19. Beach Fossils

19. Beach Fossils - Clash the Truth

Beach Fossils was initially the solo project of Dustin Payseur, but over the last several years, they are now a band, including members; Tommy Gardner, Jack Doyle Smith and Tommy Davidson. Based out of Brooklyn, they produce a lo-fi, new wave sound with some punk and surf rock thrown in. I loved their last album a lot as well, because I generally love this sound. Apparently putting 'beach' in the name of your band is the new thing, like 'bear' was a few years ago (and still is).





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20. Indians

20. Indians - Somewhere Else

Indians is the nomme de plume of Søren Løkke Juul from Denmark. He is called Denmark's Bon Iver. Indians has already toured this year with several bands that are in the top 50 this year, Phosphorescent and Daughter, to name a couple. When he tours, he has a backing band. I find the music to be quasi psychedelic, but also soft and beautiful as well.





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21. Ra Ra Riot

21. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love

I fell in love with this band the first time I saw them play live at The Conservatory a number of years ago. Since then, I have tried to see them live every chance I get. The addition of the strings, even though they recently lost their cellist, lends to the band a unique, timeless experience. I feel as they've progressed, they have become more....what do I say...poppy, maybe. Either way, I like what they put out, a lot. Their last album made my top 50 back in 2010 in roughly the same place, here.





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22. Houndmouth

22. Houndmouth - From the Hills Below the City

Very new to the folk scene, these guys reside in southern Indiana. The band consists of Katie Toupin, Matt Myers, Zak Appleby, and Shane Cody. While they were recording in Shane's home, they were filtering out all the background sounds like police cars and such and Shane said the track still had too much hound mouth in it (dogs barking in the background). The name and the band was born. They will be at Opolis on February 18th, I strongly recommend attending.





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23. Atoms For Peace

23. Atoms For Peace - Amok

Atoms for Peace, if you don't know by now, is a super group consisting of Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nigel Godrich (Radiohead's producer) and Joey Waronker on drums from Beck and REM. The band formed as a result of being the back-up band for Thom Yorke's solo album Eraser, at which time they started working on songs collaboratively. Hence, Atoms for Peace. This has Thom Yorke all over it, but it is really, really well done and some serious ear candy. The website is wonderfully interactive.





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24. The Boxer Rebellion

24. The Boxer Rebellion - Promises

The Boxer Rebellion almost made the top 50 a couple years ago. Based out of London, the band consists of Tennessee-native Nathan Nicholson (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Australian Todd Howe (lead guitar), and Englishmen Adam Harrison (bass guitar) and Piers Hewitt (drums). Their evolution as a band has been astonishing to watch. I can barely listen to their first album. This one, I couldn't take out of rotation almost all year. I still return to it now over and over. They are just so awesome, I hope I get to see them on tour.

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25. Bare Mutants

25. Bare Mutants - The Affliction

These guys are out of Chicago. Headed by frontman, Jered Gummere, formerly of The Ponys, it is a sonic progression into Velvet Underground territory. Other members of the band include, Seth Bohn on bass, Jeanine O’Toole on backups and tambourine, Matt Holland on drums and Leslie Deckard on organ. My girlfriend turned me onto this band and they have been a regular in my shuffle for awhile now.






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26. Frank Turner

26. Frank Turner - Tape Deck Heart

I have to admit, this album is my discovery of this amazing singer/songwriter. I feel embarrassed, I really don't know where I've been. However, I'm glad I've been found, because this album is genius. He is an English singer/songwriter and plays both punk and folk (why is that always a thing?). The band that backs him up is called The Sleeping Souls. His songs are about love and loss and the poetry and frankness of the lyrics is not to be trifled with. He was recently in the news because he is going to answer questions about Iron Maiden on the BBC celebrity quiz show, Celebrity Mastermind.

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27. Eels

27. Eels - Wonderful, Glorious

Typically bands I see live during the year make this list because, well, I listen to their new stuff quite a bit before the show. This is no exception. It's hard to believe that E (Mark Oliver Everett) has been putting out music prolifically for almost 20 years. In 2009/10 he put out three albums as part of a trilogy. This is a double album and was fun to watch the band play live in their track suits. The members of the band are as such: E, The Chet, Knuckles (Derek Brown), Honest Al, and P-Boo (Mike Sawitzke).





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28. Phosphorescent

28. Phosphorescent - Muchaco

Phosphorescent is essentially the moniker of Matthew Houck. Originally from Alabama, he started playing in Athens, Georgia and now resides in Brooklyn. Muchaco is a thing of beauty. I happened to catch him with full band at SXSW and Gentlemen of the Road this year. The live performance of him backed by a band is something to not be missed. This has been one of my favorite Sunday morning albums of the year. It's definitely a concept album, so I recommend listening to it in its entirety.





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29. ON AN ON

29. ON AN ON - Give In

From the ashes of the breakup of Scattered Trees, only three members remained to produce something new. Lead, Nate Eiesland, decided to take the band in a new direction with the two remaining members, Alissa Ricci and Ryne Estwing. There is so much good in this album, I really don't know where to begin. I'm absolutely in love with the music, the lyrics, the male/female harmonies, all of it. It's just beautiful.









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30. Classixx

30. Classixx - Hanging Gardens

I received this CD from the label at the Spy and immediately put it in the player. What resulted was hours of listening. I didn't take it out of the player for days. Classixx is a Los Angeles based DJ duo. Michael Blake and Tyler Blake put these grooves together, you may remember them as Young Americans. I, personally, love the new sound from these two, as it pulls in from a lot of different genres. It has the exact kind of club/late night vibe that I love.





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31. Young Galaxy

31. Young Galaxy - Ultramarine

These guys reside in Vancouver, British Columbia. The band consists of Stephen Ramsay (vocals/guitar), Catherine McCandless (vocals/keyboards), Stephen Kamp (bass/vocals), Matthew Shapiro (keys/guitar), and Andrea Silver (drums). They have quickly over the last couple years become one of my favorite bands. They were #4 in 2011 here, which is pretty high for a band to get on my charts. I love Chatherine's voice, I love the dream pop/psych/electro sensibility of the music. I still haven't got to see this band live and I wish they would come play close to here. Even a little close. They always have the best videos.







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32. The Horse's Ha

32. The Horse's Ha - Waterdrawn

Somehow I discovered this band on Spotify...love that service sometimes. This band is Janet Bean and journeyman singer/guitarist James Elkington out of Chicago. This is folk, but not just any folk. Their voices serve as perfect counterpoint to each other. The contrast reminds me of Mark Lanegan and Isobell Campbell. The strings in the background push this album to depths that other albums fear to tread. Below is the best quality video I could find of them. It took them ten years to make this sophomore album. I hope I don't have to wait that long to see more from these minstrels.








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33. Majikal Cloudz

33. Majikal Cloudz - Impersonator

Devon Welsh is the son of Canadian/American actor, Kenneth Welsh. He started this project in 2010 and this is his second album. Collaborator and producer, Matthew Otto, signed on last year. The style is electronica but such a stripped down version with soul piercing lyrics and a clarity and focus normally not experienced. Expect this album to be included in your favorites.





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