SLIME Posted December 28, 2021 Author Posted December 28, 2021 HMs (LPs) Pt. 4 otay:onii - 冥冥 (Míng Míng) (post-industrial, electronic) THESE ONES!: Blackheart Breakables, Intentions and Emotions Thank you RYM for this early-year find. I just remember being captivated by the sounds on here, and how she was able to balance out the noisier segments with others that are equally beautiful. Moments here reminded me of Homogenic but only just a bit. Def recommend to listen if you haven’t and just let the experience wash over you. Black Country, New Road - For the First Time (post-rock, experimental rock, post-punk) THESE ONES!: Instrumental, Sunglasses, Track X Honestly I kind of thought I would hate this band but the polish on their debut release spoke for itself. The vocal style on a lot of this kind of post-rock isn’t my favorite thing, but in BCNR’s case the depth of the instrumentals is enough to make up for that. I still prefer Jockstrap if we’re talking about member of this group’s other projects, but they haven’t put out an album yet so. Spellling - The Turning Wheel (art pop, baroque pop) THESE ONES!: Emperor with an Egg, Boys at School Her ambitions in crafting such a detailed musical universe paid off here, even if I wouldn’t mind a return to the synth sounds of Mazy Fly either. Nothing else sounded much like this in 2021 and I’m glad it put some eyes on her. Giant Claw - Mirror Guide (progressive electronic, epic collage) THESE ONES!: Mir-Cam Online, Mirror Guide Pts. I and II I was gonna say this feels like the Distortion World, and then I realized that was even almost the name of one of the songs. Backxwash - I Lie Here Buried With My Rings and My Dresses (industrial hip hop, horrorcore) THESE ONES!: Terror Packets, I Lie Here Buried With My Rings and My Dresses Well, she really put her soul into this and the emotional intensity shows. Not something that jumped out for casual listens, but it’s probably great in the gym. Kanye West - Donda (Christian hip hop, pop rap, experimental hip hop) THESE ONES!: Off the Grid, Hurricane, Moon, Heaven and Hell The roll-out of this was frustrating, yes, but actually made it exciting to be a Kanye “fan” for the first time in a long while. The finished product… well its length was a choice, but just looking at the highlights, there’s some top-tier Kanye material to go around. Grouper - Shade (singer/songwriter, ambient, folk) THESE ONES!: Unclean Mind, The Way Her Hair Falls When she dropped the single I was so happy to hear Grouper back on a guitar. After that, the contents here were basically no surprise (in the most soothing way). Her comfiest release in a long time and some top-tier napcore. Tinashe - 333 (alternative R&B) THESE ONES!: Bouncin, X, I Can See the Future A solid follow-up to Songs for You that reinforces going indie was the move. Now I’ve yet to have the whole thing fully wash over me, but I’m really impressed with the highlights here. Bladee - The Fool (cloud rap, trap, pop rap) THESE ONES!: Hotel Breakfast, Inspiration Comes, Trendy He showed us Tinashe isn’t the only artist who can name a project 333, but anyway that was last year. While I do prefer the ethereal hymns of that album, I like that he never stays on the same page for long. The trance influences here provide a nice caffeine substitution and make this overall a nice world to chill out in for some low-stakes vibing. Shinichiro Yokota - Tokonoma Style (deep house) THESE ONES!: Interested in It, Time Lapse Another bouncy and evocative set of dance bangers from Mr. I Know You Like It.
SLIME Posted December 29, 2021 Author Posted December 29, 2021 Albums of 2021: Top 25 25. Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2 (art pop, neo-psychedelia) THESE ONES!: the rot, SEMTEX, LA RAZA Feels so bleak and cryptic to me (like most of his work) but it has its own kind of charm. I can’t tell yet where I’d rank it among his other releases but I do feel like on Black Metal 2 in particular, the minimalism meets musicality in a friendly spot.
SLIME Posted December 29, 2021 Author Posted December 29, 2021 24. Loraine James - Reflection (art pop, neo-psychedelia) THESE ONES!: Built to Last, Simple Stuff, Change You’ll see across most of the list from here that the best way to make it on was to hypnotize me with unique electronic textures. Reflection in particular smacked me over the head with a liquid-y sound palette that feels original and cool.
SLIME Posted December 29, 2021 Author Posted December 29, 2021 23. Lana del Rey - Chemtrails Over the Country Club (singer/songwriter) THESE ONES!: White Dress, Chemtrails Over the Country Club, Dark but Just a Game In my mind this is the peak so far of Lana’s self-editing, stripping almost everything down and revealing the true strength of her songwriting.
