Best of 2023: Albums

This is my list of favorite albums for 2023.

2023 was a solid and respectable twelve months for music. It was a pleasant mix of new stuff and familiar faces. The year wasn't a grand extreme of the best or the worst, 2023 showed up, did its work, and everything was fine. This is in contrast to how I felt that 2022 was mostly underwhelming.

For shows, I finally made it back to Buffalo to see Wolf Eyes at the Mohawk Place. They were great and it was good to get out again. There hasn't really been much that interests me for concerts so I haven't bothered going to anything.

I dabbled with picking up a few reissues over the year. It was nice to add older material from Ash Ra Tempel, Bardo Pond, Bee Mask, Bowery Electric, Everyone Asked About You, Lush, and Wolf Eyes to the collection.

Caterina Barbieri composed an efficient classical synthesizer album. Lea Bertucci had a fascinating recording of two longform discordant drone pieces created with electronics and orchestral instruments. Marcia Bassett and Ursula Scherrer burned up a batch of CDs for the soundtrack to a live video performance in Paris that featured ethereal synths, field recordings, and manipulated voices.

BIG | BRAVE recorded another slab of their cold Montreal in winter metal. I should've gone to see them play Buffalo back in June. Blues Ambush delivered three completely zorched out instrumental guitar jams. Dana Ma's Cloning smooshed together a collection of unsettling cut-up noise. I correctly figured out what the cover is.

Collate rattled off some quick and catchy Minutemen style punk. This type of music works better when it isn't all dudes. Mutwawa successfully returned with a full length of their spooky and haunting noise. Guitarist Emily Robb released her second solo album and had a limited edition tour tape with Bill Nace pressed up into record form. Robb is one of the best six string players out there at the moment.

Terms churned out more of their wonderful abstract avant-garde noise rock. It's awesome to see the aesthetic of weirdness pioneered by Skin Graft Records is going strong in the 2020s. Wolf Eyes expounded upon the brooding minimal atmospheres of their last couple albums with Dreams In Splattered Lines, which had refined synthesizer/drum programing, Nate Young's cryptic lyrics, and John Olson's mutant reeds.

As always any album had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive album of the year, then that honor goes to On The Creekbeds On The Thrones by XV on Ginkgo. The trio of Claire Cirocco, Emily Roll, and Shelley Salant crafted an album that recalls the Galaxie 500 and probably that one band that had a banana on the cover of their first record. XV tags themselves as uncomfortable free punk from Michigan. On The Creekbeds On The Thrones has an almost lackadaisical mood to it. It's not so much lackadaisical as in laziness, but more of a relaxed step back or time out from the stress of the modern world.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Caterina Barbieri - Myuthafoo - Light Years
02. Lea Bertucci - Of Shadow and Substance - Cibachrome Editions
03. Marcia Bassett & Ursula Scherrer - A La Maison Live - Yew Recordings
04. BIG | BRAVE - Nature Morte - Thrill Jockey
05. Blues Ambush - s/t - Radical Documents
06. Cloning - Squirters - Blorpus Editions
07. Collate - Generative Systems - Domestic Departure
08. Mutwawa - Radiation Radio - Decoherence
09. Emily Robb - If I Am Misery Then Give Me Affection - Petty Bunco
10. Terms - All Becomes Indistinct - Skin Graft
11. Wolf Eyes - Dreams In Splattered Lines - Disciples
12. XV - On The Creekbeds On The Thrones - Ginkgo

Best of 2023: Cassettes

Here's the annual wrap up of my top tapes for the last twelve months. Nothing much really changes from year to year with these things. I like tapes that fall under the broad categories of experimental music, noise, and synth jams. There's probably some guitar and other instruments in the mix, too. It didn't necessarily make the list, but I was buying a lot more harsh noise for 2023. Sometimes you need to hear the gnarly stuff.

I capped any label at two tapes and tried to get as much variety on the list as possible, although I didn't buy a ton of tapes in 2023. Unifactor was surprisingly quiet with only three tapes and a Bee Mask record reissue. Constellation Tatsu had a mere six tapes on the year, which were all top notch.

