Top Albums 2015 Part III 30–21
30. The Winter Passing – A Different Space Of Mind
The dynamic of duo vocals, a female and a male voice, is a known in emo bands. The Winter Passing also have that trait running in favor of their place in this genre: The rougher male vocals, the also punky, but more tender female vocals. Nonetheless, the way the band is able to utilize this dynamic, not only trading verses or having a song lean on the one more than on the other, is drawing you in. Take “Flowerpot” for example: The tender vocals deliver the chorus, but do not work against the tortured male part, delivering maybe an uplifting moment, and work as two parts of the same. A Different Space Of Mind can be read as a fight with the troubles of adolescence, more often than not the lingering question of purpose in life. This also, is very emo, but doesn´t grow old, especially as the interplay of The Winter Passing is not in any way lax or lo-fi, escaping any associations of being aimless and full of negativity altogether.
29. Awake In Sleep – Heights
I genuinely miss some great sludge and doom metal bands in the recent years, pairing dirty guitar sounds with harsh growls and yet, still retaining a feel for space, for the atmospheric, the unprocessed moments, instruments conveying despair. Gladly, Awake In Sleep, after their 2011 debut returned with Heights this year. The ISIS comparison is always easy and it would be a lie not to find some kind of connection to them, but Awake In Sleep sure do know how to craft a sound of their own, switching from the meditative into the angered in a few notes and letting their instrumentals parts breathe and develop like psychedelic jams. Some might find this blend of elements to be outdated, perfected in the prime years of post-metal, but I find there is place for these expressions, the sadness of a screams, apart from going into the experimental and black metal like more recent bands making heavy music.
28. Wolf Alice – My Love Is Cool
The appeal of this band lies in its great ability to deliver every style you´d imagine from a collective armed with guitars, drums, bass and synths in the matter of individual songs and the whole of their debut. There is some grunge, some psychedelia, hints of r´n´b and straight out power-pop. Big props have to go to Ellie Rowsell´s vocal bandwidth, doing the sweet and passionate as well as the edgy or folky as if she´d been in a band of this direction from the start. In a way this approach and My Love Is Cool is the thing that needed to happen to rock music a long while ago and which was the case in metal or hip hop for a long time now: a band´s transgression of genres becoming their natural mode of being, them not “trying” a sound for a song or the period of a record.
27. Drake – If You´re Reading This It´s Too Late
“When I pull up on a nigga, tell that nigga back, back / I´m too good with these word, watch a nigga backtrack”, were the first lines that hit you by surprise as Drake released his newest set of songs in early February. The bravado oozes out of this song, Drake knowing that his take on the “no marketing”, “no lead-up” approach of dropping an album would work well for him. The whole story behind If You´re Reading This, is tangled; it may just be Drake pushing out some songs to end his contract with cash-money, but either way, he isn’t an artist to just deliver an album because of such reasons, let alone drop something half-finished. If You´re Reading This is Drake´s darkest and moodiest release yet. After the intro, he only gives you one full on singing track, sticking to dropping bars and his frustration over a very cohesive field of production. This album just goes to stand that Drake will never hit a dead end as a songwriter or entertainer, continuing to evolve his skills and crew of talented producers.
26. Wale – The Album About Nothing
I´ve never seen much of Seinfeld and only recently got the impetus from a friend to watch the show. He also showed me the “Nothing Pitch” from the show and seeing this you´ll get the connection of Seinfeld and Wale´s project. His album about nothing is a very heartfelt take on life and all its facets. Not highly political or socially concerned, but touching on many important themes. “The Helium Balloon” is about the transporting quality of music and art, enabling the listener to experience a world other than his own, being “uplifted” and taking in different perspectives. “The Middle Finger” with its catchy hook of “Fuck You Leave Me Alone” has Wale taking on the stress of society’s opinions of him and gossip decentering himself. As Jerry Seinfeld gives context on the end of this song, saying “Aware Of Everything / But Paying Attention To One Thing / Me, and my life”, The Album About Nothing is Wale´s turn of sitting on the bench with the listener and giving his accounts of things, the daily, the usual, the nothing, that is the center of your existence.
