July 15, 2016

My Favorite 25 Albums of 2016 (So Far)

It’s been roughly 18 months since I last posted anything here, and it’s not for lacking of trying.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve tried a couple of times but I guess I’ve been a combination of busy, lazy and uninspired. The blog kind of disappeared into an ever-growing list of bookmarks in my web browser and I forgot about it. Almost wrote a Best of 2015 post – the list was mostly Future, don’t worry about it – buuuuut it’s July 2016 and here we are.

So, yeah, we’ve made it to summer, it’s too hot and I’m really leaning into my farmer tan. But more notably, there’s been a mess of good music this year! I’ve put together a list of the things that have really stuck out to me so far. You’ve definitely heard of some of these albums but maybe there are a couple that are new to you.

List is unranked. Also, no, I didn’t include Lemonade because I’ve only listened to it a few times and haven’t gone back. It’s sitting on my phone. It’s fine. Don’t @ me. Continue reading →

December 12, 2014

Free Before Midnight’s Top 30 Albums of 2014

Photo by Guv Callahan.

I’ve seen various publications in the last few weeks preface their year-end lists with a disclaimer — that 2014 wasn’t a great year for new music. I think that’s kind of garbage. This year may not have had very many blockbusters, but let’s not forget that last year saw, like, six or seven of them, which doesn’t happen all the time. Kanye West can’t release an album every year. Still, 2014 had releases from a lot of exciting new artists, folks who pushed boundaries or reinterpreted the past into the present and, sometimes, the future. We also got more great, occasionally flawed, always affecting work from artists we know we can rely on. That’s pretty dope, if you ask me. So, here are my 30 favorite albums from this year. There’s music here for your weekly turn-up functions, your morning commutes, your candle-lit dinners and even your boring-ass regular days. Hope you find something you dig. Continue reading →

October 27, 2014

A Springfield Keg Party: Foo Fighters Live at Black Cat

Photo by Guv Callahan

About 30 minutes into the Foo Fighters’ secret show at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C. last Friday, somebody in the crowd asked perpetually-jolly frontman Dave Grohl when the band was going to bring the rock.

“When are we gonna rock? Oh, we’re saving that for the last part, motherfucker,” Grohl said. Then he and the band played for two-and-a-half more hours.

When the show was announced on Tuesday, Oct. 21, hundreds of fans ditched their day jobs to go wait in a line that snaked around the block on 14 Street and ended up on the local news. A promotional opportunity for Sonic Highways, the Foos’ HBO series documenting the recording process for their new album of the same name, Friday’s event began with a pre-concert screening of the series’ second episode. The episode focused on D.C.’s musical history – punk and go-go in particular – and Grohl’s relationship with it as a teenager growing up in Northern Virginia. The crowd stayed engaged throughout, cheering at an appearance from Minor Threat/Fugazi/Dischord Records mastermind Ian McKaye and booing Mayor Vincent Gray. The screening bolstered the sense that the concert would be a more personal affair than usual.

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May 16, 2014

Stream: Ben Khan’s 1992 EP

Photo via portalsmusic.com.

I was put on to Ben Khan earlier this month, when 1992, his debut EP, was released and posted online for streaming. I have since listened to it something like 53 times. Khan makes new-school pop, founded on soulful, often foreboding production. Sort of like if Bon Iver recruited MIA to make his next album.

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May 9, 2014

Put On That Cool ’70s Groove: HAIM Live at 9:30 Club

Photo by Guv Callahan

As HAIM, sisters Este (28), Danielle (25) and Alana (22) Haim make effortlessly cool guitar pop. On their debut, Days Are Gone, the Haim sisters took elements of ‘70s rock, ‘80s pop and ‘90s R&B and turned them into one of the most well-received albums of 2013. Days Are Gone is a charming throwback, full of well-crafted tunes that draw from the past while managing to sound fresh. The record is glossy and polished, but also sassy and sort of badass. Their show at 9:30 Club this past Wednesday, the first of a sold-out two-night stand, pushed those latter elements to the fore, with a heavy emphasis on tight, shake-your-hair-all-over-the-place guitar work.

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May 9, 2014

Dancing and Tears with Future Islands at 9:30 Club

Photo by Guv Callahan

Future Islands’ big break earlier this year has been, at this point, pretty well-documented. The Late Show performance that went viral. The weird dance moves. David Letterman’s unusually excited reaction. Their new album, Singles, is a critical darling. Lead single and Letterman-favorite “Seasons (Waiting on You)” will be played in cars and at cookouts for the rest of the summer. They’re the buzziest band of 2014. So last Thursday, after a breakout South by Southwest, two sets at Coachella and a mess of North American tour dates, Future Islands came home.

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April 29, 2014

‘We’re Back’: Alabama Shakes Live at 9:30 Club

Photo by Guv Callahan

Alabama Shakes are officially a Big Deal Rock Band.

I turned and said as much to a friend of mine towards the end of their massive, sold-out gig at 9:30 Club last Friday, April 25, after the Athens, Al. blues-rockers had sent the crowd into a rapturous, screaming frenzy. Off the strength of just one album, 2012’s hugely successful Boys & Girls, the Shakes announced and promptly sold out a short stint of shows in “intimate venues” this spring, presumably ahead of the release of their new album. After 10 minutes of watching lead singer-guitarist Brittany Howard, it’s easy to see why. Her titanic stage presence demands attention, and will surely command much bigger venues in no time at all.

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March 27, 2014

Making Good Choices: Classixx Live at U Street Music Hall on a Monday

Photo by Guv Callahan

I bought tickets a couple of months ago to see Classixx live without realizing the show was on a Monday night. It was one of those situations where you think you’ll totally be able to start your week with enough energy to go to a dance show. You think you won’t miss your your standard Monday night at all. I mean, you can always eat those two helpings of dinner and watch old 30 Rock episodes the next week, right? Well, Thai food and TV was sounding pretty appealing three hours before the show this past Monday, March 24, but I was being an idiot. The Los Angeles duo’s debut, Hanging Gardens, was one of my favorite albums of 2013, so I drank five cups worth of coffee distilled into one super cup roughly the size of my head and got my ass to U Street Music Hall.

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March 20, 2014

The War on Drugs’ ‘Lost in the Dream’ is Road Music for your Bedroom

Photo via secretlycanadian.com

Some friends and I took a road trip to Texas around this time four years ago. It’s the only real “road trip” I’ve ever been on. From what I recall, our soundtrack to those countless hours of highway driving consisted of too much techno, some rock and a whole lot of Ke$ha. Like, a lot of Ke$ha. Lost in the Dream, the new album from Philadelphia rock band The War on Drugs, is a superb road-trip record, and one I wish I’d had for that time early on in the trip when I drove the graveyard shift through somewhere in South Carolina at 3:30 a.m., jacked up on Monster and bad 7-Eleven coffee.

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