2FAC's I Lobe The Secular World was one of my favorites and their sounds had heavy Metalux vibes going on. Lauren Pakradooni returned with a new Tether cassette that combined her usual tape work with occasional vocals that resembled Metalux as well. The bosses at Hausu Mountain each dropped a solo tape showcasing the unique sounds that have made their label a highlight of the experimental music world. Strategy put together a batch of cosmic dub that might be Paul Dickow's finest creation yet. Demon Life is the power trio of noise veterans Rodger Stella, Kyle Flanagan, and Tim Gick. As expected, they churned out a batch of demonic harshness. Acid Twilight wrangled together another fine collection of mysterious hypnagogic sprawl to add to their interesting discography.

As always any tape had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive cassette of the year, then that honor goes to Canicula by Ludmila Nunes on No Rent. Nunes also had a very good tape of deconstructed rock band nosies on Flat Plastic, but I felt the blasted out nether zone sounds of Canicula were a much more fully realized artistic statement.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. 2FAC - I Lobe The Secular World - Unifactor
02. Acid Twlight - Shadow Wrangler - Not Not Fun
03. Akasha System - Ancient Path Complete - 100% Silk
04. Marcia Bassett & Sergej Vutuc - Covering The Surface - Yew
05. Demon Life - s/t - Flat Plastic Home Media
06. Eternities - Realness - Harmonic Ooze
07. Andra Ljos - Megalithic Statues of Vishapakar - Not Not Fun
08. Alina Kalancea - Alchemy - Important
09. Monokle - Ultraflowers - Constellation Tatsu
10. MrDougDoug - SOS Forks AI REM II - Hausu Mountain
11. Mukqs - Stonewasher - Hausu Mountain
12. Ludmila Nunes - Canicula - No Rent
13. LeeAnn Peppers & Motion Sickness of Time Travel - split - Humanhood Recordings
14. Strategy - Graffiti In Space - Constellation Tatsu
15. Tether - Jostle Bask - Refulgent Sepulchre
16. tinnitustimulus - Icterine - No Rent

Best of 2022: Albums

This is my list of favorite albums for 2022.

2022 was one of those underwhelming years for music in a lot of ways. I'm comfortable with that. It doesn't always have to be a year where everything is the greatest thing ever.

That disclaimer out of the way, there were a bunch of records that I did really like. It's just nothing jumped out to me as having that intangible quality that makes a batch of songs feel superior to all the other batches of songs. It happens.

I actually made it to some live shows, which were a few of my friends playing the local bars. I didn't venture to anywhere new and Buffalo didn't seem to get much I was interested in. I should have made the drive to see Emily Robb and Bill Nace in Buffalo and Captured By Robots in Jamestown for old time's sake. I believe Rochester had a few gigs that would have been worth the effort to check out, but the mundane daily routine got in the way of leaving town. Between a combination of avoiding germs, not really drinking or going out any more, and no exciting bands touring or locally, it has been fairly easy to stay home.

Speaking of staying home, I purchased a new turntable from Crino's Music in Dunkirk. My old one was possibly haunted and an upgrade was long overdue. It's great having a record player that works properly again.

The reissue game wasn't as strong as the last couple of years. This is OK by me because not every record needs a 10, 15 or 20 year anniversary repressing. I have been doing a deep browsing of the Kranky Records discography and picking up vintage CDs I missed in the mid to late 1990s. They still have a bunch of old stock so this has been some fun collecting.

Marcia Bassett created a drifting album of modular synths, voice, flute, and field recordings. Kill Rock Stars dusted off their 5 Rue Christine imprint for a great long form drone record by MV Carbon of Metalux fame and artist Charlemagne Palestine. France's La Race also made a long form recording, but their album consisted of sparse no wave metal. Nail Club returned with a noisier and more abstract collection of synth pop. In a busy year, Leslie Keffer dropped two CDs worth of her signature techno. Ribbon Stage followed up their debut tape/7" with a full length of catchy and fuzzy indie rock that would fit in well with many of the underground bands of the 1990s. Michigan noise legends Wolf Eyes burned a few limited edition CD-Rs and I was happy to score a physical copy of Subs & Grinders. Lastly, as in it was the last record I bought in 2022, Ultra Violet Light label minder Jimmy Joe Roche concocted a short and fun album of modular synth explorations.

