Hopefully, by now, you'll be well acquainted with our end of year Uncut, with The Rolling Stones on the cover, and our extensive Best Of 2016 charts. To complement those thorough lists compiled by 40-odd Uncut contributors, I've put together a personal list, stretching to 164 albums (it should proba...
Hopefully, by now, you’ll be well acquainted with our end of year Uncut, with The Rolling Stones on the cover, and our extensive Best Of 2016 charts. To complement those thorough lists compiled by 40-odd Uncut contributors, I’ve put together a personal list, stretching to 164 albums (it should probably now be 165, given how much I enjoyed the new Childish Gambino album this morning).
Usual caveats apply: numerical order gets pretty arbitrary pretty quickly, so please don’t assume too much significance/quality difference in what is listed at 132, and what comes in at 133 (the whole ordering concept gets dafter to me with each passing year, but I’m still a sucker for this sort of thing). I know 164 is a crazy number of albums, but I’ve genuinely enjoyed all of these, to some degree, and, given the usefulness of these end-of-year lists as a tool of discovery, it seems to me best to go long and inclusive rather than limiting the process to a Top 20 or whatever.
I’ve avoided embedding tracks this year, so that the page will actually load, but I have updated the list from when I first posted it a couple of weeks ago. Now you’ll find links to reviews written by myself and my Uncut colleagues, and to plenty of selections from Youtube, Souncloud and Bandcamp, so that you can get a better sense of what this weight of music actually sounds like.
Hope that all makes sense. Thanks, as ever, for your indulgence.
