Angel Olsen tops 2016’s strong indie releases

This past week, the arts section of The News-Letter convened to create our list of the Top Five albums in three different fields. These are our Top Five Indie/Rock albums of 2016.

5. Zone by JEFF the Brotherhood

My roommate is named Jeff, but he has not put out any albums lately, so this won’t t be a review of him. Zone is, for me, the best album on this list, largely because it is the most punk. That is not to say this is some sort of grindcore power violence, ear-blistering saga of rage. Zone uses a lot of chunky riffs, heavy bass and hard drums, especially in songs like “Roachin’” and “Bad,” but it is not a one-dimensional album in any sense. The vocals switch styles and even genders on certain occasions — the songs range from a head-banger’s delight to more mellow ballads.

Although ballads might not be the right word because this album does not involve singing as much as it does talking, Jake Orall delivers more speeches over the instruments than actually singing. Strangely though, it works. The contrast between a flat monotone and heavy, somewhat aggressive instrumentalism has psychedelic effects.

It is a strange compromise between energy and lethargy. A comparable sensation would be when one is intoxicated and has a sudden moment of clarity — all the spinning, noise and blurring colors assaulting your dilated pupils cease and you are left with a sort of poetic realization of humanity. Alternatively, Zone is just some good punk-rock.

4. Human Performance by Parquet Courts

Full disclosure: there are three albums on this list which I had yet to hear before this weekend. This is the first. That’s my Human Performance, although I do already like this band. Parquet Courts’ sound is reminiscent of the post and proto-punk bands like Television, Johnathan Richman’s Modern Lovers and Wire. Their style is pared-down and simple, relying on the core three instruments responsible for most great rock.

What makes Parquet Courts really unique is, for me, their lyrics. Vocalists Andrew Savage and Austin Brown deliver a kind of Jack Kerouac-esque songwriting which leans heavily towards the abstract while still conjuring up evocative imagery.

For example, in Human Performance’s “Captive of the Sun,” part of the chorus is, “melody abandoned in the key of New York.” Does that make absolutely clear sense? No, it does not but it is quite beautiful. Their music has a hint of sadness but is fun for the most part.

It really speaks to the millennial ennui of, “my life is boring but I am content in that boredom.” In the most superficial terms, it is unremarkable but even a brief examination will reveal its beauty.

3. 22, A Million by Bon Iver

Apparently they have sampling technology in Wisconsin now, because Bon Iver has made significant use of it in their latest album 22, A Million. This album is the second of the three which I have only recently heard, which is odd because Bon Iver is a pretty big deal. My ignorance may have something to do with the fact that 22, A Million seems to be something of a departure for the folk ensemble.

Justin Vernon has apparently been sipping on the Kanye juice and as a result, 22, A Million sounds as though it had been recorded with instruments made of space minerals. It is also incorporates electronic elements like drum machines, although presumably since this is a folk band their 808 was hand-carved out of wood.

Joking aside, this is a very good album; it feels emotionally rich — an oddly melodic cacophony of production and instrumentalism plus Vernon’s very pleasant voice. Weirdly, listening to this album gave me a good idea of what it feels like to be a bird. Something about its melodies, especially in “22, (Over Soon),” defies gravity, floats on air and is in control without seeming so.

2. Blackstar by David Bowie

Damn, rest-in-peace to the last great Martian and a man who was clearly not of this Earth. David Bowie did not actually die; He merely returned to his home planet in a blaze of light like E.T. Bowie set a lot of precedents in respect to contemporary music, and with his most recent and final contribution to the musical canon, he pretty successfully upset all of those precedents.

This album is arguably a lot of things: rock, jazz and electronica, Bowie essentially made the full lap before his death. He solicited the help of a jazz ensemble led by Donny McCaslin, who effectively push the limits of genres while Bowie’s beautifully out-of-tune voice laments his own impending death from a illness which was hidden from the public until he died, two days after Blackstar was released.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that this album is an easy listen. Certain songs, especially “Sue,” for me, are pretty bizarre. Actually, they are all bizarre, but as a final statement by someone who pushed the boundaries of music for nearly half a century, what else did you expect? Watch down upon us, Starman.

1. My Woman by Angel Olsen

My Woman is the third and final album that I entered as a newcomer, as well as the Arts Section of The News-Letter’s Rock/Indie Album of the Year. My Woman is Olsen’s third full album since her 2011 solo debut and is a follow up to 2014’s critically acclaimed Burn Your Fire for No Witness.

All in all, this latest release is a pretty dope piece of music. It combines Olsen’s stunning voice with a sort of jangling, reverberant surf-guitar sound, giving the album the vibe of something that could soundtrack the spectral afterlife. That being said, this album is not a cry-tour. It ranges from catchy, upbeat riffs on “Shut Up Kiss Me” and “Give It Up” and more dour synthy dirges on “Intern,” as well as most of the spectrum in between.

Most of My Woman meets in the middle, accenting Olsen’s haunting and simple voice with loose, pick-heavy strumming. My Woman is the sort of album that is equally appropriate for a modest bout of head-banging or an episode of crying gently on your apartment’s dirty, bleakly off-color carpet. To sum up, this is a really good pseudo-surf, alt-rock album that will make you miss your ex.

Some key songs to take away from this release are, “Intern,” “Woman” and “Shut Up Kiss Me.”