We're three months into 2014, and pretty dry on new music quite frankly. But remember all the golden releases we saw the previous year? From Earl Sweatshirt's epic return from Samoan hiatus, to QOTSA's Josh Homme's revival from his near-death experience, arrival of new contenders such as Chance and Lorde, and so much more. We've heard the extraordinary comebacks. The "it was alright" albums. The absolute disappointments. Forget the last two; here are the 13 ranked albums we enjoyed the most from 2013.
13. PURE HEROINE
Genre: Indie Pop, Dreampop
Stand-Out Tracks: "Tennis Court", "400 Lux", "Team", "Glory and Gore"
Bursting on the music scene from New Zealand, Ella Yelich-O'Connor, otherwise known by her singer/songwriter pseudonym Lorde, has been gaining a lot of media attention this year; mostly for her odd on-stage performing antics and simply her age. She was 16 when she released Pure Heroine, which was recently nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Grammy Awards ceremony.
Drawing a very similar (however, I won't say identical) sound to Lana Del Rey, whom Lorde states as a major influence for the album, Pure Heroine has an overlying theme that consists of the critique of the teenage lifestyle. Essentially trying to capture their naïveté and free will, this album also draws commentary on societal issues such as violence, materialism, homogenization, and more. The radio hits "Royals" and "Team" serve as a reminder that the definition of mainstream pop music is not concrete and is yet bound to change. Lorde's use of smokey, slow-driven synths and simplistic hip-hop influenced drums (as can be seen on "Tennis Court") is what seperates Lorde from the pack - she's not afraid to experiment with her sound and her stage presence. The two starting songs "Tennis Court" and "400 Lux" pair Lorde's soothing vocals with some hypnotic synthesized beats that helps ease the listener into the album, whereas "Royals" cuts back on fancy production to showcase her true vocal ability. "Team" and "White Teeth Teens" fade from the hypnosis and concentrate more on a dark, cynical theme of social commentary and melancholy. This album transitions well from track to track, slowing the listener into a more subliminal and intricate atmosphere as they progress through the track list.
All in all, an excellent debut album from a young artist with much potential. Great for a quick front-to-back listen.
12. MY NAME IS MY NAME
Artist: Pusha T
Genre: Hip Hop
Stand-Out Tracks: "Let Me Love You", "Nosetalgia", "Numbers On The Board", "Who I Am"
Following the release of his mixtape Wrath Of Caine earlier in the year, Push kept his fans anticipated for the main attraction, which turned out to be My Name Is My Name. Obtaining guest appearances such as Kelly Rowland, Rick Ross, Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz, and Pharrell and producers such as Kanye and Hudson Mohawke, MNIMN was something to be admired from the start.
I was very glad to hear a Clipse-sounding track like "Let Me Love You", where Pusha T spits some smooth lines with a Jamaican-esque twist ("With the Givenchy toppa, shoe Balenciaga") over what sounds like some R&B keyboard chords, all paired with Kelly Rowland's chorus to really give that 'forbidden romance' vibe to the track. "Numbers On The Board" also had a great appeal as a banger track; not because of a bass-heavy beat, but hard-slapping, crisp steel drums, and rather eerie samples of a crowd of children cheering and a dude screaming "Y'all feel like dancin'?!" (which I later discovered to be samples of a song called "Shake Your Booty" by Bunny Sigler). "Nosetalgia" features similar drums, but used in a more gritty, spaghetti Western-type beat - telling a two-sided story on Pusha's blow-pushing past. ("Gem Star razor and a dinner plate/ Arm and Hammer and a mason jar that's my dinner date/ Then crack the window in the kitchen let it ventilate/ Cause I let it sizzle on the stove like a minute steak"). Not to forget Kendrick's sinister self-introduction ("You wanna see a dead bahd-eeee?"), while adding his side of the story of how cocaine influenced his family life at home during the '80s crack epidemic.
