We continue our countdown to the best albums in 2018 and in this episode we announce two albums which share the title of the best one at The Little Lighthouse in the past year. I Am The Polish Army debut album My Old Man struck us with its great enthusiasm, musicianship, songwriting and playful performance. Harlan T. Bobo finally put out his record The History of Violence out on Goner, which just might be his greatest yet. Chip Kinman, along with the help of his son on guitar and his brother behind the knobs created a post-modern patchwork of an album with an astonishing amount of historical and rock references under the Ford Madox Ford moniker. Two ladies, Bat Fangs brought us a quick and powerful rock’n’roll album with hits going steady. Tony Molina on his Kill The Light is even more brief, but the brevity just makes you play the album over and over again. Bad Sports brought an excellent barrage of love punk rock tunes worthy of the greatest examples in the past. Patsy Gelb and her Rats compiled all those perfect singles from their inception on a single record, seriously contending Singles Going Steady as one of the strongest compilation records in the history of rock music. Schizophonics with their amps turned to the max gave us an album that floats like a perfect MC5 tribute. Mama Rosin teamed up with Mick Collins on a collection of cajun and zydeco chants. Ty Segall is as active as ever, but his main release this year entitled Freedom’s Goblin is one of the deepest he recorded yet. Krist Novoselic is back with Giants In The Trees. And that’s our top 10 this year! Looking back at that top 10, this was a really good year and we can only wish 2019 can be at least as good as this one.
Best Albums in 2018
01 I Am The Polish Army - My Old Man
01 Harlan T. Bobo - The History of Violence
02 Ford Madox Ford - This American Blues
03 Bat Fangs
04 Tony Molina - Kill The Light
05 Bad Sports - Constant Stimulation
06 Patsy’s Rats - Singles
07 The Schizophonics - Land Of The Living
08 Broadway Lafayette - Subway Zydeco
09 Ty Segall and The Freedom Band - Freedom's Goblin
10 Giants In The Trees
11 Cross Brothers ‎– Living On Sheepheads
12 Dream Machine - Breaking the Circle
13 Mia Dyson - If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back
14 Earthless - Black Heaven
15 Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs
16 Dommengang - Love Jail
17 Giant Sand - Return To The Valley of Rain
18 Anna Von Hausswolff - Dead Magic
19 David Nance Band - Peaced and Slightly Pulverized
20 Ruby Boots - Don't Talk About It
21 Tav Falco - Cabaret of Daggers
22 Ty Segall - Fudge Sandwich
23 Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys - Rot
24 Painted Doll
25 Kevin Gordon - Tilt And Shine
Cross Brothers – No White Mystery;
Giants In The Trees – Seed Song;
Ty Segall – Alta;
Broadway Lafayette – Angola Dreams;
Schizophonics – Put Your Weight On It;
Patsy’s Rats – More Than This;
Bad Sports – Constant Stimulation;
Tony Molina – Look Inside Your Mind_Losin’ Touch;
Bat Fangs – Fangs Out;
Ford Maddox Ford – Immediate Nico;
Harlan T. Bobo – Storied;
Harlan T. Bobo – Town;
Harlan T. Bobo – Paula;
I Am The Polish Army – You Don’t Know;
I Am The Polish Army – Setup;
I Am The Polish Army – My Old Man.
Today we first visit Scandinavia, where we check out the new tunes for the Sweden’s Ghost and Norway’s Death By Unga Bunga. Then we visit Ohio. We hear the new music from Guided By Voices and Public Squares who we caught live at Blue Arrow Records. Elsewhere in America, we hear new music from Brooklyn’s A Place To Bury Strangers. We also introduce The Sueves from Chicago and The Katellas, lead by Dewey Peek, who we heard last week with Ford Madox Ford. The episode this week is dedicated to the memory of Mike Harrison of Spooky Tooth, who passed away recently, on March 25.
Tony Kinman and his brother Chip grew up in Carlsbad, CA, just North of San Diego. They started a band called Dils at the tail end of the 70s and were one of the first and strongest punk bands from the first American wave of punk. They moved from San Diego, to San Francisco and then finally Los Angeles. Uncompromisingly left wing political messages they delivered were true to heart and securely wrapped in equally uncompromising loud and explosive rock’n’roll sound. Tony had a deep baritone a Chip was a high tenor. Left wing politics and rough musical backdrop made their musical vision stood out in contrast to what the industry wanted from the very beginning. Rebelling against the punks, Tony and Chip formed a new project in the 80s called Rank & File in an adopted home of Austin TX. Teaming up with Alejandro Escovedo, they basically invented what would later be dubbed first cow punk and then alt country, but again, a few years too soon. Punks rejected the old brothers and country music scene just didn’t know what to make out of the left wing cowboys. Their next project started at the end of the 80s and went into the 90s. Just two brothers, one loud guitar and one metronome drum machine became ingredients for their next band called Blackbird. It was a minimalist approach, but nevertheless an approach that put their poetry up in the center and also Tony’s voice. Indeed, his deep dreamy baritone became the focus of the performance. Punk audience was not ready for the drum machine, so Kinmans decided to throw something else at the crowd. Remembering their childhood joy of listening to the old traditional cowboy songs. the brothers reinvented themselves as Cowboy Nation. Again, Tony’s voice was the focus attention. But with lyrics like in their songs Rebel and Revolution, they were rejected by the niche western scene and in the new millennium, Kinmans started family lives. The music was still there. Tony formed his own band called Los Trendy in Los Angeles and he also joined Smash Fashion for one album. Good news came this year that Chip formed his new band Ford Madox Ford with his son Dewey Peek and with Tony helping in the studio as a producer. But like in a bad novel, good news is always followed by a sad one. Tony was diagnosed with cancer in March and then fell to it on May 4th this year. His past music continues to inspire, but also, may Chip’s and Dewey’s future music be a reminder on Tony’s legacy just as well. This episode of The Little Lighthouse goes to Tony Kinman, our fallen comrade.