We’ve been asking artists artists about their favorite albums of the year, and this list comes from two members of punk/emo vets Samiam, who returned this year with their first album in 12 years, Stowaway, out via Pure Noise. Guitarist Sergie Loobkoff (also of Knapsack) and bassist Chad Darby each contributed picks, which range from albums to live shows to a single, including some albums that came out within the past couple years but found their way to Samiam’s ears more recently. The whole thing is worth a read, and you can check it out below.
Sergie and other members of Knapsack also came on the BV podcast this year in celebration of the new Knapsack reissues. We’ve got exclusive variants of each one available in the BV shop (except This Conversation Is Ending Starting Right Now, which is sold out).
Samiam’s new album was also featured on Paint It Black’s list.
Sergie Loobkoff (guitar):
Ovlov – Buds
In the ’90s there was this band that my brother always pushed on me called Knapsack. For several years my negative attitude prevailed, not because I didn’t like… more like I was too snobby to give it a chance. About 10 years ago he did the same with a band called ‘Oblove’ (sic) and I had the same dickhead response for years. Now, in 2023, I spent several years in Knapsack and I dare say Ovlov is one of, if not ‘the’ best band(s) on the planet. All their records are great from top to bottom… like, every single song rules… and their newest is absolutely next level. Sorry to make this about the brothers Loobkoff instead of the band…he would be a great A&R guy and I would be complete shit.
Blonde Redhead – Sit Down for Dinner (& live)
Another story from the mid ’90s: I saw this band open for Fugazi and was totally nonplussed. I don’t think I gave them a chance beyond a song or two. Sucks because years later, around the time of …Damaged Lemons and Misery is a Butterfly, I realized this band will go down in my head as one of the most important bands ever. Not unlike Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr, BR is the soundtrack to my dumb life. To me, the new record is a return to a more rock sensibility after some more experimental albums–maybe I just, for whatever reason, didn’t give them enough attention. Also, live last month, they were sensational. Don’t sleep on that experience if you get a chance.
Pinegrove – 11:11
I feel like it’s odd, in a way, that I fell in love with this band. It’s so emo at times… and I am irked by ‘emo.’ Other times it’s so alt-country… and if it weren’t for early Band of Horses, this city boy would never lift an eyebrow towards anything of that ilk. But this Evan fella is such a talented guy, I don’t even notice the style choices he makes. It’s the songs, the lyrics and perfect execution and especially his one in a trillion voice. The drummer as well is a standout… I imagine they grew up together because the songs and drums are so perfectly intertwined. Perhaps it reminds me of the classic Built to Spill songs with Scott minor mindreading Doug Martsch. Whatever, I’m blabbing, but this is next level songcraft.
Beck – “Thinking About You”
I don’t really like the frat party stylings of the popular Beck albums, but Sea Change and Modern Guilt are among my favorite albums. This song fits right in with those. It’s sad and sentimental… maybe a little sappy lyrics, but if you can pull off a simple ‘I miss you, I love you’ message without cringe, you’ve really pulled off a feat. I was on tour this spring and my bud Robbie and I were in a gas station someplace in the South or Midwest when “Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot came on. We were like, “This shit is so great and I guess Beck likes it because this is where Sea Change obviously comes from.” Then I felt stupid and ignorant for quite a long stretch of road towards Atlanta. I’ve been on a Lightfoot kick all year now.
Fiddlehead live in LA
I never knew about Have Heart and came to admire Basement quite late… then probably was similarly tardy for Fiddlehead as well. Anyways, watching the crowd at the Ukrainian hall in LA gave me a ‘time and place’ feeling not unlike OP IV back at Gilman. It’s one thing to see a big crowd freak out at a corporate venue with big PA, choreographed cues for crowd interaction, shithead security and all the bells and whistles of big production…but to see a giant swell of devotees unite in support of their favorite band in this overgrown, massive DIY setting… well, it was plain special.
Chad Darby (bass):
END – The Sin of Human Frailty
This one snuck in at the end of the year. The first couple songs that were teased over the last few months preceding already held a top ranking for me, but I wasn’t really keeping tabs on news for an actual full length. It hit as one of the best musical surprises this year. I’ve sent this to so many friends. It might be the best produced hardcore/metal record I’ve ever heard (Will Putney, duh). Every element sounds like the absolute end of the fucking world. A perfect ratio of aggression, proficiency, and depth.
Slow Pulp – Yard
During my long stint of being without a home this year, my friends asked me to watch their cats while they went to Morocco for three weeks. I fell in love with the cats, but moreso the idea of actually having a bed and a space to stretch out for more than a couple days. When they got home, the first thing they said was, “Why don’t you just live here with us?” That started the best 3 months of my present life that I can remember. Many nights making dinner and listening to our favorite old indie records together. One late night after the bars, Jay says, “You like Slow Pulp?”; which started several weeks of us sitting on the couch watching the live on KEXP video and saying, “Dude, they’re so good” back and forth. Anyway – this band is so good, and they have a new record out that is very rad.
Asake – Work of Art
My most listened to record of 2023. I spent so many hours looking up the lyrics, that I eventually took lessons to learn Yoruba. Magicsticks & Blaise Beats dominated the production on this too. It’s hard to believe it was released less than a year after Mr. Money… because the entire 14 track album plays through as a perfectly cohesive vision, it could have been a decade in the making.
Harms Way – Common Suffering
I spent most of 2023 living out of a backpack and criss-crossing the state of Florida on gross, cramped Greyhound buses every week. My body was crumbling and I was not doing well mentally. I got a 24/7 gym membership and found this record around the same time. It’s the musical equivalent of mainlining nitroglycerin and makes me want to throw a semi-truck through the sun.