11. LONG.LIVE.A$AP
Artist: A$AP Rocky
Genre: Hip Hop
Stand-Out Tracks: "Long Live A$AP", "Goldie", "Fuckin' Problems", "PMW", "1 Train", "Phoenix", "Angels"
Gaining commercial success from his earlier mixtape Live.Love.A$AP from 2011, Rakim Mayers, otherwise known by his A$AP Mob pseudonym A$AP Rocky, is no doubt the most popular member of the rap group. Known for his bold sense of style, easy-going nature, and comical interviews, A$AP Rocky was a hard person to ignore during the year of 2013. Rakim managed to surpass his earlier Internet-fame by earning himself a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song for his single "Fuckin' Problems", which featured fellow up-and-coming rappers such as Joey Bada$$, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, Big KRIT, Yelawolf, and of course, Kendrick Lamar.
Seeing the return of Clams Casino as a producer on this project (specifically on tracks "LVL" & "Hell") made it very promising, being the mastermind behind Rocky's earlier hits such as "Palace", "Bass", and "Wassup". Joining him on the list of talented producers on Long.Live.A$AP are big players such as Hit-Boy ("Goldie" & "1 Train"), Soufien3000, Danger Mouse, Champagne Papi (Drake's prod. pseudonym), Skrillex, and Rocky himself under the pseudonym 'Lord Flacko'. "Long Live A$AP" starts the album off in an ominous, stormy, late night setting with horror-like vocal samples and Rocky himself singing the chorus, which reminded me a lot of a church choir. Things start picking up as the track list progresses; songs like "Goldie" and "Fashion Killa" focus on Rocky's obsession with high-end designer fashion ("Fashion Killa" is literally Rocky name-dropping dozens of his favourite designer brands), featuring beats that slap heavy with lowered vocal pitches and chopped-and-screwed vocal samples. The middle of the album is where Rocky branches out to new beats we're not used to hearing him rapping on, which surprisingly turns out really well done - we have songs like "PMW" with ScHoolboy Q and "Fuckin' Problems" with Drake, 2 Chainz, & Kendrick Lamar that abandon the slow, hypnotic, synth-heavy Clams-esque beats for heavier, high-hat filled, energetic ones. "Wild For The Night" was probably his most ambitious track, where he enlists Skrillex for a dubstep-influenced beat, which manages to accentuate A$AP Rocky's flow, instead of outshining it. And if there's one thing that A$AP Mob does well, it's dropping posse tracks like "1 Train" where fellow rappers trade verses on a head-bobbing beat. However, we can still find influences from his previous mixtape on tracks such as "Angels", "Ghetto Symphony", "Fashion Killa", and "LVL". If there's one thing to take away from this album, it's the wide variety of beats that A$AP Rocky can collectively integrate into a single album.
10. AM
Artist: Arctic Monkeys
Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock
Stand-Out Tracks: "Do I Wanna Know?", "R U Mine?", "I Want It All", "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?"
Arctic Monkeys are an indie rock band hailing from Sheffield, England, and have been a big name in the indie music community - probably well-known from their most famous hit "Fluorescent Adolescent". In all honesty, this is the first project I've heard from this band, but I am thoroughly impressed. Taking from their discography, I've made the two following conclusions about this band: they like to have really long song names (this one's called "You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me") and judging from the stand-out tracks, they sure like to ask a lot of questions.
Starting off AM (took me awhile before I figured out it stood for Arctic Monkeys) is the track "Do I Wanna Know?", which is a cold, down-to-earth, mesmerizing love story about someone who faces uncertainty about pursuing a love interest, although the signs are there ("-there's this tune I found that makes me think of you somehow and I play it on repeat, until I fall asleep"). The story progresses to "R U Mine?", which takes a step up in intensity from the previous track with heavier, more intricate guitar riffs, and the drums evolve from its previous simple bass-snare beat. This song embodies the 'protagonist' with more profound feelings, being more aware both in emotion and in presence - instead of addressing the question (like a "do I want to know if they love me?") to himself, he finally demands an answer out of that someone. "I Want It All" is probably my favourite due to the dynamic guitar lines and awesome solo, the 'shoo-wops' near the end, and the two overlaying vocal tracks of Alex Turner (and who I'm assuming is Nick O'Malley). "No. 1 Party Anthem" has a very Radiohead-esque sound with the fusion of piano and electric guitar, along with Turner's soft baritone vocalizations; it's very slow, hypnotic, and lethargic. Overall, this album tells great narratives of infatuation, desire, affection, and uncertainty, and I really enjoy an album that can tell a great story.
