Gothtober - The Top 10 Post -Punk Albums of the Decade

The less dramatic more hipster old cousin of goth post-punk is what happened with punk got depressed . It saw a revival in the past year thanks to the next generation of Joy Division fans . Almost totally devoid of the fashion aspect the themes are variations of those espoused in goth music. With loneliness and isolation being paramount, they have a more anxious tension than a romantic depression of goth. It's for punks haunted by the ghost of cocaine in New York art galleries at night rather than hanging out in graveyards. There are some acts on this list that come closer to the darkest part of the darkside , they are on this list because they are more punk than mid period Cure, who started as post -punk and became more goth, unless you ask Robert Smith and then he doesn't know what you are talking about. There was a much clearer path in picking these albums than the forthcoming goth/ industrial list waiting in the wings. So I feel pretty self assured with this list that is covers the past ten years. 


10- Bellicose Minds - 'the Spine"






9- Holograms - s/t







 8-Ceremony- "Zoo"






7-Merchandise - "A Corpse Wired for Sound"





6-the Estranged - s/t





5- Death of Lovers- "Buried Under a World of Roses" -







4- Cult of Youth -"s/t"







3-Savages - "Silence Yourself"






 2-Lower- "Seek Warmer Climes"






1- Iceage - Plowing Into Fields of Love


 

The Top 15 Rock Albums of 2014

I hate it when people say in no particular order,  have some conviction do some thinking and say here it is this album was the best. So here we go, the Top 15 best Rock albums of 2014. If you want to hear them or read a full review click on the urls under each entry.

15-Interpol-El Pintor

Remember when these guys seemed dark? In some ways,despite it's hooks the album winks to their legacy, wandering in circles around it wondering where do they stand in a post- Cold Play world and do they want to be a part of it. Considering the post- rock revival these guys feel more like Radiohead than Joy Division now.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/09/interpol-el-pintor.html

14-  Thee Sliver Mt. Zion Orchestra-"Fuck off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything

This album has some good grooves and answers the question what would Godspeedyoublackemperor sound like with vocals.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/01/thee-silver-mt-zion-memorial-orchestra.html



13-House of Capricorn-Morning Star Rise

If you miss H.I.M. these guys fill that hole, but with half the calories from all the cheese and more balls,

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-house-of-capricorn-morning-star-rise.html

12- St. Vincent -s/t

She nails Bowie's Scary Monsters sound and gives it a does of dance inducing pop that still manages to rock.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/st-vincent-st.html


11-the Estranged-s/t

This Portland band had a more Exile on Mainstream take on post-punk, which landed this on the rock list rather than the goth/industrial list coming next week.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-estranged-st.html


10-Nothing- Guilty of Everything

This shoegazing gem really grew on me over the past year. They come across as slightly more grunge like live.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/03/nothing-guilty-of-everything.html

9-Pig Eyes-s/t

Jeez didn't realize how many people put out self titled albums til I made this list. The guitar player from In Solitude shows you his punk side.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/10/pig-eyes-st.html

8- Whirr-"Sway"

The other big band of the shoe gaze revival, this one barely edged out Nothing, but it did on originality alone.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/09/whirr-sway.html


7- Cult of Youth-"Final Days"

For these guys to have come in at 7 rather than the top five means the competition was rather stiff, this might not be their best album , but it is a great one.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/11/cult-of-youth-final-days.html

6- Esben & the Witch - "A New Nature"

Female fronted post- rock that  at times invokes both Forget Cassettes and Chelsea Wolfe . How can you argue with that?

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/09/esben-witch-new-nature.html

5-Swans - To Be Kind

My favorite band this side of the Smiths only made it to number 5. These are a series of live jams they translated to the studio, but even when Gira is just playing around he is still better than most.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/swans-to-be-kind.html

4- Ice Age -"Plowing into the Field of Love"

These guys have grown in leaps and bounds, so much so the rock swagger injected on this album now makes them much more qualified for this list than being called post-punk.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/09/iceage-plowing-fields-of-love.html

3- Morrissey- "World Peace is None of Your Business"

Stiff competition for sure if Moz didn't take home the number one spot, it came down to two albums that I listened to more and were a tad more focused.



2-Merchandise-"After the End"

They really edged out Moz by the sheer fact I listened to this album much more than "World Peace is ..." . These guys matured as songwriters, the melodies are very memorable, even if this album is oddly upbeat and almost sounds like 70's rock in places.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/07/merchandiseafter-end.html

1- Wovenhand -"Refractory Obdurate"

This album kept drawing me in for more. It's amazing in all most every way.  Edwards really out did himself . This might be his heaviest album yet.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/04/wovenhand-refractory-obdurate.html

The Estranged: S/T

Portland's The Estranged have created an especially compelling take on the post-punk rebirth. Where most of the bands coming out these days dressed for 80's night tend to take on the cold distance of Joy Division, this band's album has a very organic warmth to it.The emphasis is more often placed on the punk in post-punk, and veers into the blurred lines between rock and punk as these guys pull from influences outside the batcave, you can hear strains of "Paint it Black" in "Hide" and they go after their songs with a much more rock n roll attack. This also leads to more punk moments, some in a more New Model Army sense others in a more straightforward fashion.

On "Fatalist Flaw" I can hear echoes of "Gimme Danger" by the Stooges, if sung by a young Joey Ramone in one of his more crooning moments. Sure the new wave era is an element but always through a filter of punk with hints of the Dead Boys and the Clash. The vocals stay in a croon, thats rather tuneful in the day where every band is paying tribute to the monotone delivery of Ian Curtis, which is great for Joy Division, but they seldom capture the same desperation, since they have yet to hang themselves. The vocals have more hope to them than most.

The bass player really gets the job done and works over time to establish the same kind of muscular grooves New Model Army utilizes. Melodies are always maintained, the guitars linger at the edge of dusk without really being dark, like the more goth leaning post-punk. I can even hear faint hints of early R.E.M , the jangle of the string being picked out.

The more clanging ring of guitar dominates "Mark of Sin" , with the urgent vocals taking on more of warble,like the college rock of the 80's coupled with the punch of Gang of Four."Over and Over" that on more of a old Cure like tremor , but generally speaking the band has less of a Cure feel to them than what I had read about them before hearing the album. Here it's a more along the lines of say "Hanging Garden" in the way the drums cascade.

The Police like staccato bounce of "Play For Keeps" is a lot of fun."Another Stab" races along at a frantic jangle with the vocals accenting the kinetic pace.The album closes on it's dreariest note with " the Ride". It retain the upbeat pace that permeates the album, but the bass holds more of slink against the choppy guitar work and more melancholic vocals.

I'll give this album a 9, it's fun and good to hear another take on the genre, it's more rock n roll than what I normally listen to and not as dark either, but still manages to earn repeated listens,



8.1