Can all 21st century instrumental rock other than surf be called post-rock? How many lyrics disqualify? Does it have to be atmospheric, or can it be upbeat and danceable? Was there a clean break w/ progressive rock or are the two clearly related? I’m not going to weigh in other than to encourage a big tent, to include all the albums below, but I welcome any disputes for stimulating discussion.

Note that many are just 99 cents to own, eMusic’s remaining selling point, but there’s doubt about artists getting paid (unless you want to go with their blockchain tokens). Thus, support them via the Bandcamp links to feel extra warm & fuzzy. 

In approximate order of my liking:

1. “The Relativity of Space and Time” - Zhaoze (The Swamp) (2016). Not to take on too heady of a subject, my favorite Chinese alt. rock group went post-rock in the 2010s, and rather well. This live album is the priciest but also the longest at 90 minutes, and Chinese instrumentation, mainly an electric guqin, features prominently on most tracks. They also sing occasionally. For more Chinese post-rock on eMusic, tell me if Yu Su is too jazzy. Wang Wen also has four albums, but I’ve only heard “Re: “ and another not available, finding both just OK. Find my full consideration of Asian alternative music on eMu here: https://np.reddit.com/r/eMusicofficial/comments/cpb4rl/east_asian_studies_highlight_on_streetvoice_magic/

2. “A Ella Te Conduce la Sagrada Espyral” - Pylar (2017). These Spaniards flirt with metal but alternate hard and soft numbers with a lot of skill. A lot of variation from track to track, with dashes of psychedelia thrown in for good measure. A mere dollar (or “name your price”) for a full-length album not to be missed. https://pylar.bandcamp.com/album/a-ella-te-conduce-la-sagrada-espyral

3. S/t” - Sensible Soccers (2011). A 20-minute EP from Portugal for 99 cents, this one starts out sounding a bit like a helicopter and never quite fits its title. Glittering circles of guitars and a distant female vocalist make for a very enjoyable and relatively mellow excursion. “Twin Turbo,” while under two minutes long, skitters into shoegazey dream pop territory crashing full speed into the wall of the fairly epic last track. All with subtle electronic enhancements, like a slowed-down Desert Sound Colony (one of my favorites I’ve mentioned several times elsewhere).

4. “Sonder” - Hanan (2014). A short album of relatively short songs and about half electronic, these Minnesotans would not be out of place on Constellation or Kranky with their alternation between atmospheric and noisy guitars closer to math rock. In any case, these guys are full of crescendoes but know when to brood and contemplate, too. https://hananband.bandcamp.com/album/sonder

5. “Hacia Donde Va el Agua” - IIOII (2019). Maybe the most experimental on this list, these Chileans are on a label that otherwise has more ambient music. Tunes on the album are usually backed by an electronic dance beat, but the overall sound mostly remains more abstract and restrained than groovy. At times one has to strain to hear guitars, but they’re usually there. Someone who would include Ratatat in post-rock would have no trouble fitting this one.

6. “BM” - Billy Mahonie (2009). Fully instrumental and more straightforwardly rock than most here, while also playing with rhythm a lot more. Fans of Ui and The Mercury Program will find much to enjoy. https://billymahonie.bandcamp.com/album/bm

7. “Glass Wars” - 1 Mile North (2011). Almost wholly guitar-based, layered, and sparse, with some nice use of background sounds for variety. Most are long tracks more intricate and interesting than rousing, leaving even more softly than they came. A slow echo that can sometimes feel like full-song extensions of the quiet parts in Explosions in the Sky tracks, these songs almost entirely eschew percussion as too jarring. https://wortcunner.bandcamp.com/album/glass-wars

8. “Mort Aux Vaches” - Tarentel (2015). There’s probably more to be included on this list in the large series of 99-cent titles, but I’m starting with reliable names I know and love. Unlike most of their albums, this one’s fully instrumental and uses only standard rock instrumentation without frills.

9. “El Hambre” - Los Desastres De La Guerra (2018). Another 99-cent EP (or nyp for all three titles on Bandcamp), this time from Argentina. It starts like it’ll be noisy but soon settles into organ and guitar pedal madness over a driving beat. The other two tracks, while not mellow, are more abstract and restrained. https://losdesastresdelaguerra.bandcamp.com/album/el-hambre

10. “S/t” - Ceylon (2019). By far the most vocals, and French female ones at that, of any on this list. Loungey, layered, but lighthearted and maybe a bit rockabilly or psychedelic. If they’re not post-rock I invite someone to categorize this long, 99-cent EP more appropriately.

11. “This Culture of Background Noise” - Because of Ghosts (2006). Sort of meanders its way into the first track like plodding at an increasing pace. Maybe guitar purists will like this one more than I do, though they do add a violin occasionally, but even w/out it can be reminiscent of Dirty Three. They’re Australian. https://becauseofghosts.bandcamp.com/

12. “The Unfolding Sounds” - Dreamer Strings (2017). One extremely quiet, long track for 99 cents doesn’t really reveal itself as a rock album until its final passage.

On other lists: Austin TV, Desert Sound Colony, Iah, Poly-Math.

Record labels to explore (on eMu): Feeding Tube, Indelabel, Awkward Formats, serpent, El Templo ReKords, Superstar Destroyer; Shinkoyo; Bartosz Leśniewski; Mascarpone; Swim; Salvation; Camera Obscura; MonseArt;

eMusic was my source for the original 1990s post-rock from Bark Psychosis, and I wish it a better 2020 than 2019. Thanks for reading, and happy listening (with more support of artists, I hope)!

Just trying to show I don’t hold songs’ catchiness against them.  It’s the music industry as popularity contest and beauty pageant that I object to.  OK, and I guess the musical equivalent of refined sugar in processed foods and candy should also be considered an unhealthy diet if not consumed in moderation.  Where there’s experimentation, it’s not of the scary, noisy kind, but rather is done in service of the particular song, which is rarely longer than five minutes.

In no particular order this time, because I find ranking earworms to be unnecessary, here’s some global pop music I like, where pop means non-rock (college radio pop), non-hip-hop (de facto pop music in the USA), and generally showing considerable production value but without, by my judgment, sounding “overproduced.”  Note that most pop exists on eMusic (and presumably elsewhere) in the form of singles, and the sheer mass of them will prevent me from sampling any of them.  These are all EPs or albums which can be assumed to contain at least one song that IMO could hack it as a single to be played on Top40 radio in a just world.  (Clearly we do not live in a just world.)

In some cases, I could imagine teenyboppers with taste bopping along to these, or the singer with a headset on stage with a dance troupe in a stadium or otherwise large audience.  In others, the scales are just tipped heavily in the direction of entertainment > artistry.  Just turn your brain off and dance or otherwise enjoy.  These should all go down easy, like Psapp (which would be on this list if not already prominently promoted on the eMusic homepage).

1. “Primavera” - Dolphinkids (2018).  Synth-heavy EP for 99 cents with a would-be diva front and center, half the songs here are in English and half not.  Each has a memorable chorus, and “Innerspring” sounds to me a lot like Young Galaxy.

