Tiny Engines bands' top LPs of 2016 (Signals Midwest, Look Mexico, more)
North Carolina indie rock label Tiny Engines had a pretty great 2016, releasing records like The Hotelier‘s Goodness (our 22nd favorite album of the year), Signals Midwest‘s At This Age, Look Mexico‘s Uniola, Mannequin Pussy‘s Romantic, and more.
Now that the year is coming to an end, we asked the Tiny Engines family what their favorite albums of the year were, and they’ve sent us year-end lists from The Hotelier (which you can read here), Signals Midwest, Look Mexico, label co-founder Will Miller, and label employee Karl Kuehn (who fronts Museum Mouth, who released Popcorn Fish Guinea Pig on Max Bemis’ Rory Records this year). Check out the latter four lists below.
If you’re in the NYC-area, you can catch The Hotelier opening one of the Thursday reunion shows at NJ’s Starland Ballroom next week (tickets) and playing a New Year’s Eve show at NYC’s Mercury Lounge (tickets).
Things are already looking good for Tiny Engines in 2017 too. The new Sinai Vessel album Brokenlegged is coming out in January and the two singles they’ve released are sounding promising:
Will Miller (Tiny Engines co-founder) (alphabetical order)
Aloha – Little Windows Cut Right Through (Polyvinyl)
Bent Shapes – Wolves of Want (Slumberland)
Crying – Beyond the Fleeting Gales (Run For Cover)
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Pretty Years (Synderlin)
Katie Dey – Flood Network (Joy Void)
Explosions in the Sky – Wilderness (Temporary Residence)
Steve Gunn – Eyes on the Lines (Matador)
Hovvdy – Taster (Sports Day & Merderhaus)
Japanese Breakfast – Psychopomp (Yellow K)
Lambchop – FLOTUS (Merge)
Flock Of Dimes – If You See Me, Say Yes (Partisan)
Frank Ocean – Blonde (Boys Don’t Cry)
Nap Eyes – Thought Rock Fish Scale (Bachelors of Paradise)
John K. Samson – Winter Wheat (Anti)
Shy Layers – Shy Layers (Growing Bin)
Solange – A Seat at the Table (Columbia)
The Thermals – We Disappear (Saddle Creek)
William Tyler – Modern Country (Merge)
Wilco – Schmilco (DBPM / Anti)
Woods – City Sun Eater in the River of Light (Woodsist)
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Signals Midwest (collectively in no order)
PUP – The Dream is Over
Jeff Rosenstock – Worry
John K Samson – Winter Wheat
Modern Baseball – Holy Ghost
Martha – Blisters In the Pit Of My Heart
A Tribe Called Quest – We got it from here…
Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid
Angel Olsen – My Woman
Violent Soho – Waco
The Gunshy – Porterhouse
honorable mention: FUCKING BEAR VS SHARK REUNION / REISSUES
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Look Mexico
Childish Gambino – Awaken, My Love!
A Tribe Called Quest – We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service
American Football– LP2
J. Cole– 4 Your Eyez Only
Dikembe – Hail Something
Chris Farren – Can’t Die
Against Me! – Shape Shift with Me
Chance the Rapper – Coloring Book
Alexander & The Grapes – Hyper Self
Bon Iver – 22, A Million
Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
Bruno Mars – 24k Magic
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Karl Kuehn (mailorder for Tiny Engines / drummer & singer for Museum Mouth)
1. Lady Gaga—Joanne
2. Rihanna—Anti
3. Mannequin Pussy—Romantic
4. Cymbals Eat Guitars—Pretty Years
5. Against Me!—Shape Shift With Me
6. Japanese Breakfast—Psychopomp
7. Infinity Crush—Warmth Equation
8. Thin Lips—Riff Hard
9. Tegan and Sara—Love You to Death
10. Porches—Pool
