Did not make the top-10 by one or two hairs, but in a year
like this one, that is not a shame. Here
are, for starters, my numbers 11-15 in no particular order :
Adrenalized – Tales From The Last Generation : Technical
skatepunk from outer space. Really.
Broadway Calls – Comfort/Distraction : What Green Day
should’ve sounded like, had they not found their mom’s eyeliners and lipsticks.
Asado – Equipped To Fail : Yet another really exciting Canadian
skatepunk outfit.
ASG – Blood Drive : By far the very best non-punk album I’ve
come across this year.
All of the above are definitely worth checking out!!
But now, here’s that top-10 for you!!
10 Implants – From Chaos To Order
These fine gentleman are to the nineties Fatwreck punkrock,
what Them Crooked Vultures are to stoner/rock.
A superband, both literal and metaphorical.
09 Touché Amoré – Is Survived By
Truly belongs in this list.
I’ve experienced how this album got better and better as I was playing
it several times to prepare for their show in my town. And what a show it was... Get ready to be blown away!
08 The Slow Death – No Heaven
Very enjoyable ‘gruff-punk’ album for fans of Off With Their
Heads and such... No points for the
artwork though. WTF.
07 Iron Chic – The Constant One
Released towards the end of the year, but definitely
top-10. Maybe even a higher spot after a
few more weeks of listening time. I
should say, however, that for now I don’t hear an awful lot of evolution compared
to ‘Not Like this’. But if that album would’ve
been released in 2013, it would also be in this list without a doubt.
06 RVIVR – The Beauty Between
Hailing from Latterman, should probably say enough already. An extra female set of vocal cords guarantees
for a couple of lovely lines. Great
band, great melodies, great album!
05 F.O.D. – Ontario
Hooray! Finally
another top-notch, non-pretentious, melodic punk record . And not an overproduced, trimmed and shaved itty
bitty 10 or 11 track album, no no no, here are 16 songs for us to enjoy, of
which some will make you laugh and chuckle because of the simple good clean fun
they’re made of. Check such tracks as
’20 second song’ or ‘counting numbers’ (a favourite to my 5- and 7-year old
kids). And next to those, a whole bunch
of really great tunes. Songs that would
effortlessly fit in some NOFX or Bad Religion albums, written by a contemporary
of mine, telling us about his love/lust/home/family/work/responsabilities and
worries. Which makes it all the more
enjoyable to me.
The lovely vocal harmonies between Hans and Stijn, and the
fact that they easily pull off covers of songs by NOFX, Frenzal Rhomb and
Undeclinable, should already have you googling for their next gig in your town
or somewhere nearby!!
04 Dave Hause – Devour
The Loved Ones seem to be dead and gone. Sad really.
On a positive note, it gives Dave Hause the possibility to invest all of
his energy into his solo-career. And
that pays off. What a lovely album this
is, and Dave has that ability to let you feel every word he sings in every
single hair on your skin.
Right after the release, in some comment on Facebook, I
referred to Devour as more of a
storytelling kind of album. I still
think of it that way, and that is also the reason why I like it better than
‘Resolutions’.
03 Face To Face – Three Chords And A Half Truth
When Laugh Now Laugh Later was released early 2012, their
first post-hiatus effort, I was pleased.
But now, with this next album, becomes clear how much LNLL was still a
re-boot exercise, a non-risk album, as if all members had to get to know
eachother all over again. Few songs on
it stand the test of time. With this new
album, its totally different, a few really experimental things are going on,
Jazzy, Bluesy stuff, The Clash and The Stranglers influences, ... and so on...
Awesome artwork, and the fact that they still pull off one
hell of a live-show, might also have contributed to their ranking in my
list. Anyway, Face To Face has
definitely risen from their ashes, and I’m really looking forward now as to
what they will bring next.
02 Restorations – LP2
One of the most impressive punk/alternative outfits
around. Three guitars make for a very
layered sound, yet always with a ‘basic’ feel, and never over the top. So many instruments and still a less is more
kinda feeling to it, that’s pure awesomeness...
Carried by the drummer the band succeeds in performing unbelievably
smooth changes in pace and bridges of unimaginable virtuousity. Please go check out their live-session on
Audiotree.tv!! That’s some jaw-dropping
shit...
However, don’t expect to find stomping and steaming punk
rock anthems, nor hyper-technical skatepunk fiddly diddly, these guys are told
to play ‘punk for old(er) people’... The
album does take a few spins to really catch your ear, but after that it won’t
let go of it. Give it a couple of
chances, you won’t regret it, and this band deserves it. And go see them perform it all live at
Groezrock!
01 Off With Their Heads – Home
Is it possible to explain this in a brief description? No it isn’t... If you’re really interested in finding out
why this album deserves this spot more than any other 2013 release, check it
here : http://punkrocker-rockclimber.blogspot.be/2013/03/album-review-home-by-off-with-their.html
Home can’t be anything else but the album of the year, and
it is also a giant step forward as a band.
They keep getting better and better. It makes me wonder what they have in store for
us next. That is if they still exist as
a band after their current tour... Find
out with me later.
Also a few really great EP’s saw the light of day in 2013,
here are some of them, in random order :
Muncie Girls – Sleepless
A Hero Build – Prospects
Call It Off – Lovers
Title Fight – Spring Songs
So Many Ways – Seer
John Coffey – Unstached
NOFX – Stoke Extinguisher
Lonely The Brave – Backroads
Ellesmere – Bail City
Moonward – s/t
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