2. “Saintanism” - Count Nebula (2016).  This $2, self-released EP has two strikes against it but really won me over.  It reminds me a bit of a brighter Sneaker Pimps or darker Bran Van 3000 for its (wholly successful) attempt to mix funky, psychedelic, and rock elements into cool electronic pop.  Ringtone ready not least b/c the first song’s loop sounds like an actual telephone, the lyrics are pretty secondary to the overall vibe of most of these songs.  Mostly four minutes or more, I’d say there’s slightly more substance to them than average.  Instantly uplifting and highly danceable.  https://count-nebula.bandcamp.com/album/saintanism-3

3. “Element 27” - Cardinales (2020).  I’ve pretty much never heard a French pop album that isn’t cool, and not understanding the lyrics preserves that mystique.  This one starts slowly and kinda spaced out before finding its footing in angularly tuneless robot music.  The vocalists don’t exactly sing or rap so much as declare themselves over the beat, giving the songs an element of challenge I quite appreciate.  Overall, the accompaniments to this synth-pop are rather more interesting and welcoming of dissonance than the usual. 99 cents or NYP.  https://cheptelrecords.bandcamp.com/album/chptl-044-element-27

4. “Renjana” - Gejolak Bahasa (2019).  99-cent EPs from Indonesia that aren’t too syrupy must be snapped up immediately.  This is sweetly accessible pop rock all right. I don’t usually go for falsetto crooners, but I’ll wager the language is one most Western listeners don’t often hear.  See the Sunset Road Records label for more rock from the world’s most populous Muslim country.  Reminds me of cleanly produced rock from Thailand generally and specifically 旅行团 from China, which is surely a household name that will be very helpful to you.  (If not, look them up on StreetVoice.)

5. “Glass” - Sleephawk (2018).  At least a fathom or two deeper and more sentimentally felt than most pop music, I’d say, the accompaniment here, while electronic, also swings for the seats and an epic scale, very ambitious for a 3-minute song.  Interestingly, the opening, title track is one of the two not available as a single.  With the same lyrical themes and catchy, simple instrumentation, I don’t understand why “Malibu” is an infinitesimally small fraction as popular as Gotye’s hit other than to say the world of pop is capricious and unfair.  “A New Soul” also channels his inner Geographer for crisp, high notes.  $2 is relatively pricey, but this is pop worth some serious attention.  

6. “Je Vois, Je Crois” - DeSaintex (2018).  I’m glad we’re in the 21st century, where I no longer have to worry about liking music that sounds flamboyantly gay.  Squeaky, high-tones abound in these electronic songs, and they straddle the line between catchy and cheesy most precariously, with a low male vocal usually paired with a falsetto part.  A relatively short 99-cent EP that is either fabulous or nearly so.  https://desaintex.bandcamp.com/album/je-vois-je-crois

7. “TV에 내가 나왔으면 정말 좋겠네 I wish I had gotten out of here on TV” - illoYlo (2017).  16 minutes of power pop in a language you probably don’t understand might be just the thing you need to put a spark in your day and hear all music through refreshed ears.  With a little electronic beat and buzz thrown in with the guitars, this EP is like a lot of Asian pop in disregarding the fine line between being happily upbeat and overkill obnoxious.  Choose from two EPs for $1.49.

8. “Fluid Window” - Miracle (2011).  The Bandcamp review raves with Depeche Mode comparisons, and I suppose I hear it.  The studied listener will undoubtedly hear many other points of comparison from the 1980s and the three following decades.  There’s an atmospheric darkness to both the music and the vocals many will find appealing for not being stereotypical pop.  Given almost nine minutes to expand, the closing “Breathe” is most interesting and least poppy.  Great value for 99 cents, and those who are enticed will find two full-length albums of interest as well.  https://miracle.bandcamp.com/album/fluid-window

9. “Le Fil” - Camille (2006).  One of the most experimental entries, both vocally and in terms of accompaniment, this is surprisingly the only full-length album on this list so far.  It’s an inventive, challenging barrel of agitated monkeys, full of improvised percussion, handclaps and snaps, a cappella loops, and multiple layers of herself backing up her lead vocals with aplomb and no small amount of nasal sass.  The songs are on the short side but add up to more than the sum of their parts.  I expect each of her albums is a full statement and look forward to hearing more.  I love her music video where she gets attacked by knitting (far better than Weezer’s “Sweater Song” in every way) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPGNWFQy_gg.  It’s equally impressive that Because Music continues to carry almost her full discography.  Sadly, it’s rare for eMu to offer more of something I already knew, owned, and enjoyed, so when it happens, it must be highlighted.

Bandcamp Only:  

“Hybrid” - Elsiane (2008).  Affected vocals can be an immediate turn-off, but the fit with the music in this case is quite irresistible.  Together, this album takes the listener to an otherworldly place somehow at once exotic, innocent, and sinister.  Swims between pop and cool trip-hop as adeptly as anything I’ve heard.  https://elsiane.bandcamp.com/album/hybrid

“Rum EP” - James K (2013).  A mere 14 minutes over four songs, there’s a disjointed feeling to most of these, still pop for the ethereal vocals.  Overall, I’d say this EP is unconventional rather than experimental.  NYP.  https://jameskmusic.bandcamp.com/album/rum-ep  

“Union” - Saint Saviour (2014).  Most of this hourlong album is a pretty mixed bag, a result of inconsistent production and perhaps even mixing, but there are a few songs with extremely compelling choruses as well as moments of cathartic brilliance.  Her voice is all over the map, always prominent, and no one will like all of it.  There’s always a strong grasp of melody, often of harmony as well, but some moments are cringeworthy for general histrionics and notes beyond her range (“Reasons”) or lyrics delivered with maximum pathos that don’t connect (the otherwise interesting “Liberty”).  Whose idea was it to break into rap in the middle of “Domino” and what the heck do you make of the explosive synth & vocal orgasms on “The Rain Falls on the Just”?  Not quite strong enough to defy genre, this often sounds like an album unsure if it wants to rock & roll or oonce & beep, and if so, in what style.  And how should she sing in the meantime while the song is deciding?  I hear everyone from Kate Bush and Annie Lennox to obscure semi-contemporaries like Chainsuck and Superhumanoids.  A very interesting album equal parts seductive, sentimental, frustrating, and confusing.  By the description of her follow-up album, she just wants to be a pop singer-songwriter painting with broad, accessible strokes and wasted a lot of energy trying to be so edgy.   https://saint-saviour.bandcamp.com/album/union  

Young Galaxy.  Among the synthiest of synth-pop, I’d have to strain to hear any guitars or otherwise non-electronic instruments over the course of 2013’s “Ultramarine,” the only album I own.  Emotional and romantic, often catchy while hardly shallow thematically.  Much more to explore, and I especially endorse the music video for “Blown Minded,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rumNQRfCoqw , one of the most immersive and entrancing out there. https://younggalaxyofficial.bandcamp.com/.   