9. WE ARE THE 21st CENTURY AMBASSADORS OF PEACE & MAGIC
Artist: Foxygen
Genre: Indie, Psychedelic Pop
Stand-Out Tracks: "In The Darkness", "No Destruction", "San Francisco", "Shuggie"
Foxygen is an indie rock duo from California, which is very noticeable from the sound of this album. If I had to summarize their sound very briefly, I'd like to say they are a combination of The Beatles and MGMT (particularly the Oracular Spectacular album); very psychedelic and somewhat Baroque, this album is no doubt a great album to listen to while you're high.
"In The Darkness" has an odd pattern to it; lead singer Sam France sings most of the lines with a rising intonation, raising anticipation, but nothing ever really comes. This song, along with most in this album, utilize echo effects, colourful unions of trance-inducing guitar licks and keyboard chords, and Baroque-pop instruments such as flutes and xylophones (especially in "San Francisco"). "No Destruction" teleports the listener to the '60s/'70s times, when bomb shelters were huge, and the hippies were dominating popular culture with their tie-dye and psychoactive drug usage. Since this album is the living embodiment of this era, it was funny to see them mention San Francisco so often, where the hippy movement was originated. "San Francisco" has very abstract lyrics, mentioning passages from the Bible and brief dialogues with a female singer ("That's okay, I was bored anyway/born in LA"). "Shuggie" differentiates itself from the rest because of its heavy reliance on electronic bubbly synths to capture that 'spiritual' aspect of a love song. This whole album is such a blast from the past - listening to it front-to-back is comparable to a beautiful acid trip.
8. NOTHING WAS THE SAME
Artist: Drake
Genre: Hip Hop
Stand-Out Tracks: "Furthest Thing" , "The Language" , "Own It" , "From Time" , "Too Much" , "Worst Behaviour"
Since his Degrassi days, Drake has evolved from a default archetypal artist rapper to one of the most iconic rappers in the current industry. His slow progression to discover his niche style has proved that not every rapper has to be a hard thug, and Aubrey Graham is far from that. Commonly referred to as soft and emotional (which isn't unwarranted), a theme that will never fail to surface in any of his 3 studio albums is the presence of his emotions in past reminiscing. However, Drake's rise to fame has been particularly conducive for his durable confidence and ego; his 2013 Grammy award for Best Rap Album for Take Care only added fuel to the fire. Drake's Nothing Was The Same showcases what he's best at: molding 90s R&B and Houston rap to talk about his money, ego, and feelings.
This album is definitely the Drakiest one yet - but not without the help Noah "40" Shebib, who produced the majority of the album. Together, they have mastered the art of dark, luxurious sounds that attempt to transition seamlessly through the album to provide a canvas for Drake to paint on. The album begins with a quality-produced track "Tuscan Leather," which illustrates that Drake could probably spit endlessly with skill and confidence in his line, "How much time is this nigga spendin' on the intro? We hear the infamous smooth atmospheric sounds in the next track "Furthest Thing," with decent sing-songy lyrics and a memorable chorus, ("Drinkin' on the low / Mobbin' on the low / Fuckin' on the low / Smokin' on the low"). The album is sprinkled with tracks like "Own It," "From Time," "Connect," "Pound Cake," that provide smooth, luscious sounds and a distinct bass line with their own unique sounds for Drake to do what he does best: rekindling his past relationships and memories and while explaining his current state of mind. Amongst these soft and gentle tracks are bass-heavy, trap-influenced beats, where Drake strengthens his braggadocio personality. "Worst Behaviour," and "The Language," are perfect examples of his 'ignant' rap and lavish life. While the lyrics may not be necessarily amazing, the beats are some quality head-bobbin stuff. "Worst Behaviour" has a slew of quotable lines like "WORST," "MUHFUCKA NEVER LOVED US," "HOLD MA PHONE," that don't really have deep meaning apart from their face value, but still stand out in the track. "The Language" is a sibling to "Versace," with the exact same rhythm and presented with lines that are so arrogant that sometimes they seem like overkill "Fuck going platinum / I looked at my wrist and it's already platinum." Nonetheless, these tracks aren't meant to be filled with lyrical depth; Drake is simply showing his confidence and egoistic personality overtop some dirty beats. In his 3rd studio album Nothing Was The Same, Drake shows that knows how to exploit what makes him different and stand out - presenting his emotion, whether it's bravado or brooding.
