Sunday, January 17, 2021

AKG 2020 Year End Review... Finally

Oh dear, what a year it has been. Live gigs were suddenly halted in March and started again sporadically with predictable cancellations etc. As a result, countless venues across the country have shuttered their doors for good. Props to local watering holes the Caveau and the Timber Lounge for trying to make it happen.

Radio Radio. How times have changed. Local musicians Ken Kelley (Monoxides), Nathan Jones (Motorleague) and Brock Gallant (ex- Divorcess) can now be heard as DJ's on the local classic rock station. Some welcome respite from the usual dross.

Shane Mazerolle of Earth AD. has released a 5 song CD EP of dystopian, dissonant, prog-industrial metal under the name Expired. Recommended for fans of Prong and Voivod.

Local atmospheric, psychedelic shoegaze noise merchants the Peter Parkers have recently came out of a long slumber and have a new album up on bandcamp called Maybe I'm The Drought. Check it out

The Robins, the city's punk pioneers have been rehearsing new songs on a semi-regularly basis in a nearby basement.

Well-travelled prodigal rocker Yves Bourque recently played his first solo show of original music consisting mainly of country, blues and pop oriented material. Check him out the next time he plays.

Dig the new breed. Moose Boys, DogsnotGods, LeBaron and Another Dose (ex-Grosse Bouche) are bands that I hope to get to see play locally some day.

2020 Local Vinyl Roundup: We have again been blessed with some great wax output from our little city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
              Phone Jerks - Out of The Gate 7" (
February 20)
More trash rock and roll noise for your eviction party. Crank it up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
               Elevator - Darkness-Light 2LP  (April 20)

First time on vinyl. Reissue of 2002 CD. Dark, heavy, foreboding psyche rock featuring fourth member Dallas Good (the Sadies)


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               Elevator - August (Extra) 2LP  (August 31)

Another fantastic reissue by Rick White and co.  Originally released in 2004,
this remastered version includes a second full album featuring 11 unreleased tracks from the original sessions. Stellar packaging. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
                Nerve Button - Volume 2 LP  (September 18)

Sophomore effort of 77 punk meets glam stomp from these wise guys. Proudly still lacking finesse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
               Slashdance - Everything Goes With Black LP (October 1)
Debut solo album by Which Witch Is Which bassist Dan Cadera. It's goth, industrial and punk. 

Alexander - Runes LP (November 1, 2020)
Drone doom duo featuring Kyle McDons (Zaum) and
Jörg A. Schneider (Jealousy Mountain Duo). Very percussive, highly listenable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               TJ Cabot and Thee Artificial Rejects - s/t LP  (December 15)
Mysterious Ramones worship, lo-fi budget rock. On Alien Snatch from Germany. Ignore at your peril.

 

As part of our annual tradition, we've asked local music freaks to list off their faves of 2020. Read 'em and weep. (some late submissions may be added at a later date)

AKG 2020 YEAR POLL:

Ray13 (AKG editor, street walker)
Top Ten Albums (in alphabetical order)

 1)  Bloodshot Bill - Get Loose or Get Lost  LP
 2)  The Chats - High Risk Behaviour  LP

 3)  The Lurkers - Sex Crazy  LP

 4)  Outtacontroller - Sure Thing  LP
 5)  The Pogues - BBC Sessions  LP
 6)  The Ramones - It's Alive II  2LP
 7)  Redd Kross -
Red Cross EP 40th Anniversary Edition LP (reissue with bonus tracks)
 8)  Voivod - Lost Machine Live  2LP
 9)  Wire - Mind Hive  LP
10)  X - Alphabetland  LP

Top Five Live Shows (in chronological order)
Hard Charger  January 4 (The Caveau)
Outtacontroller  January 24 (The Caveau)
Booji Boys  January 31 (Thunder and Lightning/Sackville NB)
Les McKeown's Bay City Rollers  March 7 (Riverview Arts Centre)
Yves Bourque  December 12  (Timber Lounge)

Ken Kelley (time keeper at the Monoxides)
1)  Brendan Benson - Dear Life (CD)
2)  Bob Mould - Blue Hearts (CD)
3)  Fleet Foxes - Shore (digital)
4)  Jeff Tweedy - Love Is The King (digital)
5)  Matt Berninger - Serpentine Prison (digital)

