February is the shortest month of the year – but it is also when the bigger names begin to drop their much anticipated albums. KJHK picked up a few of those this week, but internally, the charts churned unpredictably. Though the female leads remain dominant this week with Cherry Glazerr taking our number one for Top 200 charts this week, it was a rough patch for the electronic genre. The silver lining here is that some excellent new bands are unearthing and the charts are ruled by any one big name. KJHK also received some excellent releases both local and corporate. It was a hard fight for number one on our Top 5 Adds, but Ryan Adams takes the title with his new LP Prisoner. Don’t let this distract you from the gut-wrenching emotion packed into each song on Kansas City-native band La Guerre’s Sapphires.
*NOTE: CMJ Auto-charting system is still all sorts of funky. Some album titles will instead appear on the charts as singles. This is not correct.*
TOP 5 ADDS
5. Anything Could Happen by Bash & Pop
From KJHK writer Josh Gaston:
[Note: Bash & Pop was originally a side project featuring members of the Replacements. This is their first album since the early ’90s.]
“Whereas Tommy Stinson was relegated to more of a supporting role as the bassist in The Replacements, Bash & Pop is very clearly his band … So, obviously, there is a lot for The Replacements fans to latch onto on Anything Could Happen. Nonetheless, there is a lot more rock-n-roll swagger here (a la The Rolling Stones) in the rock songs. Bash & Pop gets a lot more bluesy and honky-tonk than The Replacements ever did. ‘On The Rocks’ and “Jesus Love You” are good examples of that aforementioned swing and swagger. However, songs like ‘Can’t Be Bothered’ and ‘Anybody Else’ recall the heart-on-sleeve introspection of The Replacements.”
4. Conventions by Scammers
Scammers is a Kansas City-based artist and producer. This album is chock-full of new wave and post-punk vibes with heavy used of the synth. Though this can often fall towards something more gimmicky, this album filled with banging dance tracks. Additionally, a healthy bit of hilarity is added to the retro aesthetic.
3. Snowdania by Surfer Blood
Two years after the unapologetic surf-rock group released 1000 Palms, Snowdania follows on its sandy heels. Though much of the instrumentation and vocal style remains the same, there are a few excellent departures on this record that truly keeps things fresh. For starters, as if to match the theme, the tunes on this LP are noticeably colder and quite darker. The themes being tackled no longer seem so adolescent and this may either represent an exploration or a new direction in maturity for the Miami-based groups’ future work.
2. Sapphires by La Guerre
La Guerre is a Kansas City band known in the area for their excellent live music presence. Combining this with music that isn’t afraid to truly rip at heart-strings and explore heavy themes like mortality, and you receive a slow masterpiece of hurt, perseverance, and ultimately finding the good in a tough situation. Stay tuned to hear it spun both on KJHK’s local block and general rotation.
1. Prisoner by Ryan Adams
It is nearly impossible to write about Ryan Adams without bringing up the North Carolinan’s infamous public persona. Surprisingly, he has calmed down a lot and after a rough patch in his career in the late ’00s as well as early ’10s, Prisoner finally proves that he can once again communicate the loneliness, frustration, sorrow, and longing that once made him popular. Produced by himself, this LP is probably the most mature and diverse work that he has done-hitting most periods of his career in one way or another. It is unpretentious, visceral, and no longer speaking on the over-trodden behalf of the heartbroken, but rather the heart-breaker.
TOP 5 CHARTS
5. Strike A Match by Sacred Paws’
[From last week:]
“This punk throw-back is simultaneously relaxed and pacing. There is a diversity of instrumentation on this album that nod to early infleunces – the strongest of which are early releases by the Cure. This duo are located jointly in Glasgow and London which makes such a tight and thorough debut all the more interesting.”
4. Migration by Bonobo
[From last week:]
“Simon Green AKA Bonobo has been around for a while. Chillwave would not be a thing if it were not for this 40-year-old wonder child who pioneered marrying trance with something much mellower. His tunes are the paramount South Miami Beach club thumps at any luxurious hotel but most interestingly, this album slightly departs from that. Although he has classically always had a rolling sound to each one of his releases, this album is filled with melody and structure in a way that the Brit has never achieved.”
