No particular order.

1. Bottomless Pit - Blood Under The Bridge (Telemomo) - If your dad had a band you would would hope to god they were half as good as these guys. A light mix of post-punk and classic underground indie stuff.

2. Super Wild Horses - Fifteen (Hozac) - Australian girl-duo. Simple, catchy, and brilliant.

3. Broken Water - Whet (Night People) - Heavy and drugged out.

4. Scout Niblett - The Calcination Of... (Drag City) - This is as far as I've gotten in the noise meets folk vein.

5. Sun Kil Moon - Admiral Fell Promises (Vinyl Films) - This along with the Scout Niblett album are my "softer" picks. Managed to snag the white vinyl version before it was sold out. Perfect for the -5 temperature outside and it matches fresher snow on the ground.

6. Lazy Smoke - Corridor Faces (Jackpot) - Great unearthed psych album from MA circa '68. If you haven't heard this, check it out. Highly recommended and probably my favorite reissue of the year.

7. Red Dons - Fake Meets Failure (Deranged) - Straightforward modern punk/post-punk band. If I had listened to stuff like this when I was 13 instead of NO Use For A Name and NOFX, I would probably have better taste.

8. Ty Segal - Melted (Goner) - Great lo-fi garage/punk album from a 20-something California. Probably the best record he's put out. Definitely my favorite Goner release this year.

9. Half Rats - For The Sake Of Love 7" (Douchemaster) - The only vinyl release from a band that features memebers of CoCocoma (Goner). Lo-fi throw-baclk pop. I really hope there's a full-length from these guys soon.

10. Ex - 30 Years Of The Ex (Ex Records) - Milk Man turned me on to Ex, so thanks Zach. It spans 30 years and every track on here is great. How often does that happen?

Let the tomatoes fly! Not the face, please...

xoxo, Ed