Tom Vercetti Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 where's the other half~ flutopia is fine the place it is. plunge + slowdive haven't given circuit a listen yet but i'm curious about it.
volition Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 23 hours ago, Lazuli said: Utopia is not low at all Slowdive Hmm Hug of Thunder was okay I guess I expected more tho! bjork lost still love her (and the album i guess......) 20 hours ago, theblackestday said: why.are.you.like.this you couldn't have just picked a different name? atom dance not good enough? 20 hours ago, theblackestday said: Poor Utopia, but at least it’s top 20 you made valid points. You spreaded lies on Plunge, but stan. Slowdive lies on the highlights? or the worse than self-titled? or both 20 hours ago, Tom Vercetti said: where's the other half~ flutopia is fine the place it is. plunge + slowdive haven't given circuit a listen yet but i'm curious about it. today! i decided since it would be late both days i'd split it and then do the top 10 on the day i can do it earlier. and i finish just in time too
volition Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 15. Neō Wax Bloom - Iglooghost Neo Wax Bloom is completely insane, and I think it's incredible. Iglooghost is one of the most exciting electronic musicians on the scene at the moment, ever since Chinese Nu Yr, and his album provides a completely crazy, warped, though positive, high-speed journey through the electronic world of wonky music. It moves so quickly and has so many motifs and sounds going on every second that you have to appreciate the time and dedication that must have gone into assembling all these ideas into a coherent, and joyous final product. And after a tweet of his recently, it seems like something even better from him could be on the horizon, and I'm so excited to find out what that could be. GENRE: WONKY, DRILL AND BASS HIGHLIGHTS: WHITE GUM, BUG THIEF, SOLAR BLADE, SUPER INK BURST
volition Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 14. A Crow Looked at Me - Mount Eerie This album has been talked about a lot already, but I'll repeat what everyone says: it's deeply heartbreaking, probably the saddest album I've ever heard, and I never want to play it ever again. It affected me deeply, and now that I've started to look more into Phil Elverum's earlier music, it gets even worse because I feel for his character even more. Musically, this album is simple slowcore folk, it's not musically adventurous; the talking point here is the lyrics, which don't even bother to gloss over or allude to the subject of death - they just depict it straight up. It's full of anecdotes about his experiences around the death of his wife, blunt and direct, and absolutely tear-inducing. GENRE: INDIE FOLK, SLOWCORE HIGHLIGHTS: REAL DEATH, RAVENS
volition Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 13. Melodrama - Lorde This is a complicated one for me. For starters, I feel like it still hasn't 'clicked' with me the way it has with some, and I wonder if that's my own fault. I feel like my experiences at parties are not quite as poetic as Lorde's were. Now, being in an area where Lorde is incredibly popular (and I've said before that we went to school together, grew up in the same town, etc), it feels like I'm surrounded with praise for her all the time, as if it's impossible to not be amazed by her AOTY nominated, 91 on Metacritic album. I am impressed with the lyrics on here, they stray close to Taylor-core at their lowest but they're almost always clever or insightful in some way, or at least introspective and self-evaluating, distinguishing her from Taylor herself. I also appreciate some of the more progressive production choices, such as on Hard Feelings / Loveless, which I think was a good direction to go in. I can look at this album from afar and tell that it's good, and I can enjoy it while I'm listening to it, but I wonder why it hasn't hit me as hard as it has hit others. This sounds too negative for its placement, but it's mainly me being overly critical, because I expect a lot from her. GENRE: SYNTHPOP, ART POP KINDA HIGHLIGHTS: HARD FEELINGS / LOVELESS, LIABILITY, SOBER II (MELODRAMA)
