HCTF's best of 2025 (10-6)

• 20-16
• |
• 15-11
• |
• 10-6
• |
• 5-1

» Best of playlist

» Listen here

HCTF's annual list of the 20 albums that will be in regular rotation for many years to come. As per usual many genres are represented. Here Comes The Flood covers a lot of ground and it shows in this eclectic, final tally. Caveat: only albums that got a review are in these listings. I listen to a lot more music than I have time to write about.

Today: countdown from number 10 to 6.

Please shop at your local record store. Most of the stores have a pretty good website where you can order your stuff. It might even be cheaper than the big ones on the 'net. The folks who work there know their stuff and can recommend artists you might like.

Buy directly from the artist, attend live shows and stop by the merch table. And be sure to tell your friends about that great new act you discovered. Word-of-mouth can't be beat as the prime source to discover new music. Algorithms always play it safe, which is fucking boring.

Tullycraft: Shoot the Point

6

Seattle indie pop quartet Tullycraft sound nobody else, or more accurately like a whole bunch of bands together. On their new album Shoot the Point they wear some of their heroes in plain sight, while others will challenge the listener to a scavenger hunt to round up all the Easter eggs. They can't resist a good musical pun or turn the meaning of a song upside down. Lou Reed's magnum opus Street Hassle was a trifecta about sex, scoring dope and death, but is now a breakup song while the album plays on repeat. The Modern Lovers are blearing to drown out a couple bickering, with one of them slipping in a quote from "Chagall from the nightstand".

Love and falling out of love run through pretty much all of the tracks, with plenty of wit, sarcasm and dark humour. Paris is the city of light where romance is a given? Nope, check out Love on the Left Bank for a reality check. Clear Nail Polish will relate to anyone who has been stuck in a rut with a significant other who prefers getting pissed off in stead of doing something to make life bearable and being kind for a chance. And then there it the clear invitation to dance as if no one is watching (Jeanie’s Up Again and Blaring Faith by the Cure). Tullycraft are not a very prolific bunch - their previous album The Railway Prince Hotel was released 6 years ago - but their handle on creating twee pop songs with a bite is still in fine fettle.

Tullycraft: Tarrytown & Love On the Left Bank

Seattle indie pop quartet Tullycraft made a very welcome with their Jeanie's Up Again and Blaring Faith by the Cure single, the first taste from their new album Shoot The Point. As if further proof was needed that they are doing things differently, the band unveiled two more tracks at once: the rambling garage rocker Tarrytown and the B-52's meet the Bangles skewed ode to Paris Love On the Left Bank. Both songs barely break the two minute barrier, because truly great pop songs get the job done fast.

Tullycraft: Jeanie's Up Again and Blaring Faith by the Cure

Seattle indie pop quartet Tullycraft are back after lying low for a couple of years after the release of The Railway Prince Hotel in 2019. A new album, Shoot The Point, will be released on August 22 via HHBTM Records.

Lead single Jeanie's Up Again and Blaring Faith by the Cure is a classic example of their take on twee pop: it's ironic, but also comforting for all who get their share of ridicule for not being into mainstream music. Empowerment by way a left-field quirkiness is a pretty cool way to give the finger to the stiffs. The video was made by Joshua Parrett.

HCTF's best of 2019 (15-11)

• 20-16
• |
• 15-11
• |
• 10-6
• |
• 5-1

» Best of playlist

» Listen here

HCTF's annual list of the 20 albums that will be in regular rotation for many years to come. As per usual many genres are represented. This blog covers a lot of ground and it shows in this eclectic, final tally.

Today: countdown from number 15 to 11.

Please shop at your local record store, buy directly from the artist, attend live shows. Don't block anyone's view with with your phone (better still, switch it off altogether). Shut the fuck up while the band is playing. Educate your friends. Word-of-mouth can't be beat as the prime source to discover new music.

Tullycraft: "Hearts at the Sound" video

Watch the new Tullycraft video for Hearts at the Sound, a photo gallery of B&W party photos from yesteryear.

It's a track from their album The Railway Prince Hotel."(...) filled with upbeat, rambling garage tunes that will get many a listener spin the wrong foot. Is there something wrong with the rhythm? Well, no actually, but it's a kind of free-flowing music, jagged and lo-fi while they take the piss at pretty much anything. Think a mix of XTC, The Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and the Decemberists".

