Best albums

2023

The Record by BOYGENIUS: The voices of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus blend together flawlessly, the choruses are catchy, the storytelling is vulnerable, sad and authentic, and the melodies are meticulously crafted.
False Lankum: The Irish folkgroup LANKUM combines their own songs with traditional Irish songs, which they cleverly mold to their liking. The mood of this 70-minutes record remains consistently stark and somewhat bleak.
Furling, the first solo album in seven years by MEG BAIRD, the tremendous vocalist of Espers and Heron Oblivion. She is a multi-instrumentalist (bringing in piano, percussion, harp, and vibraphone) with some deep folk connections in her background.
WEDNESDAY’s Rat Saw Gold: the North Carolina noisy indie band, with Karly Hartzman as singer, turn their stabbing pain into triumphant rock’n’roll.
Live at the Bush Hall by BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD: After the departure of Isaac Wood, the group chose to abandon the idea of a frontman altogether and collectively take on vocals. Recorded over three nights in London.

2022

Ants from Up There by BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD: Postpunk, jazzrock, improvisation, but within the framework of sharply defined songs. Unfortunately, singer Isaac Wood left the band after this release.
Boat Songs by the Asheville, North Carolina, songwriter and guitarist MJ LENDERMAN. He was part of the indie band Wednesday. Now he plays solo and creates a fuzz-stacked alt-country sound.
The Spur by JOAN SHELLEY: Elegant folk songs in which Shelley worries about her place in the world, as a woman and artist. A reaction to bad politics and dark times in the US. The combination of Shelley’s crisp vocals and the jazzy guitar riffs by her husband Nathan Salsburg work perfectly on her seventh album.
The self-titled debut album by WET LEG: Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers (both from the Isle of Wight) have the ability to turn a small story into a swinging song.
PERSONAL TRAINER’s Big Love Blanket, the exciting debut of the Amsterdam collective, led by Willem Smit, who was previously in Canshaker Pi. Combination of dance rock and guitar pop.
Zone G. Agege, the first solo album by powerful Ghanaian singer K.O.G. (Kweku of Ghana). Afrofuturism at its best, a combination of reggae and dub, griot-songs, soul, jazz, and afrobeat. He sings in Twi, Ga, pidgin, and English.
Feeding the Machine by saxophonist Binker Golding, drummer Moses Boyd, and producer Max Luthert. Luthert’s manipulations highlight, loop or amplify the moments of greatest connection between BINKER & MOSES, two masters from the London jazz scene.
Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky by PORRIDGE RADIO: Dana Margolin repeats her lyrics until you feel uncomfortable. Despite that she doesn’t want to be loved, it was a joy to see her live in Vera.
Stumpwork by DRY CLEANING. Weird, cool, and clever indie rock, powered by singer Florence Shaw’s snarky vocals. A nice successor to New Long Leg.
The self-titled album by the Brooklyn quartet FLORIST. Emily Sprague and her bandmates managed to make a record that delivers simple songs, artful sound exploration, and deep emotions.

2021

Bright Green Field by SQUID (Brighton, UK). A mix of exalted punkfunk in line with LCD Soundsystem and krautrock in line with Neu!, with many tempo changes, jazz and brass. From hysterical to calm, and back.
Promises by producer FLOATING POINTS, saxophonist PHAROAH SANDERS and the LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. Five years in the making, this sublimely album transcends the genres of the three all-stars collaborators.
REIGNING SOUND’s A Little More Time with: Greg Cartwright recorded a wonderful warm record in Memphis. Beautiful songs, one after the other, including a cover of Adam Faith’s I Don’t Need That Kinda Lovin’.
For the First Time by BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD (London, UK). Lashing guitars, ominous vocals plus a flute and violin not only disrupt but also add exciting textures. Sunglasses is my favorite track. Mix of postpunk and klezmer.
LOW’s Hey What: Mimi Sparhawk and Alan Parker have found a sonic sweet spot between the beauty and the noise. Their 13th album in nearly three decades.
Afrique Victime by the Tuareg guitarist MDOU MOCTAR and his bandmates. The album captures the group’s easy chemistry and explosive energy.
Portuguese underground trio 10.000 RUSSOS released their fifth album Superinertia through Fuzz Club Records. Psychedelic krautdrone, with the guitars and electronics moving toward noise.
World What World, the eighth album by the New Haven band MOUNTAIN MOVERS, a combo with Kryssi Battalene raging on her guitar. Krauty and droney.
An Evening with Silk Sonic by BRUNO MARS & ANDERSON .PAAK: soft funky and poppy music. A team of two retro-obsessed musicians with deep admiration for one another.
CASSANDRA JENKINS’s An Overview On Phenomenal Nature: the New York songwriter’s second album flows like an emotional breakthrough. A whispering voice in combination with electronics and Stuart Bogie’s saxophone.

