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    • Dec 1, 2022

Year in Tiers 2022 - The Wishmasters

Anybody else miss the bygone era of trashy straight to video horror movies like Uncle Sam, Jack Frost or The Wishmaster? More often than not, just seeing the threatening VHS box art and imagining what the movie might be about was more gratifying than anything that was actually in the movie itself. But as bad as the movies often were, there was still some enjoyment to be found in watching something you probably shouldn't be. These are the bad but not terrible, entertaining enough when your options are limited - The Wishmasters.


#123. Absolution by Riverby

Front-woman Sophia Greenberg has some incredibly dynamic vocals but unfortunately, there's not much else here supporting her. The instrumental arrangements are incredibly basic - like default loops you'd find pre-packaged into recording software, bent and molded around her lyrics. But to be fair, even the songwriting comes off a bit unrefined and redundant at times. "Birth By Sleep" shows the most promise by far but outside of that, this looks like an exhibition of untapped potential in desperate need of a collaborator. Plenty of potential for growth here but currently, the project feels embryonic.

#122. Sweet Tooth by Mom Jeans

I know most people regarded 2018's "Puppy Love" as a disappointment but I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially now held up next to this. "Sweet Tooth" is a painfully forced, overly cutesy pop rock record you'd be sold as the next Blink-182 in the mid 2000's. Think Bowling For Soup without the humor or well crafted hooks. And the pivot to pop rock here just doesn't feel genuine. Even the song titles feel like they're trying to tell you what they think you want to hear rather than tapping into the raw emotion displayed on their previous efforts. It's just overly simplified and under developed. "Ten Minutes" might be the only song I'd actively seek out to hear again but other than that, this feels like what could be the beginning of the end for Mom Jeans.

#121. One Step Forward. Two Steps Back.

by The Bruce Lee Band

Made up of Asian Man Record's Mike Park, some leftover scraps of Bomb the Music Industry and the infusion of a 1-man skank machine by the name of Skatune Network - this latest incarnation of The Bruce Lee Band feels about as disjointed as it's ingredients are. Right off the bat, the first two tracks beat their choruses into oblivion with mind numbing repetition. "Did You Find the Money Farm?" takes about a minute for the vocals to kick in and it's probably no coincidence that it's the first time I found myself getting into the record. But once they finally hit, that enthusiasm is extinguished almost instantaneously. Each song is incredibly simplistic and painfully drawn out. By the time "Putting up with All My Crazy" hit I didn't think I'd make it to the finish line; but then "I Hate This" kicks in and almost sounds like a different band entirely with how much excitement it exudes. But it's the lone bright spot in a tacky passion project that might need to be put out to pasture at this point. Sorry Mike.

#120. LABYRINTHITIS by Destroyer

I was hesitant to return to Destroyer after the laughably bad "Have We Met" but the overwhelming praise for "LABYRINTHITIS" brought me back to see if perhaps Dan Bejar had returned to his "Kaputt" form. And at first I thought he had. "Suffer" kinda whips ass. But then immediately following that, he continues to piss through any goodwill the listener might have left by bellowing out his cringey lyrics which sound like stolen snippets from an open mic slam poetry session. Gems like "A snowman's a fucking idiot" take you right out of the album altogether. Please stop reading your shit poetry over your decent synthpop, it's killing the vibe. Or maybe the vibe's already dead and you're reading the most pretentious eulogy ever written. I can't decide. But I'm definitely done caring about this project.

#119. Exercise Your Demons by Cliffdiver

With awful, pun heavy song titles and obvious lyrics placating to weed/emo culture like "stoned making out to Third Eye Blind", Cliffdiver sounds like a fairly harmless Free Throw copycat on their opening track. But then the second song hits and they sound like an entirely different band, with breakdowns under a sing-ier vocalist and a lost trumpeteer wandering around in the background somewhere. They're just trying to do way too much here and have too many styles pulled into too many different directions. And probably too many band members. I'm all for diversifying your sound but this feels like a split LP or some kind of shitty compilation. Pick a lane guys.

