Favorite Albums of 2016: #60-41

[60] Commontime - Field Music (Memphis Industries)
Field Music return with another album chock full of classy, elegant Brit pop, this time with some funk and some odes to 70s AM pop and soft rock. Commontime didn't grab me nearly as much as any Field Music album previously, but it still deserves to be honored in 2016.
Top jam: "It's a Good Thing"


[59] Confirmation Bias - Yeesh (Tiny Engines)
My band Congress played with Chicago's Yeesh at an Ypsilanti house show back in 2014, and then played with them again in Detroit this past August. They are a hell of a live band, and it translates quite well onto recording. Loud, quirky indie rock with some punk leanings. Sometimes on Confirmation Bias, I feel like I'm hearing early Casket Lottery. Case in point: "End Results."
Top jam: "End Results"


[58] Psychopomp - Japanese Breakfast (Yellow K)
This is some nice dream pop from Little Big League's Michelle Zauner. Admittedly I'm a bit more into their knotty, jagged indie rock, but this is a fine consolation to my hold me over, if they're even still a band.
Top jam: "The Woman That Loves You"


[57] Riff Hard - Thin Lips (Lame-O)
Philadelphia style emo-tinged indie rock with some gnarly guitar licks and strong female vocals. Almost like a less technical, similarly catchy Lemuria. Into it.
Top jam: "Yup"


[56] Better Heavens - The Superweaks (Lame-O)
Big, gruff power pop with some punk leanings, The Superweaks bring the hooks. Some songs are even reminiscent of Return of the Rentals with some catchy as hell Moog parts. Those are my favorites.
Top jam: "Oh God (We're All So Miserable Now)"


[55] American Football - American Football (Polyvinyl)
I don't know how necessary a new American Football record is in 2016. I don't think they really needed to add anything more to their legacy. But don't get me wrong, I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining that this actually happened after 17 years. Emo reunion albums have rarely succeeded to this level. The band definitely sounds like a more mature version of their 1999 self-titled album, for better or worse. There are some nice odd time signatures, and sure, layers upon layers of their signature chimy guitars. To refer to one of my least favorite phrases overused in 2016: Their twinkle game is still strong.
Top jam: "Born to Lose"


[54] A Shedding Snake - Outer Spaces (Don Giovanni)
Folky, jangly indie pop with a smidge of Ida-style slowcore thrown in for good measure. Excellent production, too. This record came out of nowhere for me, and I have Brian LaBenne to thank for tipping me off. Actually, I could probably say that for a lot of the albums on this list.
Top jam: "Words"


[53] Empty Beach Town - Shallow Cuts (No Idea)
Replacements-y pop punk from these long time scene vets. I won't deny that all the songs kind of run together, but, they do the style extremely well. Don't know what else to say. I dig it.
Top jam: "Empty Beach Town"


[52] Episodic - Field Mouse (Topshelf)
I don't mean to say it doesn't happen all the time, because it does, but there especially were a shit ton of great records released by women in 2016. Episodic is yet another one in that long list, sounding somewhere between, I don't know, The Muffs and Velocity Girl (aka the Clueless soundtrack)? My only question for them is did they not do a Google search when coming up with a name to find that there once was a twee band called The Field Mice?
Top jam: "Half-Life"


[51] Blanco - David Bazan (Barsuk)
It's been quite some time since I last cared about a David Bazan release. 2006's Fewer Moving Parts EP, to be precise. I'd say Blanco is a return to form, at least quality-wise (though I should probably go back and listen to Curse Your Branches and Strange Negotiations again), but, it sounds nothing like traditional Bazan. This is all synthesizers and programmed beats, and is much more interesting than his one-off Headphones project from 2005. "Both Hands" is a true jam.
Top jam: "Both Hands"

 
[50] Pool - Porches (Domino)
Homemade synth pop that's sometimes upbeat and sometimes pretty sexy. Aaron Maine's bored tenor is a nice contrast to these colorful tunes, too. "Car" is one of the best songs of the year, hands down.
Top jam: "Car"


