Pette Discogs’ Best Albums of 2016 (and Late 2015)

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‘Tis time. My annual music review has been something I have put together for several years, but I have generally limited it to a personal Facebook post. That seems a little silly, considering these vast tools at my disposal to reach at least 5-10 additional people who might care. So, I’m expanding the reach this year. Here we go: my favorite albums of 2016 (and late 2015, if I did not get to it by 2015, but it counts because I make the rules). The first few entries here are interchangeable in my rankings – they are all albums I have listened to incessantly since I discovered them.

1. Tacocat – Lost Time
I was way late to the game on Tacocat. Then, I was listening to extensively curated female-singer-indie-rock channel on Pandora, and Pandora and I had a discussion, which essentially amounted to Pandora saying, “Um, you like Tacocat, dumbass. No, really. Get on that,” and me saying, “Mmhm.” We had that conversation about three times before I paid attention. Pandora was correct, and I have remedied the problem. I am now caught up. The good news is this happened at the perfect time: about a month before the release of a new Tacocat album, followed by not one, but two rare DC tour appearances. It’s true: I  Tacocat and you should, too. Their newest album, Lost Time, covers all kinds of fun topics, but I will leave that to you to work through.

Highlights: Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkG_Wo-01Qc
I Hate the Weekend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsXYk-Yw-jY
Dana Katherine Scully https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Q3am_-L6o

2. S P O R T S – All of Something (2015)
Heartfelt, energetic, solid indie rock with a distinct hint of a midwestern sound. This album grabbed me immediately…I just didn’t hear it until early 2016. I read a review of All of Something shortly after I heard it that made it sound as though this band had all the makings of one that was not long for this world (some members – but not all – graduated from college and moved from Ohio to Philly). It hasn’t done them in yet.

Highlights: Saturday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU-LEXqB3D8
Reality TV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBPws9DOCDc
GDP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9zUJeh1h1c

3. Bloodboy – Best of Bloodboy EP
No, Bloodboy is not a hardcore or metal band (at least not yet) – just solo singer/songwriter Lexie Papilion. I am still trying to figure out how I found my way to this EP. It contains sounds one would normally expect to find exclusively in ’80s songs (and for those of you saying, “I love ’80s songs!” I did not mean that as a positive). It works, though. It really works. These are phenomenal songs. Intense, biting, and infectious – I have been listening to this EP repeatedly for the past couple of months. If only there were a physical product so that I could give her money for her music… Anyway, this EP is a stellar debut and I look forward to what is to come.

Highlights: Keep Your Disease https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxH5DNIF9uU
Hey Kid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUkFgXCV5fQ
Fuck Yourself (I find it endlessly entertaining that Amazon refers to this one as “Fuck Yourself [Explicit]”…y’think?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6nXvLLdVDQ
Mom, I’ve Changed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uiq8Q9XgJE

Oh, just listen to the whole thing. It’s all good. The last track doesn’t hold my attention quite as much as the first five, but it’s still good.

4. Blowout – No Beer, No Dad
Blowout sounds like early Lemuria…I mean they REALLY remind me of early Lemuria. This is a fantastic development – I miss early Lemuria. It’s catchy indie-punk songs at their finest. This is their first full length, and it has also been occupying my stereo with great regularity in the latter part of this year.

Highlights: Guts Grown Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psoYmtqACxU
Cents Cents Money Money https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq2tzjgAjhc
Green Couch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q1WwxjuQ0w
Indiana https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeR2xSTbhzI

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BLOG!!!

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Well, check that out: I went and made a Pette Discogs blog.  This format should make it easier for me to post about some of the individual records I have researched in recent years.  I have replaced the blog-ish part of the main site with this one and am loading all of my old posts from that site on here so that they are archived better.

Total Tuscadero Update

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In honor of Tuscadero reuniting to play the Black Cat 20th Annviersary show in DC, I have updated all of my Tuscadero entries with new information.  I have also added three compilations that I had never covered before.

The Joy Formidable Discography

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I am very pleased to announce that I have added a new section to the discography site detailing the albums and singles for the Joy Formidable.  I did not know what to make of this band when I first heard them.  I heard “Whirring” on the radio and immediately raised an eyebrow.  They exhibited the sort of guitar-driven, distorted, big sound that characterized much of the music that I have liked most in my life.  It was a sound that had been sorely missing from the industry since the major label world ate itself in the middle of the ’90s.  I proceeded trepidatiously, having been burned by many others over the years, but the more I dug into the band’s offerings, well, the more I dug it.  The Joy Formidable does have a certain commercial sensitivity to it, but it’s really good anyway.  I swear.  I figured I would swoop in and grab all of their vinyl early on so that it would not cost me huge amounts on the collectors’ market later.  Oops.  It turns out the big ticket items for this band are CDs and CD box sets.  Well, I eventually tracked those down as well.  Now that we have a strong second full-length effort (Wolf’s Law) shredding speakers, an exclusive single due out for Record Store Day, and another big U.S. tour underway, I thought that it was time.  It is a rare case that has me this hooked on a new band these days.  If you have not given the Joy Formidable some of your attention, you should make that happen.

Updates!

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Welcome back!  I have been making little updates to site with some regularity, but I have not been posting about them for some time.  That changes now.  I am currently in the midst of some larger-scale stuff.  When I am done, each entry will have price trending information in addition to the values, which should add a little more useful context to my record valuations.  Next, I am adding “last updated” dates to the bottom of each entry.  This is a work in progress, but I am done updating parts of the site.  The Rocket from the Crypt pages are fully updated.  The content of the Afghan Whigs pages has been fully updated.  Most of the rest of the pages have updates in progress.  Slowly but surely.  I have also been spending some time trying to get my label, Shattered World Music, off the ground.  It turns out this takes time and money.  Who woulda thought?

Tsunami

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I realize that it has been a little while since I last added an indie band’s discography to the site.  Well, here you go…I have finished a discography for the engine that drove the 90’s DC indie scene: Tsunami.  I had held off on this one for a while, in part because they have a pretty extensive discography of their own on the Simple Machines site.  Half of the band, Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson, ran Simple Machines Records, which was a key indie label in the 90’s…I may add in the label’s whole discography at some point, but for now, enjoy my new Tsunami pages.

Seaweed Section Reworked

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I have cleaned up some of the Seaweed entries…I clarified some details for and added images to the Measure single entry, added some pictures to the Bill page, and ramped up the scarcity rating for the yellow Just a Smirk 7″.  Plus, I have added in the new Seaweed single that came out in 2011.