SLIME Posted December 29, 2021 Author Posted December 29, 2021 22. L'Rain - Fatigue (neo-psychdelia, neo-soul) THESE ONES!: Blame Me, Suck Teeth, Two Face Someone said this sounds like floating through a musician’s dream and I completely agree, it does what a lot of stuff attempting “psychedelia” never achieves for me and plays like a true spiritual trip. The tracks on which she’s able to blend this surreal vision with traditional pop/R&B songwriting make this doubly impressive. It’s easy to zone out and lose the plot but I’ve found that makes for rewarding revisits already.
SLIME Posted December 29, 2021 Author Posted December 29, 2021 21. Skee Mask - Pool (IDM, breakbeat, techno) THESE ONES!: Testo BC Mashup, 60681z, Collapse Casual So much content to soak into, I don’t know how often I’ll sit down to play this front-to-back but the quality (as well as the atmospheric) is very consistent. The psychedelic breakbeat aspect is fun to get lost in, and makes me feel high-tech and important.
Sunderland 4ever Posted December 29, 2021 Posted December 29, 2021 For The First Time and The Turning Wheel, good choices. 6 hours ago, SLIME said: Shinichiro Yokota - Tokonoma Style (deep house) THESE ONES!: Interested in It, Time Lapse I'm interested in this record. Will check!
TheWayWeWere Posted December 29, 2021 Posted December 29, 2021 Chemtrails prais 333 and Donda on HMs Donda has great potential, but in the end it's too long and messy
Lazuli Posted December 30, 2021 Posted December 30, 2021 that loraine james album cover looks HOT i gotta give that one a listen chemtrails is cute but not her best album this year
Tom Vercetti Posted December 30, 2021 Posted December 30, 2021 Out of the albums posted so far, mostly appreciate pool. I think the material is worth streaming via bandcamp
Alldeezy Posted December 30, 2021 Posted December 30, 2021 I keep forgetting lana release something this year
SLIME Posted January 3, 2022 Author Posted January 3, 2022 Sorry life has been annoying but I will just dump and add detail later. I will do the songs list too when I can.
SLIME Posted January 10, 2022 Author Posted January 10, 2022 The way I put all my effort into the HMs leaving me none for the records I actually loved list dump incoming.
MP2K Posted January 10, 2022 Posted January 10, 2022 I don't know many tbh but L'Rain looks like someone I can get into
SLIME Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 20. Erika de Casier - Sensational (contemporary R&B) THESE ONES!: Someone to Chill With, Better than That, Busy, Call Me Anytime I interpret her catalog so far as almost an outsider’s take on R&B what with her quirky/endearing lyrics in a lot of places. Not sure yet if I prefer this or Essentials but I do like how it picks up in the second half with some inventive production.
SLIME Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 19. dltzk - Frailty (indietronica, glitch pop, noise pop) THESE ONES!: Your Clothes, Kodak Moment, How to Lie, Let's Go Home Pushing the boundaries of hyperpop yesss… blends the glitch with more traditional rock instrumentation in a natural-sounding way.
SLIME Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 18. Danny L Harle - Harlecore (trance, UK hardcore, bubblegum bass) THESE ONES!: Where Are You Now, Take My Heart Away, On a Mountain, Boing Beat, For So Long DJ Danny was overdue an album and he came through with a Eurodance vibe (bring it back). Even though this bounces ALL over all the place, I think the concept is enough to hold it in place. Between the solo/Boing/Caroline/HudMo joints -- a journey is had here. Feels like a complete world with all 4 elements in equal-ish place.
SLIME Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 17. The Bug - Fire (grime, UK bass, dubstep) THESE ONES!: Pressure, Vexed, Ganja Baby If u haven't listened to London Zoo please do yourself a favor. This one brings it back to that vibe with a similar level of fiery focus.
SLIME Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 16. Jazmine Sullivan - Heaux Tales (neo-soul, contemporary R&B) THESE ONES!: Lost One, Pricetags, On It, Girl Like Me Jazmine is a treasure and here she refined her storytelling to an even higher level. Real ****.
SLIME Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 15. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises (third-stream, post-minimalism) THESE ONES!: the whole thing (it's one extended suite), but the intensity does peak for a while in Movement 6 File this under VERY unexpected collaborations that work beautifully. Feels like a journey through life.
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