I decided my favorite release of 2022 was Sonic Youth's In/Out/In on Three Lobed Records. In/Out/In is a collection of older instrumentals and not technically a proper album, although it is sequenced as such. Two of the songs appeared on Three Lobed's 10th anniversary boxset and were the last official new material Sonic Youth released before they broke up so I've been listening to 40% of this disc for over a decade. It feels strange declaring this my album of the year, but it was the CD I listened to the most and made me the happiest. And I think that's what really should define your album of the year, even if I am a stickler for the specific minutiae regarding any release.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Marcia Bassett - Midnight Xpander - Yew
02. Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance - Matador
03. Leslie Keffer - Human Inosculation Part I & II- WEATNU Records
04. Nail Club - Mise en Abyme - Hot Releases
05. Charlemagne Palestine & MV Carbon - Liquiddd Changesss - 5 Rue Christine
06. Pitchwafuzz - You Find Yourself In A Place - Nonexistant Records
07. Puppet Wipes - The Stones Are Watching & They Can Be A Handful - Siltbreeze
08. La Race - Je Me Rapproche De Mon Squelette - Spleen Coffin
09. Ribbon Stage - Hit With The Most - K
10. Jimmy Joe Roche - Flicker Film in the Summer Breeze - Ultra Violet Light
11. Sonic Youth - In/Out/In - Three Lobed Records
12. Wolf Eyes - Subs & Grinders - self released

Best of 2022: Cassettes

All my favorite music was on tape for 2022. Not Not Fun churned out a ton of great stuff, even if their tapes skewed too heavy on the dudes with synthesizers side. Hot Releases quietly maybe had the best year ever. No Rent was consistently pushing the boundaries of noise and experimental music.

Constellation Tatsu and Hausu Mountain celebrated ten years in the biz with reissues of classic cassettes from their olden days. It was cool to pick up a couple releases I had missed.

I capped any label at two tapes and tried to get as much variety on the list as possible, although I bent the rule to allow three from Not Not Fun. It was once again a case of buying from the same small pool of labels I regularly buy from. I need to get back into exploring a little more for different sounds.

The best piece of music for 2022 was Moth Cock's triple cassette, Whipped Stream and Other Earthly Delights. It featured over three hours of Doug Gent and Pat Modugno's performances from livestreams on Twitch. The duo play an assortment of busted electronics and wind instruments. They truly took us to the fabled other zones with this tape set.

Argentina's Acid Twilight's fuller sounding sophomore effort expanded upon their mysterious hypnagogic sprawl. Marcia Bassett crafted more droning sonic landscapes on synths as a solo artist and on guitar with violinist Samara Lubelski. Tarotplane channeled the spirit of the now departed Manuel Göttsching for some contemporary Krautrock. I really liked the dark moods of AndLace and Broken Pillar. Chucha and DJ Chooch both made fine low tech techno tapes. Leslie Keffer and Rodger Stella, along with the White Suns, provided the much needed harsh noise for the year. Finally, Dan Friel returned with a new cassette of his signature sounds from the Yamaha toy keyboard he is famous for using.

As always any tape had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive cassette of the year, then that honor goes to Laurentian Voyage by Scout Island on Not Not Fun. Scout Island's Jared Carrigan created a collection of 19 brief instrumentals about a trip down a river in Minnesota that somehow occupy a vague space resembling early Cure and solo Roy Montgomery. Each song is a very catchy melody that perhaps could be developed further, but that would take away the casual charm. Less is usually more in most cases.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Acid Twilight - Mustang Zodiac - Not Not Fun
02. AndLace - Fabrik - Unifactor
03. Todd Barton - Spectral - Ultra Violet Light
04. Marcia Bassett - Undulating Akrasboning - Artsy Records
05. Marcia Bassett & Samara Lubelski - West Coast Live - Feeding Tube
06. Broken Pillar - Red Spider Lady - No Rent
07. Chucha - What Remains - Hot Releases
08. Cloning - Wet Circuits - Humanhood Recordings
09. Comfort Link - Cement Music - Spleen Coffin
10. DJ Chooch - Moongazer - Hot Releases
11. Dan Friel - Factoryland - Thrill Jockey
12. HelioGrave - s/t - Unifactor
13. Inkarose - A Love Letter To Water - Constellation Tatsu
14. Leslie Keffer & Rodger Stella - Angel Fix - No Rent
15. Chantal Michelle - Pulse, Puls​-​ar, Procession - Dinzu Artefacts
16. Moth Cock - Whipped Stream and Other Earthly Delights - Hausu Mountain
17. Scout Island - Laurentian Voyage - Not Not Fun
18. Severed+Said - Tragic Seeker - Not Not Fun
19. Tarotplane - Aeonium - Constellation Tatsu
20. White Suns - Dead Time - Orange Milk