3. Nothing Feels Natural by Priests
[From last week:]
“Nothing Feels Natural is post-punk done the most appropriate way. There are statements on this album that are truly external evaluations of political discord, however, the bulk of these songs are caught in the in-between. One of the more popular tracks on this LP, “Nothing Feels Natural,” is a look into the gut-wrenching surreal experience of early morning twitter-feed scrolling that is filled with a surreal feeling of constant disbelief. These songs are pushed forward with hollow fuzz and cavernous drums that fill the sound and punch through to this infrequently-explored in-between. These moods are not external and these moods are not introspective, but instead they are feelings that are reliant on the quick-shift of society.”
2. Hard Love by Strand of Oaks
[From last week:]
“Philadelphia has a thing for churning out good music. Stand of Oaks AKA Timothy Showalter is a folk-rocker originally from Indiana that has culminated his sound into something visceral in his fifth studio album. Influenced by the passing of his brother and the troubles in his marriage, this album is emotional and as intense as the ripping guitar that accompanies the cavernous background of each song.”
1. Apocalipstick by Cherry Glazerr
[From last week:]
“Apocalipstick is exactly the sort of bleeding-heart grunge that is needed right now. The guitars are loud and the drums punch. Though the tempo gives a solid bit of variation, the overall result are frank, catchy apologies and grievances with a more introspective orientation. The angst on this LP is absolutely insidious.”
TOP 5 ADDS
| Rank | Artist | Recording | Label | User Supplied Version |
| 1 | RYAN ADAMS | “Do You Still Love Me?” [Single] | Blue Note | |
| 2 | LA GUERRE | Sapphires | ||
| 3 | SURFER BLOOD | Snowdonia | Joyful Noise | |
| 4 | SCAMMERS * | Conventions * | * | waiting for CMJ verification |
| 5 | BASH AND POP | Anything Could Happen | Fat Possum |
* indicates information which has not yet been verified by CMJ staff.
TOP 5 CHARTS
| Rank | Artist | Recording | Label | User Supplied Version |
| 1 | CHERRY GLAZERR | Apocalipstick | Secretly Canadian | |
| 2 | STRAND OF OAKS | “Radio Kids” [Single] | ||
| 3 | PRIESTS | Nothing Feels Natural | Sister Polygon | |
| 4 | BONOBO | Migration | Ninja Tune | |
| 5 | SACRED PAWS | Strike A Match | Rock Action | |
| 6 | SCAMMERS * | Conventions * | * | waiting for CMJ verification |
| 7 | JULIE BYRNE | Not Even Happiness | Ba Da Bing! | |
| 8 | FOXYGEN | Hang | Jagjaguwar | |
| 9 | THE DIG | Bloodshot Tokyo | ||
| 10 | STEF CHURA | Messes | Urinal Cake | |
| 11 | RON GALLO | Heavy Meta | New West | |
| 12 | TY SEGALL | Ty Segall (2017) | Drag City | |
| 13 | ZAVALA | Fantasmas | ||
| 14 | TRUCKSTOP HONEYMOON | Big Things And Little Things | ||
| 15 | RUN THE JEWELS | Run The Jewels 3 | Run The Jewels | |
| 16 | BRANDON CAN’T DANCE | Graveyard Of Good Times | Lucky Number | |
| 17 | JOAN OF ARC | He’s Got The Whole This Land Is Your Land In His Hands | Joyful Noise | |
| 18 | ONCE AND FUTURE BAND * | Once & Future Band * | Castle Face * | waiting for CMJ verification |
| 19 | ELBOW | “Magnificent (She Says)” [Single] | ||
| 20 | PHOENIX AFROBEAT ORCHESTRA | PAO | ||
| 21 | AUSTRA | Future Politics | Domino | |
| 22 | SLEATER-KINNEY | Live In Paris | SUB POP | |
| 23 | JOHN WESLEY COLEMAN III | Microwave Dreams | Super Secret | |
| 24 | APPLESAUCE TEARS | Commuters | Black Cottage | |
| 25 | REGRETTES | Feel Your Feelings Fool! | Warner Bros. | |
| 26 | FLAMING LIPS | Oczy Mlody | Warner Bros. | |
| 27 | NOUVELLE VAGUE | I Could Be Happy | Kwaidan | |
| 28 | THIGH MASTER | Early Times | Bruit District | |
| 29 | RYAN ADAMS | “Do You Still Love Me?” [Single] | Blue Note | |
| 30 | SURFER BLOOD | Snowdonia | Joyful Noise |