It is list season! I am not really a big Christmas person but I do love list season.I already made my end of the year list but this year I decided that one list is not enough. So you can expect two lists from Fuzzy Sun writers Brad and Ryne and now you will get a list from the great Ralph Schaarschmidt whom you know from his work in Buzz Rodeao and Trigger Cut. Be sure to check out the two new tracks from the upcoming album from Trigger Cut named ‘ROGO’. Ralph also made 5 part collection of the best noiserock and postpunk wich you can check out here. But now ofcourse you are here for the best of 2020 according to our friend Ralph. Dig in!
Moon Pussy – Moon Pussy
Hoaries – Rocker Shocker
The Domains – Enter
Adulkt Life – Book of Curses
Carnival Crash – It Is A Happy Man
Patois Counselors – The Optimal Seat
The Hammer Party – Smashed Hits
Twisted Ankle – Twisted Ankle
Lié – You Want It Real
Trainer – Athletic Statics
Ryoki Center – Strychnine
Sky Furrows – Sky Furrows
Live Skull – Dangerous Visions
USA Nails – Character Stop
Blacklisters – Fantastic Man
UK GOLD -Epigram No. 2
Exhalants – Atonement
Shifting – It Was Good
June of 44 – Revisionist: Adaptations & Future Histories In The Time Of Love And Survival
The year is almost finished and it is time for my end of the year list, made by myself with extreme care. This list contains my favourite music of the year and is about 50 releases long. It was very difficult to make a selection but I really tried to add only the stuff I thought was exceptionally good and so ended with a really long list but I could not delete more bands, I just could not.
As you probably know this lists contains mostly Noiserock and Psychedelic rock and things that fit in between. Their is some very intense and heavy stuff but also some trippy chill hypnotic tunes although I believe this list is heavier then other years.
If there are bands on this you haven’t heard off I strongly suggest you check them out and that you buy the stuff you like to support the artists because they can use it in this sucky year. Most of the links are bandcamp links so if you click it you can buy straight of the bandcamp page.
I hope this list will make your end of 2020 a bit better, warmer, noisier and trippy.
Oh Sees
Ah Yes, Oh Sees or Thee Oh Sees or Osees or one of these names. One of my favourite bands on the planet. They have released three albums this year and all three of them are awesome and some tracks are more chill and kraut others are wild garage and psych.
Shifting
Extremly awesome Irish noiserock. Easily one of the better noiserock records of the year.
Population II
Quebec rockers Population II released their album on Castle Face Records (the label from John Dwyer from Thee Oh Sees) and it is a refreshing take on Kraut and psych and instantly one of my favourites of the year.
Reptoid
Jordan Sobolew is Reptoid. Reptoid is Jordan Sobolew. Reptoid is a one man noiserock deity. Reptoid is pure, raw, industrial tinged heaviness. ‘WORSHIP FALSE GOD’ is Godlike noise.
Metz
‘Atlas Vending’ is a bit different then their previous albums but they are as ferocius as ever and this album may even be more evolved. Metz is one of the leading noiserock bands in the universe and with this album they have proven it again.
Mong Tong
Mong Tong 夢東 are a trio from Taiwan with the Brothers Hom Yu and Jiun Chi who also play in Prairie WWWW (落差草原 WWWW) and Dope Purple. And now they released their new album ‘Mystery’ on Guruguru Brain. influenced by scifi/horror flicks and filled with samples and Taiwanese influences this album is extremely original and a fun listen from start to finish. They have released two albums this year, the latest one ‘Corps of light’ is more meditative and ambient.
Blóm
Fast, wild, noisy and in your face punknoise. A very cool sonic rollercoaster. Listen to it and tell your friends and pets.
Locean
‘Top Ten Zen Meditations’ is all about amosphere, feelings, and intensity but it is most of all a very layered album wich makes you discover new dimensions with each listen. A brilliant album!
Napalm Death
I guess everyone knows who Napalm Death is. But this album, good lord, this album is goooood.
Moon Pussy
This is some groovy noiserock, riffs that wanne make you wanne wiggle. Buy it, you get a Cookbook with it too.
