Monday, December 19, 2016

Top 10 Albums of 2016 Part 1

Happy holidays/Merry Christmas/Happy Chaunukah/Happy Yule/Happy Kwanzaa/Happy New Year/etc.! By now I imagine you guys know the drill with this. I'm taking the last week that I will be posting this year to list what I feel were the 10 best albums to come out this year. 2016 had some pretty good stuff released, so I'm looking forward to posting two of them a day till the end of the week after which I will be taking the rest of the year off to enjoy the holidays. These albums will not be listed in any particular order because as I've said in the past, it's a pain trying to place all of them. All that aside, let's get started!



10. Hollow Bones, by Rival Sons

Rival Sons have kept right on schedule with giving their growing fan base that old school big thundering blues tinged rock n' roll they ever so desperately crave. It has everything a Rival Sons record needs: catchy fuzzy guitar riffs, howling passionate vocals, and a grounding and pounding rhythm section. From start to finish this album will pick you up and pound you into the ground, though the last track will be rather sweet and kind to you to make up for it.

This album shows the band pushing forward and exploring a little bit more, though at the same time it sounds a little bit more like their old stuff than their previous record Great Western Valkyrie did. The only thing I have against this record is that it's too short. It's only 9 songs long. It's a great record, but I feel they could have done more with it. Regardless, it's still worth picking up. If nothing else, it's that extra bit of injection of pure rock n' roll that we all clearly need to get through this year.





9. Resonate, by Glenn Hughes

Veteran rocker Glenn Hughes has done a LOT in his 4+ decade career. Despite all the music he has made over the years though he has almost never made the same record twice. However, at the same time anything he makes regardless of the genre/musical direction has that unmistakable Glenn Hughes signature sound to it. Hughes's most recent studio effort Resonate is definitely a prime example of this.

Resonate is a lot heavier than any of the solo stuff he has ever put out. However, it has that certain raw unchained fuzzy thunder and grind to it that was very much the prevalent sound in his previous band California Breed. The difference here though is that this album goes in a much darker and somewhat heavier direction than that album. If you're a fan of Hughes or are just looking for something awesome to blow out your speakers with, this record ought to do it.

No comments:

Post a Comment