January 1, 20178 yr Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool was pretty good and vibey (chilled) I love the song Burn The Witch the most clear standout for me!!
January 2, 20178 yr Author #04 Frankie Cosmos Next Thing http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/924/Lzgxyg.jpg On just her second album, Frankie Cosmos continue to do something remarkable. When treading the line with reflections of artistry compressed in to such short margins (the longest track on the album weighs in at 2:34) it’s easy to come across as off-balance and rushed. Best Coast amongst others can attest to that. Frankie (real name Greta Kline) seems to hit the spot perfectly however and continues to do so with her latest piece. She gives you a brief, fleeting glimpse in to the issues she feels are pressing for our section of wistfully youthful society and leaves you wanting just that little bit more, that extra thirty seconds. Yet, and this is the remarkable thing, you don’t conclude the album feeling at all unfulfilled. You come away with a sickly-sweet sugar rush yearning for a life of close-knit campfire bonds and angsty first date experiences that somehow turn out alright from the second encounter and beyond. On the surface Next Thing seems nice. A collection of instantaneous, bite size pop melodies worthy of a foot tap or even a sway of the upper body. Scratch a little deeper and we realise what a beautiful body of work this is, largely presenting more food for thought than it is giving definite answers. On the 1 minute 49 second-long ‘On the Lips’ Greta lets us delve in to the undergrowth of Frankie Cosmos and take a long, hard look. Showing us clearly that less is more, the interlinking repetitions of “Where / Why would I kiss you” open up more questions about the given intrigue of a person than a simple five word utterance could ever begin to lay out. The vocal arrangement gives it a dreamy exterior, contextually it’s as thought-provoking as anything else out there right now. 2016 has been huge for Frankie Cosmos. In terms of an album which, on first listen, could easily be dismissed as flimsy and throwaway, it has continued to cement Greta’s status as an artist full of dynamism, an artist with an incredible gift to make you understand and get on board with her without barely breaking the two minute window. Frankie Cosmos allow, even invite you on occasion, to relate to the project and hope that one day we can all relate to each other with the same ease and simplicity.
January 2, 20178 yr Author #03 ANOHNI HOPELESSNESS http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/923/aBW3NJ.jpg A lot has changed since Anthony and the Johnsons threw down ‘I Am Bird Now’ in 2005. Critically acclaimed for its willingness for those who felt disconnected to have something they can invest themselves in, it reinvented the connections between spirit and beauty all over again. 11 years on, the artist formerly known as Antony is back with lashings of politically cultivating statements, throwing down the gauntlet to anybody else who has an opinion on anything or anyone. Taking beats from Oneohtrix Point Never and Hudson Mohawke, she cuts through the record and vocally allows you to assimilate each and every last paroxysm hurled at you. On HOPELESSNESS, ANOHNI claws across the heating of the Earth’s temperature, drone bombings in Afghanistan and the failings of the US electorate. However, to say these are bold statements of intent are not to say they are all tackled in the same manner. On ‘Crisis’, perhaps the most assertive song on the album, she hypothetically lists destructive scenarios involving drone bombs (a recurring theme throughout) before breaking down into a gut-wrenching loop of ‘I’m Sorry’ cries. It’s graphic, it’s poignant and most notably it’s agonising to listen to. It’s not the only time HOPELESSNESS drags us backwards through an emotional minefield. ‘Execution’ mirrors carefree, summery trips and blips with the listings of those caught in the blurred lines of where political decision-making and mass killing cross over. She makes it hard for us to keep tabs on what we’re supposed to feel and thus presents a thousand different thought-provoking images for us to ponder over. In conclusion to the album you feel like you’ve taken a long, mind-awakening stroll through the Antony and the Johnsons pied-à-terre. The place where freedom and acceptance of speech is readily encouraged. The place where access is only granted if you’re well and truly ready to open your fucking eyes and take in what’s happening around you.
January 2, 20178 yr Absolutely love Hopelessness. It seemed to really chime with me this year and pretty well summed up the tone of 2016 for me, I also received the vinyl for Christmas. I especially like what she said at the start of the year about the Oscar's: http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm82/TheMagicPosition86/Screen%20Shot%202016-05-01%20at%2021.17.40_zpsdwjev7cx.png Edited January 2, 20178 yr by Doctor Blind
January 4, 20178 yr Author Absolutely love Hopelessness. It seemed to really chime with me this year and pretty well summed up the tone of 2016 for me, I also received the vinyl for Christmas. I especially like what she said at the start of the year about the Oscar's: http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm82/TheMagicPosition86/Screen%20Shot%202016-05-01%20at%2021.17.40_zpsdwjev7cx.png Lots of what she says seems to strike a chord with me, a very well-informed individual. HOPELESSNESS was certainly had a right-time right-place feel to it!