» tullycraft.com

HCTF review of The Railway Prince Hotel.

Tullycraft: "The Railway Prince Hotel" video

Watch the new Tullycraft video for he Railway Prince Hotel. As per usual they used vintage footage, with split-screen thrown in for good measure.

It's the title track from their latest album: "(...) filled with upbeat, rambling garage tunes that will get many a listener spin the wrong foot. Is there something wrong with the rhythm? Well, no actually, but it's a kind of free-flowing music, jagged and lo-fi while they take the piss at pretty much anything. Think a mix of XTC, The Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and the Decemberists".

» tullycraft.com

HCTF review of The Railway Prince Hotel

Tullycraft: "Lost Our Friends to Heavy Metal" video

Watch the new Tullycraft video for Lost Our Friends to Heavy Metal. As per usual they used vintage footage, including some very awkward dancing, Count Dracula, and cartoons.

It's a track from their album The Railway Prince Hotel."(...) filled with upbeat, rambling garage tunes that will get many a listener spin the wrong foot. Is there something wrong with the rhythm? Well, no actually, but it's a kind of free-flowing music, jagged and lo-fi while they take the piss at pretty much anything. Think a mix of XTC, The Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and the Decemberists".

» tullycraft.com

HCTF review of The Railway Prince Hotel

Tullycraft: "Midi Midinette" video

Watch the new Tullycraft video for Midi Midinette. Note the nod to Big Black's small town putdown song Kerosene in the lyrics.

It's a track from their album The Railway Prince Hotel."(...) filled with upbeat, rambling garage tunes that will get many a listener spin the wrong foot. Is there something wrong with the rhythm? Well, no actually, but it's a kind of free-flowing music, jagged and lo-fi while they take the piss at pretty much anything. Think a mix of XTC, The Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and the Decemberists".

» tullycraft.com

HCTF review of The Railway Prince Hotel

Tullycraft: "We Couldn't Dance To Billy Joel" video

Watch the new Tullycraft video for We Couldn't Dance To Billy Joel, a track from their album The Railway Prince Hotel: "(...) filled with upbeat, rambling garage tunes that will get many a listener spin the wrong foot. Is there something wrong with the rhythm? Well, no actually, but it's a kind of free-flowing music, jagged and lo-fi while they take the piss at pretty much anything. Think a mix of XTC, The Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and the Decemberists".

» tullycraft.com

HCTF review of The Railway Prince Hotel

Tullycraft: "It's Not Explained, It's Delaware" video

Watch the new Tullycraft video for It's Not Explained, It's Delaware, a track from their album The Railway Prince Hotel: "(...) filled with upbeat, rambling garage tunes that will get many a listener spin the wrong foot. Is there something wrong with the rhythm? Well, no actually, but it's a kind of free-flowing music, jagged and lo-fi while they take the piss at pretty much anything. Think a mix of XTC, The Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and the Decemberists". The video was edited by Wayne Meaphnel.

» tullycraft.com

HCTF review of The Railway Prince Hotel

Tullycraft: The Railway Prince Hotel

photo: John E. Hollingsworth

Seattle indie pop quartet Tullycraft have an uncanny for crafting quirky songs filled with off-kilter hooks, with references to both the obscure as well as the mainstream - Goldie and the Gingerbreads quotes Paradise By The Dashboard Light. Their 7th album The Railway Prince Hotel is filled with upbeat, rambling garage tunes that will get many a listener spin the wrong foot. Is there something wrong with the rhythm? Well, no actually, but it's a kind of free-flowing music, jagged and lo-fi while they take the piss at pretty much anything. Think a mix of XTC, The Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and the Decemberists.

The Railway Prince Hotel is an album by a band who realize that they will never make it big, but word-of-moth has kept them afloat since 1995, catering to a slowly growing fan base who can appreciate the poetic beauty of songs like The Cat's Miaow In a Spacesuit: "Dark as night / apart from the dayglow / it didn’t feel just how I thought it might feel so / I stood in line and watched a cosmonaut trip over her moon boots / it started slow / just you and me and a cat nap / I think we almost always fell into the same trap / a dress rehearsal and our cravings for attention would follow".