This is sounding sterile to my ears, and in general I think my ability to enjoy St. Vincent might've peaked circa the self-titled, but glad other people are enjoying.
Never had much of a relationship with this one outside of the singles, though I did get to see him and the rest of Odd Future on the corresponding tour. Wild ride, security had to stop Jasper Dolphin from jumping off the upper level balcony at one point.
Still so crazy how far from this album Tyler's music has progressed.
Really dug the new Liars song, glad to see it repped here! Picks up where Mess left off, and I think the incorporation of outside collaborators paid off, they sound inspired/extreme.
Can't really argue with Homogenic at #1! Also glad to see Vulnicura high up here, feel like that one's kinda under-rated, but it's still one of the most upsetting album I've ever heard.
Damn if this doesn't scratch that Battles 1.0 itch real nice! Getting increasingly excited for Cavalcade, these guys' interplay just gets tighter and tighter.
I'd also be genuinely curious to hear the version of Yandhi from before "Jesus came and did the laundry" (assuming an album only released in cellphone jingle form counts as "lost").
Still love this one, one of my favorite indie rock releases of the 2010s. I think the cultural appropriation critiques are pretty valid and definitely worth acknowledging, though I think MG should also get some credit for being pretty ahead of the curve with making social issues-driven indie rock (even if songs like "Gangsta" skew a little garish by modern standards). Same deal re: its genre collisions as well IMO.
Also second the sketchy. appreciation! Good back to basics album that's also a bit of a return to form.
Still so thrilled that these guys have returned to Darkside. That first record feels preserved in amber as a special one-off at this point, but these new songs have been really inspired, the raison d'être for doing another Darkside album is self-evident.
Less familiar with what Dave Harrington's been up to, but man has Nicolas Jaar been on an insane tear this last year and change. Very impressed by his consistent (and sonically varied) greatness.
Imagine choosing to spend $300 to walk around looking like an inverted version of this dude
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The new Iglooghost album is beautiful, more compositionally complex than anything he’s done before. Loved the density and punchiness of his previous releases, but the way he plays with negative space and quiet here felt like a persuasive maturation of the Iglooghost sound. Incredibly creative stuff, each of his albums is a world unto itself.
Scheduled an appointment for my first vaccine dose next week and feeling more calm about things than I have in a while. Hope everyone else is hanging in.
This cut/album are phenomenal, so cool to hear these guys embrace more exaggerated storytelling after the realism of their recent works. Had been a little skeptical of the Alchemist team-up - a great producer whose beats are sometimes a little dusty for me - but he really did his thing here, gives them a regal platform that they fully own and deserve.
Armand Hammer one of the GOAT rap duos at this point, don't think it's even a debate.
The trifecta of Stereogum/RYM/Indiecast endorsements got me to finally check out that new Parranoul album, and (like many of commenters here) I thought it was really excellent! I was really taken with how it blended sub-genres I generally enjoy (post-rock/shoegaze/alternative etc.) into a creative album-length arc that felt simultaneously familiar and fresh. It also reminds me of someone like Car Seat Headrest, insomuch as they're both one-man-act threats who make rock music that's defined by the experience of remembering rock music. Can't stop listening, I love that a new release from an artist I've never heard of can still come out of left field and blows me away.
Incredibly amped for Armand Hammer/Alchemist this Friday ofc, I think that'll be huge.
mfw I click "No, I Hope You Go Out of Business"
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Seems like a completely justified complaint, seeing as a version of that logo is on all their album covers and this Bieber release is literally called "Justice." Go off kings.
Disappointed in this column for failing to note what's sure to be the actual Album of the Week - the 54-track Junkie XL score for Zack Snyder's Justice League!
Chemtrails is great! I don't think it's going to appease people whose appreciation for NFR! was premised on the (silly) idea that it represented the emotional core of American life in 2019, but I expect that people who had a less narrative-driven appreciation for it will like this one too. Another great collection of singer-songwriter ballads in the 70s Laurel Canyon tradition, with Lana herself more in storyteller mode than autobiography (/grievance-settling). Kind of a relief in that latter regard, and undeniable craft at the very least (which some might say we should respect).
Not that anyone could've known, but reading through this personal account makes me feel fucking disgusted in retrospect by all the different times this dude's music was described as "sensual" or "romantic" in reviews. Nothing worth saving from the fire here.
Pretty sure Chemtrails is out officially on Friday! Excited for more people to hear it, I was pretty bowled over - like Miss Anthropocene last year, I thought it was good enough to overcome the reservations many people (rightly) might have about its architect.
I'm not really sure how one would get around this, but lately I've been finding a little weird to read dudes in their 40s talking impassionedly about the emotional journeys recorded to tape by young women in their late teens/early 20s. I dunno - probably a "me" problem, but it's something I think about - wonder if there isn't a way to talk about these artistic presentations of self that doesn't emphasize the *~feels~* you vicariously experience through them quite so much.
Still love this one, not a "major" statement in quite the same way as channel ORANGE or Blonde, but it feels very pure. Originals are all hits ofc, and I love his covers - there's a nice "mixtape" quality to those moments that his artistic project is now a little too serious to incorporate now. Also "american wedding > "Hotel California" IMO
I guess the emphasis on formalism (the whole side A/B split personas thing, basically) feels a little dated in the streaming era, but it's still high quality.
Really digging the new slowthai album, one of the first 2021 releases that's stood out for me. He rides the line between “aesthetic” and conscious in a clever way, and the double disc presentation of its 35-minute runtime is a good bit. Kind of like a less fussy version of Danny Brown’s Old (though I do love Danny Brown’s Old). Also been enjoying this Bisk album a whole lot, which is full of off-kilter rhythms and tonal developments that leave me feeling pleasantly off-balance: https://ominira.bandcamp.com/album/vacation-package
Feeling optimistic about the year in music (and hopefully year in real life) to come for the moment. Hope everyone is hanging in as best they can.
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