Le Bombe.  Really captures the magic of childlike whimsy and exuberance on 2006’s impossible-to-find, near-perfect (too brief) “Min Så Kallade Soul”.  On the strength of that album, I sprang for the full discography deal, which duplicates several tracks but also fleshes out different moods.  https://lebombe.bandcamp.com/.

On other lists:  Mirela Vilar, Onuka, Kid Francescoli (with Julia), “План побега (Plan Pobega/Escape Plan)“ - Обе Две (Obe Dve/Both Two) (2018)

Rather than reposting repeatedly, here’s my lists of what’s left on eMusic:  http://www.omnifoo.info/pages/eMuReddit.html 

& by my evaluation http://www.omnifoo.info/pages/eMusic%20Labels.html

& by genre https://www.emusers.net/forum/discussion/comment/94512/#Comment_94512 

In approximate order of how much I like them…

1.  “Travesuras” - Ángel Parra Orrego (2019).  Mostly instrumental, but occasional vocal numbers (en español) are quite well done even as moods shift drastically.  This is sentimental, mischievous (to fit the album title), funky, folksy, laid back, and kooky in equal measures from track to track, a longer album that’s, as they say, greater than the sum of its parts.  Unexpected instrumentation abounds, with organs, vibes, pedaled and slid guitars combined soothingly with Southwestern or Latin flavor, electronics as often as vocals.  Unfortunately pricey, and as with anything that could be called fusion there are cheesy moments, but fans of Friends of Dean Martinez or Calexico will be pleased. 

2. “Derivacivilização” - Ian Ramil (2015).   What starts as a clunky, ramshackle sound of a rock band going mad builds by “ba ba bas” to a tightly controlled climax that makes fine use of silence.  The title track follows, with an electronic rhythm and longing vocals rising, with backup, into the falsetto range, again building to the end.  It’s a formula that is repeated over the course of the album, and it works because the guy has command of a near infinite array of ways to be quiet and loud, with anthemic structure and scope in the middle.  By the third track, the going actually gets strange, with a tinkling harpsichord and what sounds like monks chanting “ooo ooo ooo.”  The whole album is punctuated by odd, non-musical sounds and soaring choruses that pop up out of nowhere.  A model in building and releasing tension through song and how to spice up rock and roll for the 21st century.  Mighty fine for over nine dimes or NYP. https://ianramil.bandcamp.com/

3. “A Noite e Mais Eu” - Bruno Chaves (2019).  Rock with synths that switches from acoustic to electronic and back within songs on a short album for 99 cents.  The instrumentation and vocals sound like nothing but himself.  Quite inventive but also inviting to hum along to his harmonies.  https://brunochavez.bandcamp.com/music

4. “Traditore” - Juan Diamante (2016).  Fun, distinctive covers of indie and alt. rock, etc. en español.  It may be especially enjoyable for those who don’t speak Spanish to identify the songs without understanding the titles or the lyrics!  This is not your cousin or your high school classmate posting his/her favorite song using silverware or otherwise novel “instruments” on YouTube but rather is nicely produced, and the novelty of translating the lyrics is enough to hook me.  This is right in the middle range between a short album and long EP.  NYP on Bandcamp.  https://juandiamante.bandcamp.com/album/traditore  

5. “Percepção” - Poty (2018).  It’s hard to get a feel for this album just from sampling it.  The opening track isn’t representative b/c it’s ramped up and strung out, but the mellowest tracks are equally extreme.  There’s psychedelia, blues rock, “dad rock,” soft rock, and other styles at play from track to track.  Good-old-boy rock is not something I expected to hear from Brazil, but it’s here, too.  The singer’s voice can sound strained to the point of breaking, but overall I find it a perfect complement to the spare instrumentation.  It knows how and when to let loose, even if it means going just slightly off the rails with guitar noise.  It’s subtle and it’s cool, with the total listening experience making a strong argument for the preservation of the rock album as a holistic art form, rather than just individual songs.  And it’s 99 cents.  https://poty.bandcamp.com/album/percep-o-2018

6. “Abandono” - Semente de Maçã (2018).  A somewhat trip-hop but also lighter, psychedelic rock EP I feel like I can put on almost any time.  It and potentially the listener float gently into the sky like a soap bubble.  I’ll have to check out the others in the discography on Bandcamp on a NYP basis. https://sementedemaca.bandcamp.com/album/abandono

7. “Neuro” - Juliano Guerra (2018).  The penchant for sudden pauses and shifts in instrumentation or song structure on this album might make a listener uneasy or feel unbalanced, and that’s before taking his voice into consideration.  His vocals often play with the beat rather than trying to sing specific notes, but I wouldn’t call it rap.  Then he invites a lady to sing a duet with him on the sentimental “Fica.”  Brass usually but not always takes a back seat to guitars.  Psychedelic guitars over Latin rhythms are always a treat, and I’d call the whole experience quite pleasant and even uplifting, especially the closing title track.  Being a long album makes its 99-cent price extra nice.  Or try this one NYP https://julianoguerra.bandcamp.com/releases

8. “Pedaço Vivo” - Tagua Tagua (2018).  They’ve got several singles and two 99-cent EPs of a little over ten minutes for three tracks of innovative synth-rock.  Impossibly glam.  Keyboards with twang?

9.  “O Gole Que Presta” - Bel (2019).  Female vocals with attitude over slow tempo rock guitars and just a pinch of synths.  A bit darker and with elements of shoegaze/dream pop.  Spacey, abstract undertones are allowed to bloom on the short third song.  NYP https://quente.bandcamp.com/album/o-gole-que-presta

10. “Um Dia Que Já Vem” - Mão de Oito (2012).  I quite like the easygoing reggae rock of “Sai Dessa,” and the rest rocks inoffensively enough for most anyone, more in the alt. rock vein but with one foot still in Jamaica, funk, or something else flavorful.  The single “Beats” reimagines Jack Johnson as Portuguese hip-hop.  Overall highly recommended for anyone who likes brass with their upbeat soft rock.  A fine 99-cent album, as with many, many others on the Laboratório Fantasma label.

11. “Cicatrices de un Cuento (III)” - Los Caramelos (2020).  A dude with a pretty low voice croons and tells stories over understated synth-pop, resembling The Aluminum Group at times.  Layering the vocals, all his own apparently, creates a bit of an echo chamber effect.  Hummable and harmless, sometimes in a way that seems like turning the volume of a dance party waaaay down.  There’s actually quite a bit of variety in the accompaniment, but putting the vocals always most prominently in the mix leads the songs to blend a bit, though hardly unpleasantly.  https://discoswalden.bandcamp.com/album/cicatrices-de-un-cuento-iii-2

12. “Bambini” - Caetano Malta (2018).  Surprisingly little tropicalia made it onto this list or into my collection, but the first track here is strongly flavored that way on a long EP or short album for 99 cents.  The tracks that follow are more rock oriented but with throwbacks like a moody saxophone solo.  A duet and an acoustic instrumental close out the proceedings quietly.  https://pipamusic.bandcamp.com/album/bambini

