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Kyle Thomas is releasing his first King Tuff album in five years, Smalltown Stardust, in January. He’ll be on tour supporting it starting in March, including a Brooklyn show at Elsewhere on March 24. See all dates, and watch the video for most recent single “Portrait of God,” below.
Before his album comes out, and as 2022 ends, we asked Kyle about his favorite music of the year, and he made us a list that includes albums by Darkthrone, SASAMI, Ernest Hood, and more. Read it, complete with his commentary, below.
KING TUFF’S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2022:
1. Madalyn Merkey – Puzzle Music
I found myself coming back to this record over and over again this year. It’s an incredible headphones listen, like miniature alien gardens radiating and unfurling.
2. Ernest Hood – Back to the Woodlands
I’m a big fan of his record Neighborhoods so I was super excited to get this never before released album. Definitely cut from the same sonic cloth, but if that cloth was a hammock strung between two trees in the forest and you’re just laying there peaceful as a crawdad on a lily pad.
3. Various Artists – Ghost Riders
This comp starts off with a very strange and haunted track, “A Puppet” by The Mod 4. It’s exactly the kinda detached outsider vibe that drives me wild, and the rest of the record continues on, deep into that zone.
4. Chris Weisman – Pencil Crayon
I really could have picked any of Chris’s releases from this year, there are many every year, and they are all good. This year he’s been focused mainly on instrumental music, most of it extremely odd and extremely comforting.
5. Darkthrone – Astral Fortress
Possibly the most based album cover of all time, featuring a lone ice skater on a frozen pond – not what you would normally think of when you think metal, but Darkthrone plays by no rules and that is why they are the best. Also has some of the best song titles of all time- “Impeccable Caverns Of Satan”, “Stalagmite Necklace”…
6. Mohammad Mostafa Heydarian & Behzad Varasteh – Songs of Horaman
Sick as hell.
7. SASAMI – Squeeze
This one may be cheating since I was part of the making of it, but it was such a big part of my life and I truly love SASAMI’s work. “Say It” is my favorite track, it’s just such a strange and brilliant combination of styles and tones. Not to mention the incredible album cover art by Andrew Thomas Huang.
8. The Rabbits – The Rabbits (Reissue)
Absolute batshit crazy punk music from Japan in the 80’s, first time released on vinyl. Worth it for the first track, “Wa, Wa, Wa” alone.
9. Charles Stepney – Step On Step
First off, I absolutely love the little bits of in between commentary from his daughters. So goddam wholesome I wanna cry. The whole thing has a very “dad in his garage” vibe, except that this particular dad is a funky genius.
10. The Beatles – Revolver (Super Deluxe)
For some reason The Beatles just keep going, new phases of Beatlemania unfold, and us Beatlemaniacs eat every morsel and crumb like roaches in a tattered old kitchen. And oddly, they are still the most underrated band of all time.
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KING TUFF: 2023 TOUR
March 1 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
March 3 Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
March 4 San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
March 6 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
March 7 Vancouver, BC @ The Wise
March 8 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
March 10 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
March 11 Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
March 15 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Upstairs
March 17 Nashville, TN @ The Basement East
March 18 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
March 19 Durham, NC @ The Pinhook
March 21 Washington, DC @ DC9
March 22 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
March 23 Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
March 24 Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Hall
March 25 Brattleboro, VT @ The Stone Church
March 28 Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
March 29 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
March 31 Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
April 1 Minneapolis, MN @ The Turf Club
April 3 Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
April 5 Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
April 6 Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge
April 7 Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s
The post King Tuff discusses his favorite albums of 2022 appeared first on BrooklynVegan.