Well, I guess we’ve finally reached that moment, but before I reveal my favourite song and album of the year, I do want to give out consolatory honours to some albums and songs that, had I been ranking things this year, would’ve been right up there at the top, competing for bearded glory. I’ve already mentioned Black Mountain’s Wilderness Heart, Sweet Apple’s Love & Desperation, Dirty Sweet’s American Spiritual, and The Kings of Frog Island’s III, all of which should be highlighted, but I want to add the following albums and songs into their company…

High On Fire’s Snakes for the Divine, The Sword’s Warp Riders, Year of No Light’s Ausserwelt, Agalloch’s Marrow of the Spirit, Tweak Bird’s Tweak Bird, Souvenir’s Young America’s The Name of the Snake, and The Adjusters’ Reckless Relations. Every single one of ‘em is highly recommended.

Shit, I don’t think I can stop there. Okay, let’s also add Night Horse’s Perdition Hymns, Alcest’s Écailles de lune, Dead Trooper’s Cynicist, Brother Dege’s Folksongs of the American Longhair, Trap Them’s Filth Rations, the Melvins’ The Bride Screamed Murder, Electric Wizard’s Black Masses, Torche’s Songs for Singles, Violent Soho’s Violent Soho, Daughters’ Daughters, and Year Long Disaster’s Black Magic; All Mysteries Revealed. I could probably keep going, but these stand-outs will have to do.

As for songs, there was Black Mountain’s “The Hair Song” and “Sadie,” and Sweet Apple’s “Do You Remember,” and “Flying Up a Mountain,” but there were two others I had a tendency to play over and over again all year long, and those were Against Me!’s “Spanish Moss” and The Sword’s “Night City.”

But now, let’s just get this damn year-end thing over with…

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Lo-Pan
Sasquanaut
Small Stone

Originally released last year on Nice Life Records, Lo-Pan’s Sasquanaut has been given a thorough turn in the ol’ cement mixer courtesy of their new label, Small Stone, who probably built a nice addition to their headquarters with the cinder blocks formed from the thick concrete riffs on what is now known as Sasquanaut, mark 2. The fact that this album has been remixed and re-mastered is supposed to mean there’s a bit more spit and polish to the Ohio band’s brick n’ roll, but the stoner fuzz here is so gritty I can’t help but think that they placed the majority of the emphasis on the spit and polished what was left with coarse sandpaper. Lo-Pan are true bruisers, man, barreling their way through the eight songs on Sasquanaut like a dump truck driver on PCP, and should throw a wrench into the power rankings over at Small Stone thanks to their Bigfoot-in-outer-space sound (or gorilla as the cover suggests), which will instantly remind you of any number of combinations consisting of Roadsaw, Sasquatch, Devil to Pay, Kyuss, Antler, Los Natas, and Orange Goblin. Heavy, loud, and dirty, just the way we like ‘em.

Listen to “Callahan” from Sasquanaut!

Buy Sasquanaut from Small Stone!

Sun Gods in Exile
Black Light, White Lines
Small Stone

Christ, the last feral sound I heard coming out of Boston was probably Cocked N’ Loaded and that seems to me to be some time ago. Ok, so Sun Gods in Exile are technically from Portland, Maine, but they’ve got Boston ties (guitarist Anthony D’Agostino was in Cortez) and that good ol’ Americana rawk vibe that so many bands in Beantown had a monopoly on just a few years ago. Bands like Roadsaw, Cracktorch, Crash and Burn, and Quitter immediately come to mind, which is some goddamn ELITE company, mister. So point a finger anywhere you want at the map because this bitchin’ action will work just about anywhere.

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