13.  “Ese es el Cielo y Este tu Lugar” - COLONIkOCOLOkIO (2013).  Judging by the cover, one expects acoustic folk music, but from the opening track, electronic elements actually are the foundation of these rather long, interesting songs on an unusual album.  The opening instrumental actually reminds me a bit of Telefon Tel Aviv, though on a lower pay grade.  TransAm again comes to mind on the shorter tracks, and overall it’s kind of minimal synth-rock with a consistent but not overwhelming beat, except the Latin reggae of the closing track.  This won’t blow anyone away, but it’s a nice listen I don’t mind having paid $3 for despite it being free on Bandcamp (where I would never have stumbled upon it).  Their 2016 follow-up improves the production by leaps and bounds, and most of the Rompe label is also well worth a listen for free. https://rompecrea.bandcamp.com/album/ese-es-el-cielo-y-este-tu-lugar

14. “Haciendo el Fuego” - Peregrinos (2018).  Acoustic guitars carry this one from start to finish, but the album overall fits best on the fringes of progressive rock (despite iTunes categorizing it as jazz).  Vocals are introduced in the second track, which sounds almost like an Irish folk song.  At just half an hour, it’s over by the time most albums are just hitting their stride, but at $3 it’s still a bargain.  https://peregrinosmusic.bandcamp.com/album/haciendo-el-fuego

15. “Lanalhue” - Dadalú (2020).  This band is an outsider, lofi folk rap powerhouse.  Their simple guitar parts can carry two-minute songs themselves or work in tandem with electronics.  Definitely not for everyone, but there’s a rawness here that appeals like the best of bedroom pop.  Flaring the last syllable on their vocals is a thing they do on the opening and closing tracks.  NYP  https://dadaluuu.bandcamp.com/album/lanalhue-ep

16. “S/t” - Gravitones (2015, free on Bandcamp).  I made a whole post dedicated to rambling about this as being priced unusually and representing obscure albums that stream for free in their entirety here https://www.reddit.com/r/eMusicofficial/comments/gltw9o/the_curious_case_of_gravitones_fully_streamable/ But I didn’t actually describe the music other than as being “progressive folk.”  There’s an alternation throughout the album between instrumentals and vocal tracks, and the overall vibe is pretty upbeat.  Electric guitars are introduced on the third track, which is closer to jazz fusion, shifting seamlessly and beautifully to post-rock after about seven minutes, then back again before the 11-minute mark before closing on a quiet note.  That and the final track are each over 15 minutes long, allowing the band to unwind and explore different styles in the same song, something I support anyone with the chops to include on any otherwise conventional album.  In the middle tracks, there’s a campesino ballad similar to DePedro, a Latin math rock instrumental akin to Beaten by Them or Ui, a longish and minimalist meditation, and a short, playful vocal track.  In sum, quite an enjoyable hour-long journey full of experimentation.  https://gravitones.bandcamp.com/releases

BANDCAMP ONLY… (all NYP)

17. “Nuestros Días de Invierno” - Chico Bestia (2018).  I’m not generally a fan of emo, but maybe that’s just because I haven’t heard much of it en español.  Or maybe this skirts the edges of emo right in the sweet spot.  Finding the right balance in rock between abrasiveness and actual noise is something every individual needs to grapple with, and this album is ecstatic to help, and they’ve brought some lovely guitar ala Explosions in the Sky and Shimmering Stars.  https://sellorecolector.bandcamp.com/album/nuestros-d-as-de-invierno

18. “A través de tus ojos” - Degong (2019).  A bouncy EP w/ m/f duet vocals.  Upbeat indie pop rock on the first track, followed by a mix of the same and sentimental acoustic numbers.  Nice bells on “Tu nombre,” and “Escapar” is based around a piano.  https://registromovil.bandcamp.com/album/a-trav-s-de-tus-ojos

19. “El primero es el último” - Shaman y los Pilares de la Creación (2018).  I’m kinda torn about this one b/c the variety of instrumentation was enough to entice me to buy it without sampling first, but I have limited appreciation of the singer’s  delivery in a very low register something like Murder by Death.  Fully and maximally chamber pop, the baseline is as likely to come from an upright bass, cello, or tuba as a combination of them.  Maybe Voltaire or Loch Lomond is the model to emulate, and I strongly prefer the latter over the former, with this album coming in third.  The guy’s vocal affectations seem to me to carry more melodrama and histrionics than genuine emotion.  It’s never unpleasant, sloppily arranged, or out of control, but a different mix or production would help, IMO.  https://discosdeshaman.bandcamp.com/album/el-primero-es-el-ltimo

20. “Rampas y tuneles” - Cromattista (2020).  I actually like this one a lot more than most, but it’s the only fully instrumental entry and so doesn’t quite fit with the rest.  Post-rock like this needs to be heard and highlighted not only to beat back being engulfed by “crescendocore” but also to keep rock music itself vital.  The high-wire circus fantasy of “Fellini” is also a good reminder that the saxophone used to fit well in rock and roll.  Most of the tracks are pretty brief other than the conclusion.  Highly recommended.    https://discosdelsaladillo.bandcamp.com/album/rampas-y-tuneles

On other lists:     “Maiúsculas Cósmicas” - Walfredo em Busca da Simbiose (2019).  “Narcisos” - Caco (2018).      Los Amigos Invisibles.  Francisco y Madero.  Fasat Alfa.  Peces Raros.               Laboratorio Fantasma label and several more discoveries from the past six months need to be added to this list I haven’t updated my list of labels for a long time, but it seems to be mostly intact.  https://www.reddit.com/r/eMusicofficial/comments/cst70g/estudios_hisp%C3%A1nicos_emusic_labels_from_the/.  

Rather than reposting repeatedly, here’s my lists of what’s left on eMusic:  http://www.omnifoo.info/pages/eMuReddit.html 

& by my evaluation http://www.omnifoo.info/pages/eMusic%20Labels.html

& by genre https://www.emusers.net/forum/discussion/comment/94512/#Comment_94512 

I didn’t know indie rock existed until college, so it was quite a rude awakening to be suddenly so uncool.  Most of this list is probably better described as indie rock.  But there was an alternative aesthetic at play at some point, where an album might try to include a couple of catchy tunes that might get played on a non-college radio station.  Maybe these sound like that only in my imagination, especially since half aren’t sung in English.

Whether alternative rock continued into the 2010s is something I’d enjoy debating, though assuming it will live on into the 2020s seems a most tenuous proposition.  I think it only works in an environment where rock is either the most popular style of music, which hasn’t been true since the 1990s, or in contrast to the excesses of heavy metal.  If anything, “power pop” seems the best way to keep rock connected to pop listeners, and that itself is already alt. rock, IMHO.  Has indie rock subsumed it all?  I don’t think alt. rock can continue to exist as an alternative to indie rock since there’s so much overlap.

Some of these give me hope that new rock w/ little hope or attempt to strive for indie coolness still has a few tricks up its sleeve.  Overall, I think their claim to an “alternative” label lies in their obscurity.

