HCTF's annual list of the 20 albums that will be in regular rotation for many years to come. As per usual many genres are represented. Here Comes The Flood covers a lot of ground and it shows in this eclectic, final tally.
Today: countdown from number 15 to 11.
Please shop at your local record store. The folks who work there know their stuff. And most of the shores have a pretty good website where you can order your stuff. It might even be cheaper than the big ones on the 'net.
Buy directly from the artist, attend live shows and stop by the merch table. And be sure to tell your friends about that great new act you discovered. Word-of-mouth can't be beat as the prime source to discover new music.
15 Kevin the Persian: Southern Dissonance
Rocking out on all cylinders against prejudice and bigotry. And keeping the guitar in the spotlights as a lead instrument.
He is an outsider in his own immediate surroundings in the Deep South, despite being born as a citizen of the "Confederate States of America". That is Southern Dissonance in a nutshell, a rocker whose appearance makes narrow-minded and conservative white people twitch. (...) rock is a universal language. America has always needed outsiders to point the way, even if it is looking back to its own heritage. This album is a crash course for loud music from the early 70s to the late 90s, all the way from classic rock via metal to thrash and grunge.
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14 Donna Blue: Dark Roses
Dutch retro-pop duo Donna Blue tell well-crafted tales about love and loss.
Doomed love songs are their forte and they obviously love the soundtracks of Italian and French movies from the '60s and '70s. Case in point: A Lover In Disguise, wherein the guitar conjures up images of a deserted, sun-beaten village in the middle of nowhere. Vintage French yé-yé pop is dusted off and updated for Solitaire - two lovers find themselves at sea in a small boat that isn't designed to handle the storm that is coming straight at them - and Rouge. They mastered the art of the stage whisper and their spot-on Ry Cooder-inspired guitar flourishes are like the tumbleweeds acting as the harbingers for a showdown.
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13 Jumble Hole Clough: The Erik Satie Toga Party
English eccentric one-man band keeps things weird and interesting.
Robinson's mostly deadpan delivery is a nice contrast to the bells and whistles he has sprinkled with reckless abandon upon his free-flowing compositions. He always had a soft spot for the craving for weirdness that is part of the human condition. Take Don't Sit On My Rugose Cone, which could very well be the first song to have been written about this made-up creature that can be found in the works H.P. Lovecraft. God's messengers can be bad news as any fan of Doctor Who knows and A Fear Of Angels is in sync with that premise.
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12 Sophia Djebel Rose: Métempsycose
Introspective plea to take care of the world and all its life forms that are struggling to survive.
(...) a concept album of sorts about overlooked small insects and nature in general. Inspired by her walks on the high plateaus of the Auvergne, she felt a connection and an urge to tell the world to cherish all the component parts that make life possible on Earth. She isn't a preacher, but more of a dreamer, who believes in some form of reincarnation. Whether that sort thing is your cup of tea or not, isn't relevant to be able to enjoy the depth of her poetic imagery.
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11 Dogzen Zendog: Petals Nails
Genres? Who needs genres genres? It is all music and mixing it up can be a good thing.
Right from the get-go English musician Glenn O'Halloran makes it clear that the pigeonholing defying music of his (...) project shows no signs of slowing down. (...) There is room for dub and Sophie Knöchelmann's violin in the opening track The Box and Godley & Creme receive a well-deserved pat on the shoulder in Where Lovers Go. O'Halloran has a firm on things, but there is plenty of room for improvisation. All saxophone parts by Joe O'Halloran are first takes recorded during the first play back of the track. That is nothing short of amazing and can only be accomplished by listening carefully to what is already in the can.
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