Since his Degrassi days, Drake has evolved from a default archetypal artist rapper to one of the most iconic rappers in the current industry. His slow progression to discover his niche style has proved that not every rapper has to be a hard thug, and Aubrey Graham is far from that. Commonly referred to as soft and emotional (which isn't unwarranted), a theme that will never fail to surface in any of his 3 studio albums is the presence of his emotions in past reminiscing. However, Drake's rise to fame has been particularly conducive for his durable confidence and ego; his 2013 Grammy award for Best Rap Album for Take Care only added fuel to the fire. Drake's Nothing Was The Same showcases what he's best at: molding 90s R&B and Houston rap to talk about his money, ego, and feelings.
This album is definitely the Drakiest one yet - but not without the help Noah "40" Shebib, who produced the majority of the album. Together, they have mastered the art of dark, luxurious sounds that attempt to transition seamlessly through the album to provide a canvas for Drake to paint on. The album begins with a quality-produced track "Tuscan Leather," which illustrates that Drake could probably spit endlessly with skill and confidence in his line, "How much time is this nigga spendin' on the intro? We hear the infamous smooth atmospheric sounds in the next track "Furthest Thing," with decent sing-songy lyrics and a memorable chorus, ("Drinkin' on the low / Mobbin' on the low / Fuckin' on the low / Smokin' on the low"). The album is sprinkled with tracks like "Own It," "From Time," "Connect," "Pound Cake," that provide smooth, luscious sounds and a distinct bass line with their own unique sounds for Drake to do what he does best: rekindling his past relationships and memories and while explaining his current state of mind. Amongst these soft and gentle tracks are bass-heavy, trap-influenced beats, where Drake strengthens his braggadocio personality. "Worst Behaviour," and "The Language," are perfect examples of his 'ignant' rap and lavish life. While the lyrics may not be necessarily amazing, the beats are some quality head-bobbin stuff. "Worst Behaviour" has a slew of quotable lines like "WORST," "MUHFUCKA NEVER LOVED US," "HOLD MA PHONE," that don't really have deep meaning apart from their face value, but still stand out in the track. "The Language" is a sibling to "Versace," with the exact same rhythm and presented with lines that are so arrogant that sometimes they seem like overkill "Fuck going platinum / I looked at my wrist and it's already platinum." Nonetheless, these tracks aren't meant to be filled with lyrical depth; Drake is simply showing his confidence and egoistic personality overtop some dirty beats. In his 3rd studio album Nothing Was The Same, Drake shows that knows how to exploit what makes him different and stand out - presenting his emotion, whether it's bravado or brooding.
7. DORIS
Artist: Earl Sweatshirt
Genre: Rap
Stand-Out Tracks: "Burgundy", "20 Wave Caps", "Sunday", "Hive", "Chum", "Uncle Al", "Molasses", "Whoa"
In early 2010, Thebe Kgositsile was sent to a reform school for at-risk teenagers, Coral Reef Academy in Samoa, due to his mother feeling concerned over his then-recent behavior of getting into trouble at school and in the streets. It was only while he was gone that Odd Future's music started to gain traction on the Internet through multiple forums and on YouTube; of the most circulated songs was Thebe's own "Earl", which gained his mixtape of the same name thousands of downloads. Upon his arrival back to the US in 2012, Thebe was already a celebrity, facing a new found pressure as an artist. After some guest appearances on The OF Tape Vol. 2 ("Oldie"), Frank Ocean's Channel Orange ("Super Rich Kids"), and Tyler, the Creator's Wolf ("Rusty"), Thebe finally released his album Doris in August, which has gained mostly positive reviews from both fans and media, despite his radical change in lyrical content subject matter from murder and rape to confusion, isolation, and affection.