In approximate order of how much I like them, w/ alt. rock RIYLs where possible…

1.  “Bel Avenir” - Delta Mainline (2019).  There’s enough this album does very well, spanning at least a few different styles, not to harp on similarities to The Flaming Lips or Spiritualized.  Also a slightly less bombastic, more electronic version of The Polyphonic Spree on “Visions of Post America.”  Alt-country on “Mountain Music.”  “Love without Fear” has a lovely wall of sound and a highly chantable chorus to boot.  Do these familiar references leave enough sonic space for them to carve out their own sound?  I’ll let you be the judge, but it would shock me to know of anyone who could dislike this album.  It’s the perfect musical salve for 2020. https://deltamainline.bandcamp.com/album/bel-avenir-lp

2. “Utan Titel” - Tjernqvist (2017).  One doesn’t need to understand Swedish to recognize these electronically enhanced acoustic guitar songs as sombre expressions of longing.  Highly hummable melodies are his stock in trade  The guy has sung himself hoarse on the second track, but that doesn’t stop him.  These songs burrow into hearts and souls and don’t let go, often building to unexpected climaxes from the simplest of beginnings.  Reminds me of Mus in that way, and the concluding electronic fade-out lingers better than songs several times more heavily produced.  They’ve got a couple free EPs of acoustic demos on Bandcamp, but IMO they can’t hold a candle to the production of the $2.49 one only on eMu.   https://tjernqvist.bandcamp.com/

3. “S/t” - TORSI (2018).  I understand none of it, it’s a bit brief at 30 minutes, but there’s a buoyancy to this kind of rock that reminds me of a time when anything was possible and the world awaited exploration.  I’d have to listen very carefully to both this and a Russian band, Fixme, I compared to The Shins, to say definitively which comes closer.  “Vrålet” has the broke down sound of Benjy Ferree.  I especially like the haunting falsetto backing vocals on several tracks.  Rarely would I not be in the mood to listen to this album.  That it’s all alone, independently released makes me wonder how one would ever stumble upon it unless trying to search the entirety of eMusic’s catalog by brute force.  I think they’re also Swedish.

4. “Listen Time Space” - Unsuspected (2015).  Surprisingly, one of the “harder” albums on this list is also among the few to feature a female vocalist.  There’s definitely something retro going on here, and it turns out that beneath the hard exterior is a lot of sweet, heartfelt songwriting.  Organ rock comes to mind as a descriptor, sometimes close to We Ragazzi in accompaniment, and vocal harmonies on choruses owe something to Cibo Matto.  As a 99-cent EP, its 27-minute run time could count as epic.  Overall, it reminds me of a softer (i.e. more alt. rock than metal), slower version of Two Ton Boa, who I know is such a household name that everyone will rush to snatch this right up.   https://unsuspected.bandcamp.com/album/listen-time-space

5. “II” - Basset Hounds (2018).  The honking jazz rock  opening song is most interesting, waiting a full two minutes to introduce the vocalist, but the rest of the album is no slouch either.  I never would have thought the brass of smooth jazz had any place in rock that actually rocks before this album.  Certainly some of the best Portuguese alt. rock sung in English I’ve ever heard and an all-around enjoyable album that is at least somewhat challenging also. https://bassethounds.bandcamp.com/album/ii

6. “Harland” - Harley Alexander (2016).  Neither lofi nor rockabiliy but displaying elements of both, this guy’s voice reminds me a bit of David Byrne, which my classically trained friends tell me is terrible.  But the whimsy and innocence on these songs is quite endearing.  There’s almost no rhythm section, just the guy and his guitar in guileless conversation. These are simple, delicate tunes to while away one’s hours on a porch swing overlooking a pond. Keeping imperfect takes, as when he can’t help chuckling on the line “shovel the pancakes into my mouth,” lends the album airs of spontaneity, honesty, and modesty not unlike a Howe Gelb album.  The jangly closer steals the ri-ri-ri-ri from Tim & Eric’s birthday song and bears some resemblance in earnest to the DIY aesthetic they parody, though again this is too competent to be outsider music.  https://harleyalexander.bandcamp.com/album/harland

7. “ep2” - Vanarin (2020).  This is an unassuming, 20-minute ride through funky synths and guitars hewing close to pop with falsetto vocals.  Altogether pleasant, but not without an edge, a difficult balancing act.  Easygoing lyrics about freedom, love, and other unsurprising themes go down easy.  “Orange Juice” has a pretty irresistible 80s synth-rock sound.  NZCA/Lines does it better, but I’m up for an also-ran for 99 cents.

8. “Kewali EP” - Flamingods (2017).  This 19-minute, 99-cent EP isn’t exactly Afrobeat, but it’s still highly danceable.  The many borrowed elements and generally boisterous tempos are hard to miss, but the songs wouldn’t have been out of place on alternative radio of the 1990s.  This one has grown on me, as all good, eccentric pop should.  Moshi Moshi remains one of the best remaining labels on eMu, and there’s plenty more to enjoy from Flamingods, including a remix of this EP.  https://flamingods.bandcamp.com/album/kewali-ep

9.  “S/t” - Martinus (2014).  I didn’t particularly like the Son Volt side of the Uncle Tupelo split, and this 99-cent EP has an alt. country thing going on that kinda reminds me of it when it’s not just being sentimental folksy.  Pedal steel fans will also be pleased. NYP EP may not be the same band https://martinus.bandcamp.com/releases 

10. “Sacos Plásticos” - Titãs (2019). Old guys I presume from Brazil rock for 99 cents.  A few more electronic songs near the end of the album.  Inoffensive but with touches of attitude and danceability that never stray far from pop rock.

11. “Haunted Fang Castle” - The Spits (2010).  This EP is in full novelty territory, turning processed voices into a children’s storybook musical.  Each track has some spoken exposition, with characters built on different vocal effects commenting on whatever predicament they find themselves in, followed by a musical number that both advances the plot and invites the listener to shake it.  If songs about trolls, robots, swamps, and princesses in distress are at all of interest, I can’t recommend a better rock album.

12.  “Noteless Poetry” - Videatape (2016).  I assume the opening waltz “Silly Hats Only” is a tip of the hat to Don Hertzfeldt, and from it I had high hopes for more than just another Radiohead rip-off.  Plenty of people out there wish that supergroup hadn’t ever left its early, interim sound between ph and The Bends, and maybe this Russian group will please them the most.  Not a bad album by any means, but the word “derivative” was made for it.  For good measure, the last song could be right off of “Kid A.”  Just $2 on Bandcamp https://videatape.bandcamp.com/album/noteless-poetry   

13. “Trouble” - Venture Boi (2020). Starts out like it’s going to be electronic, but guitars are too prominent to be other than alt. rock.  The vocalist for sensual falsetto on the opener, then pairs up with a lady for the duet “She Keeps Me in Her Locket.”  No points for originality, and the electronic beats will offend rock purists.  I don’t know if Duran Duran is what they’re shooting for, but it’s far too new to sound 80s. Glad it’s not as softly insipid as Gary Wright, but I guess they’re the RIYLs.