Best of 2021: Albums

This is my list of favorite albums for 2021.

The list is mostly experimental sounds because that's the stuff I like the best. There's various types of noise, techno, and synth pop. I dug the sprawling rustbelt soundscape of Threshing Floor and the pop of Australia's Scraps. Growing returned with a couple of longform guitar drone pieces and CMD crafted a fine batch of techno jams.

The reissue game was out of control and made up a larger portion of what I was listening to than in previous years. I really liked the Pylon, My Bloody Valentine, Stephen, Gordons, Michèle Bokanowski, and Bardo Pond reprints. The number of reissues I deemed worthy of buying cut into the budget for new music a little.

There was a lot of stuff I listened to that didn't make the final list for whatever trivial reason. It almost always comes down to what I listened to more often or preferred slightly better as the deciding factor in the final editing process. I enjoyed releases from Sally Decker, Karrot Kake, KWKA, Loscil, Mogwai, Noveller, Scott Reynolds, Devin Shaffer, and Jacob Winans.

The lack of shows continued to be disappointing. I don't feel very comfortable attending a gig with how the plague is currently raging. Nobody I like has been playing shows either so that has made it much easier to stay home. It's not only the live music I miss, but interacting with folks, especially the touring bands, and finding out about new tunes to check out.

I wasn't looking at much in the way of music journalism for 2021 and I need to change that going forward. Tiny Mix Tapes is missed. I like the assorted Bandcamp columns on experimental music, but I haphazardly follow them. It's overwhelming to have instant access to an unlimited amount of content so my mind tends to shut off and I ignore a lot. To a minor extent I think I'm stuck in a rut, but it is a good rut. I've firmly reached a point in my record collecting that I know what I'm doing and navigate by gut feeling.

As always any album had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive album of the year, then that honor goes to The Lower Way by White Suns on Decoherence. The Pittsburgh trio of Kevin Barry, Dana Ma, and Rick Visser delivered a bruising and scrapping slab of harsh noise that was perfect for the strange year that 2021 was.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Marcia Bassett & Thomas Dimuzio - Losing Circles - Yew
02. Lea Bertucci - A Visible Length Of Light - Cibachrome Editions
03. Body/Dilloway/Head - s/t - Three Lobed
04. CMD - Social Factory Reset - Fixed Rhythms
05. Container - Creamer EP - Drone
06. Damiana - Vines - Hausu Mountain
07. d'Eon - Rhododendron - Hausu Mountain
08. Grouper - Shade - Kranky
09. Growing - Diptych - Silver Current
10. Hairs Abyss - Aposematic Displays - Spleen Coffin
11. Brett Naucke, Natalie Chami, Whitney Johnson - Mirror Ensemble - American Dreams
12. Scraps - New World - Moontown
13. Threshing Floor - s/t - El Studio 444//Reboot
14. Tinnitustimulus - Leachate Phases - Hot Releases
15. White Suns - The Lower Way - Decoherence
16. W00DY - Headbanging In The Club - Orange Milk

Best of 2021: Cassettes

For 2021, I mainly listened to everything that Not Not Fun released on heavy rotation. They have become one of my favorite labels over the last decade. I like their overall aesthetic, which is usually instrumental music made with synthesizers from far away lands or what sound like far away lands. The graphic design is top notch. I'm a fan of their more techno oriented 100% Silk label, too.

I capped any label at two tapes and tried to get as much variety on the list as possible. I did not buy many tapes in 2021. I also only bought from the same handful of labels that I always grab everything from.