Remi LeClair (thee Comic Hunter)
10)  Gargoyl – Gargoyl (mp3, waiting for LP)
 9)  Protest The Hero – Palimpsest (mp3, waiting for LP)
 8)  Slift – Ummon (LP)
 7)  The Ocean – Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic (LP Box Set)
 6)  Transit Method – The Madness (LP)
 5)  Huntsmen – Mandala of Fear (LP)
 4)  Dead Quiet – Truth and Ruin (LP)
 3)  Motorpsycho – The All Is One (LP)
 2)  Psychonaut – Unfold the God Man (LP)
 1)  Elder – Omens (LP)

 Mark Eveleigh (local music supporter/ full-time dad)
Top Ten Albums

1.  Local H - Lifers LP
2.  Metallica - S&M2 CD
3.  Like A Motorcycle - Dead Broke CD
4.  Partner - Never Give Up CD
5.  Thick - 5 Years Behind CD
6.  Idles  -Ultra Mono CD
7.  Nerve Button - Volume 2 LP
8.  Slashdance - Everything Goes With Black LP

9.  TJ Cabot and Thee Artificial Rejects - s/t LP

10. The OBGMs - The Ends CD 

Top Ten Singles and E.P's
 1. Expired-Expired CD
 2. Mitchie Dagger-2 Song Snack Demo Digital Download
 3. Misanthropic Minds-Welcome To The Homeland, Greetings From The Wasteland 7"
 4. The Peter Parkers-Maybe I'm The Drought Digital Download
 5. TJ Cabot and Thee Artificial Rejects-Digital / Tape Cassette
 6. Impulse items-S/T Digital Download
 7. Phone Jerks-Out The Gate 7"
 8. Fu Manchu-FU30 Part 1 10"
 9. Thunder Queens-S/T 7"
10. Fourfivefour-Demo EP CD


Sonia Noel (local visionary)

 1.  Taylor Swift - Folklore  LP
 2.  Daniel Romano’s Outfit - How Ill Thy World Is Ordered  LP

 3.  Tough Age - Which Way Am I?  LP

 4.  Dog Day - Present  LP

 5.  Outtacontroller - Sure Thing  LP

 6.  Jon Mckiel - Bobby Joe Hope  LP

 7.  Jill Barber - Entre Nous  LP

 8.  Elevator - August (reissue LP)

 9.  Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (Apple music)

10. Taylor Swift - Evermore (Apple Music)

Daryl Buote (Saint-John correspondent)
1. Norma MacDonald- Old Future CD
2. Cry Out - More Echoes of a Question Never Answered ... Why ? LP
3. Muro- Pacificar LP
4. Slashdance - Everything Goes With Black LP
5. The War Goes On - Assisted Armageddon LP
6. Dissension - Amazing Disgrace LP
7. Outtacontroller - Sure Thing LP
8. Nerve Button - Volume 2 LP
9. Neighbourhood Watch - s/t LP
10. The Wanderers - Only Lovers Left Alive LP (reissue)
 
Billy Battershill (one of the baker's dozen)
10. Thee Primitive Sound - Turn It Up LP
9. Norma MacDonald - Old Future LP
8. Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts - No Where To Go But Anywhere (stream)
7. Hank Von Hell - Dead. Streaming.
6. Geoff Palmer and Lucy Ellis - Your Face Is Weird. Streaming.
5. Nerve Button - Vol 2. LP
4. Mom - Pleasure Island. Streaming.
3. The Speedways - Radio Sounds LP
2. Brian Fallon - Local Honey LP
1. The Yum Yums - For Those About To Pop LP

 
Mike Melanson (singer at Nerve Button)
1 - Various Artists - Really Bad Music For Really Bad People: The Cramps As Heard... LP 
2 - The Chats - High Risk Behavior - digital
3 - Phone Jerks - Out of The Gate - 7"
4 - SlashDance - Everything Goes With Black LP 
5 - Redd Kross - Red Cross EP 40th Anniversary Edition LP (reissue)
6 - Ralphie's Red Ryders - You'll Shoot Your Eye Out - digital 
7 - OuttaController - Sure Thing LP 
8 - The Vapors - Together (digital)
9 - TJ Cabot and Thee Artificial Rejects - s/t LP
10 - Neighbourhood Watch - s/t LP 
 
Marc Doucet (drummer at Nerve Button and The Robins)
1 Wire - Mind Hive LP
2 Elevator - August (Extras) 2LP
3 Voivod - End of Dormancy 12" EP
4 Voivod - Lost Machine Live 2LP
5 Wire - 10:20 LP

