The Angels of Light – How I Loved You (2001)

Apple Music || Spotify
I never knew Swans had a side project. This is post-country, free form folk-type music. If you ever heard To Be Kind and wanted to make it acoustic and throw some twang on it, well here it is. The production on here is unbelievable, especially for a 2001 recording, and the extremely free song structure kept me coming back to this. I really can’t write much more about it, if you like the idea of Swans making a country album, you should listen.

Pitchfork’s original review, posted in March 2001 is a hilarious look-back at the project. They give the album a pretty low score, and the lead reviewer (mainly a pop fan) complains about how long the songs are, which is genuinely so funny knowing who’s in this band. Anyways, below you’ll find a 3 minute long song that’s more memorable than anything a critic has ever wrote. Another short cut, Untitled Love Song, is one of my favorite ballads I’ve heard this year, and will be sure to keep you in your feels.

The Liverhearts – Ornament (2008)

Apple Music || Spotify

Indie rock is awesome. DIY is awesome. Ornament was recommended to me and described as “the coolest band ever” – and I can 100% see how we’d get there. There’s tunes on here that dance with shoegaze, jangle pop, hardcore, and just straight up rock music. It’s also the only album they ever released, and it absolutely rules.

It’s a time capsule from an Atlanta of yesteryear, right on the precipice of when Millennials would take over culture. Before everyone had a mixtape, partook in the hardcore COVID-boom, or wanted to be a DJ, youth got together and made balls-to-the-wall indie rock. Here’s some of that. There’s been so many words spilled about NYC’s dance punk/indie-rock revival during these same years, yet in another world or zip code there’s no reason The Liverhearts couldn’t have been just as grand as The Rapture. These choruses are arena-worthy, riffs are mosh ready, and a few of these tunes are genuinely exceptional. Damages rattles like a warning siren, Simple Machines is a war call, and Of Doctors & Daggers is an anthem.

The Hellp – LL (2024)

Apple Music || Spotify

I can only describe this as “3OH!3 revival-core meets indie sleaze.” Did you ever once listen to 3OH!3 for their vocal ability? No? But you liked how it sounded over those cool beats? Here’s the closest thing you’ll get paying tribute to that era. You ever listened to Crystal Castles? Great, tweak the bass a little. LL is what would happen if Phoenix had Ableton instead of guitars or anyone from MGMT dropped out of high school instead of going to NYU. It lacks the gritty & on-the-nose lyrics The Dare put out last year, but makes up for it with cocaine-ready choruses (so I’m told, as I do not endorse, nor use, cocaine).

If you can’t quite listen to this entire project, I cannot recommend enough the run from Stunn through Shadow. That 20ish minutes is so packed full of magic it’s sound-tracked multiple moments of my year.

Snow Strippers – April Mixtape 2 (2022)

Apple Music || Spotify
DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE I WANT TO DANCE DANCE WHY AREN’T YOU DANCING? GET ON THE DANCE FLOOR AND DANCE. PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY, DANCE!!!!! LET’S DANCE ALREADY. WHO CARES JUST DANCE. WOO WOO WOO WOO WOO WOO WOO

Jokes aside, these guys played maybe the worst Boiler Room ever. It’s bad in the same way the lead singer of Taking Back Sunday is bad, where if you know what you’re getting into you’ll love it. The mixing is so scuffed, the mics are scuffed, they blatantly don’t know to do transitions, and get more joy out of the sample board than playing their own songs. If you want to experience that, I don’t recommend it, but it’s pretty fun!

After releasing music extremely frequently – like all 3 mixtapes + debut album within 13 months – we have now gone 15 months without any new Snow Stippers music. Their last EP was not the best. If Snow Strippers was just a blip or a moment in time, let it be, and I’ll be so incredibly happy for what it was. Go listen to Just Your Doll to celebrate.

Pt. 2: The Really Cool Stuff

Lip Critic – Hex Dealer (2024)

Apple Music || Spotify
Here’s your really weird stuff. This is for fans of really ridiculous noises, non-traditional vocal delivery, and super dense synths. Hex Dealer is a Death Grips album without Zach Hill, or a JPEGMAFIA album without 808s. It’s a relatively short listen, 30 minutes, but it’s a full blown sprint. If you want a quick taste of what this thing is capable of, pop on In The Wawa (Convinced I Am God) and see if the “aaaahHHHaaaaAaaaaAAaahhhhaaaAAhh” drives you insane or not. In another world, Lip Critic are one of the leaders of the experimental world. In this world, they put out one of my new favorite albums that will push your limits of what you’d find acceptable in music.

