Nicke Borg Homeland
Chapter 2
Versity

Backyard Babies are on an indefinite hiatus (they do say there will be another album in the future, they’re just not sure when); Dregen’s currently touring with Mike Monroe and putting out albums with Midlife Crisis, and Nicke Borg is putting out solo albums as Homeland. Borg released the four song EP Chapter 1 last year and is already back with the full-length Chapter 2, but that’s no surprise given the sleazy Swede’s penchant for penning songs. In fact, Borg, clean and sober for the first time in his life (thanks to friend and fellow rock n’ roller Mike Ness), spends most of his time now reaping commercial success by writing hit songs for teen pop stars in his native land. Anyone familiar with the last few Babies albums might have seen this kind of thing coming from Borg, as Chapter 2 presents a continuation of the kind of music found on songs like “Abandon” and “Saved By the Bell” from 2008′s self-titled album and “Roads” from 2006′s People Like People Like People Like Us. However, without the constraints placed on him by his role in a sleaze rock band, Borg stretches his acoustic styling to include orchestration (“Leaving Home”), straightforward rock songs (“No Regrets,” “Nowhereeverdevilland,” “Father of a Father”), and a duet with Camela Leierth (“All Stars”). It’s also clear that Ness’ influence not only impacted Borg’s personal life, but his life as a balladeer as well, as songs like “Alone,” “The Young Ones,” and “Heroes and Freaks” contain the country-fried, So-Cal twang n’ drive of Cheating at Solitaire and some of Social Distortion’s sun-drenched moments (there’s even a cover of “Bad Luck” included here). We might not know until the next Babies album if Borg is suffering his own midlife crisis right now or not, but before Total 13 there was “Lies” and “Kickin’ Up Dust” and “God’s Favourite,” so this kind of genuine songwriting has always existed in Borg. However, it would be awfully nice if the Babies put out another album like Total 13 so we can all forget how old we are and pretend we don’t need a Chapter 3.

Check out the video for “Leaving Home” from Chapter 2!

Social Distortion
Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes
Epitaph

It took about eight years after White Light, White Heat, White Trash for Social Distortion to drop Sex, Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll on us, but its bitter edge ripped something hard, and the straight-up hot rod rock was more than equal to the time it took to make. Now another seven years have passed and Mike Ness and his boys (now including Jonny Wickersham on guitar, Brent Harding on bass, and Josh Freese on drums) have returned once more with Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, a laid back, almost antithetical musical entity to what came before, the emphasis of the album’s action akin to reminiscing in a rocking chair instead of brawling in a back alley. I’m certainly willing to cut Ness some slack because he’s one of the few untouchables out there — and he’s been doing it for nearly 30 years — but with the exception of riff-proud opener “Road Zombie,” the Exile on Main St. blues of “California (Hustle and Flow)” and “Can’t Take it With You” (both complete with back-up soul singers), and the Thunders street glam of “Machine Gun Blues,” the songs lack a lot of the band’s signature knuckle tattoo grit and O.C. psycho stamina. What’s left are a bunch of mellow cow punk songs that might have a better run on the reported acoustic album that the band was/is supposed to be making. Regardless though, it’s nice to finally hear another Social Distortion record, and I’ll gladly take their rock n’ roll (even if it is a tad deflated) over most others’.

Listen to “Machine Gun Blues” from Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes!

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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