Not too much I've heard here but Dangerous Woman is a massive highlight for me this year! Especially Into You, Greedy & the title track :wub:

The only album I have heard is Dangerous Woman what an album! All killer, No filler is what I can say about it!

 

Might check out Francis and The Lights album heard good things about it!

Wet :heart: 'Deadwater' was one of the best bjsc tracks of last year (and was sent by me, naturally), that song and 'All The Ways' are absolutely everything <3

 

Hinds are a cool prospect, glad i picked up their debut in early january as it's a total joy!

 

Hinds are delightful, I spent the best part of this year having a huge crush on Carlotta. I do worry how far they can go after the first album though which is a shame :(

Not too much I've heard here but Dangerous Woman is a massive highlight for me this year! Especially Into You, Greedy & the title track :wub:

 

The only album I have heard is Dangerous Woman what an album! All killer, No filler is what I can say about it!

 

Might check out Francis and The Lights album heard good things about it!

 

Lots of love for OUR GRANDE. Thanks for posting guys but I can't confirm there'll be much more like 'Dangerous Woman' left to come!!

#12 Mitski Puberty 2

 

What an awful name for an album :wacko: :blink:

 

#09 Solange A Seat at the Table

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Solange Knowles, the world’s favourite cult artist, dropped A Seat at the Table in late September and would’ve been fully excused by everybody had it fallen flat on its face. When looking at tackling problematic issues and taking on hit-or-miss concepts Solange looked them all square in the eyes. It’s unfair to even begin to draw parallels between her and her slightly famous big sister, but off the back of yet another bold proclamation of black art the two were definitely singing from the same hymn sheet this year. We all know the story of the Kraftwerk concert and the half-eaten limes after all.

A Seat at the Table is steeped in soul, dripping in succinct interludes throughout. The record hosts a bold list of collaborators and accreditors which reads almost as a who’s who of forgotten black musical representation. It even features her parents. But despite all the imagery and roll-calling it would be ultimately without worth if the record didn’t have legs to stand up to other albums of similar ilk. On ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’ Solange confronts and reclaims her rights as a 30 year old black female and does it whilst drifting gorgeously over the backing. ‘Cranes in the Sky’ is a tale of survival and instinct, the idea of being supressed into emotional emptiness. It can almost be interpreted as a melodic list of diary entries passed down from generation to generation throughout the Knowles family tree.

Yet despite the grandeur and the explicit messages hitting you left, right and centre it’s clear to note that Solange co-produced and co-wrote the entirety of A Seat at the Table. She came out with an introspective look not only into black culture but into black womanhood too. It was a huge statement of intent that goes way beyond her target audience. When looking back at times and places in an artist’s timeline this could well turn out to be Solange’s moment.

What an awful name for an album :wacko: :blink:

 

Listen to 'Happy' or 'Your Best American Girl' Mikey. From what I remember of your musical preferences I'd assume you'd enjoy both!

santi betta feature tbhhhh

santi betta feature tbhhhh

 

Anything's possible lad :o

#08 Kanye West The Life of Pablo

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2016 was quite a year for Kanye. Most of that relative to his Twitter splurges, financial documentation and a recent hospitalisation on the grounds of concern for his mental state. In the midst of all that he also released his most self-aware and nerdiest album to date. However, to say self-aware is not to say it’s not rich in famous brand Kanye egotism. Heck he even samples two of his own songs (yes, his *own* songs) to create ‘Famous’.

The Life of Pablo, in all its intricacy, still sees a 2016 version of Kanye with a point to prove, a Kanye striving to set the record straight. In a blogosphere who loves to roll out the ‘self-parody’ line, he stood up and gave us all the middle finger. Kanye takes his most concise swipe on the ‘I Love Kanye’ snippet looping ‘I miss the old Kanye / I used to love Kanye / I hate the new Kanye’. Fully putting to bed the troglodytic mindset of ‘wanting old Kanye’ and claiming in no uncertain terms that no matter how good he was, it would be unsustainable for him to be making that music, and indeed be that person, in 2016. Call it ballsy, call it whatever you like, Kanye is simply keeping it real. Something he has very rarely been capable of throughout his career as an artist.