[49] Ready Not Ready - Conveyor (Gold Robot)
Another random find thanks to the internet (Tiny Mix Tapes, I think). This sounds like a cross between Vampire Weekend and Dirty Projectors, so... yeah. The 2007 Pitchfork-rock revival is on. Paraphrasing, but, my girlfriend Sara described this as pretty much the whitest thing she's heard all year. LOL. Haters gonna hate.
Top jam: "Wry Thing"


[48] Yes Lawd! - NxWorries (Stones Throw)
This is loaded with beautiful classic R&B and soul samples, and Anderson Paak singing all over them. As I'm sure you know, it's certainly not the only thing he had his hands in in 2016, and somehow, it's not even the best, either.
Top jam: "Scared Money"


[47] Next Thing - Frankie Cosmos (Bayonet)
The best way I can describe Greta Kline's latest album as Frankie Cosmos is subtle, wistful jangle pop. It's not as sparse as 2014's Zentropy, and it surely shows maturity and the songs and production are just better. Looking forward to where she goes next.
Top jam: "Floated In"


[46] Ha, Ha, He. - Mourn (Captured Tracks)
Bad ass, jagged, angular and muscular rock from this young, Spanish band. I hear a little bit of tough 90s Matador-style indie rock and some Sleater-Kinneyesque guitar playing at times. Right up my alley.
Top jam: "Brother Brother"


[45] Electric Company - Starling Electric (self-released)
Ann Arbor/Ypsi dudes (I think everyone in Minihorse played on this) doing the damn thing. If my memory serves me correct, the last Starling Electric album was released in 2005 or 2006? I know they've been working on this thing forever, and it was worth it. Diverse, well-traveled pop/rock that's truly all over the place: 60's sunshine/psych pop, 70s AM pop, and straight up 80s jangle/power pop. So glad this has seen the light of day.
Top jam: "Arrowsmith"


[44] A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings - Beach Slang (Polyvinyl)
I figured Beach Slang would have burned out before releasing another album. Too many youthful emotions running amok. In all seriousness, in spite of the horrendous title, A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings is a solid follow-up to last year's The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel Like Us. It's more of the same, and the Replacements references are not as subtle this time around, but the songs are still there and the drums sound awesomely huge. I'm not trying to dog this album, I really do like it!
Top jam: "Hot Tramps"


[43] Put the Kid on the Sleepy Horse - Mock Orange (Topshelf)
I don't think you can call this a reunion record. At least, I'm not aware of Mock Orange ever breaking up. Their last album, 2011's Disguised as Ghosts, was about as good as their previous two (Captain Love and Mind is Not Brain). They've long left behind the mathy, punky emo of their late 90s/early 00s incarnation, and have since been riding a Built to Spill-inspired wave. They continue that here, with maybe a slight nod to SDRE's How It Feels to be Something On on certain tracks (maybe mostly in the dude's voice). I just started listening to this around Thanksgiving. With more time, this could have landed higher on the list.
Top jam: "Tell Me Your Story"


[42] The Magic - Deerhoof (Polyvinyl)
Deerhoof put out a new record in 2016, as they do every year or two. Unsurprisingly it's ballsy and zany and weird and insane, but still impressively catchy. That's the magic Deerhoof equation. The gnarly guitars, Satomi Matsuzaki's vocal melodies and Greg Saunier's octopus arms/minimal kit drumming style are the highlights here, as with any Deerhoof album.
Top jam: "The Devil and His Anarchic Surrealist Retinue"


[41] Fruitless Research - TW Walsh (Graveface)
Friend of and former collaborator with David Bazan, I've followed TW Walsh off and on over the years. I have always loved the lush, somber folk of 2001's Blue Laws. He surprised me with a new album this year, and it rules. There's some synth-driven psych rock here, some blown-out synth pop, and some more chill dream pop. Ok, I'll stop rambling. Just trust me. It's a cool record.
Top jam: "Fundamental Ground"