#118. God's Country by Chat Pile

So I know that vocals aren't necessarily a point of emphasis with post-hardcore noise outfits like Chat Pile but it's hard to overlook how much of an obstacle they are in trying to enjoy this album. The instrumentals are pretty interesting but goddamn, repeating "Why do people have to live outside?" over and over again like an incessant toddler is pretty grating. I mean, it's a fair question - but to ask it over and over again like a kid in the back of a minivan, kicking the driver's seat while squealing "are we there yet?" isn't exactly the best delivery of said question. From the song about Pamela Voorhees to the unnerving bad trip of a closer with a murderous Grimace - the whole thing feels like it's trying to sell itself as an elevated A24 style arthouse horror film when it's really more on the level of a Friday the 13th.

#117. The Other Side Of Make-Believe by Interpol

Interpol's been fairly consistent in their 20 something year run but as effective as their formula has been, it's gotten pretty tired at this point. You've got to evolve at least a little bit, right? This collection sounds like it could have been C or D sides to any of the 6 Interpol albums that proceed it. The dreary "too cool to care" post-punk sound just isn't as believable here and comes off sounding more uninspired and lazy than sophisticated. They sound almost as bored with this album as I was listening to it.

#116. The Long Way, The Slow Way by Camp Trash

Something about Camp Trash's debut album feels way too casual. This is your first statement as a band and you already sound like burnt out 30 something's trying to stretch past your expiration date. It's too safe to even consider punk really, more like adult emo contemporary. Probably what Modern Baseball would sound like if they were still releasing music but didn't really have the desire to. Although instead of every song being about flirting on your phone, the entire record is centered around an inexplicable disdain for the state of Florida. "Poured Out" wasn't bad though.

#115. Tiny Moving Parts by Tiny Moving Parts

The Minnesota math pop trio return with this self-released, self-titled, 8th album (8? already?!) touting their trademark baffling guitar taps (see "Jotting Notes" for the most face melting example of such) and some unfortunate lyrical choices. Seriously, how many emo bands do we need singing about their "demons taking over" or getting stoned and watching the clouds? It's particularly disappointing here because I really felt that the band had found the perfect balance on their 2019 effort "breathe" but after delivering their career best record 3 years ago, this is their worst album since the Obama administration was in office. "Tangled Up" provides a momentary glimpse that they haven't completely fallen off but their upward trajectory has definitely dipped with this outing. I do love the cover art though.

#114. The Loser by Gospel

Can you really still call something "progressive" when the same traits that have been attributed to "prog" haven't really progressed in the last 40-50 years? Yes, the record packs some triumphant rock and roll organ, nontraditional time signatures and exhaustive song lengths but more often than not I felt myself wanting a little more method to the madness. There's some incredible musicianship at hand (especially on drums) but there's not a lot driving the arrangements outside of broad experimentation. It's the same kind of proggy post-hardcore that The Mars Volta thrived with 15 years ago but with a much less endearing vocalist. In fact the record is most enjoyable on "Metallic Olives" and "Warm Bed" where the vocals don't kick in until you're 2 minutes into the songs.

#113. You Can Only Mourn Surprises by Topiary Creatures

This was my first foray into Topiary Creatures and while there was definitely some interesting instrumentation sprinkled throughout, the way the vocals were so overly distorted really pulled me out of this far too often. The record sounds like Reggie and the Full Effect got really into emo-tap guitars but then tried to auto-tune some gravelly attempts at Remo Drive style vocals. Which is to say, very uneven and all over the place. "Halloween" was pretty solid though. More of that next time, please.

#112. Special by Lizzo

I can't believe it's already been 3 years since Lizzo took the world by storm with "Cuz I Love You". Unfortunately her long awaited follow up is just way too desperately trying to recreate the infectious charisma of her breakout record with forced lines like "Thick Thirty" and "Bad Bitch O' Clock". Her enthusiasm and message of self empowerment felt genuine on her last record but here, it sounds more like bad motivational boss bitch memes your friend's sad mom posts on facebook to make themselves feel better. It's almost like you can hear the weight of having to defend herself constantly in the public eye for the past 3 years wearing on her. Which is understandable, but she just doesn't sound as fun as she's trying to sell herself anymore. "Special" comes closest to broaching whatever struggle she's been going through but she doesn't embrace or explore that insecurity nearly enough, even though it seems to seep into all of the tracks where she's acting like she can still just brush everything off.

