For the full list and year-end wrap-up click here: MaxSounds 2024
Continue readingTop 20 Albums of 2024
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Ekko Astral – pink balloons
Here’s Ekko Astral, a punk/indie band from Washington DC that has a lot to say if you’re ready to listen. Also, they seriously rock the fuck out!
Here’s “baethoven” off their 2024 debut album, pink balloons…
This band goes well with Amyl and the Sniffers and Mannequin Pussy, though if they ever shared a bill I’m not sure the audience would survive, or at the least have any hearing left!
Here’s the same song played live in Austin for a Stereogum showcase event. This simultaneously snarling, defiant, noisy and incredibly catchy song becomes a different animal when played on stage.
Personal Trainer – yes, that’s really their name!
This is part 2 in my new series titled “why do I look for new bands on the last day of the year after I’ve already finished my list”?! Behold, Personal Trainer….
Porridge Radio – Clouds In the Sky Will Always Be There For Me
So what do you do when you’ve spent a couple of weeks reviewing and listening to all the records you’ve heard during the year to come up with a nice list, and then you publish that list – basically putting the year to bed – and then on the last fucking day of the year you discover a band that would have easily been a contender for the list? Seriously, someone please send me an answer.
I just discovered this band, Porridge Radio, about two hours ago and I like everything about their sound, the lyrics and the intensity of their performances. I’m just going to count Porridge Radio’s latest, Clouds In the Sky Will Always Be There For Me, as the first record as 2025 (even though it was released in October of 2024). Here’s another song from my first favorite album of 2025 “Sick of the Blues”
Queen • A Night at the Opera Tour Program
Here’s the program I’ve saved from the first Queen concert I attended. I was 15 on the night of this show at the San Diego Sports Arena on March 12, 1976. This was my fourth concert ever and I remember the experience being almost overwhelming. Queen had a great and varied career, but early Queen was by far my favorite era of my favorite band.
Top 20 Albums of 2019
Nick Cave vs Nell Smith- The Ship Song
I’ve always enjoyed cover versions of songs, especially when an artist takes an already great song and makes it their own. Here is an example that shows the artistry and talent of both the original performer and the cover artist. The Ship Song, from the 1990 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds album The Good Son is Cave at his best, with a song that is a soaring demonstration of intense love. Likewise the Flaming Lips teamed with a young singer, Nell Smith, who brings a different, though completely compelling voice to the song.
The Ship Song – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
The Ship Song – Nell Smith & The Flaming Lips
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