Constellation Tatsu, Hot Releases, and Unifactor all kept the reels spinning with new tapes.

A standout of the last twelve months was the massive double cassette by Secret Boyfriend. Entropic Report 2017-2018 and its accompanying 'zine are a great document of noise life from a few years ago. X.Y.R. created a fine longform excursion of synth waves. Andrea Pensado delivered another amazing track of her voice oriented harsh noise on the split with Jacob Winans. One of my favorites was Keychain, Wilted Woman's abstract vision of electronic music.

As always any tape had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive cassette of the year, then that honor goes to Highway Dreamscapes by New Mexican Stargazers on Not Not Fun. They churned out a fine batch of hazy synth jams about roads and travel in the desert. I honestly knew this was going to be my favorite tape of the year before I even heard it based on the name alone. Fortunately, it didn't disappoint. As an added bonus, they even used Courier for the font on the cover.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Acid Twilight - s/t - Not Not Fun
02. Rose Bolton - The Lost Clock - Cassauna
03. Cloning - Splattertronics - Refulgent Sepulchre
04. Eat Avery's Bones - Instrument Petting Zoo - Decoherence
05. Etari - Rainbow Eucalyptus - 100% Silk
06. Glo Phase - Early Moments - 100% Silk
07. Good Willsmith - 4/25/2019 at Sleeping Village - Hausu Mountain
08. Lady Shame - Pink Noise - No Rent
09. Menophilia - Post Mortem - Laura's Girls
10. Network Glass, Heejin Jang, Philippe Vandal - s/t - UVL
11. New Mexican Stargazers - Highway Dreamscape - Not Not Fun
12. Secret Boyfriend - Entropic Report 2017-2018 - Hot Releases
13. Wilted Woman - Keychain - Unifactor
14. Jacob Winans & Andrea Pensado - Handle With Care - Refulgent Sepulchre
15. X.Y.R. - Wave Temples - Constellation Tatsu
16. Zaïmph - Underlying Structures - No Rent

Best of 2020: Albums

This is my list of favorite albums for 2020.

I was impressed with the debut LP from Mi'ens. They created a nice mix of space rock and dream pop with enough discord to give the songs the proper edge. MJ Guider and White Poppy both had albums full of great shoegaze tunes. Bill Nace released his first solo album, which is a fine slab of experimental guitar work. C. Lavender created a haunting collection of spooky drones on the Myth of Equilibrium. I enjoyed the low tech synth pop of Nail Club and the longform synth pieces by X.Y.R.

I got a bit nostalgic for printed music reviews and criticism over the year. Being safe at home with not much to do had me almost slightly missing high school. I was thinking of the days when you would hang out in your room listening to music while reading about cool bands in far away lands that you weren't even sure actually existed.

The lack of shows was a serious disappointment and I fear for the recovery of the live music industry. From growing up in tiny little Fredonia I never ever expected to see any bands I liked play, let alone getting to meet and become friends with some of my favorites. Honestly, anybody I have seen live was always regarded as a pleasant surprise.

I noticed many new releases clocked in at about 30 minutes. I have no idea if this was a real trend or a mere coincidence, but I support it. There's too much to check out these days so brevity in the execution of a well crafted idea is a good thing.

There were some worthy reissues in 2020. Yellow Swans, Dadamah, AIDS Wolf, and Caterina Barbieri had older releases repressed or recreated on different formats. I missed the last couple Yellow Swans LPs so it was cool to finally add 'em to the collection.

As always any album had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive album of the year, then that honor goes to Allegiance & Conviction by Windy & Carl on Kranky. The long standing duo of Windy Weber and Carl Hultgren delivered another stellar record of their calming and majestic sonic atmospheres.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Apologist - Anhedonia - No Rent
02. Marcia Bassett & Samara Lubelski - Morning Flare Symmetries - Feeding Tube
03. C. Lavender - Myth of Equilibrium - Editions Mego
04. Container - Scramblers - Alter
05. The Dead C - Unknowns - Ba Da Bing! Records
06. Liz Meredith - Repro - Spleen Coffin
07. Mi'ens - Future Child - Kill Rock Stars
08. MJ Guider - Sour Cherry Bell - Kranky
09. Bill Nace - Both - Drag City
10. Nail Club - Collected Methods - Hot Releases
11. Noveller - Arrow - Ba Da Bing! Records
12. Pod Blotz - Transdimensional System - Dais
13. Pulse Emitter - Swirlings - Hausu Mountain
14. Quicksails - Blue Rise - Hausu Mountain
15. STCLVR - Lovers - Noxious Upsurge/self released
16. TALSounds - Acquiesce - NNA
17. Terms - Asbestos Mouth - Skin Graft
18. White Poppy - Paradise Gardens - Not Not Fun
19. Windy & Carl - Allegiance & Conviction - Kranky
20. X.Y.R. - Pilgrimage - Not Not Fun

