Today we begin our traditional review of the best records at the Little Lighthouse in the past year. Although “the best” should be understood in a very limited way. These records is basically just a very personal selection of new music that stuck with me this year. It may not be the best, but it somehow resonated in my mind. The time will tell whether these records will last longer than one season, but I definitely tend to go back to the stuff that I liked.
The list this year has 25 titles, and we first cover the bottom end of the list. The next week is 2016 and we will cover the top 10. This was a good year for the music from ex-Yugoslavia. We have two bands in the lower part of the list (Vlasta Popić and Bernays Propaganda). One more title will be covered next week. It was also a good year for Swedish bands. This year we have Ghost and Bäddat För Trubbel. Australians are traditionally welcome on our list(Zerodent, Paul Kelly and one more next week). Memphis, Austin, Detroit and San Francisco still rule in the US. Looking forward to 2016 – hopefully with even more surprises for the new generations of rockers…
Sweet Apple – I Surrender;
The Bevis Frond – Second Son;
Paul Kelly – Where Were You When I Needed You (With Clairy Browne);
The Yawpers – Walter;
Vlasta Popić – O vodi;
The Ghost – From The Pinnacle To The Pit;
Sonny Vincent and Spite – Now That I Have You;
Low Cut Connie – Taste So Good;
Fuzz – Jack The Maggot;
Zerodent – You;
Soldiers of Fortune – Dog Tooth Down;
Cairo Gang – A Heart Like Yours;
Bäddat För Trubbel – Fran Afterwork Till Lillordag;
Giant Sand – Texting Feist;
Bernays Propaganda – ÄŒuvaj se od tie Å¡to te Äuvaat.
Here’s what we have this time: Orville Bateman Neely and his OBN IIIs are back with their new album Worth A Lot Of Money. From Sweden, we have the new music from Bäddat För Trubbel and Animal Daydream. The latter are on the Jigsaw record label, and this label prepared an excellent archival recording by a mysterious band called Restless Hearts. Continuing on a power pop note, we have Bart Mendoza and his True Stories. We also introduce a new songwriting name in this show: Joe Hutchinson who goes by the name of Joe Normal.
We end today with the mind-blowing new album for Rachel, Tanya and Petra Haden, The Haden Triplets, produced by Ry Cooder. We start with The Forty Nineteens from LA who just put out excellent new record called simply Spin It. Our recommendation exactly! The we check out Coathangers, a trio of ladies from Atlanta for the first time at the show. Black Lips have a new record and so do John The Conqueror. Swedish punks Bäddat För Trubbel are also back with a new tune.
A ton of new records today… We have a new band called Sonny And The Sunsets. Album is called Hit By Hit and it’s out on Fat Possum. Robyn Hitchcock is also here with a new album called Tromsø, Kaptein. Steve Earle also has a new record out called I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive. Ad Hoc Detroit super group The Witches had put out a compilation record called A Haunted Person’s Guide To The Witches, which ranks as a seriously strong candidate for the best reissue of this year. A very pleasant surprise is the brand new collaboration between Susan Cowsill, Freedy Johnston and Jon Dee Graham in a band they call The Hobart Brothers And Lil’ Sis Hobart. The new songs are in progress, we got one from their website. We also have a new band today, Swedish hopefuls Bäddat för trubbel. I find it amusing how Swedish language when its sung sounds like gibberish English… Anyway, great stuff!