France
This is the most hypnotic album of the year. carefull if you press play, you can easily lose yourself for an hour or two.
Dirty Junk
Very dirty music, very very dirty.
Modern Technology
Riffs so heavy and slow it is difficult to do something else then lay on the ground and you let it destroy you.
Exhalants
Exhalants are intense and do not dissapoint. Very awesome riffs that keep on giving.
BENT ARCANA
The band is John Dwyer, Ryan Sawyer, Peter Kerlin, Kyp Malone, Brad Caulkins, Tom Dolas, Marcos Rodriguez, Laena “Geronimo” Myers-Ionita, Joce Soubiran and Andres Renteria. Together they make this jazzy and krauty stuff that is really nice for the ears.
Bruges
Bruges creates a very eerie atmosphere on their new records, one that easily grips you vy the balls and does not loosen.
Fuzz
Ty Segal and his buds made this really cool records that filled with heavy psych and garage with some winks to Black Sabbath.
Couch Slut
Fast paces, riff fueled noiserock of the highest order. Wild!
Pretty Lightning
Always been a fan of Pretty Lightning, their hypnotic tunes are very good in their louder strongs as in their softer tracks.
Black Pus
lack Pus is a one man band, and that one man is Brian Chippendale (you know, the drummer of Lightning Bolt). And he is back with a new album that is called ‘Def Vesper’ wich is a series of improvised songs, first thought/best thought, recorded over a few days from 2/18-2/28/20 on a Tascam 424 cassette 4 track.
Alex Maas
Frontman Alex Maas of The Black Angels released his first solo album called ‘Luca’ and it is a gorgeous psychedelic folk album.
Blacklisters
‘Fantiastic Man’ is a fantastic album. I said it.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
‘K.G.’ is a really good psych album and I am really glad we got at least on king Gzzard this year.
Gary, Indiana
This newish trio has only three songs out yet but it sounds so promising it has to be on this list.
Bruxa Maria
Noiserock so loud that is almost grindcore.
Casual Nun
Not so casual rock, filled with psych and noiserock. Cooler than you or your friends.
Cower
The humans in this new band called Cower are also known from the other bands they play in, Gareth Thomas plays in USA Nails/Silent Front, Wayne Adams in Petbrick/Death Pedals/Big Lad and Thomas Lacey in Yards/The Ghost Of A Thousand. Together they mix new wave, gothic and noiserock.
Kooba Tercu
Tribal and ominous. Kooba Tercu can mold sounds into something very psychedelic and intense.
The Psychotic Monks
The French band has proven yet again how strong their songwriting is on their new album ‘Private Meaning First’.
Luminous Bodies
Luminous Bodies (Terminal Cheesecake, Part Chimp, We Wild Blood, MGF, Melting Hand and Gum Takes Tooth) released “Nah Nah Nah Yeh Yeh Yeh” on Box Records and is deranged rock for deranged people.
Frankie and the Witch Fingers
Frankie and the Witch Fingers make fast paced garage and psychedelic rock and are getting better eacht time they release something.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
Thunderous riffs, stoner and noise on this great new record by PigsX7.
USA NAILS
The notoriously hard to google London band USA NAILS returns with their noisy postpunk wich offers eleven tracks of furious and noisy punk.
Michael
Michael is made up mostly of Bad Guys, Notorious Hi-Fi Killers, Hag, Lucozade, Black Shape and Princess Headbutt members. give it a spin, you will be addicted instantly.
Fake Indians
Fake Indians are a band from Antwerp, Belgium with and insane level of rocknroll, heavy fuzz and punk atmosphere. “The Pest” is one of those albums that is impossible to pin down, to much energy, to much of a fuck you.
All Them Witches
All Them Witchers is one of these bands that are always good for me, the music from All Them Witches always swings between psychedelic rock, blues rock and stoner and it is always good in my opinion. I always love their softer tracks too, on most albums you get a track like that and this time we get ‘Everest’ and ‘Children of Coyote Woman’
Eye Flys
Long ango I listenened mostly to metal but for years now I have been listening mostly to psych and noiserock and here and there some metal albums but I have to say this Eyes Flys band with members of Full of Hell, Backslider and Triac and stuff brings it all back for me. This is just no nonsense riffing heaviness.