I don’t recommend digging into the lyrics. It’s a vibes album. Let it rip.

Nouns – Still (2014)

Apple Music || Spotify
I think people would classify this as “mid-west emo” but it really is so much more than words can describe. Still is so incredibly lush with watery guitars, and it’s produced to allow the rest of the band space to breath. I frequently find lo-fi to take away from performances, but it truly adds something special to the eclectic styles Nouns explores. You’ll find so much packed into the 11 songs, it’d be hard not to fall in love with something. Lyrics are sometimes squealed, screamed, or meant to be sung as a group. Occasional synths and chords will guide your trip, as the lone beacon of joy. It’s a truly sensational experience deciphering what’s going on. Indie, lo-fi, emo, pop, punk, and hardcore ascetics are all packed on here, yet none of them overpower each other.

I found a pretty fun time capsule, a review from craigreviewsmusic’s 2014, quite literally the only written buzz I can find that came out around it’s release date. When I reached out to Craig he sent me a mini-doc from the band, and when you inevitably get as enriched as I am with the project you should give it a watch. Still popped out in a weird time where emo-nostalgia hadn’t quite bloomed, yet Modern Baseball was quickly becoming one of the biggest bands in the world. It’s mind boggling how incredible this record is, and how seldom a piece of music like this is released. For fans of emo, pop-punk, and everything in between, this should be an inner-circle album.

Cameron Winter – Heavy Metal (2024)

Apple Music // Spotify
It took me exactly one listen to realize I just went through one of the greatest singer-songwriter experiences. Heavy Metal, performed and written by the lead singer of Geese, is unlike any experience in modern music. You must embrace Winter’s voice, which isn’t good or bad, but some secret third thing that makes it borderline hypnotizing. You are forced to embrace non-traditional instrumentation, including oddly tuned pianos throughout.

Everything that you would anticipate this album to be, it is not. It is and will forever be timeless. I hope other songwriters take extremely deep inspiration from this project, and remember that being weird & odd will generate listeners. The more everyone does the same thing, the more value there is in deviating from the formula. Nobody has gotten more value from bucking norms than Winter on Heavy Metal. In many ways, I can only hope this is a sample of Winter’s future. While fronting Geese will 100% be an extremely rewarding gig, it’s great to know this capacity of songwriting is possible on the individual level. I’m reminded deeply of Tom Waits, and there’s a pretty apt comparison to Adrienne Lenker of Big Thief, and to put those names here is such an incredible compliment to Winter already.

Against All Logic – 2012 – 2017 (2018)

Youtube Playlist

When I was in college, I used to listen to the radio driving places. In the Boston metro area, there was a radio station that would book pretty much anyone that could “DJ” on Saturday nights – 101.3. Restrictions were pretty low, but it was mostly unheard and unlistened pop remixes, random disco flips, and eurotrance beats. For a younger me, it was the coolest thing in the world – they’re playing dance music on the radio! I’d only heard of this stuff from random Danes & Swedes I played video games with, through the really wack Youtube recommendations in the late 2000s, or the backseat of a 2-door Honda Civic in the hills of the Springfield, MA metropolitan area. I remember describing Daft Punk to my friends as “cool guy stoner music” because it was “hypnotic” – I had never even been around marijuana when I said that. It was mind blowing to hear dance music broadcasted at the time, and in 2025 it is impossible for me to reconcile that this project was assembled during those years.

This is a masterpiece of dance. It is a dedicated, meticulous, and precise hour of music that is so refined to every grainy detail. It is a mountainous piece of work. It proudly stands in the shadow of the pioneers and casts a shadow over everything since. Released 7 years ago, there is no album or collection of songs that remotely compares to the magic packed onto here released by an electronic group. If you’ve ever considered yourself a fan of electronic music, raved til the sun came up, or enjoyed cocktails on a roof, you need to hear this. I’ve included the full tracklist below, as it frequently gets pulled off streaming, and every one of these songs is worth your full attention. I first heard Alive (2007) my freshman year of high school, well over 15 years ago, and I’ve yearned for that experience since (there’s 5 tracks on there that are probably still the best in their style). This is the first electronic album in a decade that reminds me of the true joy found within the artistry of electronic music.