Follow me on Twitter @JohnRMulvey
164 Khun Narin – II (Innovative Leisure)
163 Hieroglyphic Being – The Discos Of Imhotep (Technicolour)
162 Brian Case – Tense Nature (Hands In The Dark)
161 Protein – The Secret Garden (Alien Transistor)
160 Kate Carr – I Had Myself A Nuclear Spring (Rivertones)
159 Acid Arab – Musique De France (Crammed Discs)
158 Rafi Bookstaber – Late Summer (Woodsist)
157 Laraaji & Sun Araw – Professional Sunflow (W.25th/Superior Viaduct)
155 The Julie Ruin – Hit Reset (Hardly Art)
154 Whitney – No Woman (Secretly Canadian)
153 Autechre – Elseq 1-5 (Warp)
152 The Limiñanas – Malamore (Because)
151 William Bell – This Is Where I Live (Decca)
150 Thee Oh Sees – Live In San Francisco (Castleface)
149 Sara Watkins – All The Wrong Ways (New West)
148 Bob Dylan – Fallen Angels (Columbia)
147 Dinosaur Jr – Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not (Jagjaguwar)
146 Dreamboat – Dreamboat (MIE Music)
145 Tony Joe White – Rain Crow (Yeproc)
144 Devendra Banhart – Ape In Pink Marble (Nonesuch)
143 Dungen – Häxan (Mexican Summer)
142 MV & EE – Root Void (Woodsist)
141 Tortoise -The Catastrophist (Thrill Jockey)
140 Dexys – Let The Record Show: Dexys Do Irish And Country Soul (100%/Warner Music)
139 Coypu – Floating (MIE Music)
138 Karl Blau – Introducing… (Bella Union)
137 Konono N°1 – Konono N°1 Meets Batida (Crammed Discs)
136 Savoy Motel – Savoy Motel (What’s Your Rupture?)
135 Pony Hunt – Heart Creek (Hearth Music)
134 Bob Weir – Blue Mountain (Legacy)
133 St Paul & The Broken Bones – Sea Of Noise (Records)
132 Simon Scott – FloodLines (Touch)
131 Radian – On Dark Silent Off (Thrill Jockey)
130 Matt Valentine – Blazing Grace (Timelag/Child Of Microtones)
129 Ty Segall – Emotional Mugger (Drag City)
128 Marissa Nadler – Strangers (Bella Union)
127 Seabuckthorn – I Could See The Smoke EP (Lost Tribe Sound)
126 Olivia Wyatt + Bitchin Bajas – Sailing A Sinking Sea (Drag City)
125 Claire M Singer – Solas (Touch)
124 Mark Pritchard – Under The Sun (Warp)
123 Julia Jacklin – Don’t Let The Kids Win (Transgressive)
122 Daniel Lanois – Goodbye To Language (Anti-)
121 Papa M – Highway Songs (Drag City)
120 Dalthom – Frame Slip (Feeding Tube)
119 Various Artists – Songs To Fill The Air (WFMU)
118 Robert Stillman – Time Of Waves (Orindal)
117 Pita – Get In (Editions Mego)
116 Plaid – The Digging Remedy (Warp)
115 Phil Cook – Old Hwy D (Self-released)
114 Thee Oh Sees – An Odd Entrances (Castle Face)
113 Chris Abrahams – Fluid To The Influence (Room40)
112 Jeff Parker – Slight Freedom (Eremite)
110 Underworld – Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future (underworldlive.com/Caroline)
109 Iggy Pop/Tarwater/Alva Noto – Leaves Of Grass (Morr Music)
108 Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions – Until The Hunter (Tendril Tales)
107 Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Talk Tight (Ivy League)
106 Lisa/Liza- Deserts Of Youth (Orindal)
105 Allen Toussaint – American Tunes (Nonesuch)
104 Dave Heumann – Cloud Hands (2020)
103 Angel Olsen – My Woman (Jagjaguwar)
102 The Frightnrs – Nothing More To Say (Daptone)
101 Big Thief – Masterpiece (Saddle Creek)
100 Sarathy Korwar – Day To Day (Ninja Tune x Steve Reid Foundation)
99 Charles Bradley – Changes (Daptone)
98 Mike Wexler – Syntropy (Three: Four)
97 Rosali – Good Life (Siltbreeze)
96 PJ Harvey – The Hope Six Demolition Project (Island)
95 Natural Child – Okey Dokey (Natural Child Records & Tapes)
94 Pye Corner Audio – Stasis (Ghost Box)
93 Head Technician – Zones (Ecstatic)
92 Laura Cannell – Simultaneous Flight Movement (Brawl)
91 Dylan Golden Aycock – Church Of Level (Scissortail)
90 Beyonce – Lemonade (Parkwood)
89 Factory Floor – 25 25 (DFA)
88 Mary Lattimore & Jeff Zeigler – Music Inspired By Philippe Garrel’s Le Révélateur (Thrill Jockey)
87 Jenks Miller & Rose Cross NC – Blues From WHAT (Three-Lobed)
86 Rob Noyes – The Feudal Spirit (Poon Village)
84 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree (Bad Seed)
83 Jim James – Eternally Even (ATO/Capitol)
82 Loscil – Monument Builders (Kranky)
81 Daniel Bachman – Daniel Bachman (Three Lobed)
80 Israel Nash – Live At Plum Creek Sound (www.ISRAELNASH.com)
79 Eleanor Friedberger – New View (Frenchkiss)
78 Neil Young & The Promise Of The Real – Earth (Reprise)
77 King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Nonagon Infinity (Heavenly)
76 Woods – City Sun Eater In The River Of Light (Woodsist)
75 Marisa Anderson – Into The Light (Bandcamp)
74 Christine & The Queens – Christine & The Queens (Because)
73 Horse Lords – Interventions (Northern Spy)
72 Marielle V Jakobsons – Star Core (Thrill Jockey)
71 Cool Ghouls – Animal Races (Melodic)
70 Feral Ohms – Live In San Francisco (Castle Face)
69 Case/Lang/Veirs – Case/Lang/Veirs (Anti-)
68 Glenn Jones – Fleeting (Thrill Jockey)
67 Various Artists – Day Of The Dead (4AD)
66 Norah Jones – Day Breaks (Blue Note)
65 Purling Hiss – High Bias (Drag City)
64 Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool (XL)
63 Itasca – Open To Chance (Paradise Of Bachelors)
62 Padang Food Tigers & Sigbjørn Apeland – Bumblin’ Creed (Northern Spy)
61 White Denim – Stiff (Downtown)
60 Christian Fennesz & Jim O’Rourke – It’s Hard For Me To Say I’m Sorry (Editions Mego)
59 Ryley Walker & Charles Rumback – Dhoodan (Dead Oceans)
58 Hans Chew – Unknown Sire (Divided By Zero)
57 Imarhan – Imarhan (City Slang)
56 Kaia Kater – Nine Pin (Kingswood)
55 Drive-By Truckers – American Band (ATO)
54 Shirley Collins – Lodestar (Domino)
53 Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Suzanne Ciani – FRKWYS Vol 13: Sunergy (RVNG INTL)
52 Noura Mint Seymali – Arbina (Glitterbeat)
51 Steve Hauschildt – Strands (Kranky)
50 NxWorries (Anderson Paak & Knxwledge) – Yes Lawd! (Stones Throw)
49 Cian Nugent – Night Fiction (Woodsist)
48 Mary Lattimore – At The Dam (Ghostly International)
47 Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids – We Be All Africans (Strut)
46 The Double – Dawn Of The Double (In The Red)
45 Spacin’ – Total Freedom (Testoster Tunes)
44 Kendrick Lamar – Untitled Unmastered (Top Dawg)
43 Heron Oblivion – Heron Oblivion (Sub Pop)
42 Weyes Blood – Front Row Seat To Earth (Mexican Summer)
41 Prins Thomas – Principe Del Norte (Smalltown Supersound)
40 King – We Are King (King Creative)
39 Steve Gunn – Eyes On The Lines (Matador)
38 The Dead Tongues – Montana (Self-released)
37 Oren Ambarchi – Hubris (Editions Mego)
36 Chris Abrahams – Climb (Vegetable)
35 Thee Oh Sees – A Weird Exits (Castleface)
34 Rhyton – Redshift (Thrill Jockey)
33 Neil Young – Peace Trail (Reprise)
32 Cass McCombs – Mangy Love (Anti-)
31 Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition (Warp)
30 Nathan Bowles – Whole And Cloven (Paradise Of Bachelors)
29 The Still – The Still (Bronzerat)
28 Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Anyway You Love We Know How You Feel (Silver Arrow)
27 David Bowie – Blackstar (Isolar)
26 Kevin Morby – Singing Saw (Dead Oceans)
25 Cavern of Anti-Matter –Void Beats/Invocation Trex (Duophonic)
24 Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Ears (Western Vinyl)
23 Botany – Deepak Verbera (Western Vinyl)
22 Brian Eno – The Ship (Warp)
21 Teenage Fanclub – Here (PeMa)
19 Bitchin Bajas & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Epic Jammers And Fortunate Little Ditties (Drag City)
18 Xylouris White – Black Peak (Bella Union)
17 The Avalanches – Wildflower (XL)
16 Lambchop – FLOTUS (City Slang/Merge)
15 William Tyler – Modern Country (Merge)
14 Margo Price – Midwest Farmer’s Daughter (Third Man)
13 Scott Hirsch – Blue Rider Songs (Scissortail)
12 Tim Hecker – Love Streams (4AD)
11 Psychic Temple – Psychic Temple II (Asthmatic Kitty)
10 The Skiffle Players – Skifflin’ (Bandcamp)
9 Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band – The Rarity Of Experience (No Quarter)
8 Solange – A Seat At The Table (RCA)
7 Brigid Mae Power – Brigid Mae Power (Tompkins Square)
6 A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (Epic)
5 Psychic Temple – Plays Music For Airports (Joyful Noise)
4 Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker (Sony)
3 Hiss Golden Messenger – Heart Like A Levee (Merge)
2 Ryley Walker – Golden Sings That Have Been Sung (Dead Oceans)
1 75 Dollar Bill – Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock (Thin Wrist)