Doris is mostly produced by Earl under the moniker randomblackdude, however accompanying him on the production team are Tyler the Creator, The Neptunes, Matt Martians, BadBadNotGood, The Alchemist, and even RZA. With an overlying monotonous and somewhat melancholic theme, Earl expressed that he raps most of his verses in monotone because he himself is still unsure about where he wishes to delve musically. The gloomy and haunting songs include "Hive", "Centurion", and "523", with blaring synths, low-hitting bass kicks, and dismal lyrical content that succeed in creating an ominous and uncomfortable atmosphere for the listener. "Hive" really showcases Earl's prodigious ability in lyricism, with lines like "Desolate testaments trying to stay Jekyll-ish, But most niggas hide/Hyde...", only to be matched by Vince Staple's incredible flow (which can also be seen in "Centurion"). Earl really opens up about his current life situation and emotions of anger and confusion on "Burgundy" and "Chum", retelling his short but eventful life thus far ("It's probably been 12 years since my father left/ He left me fatherless/ And I just used to say I hate him in dishonest jest"). He also channels feelings of romantic frustration in "Sunday" ("And I don't know why we argue/ And I just hope that you listen/ And if I hope you I'm sorry/ The music makes me dismissive") - the 'and's that Earl uses to start off every line ties his thoughts together in a sense of urgency and hesitance, as if in the form of a text message. There are still some playful and humorous tracks such as "Molasses" and "Whoa", because who can take a line like "I'ma fuck the freckles off your bitch" seriously?
6. AFRAID OF HEIGHTS
Artist: Wavves
Genre: Surf Rock, Garage Rock
Stand-Out Tracks: "Sail To The Sun", "Lunge Forward", "Gimme A Knife", "Paranoid", "Beat Me Up"
I first heard of Wavves from Grand Theft Auto V's radio station Vinewood Boulevard Radio, which is hosted by Nathan Williams and Stephen Pope from the band itself, featuring an original song that the band had recorded exclusively for the game's soundtrack. Fairly recent, they only formed in 2008 and have already released four studio albums, however they only started to gain mainstream success in the indie community after releasing their third album, King of the Beach.
Most of the songs on this record incorporate a heavy influence of punk rock - high intensity and melodic guitar riffs, fast-paced drums, and noisy vocals. It's safe to say that there is a Nirvana-esque sound that is incorporated into Afraid of Heights. This is a perfect description of the first track on the album, "Sail To The Sun", and "Lunge Forward" which feature very catchy, high intensity electric guitar bridges, and melodic, alluring 'oooh's to accompany the fast-paced tempo. Songs like "That's On Me", "Demon To Lean On", and "Dog" are slower in terms of pace, drawing more of an emo-rock/alternative rock rhythm to them. "Afraid Of Heights" is a great example of a stoner rock song, with lines like "I think I'm dying/ Maybe I'm thirsty/ I think I must be drunk/ Woke up then found Jesus/ I think I must be drunk" which totally embody teenage experimentation and recklessness during a Californian summer. Slow head-bobber paired with steady guitar chords and Nate's mesmerizing vocals, this song is definitely trance-inducing. "Gimme A Knife" has very little, but powerful lyrics about the renunciation of religion ("Bow to the devil and pray/ I loved you Jesus/ You raped the world"), masking the overlying dark moral with energetic, high-powered tunes which coincides with the song's motif of insanity. Wavves is bringing a new element to indie music by reviving the sound of surf rock, and I don't expect it to disappear anytime soon.
5. BECAUSE THE INTERNET
Artist: Childish Gambino
Genre: Hip Hop
Stand-Out Tracks: "Crawl", "Worldstar", "Shadows", "Telegraph Ave", "Sweatpants", "3005", "Urn"
Donald Glover, otherwise known for his rapper moniker Childish Gambino, released several mixtapes since 2008, however only started to gain favourable reviews after the release of his first studio album, Camp in 2011. Since the release of his mixtape Royalty in 2012, Donald began to solidify his sound as an artist; becoming more comfortable with his voice and his identity. Being one of the most elaborate and creative releases of the year, Because The Internet was promoted through various Internet methods: a short film on YouTube called Clapping For The Wrong Reasons, secret music videos to be discovered on his website, an interactive screenplay to accompany the album, spreading the ambiguous term 'Roscoe's Wetsuit' on his Twitter and YouTube videos, a secret website for tickets only revealed through typing a key word ("tickets"). All coinciding with the album's overall critique of the rise of the Internet-reliant generation, we can agree that all the hype was definitely worth it.
