Happy Thursday! Today sharing their top picks from 2013 we have Paul Pendley from Red City Radio, Dave Hause, and Mike Park of Asian Man Records. As previously mentioned, we're happy to bring these guest lists twice a week for the rest of December.
.r grid-25 { min-height: 75px; Paul Pendley plays guitar and does vocals for Red City Radio. From Paul:
True story: I agonized over this list for hours, begged the bureaucrats at Punknews to let me do a list of 20 instead of 10 (thanks Kira!), and debated David Frenson as to whether EPâs count (Fuck you, Dave, you sack of shit, my list, my rules) as a "record" or their own category. 2013 was such an amazing year that paring down a list of releases deserving of mention was extremely difficult. That said exclusion from this list does not denote sub quality music and the opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of Red City Radio, its members, its dozens of friends, fans and admirers or any subsidiary entities.
18
Winger: Bullfighter Death To False Hope
13
Habits: Train Wrecks Death To False Hope
10
Signals Midwest: Light on the Lake Tiny Engines
Cannot say enough about this record. This is a young band sounding long in the tooth. This is a record that begs for replays. These are songs that paint beautiful pictures. Kudos. [Choice Track] "St. Vincentâs Charity"
9
Elway: Leavetaking
Red Scare
8
Arliss Nancy: Wild American Runners
Black Numbers
7
And We Danced: Back To The Middle Self-released
This seven song EP is perfectly crafted, beautifully produced and flawlessly executed. Power/emo pop by ex-members of Cadillac Blindside and The Jealous Sound. I cannot wait to see what they do next. [Choice Track] "Goodnight Toronto"
6
Restorations: LP2
Side One Dummy
5
The Bootheel: Goat's Lodge Self-released
This came out in January. It still gets spins. Root rock. Bar punk. Call it what you will but this band is to be watched because one day they may be saving the rock and roll genre. Cannot recommend checking them out enough. [Choice Track] "Kickinâ Dust"
4
Nightmares for a Week: Civilian War
Broken English / Suburban Home
3
Banquets: Banquets
Black Numbers
2
Captain, We're Sinking: The Future Is Cancelled
Run For Cover Records
1
Save Ends: Warm Hearts, Cold Hands Tiny Engines
Record of the year. This is what male and female dueling vocals should sound like, perfectly blended, complimentary and never overdosing on harmony. Reminiscent of early Get Up Kids without sounding like them while inserting a dose of pop punk that is neither of the new variety nor of the goofy glue sniffing variety. Every song is a winner. Every song could easily be stuck in your head for weeks. Nice people to boot. [Choice Track] "Same Old Dice"
Dave Hause performs solo and in The Loved Ones. Dave's list is in no particular order, he says:
My favorites of what I've heard, "best" is for horse and dog shows…
Northcote: NorthcoteBlack Box Recordings
Jason Isbell: SoutheasternRelativity Records + Southeastern Records
Patty Griffin: American KidNew West Records
Neko Case: The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love YouAnti-Records
The White Buffalo: Shadows, Greys and Evil WaysUnison Music Group
Arcade Fire: ReflektorMerge Records
Mike Park performs solo and also runs Asian Man Records. His list is in no particular order.