed as a lone package. This time around it's a soulful twist on the incomplete Forever-era RZA production format. This sounds unrestrained and rushed - hinting at honest displays of personal suffering and mental insecurity. Best on headphones, in a single sitting and with a mind ignorant of all the surrounding hyperbole and Tweet-storm bullshit.