DEAD
“Raving Drooling” is an album made of riffs, riffs that we need, that you need, riffs that i am pretty sure could save us against the virus, they are so heavy and dense they could level a building with the first chord of the first track.
S.H.I.T.
S.H.I.T. makes really really dirty hardcore punk, the kind that sounds vomity and agressive
SEX SWING
Type II” is out on Rocket Recordings! The album by Sex Swing (members an contributers from Mugstar, Bonnacons of a Doom, Part Chimp, Dethscalator, Earth, Dead Neanderthalls and Idles and who the hell knows who else) is released and is a ominous feast. The music Sex Swing makes is something in the psych/noise/postpunk spectrum but it is pretty bleak, their is an unnerving atmopshere throughout the whole album
Raspberry Bulbs
Well this is quite something, this NY band is called Raspberry Bulbs and makes the most dirty punk and noiserock I have heard in a while. Their music is raw, catchy and really really dirty. Their new album “Before The Age of Mirrors” is freshly released and contains 13 tracks of singalong heaviness, you can just feel the fuck you punk attitude dripping of this record.
Wasted Shirt
It is not so surprising that this new album “Fungus II” by Wasted Shirt (Ty Segall and Brian Chippendale) is extremely enjoyable. These are two are masterperformers and original rockers that have released a crapload of awesome music in the past. Put these two together and you get some kind of fast paced noise and garagerock. This LP is superfast and superfun to listen to.
Crowd of Chairs
Very intense Belgian noiserock!
HEADS.
Heads. released their new album ‘Push’. This German trio has upped their game it seems after their previous album ‘Collider’. This album is a perfect dose of noiserock and postpunk. The chaos and agressive guitars combine perfect with the vocals. This album is really strong, the sound quality is superb and the tracks alternate between brutal and eerie postpunk.
Lovely Wife
Ominous drone and saxy sound + evil vocals. Yes Please.
The first release from Human Worth kinda blew my mind. The label put together and incredible list of artists that each gave a track, a new one or an unreleased one or an older one. The compilation is to raise money for the Trussell Trust, to help support the food banks and people who need their support at this time of crisis.
If you don’t know the label Hominid Records you are missing out. The labels releases some pretty damn cool music now and then. Experimental stuff, noiserock and just immens riffing coolness. Black Shape even ended on number 5 of my best of list of 2019.
Welcome the the last part of this series. This is part VI. At the end of the list you will find……. another list. This list is the best of list of 2019 from Ralph himself.
This list is curated by the great Ralph Schaarschmidt (TRIGGER CUT / BUZZ RODEO) and here and there some extra bands selected from myself. For those to lazy to search for the other parts on the website, you can find the first part HERE, the second HERE and the third HERE and fourth HERE and the fifth HERE.
‘CHEF’ was the latest album by the Stockholm based cosmic musicians. Kungens Män really put down a magnificent piece of work with ‘CHEF’ and it is going to end in my end of the year list as well.
So what I did not expect was another Kungens Män record in 2019. So it makes me really happy to share with you the first track ‘Hårt Som Ben’ from the upcoming album with that same name. This will be released November 29 on Riot Season Records.
The new track is what you can expect from the band. Again a cosmic track with a highly hypnotic atmosphere. Listen now.
Dec 1: Glasgow, Nice N’ Sleazy w/ Snakes Don’t Belong in Alaska
Dec 2: Newcastle, The Cluny 2 w/ Snakes Don’t Belong in Alaska
Dec 4: Manchester, The Peer Hat w/ XUP, Forest Mourning
Dec 5: Bristol, The Crofter’s Rights w/ Stereocilia & Evil Owl
Dec 6: Chelmsford, The Hot Box
This year is an incredible year for noiserock and psychedelic rock, so I am having so much fun listening to all these new bands and albums and I have barely time enough to listen to it more the twice. But for this I took my time, Girl Band’s previous music is absolutely awesome and I have been a fan for quite a while now. So my expectations on this new album called ‘The Talkies’ were really high and I knew they were almost impossible to fill. Then I heard the album and I was completely blown away. ‘The Talkies’ is perfect, this album is so immensly experimental and still all of the tracks find a way in your head to make you an addict. Girl Band have found a way to create the perfect sound for noiserock.
