Noisey's Best of 2014 - Fred Pessaro

Yesterday, I ate chicken that had been cooked under a brick. It sounds odd, but trust me—it was fucking delicious, and everyone should be doing that shit like always. The day before, it was some super spicy Szechuan noodles and a banana. And the day before that, it was a burrito. I think I had a kale salad with quinoa in there at some point, but then again, I may be just making that up to make myself feel better about my life choices.

The ever-varying types of food that I enjoy really indicate how I listen to records. I never know what I’m going to want or feel like, or what is going to help me get through all of the little hurdles I encounter day-to-day. Today felt like a shitty bag of Cheetos and the latest Swans. Tomorrow might be YG on blast until it annoys all of my neighbors. Every day is an adventure with different records for different moods to make sure that I stay sane, focused, educated, or relaxed. But it’s hardly ever the same thing over and over, and that’s how I like it.

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Below is a list of my go-to records from throughout the bulk of 2014, but also a collection of my favorites from a finite time leading up to today. In the long run, all of this could change (I spent the first part of my year listening to the ever living shit out of Radioactivity’s 2013 LP), but these records will still be an important part of my journey from the year that’s passed and in the year to come. Hopefully you felt the same or, better yet, some of these may lead you on a journey of your own.

FRED’S TOP ALBUMS

Total Control – Typical System
It’s incredible, and I’m not alone.

Protomartyr – Under Color of Official Right
My first time seeing Protomartyr was Sugar Hill Supper Club, a 70s style disco that was so perfectly built for doing cocaine that most of the surfaces in the live room were made of mirrors. At first, like most people, I was struck by Joe Casey’s killer mid-1980s insurance salesman attire, but when I stepped back I realized what a solid post-punk band this was. The record is no different than the live show, just less likely to be found in the clearance aisle at Marshalls.

Under the Skin – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
It’s simple math, really. Scarlett Johansson + sci-fi + horror + this trailer? I’m fucking there, and early. And while the movie was more than I expected, it was the soundtrack that took Under the Skin from weird art house film to tense, haunting, and beautiful. Credit that all to the amazing soundtrack by Mica Levi. Strings, noise, and terrifying ambiance are the name of the game for this forty-six minute release. Be prepared to get scared.

Reigning Sound – Shattered
Greg Cartwright is a goddamn American treasure, and Reigning Sound, his Americana inflected project littered with strings and organ, is some of his strongest work yet.

Iceage – Plowing Into The Field of Love
I will be the first to admit that I was ready to leave Iceage for dead. Their sound, while evolving on their second record, was still in pocket with previous efforts and attendance at their shows were dwindling at best. That said, this quartet have a whole lot of life left to live and Plowing is the sound of a gang of kids in their early twenties bracing for maturity, both in life and songwriting.

Tony Molina – Dissed & Dismissed
This is a bit of a cheat because the LP actually hit earlier, but this short and sweet reissue by Tony Molina is the middle ground between Weezer, Robert Pollard, hardcore, and Thin Lizzy. At twelve minutes long, Dissed was literally to soundtrack to me walking to and from work every single day for months. The two OVENS seven-inches are cut from a similar cloth and just as good.

YOB – Clearing the Path to Ascend
Somewhere in between holy man and guitar deity sits Mike Scheidt, mastermind behind some of the gnarliest guitar tones ever to be classified as doom metal. But YOB is more than just glacial hatred; Clearing… is another testament in their legacy of shamanistic blues that easily pivots from pensive to destructive. This could be YOB’s greatest release yet.

Cold World – How the Gods Chill
At some point in early November before our show with them, I was listening to Cold World at my desk and didn’t realize that was pumping my clenched fist along with the record. I looked up and noticed a few people a couple tables over looking at me in horror. By that point, I had listened to How the Gods Chill several dozen times but it still affected me as much as the first – triumphant sing-alongs, badass Bio-hazard-y riffs, clean vocals that never get corny, all of it. This is the best hardcore record of 2014. Simple, brutal and unforgettable.

Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 2
I’m showing my age, but I have literally been a fan of El-P for approaching twenty years now. The first time I met Jaime Meline was during the Company Flow tour in 1997 with Organized Konfusion—the pair played a virtually empty warehouse as part of a DC party called Pollen. I worked up the courage to talk to him, which was a big deal for me then. I was staunchly in the “backpacker” camp at the time, and we got to talking about the current state of hip hop and his views on then radio superstar Biggie Smalls. “Sure, he only rhymes about cars and Versace and money, but he’s dope… I don’t give a fuck.” Those last few words perfectly sum up El-P’s approach from day one. I don’t give a fuck, I’m gonna do me. With the brilliant Killer Mike beside him, he’s taken that punk spirit and harnessed it into one of the best rap releases of the year.

SWANS – To Be Kind
Swans is a force, Michael Gira is a holy man, and every LP is an event.

Dead Congregation – Promulgation of the Fall
Anyone who lives in NYC knows that easiest way to get around is on bike. But very few know that the FASTEST way to get around is on bike with the latest Dead Congregation on blast.

Grouper – Ruins
Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill is a favorite that may never totally go out of rotation for me, and Ruins is similarly haunting. The record is predominantly Liz Harris and an echo friendly piano, but don’t mistake simplicity for under development. Haunting and triumphant.

Andy Stott – Faith in Strangers
FACT: Either you’re fucking to this record or you’re fucking up. Sexy ambience and experimental techno brilliance.

White Fence – For the Recently Found Innocent
Going into For the Recently Found Innocent, my knowledge of White Fence was limited to Tim Presley’s collaborative LP with Ty Segall. What I found was an expertly produced (as opposed to his previous lo-fi efforts) LP that highlights his quirky, 60’s inspired songwriting (The Who and The Kinks seem to be strong influences). Sick record that you may be able to give to your parents to prove that they totally do “make em like they used to.”

Nothing – Guilty of Everything
If you’ve followed my previous lives at various other outlets, you’ll probably know that I’ve been a longtime supporter of Nothing over the years. The four piece, which features current and former members of Night Sins, Deafheaven, SalvHorror Show and more, finally reach their potential this sweet mix of shoegaze, Nirvana worship, and repeatability.

Close Seconds, Also in No Particular Order:
Merchandise – After the End
Pallbearer – Foundations of Burden
Morbus Chron – Sweven
sunn o))) and Scott Walker – Soused
Madlib / Freddie Gibbs – Piñata
Thou – Heathen
Beach Slang – Who Would Ever Want Something So Broken? EP
Full of Hell / Merzbow – LP
Crazy Spirit – 2014 Demo
Kayo Dot – Coffins on IO
World War IV – 2014 Demo
Inmates – New York’s Alright Cassette
Long Knife – Meditations on Self Destruction
Warthog – Exterminate Me
Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness
Hank Wood & The Hammerheads – Stay Home!!
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Lose
Eyehategod – Eyehategod
Blut Aus Nord – Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry
Horrendous – Ecdysis
Rancid – …Honor Is All We Know
Wovenhand – Refractory Obdurate
Pharmakon – Bestial Burden
Ex Hex – Rips
Godflesh – A World Lit Only By Fire
Teitanblood – Death
Ty Segall – Manipulator

MOST PLAYED SONGS OF 2014

Merchandise – “No You and Me”
Drake – “0 to 100”
Radioactivity – “The Last”
Frankie Beverly & Maze – “Before I Let Go” (If we’re being real)

RECORDS I WISH I HAD MORE TIME WITH:

Boston Strangler – Fire
Battle Ruins – Battle Ruins
Ben Frost – A U R O R A
CHEENA – All The Cheena Money Can Buy
Pura Mania – La Estafa Musical / Musica para gente fea

BANDS I SAW IN 2014 THAT I COULD WATCH FOREVER AND EVER

Hard Skin
Jock Club
Destruction Unit
Cock Sparrer
The Marked Men
Cold World
Power Trip
Merchandise
Uniform
Eyehategod
Dawn of Humans
L.O.T.I.O.N.
Charles Bradley
Iron Lung