Best of 2020: Cassettes

Even with the world falling apart at the seams, there were still a bunch of quality tapes made in 2020. I kept up with supporting my favorite artists and labels as much as I could. The sounds I like the most have not changed much, with my long standing preferences for experimental music, noise, synth drones, and a bit of indie rock remaining intact.

I capped any label at two tapes and tried to get as much variety on the list as possible.

Hausu Mountain, Not Not Fun, 100% Silk, and Unifactor all kept plugging along with new tapes. I think No Rent continues to be the gold standard for diversity and creativity. It was tough picking out only a pair of cassettes from them.

Ultra Violet Light celebrated their five year anniversary with a collection of artists using Buchla synthesizers. The compilation features Marcia Bassett, Suzanne Ciani, Dan Deacon, and more. This tape is a good reflection of what UVL has been doing over the years. It was nice to get a new Drainolith release to end the year. Electric Hearse showcases some great deconstructed post-blues guitar playing by Alex Moskos. I really dug Ordet's Welcome To Earth. It reminded me of early U.S. Girls to an extent, except it was more jarring and abrasive. In other words, a perfect summary of 2020.

As always any tape had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive cassette of the year, then that honor goes to Secret Destroyed Instantly by Aaron Dilloway and C. Lavender on Hanson Records. The duo teamed up to create a mesmerizing blend of tape and synth drones.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Aether Jag - Curved Peacetime - No Rent
02. ArkmFoam - bloodrootspitball - Refulgent Sepulchre
03. Apologist - Dirt Road - Full Spectrum Records
04. {arsonist} - Reality Structure - Unifactor
05. Cloning - Walking In Silt - Flag Day Recordings
06. Control Point - Dreamer's Disease - Hot Releases
07. Aaron Dilloway & C. Lavender - Secret Destroyed Instantly - Hanson Records
08. Drainolith - Electric Hearse - Freedom From
09. Davey Harms - World War - Hausu Mountain
10. House Panther Diadem Ensemble - Five Questions - Unifactor
11. Long Distance Poison - Technical Mentality - Hausu Mountain
12. V. Kristoff - Sydra - Not Not Fun
13. Machine Listener - Metonym - Moon Villian
14. Ordet - Welcome To Earth - No Rent
15. José Orozco Mora - Formas Aparentes - Constellation Tatsu
16. Ribbon Stage - My Favorite Shrine - Berzerk Tapes/K
17. Spiteful Womb - Mirrorgazing - Gutter Bloat
18. Sunk Heaven - Y Serpentine - Decoherence Records
19. various artists - Buchla Now - Ultra Violet Light
20. Wipe - s/t - Adversary

Best of 2019: Albums

This is my list of favorite albums for 2019. Perennial favs Robedoor released another slab of their murky sludge. Of relatively local note, Lea Bertucci's Resonant Field was recorded in the grain silos at Silo City in Buffalo and sounds wonderful. There wasn't a new Zaïmph album, but Marcia Bassett did release a couple of things on her Yew label. There was a live recording of a trio with Margarida Garcia and Manuel Mota as well as Kyle Eyre Clyd's Eggshell CD. Both recordings are great.

It's awesome that Constellation, Kranky, and Skin Graft are still putting out records after all these years.

I know I left off or missed a couple of albums, but that's kind of the point of making a list. I knew some stuff was going to be on here from the get go and did a little nitpicking to figure out the last couple of items. Usually what I listened to more was the deciding factor, which is why Craow made the list, but Lightning Bolt didn't, for example. As an aside, I never found a store to buy Kim Gordon's record.