The way they combine this experimental noise and still create something listenable, even catchy is just beyond me. The thing that struck me most is how the band uses different genres in one song and not only gets away with it but makes the tracks so much stronger. In the middle of a track Girl Band switches over to electronic beats that fit so good in their music they create something entirely new.
This album is released September 27 on Rough Trade and needs to find a way in your shelves at home. Order it on their website or on Rough Trade
From the intro to the most experimental track this album is perfect for me and will always be. First time I give an album 10/10 and I give it with love. This is art.
Okay, so I absolutely love noise rock, you probably knew that by now. I wanted a good and solid noiserock list since I started Fuzzy Sun but I need to be honest with myself, I know the cult bands, the ‘popular’ ones and a load of new ones since I started this website but i am no expert on the genre. So what better then ask for help.
So I asked Ralp Schaarschmidt (TRIGGER CUT / BUZZ RODEO) for help and i instantly got a ridiculous long list of the best noiserock/postpunk and stuff from the last decades.
This list is huge and is full of gems, both ‘popular’ and underground, old and new.
It is going to take time to listen to everything on this list but I promise you it will be worth it. Due to the length of the list this post will be in couple of parts. So this is Part I of the Ralph Schaarschmidt List. Enjoy
The noiserock trio Cherubs returned after a two-decade hiatus in 2014 and they released 2 Ynfynyty in 2015, a split with Gay Witch Abortion in 2016 and the Fist in The Air EP in 2016.
Their new album ‘Immaculada High’ is very intense and expertly crafted. The slow, brooding and epic songs like ‘Soooey Pig’ and ‘IMCG’ create a hazy feeling but there are enough high energy tracks filled with agression and riffs to keep this a very heavy album. Absolutely gorgeous!
The band shows with ‘Immaculada High’ that they are on top of the food chain. Tune in, buy the album on Relapse Records and enjoy the noise of cult rockers Cherubs.
The noiserock trio Cherubs returned after a two-decade hiatus in 2014 and they released 2 Ynfynyty in 2015, a split with Gay Witch Abortion in 2016 and the Fist in The Air EP in 2016.
The first two tracks from their upcoming album ‘Immaculade High’ are already out. The album will be out on July 26 on Relapse Records. The album is recorded and engineered by Erik Wofford (Explosions In The Sky, The Black Angels, My Morning Jacket) at Cacophony Studio in their hometown of Austin.
The noiserock trio Cherubs returned after a two-decade hiatus in 2014 and they released 2 Ynfynyty in 2015, a split with Gay Witch Abortion in 2016 and the Fist in The Air EP in 2016.
The first track from their upcoming album ‘Sooey Pig’ is already out. The album ‘Immaculada High’ will be out on July 26 on Relapse Records. The album is recorded and engineered by Erik Wofford (Explosions In The Sky, The Black Angels, My Morning Jacket) at Cacophony Studio in their hometown of Austin.
Now we get the second track and video ’18 is the number’. Play loud!
The album ‘>>>’ from last year is probably one of my most played records, ending with the track ‘When We Fall’ wich is just the perfect way to end the album. It ended as the best stuff of 2018 together with Gnod, Qujaku and Daughters on Fuzzy Sun’s List.
Beak> is comprised of Billy Fuller, Geoff Barrow and Will Young (They are definitly not a side project) and they play gorgeous life shows with the most excellent light shows.
They shared ‘Life Goes On’ a while ago and now we get the gorgeous new track ‘We Can Go’. These two tracks are on the upcoming EP “Life Goes on” that will be released 21 June via Invada Records.
The noiserock trio Cherubs returned after a two-decade hiatus in 2014 and they released 2 Ynfynyty in 2015, a split with Gay Witch Abortion in 2016 and the Fist in The Air EP in 2016.