#111. Lucifer on the Sofa by Spoon

Listening to Spoon's latest album, I think it dawned on me - 2000's era indie rock might be the new dad rock. Trying to feel around for some kind of groovy butt rock aesthetic, this feels like an Eels imitation with far inferior lyricism. Even stranger still is the sequencing that finds the album's worst 3 tracks opening the record. "Wild" is a harmless enough single but then we get another embarrassing track to close out the proceedings. Come on Spoon, you're better than this. A group with this many albums under their belt shouldn't operate with this kind of carelessness. Unless they're lazily veering into the lane of dad rock. Which they kind of seem to be.

#110. Kingo by King of Heck

King of Heck has a wonderfully weird blend of twangy jangle pop and Strokes inspired garage rock, which is incredibly raw but somewhat charming. It's messy but fun. Particularly on "Bigspin", which boasts some really stellar percussion. But when the record gets to "Coast" and "Kid is Inna Missile", it feels like you're watching a local band with a front loaded setlist of their best material and they still haven't really written enough quality songs to be playing shows yet. They've got potential, but may have rushed themselves to fill out a full length here.

#109. Omnium Gatherum by

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Depending on how you count their releases (there's a split, a 2 track 30 minute sound experiment, some remixes, demos and live recordings sprinkled in) - "Omnium Gatherum" marks the 20th (or maybe 18th?) LP that KG has released in the last 10 years. It's a staggering amount of output no matter how you count it, especially for a band that still actively tours as much as they do. The 18 minute opener seemingly takes you on a sonic journey through all the sounds KG have explored over the past decade but unfortunately after that, the record is mostly made up of acid pop tracks that somehow feel much longer than the nearly 20 minute intro. And don't get me started on the awful rap songs "Sadie Sorceress" and "The Grim Reaper". Mostly the record just reminds me of the energetic chaos this band used to harness with brief visitations to those roots scattered among their current fixation on producing dull psych-pop.

#108. Death Don't Wait (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Chris Farren

What can I say about this instrumental soundtrack to an imaginary James Bond-style spy film? I guess that Chris Farren really knows how to commit to a bit? Other than that, this joke wears out it's welcome almost instantaneously. There's the occasional flourish of personality provided by Jeff Rosenstock's horn fills but beyond that, there really isn't much here passed the opening track. Which is surprisingly good, yet it's the only song with any vocals (not from Chris though, he outsources that to Laura Stevenson). "Death Don't Wait" could definitely pass as the next Bond anthem. The rest of the music though, is pretty bland.

#107. XI: Bleed Here Now by

And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead

And You Will Know Us By The Trail of The Dead is one my favorite acts from the 2000's. But their 11th album, which clocks in at 22 tracks and 74 minutes in length, was the first time I found myself struggling to get through one of their releases. The album opener "Our Epic Attempts" acknowledges the band's ambition over execution approach, which they've seemingly implemented since 2011's "Tao of the Dead". But the band still doesn't seem to know where to take it's sound and is apparently content on releasing these aimless, experimental jam sessions as albums while they continue to search for that new sound. Which is why this sounds like more of a scrapbook of demos and leftovers than any actual finished material.

#106. Two Ribbons by Let's Eat Grandma

A fairly bouncy synth-pop record with not much variation, "Two Ribbons" feels like it never really leaves it's comfort zone until the final 3 tracks. Weirdly enough, the 92 second instrumental "In the Cemetery" may be the standout for me but when the final two songs drift into stripped down acoustic chamber pop, it's somehow even less charismatic than the frustratingly neutral openers. There's just not much personality or range to be found once you strip down all the stylistic flourishes and honestly, they were probably better off hiding behind their vapid aesthetic.

