TranscendNoise

100. Childish Gambino – This Is America There is a scene in Atlanta´s second season that has rapper Paperboi walking through his neighborhood until he gets stopped by a few young men that recognize him and approach him in the unusual sight of a known rapper taking a walk. In a matter of seconds, a comical scene turns uncanny, silences are traded, glances turn menacing and with the shove off a drink the men start beating on Paperboi and after a (still somehow comical) exchange of jabs our protagonist runs off into the woods for a surreal and anxiety filled “lost in the woods” psychosis. In the same way, Murai and Glover created this scene brimming with stark reality and a keen eye for cramming fame, violence and vulgarity into one, Childish Gambino graced us with “This Is America” before the start of summer. The song is as much a visual essay as it is a collection of sonic cultures that represent as a snap-shot of current politics and discussions. And it is all done by the weirdn...

50. Future Islands – Singles Like many this year I learned about Future Islands through their Letterman performance of “Seasons (Waiting On You)” and Samuel T. Herring´s stage antics . What started as a synthpop band playing pretty much revivalist tunes became a really interesting listen as Herring´s powerhouse performance was so over the top, I had to rewatch it to get that it wasn´t my speakers lagging. The duck-dancing aside, Herring stretched and drowned his voice, becoming guttural as singing for a metal act. And it is exactly in this guttural quality, where some might even say, it is pretty much amateurish, where the appeal of Future Islands is hidden. There are far more interesting bands instrumentally, but it´s the strange introspection and slobbish singing that keeps them in your mind and Singles a great listen from front to back.  49. S. Carey – Range Of Light  When knowing that S. Carey is one of the musicians in Bon Iver, correlating...