The album features guest appearances from Chance, Jhene Aiko, and Azealia Banks, with production by Thundercat, Ludwig Göransson (who produced some songs off of Camp and the Royalty mixtape), Christian Rich, and Childish himself, among others. Treating it like a film, Gambino split the album into distinct chapters and subsections which was to be listened chronologically while reading the screenplay, following 'The Boy' through adventures of romantic pursuit, drug dealers, surfing, shootings, and more. From the five second intro song "The Library" we are led right into the first song "Crawl", which serves as a self-introduction to the listener ("Who am I?"). Bass-heavy with choir-like vocal samples, and an additional female vocal track combine to create an epic, hard hitting prologue to the album. The energy transitions to the next track "Worldstar", an ode to YouTube's cool and urbanized brother. With a beat that slaps like crazy, heavy bass, and a disconnected flow, this is the type of banger track you want playing in the car when you're cruising with the homies. Instead of the continuous spitting we've been hearing, we get more of a series of short outbursts and interruptions, kind of like what you'd expect in a WorldStar fight video: a couple decent jabs, followed by pacing in a circle, repeat, then bam - knockout, all while some dude in the background is obnoxiously screaming "Wuuurl staaaaah". The difference between BTI and his previous releases is CG's confidence in his voice, which he showcases in R&B influenced songs such as "Telegraph Ave", "Shadows", and "Urn". Aside from emotional baggage, we get the usual comedic punch-lines and egotistical outbursts (like on "Sweatpants") that we're used to on a Childish album. Through these songs, Donglover shows us his incredible ability in vocal range and smooth flow, making him one of the most talented rapper/singers of today's hip hop generation.
4. WOLF
Artist: Tyler, the Creator
Genre: Hip Hop
Stand-Out Tracks: "Jamba", "Awkward", "48", "Colossus", "Bimmer", "IFHY", "Rusty"
Returning after his 2010 release Goblin, Tyler Okonma steps up both his production skill and lyrical content, moving past the dark, suicidal 'Tron Cat'-esque era to embrace the new pressures and emotions that he faces in fame such as teenage romance, emotional frustration over abandonment and death, crazed fans, and more on the self-produced Wolf. Designed as a concept album, it chronologically tells the story of a boy, Wolf, and his experience at Camp Flog Gnaw along with his orange bike companion Slater, a rival, Sam and his girlfriend/Wolf's love interest, Salem.
Tyler brings on a surprising list of featured artists which include Pharrell, Erykah Badu, Laetitia Sadier, Coco O - Odd Future affiliates including Domo Genesis, Mike G, Hodgy Beats, Frank Ocean, Left Brain, Taco, even Earl Sweatshirt - and random guests like Jason Dill and Tallulah Willis (Bruce Willis' daughter). Starting off the album after the brief skit in "Wolf" is "Jamba" featuring Hodgy Beats, showcasing how much Tyler has honed his production level since Goblin and The OF Tape Vol. 2. Intricate, heavy use of synthesizer keyboards and hand claps come together as a hard-slapping, harmonic song as Tyler and Hodgy trade verses. Approaching deep and personal family matters are what songs like "Answer" and "Lone" draw energy from; dealing with the absence of his father and the loss of his grandmother respectively. Tyler isn't afraid to open up and show how raw his feelings are about death and sickness ("Our conversations brief, couldn't even make eye contact when we speak/ Looking at her you could tell all she had was weak"). We can see traces of Goblin-themed songs such as "Cowboy" and "Pigs" which centre around dark and malevolent issues like isolation, murder, and hatred paired with police sirens and eerier church organ chords. Romantic frustration are what songs like "Awkward" and "IFHY" deal with again, with pure emotion pouring out. What's interesting is Tyler's use of characters to tell different narratives in songs like "48", which puts the listener within the mind of a crack dealer, who's discussing the consequentialist ethics of his actions. Then we have "Colossus", similar to Eminem's "Stan", which brings the perspective of a obsessive fan who is infatuated with Tyler's sense of fashion, lifestyle, and music. Tyler, the Creator shows he isn't purely emotional on this record, adding comedic songs such as "Tamale" and the posse track "Trashwang", which serves as a parody of trap-rap style songs with the intentional overuse of outlandish verses, snare rolls and explosion sound effects. Tyler's versatile style is due to his attempt at emulating many of his preferred artists through songs: the song "Answer" is based on Tame Impala's sound, "Treehome95" on Roy Ayers/Lonnie Liston Smith, "Tamale" on Teriyaki Boyz/Gwen Stefani, etc. Wolf, able to incorporate so many different sounds on one album, make it an excellent front-to-back adventure for both new and old listeners.