The first track from their upcoming album ‘Sooey Pig’ is already out. The album ‘Immaculada High’ will be out on July 26 on Relapse Records. The album is recorded and engineered by Erik Wofford (Explosions In The Sky, The Black Angels, My Morning Jacket) at Cacophony Studio in their hometown of Austin.
Now we get the second track and video ’18 is the number’. Play loud!
The album ‘>>>’ from last year is probably one of my most played records, ending with the track ‘When We Fall’ wich is just the perfect way to end the album. It ended as the best stuff of 2018 together with Gnod, Qujaku and Daughters on Fuzzy Sun’s List.
The seasoned band Beak> is comprised of Billy Fuller, Geoff Barrow and Will Young (They are definitly not a side project) and they play gorgeous life shows with the most excellent light shows.
Very happy to tell you they have shared a new track called ‘Life Goes On’. It is clear Beak> keeps producing high quality hypnotic musc.
It is only March and the magnificent releases are stacking up, but this one, this one is absolutely gorgeous. Henge released their previous album in January 2016 and are now back on the great God Unknown Records with their new album ‘Nothing Head’. This album is an absolute masterpiece, the ominous vibe on this album and the intensity is masterfully crafted. It is a while since i heard psych, noiserock and doom go this good together.
The London band shift easy between slow atmosphere building psych to full on noisy doom and they make it sound easy.
Easily one of the best albums of the year. Tune in for some mind altering noise by Henge, out now on God Unknown Records.
This week and even today, March 22 is a fabulous day for gritty music, there are a lot of new releases and all of them are pretty fucking spectacular. But do not be distracted from the real prize because today is the album release from the new Belgian noisepunker/garagetrasher Pink Room, the band that is storming the Belgian underground with their dirty music.
Their first LP is called ‘Zum Kotsen’ and is released on Zoe Zoe Records / Belly Button Records. The artwork is made by Valentine Gallardo.
The Ghentian trio plays the fun kind of garage/noiserock/punk, the dirty and gritty kind that you want to hear loud and, if possible, live. ‘Zum Kotsen’ is out and is as good as it is aggressive. Tune in now for some spectacular noise from Pink Room.
I give this album all the stars and it should be mandatory listening pleasure in each home.
Pre-order a vinyl at Belly Button Records on Bandcamp or drop a message to the new off-stream vinyl shop ZOEZOE Records in Gent (wich is filled with only the best stuff, so check them out).
The Stockholm band keeps amazing with their music. Time and time again they release cosmic music influenced by psych, noise and drone.
This time Kungens Män release their new album “CHEF” for the first time on Riot Season Records. Their previous album “Fuzz på svenska” ended up in my best of 2018 list. “Fuzz på svenska” had more Jazz influences while “CHEF” ends up on the rock/drone spectrum.
Kungens Män is most effective in bringing atmosphere, in creating a cosmic feeling to their music.
This gorgeous album will be on my 2019 list again. Enjoy, and for more psych go to Fuzzy Sun’s psych list.
Xiu Xiu has always amazed me, Jamie Stewart, who is the only constant member since the experimental band started has been releasing music that is wildly imaginative and original.
Their previous album “Forget” ended on my best of 2017 list and was a little bit more accessible than the new work that has been released today. But this is good news, Xiu Xiu always shifts and turns and never delivers the same product. This time the music feels more nervous and bleak.
“Girl With Basket of Fruit” is again a magnificent work of experimental tunes that feeds the mind and the creativity.
The current line-up of Xiu Xiu is Jamie Stewart, Thor Harris, Jordan Geiger and Angela Seo
The Rhode Island noiserockers Daughters released their comeback album ‘You Won’t Get What you Want’ last year and it ended up as my absolute favorite on my end of the year list. It is a long time ago thazt I heard something this powerful. Daughters are a force.
Daughters are not only strong and intense in their music, the lyrics of the band are intense too. And now there is a beautiful video for the track ‘Less Sex’ too. Seems Daughters got it all.
The album was released through Ipecac on October 26.
