A Dozen Favorite One-Album Bands
(Here, in alphabetical order, are twelve of my favorite bands or solo performers who recorded one and only one full-length studio album. I’ve excluded side projects by artists with otherwise rich discographies (The Glove; Time Machines), or artists who released their album within the last 25 years and might yet surprise us with another, but I’ve included a few artists with EPs, live albums, or additional appearances to their credit.)
The Blue Ox Babes (Apples & Oranges, recorded in 1988 but unreleased until 2009; sample track: Apples & Oranges)
Clocks (Clocks, 1982; sample track: Here They Come)
Reiko Ike (Koukotsu no Sekai, 1971; sample track: The Woman Cannot Help It)
The Loved Ones (Magic Box, 1967: sample track: The Loved One)
The Lover Speaks (The Lover Speaks, 1986; sample track: No More “I Love You’s”)
Mar-Vista (Visions of Sodal Ye, 1976; sample track: Her Eyes Are Closed)
Mary Margaret O’Hara (Miss America, 1988; sample track: To Cry About)
Pianosaurus (Groovy Neighborhood, 1987; sample track: Thriftshoppin’)
Stump (A Fierce Pancake, 1988; sample track: Bone)
Frank Tedesso (Songs from Einstein’s Brain, 1996; sample track: Margaret)
Trees (Sleep Convention, 1982; sample track: Delta Sleep)
Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club (English Garden, 1979; sample track: Video Killed the Radio Star)
— February 12, 2023