volition Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 12. American Dream - LCD Soundsystem One of the other comebacks this year! These guys were definitely not gone as long as Slowdive were; their classification as a 'comeback' comes from them quitting I suppose, and the album they released was fantastic so there's nothing to be upset about here. They even got a Billboard 200 #1 (I think) which is their first #1 album (I think), so it all worked out. I've always been a huge fan of their sound, they were one of my most listened artists at one point and one of like three artists I was listening to only, which I might have mentioned before but it shows how huge of a fan I was, and I was worried that I'd be disappointed, but I definitely wasn't. Even with a slightly different musical outlook, it has that classic Murphy lyrical vibe going on that attracts me to their music. It's danceable and depressing. And some people are even declaring it their best, though I wouldn't put it that far yet. Will point out that I really appreciate what they did with Call The Police too. GENRE: DANCE-PUNK, NEW WAVE HIGHLIGHTS: AMERICAN DREAM, CALL THE POLICE, TONITE
volition Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 11. DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar Ahhh so close. This is a damn good album for sure, and while I think everyone agrees it's not his best, it got more than its deserved share of bile from some people, whether it's cause they thought it was too poppy or whatever. It stands strong on its own as an excellent rap statement, with compelling narratives and bangers alike. Intro BLOOD. sets the tone morbidly well, before the furious rapid-fire storm of DNA. comes in, showing everyone why Kendrick is the best in the game right now. It still astounds me with every play, the delivery, lyrics, flow, beat switch-ups, the sample, whew. More commercial tracks HUMBLE., LOYALTY. and LOVE. are greatly enjoyable listens, while standout deep cuts like XXX., FEAR., ELEMENT., and LUST. show Kendrick's ever-strong knack for story-telling. Really do like this album a ton, and I hope it wins AOTY at the Grammys. GENRE: WEST COAST HIP HOP, CONSCIOUS HIP HOP HIGHLIGHTS: DNA., XXX., FEAR., HUMBLE.
volition Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 I'm really happy with my top 10. I think it's pretty guessable based on some stuff I've said before but maybe the order could be surprising.
Vxspertine Posted January 13, 2018 Posted January 13, 2018 Missed a few updates, just wanna say I love most of these albums and can't wait for your top 10
Pink Matter Posted January 13, 2018 Posted January 13, 2018 Another solid set! Slowdive, Lorde, LCD, and Kendrick are my faves here Utopia was cute and Fever Ray is something I have queued for later. Neo Wax Bloom looks/sounds interesting so I'll queue that one too
World Eater Posted January 13, 2018 Posted January 13, 2018 Finally listened to Reaching for Indigo a couple days ago and it was really nice, actually I enjoyed it more than her previous records. That being said, I love almost everything from this update
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 11 hours ago, Vxspertine said: Missed a few updates, just wanna say I love most of these albums and can't wait for your top 10 3 hours ago, Pink Matter said: Another solid set! Slowdive, Lorde, LCD, and Kendrick are my faves here Utopia was cute and Fever Ray is something I have queued for later. Neo Wax Bloom looks/sounds interesting so I'll queue that one too make sure you listen to fever ray's debut if you haven't too, and neo wax bloom is insane 2 hours ago, AlexisNeiers said: Finally listened to Reaching for Indigo a couple days ago and it was really nice, actually I enjoyed it more than her previous records. That being said, I love almost everything from this update and glad you gave it a listen. i'm a massive fan of nico, so an album that seems to exhibit a lot of her influence was bound to get a positive reception from me
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 10. Sleep Well Beast - The National The National are becoming pretty legendary at this point, having released at least 3-4 excellent albums (depending on who you ask) before this one, so it was pretty much expected for it to be another great addition to their discography, and it definitely was. I just love the mood of this album, it's saddening and depressing at moments, but it can be uplifting too, and the lead vocals are fantastically deep and pleasant to listen to. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness is the biggest gem here, because of the great vocal moments on the 'any other way', as well as the guitar lines throughout the song, but there's a lot more to like here too, from the narrative of Guilty Party, to the instrumentation on Day I Die. The National show a consistent penchant for depicting themes of loneliness and melancholy, and through the many standout moments on here, as well as the way they are linked together (sequencing of the album gets a thumbs up from me), they create an album that's worth giving many many listens to. GENRE: INDIE ROCK HIGHLIGHTS: THE SYSTEM ONLY SLEEPS IN TOTAL DARKNESS, I'LL STILL DESTROY YOU, GUILTY PARTY, DAY I DIE
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 9. Ctrl - SZA After much delay and hassle, SZA was finally able to release her debut album, one that I had been waiting on for a long time, and my hype was high after Drew Barrymore was released in January, which ended up being my favourite song of the year. Ctrl absolutely deserves all the acclaim it has been receiving. It is an R&B album that manages to sound like no one elses, with indie rock, electronic, and folk elements being incorporated into the overall sound of the album. The lyrics were the selling point for me, being starkly confessional and full of anecdotes and little fragments of her life, really causing us to empathise with her. Throughout the album, she sings about her insecurities and flaws, and her anxiety, and while it seems so spontaneous, like a monologue or a rant, it all manages to be phrased perfectly in terms of rhyme and melody; she takes cues from hip hop in this respect. Songs like Supermodel and The Weekend really focus on storytelling, with so many little details incorporated into the narratives she weaves. Meanwhile tracks Doves in the Wind and Anything show off interesting production quirks while still highlighting her story. The songs are more diverse than it seems, but her strong vocal performance ties all the tracks together into a consistent and coherent album. It's really astonishing for a debut (full-length). GENRE: ALTERNATIVE R&B HIGHLIGHTS: DREW BARRYMORE, DOVES IN THE WIND, SUPERMODEL, PROM
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 8. Antisocialites - Alvvays Archie, Marry Me has got to be one of my favourite songs of this decade. It's one of those songs that manages to cultivate a perfect moment, and it's that hook - the way her voice falls on the second hey, whew. However, I was also charmed by the lyricism of that track, which was deceptively detailed in spite of the fact that the song seemed to distract you from its lyrics with the amazing way it sounded. With Antisocialites, Alvvays managed to one-up anything they did on their debut; the instrumentation is stronger, the lyricism is better (and still retains that amazing charm - just listen to the verses on In Undertow), and the melodies, perhaps their strongest selling point, are heavenly. The first three tracks are the strongest opening stretch of songs I've heard on an album this year, and this is due to their fantastic melodies. So yes, these songs are lovely and dreamy, pure joy to listen to, but they're also very intelligent, and they make up a really astounding album. GENRE: INDIE POP, DREAM POP HIGHLIGHTS: IN UNDERTOW, DREAMS TONITE, PLIMSOLL PUNKS, LOLLIPOP (ODE TO JIM)
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 7. Flower Boy - Tyler, the Creator Who would've thought Tyler, the Creator, of all people, would release an album this good, if even good at all, an album that is topping year-end lists and received massive acclaim from pretty much everywhere. It deserves it though, it's a hip hop and neo-soul masterpiece, and when I first heard Boredom, I knew this album would be something different. The production on here is lovely and soulful, and his rapping is technically great, but it's his lyricism that makes this album such a step forward. This album is so introspective. He covers topics like loneliness, depression, and love, and a lot of his rapping is really soul-baring and brave. I feel like pretty much everyone was surprised that he released something like this, but I'm so happy he did. I also feel like his music on here may be able to help a lot of people who are feeling similarly. GENRE: WEST COAST HIP HOP, NEO-SOUL HIGHLIGHTS: 911 / MR LONELY, BOREDOM, SEE YOU AGAIN, WHO DAT BOY
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 6. Take Me Apart - Kelela After only releasing fantastic material prior to Take Me Apart, it's safe to say that I had high expectations for the album. Lead single LMK was a banger for sure, and I loved the production and vocal performance by Kelela on it, but I was secretly worried that the album might not end up being as deep as I was hoping for. Well, that was a pointless worry, because Take Me Apart turned out to be one of the most mature, emotionally realised debut albums, R&B albums, hell, female albums I'd heard, ever. This album undeniably feels like it was made by an adult. The way it delves into the intricacies of love and relationships is expert, even peerless. Her lyrics on this thing are subtle, but they still manage to depict complex situations with depth. Conceptually, Take Me Apart achieves its goal with flying colours. And what about how it sounds? She gives fantastic vocal performances on every track, and though she's not a belter, her phrasing is impeccable. Turn to Dust, Better, and Onanon are just a few of the many examples of her demonstrating her affinity for writing great vocal lines. The production on here is also perfect and nuanced, never overwhelming the song but always contributing greatly (Onanon again is a good example, Frontline, Waitin, SOS too). It's an incredible album and I still listen to it very often; I don't think I'll ever tire of it. GENRE: ALTERNATIVE R&B, UK BASS HIGHLIGHTS: ONANON, BLUE LIGHT, TURN TO DUST, WAITIN
