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Jared Smith's avatar

*rubbing my hands together like Birdman*

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

😂😂😂

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Steven Alexander's avatar

I enjoyed scrolling through this album list. It's like a bird's nest of words, all of them totally meaningless to me (except maybe Stereolab). Albums I'll never hear, music that means nothing to me.

This is not a new thing, I've felt this way since 1993. You've listened to twenty five albums, just from this year! Then there's a list of another forty below. When will I ever catch up? What about the twenty five thousand albums I've missed since 2000? And I thought I liked music.

I'm not a high-volume consumer of music, I guess.

Anyway, I'm jealous of your rich musical life. I'm also a bit scared at how much music there is out there.

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josh terry's avatar

I’m sure there’s something on here that’ll reignite the spark. Appreciate you checking it out

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Choire Sicha's avatar

Look at list. Go to Spotify. Type in band name. Add latest album. Put on shuffle for the rest of the year and wait to hear what you love. Don’t get old before your time, it’s not worth it.

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Anthony Cervo's avatar

I completely get this feeling. It's overwhelming. I appreciate lists like this as a 40 year old man with two small kids. I don't have the time/energy to devote to new music exploration. A lot of my time the last several years has been exploring classic albums and genre collections (Classic jazz albums, an ultimate new wave mix, classic raggae/dub albums). I guess my point is, find what sounds interesting and dive in.

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Findlay Anderson's avatar

thrilled as always to read your AOTY lists!! always feel a sense of pride when i recognise something on there. can certainly vouch for Brown Horse. seen them a couple times play in tiny basements here in Manchester, UK. terrific live act

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Dimas Henkes's avatar

amazing recommendations! but i will invite you to listen a few non-english albums:

antes que a terra acabe by luedji luna

cabeça a mil e o corpo lento by alberto continentino

afim by zé ibarra

daisy by rusowsky

enjoy <3 !

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Nicolas Duhem's avatar

Thanks Josh for sharing. I have discovered Smerz/Monde UFO/Dutch Interior thanks to you!

Albums/EPs I liked for now this year are:

. Ditz - Never Exhale

. Last Train - III

. Yoa - la favorite

. Saya Gray - Saya

. Sam Fender - People watching

. Miki - Graou

. Bon Iver - Sable, fable

. Love Spells - The love I showed you was your to keep

. Kathryn Joseph - We were made prey

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Hbassuki's avatar

Love this post! As someone from Mexico, I totally agree with the idea of making a list focused on underground scenes outside the U.S. — there’s so much happening globally. We’re also seeing a beautiful resurgence here in Mexico, with a lot of exciting and diverse music emerging. Would love to see a future list that highlights that international wave too!

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Man in Plaid's avatar

I’m always complaining there’s no good new music anymore and usually default to the old favorites (as my posts probably make obvious). Seems the good stuff’s out there after all, we just have to dig a little.

This list is a solid place to start.

Thanks for the nudge out of my musical rut!

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No Magic's avatar

Became a paying subscriber because of this post. Thanks for churning out great reviews!

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Valerio's avatar

RENNY CONTI !!!!! Shout out that album, the song looking at the geese is good

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Carly Miller's avatar

so good! i fear there's a ton of great music out there but these days it's hard to cut through all the noise and find ones that are aligned with each individual's taste. these are fantastic.

thank you for all your hard work!

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Martin Johnston's avatar

Some absolute beauties on here. I’m a big fan of the Dutch Interior album and the Foxwarren release especially.

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Brooks's avatar

Sean Thompson mentioned!

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Edie VC's avatar

So many of these sound so cool and very up my alley and I haven’t heard of most of them! I’ll definitely be checking out a few for sure

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Pamela Rodriguez's avatar

Didn't know about Echolalia or Juan Solorzano's involvement in the group (according to their Bandcamp, he plays guitar/synth/pedal steel on the project)! I'm a big fan of Juan's solo work. Looking forward to checking it out. Thanks for the recs!

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Zeeyad's avatar

I’m so amazed on how much new music you’re listening to, I fear I’m always behind because of work & school - how do you do it?

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Brendon Goldwasser's avatar

Lots to digest here, thanks for putting this together!!

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