Lizzy here, check back, we'll add some picks from Jess if she has time to make a list!

Top 5+1(+1) Albums, Alphabetical by Band

Audacity, Hyper Vessels (Suicide Squeeze)
Audacity have a lot of energy and a way with words.


The Coathangers, Nosebleed Weekend (Suicide Squeeze)

Like many things, sometimes participating in garage/punk (most music scenes really) as a woman can be kind of weird and lonely. I personally feel that one especially since moving to Detroit from SF and lacking a community of women who are my peers and share my musical aesthetics. Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of great women in music in Detroit, but more often than not I find myself very outnumbered by the dudes when it comes to the music I love the most. There are a lot of reasons I love The Coathangers but when I saw them last summer, it was one of those shows where I texted Jess in the middle because I wished she were there seeing it with me. I don't know the Coathangers personally, but watching them play was like watching a different version of us. I don't find us very often, and it's rare and refreshing to be able to recognize yourself on stage a little bit.

This album is non-stop and sound tracked a lot of solo drives up north this summer.


Kid Congo & the Pink Monkeybirds, La Araña es la Vida (In the Red)
2016 has been a pretty dark year in some ways, this album is a good chance to listen to something light-hearted but still rock'n'roll. This video is amazing but my favorite track is "We Love You."

The Pukes, The Revenge of the Pukes (Good Land Records)
Brand new from Milwaukee, instant favorite.

Terry Malts, Lost at the Party (Slumberland)
Another year end instant favorite.


Thee Oh Sees, Live in San Francisco (Castle Face)
Since I can't pop out to see them every weekend, at least I have this instead.

Bonus emo favorite for the year:

Forfeit, Numb (Still Chill Records)
I know emo is unpopular with most of our audience. Be that as it may, I'm a true blue emo kid, even though that's not my main thing these days. If you ask me, most of the emo revival of the last few years relies way too much on the twinkly soft stuff. I stumbled on Forfeit sometime last summer and was convinced so instantly that I pre-ordered this album based on one song, and then had to wait for it for like a whole month to find out if I was right. They totally hit this certain level I'm always looking for following in the vein of Mineral, Cursive, and Sunny Day Real Estate, that actually gets the loud quiet loud thing and rocks out fast and heavy on the breakdowns. Bonus cool points, Still Chill Records not only has the best logo (you'll have to click over to see it), but is also run by John Rejba of the seminal band Boys Life.

Close runners up/albums I didn't get to spend enough time with yet: