amandab!

I liked a lot of records this year.  I wrote about them. Submitted for the approval of the punx of Tumblr, I present That Time I Wrote About Records Instead of Memes.  Sorry this is so long, Tumblr cut isn’t even an option and I tried manually coding it and it didn’t work ;_; Enjoy?

1. The Copyrights - North Sentinel Island

I’ve liked the Copyrights for awhile, but this record is the one that really made me dig into their back catalog, not just occasionally listen to Planet Earth 1994 compulsively. NSI clicked for me way later than it should have, I still (sort of) regret missing them at Insub. When I started my new job, I found myself listening to this record straight through several times a day. Crutches into Hard-Wired hits me in a way that reminds me of the moments between Most Violent Rap Group and Pray for Rain — a seamless transition that builds up into an explosion (Are we alone? Are we alone? Are we alone? I don’t think so…). The record as a whole has lyrics that make me feel so isolated and desperate, but at the same time, knowledge that I’m not — everyone feels this way sometimes. This record perfectly captures my personal sense of living an in-between life and not knowing exactly where to go from here, the competing desires for running away from the world and finding someone steady and just as beat up as yourself to sleep next to every night.

Choice Tracks: Scars, Because I am a hopeless punk rock romantic. Worn-Out Passport, and Crutches into Hard-Wired (there’s no YouTube for that - buy this record). Man, it is so fucking great.

2. Night Birds - The Other Side of Darkness

Not a lot of bands have affected me as much as Night Birds has. They’re really different than what I normally listen to, a lot harder and rougher, but there’s something about them that just gets me super motivated and want to yell my lungs out. I remember their first show, with Full of Fancy and Dead Mechanical in 2009. It was one of the strangest lineups. Their first full length, The Other Side of Darkness slays so bad, by the time it’s over you feel sideswiped and just have to listen to it again. Also this band is made up of some of the best dudes in punk rock and seeing my name in the thank yous of this record made me cry — I’ve been with Night Birds from the beginning and plan to be up at the front of every show I can, screaming along for as long as they make music.

Choice Tracks: Neon Gray (mylife.jpg), Sex Tape, Day After Trinity (I really love NB’s instrumentals)

3. House Boat - The Thorns of Life

I really didn’t like this record when first I heard it. I was bored when I saw them play new songs at Insub. I remember telling myself that it was going to end up like the time I hated the Steinways for months before it clicked. These are all true facts. I vaguely remember the moment it clicked. It was while commuting back and forth from MTV this summer. It was the perfect record for being slightly bitter about life to. Most of the record struck a chord with me and my complete inability to have a relationship with a human being for more than a few days. In fact, I identify with this record in embarrassing amounts. I can’t even pick what song is the best example of this because they all are. Fuck you, Grath. Fuck you for making this goddamn record that reminds me that life can really fucking suck sometimes. Fuck you for having the audacity of making it really good too.

Choice Tracks: Real Life as a Metaphor For Real Life. Fuck you, Grath, for knowing how much of a dream July was and how much I want to forget it now. And Barkmarket Fuckacy.

4. Joyce Manor - Joyce Manor

The first time I heard this record, I was at my old job. One of my coworkers put it on for me and from the first chords of Orange Julius, I was in love. While this was on the player, I’m pretty sure we listened to it at least once per shift. We got all our coworkers hooked and it became a favorite band of HT63. It reminds me of folding shirts and my entire relationship with L back in February. From Derailed to Constant Headache to Beach Community, this album was the companion to all of the feelings of crushing, being crushed, and finally recovery. It feels different when I listen to it now, so far removed from those feelings, but this record defined so much of my life this spring.

Choice Tracks: Just put Constant Headache on repeat until you stop feeling anything.

5. Touche Amore - Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me

Part two of albums that remind me of my old job. This is a band I thought I’d never really like and didn’t hear of before HT. I think I heard it at a time when I really needed to, when I was really frustrated with stuff and wanted music that I could just zone out during. Method Act’s lyrics remind me of what I felt like at that time — I wanted to fade out and keep myself away from everyone, hiding out behind chords and drum kicks. I still get like this a lot and I feel like this song, and this record as a whole, are representative of how I’ve spent a good chunk of this whole year. Writing about this record is harder than I anticipated because it’s something I put on and just let play. It’s something I can only consume as a whole and coming in at just under 21 minutes, listen to on repeat often.

Choice Tracks: ~, Method Act, Face Ghost, Wants/Needs

6. Bayside - Killing Time

Moar HT jams. I used to adore Bayside in 2004. I purchased Sirens and Condolences at the insistence of my ex who told me that there was a song on it named after a T.S. Eliot quote. I played that cd until it got so scratched it was more useful as a coaster. You can find me on the DVD from their acoustic EP. But man, they released a bunch of albums I couldn’t get into. The opening track sucks you in and by the time the record’s over, you’ve been on a rollercoaster of emotions, through bitter frustration and bittersweet heartbreak. They’ve really come a long way since pretending to be the Smoking Popes.

Choice Tracks: Sick Sick Sick, Seeing Sound

7. Rival Schools - Pedals

So I don’t have this record on my computer. I used to listen to it every shift at work (so much that one of my coworkers grew to hate it) and I listen to the vinyl at least once a week since. It’s so great and made me miss being in high school

Choice Tracks: Wring it Out, Racing to Red Lights

8. Black Wine - Summer of Indifference

Black Wine is one of those bands that I see more than I listen to them on record, I think. They’re one of my favorite bands in the world, composed of the best people ever, and this record reflects that. (I am kind of burnt out on reviews I’m sorry)

Choice Tracks - Hand, Through the Foam, Favorites (because it reminds me of Psyched to Die)

9. World/Inferno Friendship Society - The Anarchy and the Ecstasy

I didn’t even know W/IFS was coming out with a record this year. I found it on Record Store Day at Vintage Vinyl when I couldn’t find any of the special records I wanted. I went home and spun it and fell in love with the Politics of Passing Out. I remember sitting in my room playing the song over and over which is really hard because I am terrible at finding songs with the record needle. I love W/IFS and this record’s spirit of New Jersey bred punx growing up.

Choice Tracks: The Politics of Passing Out, The Mighty Raritan (live video from Curmudgeon, I was there!)

10. Balance and Composure - Separation

Another album that grew on me while I was at my old job. One of my coworkers would always listen to Stone Hands and that song will always remind me of her. This is another really great album that makes me feel feels (this is the last one okay sorry) Weird fact, this is the only album on this list that I don’t own on vinyl (exception for HB because it’s in the mail lol) but do own on CD? What is that?

Choice Tracks: I Tore You Apart in My Head, More to Me, Patience

Best EPs/7”s  

1. Braid - Closer to Closed (The Right Time)
2. Mikey Erg’s Heart Shaped Heart (Key of C, Fix It, Fix It, Stop)
3. Worriers - Past Lives (Deconstruction Site)
4. Dowsing - All I Could Find Was You (Amateur Cartography)
5. Black Wine - Dark Energy (Yr Light) 

Finally, I wish I listened to Avalanche United by I Am The Avalanche more because it would probably be on this list, too.