2020

Every bad by PORRIDGE RADIO: Exciting record from this band from Brighton. PJ Harvey meets Bongwater. Dana Margolin and her band are convincing from start to finish.
Speed Kills by CHUBBY AND THE GANG: Debut LP of this new streetpunk band from London. Soulful punk with liberating energy.
People with Faces by LAMPS. Noise garage rock. Their first record in eight years. Produced by Ty Segall.
THE WILLIAM LOVEDAY INTENTION’s Will There Ever Be a Day that You’re Hung Like a Thief? Billy Childish in optima forma. Dylanesk, including an organ and harmonica.
Saint Cloud by WAXAHATCHEE, the sound of Katie Crutchfield at her most conscious, comfortable, and controlled. Indie music from Alabama.
Sing in a World That’s Falling Apart by the BLACK LIPS: A great true modern country-garage rock record. Record number nine and their best since Arabia Mountain. Willie Nelson meets the Stones.
The self-titled debut album by the COOL GREENHOUSE: Post-everything existential band from London. Frontman Tom Greenhouse, a spoken word artist, is the reincarnation of Mark E. Smith. Songs about topics such as gentrification and 4chan.
Texas Sun by KHRUANGBIN: Beautiful mini LP on which these instrumental Texan psychedelic surfers collaborate with soul singer Leon Bridges. A nice Texan twangy desert atmosphere. The title track is an instant classic.
TAMI NEILSON’s Chickaboom! Soul ballads, rockabilly, rock, and an Everly Brothers pastiche (Any Fool with a Heart). Great voice and for the second time in my annual best albums list.
The self-titled debut album by CORIKY: Back to the 90s with Ian MacKaye and Joe Lally, once from Fugazi. New band from this duo, together with Amy Farina who plays drums and sings. And very good.

Previously unreleased:

Palo Alto by THELONIUS MONK: Danny Scher was 16-years old in 1968 when he organized this high school concert, in the hope to stimulate contact between black and white.
NEIL YOUNG’s Homegrown: After 46 years, Neil Young unearths a lost but highly consequential album, a collection of humble, stripped-back love songs he began writing at the zenith of his career.

2019

Every time I listen to this record I want to immediately start listening to it again. Indie-folk heroes Phoebe Bridges and Conor Oberst excel as BETTER OBLIVION COMMUNITY CENTER.
Remind Me Tomorrow by SHARON VAN ETTEN, a rotary of emotional experiences, most often the tumultuous motions of loving and loving the wrong person.
Peaced and Slightly Pulverized by DAVID NANCE GROUP. He already made my favorite record of 2017. For fans of Neil Young. Powerhouse guitar music.
Dogrel by FONTAINES DC. This Dublin post-punk band created a debut album that offers both a storyteller’s narrative voice and a snarling new vision of youthful disillusionment.
Diabolique by L’EPEE: Supergroup consisting of Anton Newcombe (Brian Jonestown Massacre), Emmanuelle Seigner, and the Liminanas. Combination of garage, ye-ye, sleaze rock, cult soundtracks, sci-fi, spaghetti westerns, and girl-group pop noir.
The Brooklyn indie-folk quartet BIG THIEF made two great albums in one year. This spring, U.F.O.F., and this fall, Two Hands.
TROPICAL FUCK STORM: “Listening to Braindrops feels like watching a sped-up timeline of rising sea levels and melting glaciers set to long-lost field recordings of maximalist noise-rock from the Outback. You’re listening to a world falling apart.”
Between the Country by IAN NOE: a great Americana record that tells the backstories of (the miseries of) small-town life.
Time Out for Tomorrow by JERRY LEGER. New album by the Toronto troubadour. A beautifully crafted folk-rock record.
Nickel & Dime by LONG HOTS, three girls from Philadelphia, is the best single of the year. Released at Jack White’s Third Man label.

