Realizing there's way too much stuff I forgot about on part 1, I thought it was fitting if I continued this post. I also regrettably focused too much on hip-hop in the last wishlist, so this should work to rectify that.
Islands - A Sleep & A Forgetting
I'm a big fan of Nick Thorburn and the first Islands album remains one of the finest examples of twee-pop released. I didn't hate Arm's Way as much as some people and quite enjoyed the cheesy vibe of Vapours. According to Nick himself: "This record deals with loss, with memory and forgetting and with dreaming". In conclusion, this project hasn't let me down in the past and I'm predicting success once again. I do just want a Unicorns reunion instead, but a new Islands LP is a nice consolation prize.
SUCCESS-O-METER: 80%
of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks
Kevin Barnes has a wonderful cock, but his music has been pretty hit or miss since Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?. False Priest had some great songs at least, which is more than I can say about Skeletal Lamping. The real thing that makes this new album exciting (like the Islands album) is that these songs are said to be more personal and that Kevin Barnes is no longer using transvestite personas. Usually when he writes personal music it works out well, with Hissing Fauna B-Side "No Conclusion" being one of the best songs he's ever written. I'm cautiously optimistic that this album gets them back on track.
SUCCESS-O-METER: 55%
Titus Andronicus - Untitled 3rd Studio Album
Interestingly, Titus Andronicus announced this album with a 1 word tweet in response to a fan inquiring about rumors of a new album on twitter: "yes". I'm a huge fan of these guys in general, and anything less that an AOTY candidate would be a gigantic disappointment for me. While I like both of their albums, I would prefer if the new album took the ambition even further than The Monitor. There's almost nothing I like more than a long punk album with an overarching concept and tons of ambition. If I don't get it from Titus Andronicus I'm not sure where I will get it. Just to be clear, there is no album I would rather have in my hands right now.
SUCCESS-O-METER: 85%
Guided By Voices - Let's Go Eat the Factory
It's been 8 years since the last GBV album came out, and it's felt even longer. A lot has been made of this being the first album featuring the "classic line-up" since 1996's Under the Brushes, Under the Stars. It's said that the production of this new disc is both the classic lo-fi 4 track that they're known for and that it contains more modern production. It's really hard to predict quality with anything that Robert Pollard does because of his insanely huge discography, but I think if it's good that it's going to be REALLY good. The post-reunion tracks that have come out have been great for the most part, sounding more like 90s GBV tracks than anything the band did post 2000. Let's just all hope for Bob Pollard to ride again and drop another Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, or Mag Earwhig! on our collective asses. Only time will tell if this is in the category of Dinosaur Jr's reunion or something that was specifically a cash grab.
SUCCESS-O-METER: 60%
Tyler, The Creator - Wolf
Ah, those crazy odd future kids. Tyler makes it more and more difficult to like him as a person with each passing tweet, but I still hold out hope for the guy. I don't think he's a particularly great rapper or producer but there's something about the guy that keeps me coming back. I wish this album had Earl on it, but he's of course still bumming about Samoa and doing meditation hours and shit. I have liked both Bastard and Goblin for the most part, but neither were truly great releases. I do like that he's talking about cleaning up his lyrics, hopefully it leads to more maturity everywhere on the album.
SUCCESS-O-METER: 65%
Craig Finn - Clear Heart, Full Eyes
I'm a huge fan of the Hold Steady, but I hated Heaven is Whenever so much that I have absolutely no faith in this being a good release. I'm sure it'll be an album loaded with acoustic ballads and sub-par songwriting. Prove me wrong, Craig.. (PLEASE)
SUCCESS-O-METER: 15%
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