3. YEEZUS
Artist: Kanye West
Genre: Hip Hop
Stand-Out Tracks: "On Sight", "Send It Up", "New Slaves", "I'm In It", "Bound 2"
Kanye West returns from the amazing My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to attack us with Yeezus, an album that is something you would have never expected. Inspired from minimalism in design and architecture, notably Le Louvre, Kanye creates something sonically experimental that features a handful of genres, from dancehall to industrial music. It includes production from Daft Punk to TNGHT, and distinct features from Justin Vernon and Chief Keef. As soon as we started to love Kanye for his Grammy-winning album MBDTF that was textbook perfect, it seems as though he's trying to make us hate him with Yeezus, and he did so quite effortlessly.
"Soon as they like you make 'em unlike you" - "I Am a God"
In Yeezus, Kanye West is more arrogant, aggressive, and purposeful than ever. He knows what he wants to do: whatever you expect the least, he'll give it to you. While the album features a flurry of surprising elements (Chief Keef on a chorus? Really?), it still maintains cohesion. Yeezus is a movie, and each track is a chapter that seamlessly flows into the next. The album starts off with "On Sight," with what seams like fuzzy pixelated electronic sounds that suddenly turn into lasers and synths. Just when you're expecting the beat to drop into deep bass, an opera-styled chant surfaces, "He'll give us what we need / It may not be what we want," which essentially summarizes what Yeezus is. While using this song as the introduction is unlike Kanye, it once again breaks his normalized rules from the past. The production on each track is meticulous, yet elaborate and large. The extravagant sounds paired with Kanye's consistent rapping shows how his influence from minimalism works into the tracks of each album. He also presents cultural norms and perspective into the tracks, such as themes of racism and consumerism in "Black Skinhead" and "Blood on the Leaves," albeit with aggression, both lyrically and musically. While each track could be analyzed extensively line by line, the underlying idea behind Yeezus is a presentation of Kanye's introspective beliefs presented in a way that seemed like a culture shock to hip hop. His lyrics, essentially piles of debauchery and perversion, paired with visceral, experimental and orchestrated sounds, are what make Yeezus Kanye's sandbox to play in.
2. ...LIKE CLOCKWORK
Artist: Queens of the Stone Age
Genre: Alternative Rock, Psychedelic/Stoner Rock
Stand-Out Tracks: "I Sat By The Ocean", "If I Had A Tail", "My God Is The Sun", "Fairweather Friends", "Smooth Sailing"
Josh Homme, lead singer of QOTSA, had a very close encounter with death in 2010 after complications with his knee surgery that resulted in asphyxiation, being confined to a bed for three months, and deep depression; he had to be revived with a defibrillator following the asphyxiation. After cheating death, Josh Homme recovered with full force and channeled his deathly experience into the band's next album, ...Like Clockwork, effectively earning them three Grammy nominations this year.
I haven't listened to QOTSA since 2007, when their song "3's & 7's" was featured on Guitar Hero 2, which then led to my listening of Era Vulgaris. This album definitely revived my passion for alternative rock, with powerful dual guitar riffs on songs such as "I Sat By The Ocean" and "Smooth Sailing". QOTSA offers listeners an eerie welcome to the project in "Keep Your Eyes Peeled", with an uneasy rhythm, heavy bass guitar notes, and spooky sound effects like glass shattering. Homme sings with bipolarity as he switches between a voice of caution/warning and a one of soothing nature, capturing the type of insanity you witness in a horror movie. The waning ending then transitions to the dynamic "I Sat By The Ocean", where Homme and co. deliver in terms of energetic guitar grooves and great lyricism. The chorus has such great variety in pitch and continues this lingering theme of dystopia and doom ("Silence is closer/ We're passing ships in the night/ Into the night/ Left with nowhere to hide"). The band makes excellent use of the distorted guitar duos on this song, as well as tracks such as "Smooth Sailing", "My God Is The Sun", and "I Appear Missing". The other polar end of the album leans towards sluggish guitar grooves and soft-spoken melodies on songs such as "The Vampyre Of Time And Memory", and the title track "...Like Clockwork". With surprising guest pianist Elton John, "...Like Clockwork" is one of the longer songs on the album. Josh Homme sings in a higher octave in a one-on-one duet with the hauntingly beautiful keys, slowly introducing the rest of the band members in a relatively lengthy guitar solo accompanied by orchestral string instruments to conclude the album again on a very heavy note ("One thing that is clear/ It's all downhill from here"). Speaking of guitar solos, "Smooth Sailing" probably has the most trippy, yet intense solo on the album - the distortion, the repetitiveness of the chords, and the dynamic range in energy on this track made it one of my favourites. Homme ending off the solo with some passionate screamo, post-hardcore vocals ties the sheer power of the song to an end.