Bandcamp Only (all NYP):  “Babes, Water, Waves.” - Perth (2012).  Based on sampling, I hesitated to buy this one b/c I didn’t think an album with all these different sounds could be cohesive.  And yet it all works together, and instead I have the problem of suggesting which song would qualify as a radio-ready “single”.  It feels unfair to call the album quirky, and it’s not all the way to weird either.  Definitely worth listening from start to finish without interruption.  https://perth.bandcamp.com/album/babes-water-waves    

“Laguna” - Adan Yeti (2016).  There’s a dreamy, psychedelic quality to this album, aided by putting his breathy falsetto no louder than other instruments in the mix.  The stop & go stutter of “For Your Love” is a mellow highlight.  Highly listenable all the way through without rocking the boat too hard.  https://adanyeti.bandcamp.com/album/laguna

“Nice” - Blanket Music (2000).  An understated millennial gem I missed, on a label that needed to be redeemed in my ears.  Reminds me of a subdued Pavement.  https://hushrecords.bandcamp.com/album/nice

On other lists:  Second-Hand Roses, Mão de Oito, Adam Stafford, Jesca Hoop

Rather than reposting repeatedly, here’s my lists of what’s left on eMusic:  http://www.omnifoo.info/pages/eMuReddit.html 

& by my evaluation http://www.omnifoo.info/pages/eMusic%20Labels.html

& by genre https://www.emusers.net/forum/discussion/comment/94512/#Comment_94512 

Here are some of my top Progressive Rock albums on eMusic from the 1960s/1970s (eMusic is a real treasure trove for this kind of music). Most of them absolute classics of the genre and difficult to find elsewhere at a reasonable price!

• Affinity - "Affinity"
• Josefus - "Dead Man Alive"
• Deja-Vu - "Between The Leaves"
• D.R. Hooker - "The Truth"
• Atomic Rooster - "Death Walks Behind You"
• Agusa - "Hogtid"
• Baby Grandmothers - "Baby Grandmothers"
• Gentle Giant - "Octopus"
• Armada - "Beyond the Morning"
• Chico Magnetic Band - "Acid Rock"
• Corpus - Creation A Child
• Chicago Magnetic Band - "Acid Rock"
• Various Artists - "60's & 70's Acid Flash"
• Various Artists - "Spacerock: An interstellar Traveller's Guide" (73 tracks and over 7 hours playing for the price of one album! Great music too!

I gather from the lack of response to my synth-pop list that it doesn’t have as many fans as new wave, though they’re clearly related and arguably not actually worth separating.  Name recognition matters entirely too much.

(If you’re more fond of the electronic side, see especially Stroom https://www.emusic.com/label/48555/Stroom & Medical Records, among very few specializing in new wave I’ve found https://www.emusic.com/label/7366/Medical-Records )  

1. “Подполья” - Dvanov (2019).  Is it new wave, post-punk, or something else entirely? Female vocals over the tightest, most aggressive basslines and guitar work, as well as the best interplay with keyboards and acoustic drums, on this list.  This short album knows what it’s for, takes care of business, then leaves the venue to go brood or sulk somewhere else.  Very focused and effective in spreading angry gloom while also being quite catchy.  Any more might be too dour for a mere non-Russian human to handle.  The nyets are final. https://thirdkindrecords.bandcamp.com/album/- 

2. “Blue Grass” - Free Level (2019).  After listening to this EP five times, it still intrigues and confounds me.  I can’t decide whether the keys and sax on the opening instrumental are cheesy or retro cool.  Are the African elements on the second track refreshing or cultural appropriation, and what’s with the mumbly vocals?  At almost seven minutes long, the third track is their version of a psychedelic epic.  “Sun” is a mellow closer with shimmering guitar echoes and vocals barely clear enough to think they’re moaning in Spanish.  I’d be curious to hear what else they’d do over the course of a full-length album.   https://into-the-light.bandcamp.com/album/blue-grass

3. “Maiúsculas Cósmicas” - Walfredo em Busca da Simbiose (2019).  Calling this album soft rock would be a disservice to how unique and enjoyable it is.  Unfortunately, with that band name and album title, they seem determined not to be heard outside their slice of Latin America.  The singer’s voice floats over the laid back accompaniment with a pitch just below falsetto, and it’s pleasant far beyond what I’d normally dismiss as such.  Songs are on the long side, so they’ve got room to play tangentially with sounds that are hard to identify between a processed human voice and some other instrument or guitars that don’t sound like guitars.  Also given to flourishes fantasy in its bridges, this is an album whose songs blend from one song to the next, which is usually a bad thing.  Here, any one could be the ambassador to draw you in.  By all means, tell me if you think I’m miscategorizing with this one and if new wave is allowed to be this slow.  A rare case in which Bandcamp undersells eMusic, but it’s worth any price.  https://balaclavarecords.bandcamp.com/album/mai-sculas-c-smicas

4. “Dancing with Giants, Vol.1” - Afalina Dreams (2019). Starts very upbeat and almost overwhelms the listener with a variety of blissful, electronic retro sounds.  “Lullaby” slows things down considerably, of course but without losing any guitars or electronics.  The last two tracks keep mid tempo and don’t rock the boat.  A mere 16-minute EP, and it’s harmless.

5. “Podarte Sukienki” - Kobiety (2015).  Wildly upbeat for the most part these Poles have several albums to choose from, and their style veers unpredictably from song to song.  The opener might be more garage rock, an instrumental pops up, and “LSD” takes a clear turn into psychedelic rock, but the overall attitude and playfulness (i.e. bells and the build-up to punk Stereolab explosions on the second track whose name I dare not try to type) here merits inclusion on a new wave list, despite the second half of the album being mellower.  Also try “Twoje Imperium” to be on point.  https://kobiety.thinman.pl/album/podarte-sukienki

6.  “Even Nature” - Hi Corea! (2016).  A 24-minute, four-track EP combines the best of bygone eras and today’s synth-rock.  Vocals soar more than usual, and the sentimentality drips steadily from the beats and the waves of angular keys.  And the guitars know just when to kick in for head-nodding effect.  Rather than rote choruses, these songs are unpredictably partitioned and have multiple climaxes.  Alternating m/f vocals, water themes, all quite nice.  I see another EP on All Music, so let’s have an album already!  https://hicorea.bandcamp.com/album/even-nature

7. “Safari” - Pustki (2014).  Another Polish entry to lift our spirits, usually starting from very basic elements and building unpredictably.  Her ebullient vocals on the first tracks resemble Donna Summer in “I Feel Love,” building on spare bass and piano on the second track to quite a party. From there there are anthemic beats, accordions, jingle bells, vibes, and some more electronic backing tracks that still know how to make guitars sparkle.  “Nie Tu” starts like a chain gang chant w/ hand claps and then a full chorus before a dramatic silence.  They really know how to keep a listener guessing from track to track, as not even the vocalist (who tethers the album to the genre very loosely throughout, admittedly hardly at all by the end) stays the same for the whole album.  It’s a sound new wave could have expanded to and should have, IMHO.

