High on Fire, "Spewn From the Earth"
Matt Pike had a big 2018. In addition to Sleep emerging from a fifteen year, uh, slumber to produce the very good The Sciences, he also put out a High on Fire record, Electric Messiah. High on Fire is one of the more consistent bands around, and so it is with this record: you're going to get a Lemmy-esque bark, you're going to get those big stoner riffs, and you're going to get some solos. Just a crunchy good time.
Obits, "Lillies in the Street"
I was going to say that the first Obits record was a bit of a surprise, as it's much more mannered than Drive Like Jehu or Hot Snakes, but as I was looking at Discogs, I see that Obits had an album last year I didn't know about, so I'm going to go have a look at that now.
...oh, it's a live album. Oh well.
Belle & Sebastian, "The State I Am In"
This is the first song off the first Belle & Sebastian record, the legendary album made while they were in school. It's the best tune on the album, a real highlight that would point the way towards their future work. In fact, they'd re-record this song for the Dog on Wheels EP to get it a wider audience (Tigermilk hadn't yet been re-issued), which is where I first encountered it. It's lovely in either version.
Pile, "Making Eyes"
I like this record, but sometimes, I just have nothing to say. Luckily, you can just listen.
The Isley Brothers, "Summer Breeze"
Man, that guitar.