Pod 03: 2020-in-Reviews
2020 was terrible for many reasons, and music was arguably more important to our mental health this year than ever before. Which is why it’s remarkable that, despite the quarantine and social distancing measures that cancelled our live shows, band practices, recording sessions, etc. the Seattle community still put out so much good stuff. So much that we had a hard time keeping track of it all. So we asked our Cinder artists to shout out their favorites.
Listen to the Spotify playlist for this podcast here. Or click on the album covers to see them on Bandcamp.
Floral Tattoo // You Can Never Have a Long Enough Head Start
January 3, 2020
Cody Schuman (of Mount Sigh): While the songs on this album often are relaying feelings of hopelessness or existential dread, the listening experience, for me, is profoundly joyful. It also feels active, as if you’re throwing the cares and stressors of your world away for a moment of freedom in the wash of sound. As the band kicks in the final section of the song “she,” it feels almost impossible to resist singing (or shouting) along “to hell with it all!” over fuzzed out guitars and heavy drums. I don’t resist. I sing that shit out at the top of my lungs, and it is a fantastic feeling. Highly recommend!
Pitchfork (Yes, that pitchfork): “They may still be stuck in their apartments, false nostalgia, or dead-end service gigs, but the upstart Seattle emo band’s revelation of a second album goes places.” [read the full review]
newbrighton // Why Save Your Soul
March 7, 2020
José Lazaro (of Something United): The song “okneverminddon’tfightmewait.” I'm actually grooving to the guitar instead of the drums. The drums are uncomfortable and I love it. I'm riding this tension train lol.
Nicholas Burton (of Love, Fraser): Listening to this beautiful recording from the last show I attended before the end of the world, I can’t help but be so emotional. This show was a happy ending, and the culmination of so much hard work, talent and love. Thank you to my friends in newbrighton for these beautiful songs, phenomenal performances, and deep relationships that have carried, and will carry me for years. “Why Save Your Soul” was a timely show and album that reminds me of why making music matters; the community.
limanjaya // new limanjaya
March 18, 2020
Braden Gillispie (of Song of Salmon): A sonorous work of modular ambient, rich with character and bubbly texture. When I listen to it, I feel like I’m at the coral reef exhibit at an aquarium, with all the synths and drum machines like the teeming sounds of fishies going about their beautiful business.
Winks // Faces (feat. BrandonLee Cierley & Spencer Edgers)
March 28, 2020
Brett Alexander (of Big Iron): Gotta be one of my favorites of the year. It’s just a fun, easy listen. I constantly find myself turning it on no matter what mood I’m in. And I just love the fact that Kyle collaborates so much with so many people in his circle. It seems to come to him so easy and I love that. I love just hearing what he’s gonna put out and I know it’s always gonna be a groove. No matter what you’re feeling, you should go listen to that track right now.
After Gardens // Yes, the World is Changing
April 10, 2020
Cody Schuman (of Mount Sigh): This EP and its sequel are two of my most listened to releases this year. Not only because the songs are irresistibly catchy, but also because each listen was rewarded with something new - whether it was a production trick, or an instrumental piece, or a lyric. The careful attention to detail here is certainly clear. The mixes here pristine, and feel as though they could easily stand their own with any major label release. The songwriting doesn’t cut any corners either, looking outward and inward, alternating between the critique of self and others in a way that, to me, felt instantly relatable. Overall, the album is poppy, energetic, inventive, and the production is top notch - introducing new textures and sounds with each track, while managing to maintain the feeling of a cohesive body of work. Definitely a favorite from this year!
Mount Sigh // Glitter Planet
May 22, 2020
Nicholas Burton (of Love, Fraser): Glitter Planet is an arrival moment for Mount Sigh. Cody’s lyrics are vulnerable and help me to feel known and understood as I myself wrestle with spirituality, with my mind, and with relationships. Exquisitely crafted grooves and synths pull me in and help me feel eager to sit in my discomfort. This record fosters growth and I’ve been obsessed with it in 2020.
Eli Bacik (of Your Man): One of my favorite local releases from 2020 is the Glitter Planet EP from Cinder’s very own Mount Sigh. Cody’s ability to blend his very explosive synth-driven instrumentals with delicate vocal harmonies is absolutely divine. Makes the whole EP feel intimate and larger than life at the same time. Favorite track is track number 2, called “Pose.”