8. “S/t” - Tilt (2000).  eMusic has really forced me to put more effort into differentiating between E. European and Balkan languages.  Expensive, long, very retro, and with quite a lot of filler (synth-heavy pseudo-reggae?!), when the best tracks land it’s all worth it.  Any new wave fan could probably cut the number of tracks in half by choosing the ones they like, but they might not be the same as mine or anyone else’s.  If the first and second (very different) tracks don’t entice, though, you can probably move on.  I sprang for it after being impressed by Via Talas and craving more E. European new wave and am mostly satisfied.  Mega Czad is the label, in case it’s hard to search for.  Bring the sax.  

9.  “Junglenight” - Asforteri (2018).  On the far, electronic side with guitars in an occasional supporting role, these mostly instrumentals have the 1980s sound down to the point where one isn’t quite sure how parodic a cheesy track called “Loving the Corpse” means to be.  Another bargain at $3 on Bandcamp  https://civitasmortis.bandcamp.com/album/junglenight

10. “Una Tragèdia en un Acte” - Illa Carolina (2017).  Dated keyboards playing simple melodies, breathy female/male vocals (mostly the former), and electronic backing come together for a nice 99-cent EP.  Mixed tempo within as well as between songs. Ignore the acoustic closing track as an outlier.    https://illacarolina.bandcamp.com/album/una-trag-dia-en-un-acte

11. “Sump Tjald” - Text (2015).  Other than the first track, I don’t know how strongly I recommend this EP, unless the vintage sound of the 1980s is most important.  The vocalist seems to yelp rather than sing most of the time, and neither guitars nor keys commit to carry the songs or more than dart in and out of the mix.  The beat is the most driving, consistent element.  Kind of a soft target for criticism about the excesses of new wave music, what FZ would have called “plastic groups.”

On other lists:  “Perfektan Dan Za Banana Ribe” - Via Talas (1980s?). As I put it on my website about its label, Sarajevo Disk, if you believe this is from 2019, I’ve got a used Yugo to sell you.  From the sound of it, this must be a lost new wave classic.  Clocking in at just half an hour, I’ve listened to it way more than most anything I’ve downloaded in the past month…very tight and catchy while just dated enough to kick in nostalgia for a Soviet satellite I never knew.  Actual 100% new wave music, unlike most of this list.  

I haven’t yet afforded these:  Miguel Cantilo and Punch, Tishenktual (99 cents on wishlist),  Fabulous Downey Brothers https://fabulousdowneybrothers.bandcamp.com/album/-, Loka https://lokauk.bandcamp.com/releases, 

Extremely glibly, eMusic (maybe pop music itself, also, to pile on) has changed like the U.S. economy in the 1990s and the 21st century, and we were its blue-collar industrial workers, finding good-paying jobs and good rock albums without a ton of effort.  The economy changed, and maybe those jobs/labels aren’t coming back.  Maybe rock will never be pop music again either.  I wouldn’t expect many auto-assembly line workers to transition smoothly to a service/knowledge economy any more than I’d expect the average subscriber who only wanted to rock out to be satisfied with eMusic as it is today.  One might not even consider a computer programmer, let alone an online “influencer” to be a real job, just like many will dismiss the labels below without sampling them.  I believe, with the help of forums like these, that such transitions are possible, and the site’s offerings can still be appreciated, with effort to “retrain” how we find what’s worth downloading.  You may well disagree or find all that terribly offensive.  But anyway, here’s a first genre-specific list that I hope will be a series, accompanied by numbered album suggestions when possible.

These are my favorite rock options left, excluding a lot from other lists and mixing labels and bands (and making no claims of updated—let alone complete—catalogs or likelihood of staying on the site).  Larger catalogs are first by geographic region and smaller or more focused and specialized ones are in the second section, by style:  

By Region and of general rocking interest: 

All-purpose American holdouts - Memphis Industries; Carpark; Shelflife; Velocette; Young God; 

UK survivors - Song, by Toad; Static Caravan; All the Madmen; Lost Map; Love Thy Neighbour; Olive Grove; Recordiau Cae Gwyn; Recordiau JigCal; Copa; Sink & Stove; Wonderfulsound; Raygun Records; Trashmouth; One Little Indian; 

En español or Portuguese - CVRA LVDORVM; Sello Recolector; Elefant; Red Poncho Producciones;  Elemess; Merca; Lanzallamas; Monqui Albino; Santo Grial Producciones; Sello Trigal; Beast Discos; Discos Walden; Oveja Negra; Sagitta

France, Italy, Germany - Because Music; Trocadero; Zeitstrafe

Other Europe - MARS Records; Ionoff Music; Treesare; 

Asia- StreetVoice, Magic StrawBerry Sound; Sunset Road; Six Thirty Recordings; Black Editions; 

Other - Microscopi, MonoMyth,

By Style:

Progressive, Krautrock, Post-Rock, Psychedelic - Feeding Tube, El Templo ReKords, Superstar Destroyer, serpent; Shinkoyo; Bartosz Leśniewski; Mascarpone; Swim; Salvation; Camera Obscura; MonseArt; 

Noise Rock/Industrial:  Eye for an Eye Recordings; Za! (on Gandula); Italian Beach Babes; Little Room Labs; Dischetti; Tenrealms (on StreetVoice International Limited); Shove Records (home of Pussy Galore); Industrial Records Ltd. (Throbbing Gristle); Potomak (Einsturzende Neubauten);

Vintage - Groovie; Concert Live Ltd.; Enterprise Music and Distribution;  Jur/Starwood Media Gmbh; Majestic Rock; OHR; Setco; Witchwood; Inbetweens; Mega Czad/SPMB; Wiz Music Srl; 

Garage & Blues Rock - The Parrots (on Ground Control); Damaged Goods; Martin Music; Sello Misisipi; Sound Art; Crimson Shadows, Ad Vanderveen (on Inbetweens); 

Hard rock but not metal - VRS; wiaiwya; Áureo Rex; SELF Music Publishing; Red Red Meat (on Jealous Butcher); El Dromedario; Monstro; Rocksector; Rootsound; RidingEasy; Loner Noise; 

Metal - Earache; Dusktone; Vanagandr; Visionaire; Art Gates; Sludgelord; Egoistic (on Plexus of Infinity).  I’ll be doing a separate post on metal later, asking for help from those who actually listen to it.

