#20: Veruca Salt – “Ghost Notes”

After so many band reunions the last few years, I’ve gotten a pretty good idea of how they work. First, the band announces the reunion, which is largely met by groans as everyone thinks about how old the band has gotten and how desperate it is that they’re reuniting. Then the album comes out, and everyone listens to it and just hopes that it isn’t totally embarrassing and that it doesn’t make you completely forget the band’s prime. Afterwards, everyone tries to forget that the whole thing ever happened.

Ghost Notes, the first album with Veruca Salt’s original lineup in 18 years, legitimately breaks the reunion album mold. If the measure of a reunion album is how it stacks up against their original material, this might even be the best any band has done yet — Ghost Notes possibly surpasses 1994’s American Thighs as Veruca Salt’s best album. Rather than seeming tired or desperate, the band sounds rejuvenated.

Veruca Salt chose a good time to reunite, as I’ve felt their influence looming over music lately (certainly this list has already had some bands that seem inspired by them). Led by the reunited duo of Nina Gordon and Luise Post, they slide right into today’s musical landscape without sounding out of place. And the songs on Ghost Notes capture what made Veruca Salt popular to begin with — the loud guitars and catchy choruses — while also pushing their music into new places and sounding more mature (though thankfully they still don’t take themselves too seriously).

On the opening track, Gordon sings “it’s gonna get loud, it’s gonna get heavy”, and for 54 minutes Ghost Notes certainly lives up to that promise. That run time is arguably a little too long, but it’s a forgivable flaw after so many years of silence.

#21: Flavor Crystals – “The Shiver of the Flavor Crystals”

I stumbled upon Flavor Crystals at a live show and was immediately a fan of their deep, immersive sound, which translates well to record on their fourth full length, The Shiver of the Flavor Crystals. The band uses droning guitar and throbbing bass to create hypnotizing songs that remind me of early Spiritualized with a bit of Stereolab thrown in. Like most psychedelic music, it’s easy to get lost in and the meanings of the songs are hazy, allowing listeners to project meaning onto it as they see fit.

While Shiver is full of more drone-based songs that are captivating in their own right, the real magic happens when the band uses their sound on relatively traditional song structures. One of the best songs is “Diamond Mine,” a cover of a song by David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights that remains faithful to the original while sending it into space. “Antenna House” is a mellow, dreamy song that fades into one of the album’s many longer instrumental jams.

What I really like about this album is how it has such a defined, consistent sound. Flavor Crystals have been making music for awhile now, and this album is the product of a band who knows exactly who they are and what they’re good at.

#22: Potty Mouth – “Potty Mouth EP”

Following up their 2013 album Hell Bent, Massachusetts’ Potty Mouth put out this five song EP that improves on most of the ideas on their debut. In particular, the band adds more polish to their sound and makes the smart decision of working with John Goodmanson, who has a stellar history of working with guitar-centric rock bands and aids them in expanding their grunge/alternative vision.

Of course, producers only do so much, and the most noted improvements are in Potty Mouth’s own performance –while only five songs, this EP has enough big hooks, riffs, and choruses to fill most full lengths. Abby Weems’ vocals are stronger and more confident, matching the more self-assured playing from the rest of the band. With many bands mining similar 90s grunge/alt rock material, it’s in this execution that Potty Mouth separate themselves. The result is five great songs that each sound like a lost 90s single.