Yet despite the petulance and rebellion of previous albums, we see a more complex issue unfolding here. We hear him talk of his family. We hear him talk about where he feels he belongs in the juggernaut Kardashian movement. We hear him talk about how he perceives himself. The whole of ‘Real Friends’ sees Kanye at his hyperbolic best, giving us an authentic ‘the struggle is real’ moment. ‘Wolves’ portrays him casting a nostalgic glance back at the ‘808s’ days. However, The Life of Pablo, for all its insecure excerpts is Kanye’s real coming of age moment. ‘Saint Pablo’ being the befitting eulogy at the end of a mammoth era, recalling the life of an international hip hop superstar and all that accompanies it. Anyone who believed Kanye had fallen into disrepair were made to sit up and listen. Once again. It’s distressing to see the Kanye West story elapse over time but one thing is for certain, his music is as encapsulating and striking as ever.

 

#07 Whitney Light Upon the Lake

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Light Upon the Lake is made and constructed for one undeniable reason that becomes clear as much as three songs in to your first listen. You’re enjoying a balmy summer’s afternoon and need music to compliment the good food, drink and company you are indulging in. The simplicity of the record is essentially what makes it so beautiful and makes it even easier to overlook its incredibly rigorous approach to following the rubric on how to make an album that stands up to the Pitchfork musical Tropicana of the past 10 years.

‘No Woman’, the album opener, sums up the record blissfully from the offset. The fusion of the simplest of guitar strumming patterns and Julian Elrich’s proportionately damaged vocals submerge effortlessly into one of the most beautiful retelling-of-times-past stories of the year. “Come up and I wish I could stay / I’ve been sleeping alone”. It shows the two-piece in their ground down, most vulnerable state. Whilst still looking back on this period of life with fondness. This same nostalgic glee is shared on ‘No Matter Where We Go’, this time fit to the sound of pick-me-up hooks and sing-along choruses.

It doesn’t really matter which perspective you look at Light Upon the Lake from, it’s all comes to the same conclusion. We sail along short entries with no more than a handful of lines examining heartbreak, heartache and loss. We gloss over beautiful memories and safe places. Whichever emotion you tap into and get hung up on doesn’t really matter, we’ll still continue to drift along Whitney’s empathetic plumb line and have a thoroughly enjoyable time doing so.

 

I WISH I could love A Seat At The Table as much as I have done with her previous work but it doesn't hit me.

 

The Life of Pablo I liked, then forgot about, but have since returned to and enjoy more now. It doesn't hold a candle to his previous efforts but with such a strong back catalogue it's hard to keep bettering previous work. I worry about his future musically though now he's descending further and further into personal and social turmoil. Who knows, perhaps it will lead into a renewed style of artistry for him? What a man though.

I WISH I could love A Seat At The Table as much as I have done with her previous work but it doesn't hit me.

 

The Life of Pablo I liked, then forgot about, but have since returned to and enjoy more now. It doesn't hold a candle to his previous efforts but with such a strong back catalogue it's hard to keep bettering previous work. I worry about his future musically though now he's descending further and further into personal and social turmoil. Who knows, perhaps it will lead into a renewed style of artistry for him? What a man though.

 

Yeah I get what you mean. Kanye earned a lot of plaudits for how dysfunctional TLoP was and I always just assumed it was part of a greater expression of art but maybe not. The next album will be telling.

 

PS still disappointed with u over Solange ;_;

#06 Jenny Hval Blood Bitch

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On her sixth studio album, Jenny Hval took the risk of toying with a conceptual record. Strip it down to surface level and you find an eerie yet provocative record. A droning yet strategically alluring record. Hval talked about how the themes of beauty and horror ran subconsciously into each other throughout and it’s obvious to see she made no distinction between the two.