25. Public Service Broadcasting – The Race For Space
Seeing old documentaries, reading about the Race For Space between America and the Soviet Union, can be as amusing as it can be distant for the contemporary perception, where news about some space station, satellite and stuff is thrown into the news mix between Kanye West and other useless crap. PSB set out to fill these accounts of yesteryear with some color, some sound of the usually silent and always only representative image of space. Their use of original records, speeches by president and communications of base stations and astronauts delivers context for their aural endeavors. Surely, they never stray far from the set sound images of space music, but The Race For Space never sounds purely nostalgic or outdated, the tension of syth lines rising, bleeps and buzzes never failing to excite and indicate the journey to the unknown. You´ll might not actually learn something factual from this album, but it will deliver the excitement and puzzlement space still holds for mankind in a striking way.
24. Fetty Wap – Fetty Wap
Fetty Wap´s voice, his distinct croon might be the most captivating thing, which I can´t break down and analyze, this year. His lyrics are hauntingly redundant, karate kicking like Lui Kang (which is cool), 1738, rewinding things and so on. But just hear him repeat the phrase 1738 and you´ll know why people became obsessed with posting their mall recipes all over the internet.
23. Kacey Musgraves – Pageant Material
Heralded as the new star of country, Kacey Musgraves is somewhat unofficially tasked with taking the genre and making the experience modern and contemporary, listenable for those who don´t hang in bars and live by the old rules of the south with don´t apply anymore. On her debut she did this by addressing the actual lives of her surroundings, getting pregnant early, being addicted and other fates of suburbia everywhere. Weed smoking has transgressed into Pageant Material, Musgraves´ account of being her own way, not reaching up to the ideals of beauty and behavior. The album is full with reference to her hometown, the perks of family life and being rooted in her surroundings; all delivered by Musgraves without sounding too traditional. Her love songs play even better, slide-guitar included and make Pageant Material not only realistic as needed but just as heartfelt and sweet.
22. Years & Years – Communion
A whole album about longing, about the yearning for someone. Years&Years are one of the best electro-pop outfits, I´ve heard in recent years. Their singles leading up to the album are almost undistinguishable from the other album tracks. Their ability to mix different styles of music into theirs and churn out danceable energetic joints, just as well as sparse ballads adds to them not becoming repetitive. Every song here has some appeal, not one becoming a filler for the already huge success of other songs. Singer Oli´s voice, his boyish timbre is suited for their sounds, loud and clear over the mix and always filled with pathos. While not being completely “feel good” content wise, Communion brings out everything good about pop while still being refreshing throughout.
21. Vince Staples – Summertime ´06
The dark static of summertime like a burned out speaker, like the radio hiss of Silent Hill is something that is like the unheard base of this project. This is Staples answer to good kid, him taking us back to a summer in 2006, describing the world around him, commenting, without leaning in any direction other than being the experiencing voice. There is no redemption on the end, no helpful neighborhood lady going on about Jesus and saving your life. Things just go on in the same way. Production wise this is pushing the usual hip hop set further. Clams Casino, DJ Dahi and veteran No I.D. turn deep blown out bass lines, Spanish percussion and snippets of blues and gospel into a strange brooding experience – even Future pops up over a slasher piano line. Just as much as Kendrick can be seen to take back hip hop to a black experience with his album this year, I feel that Summertime ´06 takes its own unique blend of blackness, maybe that of Long Beach and Vince Staples and shows its facets mingled not only with jazz and the Afro-American, but the varied cultural mix of the hood experience as a whole. Black being other, being suppressed and existing in a sub-system of its own, no matter what the state and the politicians say.
Comments
Post a Comment