(The above video is NSFW) Hello everybody. What a year 2016 has been. In many ways, 2016 will go down as one of the worst years on record. But for me, 2016 has also been one of the best years. I got to share another year of life of earth with my son, who grows up much too quickly. In March I met my girlfriend, Anna, whose mere existence pushes me ways I never knew existed.

And where life in 2016 has been complicated by both good and bad, so, too, has the music of the year. We lost far too many musical geniuses (I can’t bare to list them here, lest I be unable to finish this post, lost in bittersweet memory). But the year has brought us some fantastic new music as well.

Personally, life has gotten so busy, I debated whether or not to continue the Top 31. The fact that I’ve written this post and you’re now reading it tells you where I landed, but it won’t be without sacrifice. December is going to be a little crazy for me, and I’m both excited and overwhelmed by that thought. I’m a bit concerned about getting posts out on time, so I’m making some minor adjustments (hopefully unseen by you) to accommodate. Do please forgive the occassional fuck up. The Top 31 lives on, and without further adieu, here’s your #31 of the year:

Preoccupations by Preoccupations

You may have not heard of Preoccupations before, but if you’ve been a fan of the Bacon Review for any length of time, then you’re familiar with this band, as they appeared at #20 in the 2015 Top 31 under the name Viet Cong. According to Wikipedia, the band formerly known as Viet Song received a lot of flack for their chosen moniker, because called racist, insensitive, and I’m sure many other far worse things. They changed their name to Preoccupations, erasing all mention of their former band name, claiming only their first album was titled “Viet Cong.”

Preoccupations, the album, expresses a lot of the same influences their debut album did last year, and it’s all the better for it. This won’t be the only 80s goth revival you hear on the countdown — I grew up in the 80s. Please excuse the nostalgia.