Philly Live Editor Emily Herbein's Top 5 Albums of the Decade
I’m so excited to kick off our decade series! A lot has changed since my last year-end round up back in 2017 - Philly Live celebrated its third birthday with an expansion of staff and contributors (!). I was promoted to a freelance writer for WXPN’S The Key in 2018 and have continued to grow within Philadelphia’s music scene and add at least 50 shows to my already very expansive list. Since graduating college, my main focus has been navigating Philadelphia’s music industry and further solidifying my place in it. I hope you enjoy this series; George Fenton threw the idea my way and together we collaborated with some incredible local bands and creatives. Make sure you check out my playlist at the end of the post for a comprehensive listening experience of my picks.
Turnover - Peripheral Vision (2015)
I came into Turnover so late. I found this album during the start of fall 2019, and though that was only two months ago, it’s easily earned a place within my top five. Every single song feels so cozy, and the composition is so beautiful. If you asked me which track is my favorite, I’d be able to come up with a reason for every single one. This album toes the line between moody alternative and something introspective and ethereal. Peripheral Vision stands alone in Turnover’s discography because it feels like such a jump in maturity from their early EPs. Even though Magnolia is still an incredible collection of songs, the overarching theme with that LP is its raw edginess. Peripheral Vision is honestly a flawless piece of work. It captures an indescribable sense of specificity within the lyrics and the distortion has been stripped from the soundscape in favor for a more swirling filter. There’s a “less is more” approach in the production, and even though they’re self-described as a post-punk alternative band, this album feels like a positive outlier. Peripheral Vision is an immediate comfort for me. I think I found it when I needed to, because nearly every song speaks deeply and specifically to me in a way that a lot of albums as a whole don’t.
Good Old War - Live From The City of Brotherly Love (2013)
When I was in high school, I cited Tim Arnold, Keith Goodwin, and Dan Schwartz as a major creative influences. They were my first look at what I wanted one of my favorite bands to really be. I think I devoured them so intensely because of the close relationship they have with each other, and I loved how obvious that connection was on stage. They were the first band I drove into Philly alone to see: First Unitarian Church, senior year of high school. They were my first real concert, which is always going to be special to me. I can tell you all of their side projects, all of their various iterations. When I taught myself “Looking for Shelter” by ear, I felt like an incredibly big deal, because Schwartz’s guitar work is notoriously difficult to copy. It’s the song off the live album that always, without fail, gives me chills. Listening to this album makes me wish I was in a band. Good Old War introduced me to so many more bands that I love. Anthony Green and The Sound of Animals Fighting, CHON and RX Bandits. This album is also so special because it was recorded live at Union Transfer, one of my favorite Philly venues, and it sounds absolutely flawless.
Lydia - Paint It Golden (2011)
It was too easy to choose a favorite Lydia album. They were my first break into the alternative genre back in high school, and they shaped the sort of “maturation phase” of my music taste. I started playing guitar around the time I discovered Lydia, and Paint It Golden is such a melodically pleasing, lyrically gutting, interpersonal work. The way the album cover looks, as weird as this is going to seem, is exactly how these songs feel. Leighton Antelman’s voice has this really unique raw sound to it, and a lot of these songs pull from natural themes. “Birds,” “Skin + Bones,” “Seasons” and “Dragging Your In The Mud” specifically put me in this nostalgic, comfortable place. I wish that I could write songs like this. Lydia songs tell stories like no other band, and the way Antelman words some indescribable moments and feelings make them seem so universal. I related to it at 16, and I relate to it at 22. They’re a band that, no matter what, I will always make the time to see them live.
The 1975 - The 1975 (2013)
I’m going to refrain from calling this take basic. I love The 1975, in whatever form they’re in. Though they’ve leaned away from the cigarette smoking, red wine drinking, you look so cool phase that I came into them with, they still hold a huge place in my heart. They changed my perspective on the crossover of what I feel is artistically alternative and straight garage rock. The songs off the self-titled album have the potential to be beautiful. “Robbers” and “Menswear” and the repeating introductory track “The 1975” that appears on every album are sonically stunning. This first album is always going to be my favorite because it’s so edgy and simple, and the hooks are so killer. They’re able to fill so many different genres, especially when they broke away from the teen punk band personal and attempted a Bowie-esque 180 with I Like It When You Sleep…They’re some of the most talented and smart musicians that I’ve discovered, because with each change in sound and scene, they’ve still maintained a core theme. If you told me to listen to “Frail State of Mind” and “Chocolate,” I could still tell you that those songs came from the same band. I love them, whether that makes me basic or not.
TTNG - Animals (Acoustic) (2018)
My first steps into math rock were with TTNG, and they’re one of the few bands of this genre, besides maybe CHON, that have consistently stayed in my rotation. The guitar work on this particular acoustic reworking of Animals is breathtaking. I love concept albums, and the way they play with theme and form and totally capture each animal the tracks are named after is so spot on. I also have major respect for the fact that this is all done on acoustic guitar. “Elk” is the stand-out track that totally encompasses the name. There’s a really haunting horn section, and it’s all instrumental. I have a lot of respect for TTNG’s other albums - 13.0.0.0.0 is great - but Animals was the first album of theirs that I ever listened to, and it just doesn’t compete with anything else in their discography. I love acoustic reimaginings, and this one still maintains the same levels of complexity with the guitar work without sacrificing the quality of the riffs or the sound of the overarching concept. It’s not a boring strip-down. It’s still math rock, and it hits just as hard as the electric version.