January 4, 20178 yr Author #02 Frank Ocean Blonde http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/922/h6niVX.jpg Hate him or love him nobody can deny Frank’s gift of telling a good story. Alternatively, and often overlooked, is Frank’s ability to come up with the most languid one liners that ring around your head to the sound of a pneumatic drill. On the opener to Blonde, Frank reintroduces himself to us with a lead in line of ‘these bitches want Nikes’, the most lazily clinging sentence he’s come out with since he instructed us that Kanye ‘got some pretty good beats on this 808s CD’. But to say that he is as flat-footed as to rely on scintillatingly deft one-liners to carry him through would be the biggest understatement you could make about this album. Starting as he means to go on clearly, he then delves in to his most deeply saddening collection of short stories to date. Frank Ocean, after four years of mystery and will-he-wont-he question marks, had long had us on tenterhooks about what kind of album Blonde would ultimately turn out to be. An album burrowing further into the catacombs of his innermost thoughts, uncovering the raw naivety of a man exposed all too unfamiliarly to a world of celebrity worship? A record piquing our interests with drawn out stories of the underbelly of our darkest reflections? In parts he touched on both avenues of passage. We run through his emotional drawing board accessing smatterings of fragility and delicacy, Frank’s struggles and most testing times. It’s layered in high-profile production from start to finish, but that’s not say he didn’t rest this album down with the utmost passion and feeling. If anything it’s far less accessible as a full-length than 2011’s ‘Channel Orange’ – ‘Self Control’ being the most agonising in a long list of touching moments. Blonde fires shots at his troubles with coming to grips with the almost subconscious arrogance that comes hand-in-hand with fame, his experiments with both genders previous to coming out and an all-round defiance towards leaving his pseudo childlike state of mind behind. It’s not so much a coming of age story, we’ve seen too many exposed parts of Frank’s lyrical mastery for that to be so, but it’s the next progressive chapter in (what is becoming) a genius back catalogue of music.
January 7, 20178 yr Author #01 Bon Iver 22, A Million http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/921/S3ZueV.jpg Before the turn of 2016 everyone knew Bon Iver. Whether you held a cult following for them in various hipster circles, overheard Kanye waxing lyrical about them or quite liked that cover Birdy did, it all counts. Therefore their change in direction for their third full length was by no lengths a safe move. There’s musical progression and then there’s a complete shift two steps to the right in sound, aesthetic and production. On 22, A Million Justin Vernon and friends drop the twee acoustic patterns and bohemia and replace it with distorted vocals and layers upon layers of processed structuring. One constant remained however, despite the pulse of a half-man, half-machine running throughout we still saw Justin enforcing himself vocally, struggling with near enough everything in life. ‘29 #Stafford APTS’ is probably the most typically Bon Iver song on the record. Beautiful and melodic, Justin’s vocal arrangement ghosts over a paling piano and acoustic backdrop. With only the slightest hint of pixilation towards the end. However, for the most part of the record we see Bon Iver’s experimentation in a much fuller and bolder form. Between the looping melodrama of ‘22 (OVER S∞∞N)’, the mechanical pining of ‘715 – CREEKS’ and the throwback gospel beatings of ‘8 (circle)’ we see something gorgeous, magical and quite extraordinary. Bon Iver are admitting throughout to this being a tough record to chew in to. They’re admitting to finding solace in a relative level of anonymity. Most importantly, they play it out in the most painful and fictional way they possibly can. Bon Iver, after five years, returned with the most damning statement of relevance they’ve ever made. Ironically in a time when Justin seems to be evermore irked by the need for it. Further to this (after Theresa pulled the plug on Article 50 happening last year) he triggered the most important disassociation of the year. Not to say that it’s a clean break, but enough to establish the difference. It was by no means an effortless process, but it was the album that Bon Iver had to release in 2016 and did to marvellous effect.
January 7, 20178 yr Author Full list for those (not that) interested: 01 Bon Iver 22, A Million 02 Frank Ocean Blonde 03 ANOHNI HOPELESSNESS 04 Frankie Cosmos Next Thing 05 Radiohead A Moon Shaped Pool 06 Jenny Hval Blood Bitch 07 Whitney Light Upon the Lake 08 Kanye West The Life of Pablo 09 Solange A Seat at the Table 10 Angel Olsen My Woman 11 Hinds Leave Me Alone 12 Mitski Puberty 2 13 Teenage Fanclub Here 14 Francis and the Lights Farewell, Starlite! 15 Ariana Grande Dangerous Woman 16 Let’s Eat Grandma I, Gemini 17 Wet Don’t You 18 Nicolas Jaar Sirens 19 Topaz Jones Arcade 20 Blood Orange Freetown Sound Thank you to everybody who commented and for those who read but chose not to comment, I hope you enjoyed it. HAVE A GREAT 2017.
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