Punk, Emo - The state51 Conspiracy; No Sleep; Lou & Rocked Boys; Discos Humeantes; Eccentric Pop;  Enclaves; no label; Wiz Music Srl; Armatoste Brazo Discográfico; 

Post-Punk, Shoegaze - Shinkansen; Свет и Тени; Chavalote; Stroll On; Menlo Park; Dirty Bingo; Mount Seldom; 

Alt. Rock - Light Organ; Stolen Body; Hero Rhymes with Zero; Overground; AED; Bad Elephant; Bleeding Heart; Deltasonic Records; Lux; Future Farmer; Records Records Records Records; Rock Indiana; 604; Sports Day; Subroutine; Cool Thing; Deaf Ambitions; Desert Mine Music; Cigar City Management LLC; 

Folk Rock, Outsiders - Small Pond; Jealous Butcher; Catapulte; Fika; DOTWAV; Jam in the Van LLC; FAK; O Genesis; Sotones; 

Rock w/ Synths or Strings - Thin Man; Discos de Kirlian; Videatape & Fixme (on Recordzman); Domestica; Demony; Rock It!; Swoon; Something in Construction;  

Rockabilly - Western Star; Raucous; Trunk; Fury; Rockstar; 

If only this were rocket science!  I’m no authority on these subgenres, so please dispute!  Lots that I’ve yet to sample thoroughly has been left out.  Again, I excluded 75% of the rock labels that aren’t up to standard here.  If you’d like to help before what’s left disappears, search for “rock” on my label list:  http://www.omnifoo.info/pages/eMusic%20Labels.html#TIER5

My top five in terms of what I’ve downloaded and what’s on my wishlist are, excluding famous ones like Polyvinyl, Carpark, and Feeding Tube…The state51 Conspiracy; StreetVoice; Elefant; Because Music; Свет и Тени.

In lieu of listing titles individually, see a side post on ten great but terribly obscure rock albums.

In short, even if your standards are considerably higher than mine, it’s just not accurate to say there’s no rock left on the site.  As with any genre, making today’s eMusic work requires a willingness to sample stuff you’ve never heard of.  A forum like this should be able to help make educated guesses more educated for those with limited time.

The nation’s youth roll their eyes at anyone who’s read this far.  We need Homer to teach rock appreciation to such skeptics:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evqi18yDe2A

To those continuing to rock on eMusic, I salute you!  And no judgment of those who’ve taken Bruce McCulloch’s trajectory either:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnyCJDYONSU&list=PL839687FDB5C46290

There’s a lot left and a long way to go before I give up!

1. “Imaginary Walls Collapse” - Adam Stafford (2013).  His 2018 album veers more into chamber pop and freak folk, but here he’s putting his penchant for loops to work in sole service to rocking.  Probably the hardest title on this list, or at least more straightforward than #9, but still not hard enough for many, I’m sure.

2. “Perfektan Dan Za Banana Ribe” - Via Talas (1980s?). As I put it on my website about its label, Sarajevo Disk, if you believe this is from 2019, I’ve got a used Yugo to sell you.  From the sound of it, this must be a lost new wave classic.  Clocking in at just half an hour, I’ve listened to it way more than most anything I’ve downloaded in the past month…very tight and catchy while just dated enough to kick in nostalgia for a Soviet satellite I never knew.

3.  “Leti” - Fixme (2016).  The Shins are an obvious point of reference for these guys, who mostly sing in Russian, though I can hardly tell when they switch back and forth from English so much.  Harmless, soft indie rock will have you rowing in the clouds too.

4. “El Mar en la Calle” - Fasat Alfa (2014).  Thanks to @idiotprogrammer for the tip, I’d already sampled and downloaded another album on their label, Armatoste Brazo Discográfico, whose albums are all 99 cents.  It just goes to show that sampling for greatness is far from foolproof, as their quasi-punk sound didn’t appeal to me in 1-minute blips, but their album in full really leaps out of the speakers.  Two others to try by them, and I’d gladly pay more than the pittance eMusic asks.

5. “S/t” - The WAiiT (2016). Fans of post-punk simply must try this.  Alternating charmingly obtuse male and female vocals all in English with Chinese accents that really fit the angular guitar work, they’ve definitely got a fresh, new take on rock & roll.  (I lied…this is in the ADDENDUM to my East Asian Studies list.)

6. “Endless” - FJIERI (2009).  Italian prog rock album has grown on me with time at least as much as my surprise to find it on the brute force eMusic label quest after having forgotten about it for years in my iTunes library.

7. “Tiqsimuyu” - Chintatá (2017).  Somewhere between a long EP and a very short album, this one also benefits from being a 99-center that, if I’d known it’d be this fresh and exciting, I’d gladly have paid much more for.  Ritmos Latinos, a funky fiddle, and various other surprise instruments keep the hardness of the progressive rocking here from getting out of the tasteful range.

8. “Опыт очарования“ - Акульи Слёзы (2019).  Shark Tears is the English translation of the name, Akul’i Slozy for those like myself not versed in Cyrillic.  This is half an hour of almost ridiculously blissful dream pop by a quartet of ladies who I’m guessing don’t represent Russian pop music as a whole.  Too much going on to be shoegaze, IMO, but their previous album has been called that with this one not far off (and some songs really are).  Not the most original sound, but it sure works to lose oneself for a while.  RIYL Beach House, obviously, though this is clearly more rock than electronic.  https://www.emusic.com/album/209403644/-/-

9. “Milk” - PeroPero (2015).  If you’ve found the list too tame and conventional so far, try the frenetic, condensed electronic microprog of this album for a total aural palette cleanse.  Turntable scratches and samples have to run to keep pace with hard, driving guitars, and there’s really too much action in these songs to imagine what a typical vocalist might add if s/he could even sing a line edgewise in the unrelentingly delightful cacophony.  Happy to say also that it’s not unrelenting and knows when to take a breath and torture a guest vocalist.  This might be a top choice for someone who wanted to hear a newish, experimental rock album, and I would never have come across this or its tiny label Darling Berlin if not compiling all those massive lists, so hooray for side benefits.  Only the borderline metal of the titular single goes too far for me.

10. “S/t” - Tiny Taste (2017).  Waiting until the middle of the second track to introduce vocals reminiscent of Les Claypool at times was probably a good move to allow this classic psychedelic rock to percolate a while.  It has that old vinyl sound of several decades ago, and with the cover as it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually is an oldie.  Get the good-old-boys together for brewskis listening.  Rust-belt rockers, please accept my offering of apology for the bad metaphor in the label list.

I’d love to do more than ten, but funds are limited, after all, and I’m not about to vouch for albums I haven’t heard all the way through.

Even if you have no albums to add, I’m really curious how many of you already have or at least have heard of these ten.  Much of the appeal of eMusic for me has always been finding stuff that very very few people have heard of, and that might be all that’s left.  But it’s also possible that with a shrinking pool, nothing is actually completely unknown anymore, as all once-dark corners are now explored out of necessity.  The ones that are in AMG have few or no ratings, so kudos to those who already knew.  

Now “21” has joined an elite club of No. 1 albums, with its 24 weeks at the top tying Prince’s “Purple Rain” and the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack. In the 56-year history of Billboard’s chart only five albums have notched more weeks at No. 1: Harry Belafonte’s “Calypso” (released in 1956), the “South Pacific” soundtrack (1958) and Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” (1977), each with 31 weeks; Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (1982), with 37; and the “West Side Story” soundtrack (1961), with 54.

"Crunching hard rock is the drivin part, brittle countryish balladry the cryin, with the two linked by a heavy dose of Led Zeppelinphilia. If Paul Westerberg had grown up worshipng Angus Young instead of Alex Chilton, the Replacements might have sounded something like this Atlanta band." - Rolling Stone

If Joshua Tree was the soul, then this is the crotch