Tyler Boots (guitars at Phone Jerks, Nerve Button, TJ Cabot)
in no particular order...
Sonic HZ – Paradigm (digital release)
Outtacontroller – Sure Thing LP
Slashdance – Everything Goes With Black LP
Brad Marino – Subterranean Jungle LP
Chubby and The Gang - Speed Kills LP
Thee Primitive Sound – Turn It Up LP
Queers – Save The World LP
Itchy Self – Here’s The Rub 12" EP
Celebrity Handshake – Bottom of Your Bucket LP
Battlebeats – Search and Destroy (digital/CD)

Craig Pinhey (beer, wine and spirits. Sommelier and scribe) 
1) Elvis Costello - Hey Clockface
2) Sarah Harmer - Are You Gone
3) Ron Sexsmith - Hermitage
4) Fiona Apple - Fetch The Boltcutters
5) Kathleen Edwards - Total Freedom
6) X - Alphabetland
7) The Lemon Twigs - Songs For The General Public
8) Clive Gregson - 2020
9) Pretenders - Hate For Sale
10) Rufus Wainwright - Unfollow The Rules
 
Yves Bourque (man about town)
1. Waylon Payne - Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher and Me 2. Kurt Vile - Speed, Sound, Lonely KV 3. Lou Reed - New York (Deluxe Edition Reissue) 4. Lemon Twigs - Songs For The General Public 5. Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter 6. Seth Bogart - Men On The Verge of Nothing 7. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways 8. Orville Peck - Show Pony 9. Whitney Rose - We Still Go to Rodeos
10. Black Pumas -
s/t

Grant Forsythe (singer at Neighbourhood Watch, NB ambassador to Oxnard)
1. Acidwash - Cage of Reality 12" 2. Agression - SSL LP 3. Antibodies - 2019 + 2018 LP 4. Artificial Dissemination - Modern Day Peasants 12" 5. Dissension - Amazing Disgrace LP 6. Nerve Button - Volume 2 LP 7. The Outsiders - These Streets LP 8. Reagan Youth - Regenerated: A Collection of Alternative Classics LP 9. Various - Nardcore For Life LP 10. Various - Valley Blvd. LP 
 
Jeff Cheyne (culinary artist)
no particular order...
Metz - Atlas Vending LP Fontaines DC - A Heroes Death CD Peter Parkers Maybe I'm the Drought (digital) Caribou - Sudennly LP Holy Fuck- Deleter LP Nerve Button - Vol 2 LP Uniform- Shame (digital) Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today (digital) Owen Pallet - Island (digital) Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline CD  
Gigs... 1 Mount Eerie and Julie Doiron, Lost Wisdom (Mount A Chapel, Sackville NB) 2 Booji Boys, Souvenir and BTS (Thunder and Lightning, Sackville, NB) 3 Outtacontroller , Johnny Deathwish, Zero Zero UFO, Grosse Bouche (The Caveau, Moncton NB) 4 Nicotine Heartthrob , Phone Jerks, Frig Dancer (Hell's Basement, Moncton NB)
 
Gavin MacNeil (apiarist, corrugation expert)
1 - Wire - Mind Hive LP
2 - Bob Mould - Blue Hearts LP
3 - Thurston Moore - By The Fire LP
4 - Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today LP
5 - Fontaine’s DC - A Hero’s Death LP
6 - Sharhabil Ahmed - The King of Sudanese Jazz (bandcamp)
7 - TJ Cabot and Thee Artificial Rejects - s/t (bandcamp)
8 - Death Valley Girls - Under The Spell of Joy (bandcamp)
9 - Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters 2LP
10- Elevator - August (Extra) 2LP (reissue)
 
Mat O'Blenis (shouter at Warsick)
Top Ten Albums 1 - Paranoid – Out Raising Hell LP + (Out Raising Hell Outtakes 12” EP) 2 - Life – Ossification of Coral LP 3 - Lai – Pontianak LP 4 - Tortur – Never Ending Grief LP 5 - Geld- Beyond The Floor LP 6 - Subdued – Over The Hills And Far Away LP 7 - Exploator – Avgrundens Bran LP 8 - Destruct – Echoes of Life LP 9 - Hekátē - Μέρες Οργής LP 10 - Necrot - Mortal LP
 
