Top Tracks 2016 Part IX 20 – 11

20. Allan Kingdom – Fables ft. Chronixx (Northern Lights)

This is Kingdom at his most introspective, while at the same time not compromising on the melodic and catchy quality of his songs. The atmospheric and almost ambient keys and altered vocals are contrasted with a menacing bass line and snappy snares for the full effect of delivering the same broken aggression the lyrics convey. I´m not a huge fan of religion and we see Kingdom recounting the smoke and mirrors of his own experience with Christian belief. Chronixx complements this with his reggae-infused deliverance, calling out the intrusion of Christianity and in right manner swearing allegiance to Selassie and the Rastafari movement. The fitting aural experience for realization and the overcoming of submission stressed by the stunning visuals.

19. Case/Lang/Veirs – Delirium (Case/Lang/Veirs)

This collaboration by three artists I never listened to yielded great songs from top to bottom. “Delirium” is a dynamic folk song, easily serving as a throwback to earlier centuries. The three singers take cues from each other and complement their different timbres and feelings to a cohesive experience that feels far greater than a feature with the styles, from church bells, a western guitar to hippie back ground vocals on the chorus stressing the colorful blend of voices only further.

18. Aesop Rock – Blood Sandwich (The Impossible Kid)

If there is one man for wordy rap, for twisting your mind with the verbal expressions of his, it is Aesop Rock. At this point, he stands on a planet of his own, one that lyrical monsters like Kendrick Lamar can´t even reach. Being such a titan, it is almost natural to take a step back and reconfigure your writing skills. And as dealing with death is an undercurrent of his music and age is becoming a fact of his life, personal themes are as inevitable as they are welcome. On “Blood Sandwich”, Rock tells a story of childhood, of crucial moments in the lives of his brothers through his perspective and in a highly anecdotal mindset. His skills shine through as his descriptions of the death of a gopher or the concert ban by an overtly cautious mother construct vivid situations and show his understanding of the importance of small incidents in retrospect. Apart from that, Rock is incredibly honest and very relatable at that. There is not that much need for encryption or reading the lyrics and wondering what they mean. When Rock tells you, that he hasn´t talked to his brothers in a long time and will pick up the phone, you´ll feel the urge to reassure your relationships and make good on bonds formed in childhood yourself.

17. Bwana – The Capsule's Pride (Bikes) (Capsules Pride)

Akira stands as one of the greatest animes of all time and surely is one of the best sci-fi movies in general. Fuck Star Wars and that other fantastical space travel crap, the future portrayed in movies like Akira, one set in the reality of earth and giving the dark edge of technology a nod, is far greater in drawing an image of the future. Therefore it was only a matter of time since someone made Akira and the impeccable soundtrack itself reappear in a new cloak. Bwana took up this challenge out of sheer fascination with the movie and put his electronic mindset to many of the finest sounds and dialogues of the movie. “The Capsule´s Pride” recalls the great motorcycle scene from the beginning of the movie, taking a few lines by Kanada and constructing a banger over the xylophone / marimba from the OST. 

16. Emma Ruth Rundle – Real Big Sky (Marked For Death)

Marked For Death is powerful in its bleakness and the questioning vibe Emma Ruth Rundle creates with her words. Every song seems to carry some form of doubt and unwillingness to give in to various things: The facts of life like mortality or one´s own weakness in a relationship. "Real Big Sky" as the closer of the album has ERR begging for a painless death, being torn between the great pull of this mysterious entity that is death and plain simply being humbled and maybe even in fear of the prospect of it. The questions she begs are universal to anyone but seem to come out of a place of very long contemplation and even a kind of mental and emotional exhaustion from finding no answers. The gritty guitar, scratching its way through the song makes the eerie vibe of this song into something even more memorable.

15. world´s end girlfriend – Crystal Chrysalis (Last Waltz)

It has been six years since WEG released a proper LP and I sure hope his theming the album around his own name and calling it Last Waltz wasn´t an indicator of it being the last. This is one composer and multi-instrumentalist letting worlds collide and pulverizing the notion of genre in its wake. “Crystal Chrysalis” goes from ghostly ball dance into a glitch fest OPN would be proud of, only to return to beautifully distort a synth note, as the intrusion of something fantastical and heart-warming for the end of this seven-minute lucid dream. This is awe-inspiring and a composition to behold, only reinforcing WEG position and spiritual forefather of vapor wave and electronic chamber pop alike.

14. C. Diab – Pale Ink (No Perfect Wave)

If you enjoy the reverb-soaked apocalypse of Sigur Ros´ bowed guitar, you´ll fall deeply for C. Diab and “Pale Ink”. Playing his acoustic guitar like a cello, bowing it with the motoric virtuosity of said instrument and echoing these sounds through a loop machine and distortion, C. Diab stretches the idea of “droning” soundscape into its most organic fields. There is the materiality of the bowed guitar, the strings resounding, and the artists setting his bow and making another stroke with the electronic processing of the drones. You´ll feel far removed, as well as have an image of the actual act of playing an instrument, while being pulled into the long winding exchange of these soundscapes.

13. ScHoolboy Q – Str8 Ballin // By Any Means (Blank Face)

Blank Face is the greatest entry into the gangster rap lane of 2016, no arguing that. Q is able to be conscious and reflecting, while still celebrating the insanity and reflecting the cynicism of his surroundings. “Str8 Ballin” has him recounting his come up and shedding light on the hardships faced in the hood. As “the judge teaches numbers” and single mothers are the ones keeping track of the hopelessness, Q is able to show money and hustling not as the root of all evil, but as a logical choice in illogical and hostile surroundings. On “By Any Means” he flips the famous saying and the existence of the hustler on its head by expressing his indifference towards masculine ideals of possessing a female in order to make it and “get yours”. The fight for survival, of financial freedom, is described as aggressive, as the fight for political and social freedom, for Q exposes how these things might never become a reality for the people in his original environment – and should they, the can only become entertainers spilling their guts for a clapping and laughing audience.

12. 40 Watt Sun – Stages (Wider Than The Sky)

This 16-minute epic will take you through the motions of a whole life lived, love gained and love lost. 40 Watt Sun have a cult following for their shattering employment of drawn out guitars and superb vocal performance. Patrick Walker´s voice has the narrative capabilities in every syllable he stretches out, in every gasp and moan he delivers and every single word he forms while being embedded in sparse arrangements of his band. "Stages" is the perfect opener for Wider Than The Sky and shows musical prowess in one song that other bands can´t reach in the length of one album and multiple songs.

11. Joyce Manor – Over Before It Began // Stairs (Cody)

While Weezer made a magnificent return with their White Album, for all things indie rock, I´ll stick with Joyce Manor and their ever growing capability to capture the light-heartedness of youth and staying young at heart through their music. “Stairs” intonates a magnificent chorus of being 26 years old and still living with your parents, whereas “Over Before It Began” can as much be a tour anthem of meeting loving fans, as a joyful song on letting go of what you love and moving on. Regardless of the topic, Joyce Manor encourage to shout and sing with their songs and every line, every melody and riff will stick to you, for their catchiness has only evolved with Cody and through writing songs that hit above the two or three minute mark, the infectious nature of their grounded rock music breathes more freely than ever before.