2018

A Laughing Death in Meatspace by Tropical Fuck Storm. Great that you come over from Australia to Europe in 2019
The self-titled debut album by THE NUDE PARTY. For fans of Television, Velvet Underground, and the Black Lips.
Twin Fantasy by CAR SEAT HEADREST. With my oldest son (19), I saw them in Paradiso Amsterdam. In Vera Groningen my youngest one (14) joined too. Good parenting, or not?
The self-titled debut album of the Washington DC band DES DEMONAS (In the Red Records).
Joy as an Act of Resistance by IDLES. Vital album with songs about Brexit, immigration, or mental health issues, and a wonderful Solomon Burke cover (Cry to me). Excellent concert in Vera.
Your Queen is a Reptile by SONS OF KEMET: Jazz meets Afrofuturism. With the great Shabaka Hutchings on sax.
In the Shadows (Again) by GARRETT T. CAPPS. Space country from San Antonio, TX.
Hope Downs by ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER. Timeless guitar pop from Australia.
Post– by JEFF ROSENSTOCK. Cheerful music for unhappy times.
Nonsense and heartache by JERRY LEGER. Great live shows at Take Root and at the Irish Pub O’Ceallaigh in Groningen

Previously unreleased:

Any Other Way by Jackie Shane. Nominated for a highly deserved Grammy. What a story and what a sound.
Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, the newly discovered, unreleased album from 1963 featuring the jazz quartet led by saxophone legend John Coltrane.

2017

Negative Boogie by DAVID NANCE (from Omaha). A bit of the Chrome Cranks, the Gun Club, and the Oblivians and a lot of energy.
The debut album of MATTIEL (from Atlanta). Lots of heavy drums and guitar, a la White Stripes and Black Keys. But also very varied: each song has its distinct energy.
Relatives in Descent by PROTOMARTYR. Live awesomely. Great chance that they will win the Vera poll for the 2nd year in a row!
The First Stirrings of Hideous Insect Life by IGUANA DEATH CULT. Psychedelic garage punk (from Rotterdam). Live also awesome!
The debut album of the RAYS (from Oakland): a lo-fi masterpiece. For fans of the Velvet Underground or the Modern Lovers.
Songs of Sinners by TAMI NEILSON (New Zealand). Tami sings soul, country, gospel, and blues songs of Sister Rosetta Thorpe, Howlin’ Wolf, Mavis Staples, Otis Rush, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits.
Vibe Killer by ENDLESS BOOGIE: quirky blues, psychedelics, and touches of krautrock. With great one-liners, such as: “KISS on stage, at a kite festival. KISS didn’t bring their own kites, they were kiteless, carefree (Back in ’74).”
Toy by A GIANT DOG: a more-than-worthy successor to PILE, my favorite record of 2016.
Wisdom Of Elders by SHABAKA AND THE ANCESTORS (from London & South Africa). Great live show this year at Rockit Festival.
La diversion que hacia falta en mi pais by LOS PIRANAS from Colombia. Crazy masters of the cumbia. Great live shows this year at Vera Groningen and WORM Rotterdam.

2016

Pile by A GIANT DOG: mix of sweetness and a whole lot of YOU’RE GONNA DIIIIIIE.
Mosey van DANIEL ROMANO: Nieuwe stap van groot artiest. Was live geweldig in het Grand Theatre.
Black Star van DAVID BOWIE, een zwanenzang van het niveau van Ziggy Stardust en Hunky Dory.
CAR SEAT HEADREST: Will Toledo bezingt 70 minuten lang tienerleed. Voor Nirvana en Pixies fans.
HERON OBLIVION. Exploderende folkrock met prachtige zang van Meg Baird & scheurende gitaren.
Bijzonder sfeervol debuut van JOOST DIJKEMA. Niet langer garagerocker maar gitaartokkelaar.
SCOTT AND CHARLENE’S WEDDING (Australie). Fijne opvolgers van Velvet Underground en Feelies.
Grote verrassing dat ik BEYONCE goed zou vinden. Verreweg meest gedraaide muziek deze zomer.
MICHAEL KIWANUKA maakte eerst met Home Again en nu met Love & Hate wonderschone muziek.
Singing Saw van KEVIN MORBY. Soloplaat van de zanger/guitarist van The Babies.

2015

Indian Ocean van FRAZEY FORD. Officieel uit 2014 maar pas dit jaar gehoord. Wat een mooie stem.
The Agent Intellect van PROTOMARTYR. Overtreffen hun vorige werk enorm.
Sound & Color van the ALABAMA SHAKES. Wat een soul. Aretha Franklin met een gitaar. Groeiplaat.
High van ROYAL HEADACHE. Deze Aussies moeten nu echt een keer overkomen voor een tour.
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit van COURTNEY BARNETT. Geweldig debuut.
KENDRICK LAMAR’s To Pimp a Butterfly. Voor velen album van het jaar, maar ik vind het minder dan zijn vorige.
The Epic van KAMASI WASHINGTON: 3xLP. Grootste jazztalent.
III van HEX DISPENSERS. Deze rechttoe rechtaan band uit Austin, TX is live geweldig.
Carrie & Lowell van SUFJAN STEVENS. Met deze intieme plaat is hij weer terug op niveau.
I love you honeybear van FATHER JOHN MISTY. Veelzijdig: teder, boos, openhartig en cynisch.