Unlike those words that I have heard from so many people over the years: "they don't make music like they used to," I find the opposite is true. Yes, technically music making has evolved over the years. Increased access to equipment, recording, and ways to find an audience has changed drastically. The spirit hasn't though. There is incredible music being made all around us all of the time. More than ever. It's difficult to keep up! My problem as an older person who has yet to fully adjust to the idea that music doesn't have to be physically possessed is that I get overwhelmed. I am fully aware that I have missed a lot of great music this year, because I get overwhelmed by it. There's too much! I do not make enough time available to hear more music. I cannot afford it. I can't keep up! These selections are ten of many releases I enjoyed this year. I share them only hoping to present my thoughts in a vague way to show appreciation to these great artists and inspire an individual to look into these artists further. There's always been good music and likely always will be. Happy New Year!!
Write ups can be accessed via the band/album names below
For those unaware, J. Robbins was the vocalist/guitarist of two fantastic
punk/post-punk bands from the 90s: Jawbox
and Burning Airlines.I am a huge fan of Jawbox especially.Their 1991 debut album, Grippe, was without a doubt, one of those game-changing albums for
me, because it opened up an entirely new world of US based punk rock for
me.By that point, I was fairly well
versed with the legendary bands, but they were mostly in the past.Jawbox was fresh, new, and energetic.
Apparently, Basilisk is J. Robbins’ second solo album, so I will have to go
back and check that out, but only after I encourage people to check out and
give this album serious consideration. Robbins
did not fall completely off of my music radar, as I have admired his very clean
production work over the past too many years, such as Jets to Brazil’s incredible Orange
Rhyming Dictionary, The Promise Ring’s
Very Emergency, and more recently in
my collection, Thrushes’ Exposing Seas. It’s been over twenty years since I’ve heard
Robbins’ voice, and it may sound goofy, but hearing him sing again froze me in
time. It was incredibly welcome and
amazing how he sounds exactly the same to me.
It’s like running into an old friend after many years and finding out
that you’re both still the goofy dorks you were originally and still get
along. In this case, I’m a fan of his
jaggedly infectious post punk.
If you were a fan of his former
bands, you will surely love this.
Robbins’ songwriting here is tight throughout, as are the performances
with the rhythm section he has assembled (bass: Brooks Harlan drums: Darren
Zentek), and check out the fiery hot guitar lead from legendary Chicago
punk John Haggarty from Naked Raygun and Pegboy on the menacing opening “Automacity.” “Last War” is a thoughtful look into the idea
of not evolving with change, but instead fighting against all of it, and you
know what? It’s also fun to sing along
with. “Exquisite Corpse” is the
highlight of highlights for me. Its
energy and sound remind me most of those great Jawbox songs, and is
relentlessly catchy. Robbins addresses
the continuing damaging pollution issue on the stuttering “Gasoline Rainbow”
mostly via striking imagery, but the verse of “and what good / is the word / of
a God / who won’t return / til everything has burned” should strike a note with
certain climate change deniers. Probably
not. Elsewhere “A Ray of Sunlight”
sounds like it could be fitted neatly into a Bob Mould album, with its tuneful buzz and those drum fills
bridging into the chorus. It makes
perfect sense why Robbins has been invited to open for Mould. There are some interesting electronic
flourishes here and there, but none of it distracts from the mighty focus of
the songwriting throughout.
Learning of this album has been a
fantastic and refreshing surprise. I had
assumed that J. Robbins had given up performance, and yet here he is as vital
as ever.
