Hey folks!

Here are eight more 1988 albums that I think you should give a listen before we get to nominating albums for the Best Album of 1988 tournament. All of these, save Vengeance Rising, were reader recommendations, either as a “obscure fave” or “look what I found,” another important category. (Actually, two of these showed up in an Obscure Reader Faves newsletter. Double coverage!) Now, I’ve only heard these once (and went back and listened to some tracks while writing this), but they all got a Like/Love rating, and I’ve learned to trust my past self when it comes to ratings. (In fact, re-listening to the tracks is solidifying my opinion on the albums.)

If you’re coming to this late, here are links to previous newsletters with suggestions for 1988 listening:

Kent’s Faves #1 (six albums; imo, must-hears)

Kent’s Faves #2 (eight albums; imo, must-hears)

New-to-Me Faves #1 (five albums I’ll be nominating)

Obscure Reader Faves #1 (seven albums)

Obscure Reader Faves #2 (five albums)

Obscure Reader Faves #3 (seven albums)

Without further ado, this week’s albums:

Big Pig, BONK (Spotify, YouTube)

Big Pig were an Australian band with the gimmick that they had a singer, a keyboard player and four drummers/percussionists. Luckily, singer Sherine Abeyratne is terrific, a bluesy belter, and the emphasis on rhythm means these pop/rock tunes have a strong, dance-y foundation. You may remember their minor hit “Breakaway;” if you liked that, you’ll like the rest.

The Jazz Butcher, FISCHOTHEQUE (Spotify, YouTube)

The Jazz Butcher was the long-running concern of late musician Pat Fish (hence FISHCOTHEQUE). This is the first album of his I’ve heard and it’s… really good? To my mind similar to Robyn Hitchcock? But edging towards sophisti-pop? I hope that doesn’t sound off-putting. I mean, it would sound kind of sound off-putting to me if I hadn’t heard the album, but I have and it’s great. Look, sometimes the blurbs just don’t write themselves.

Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, UN BAIÓN PARA EL OJO IDIOTA (Spotify, YouTube)

Tight Argentinian rock band with some funk influences, sounds like the kind of crowd-pleasing thing that would rip in a club setting — the vibe I’m getting is like that of The Tragically Hip, albeit the music isn’t quite the same. Not sure what else to say here, other than, revisiting it, I may have underrated it as a Like/Love.

Scrawl, HE'S DRUNK (Spotify, YouTube)

Based on this, it’s kind of like Scrawl walked so that Sleater-Kinney could run? Unlike S-K though, Scrawl are a little more interested in accessible choruses and rock song structures, so they get a big thumbs up in my book. Recommended if you like S-K, yes, but also Throwing Muses.

Vengeance Rising, HUMAN SACRIFICE (Spotify, YouTube)

So this is some gnarly, nasty death metal, indebted to originators Possessed and Death, but, hilariously, amazingly, also a dead serious Christian, “repent or you’re going to Hell” album. For the life of me, I can’t imagine the thought process behind this. Somehow they didn’t realize there’s no audience for a God-friendly metal album that sounds like it was recorded by the Devil. I mean, check out that cover! It’s really no different from what Deicide would do in the 90s, and if you didn’t already know, you could probably guess what a band called “Deicide” thinks of Christianity. Look, I don’t expect you to nominate this — I don’t even really expect you to listen to it. But I needed to show you it exists.

Voz Propia, NO PUEDO IRME (Spotify, YouTube)

Voz Propia are a Peruvian rock band, who seem to be drawing from (post)punk of about ten years previous: Wire, Buzzcocks, things of that nature. If you can imagine that in Spanish, you can probably already hear what this is like in your head. Worth your time!

Wild Seeds, MUD, LIES + SHAME (Spotify, YouTube)

Alt country? Roots-rock? Cowpunk? I dunno, they’re from Austin, that should explain a lot. Good sense of humor and they know their way around a catchy tune, for sure. This comparison probably won’t help anyone, but imagine Radney Foster fronting the Ass Ponys, and you’re in the ballpark.

Y Kant Tori Read, Y KANT TORI READ (Spotify, YouTube)

If you’re like me, you were probably aware that Tori Amos had an album before 1992’s LITTLE EARTHQUAKES, and if you’re even more like me, you probably avoided it because you were under the impression that it was some kind of slick rock-pop sellout bullshit before she got “real.” I’m here to tell you that, yes, that’s what it is, and it is fantastic. While I’ve known for awhile that Amos is a terrific songwriter, I had no idea she had such an affinity for pop. This thing has hooks for days, the kind that she mostly avoided in her later albums. (I love BOYS FOR PELE but there it seems like she’s steering that away from pop as much as possible, except when she circles back ‘round and smacks into it, like with “Caught a Lite Sneeze.”) I was also surprised to learn that, for all the “This Woman’s Work” Kate Bush-isms of LITTLE EARTHQUAKES, that she was drawing influence from her from the beginning — opener “The Big Picture,” to my ear, borrows from “The Big Sky,” and “Cool On Your Island”’s male vocals and bass sound are right from HOUNDS OF LOVE. If you pick one of these eight to listen to, I’m gonna say make it this one.