Carbs // Carbs EP
June 23, 2020
José Lazaro (of Something United): Indie Punk to da forte! A semi truck full of power chords! But immediately calms down. Its crazy! So many flavors coming at you! Fun, dark, grungey and surfy!? What a ride.
Carter Vliem // Breeze EP
June 23, 2020
Liam Wright (of A Raven Renaissance, Carbs): A crazy tasteful EP that will make you shake your booty while simultaneously have an urge to call your mom and apologize for how rotten of a kid you were because you were feeling too much.
Glacial Garden // The Empty End
October 15, 2020
Brett Alexander (of Big Iron): Another one of my favorites is “Ad Infinitum” by Glacial Garden. It really just blew me away the first time I heard it. Glacial Garden is a moniker for my friend Alex Coover, and it’s such a cool production, he’s such a cool musician. He puts in so much hard work and the first time I heard it I was blown away, you can hear the emotion in the music and the production is just so incredible. Alex worked on that album for so long, and for it to be out in the world and have such a strong opening track proves Alex’s talent and commitment to his art. The whole album flows super smooth. Yeah, sit down and listen to the whole thing.
Tobijah Rogers // Contra Costa
October 23, 2020
Liam Wright (of A Raven Renaissance, Carbs): A lovely layering of every sonic texture I’ve ever wanted in one collective work with arrangements that would make Sufjan smile.
Samara Lennox // What Are You Running From? (feat. Dorothea, Joe August, & Afterspace)
October 23, 2020
Braden Gillispie (of Song of Salmon): This soulful collaborative single is absolutely brimming with with vibey elements drawn from at least five different decades. You’ve got new wave synths, lofi-beats, punchy bass, a killer vocal hook, tasty horn stabs, and a ripping saxophone solo. Is it everything you want it to be? Yes it is.
Big Iron // The Midnight Ghost
October 30, 2020
John Y. Jarman (author, and of newbrighton): Big Iron’s 2020 album The Midnight Ghost radiates a texture of warmth and coolness at the same time. The neatly built songs feel like they reach our ears through a warbly membrane of space-time, giving us an ephemeral glimpse of previous western generations sonically intertwining with the present.
Nicholas Burton (of Love, Fraser): Nothing says “innovation” like the band Big Iron. With masterful story telling threaded right into rich synths and dark western tunes, I had never heard anything like it before, but I was captivated. This is an album to listen to cover to cover, over and over, and get lost in the grim, cowboy narrative. “The Midnight Ghost” stood out tremendously this year and I’m very excited to see what Big Iron does next.
Coyote Ghost Speech // Lavender Town EP
November 3, 2020
Ty Aaron (Cinder Writer): You know that feeling you get when you realize how much you miss something? Or perhaps how much you’re not ready to miss something just yet? Are we high right now? No, but a somber comfort & resistance to change occupies a small, significant part of the self. Anyway, if you like sad songs and/or weed, this here Lavender Town EP is a trip through that somber space for Coyote Ghost Speech. Whether you drop in for a dozen minutes before going back to your serotonin-inducing queue or add this record to your letmefeelsad(TM) playlist, this emo-lofi can be a mood aid for stoney or lonely times. I first enjoyed this music while drinking a shower beer called Dreamland and I felt like I was melting into a ghost. I found myself going back and listening to it on loop while preparing $12 vegan burgers at work during a global pandemic. It helped. [Read the full review]
Something United // Pierce the Sky EP
December 11, 2020
Liam Wright (of A Raven Renaissance, Carbs): An EP with so much concentrated energy and flavor that you’ll ditch your morning coffee for this saucy cup of pop punk.
Sea Salt // Block It Out
December 18, 2020
Cody Schuman (of Mount Sigh): I’ve been looking forward to this release for a while, since both of the singles that came out earlier in the year were excellent. Both of the singles were smooth rides with clean guitars and airily delivered vocals that generally left me wanting to dive deeper into their lush world. Upon doing so (listening more carefully to the lyrics), I realized that the songs were sincere and vulnerable vignettes about growing up, navigating relationships, and finding one’s own path. The rest of album delivers on the promise of the singles, creating a cohesive, heartfelt bedroom indie pop gem that feels simultaneously deeply personal and also widely relatable. Go buy it on vinyl!
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