Our music writer Scott Bryson outlines his favourite 2016 music picks below, from the beloved one-man show Shotgun Jimmie to East Coast punkers Beard Springsteen.
Minotaurs
Weird Waves
Static Clang
(staticclang.com)
Three records into his Minotaurs project, Guelph, Ontario’s Nathan Lawr has led his ensemble (currently 15 musicians) into a cave of complex arrangements that weave Afrobeat, jazz, rock and folk into a somber, psychedelic dream. Weird Waves is considerably more insular than Lawr’s previous outings; consider it a soundtrack to his darker thoughts. It’s less of a party than we’re used to hearing from Minotaurs — Lawr passes the time wondering if he’s “just the oil in the cheap machine” — but its faultless blend of improvised orchestration and meticulous production will suck you into Minotaurs’ twisted vision.
Beard Springsteen
Downer Punks Of Fredericton
Independent
(beardspringsteen.bandcamp.com)
The album title is a tad masochistic, but spot on. Over the course of 20 minutes, you’ll find this New Brunswick-based duo — on songs with titles like “I Hate This City” and “Pact Of Doom” — being repeatedly let down, longing for the good old days, and wallowing in pits of loneliness and regret. Tracks are fast and sometimes furious, though they often lean more towards stoner rock than punk. By some stroke of luck or genius, this bastion of misery won’t leave you down in the dumps.
Shotgun Jimmie
Field Of Trampolines
You’ve Changed
(youvechangedrecords.com)
This fifth Shotgun Jimmie record is sonically akin to producer Joel Plaskett’s Ashtray Rock, and often channels the same nostalgic spirit as well. Outside influences, however, play second fiddle to Jimmie being Jimmie: a witty, flippant purveyor of beguiling tunes. The psychedelic title track suggests Jimmie may be capable of something considerably more serious and studied than we’re used to hearing from him, but if we were given an album full of unfunny songs, we’d complain that we missed his irreverence. When Jimmie sings, “I could actually never be blue,” he means it.