The Debauchees: The rising stars in the Louisville music scene are these three spunky teens. Two things that pop out even before hearing their tunes. The group is two thirds female and they decided to create the band before they knew how to play. With that being said, they create some poppy spunk rock with vocals to kill from their debut release Big Machines & Peculiar Beings.
The Pass: Labelmates with The Debauchees and purveyors of the same scene, The Pass from Louisville keeps getting bigger with every album. They were still ridding the coattails of their second full length Melt when they began 2013 and they are on this list especially for their announcement of a new album and special release of singles that will occur during the first four months of 2014. The Pass's electro pop will keep you dancing and yes, the occasional air guitar.
Cage The Elephant: The biggest name on this list is the alternative rockers from Bowling Green, Kentucky. They made their year with the release of their third album Melophobia (which oddly enough means fear of music). CTE threw us something different on Melophobia including a horn section and a guest spot from Alison Mosshart from The Kills. Supposedly they didn't allow themselves to listen to any music other than their own during the recording process. We are still waiting on a full blown tour from CTE but check out Letterman's reaction when they played lead single "Come A Little Closer" on his show.
Sundy Best: Here is a pair of good ol' boys from Prestonburg, Kentucky that have been playing the heck out of the state and region throughout all of 2013. The released Door Without A Screen in 2013 and have already made plans for their second album Bring Up The Sun in March 2014. It's simple tunes-one plays guitar, the other is percussion and that usually means the box. They sing very tangible lyrics and down home tunes. Country is real and it's Sundy Best.
Ben Sollee: Ben Sollee can do just whatever he absolutely wants and people will eat it up. Originally from Lexington, he captivates us with his sincerity, generosity and innovation. His activism is always present in his work and that usually deals with his protests of mountaintop removal. This year he released The Hollow Sessions, for free and unannounced. It was an album chalk full of great cover tunes. Sollee started solo but has come to bringing his percussion Jordan Ellis and much more of a full band around now. He went a bike tour earlier this fall where he traveled to each show via bike.
The Hollow Sessions (name your price bandcamp album)
Nerves Junior: Way back in February, Nerves Junior released what some people have called the best EP of the year in Craters. That garnered the Louisville band an invite to SXSW. Nerves junior continued with walking the fine line between darkness and dreams with ambient synth and driving rhythm section with drowning vocals. Stay tuned for a full length.
Jalin Roze: There may be an argument but Jalin Roze is Louisville's best hip hop act hands down in my opinion. His beats are creative and bumping. His rhymes are catchy, relatable, and driving. Still can't get over when he rhymed "newest thrills" and "are you for real" with "Dumervil" (former UofL LB). The best part of his year was playing Pianos in NYC for CMJ. He documented it. Watch it here. Roze announced today that he will be touring with a full band in 2014.
Matt Duncan: At the very very beginning of the year Matt Duncan (the band, not the dude) released the best throwback with their album Soft Times. We are talkin Motown and Stax for white guys. The key word is smooth--in lyrics and music. The Lexington group brought a '70s flashback with a twist and its definitely easy on the ears.
Kaleidico: Kaleidico released Free Falling Waltz to the world in May in all its psychedelic glory. This record was maybe the most critically acclaimed record to come out of Louisville this year. They have not done too much promotion for it, but that definitely does not take away from how good it is. To compare it to something, I would say a dreamier Tame Impala with less guitar. But it basically sounds like an experiment, there is so much going on. They ring in the New Year at The New Vintage tonight.
Honorable Mention (because of geography): Louisville has a tendency to kind of claim everything good that comes out of New Albany because it is just across the river and sometimes it really seems like the same city. Sooooo the last band may be the pretty big, but I'll throw it in here anyways.
Houndmouth: Houndmouth had the best year ever. Hailing from New Albany, Indiana, they brought their guitar twang raucous all over the USA and Europe hitting the festival circuit with a fierce energy. From the thumping "Come On, Illinois" to the crowd sing along "Krampus," their debut album From the Hills Below The City officially made them national news. Don't expect it to slow down either.
There you have it: a mix of 10 of Kentucky's best plus one from southern Indiana because I had to. It shows how blossoming Kentucky is in terms of their musical success and diversity. I did not even mention how much bigger Forecastle is getting every year. String Cheese Incident, The Black Keys, and The Avett Brothers headlined this year and we can expect more and more for 2014. Not to forget Cropped Out Music Festival, @LouMUSICulture, the resurgence of the Louisville record shop, and all the fantastic shows that took place this year (some of which you have seen on this blog).
Here's to an even better 2014. Cheers.