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 5. Narkopop - GAS Legendary ambient artist GAS returns with Narkopop, a sequel of sorts to his acclaimed earlier album Pop. It feels pretty much like the night to Pop's day. As an album, thematically, it feels very nocturnal, cold, and dark, making it a great listen at night. More abstractly, it feels very foresty, like walking through a forest at night. He generates these moods through the looping of orchestral samples with synths and drum patterns. The music here flows back and forth, and the progressions in the sound throughout feel natural and assured. This was somewhat controversial earlier in the year when Fantano reviewed it and gave it a 2, which obviously by its placement here, I don't exactly understand, because Narkopop was very effective at conveying a certain mood, and the sound and composition of it is very lush and well created, and I love listening to it. I suck at describing ambient music so I'm just going to leave it at that, but I will say that I'm absolutely not disappointed with this comeback of sorts; I think it's a fantastic album. GENRE: AMIBENT HIGHLIGHTS: NARKOPOP 7, NARKOPOP 2 (just listen to the whole thing)
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 4. The Assassination of Julius Caesar - Ulver I'm probably going to repeat a lot of my Rolling Stone description here with this backstory, but here goes. Ulver were initially a black metal band, but they started experimenting with their sound, producing a lot of dark ambient and electronic albums that were a great progression because they were able to translate the dark themes of their metal music into the new styles and genres they were experimenting with. This album sees them going into full synthpop, and it was a huge success for me, at one point it was my favourite album of the year, but over time it managed to fall to a respectable 4th place. I love synthpop on the darker end of things, and this is just that, carried out with compositional brilliance by musicians with a strong hand on their craft. The instrumentals and production on this album are seriously impressive, and are written to manipulate tension and suspense throughout the album. The vocal performance is also seriously impressive, although that's to be expected given that metal vocalists tend to have huge vocal ranges. Overall the album is a masterwork, and a standout artistic progression in a career full of them. GENRE: SYNTHPOP HIGHLIGHTS: ROLLING STONE, NEMORALIA, COMING HOME
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 3. Black Origami - Jlin This is another album that's harder to describe, but my god is it incredible - Jlin is an absolute musical genius. While it is different as a genre (footwork vs wonky), I see this album as being similar to Neo Wax Bloom by Iglooghost in that it's a assmeblage of sounds and textures that must have taken so much time and care to create, but it all comes to together as a mind blowing listen. It's less erratic than that album though, which tends to veer off in multiple directions; Black Origami is more confident - Jlin knows exactly what she's doing here. Every sound on this album is painstakingly placed, so that overall each track is a supremely catchy and danceable moment, only possible due to the various different loops and noises that occur every second. Nothing much more to say, but if you give it a listen (if you haven't already), you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. GENRE: FOOTWORK, IDM HIGHLIGHTS: NYAKINYUA RISE, BLACK ORIGAMI, KYANITE
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 2. Big Fish Theory - Vince Staples Best produced rap album for me in a year full of excellent rap albums. Vince managed to beat out Tyler, Kendrick, K.R.I.T., Brockhampton, among others, with this fantastic album. It was an immediate favourite on first listen too, didn't even need to grow, though it still managed to get even better with time. I hadn't even heard his previous album Summertime '06, or his EPs, when I listened to this. I'm so glad I did though, because I absolutely love hip hop albums with the influence of electronics, especially UK garage or UK bass styles, and this album has those influences everywhere. It's damn catchy for sure, songs like Big Fish are undeniably catchy bangers, and that's partly due to the great production witht hese electronic styles, and partly because of Vince's great flow on these tracks. That doesn't detract from the lyricism at all though, it's just that the instrumentals on these songs is such a major talking point because they're just so punchy, all the percussion and basslines and electronics are bouncy, sharp, confident, and assured. The Amy Winehouse sample was a valuable moment here, because it spells out a theme of self-destruction and just feels like a fitting moment, though I do admit that most of my listens of this don't always focus on the narrative. You know, bangers. GENRE: WEST COAST HIP HOP, HIP HOUSE HIGHLIGHTS: BIG FISH, YEAH RIGHT, 745, BAGBAK