#105. Spell/Bound by Murder by Death

Murder by Death had a sensational run throughout the 2000's with their eclectic blend of alt-country goth ballads and rockabilly dive-bar anthems but unfortunately the group seems to be entering their twilight years, slowly petering out like a desert sunset with "Spell/Bound". It seems as if the album is meant to come off as understated but instead, just feels empty. Particularly due to the barren material being stretched out to fill 4-5 minute songs. And while I thought the band may be on the verge of a resurgence with their spectacular 2018 space opera "The Other Shore", that seems to be the outlier here as their output has been limited to 3 cover albums, a holiday record and the woefully underwhelming "Big Dark Love" over the past 10 years. As much as it pains me to say it, I can't help but wonder, has the well run dry for Murder by Death? Will they survive? And what will be left of them?


Listen to our Top 40 Murder by Death Playlist Here

#104. Flood by Stella Donnelly

Stella Donnelly's sophomore effort just feels way too hollow. Especially with how much the vocals just sit on top of everything else that's happening. The mix is awful. There's virtually no cohesion between the music and vocal tracks. The most instrumentally enhanced song is easily the best, but it's also the last song on the album. So I doubt most people will even make it that far. I almost didn't.

#103. The Will to Live by Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus is nothing if not ambitious. But with this latest effort, the 1980's arena rock opera motif feels a touch too gimmicky. Especially with how sloppy, rambling, and uninteresting the songs themselves are. It's like a bad Billy Joel or Meatloaf impersonation by your local over the hill punk band. "I Can Not Be Satisfied" is probably the standout, but it's still about a minute and a half too long. And then we go straight into the weird, 7 minute pirate saloon ballad "Bridge and Tunnel" which effectively sums up this album in just those two tracks. An almost promising premise, derailed by weird theatrics and heavy handed thematic material.

#102. Ugly Season by Perfume Genius

Michael Hadreas' 6th LP under the moniker Perfume Genius finds the electronic songstress establishing a dark and brooding atmosphere right out of the gate with it's 10 minute exploration of sonic landscape before hearing anything remotely "musical" occur. It's incredibly barren, yet enchanting. The pop elements of his earlier work have eroded almost entirely, making this a much more niche album than what we're used to hearing from Perfume Genius. It's something of an experimental crossover between electronic art pop and classical instrumental music. Which understandably makes for some unique tracks, it's just definitely a one time listen for me. I'd much rather hear more of the "Set My Heart On Fire Immediately" incarnation of Perfume Genius. But kudos for branching out into trying something different. I guess...

#101. Ramona Park Broke My Heart by Vince Staples

Even though it kind of fits the "remember when" vibe of the album, it's incredibly disappointing to hear Vince Staples reverting to throwback 2000's era production when he made so many bold and incredible leaps forward on "Big Fish Theory". And even more than last year's self titled album, Vince seems to be lacking the energy and innovation that made him a standout with his first couple of records. The album does finally get into a decent groove around "Slide" & "Papercuts" but there's still nothing here that would even bear considering in a "Best of Vince Staples" playlist.

#100. WE by Arcade Fire

It's been somewhat stunning to watching Arcade Fire fall so rapidly from their prestigious position atop the indie rock landscape over the past several years, so I was more than ready to embrace a "return to their roots" comeback narrative for the group this year with "WE". And keep in mind, that was before all the sexual misconduct allegations were hurled at frontman Win Butler. Strictly musically speaking though, once you get down to the core of Arcade Fire, it doesn't seem like there's much worth exploring anymore. At least "Everything Now" was a big, bold and fun experience (and IMO criminally underrated) but "WE" finds the group transitioning from a millennial philosophical ABBA to pretentious coffee shop open mic night attempts at recreating dad rock era Genesis. With melodramatic battle cries of "I Unsubscribe" and overly sentimental nursery rhymes for Winn Butler's kid, the once prolific curators of overarching themes and theatrical vision seem out of touch; with very little to say and an uncertainty on how to say it. This album feels like the sonic equivalent to post-grad college kids returning to campus for admiration from a new class of students who don't know or care who these random old people even are.


Listen to our Top 40 Arcade Fire Playlist Here


View the Rest of the 2022 Year in Tiers Here:




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