I had a borderline crisis when I heard this. It made me genuinely angry at so many modern DJs. How has 7 years passed and we haven’t been able to compete? How have none of you even scratched on the magic this project has? You have more money than Augustus, more production software than NASA engineers, and more sample material than ecologists. Where is your drive, desire, and motivation to progress further? Why are all of your albums boring? Why can you not string 7 original songs together and make it enjoyable? It’s depressing to hear about that same progress and how things are supposed to get better as the years pass, but we’ve done nothing but regress.

note: Skrillex’s most recent project is omitted from many of the grand statements above, as this was written before I heard it 🙂

George Harrison – All Things Must Pass (1970)

Apple Music || Spotify || Youtube
Let’s get to brass tacks: this is one of the greatest albums ever written and the best project from post-The Beatles. The real meat & potatoes here are the 18 tunes that roll across rock, folk, and pop. It is infinitely human, entirely enriched by the personality of a once overshadowed artist. So many of these tunes were clearly written for the band, but the vastness Harrison’s lone creativity should ignite something within you on any listen. Desert, Apple Jam, is the 4.5 jam tunes at the end where Harrison & co. are just straight up ripping with the exclusion of a birthday tune dedicated to John Lennon. All Things Must Pass expands the concept of what music is & can be even still, and genuinely casts a stands tall among the Beatles’ discography. It received universal acclaim on release, I’ve previously only heard a few of these songs, and NOBODY has ever talked to me about it. If I had listened to this (and I’m sorry I didn’t) before the top100 list, I probably would have placed it in the 7-12 range, I cannot believe how incredible it is.

Let it sit with you after your first listen (which is over 2 hours btw). Do it again. You’ll find yourself longing for more. All Things Must Pass is a deeply moving experience where Harrison confronts both himself and his experience within the world’s most famous band. “Oh it’s a bunch of Beatles’ throwaways” all the haters would say, not knowing how dumb that is. At least half of the tunes on here made me reexamine my understanding of the group and detest John Lennon more than I already did. On a first listen, you might miss the moments that truly matter. On subsequent listens, you’ll hear the exact moment where George Harrison fell in love with the guitar again.

fin:

Hop Along & Queen Ansleis – Freshman Year (2006)

Apple Music || Spotify
Every now and then you hear an album that re-frames everything you’ve previously heard. Last year, modern pop was re-contextualized for me when BRAT came out. Donna Summer’s Bad Girls continues to shape all of my opinions around disco. Thugger’s Jeffrey is my pinnacle of ATL hip hop. Hop Along, Queen Ansleis released Freshman Year in 2006, and my 2025 listen has redefined my understanding of folk music.

Every single song is so insanely memorable, the production leaves me gasping for more, and my jaw physically dropped on the first listen. Speeds change, every single instrument is dynamic, and there is nothing repeated. Instrumentally we’re dealing with the kitchen sink of noises: glass getting hit, kazoos, guitars being played in every possible way, and ridiculous yet engrossing lyrics. I cannot decipher what the drums are. Our odd cast of characters show up whenever they want, but the acoustic guitar is the real captain of the ship. Seldom will you be able to tell if the remote instruments are improvised or placed with such intent you’ll wonder how anyone decided to play it.

You’ll feel the air in the room, the space between vocal chords, and the joy of laughter. The human voice shouldn’t be able to do this. It’s bending, full, crippled, rich, claustrophobic, but comforting. Stories, poems, conversations, memories and ambitions are all brought to you. Lyrically, every song means nothing but it also everything. It really is strange sometimes to be everything at all.

Freshman Year is my favorite album I heard in years. It is, and will probably end the year as my favorite album I listened to in 2025. It has been many, many years since I adored an album as much as this. Nostalgia brims through my head when I wasn’t burdened by empathy, exploring exurban hellholes of the Pioneer Valley for the first time. Time will always pass, and we’ll be left with those memories of what was and is. We’ll long for experiences we detested, fondly embrace experiences we wished we forgot. All of this makes us human, and those early years form us as we grow. Freshman Year is the bottled innocence of youth and the nostalgia of optimism all ripped away by exceptionally vivid & creative storytelling. The beauty is found so truly in an artist’s desire to make music for the sake of it, the naivety of the machine, and the exuberance of individuality. Joy is fragile, and it takes an intentional effort every single day not to shatter your own.