TranscendNoise

5 0. Vacant Gardens – Under The Bloom / Obscene Re-released in 2022 after flying under my radar in both 2020 and 2021, Vacant Garden’s provided two albums of delightful shoegaze / dream pop. The last time a band sounded this ethereal as the greats such as Cocteau Twins or Slowdive, must have been Asobi Seksu. Vacant Gardens pull together the sweet mixtures of fuzz, gloom, and vocal transcendence. There is rainy melancholy in the guitar hazes, counteracted by flourishes of powerful chords, arpeggios, and gentle strumming, all coming together in the float of Jem Fanvu’s ethereal vocals. Atmospheric density does not need to be inventive as such, it just needs to be well made and full of intricacy. Seldom do albums capture the yearnings of youth I encountered when first making contact with shoegaze. While nowadays most find the best conflation of dream pop and shoegaze in Beach House and their synthetic rhythms and uplifting haze, Vacant Gardens deliver a proof of concept in striking gre...

20. Rolo Tomassi – Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It This is the definite album grappling with the dynamics of hard/soft this year. Rolo Tomassi have been growing and subtly shifting a sound that was close to prog-rock to another beast altogether. It is in the ambient moments, the uncertainty of the drifting glaciers bursting into flame that Time Will Die shines, as a vocal pair and a sonic outfit, Rolo Tomassi are able to live in both worlds an be completely centered when doing so. Songs like “Risen” or “Aftermath” live by Eva Spence and her ability to toe the line of electropop and performances by Björk or Imogen Heap. Here the band converts their huge amount of energy into delicate bursts of hope and reconciliation, well knowing they could plunge into chaos by moments notice. For when they go metal, harshly shouting by way of James Spence, they sound like nu-metal kids that never learned anything but shredding. While this dynamic might sound as dated as the idea of nu-metal, ...

20. Playboi Carti – Shoota (feat. Lil Uzi Vert) (Die Lit)  Lil Uzi and Playboi Carti really come off as brothers in spirit, in their solo work and especially in their collaborations. “Shoota” shines in a power that is life-affirming and strongly addictive. In under three minutes Uzi sings a verse that embodies his wild dances on Instagram and his stage show alike and while Carti´s hook slightly fails in topping off the energy, the sketch-like nature of the song, it appearing and closing in the blink of an eye is the singular representation of  youthfulness the two rappers combine on their tracks. Their music never has to be deep and meaningful, but energetic and affective in their simple disregard for structure and hip-hop tropes, a small symphony of improvisation and style and swagger. 19. Nothing – Hail At Palace Pier (Dance On The Blacktop)  Nothing implement a metal or even black metal mindset of songwriting and mood to the most delicate sounds of...