Blood Bitch is full of mood and atmosphere, unfolding layer by layer with each song. Largely by its very nature it’s made as an uncomfortable record and achieves this quite easily. On ‘The Great Undressing’ Jenny vociferously and rather jokingly dismisses the idea that the sole substance of the record is her own menstrual blood, stating “[the album is] about vampires”. Just seconds earlier she’d delved into the unparalleled soliloquy ‘Untamed Religion’, expressing in meaty detail how she’d awoken to find blood on her bedsheets oblivious to the fact that it was ‘time yet’. It’s one of the few times we see her humour on what is a largely vaporous piece of work. Not only does it paint quite a vivid image for the listener, it shows what an entirely multi-faceted piece of work this is. I mean, what other record this year would you find period blood juxtaposed with vampires?

Hval has always been very much about overstepping the actual musical foundation of her work, throwing lashings of conceptualisation and initial unacceptability in to the mixing pot. However if we claw away the vast oceans of mist surrounding this record we notice one simple, yet abstract, fact. Jenny, quite effortlessly, created the most symbolically female record of the year. And not in the Beyoncé way either. In the Virginia Woolf-inspired, emotionally-transcendent way. Admirable.

 

So far from your list I am loving the Angel Olsen and especially Blood Orange LPs, definitely amongst my faves of the year. Sadly I didn't really enjoy Jenny Hval's album that much sadly, despite loving “Conceptual Romance” - that said, additional point for using the word bitch in the title.

 

Kanye West was just disappointing to me... it seemed to be somewhat unfinished. Obviously massively hyped but it did not justify it IMO.

 

Hoping for something left-field to come, maybe Kero Kero Bonito?

So far from your list I am loving the Angel Olsen and especially Blood Orange LPs, definitely amongst my faves of the year. Sadly I didn't really enjoy Jenny Hval's album that much sadly, despite loving “Conceptual Romance” - that said, additional point for using the word bitch in the title.

 

Kanye West was just disappointing to me... it seemed to be somewhat unfinished. Obviously massively hyped but it did not justify it IMO.

 

Hoping for something left-field to come, maybe Kero Kero Bonito?

 

I always found Kero Kero Bonito an interesting idea from what I heard (but sadly didn't hear enough for inclusion this yr!)

Solange's album was really good! First ever time I've taken much notice of her (I really need to check out the other 2 albums judging by the reactions to them on this site, only really familiar with I Decided from them!). Don't Touch My Hair & Cranes In The Sky are my highlights from the album <3

Solange's album was really good! First ever time I've taken much notice of her (I really need to check out the other 2 albums judging by the reactions to them on this site, only really familiar with I Decided from them!). Don't Touch My Hair & Cranes In The Sky are my highlights from the album <3

 

There's quite a lot to sift through in terms of Solange but for the most part it's all very good. I didn't think anything would top 'Losing You' purely because it's such a fantastic pop moment. Most of this album does though and all for completely different reasons!

#05 Radiohead A Moon Shaped Pool

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Testament to the year in music, if this had been released at any time other than 2016 it would likely have been album of the year. Given the length of time Radiohead have been in our lives it makes it all the more difficult for them to produce something completely mind blowing. However, on A Moon Shaped Pool they released their most melodically on-point album to date. It’s packed to the seams with the kind of drawn out, lingering moments that we’ve heard Thom Yorke showcase his falsetto all over for decades. The type that you want to rest your head to but at the same time want to savour every last word. It’s frightening, it’s gorgeous and it’s as accessible as any Radiohead release that you’re likely ever to hear.

A real focal point of the album is, to every Radiohead fans amazement, the full-length, studio-produced version of ‘True Love Waits’. A song that has been toyed with in a live performance capacity for years. It emphasises how beautifully haunting the five-piece outfit can be at the very top of their game. Gliding along in a half-awake, half-asleep state, Thom explores the avenues with which undying love can take. “True love waits / In haunted attics”. Saving the final wailing moments – “Just don’t leave / Don’t leave” for the song and albums final breath. Compounded in to an even more heart wrenching utterance in light of his split with partner (and mother of two children) in August of last year.

The album in full is said to be about the change that occurs in everyday life. Befitting for a moment where Radiohead have seemingly had enough of bizarre concepts and outlandish campaigning. They’ve ridded of anything that could distract from the beauty of their music and laid themselves down in their most revealing album of recent times. Something akin to being sat stationary for a prolonged period of time, peacefully looking on as the world changes around you.

 

Nice to see Radiohead here, their official chart run was amusing :heehee: