A Baby Boomer's guide to hip music
It is perhaps fitting that one of the saddest years in music should have offered such an inspiring mix of new releases.
We may have heard the final notes from Baby Boomer heroes David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and Prince but outstanding new releases from old favourites Radiohead, Nick Cave and The Rolling Stones prove rock never loses its ability to regenerate.
Given the headlines that have dominated 2016 – think politics, climate change, terrorism, sexism and an international refugee crisis – it is not surprising that there is a distinctly serious tone amid this year's best releases.
In many cases, this is music with a pointed message about the state of the world.
If you like The Smiths … you'll love Camp Cope
In a great year for new Australian bands, Melbourne's Camp Cope stood out with a self-titled album that tackles some weighty issues – homelessness, grief, anxiety, and perhaps most importantly, the everyday sexism that women face.
Led by Georgia Maq, the album has echoes of Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell and The Smiths with its emotive lyrics, but there is no mistaking the fact this is a very Australian perspective on the world. The playing is great and Maq's voice is absorbing.
Listen: Lost: Season 1
(Think of The Smiths: There is a Light That Never Goes Out)
If you like Black Sabbath … you'll love King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Funny name, seriously good band. The winners of the ARIA award for best hard rock/heavy metal artist are almost ridiculously prolific (they have promised to release five albums next year) but struck a particular chord with their 2016 offering, Nonagon Infinity. This is good old-fashioned rock propelled by two guitars, bass and no less than two drummers and recalls Black Sabbath and other garage rock bands. The nine tracks on the album can be played as a continuous loop, making it the perfect album for a long drive to the beach.
(Think of Black Sabbath: Iron Man)
If you like the Velvet Underground … you'll love Parquet Courts
The punk rock of Parquet Courts has always seemed deceptively simple. But while there's never been anything particularly fancy about their song structures or playing, the genius has always been their lyrics, which range from confessional and cerebral to plain funny. The trend continues on the third album, Human Performance, which offers serious commentary on modern problems while also managing to be sweet, clever and wry.
Listen: Outside
(Think of Velvet Underground: Waiting for the Man)
If you like Elvis Costello … you'll love Car Seat Headrest
Will Toledo, the artist behind American act Car Seat Headrest, is very much a product of the internet age. The 23-year-old singer-songwriter released no fewer than 11 albums on music streaming website Bandcamp before he announced in 2015 that he had been signed to major US label Matador. His 2016 album Teens of Denial introduces his work to a wider audience and it's an impressive piece of work. Toledo manages to capture the energy (and some of the sound) of punk with a narrative style of songwriting that recalls one of his major influences, Leonard Cohen. It's an exciting mix.
Listen: Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales
(Think of Elvis Costello: Less than Zero)
If you like Dolly Parton … you'll love Angel Olsen
It's the voice that draws you in. Exciting, alluring and hypnotic, Angel Olsen uses her voice as a weapon to imbue the 10 songs on her album My Woman with layers of texture and meaning – every note here is designed to add to the story. While Olsen has been best known as a folk/country artist, the tracks on My Woman steer more towards rock. These are exclusively songs about love and loss, but Olsen's delivery – ranging from playful to the mournful to hopeful – ensures the theme never gets tired.
Listen: Shut Up Kiss Me
(Think of Dolly Parton: Jolene )
If you like Paul Simon .... you'll love Bon Iver
Hated Bon Iver's new album on first listen. In truth, the first few listens before it really took hold. The haunting and naked quality of Justin Vernon's breakthrough 2008 album For Emma, Forever Ago made him one of this decade's defining indie folk artists. Vernon's first album in five years 22, A Million is filled with glitches, production tricks and distorted vocals that mark the sort of departure Dylan made when going electric or Radiohead after the surprising Kid A. If Paul Simon, who released his own excellent album Stranger to Stranger this year at age 74, was a new artist in 2016, he would probably sound a lot like Bon Iver – embracing contemporary production and using it to add intricate layers to already beautiful songs.
Listen: 00000 Million
(Think of Paul Simon: Graceland)
If you like Neil Young ... you'll love Drive-By Truckers
The US in the year of Donald Trump has inspired southern rockers Drive-By Truckers to make a protest album about immigration, gun violence, politics and race and it's a damn good one. The existential crisis for America has given the band formed by Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood renewed purpose on their 11th full album and American Band stands alongside albums like Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball and is one of their best.
Listen: Surrender Under Protest
(Think of Neil Young: Rockin' in the Free World)
If you like Ennio Morricone ... you'll love the Woods
Brooklyn five-piece Woods have perfected their lo-fi, folk-tinged psychedelia rock over the past decade but City Sun Eater in the River of Light rides a sort of world music noir that separates them from the pack. The opening song Sun City Creeps is laced with mournful notes, staccato guitar and languid horns in a seeming nod to old Ethiopian jazz records, mariachi bands and Ennio Morricone soundtracks. The spooky Can't See At All sounds like a hippie version of a James Brown track. I See In the Dark is a catchy psychedelic freakout and the lush Morning Light is the perfect accompaniment to a lazy weekend fry-up.
Listen: Sun City Crepes
(Think of Ennio Morricone: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)
If you like anything country ... you'll love Robert Ellis
Robert Ellis may be rooted in country but is able to blend his clever songwriting skills with whatever sounds, styles, and sentiments suit him. It's why his songs could just as easily be described as pop or country and why he is as close to a hybrid artist like Tom Waits as the country greats like Willie Nelson. A regular visitor to our shores, his band jokingly call him a musical savant who can take requests and play covers at a moment's notice. His talents shine on this outstanding self-titled album.
Listen: California
(Think of Willie Nelson: Night Life)
If you like classical music ... you'll love Explosions in the Sky
It's not surprising Explosions play large concert halls and songs regularly feature on dozens of television shows and movies. Sans vocalist, the post-rock instrumentalists showcase their gentle pianos and Brian Eno-like ambience on their sixth album. As others have said, The Wilderness gives you a sense of landscape but instead of a march towards a vast horizon, it feels like burrowing in to escape the cold. Their signature crescendos remain but the band have taken a detour from their trademark glacial beauty into more-pensive, sinister terrain.
Listen: Landing Cliffs