1. MODERN VAMPIRES OF THE CITY
Artist: Vampire Weekend
Genre: Indie Rock
Stand-Out Tracks: "Obvious Bicycle", "Unbelievers", "Step", "Diane Young", "Hannah Hunt"
Vampire Weekend, a New York-based indie rock band, is probably one of the leading frontiers of modern indie music today. A band comprised of upper middle-class English and music majors, you'd expect a great deal of talent from them - and you're right. VW live up to their expectations in both their previous studio albums with intricate lyricism, an outlandish mélange of instruments (we're talking African drums and harpsichords), and the versatility of lead singer Ezra Koenig's vocals. Without skipping a beat, let's jump into our number one album of the year, Modern Vampires of the City, which managed to win them a Grammy award for Best Alternative Music Album this year.
To commence this masterpiece we are reintroduced to Ezra's vocal talents on "Obvious Bicycle", showcasing his harmonizing skills as a kind of one-on-one with the piano chords playing and a minimal percussion presence progressively fading in the background. However don't be fooled by the aesthetics - the tone of the song is rather depressing ("You ought to spare your face the razor/ Because no one's gonna spare their time for you"), perhaps serving as a foreshadowing for the rest of the album, encouraging listeners to continue ("So listen oh/ Don't wait").
The album contains a lot of religious undertones, whether it be social commentary or pure rejection of. Take "Unbelievers", for example, which tells the tale of an agnostic and his forbidden love to a woman of faith. The line ("Want a little grace but who's going to say a little grace for me?") brings up the fallacy that to some people whichever religion he ends up picking, if it's not part of theirs, they will not pray for him. "(We know the fire awaits unbelievers/ All of the sinners the same/ Girl you and I will die unbelievers/ Bound to the tracks of the train") just screams ideas of adolescent rejection of faith, and the whole 'love conquers all' teenage bullshit. We can see this religious commentary carry through on other songs such as "Ya Hey" and "Worship You", where Ezra haphazardly explodes into a high-tempo mouth-aching ensemble of lyrics which he spits faster than most rappers today. Disjointed bursts of marching band snare hits and guitar strums generate a high volume of energy on this track, followed by a super distorted brass instrument and a couple of 'ooooh's from Ezra to tie together a brilliant, out of the ordinary song. The multi-layered "Diane Young" features the same kind of speed, yet instead of short bursts it's an all out continuous adrenaline pump with high energy percussions and guitar, vocal pitch distortions, and a heavy synthesizer solo.
"Step" was released as a promotional single for the album, and is undoubtedly the most beautiful song the album. Reminiscent of their song "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance", this song's aesthetic relies on its harmonic fusion of the harpsichord and the piano, giving it authenticity and a sense of pureness. Another interesting pair is Koenig's soft vocals paired with a low-volume church choir's harmonization in the background, creating the eerie angelic vibe to the song. "Hannah Hunt" contains the most wonderful part of the album, at 2:39, with a euphoria-inducing melodic breakdown combining the piano notes overlaid on the waning distorted guitar - it all comes together as a hauntingly wonderful ballad.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Here are some albums that we either thought were overrated, half-enjoyed, or were just too lazy to write about.
- Daft Punk - "Random Access Memories"
- Toro y Moi - "Anything in Return"
- CHVRCHES - "The Bones Of What You Believe"
- A$AP Ferg - "Trap Lord"
- Flatbush ZOMBies - "BetterOffDEAD"
- Chance the Rapper - "Acid Rap"
- Mac Miller - "Watching Movies With The Sound Off"
- El-P & Killer Mike - "Run The Jewels"
- The Weeknd - "Kiss Land"
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