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 (edited) 1. Music for People in Trouble - Susanne Sundfør Ah, what can I say. I concede to that fact that this album choice for a #1 may be slightly @Unoriginal (also @theblackestday), but this makes up for the fact that it's getting 0 mentions on the year-end lists of publications, which is kind of ridiculous but what can you do. Put simply, this is a masterpiece. Folk is not always engaging for me, but this album draws from so many other genres in the process that it almost doesn't feel like a folk album (chamber folk usually feels less lo-fi anyway I suppose) - electronic, jazz, pop, ambient, drone, classical, musique concrete, you name it. I do love her previous 3 synthpop albums, which already had attracted me to her arresting voice, but this is on a complete other level. She sings about love, life and death, and the state of the world, and it feels at points like each could be a metaphor for each other. These issues are on her mind, and the weight of having these worries becomes too much, hence the concept. Conceptually, this album is masterful in its design, starting from the most barren track, Mantra, into a track with more interesting guitar but still sparse, Reincarnation, with the tracks progressively revealing more moments of interest, leading up to two vocal climaxes, the first in Undercover, a moment the entire album had been building up to thus far, and the second in Mountaineers, the final song, where Susanne finally fights back against everything, with 'we won't abide your laws, anymore'. It's sheer catharsis and a glorious moment, placed in the perfect location in the album. The way the other songs on Music For People in Trouble work their way up to that moment is an excercise in patience and tension. The lyrics are also really perfect, providing brilliant imagery and metaphors for the different aspects of the concepts she sings about. She weaves in little pieces of the story throughout these songs, all sung fantastically and manifested as gorgeously written melodies, gently pushed into the narrative by moments of interest musically, such as the jazzy outro of Good Luck Bad Luck, the sliding of the guitar in Reincarnation, the tinkly flourishes and flute motif in No One Believes In Love Anymore, the spoken passages in Music for People in Trouble and The Golden Age, and the drone of The Sound of War, all perfect moments in an album leading up to even bigger perfect moments. I feel like I could write a massive list of every amazing moment in this album, that wouldn't fit in this description here. The album feels so well-executed, it's absolutely brilliant, and it easily took this place as #1 without contest. It's also especially notable because it doesn't tire with repeated listens; you could play it back to back and not tire of it, which even some of my favourite albums this year can't claim. Every repeated listen also unpacks new details to appreciate too. What a legend. GENRE: ART POP, CHAMBER FOLK HIGHLIGHTS: UNDERCOVER, THE SOUND OF WAR, REINCARNATION, MOUNTAINEERS Edited January 14, 2018 by volition
Tom Vercetti Posted January 14, 2018 Posted January 14, 2018 Now this is a top 10. Love the variety and depth too. Thanks for an enjoyable countdown
volition Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 Just now, Tom Vercetti said: Now this is a top 10. Love the variety and depth too. Thanks for an enjoyable countdown thanks for following it really appreciate everyone who followed, or gave their comments. didn’t know how this would go but y’all made me feel welcome
ATRL Moderator Unoriginal Posted January 14, 2018 ATRL Moderator Posted January 14, 2018 Talent won and wow whatta writeup. The highlights are spot on too (but I honestly would've said that regardless of which songs you out there because I genuinely think this is a perfect album) SZA and Kelela being in the top ten too wheeeeew I'm surprised I haven't seen Doves in more people's highlights honestly
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