As always any album had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive album of the year, then that honor goes to Honey by Lungbutter on Constellation. The Nivhek project by Liz Harris was up there for my top album, too. However, it deservedly made many a year end list already so I went with the abstract no wave power trio from Montreal as the best of 2019. Lungbutter rocks.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Caterina Barbieri - Ecstatic Computation - Editions Mego
02. Marcia Bassett, Margarida Garcia, and Manuel Mota - Here They Rest Immobile - Yew
03. Lea Bertucci - Resonant Field - NNA Tapes
04. Child Abuse - Imaginary Enemy - Skin Graft
05. Craow - Branded Influence - National Waste Products
06. The Dead C - Rare Ravers - Ba Da Bing! Records
07. Jessica Ekomane - Multivocal - Important
08. First Tone - Reactions - Spectrum Spools
09. Forest Management - Passageways - Whited Sepulchre
10. Hiro Kone - A Fossil Begins To Bray - Dais
11. Loscil - Equivalents - Kranky
12. Lungbutter - Honey - Constellation
13. Karrot Kake - Zinc Finger - Nonexistant Records
14. Kyle Eyre Clyd - Eggshell - Yew
15. Nivhek - After its own death/Walking in a spiral towards the house - Yellowelectric
16. Pedestrian Deposit - Dyers' Hands - Monorail Trespassing
17. Pharmakon - Devour - Sacred Bones Records
18. Purple Pilgrims - Perfumed Earth - Flying Nun
19. Robedoor - Negative Legacy - Deathbomb Arc
20. Shimmer - And I Revel - Decoherence Records

Best of 2019: Cassettes

I bought a lot of tapes over the last twelve months and these were the highlights. In terms of sound, I mainly prefer synths, experimental compositions, some techno, and varying degrees of noise.

It felt like I didn't check out many different or newer labels this year. For as consistent as the regulars have been, I enjoy random finds for new music. Personal favorite Not Not Fun had a quiet year with only three tapes, but after being around for so long, they can take it easy if they would like. Their partner in crime, 100% Silk, did send a few more cassettes out into the world.

I capped any label at two tapes, which made it extra tough when selecting from Hausu Mountain and No Rent. No Rent is probably the best entity releasing music these days. The diversity of the artists they work with is amazing.

I really like the title of "Rural Electronics" for the compilation tape released by Grant and Rachel Evans. The Alone In The Dark comp on Hot Releases features a slew of great bands, including Glochids, Aether Jag, Tether, Housefire, C. Lavender, Secret Boyfriend, and more. Each song fits together for an even listening, a rare feat for most compilations.

As always any tape had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive cassette of the year, then that honor goes to Death's Head Speaks by Simulation on Hausu Mountain. Simulation is the experimental synth pop duo of Laura Callier from Gel Set and Whitney Johnson from Matchess.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Akasha System - Echo Lost - 100% Silk
02. Atariame - Voiceless - Not Not Fun
03. Bonnie Baxter - Axis - Hausu Mountain
04. Lea Bertucci & Kyle Eyre Clyd - split - Ultra Violet Light
05. Emily Cook & Dana Ma - Cook/Ma - Crucible Sound
06. Marilu Donovan & Tristan Kasten-Krause - Nowhere - Unifactor
07. Dreamers Cloth - Vitrospection: 2008-2009 - Not Not Fun
08. Flesh Narc - Understanding Reality - Decoherence Records
09. Hoarding - Self Imposed - Fusty Cunt
10. Moon Ra - Musica In Different Inutili Services - Unifactor
11. Nadia & Apologist - Situational Plays - No Rent
12. Opaline - Thought Texture - Constellation Tatsu
13. Alina Petrova & Kira Weinstein - Sad Ko - Never Anything Records
14. Prayer Generator - Eleutheromania - Patient Sounds
15. Rose - Night Places - Constellation Tatsu
16. Rusalka - Flux A & B - No Rent
17. Rust Worship - Live Coaxial - Obsolete Units
18. Simulation - Death's Head Speaks - Hausu Mountain
19. various artists - Alone In The Dark - Hot Releases
20. various artists - Rural Electronics - Adversary