Top Ten 7"'s 1 - Humant Blod – Flykten Fran Verkligheten 2 - Scarecrow – Revenge 3 - Kohti Tuhoa – Ela Toduudesta 4 - Rigorous Institution – Survival 5 - Bombardment -2020 EP 6 - Public Acid – Condemnation 7 - Irreal – 2020 8 - Rubble – Parts Per Million 9 - Misanthropic Minds – Welcome To The Homeland… Greetings From The Wasteland 10 - Last Agony – s
 
Lastly, 2020 took its heavy toll on the people who make the noise we love. We are certain that this is the longest list that we've compiled thus far We salute those who have served...
Steve Priest (The Sweet), Neil Peart (Rush), John Prine, Dave Kusworth (Jacobites), Martin Griffin (Hawkwind), Andy Gill (Gang of Four), Crazy Cavan, Gerry Forest (the Mustangs, 1755), Ivan Kral (Patti Smith Group, Iggy Pop), Reed Mullin (Corrosion of Conformity), Genesis P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV), Buddy Cage (New Riders of the Purple Sage), Kenny Rogers (The First Edition), Bill Rieflin (Minsitry, Lard, Revolting Cocks, King Crimson), Alan Merrill (The Arrows), Pete Way (U.F.O.), Steve Farmer (Amboy Dukes), Big George Brock, Joey Image (Misfits), Moon Martin, Matthew Seligman (Soft Boys), Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk), Al Rex (Bill Haley and His Comets), Ennio Morricone, Keith Tippett (King Crimson), Little Richard, Tim Smith (The Cardiacs), Sally Cato (Androids, The Concords, Smashed Gladys), Chi Pig (SNFU, The Wongs), CP Lee (AlbertoY Lost Trios Paranoias), Sid McCray (Bad Brains), Sean Tyla (Ducks Deluxe, Tyla Gang), Wayne Fontana (Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders), Jack Sherman (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Pat Fairley (Marmalade), Ron Heathman (Supersuckers, Hangmen), Walter Lure (The Heartbreakers, The Waldos), Justin Townes Earle, Riley Gale (Power Trip), Judy Dyble (Fairport Convention, Trader Horne), John Meyer (Rose Tattoo), Denise Johnson (A Certain Ratio, Primal Scream, New Order), Toots Hibbert (Toots and The Maytals), Floyd Lee, Eddy Pumer (Kaleidoscope), Jimmy Winston (Small Faces), Emitt Rhodes, Thee Slayer Hippy (Poison Idea), Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac), Len Barry (The Dovells), Gordon Haskell (Fleurs De Lys, King Crimson), Spencer Davis (Spencer Davis Group), Joseph Shabalala (Ladysmith Black Mambazo), Harold Budd, Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep), Tony Rice, Clay Anthony (Junkyard), Anton Kolstee (United Empire Loyalists), Tony Hooper (Strawbs), David Angli (Entre Vàndals), Alec Baillie (Leftover Crack, Choking Victim), George Wall (Jerry Jerry and The Sons of Rhythm Orchestra), Mike Mindless (Skulls, Electric Frankenstein), Jimi Maguire (The System), Pierre Kezdy (Naked Raygun, Pegboy), Rev John Wilkins, Johnny Nash, Ira Sullivan, Simeon Coxe (Silver Apples), Gary Peacock, Sheen Martin (Hype), Lex Gore (Adaptive Reaction), Ian Mitchell (Bay City Rollers, Rosetta Stone), Manuel Alférez (Decibelios), Alan Peters (Agnostic Front), Vern Rumsey (Unwound), Denis "Fuzzy" LeBlanc (Birds of Passage), Rich Priske (Real McKenzies, Matthew Good Band), Andy Scott (Cockney Rejects, Wasted Youth (UK), Tony Allen (Fela Kuti, The Good, The Bad and The Queen), Bucky Baxter (Steve earle and The Dukes, Bob Dylan), Marc Zermati (Skydog Records), Millie Small, Dave Greenfield (The Stranglers), Danny Mihm (Flamin' Groovies), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), Rosie Davis (All The Vixens, Cry Out), Wade Allison (Iron Age), MF Doom, David Roback (Mazzy Star), Chris Darrow (Kaleidoscope, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), Steven Tyson (Mush), David Lander (Lenny and The Squigtones), Mike Sydney (Maximum RnR)