Every Vulfpeck album, ranked
This is purely for me
A couple of years ago I got really into Vulfpeck, to the degree that for several months I listened to their body of work exclusively (including solo projects this is like 30-40 albums, this isn’t a form of mania, I promise!).
Funky, soulful, a bunch of extremely talented folk very clearly having the time of their life making music together, it's a band I keep finding myself gravitating back towards time and time again, not just for the earworms but to appreciate how my tastes have been shaped in the wake of discovering them.
With the imminent release of their new album, Clarity of Cal, I found myself back in the Vulf pit once more, working my way through their discography, and I thought for fun I would do my own ranking of this work.
When it comes to writing about music, I'll admit that this is my big area of weakness. Being the son of a musician hasn’t helped much in this regard, I don’t know the nomenclature, nor the distinction between subgenres. I just know what feels good to listen to.
As such this ranking will be based on nothing more than vibes, and personal preference. Also for the purpose of thoroughness I’m counting EPs as albums, because I honestly don’t really know the difference. One has fewer tracks? Ok? Grow up!
Without further ado, the official Static Canvas ranking of Vulfpeck’s discography:
11. The Joy of Music, The Job of Real Estate
Falling in last place purely for the fact that it’s the album I’ve listen to the least. Some decent tracks feature here, including Radio Shack and LAX, but for whatever reason it’s never really drawn me in as much as their other works.
10. Fugue State
Another casualty of not enough time invested, I’ve been listening to this EP a lot more this month. I know 1612 is a firm favourite for many, but for me the highlight track here is First Place, some really nice harmonies going on here.
9. Mit Peck
The first formal release for the band way back in 2011, the tunes that feature here are less complex or intricate, but you can see a lot of the stellar songwriting that has come to define their place in music history throughout. It’s a really fun EP to start off with, especially once you start to hear the returning motifs in later releases.
8. Live at Madison Square Garden
I have a love hate relationship with live albums. Something in me finds them either divine or offputting, and its usually dependent on whether I listened to the live version of the song first, or the studio one. In either case, I feel like this works better as an audio visual experience, with the full video version of this being one of the biggest blasts of FOMO I’ll ever experience in my life.
7. Hill Climber
A first half full of songs I’m honestly not all that keen on, more than made up for by an absolutely stellar second half. Lost My Treble Long Ago and Disco Ulysses are both alltime bangers, and the album culminating in the frankly absurd It Gets Funkier IV would have it much higher in my rankings if not for the fact that there’s even better work out there.
6. Mr. Finish Line
An album full of nice surprises, including one of the rare collaborations with Charles Jones, an immensely talented vocalist. The title track, Tee Time and Vulf Pack are all fun little musical excursions, but unfortunately the album does lose points for featuring Captain Hook, a genuinely awful track, and maybe the worst thing the band has ever written.
5. Schvitz
I listened to this a lot when it first came out, as I was at the height of my Vulfpeck mania, but returning to it after this big revisit, i’ve come to appreciate just how different a collection of tunes it really is. More cohesive an artistic vision, it seems to tie itself together a lot more than the devil may care attitude of earlier works, and having singer Antwaun Stanley front and centre for so many of these tracks was the right decision, he’s the best vocalist of the group by a country mile. The sauna motif is very cute.
4. My First Car
Another earlier entry in the pantheon that really captures the fun musical energy of the band. Noodly, funky little tracks that manage to worm their way into my brain on repeat listens.
3. Vollmilch
Truth be told, the reason this is so high in my rankings is purely for how good the track Adrienne & Adrianne is. Otherwise, I feel lite it’s on a par with My First Car in that it’s replete with cool little earworms.
2. The Beautiful Game
Three things stand out from this album, and why it’s ranked so highly for me:
Getting to be a part of a Dean Town singalong at a Cory Wong gig last year is one of the highlights of my life.
I inadvertently find myself saying ‘Daddy, he got a Tesla!’ in that wavy inflection from the track of the same name regularly when I’m buggering about in the kitchen.
The guitar trill that happens at the end of the track Cory Wong gives me a fizzy willy.
1. Thrill of the Arts
Seems cheeky to put their first album in the number one slot, but after four solid EPs they came out firing on all cylinders, with a track selection that makes me burn with envy. Back Pocket. Funky Duck. Conscious Club. Rango II. And above everything else: The bit of foley work in the middle of Game Winner that’s basically the best sound I’ve ever heard. A stonkingly good album.
Thanks for indulging me on this one, we’ll be back with our regular scheduled programming from next week. See ya!