TranscendNoise

80. The Weeknd – Wasted Times (My Dear Melancholy,) The old mixtape Weeknd will never return, but his moody craft is still within the work of My Dear Melancholy and tracks like "Wasted Times". Heartbreak and a darker mindset are what made the Weeknd, not simply being drugged out and lustful. Here we get the best of both worlds. A springy and dynamic instrumental removed from all syrupy smugness and a spiteful and boasting Abel switching between hurting and being hurt. Amidst the poppy vibe, the dark tone of the track might be lost, but with The Weeknd´s voice and his powerful outro of “I don´t want to wake up / if you ain´t laying next to me” the strength of his sadness is as striking as in 2011. 79. Steven Julien – Roll Of The Dice (Bloodline) Apart from many themes and inspirations running through Bloodline , “Roll Of The Dice” is a beauty for its glowing love for 808 drums. Transcending a pure homage, Steven Julien unpacks the bumping and trippy...

Labour by Clawing Finney´s poems exist as the sound of his voice. Forming the band Clawing with Austin Gaines and Jeff McLeod the artist released the album Spectral Estate (Dullest Records) in early March and shortly thereafter a very different album,  Gospel with the composer Sivash Amini on Opal Tapes. Now Clawing have blessed us with yet another release, the 30-minute epic Labour tackling the pandemic of addiction in a personal and yet surrealist way. Moving to dark music aficionado label Grey Matter Productions for this and fittingly releasing on Halloween, Clawing as a band also sees the addition of new members T. Platt, J. James and K. Miller to the mix.  In between the terrifying soundscapes of his fellow artists Finney´s voice surfaces like speech beyond language. In Spectral Estate Finney, blurs the lines between reality and dream, visions and fears constitute a perception impregnated by sexual abuse and depression. On Gospel, these terrors step into the...

10. Charly Bliss – Guppy This is the best pop-punk record this year, no doubt about it. I lend this appeal mostly to Eva Hendricks voice, a non-singing voice at times, disappearing when shrieking but ultimately beautifully emotive and relatable. Surely she follows in the lane of previously known female rock singers and the grunge of the 90´s, yet there is a huge amount of comedy, irony, and quirkiness in her delivery and lyrics that are supported by forward-thinking instrumentals that sound as polished as they appear raw and spur of the moment. Her outings range from “I pied the trampoline” to questioning her relation with “Am I the best / Or just the first person to say yes” and these forms of youthful energy and anxiety resonate even when the teenage years are pretty much over and done. Indie rock has to deliver on these fronts, the idiosyncrasies of being young while touching on the first questions and introspections of adulthood and generally being in touch with a world out...

89. The Underachievers – Caprice (Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium) The debut album by the Underachievers deserves to be respected. Coming up under the recent wave of New York rappers, Cellar Door is their mission statement and way of creating their lane. You could have guessed that after their mixtape they would come to rely on hooks and banging production akin to Herb Shuttles, but on the contrary the UA focused on content and lyricism. For this, Caprice is the best combination of both the catchy hook of "knock em, knock em" and a message. The UA speak against stereotypes and try themselves at being metaphysicists of rap – rightfully so. 88. AnD – New World Order (Esoteric Systems) This is the soundtrack for the overwhelming insanity of seeing your loved ones murdered. The deprivation of humanity through sheer force and the creeping loss of self-restraint as you find the murderer red-handed and bloody yourself with the remains of his free will. Esoteric Sy...