THE DANMAN CAN

1.    Osees   Sorcs 80   **** 2.    Future Islands   People Who Aren't There Anymore   **** 3.    St. Vincent   All Born Screaming   **** 4.    Karate   Make It Fit   **** 5.    Röyksopp   Nebulous Nights   **** 6.    David Best   Message - Send - Failure  ***1/2 7.    J. Robbins   Basilisk   ***1/2 8.    Zombi   Direct Inject  ***1/2 9.    Redd Kross   Redd Kross   ***1/2 10.  The Folk Implosion   Walk Thru Me ***1/2 11. The Jesus Lizard   Rack ***1/2 12. Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets Indoor Safari ***1/2 13.  RJD2   Visions Out Of Limelight  ***1/2 14.  Chromeo   Adult Contemporary   ***1/2 15.  The Cure   Songs Of A Lost World  ***1/2 16.  The Smile   Cutouts   ***1/2 17.  John Carpenter   Lost Themes IV: Noir ...

1.    Still Corners   The Last Exit  ****1/2 ( Review ) 2.    Rata Negra   Una Vida Vulgar  **** 3.    Crumb   Ice Melt   **** 4.    Descendents   9th & Walnut  **** 5.    Voyag3r   New York Ninja  (Soundtrack) **** 6.    The Go! Team   Get Up Sequences Part One   ***1/2 7.    Dry Cleaning   New Long Leg   ***1/2 8.    St. Vincent   Daddy's Home  ***1/2      9.    Quicksand   Distant Populations  ***1/2 10.  Andrew W.K.   God Is Partying   ***1/2 11.  Tomahawk   Tonic Immobility  ***1/2 12.  Sarah Neufeld   Detritus  ***1/2 13.  Colleen   The Tunnel And The Clearing  ***1/2 14.  Museum Of Love   Life Of Mammals  ***1/2 15.  John Carpenter   Lost Themes III: Alive After Death   ***1/2 16.  My Mornin...

1.   Mew Visuals ****1/2 2.   Fujiya & Miyagi Fujiya & Miyagi  ****1/2 3.   Rainer Maria S/T ****1/2 ( Review ) 4.   Fever Ray Plunge  **** ( Review ) 5.   Quicksand Interiors  **** ( Review) 6.   Spoon Hot Thoughts **** 7.   The Life And Times The Life And Times   **** 8.   Daniele Luppi & Parquet Courts Milano  **** ( Review) 9.   Goldfrapp Silver Eye **** ( Review ) 10. St. Vincent Masseduction   **** ( Review ) 11. Charlotte Gainsbourg   Rest  **** ( Review )   12. UNKLE The Road: Part 1   **** 13. Failure Fantastic Planet Live  **** 14.  Beck   Colors  ***1/2 ( Review ) 15. Queens Of The Stone Age Villains   ***1/2 ( Review ) 16. Primus The Desaturating Seven ***1/2 ( Review ) 17. Electric Six How Dare You  ***1/2 18. The Octopus Project   Memory Mirror  ***   19. John Carpenter Anthology (Mov...

While overall I definitely prefer the more organic  Annie Clark  and it probably would have been impossible to top her last  self-titled album  (my thoughts on that one  here ), Masseduction (2017) is still a great LP. Annie seems to be channeling a bit of a  Tori Amos / Fiona Apple  vibe on this latest go-around, intentionally or not. The slick production doesn't always work for me, but on certain tracks it fits like a glove. "Los Ageless" is an incredibly catchy single and I love that the guitar motif from that song is introduced on piano on the track preceding ("Sugarboy"). As always, she remains interesting and unique. Being that I equate her to a modern day  Bowie , I will always be on board with her, even if she has some albums I like less or outright flops. Here's hoping that she stays vital.

1.    St. Vincent St. Vincent ***** ( Review ) 2.    The Life And Times Lost Bees  ***** ( Review ) 3.    Aphex Twin Syro  ****1/2 ( Review ) 4.    Spoon They Want My Soul ****1/2 ( Review ) 5.    Röyksopp The Inevitable End  ****1/2 6.    Trans Am Volume X **** ( Review ) 7.    The Faint Doom Abuse **** ( Review ) 8.    Fujiya & Miyagi Artificial Sweeteners  **** ( Review ) 9.    Chromeo White Women  **** 10.  Interpol  El Pintor  **** ( Review ) 11. Mica Levi Under The Skin (Soundtrack) **** 12.  Trap Them  Blissfucker   ***1/2 13. Voyag3r Doom Fortress ***1/2 14. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross Gone Girl (Soundtrack) ***1/2 15. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead  IX ***1/2 16. Mirah Changing Light  ***1/2 ( Review ) 17. Primus Primus & The Chocolate Factory With The Fungi Ensemble  ***1/2 ...

Wow. WOW. WOW. This is just an incredible album. I can't remember the last time I had such a good first impression of an album - probably Bowie 's The Next Day , which was my favorite album of last year. And this could easily be my favorite album of this year (it's gonna be hard to top it anyway). It's quite literally a perfect album - every track is concise, energetic, original, catchy. Speaking of Bowie , I don't hesitate to mention  Annie Clark in the same breath as him and Peter Gabriel   because like them, she's a trailblazer. Every one of her 4 albums is unique and worthwhile. She changes her look regularly. And man, can she shred a guitar. I can't even believe this is the same person I saw playing bass for John Vanderslice  in San Diego in 2007, two months before her first album even dropped. Majorly looking forward to listening to this LP again - I can tell it's gonna get a lot of spins this year.

I definitely love this Giant .

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead   Tao Of The Dead ****1/2 Death Cab For Cutie   Codes And Keys **** ( Review ) Thao & Mirah   Thao & Mirah ****1/2 ( Review ) Boots Electric   Honkey Kong **** ( Review ) St. Vincent   Strange Mercy **** The Black Keys   El Camino **** ( Review ) Peter Gabriel New Blood ****1/2 ( Review ) My Morning Jacket   Circuital ***1/2 ( Review ) Tom Waits   Bad As Me ***1/2 ( Review ) The Cars   Move Like This ***1/2 Charles Bradley   No Time For Dreaming **** Foo Fighters   Wasting Light ***1/2 Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross   The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Soundtrack) **** Primus   Green Naugahyde ***1/2 The Chemical Brothers   Hanna (Soundtrack) **** Trap Them Darker Handcraft **** The Go! Team   Rolling Blackouts ***1/2 Fujiya & Miyagi   Ventriloquizzing ***1/2 Cliff Martinez...