ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2020

In a year of near continuous quarantine, many of us had to find our pleasures in increasingly solitary fashion. There was unfortunate ample opportunity to be swept up in the long form: binge-watching replaced single episodes, albums became our singles. Most of us on ILM are creatures of the club and the live music scene; albums provided the methadone of immersive release from concert withdrawal. It wasn't the same but it was better than nothing.

Artists relying on concerts to survive found themselves forced to release projects without a tour and support their work by streaming into the vacuum. A lot of this year's LPs predated the plague, plenty of others were reactions to it. Taken as a whole, 2020's avalanche of new music is a document of two eras: one a dimly remembered time where the biggest danger of sharing a vape with a stranger was popcorn lung and the other an ongoing nightmare of anger, fear, prejudice, sickness, claustrophobia and paranoia. More than ever, art and life required us to interrogate our sense of humanity by way of empathy. But how do you begin to compare SAULT's reality with Taylor Swift's? Bob Dylan to Wizkid? Charli XCX to clipping? We're about to find out.

Here’s the Top 77 Albums of 2020 Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76m1OSG2OzW0Kgzx4RAxN2
For the few albums that are not available on Spotify, we'll provide Bandcamp/YouTube links for listening.

If anyone wants to build a matching YouTube / Tidal / Apple Music / Amazon Music / Future Times Neural Net Music Service We Don't Know About Yet Playlist, it would be welcome. Please post those here.

In case you’d like to listen to the total talent pool, here’s the nominee playlist, which includes some 6200+ tracks from the 1000+ nominated albums:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2bgWh3JqBlruDUwip7zp3S

For reference:
ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2020
ILM Top 77 Tracks of 2020 Poll Afterparty: Ballots, Statistics and Pastiche

Your poll runners are Moka (posting / graphics), myself (posting / playlisting), and Seandalai (organization / vote tabulation).

With each winning album, wherever possible, we will be posting a link to the album's appropriate ILM artist / song / album / genre threads for further reading, along with a quote and a link to a published critical review.

This year's #78 missed placing by a mere four points. Bragging rights if you can name that ill-fated artist and album before we get to the end of the poll.

77 albums, 900 tracks and over 60 hours of music ahead. We’ll get it started tomorrow.

lovely intro once again forks

Didn't vote in this, because I just didn't listen to that many albums this year, but now sort of regretting it -- there are three or four albums I really did care about, several of which will place in this, and maybe I should have filled out a short ballot! Anyway, looking forward to the rollout and learning about all the great records I missed in 2020! Thanks, runners!

Thank you for the intro forks!

Excited!

Excited for this! I loved so so many albums last year - first year since, like, 2014 that I felt able to keep up with releases for obvious reasons

No ties on our top 77 albums btw!

only ascots

^but Vampire Weekend was 2019(!)

Is it OK if I imagined forks' intro being recited by Don LaFontaine?

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/1a/e3/8f/1ae38f2a45c5f1ec81bdc501c144e333.jpg

...and no strings attached


way to go, pollrunners! this is going to be fun

The last decade in poll winners.

2010 Big Boi — Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty 1252 40 2
2011 Destroyer — Kaputt 1355 36 12
2012 Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dream 1909 51 7
2013 Haim - Days Are Gone 1792 56 3
2014 D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah 2105 58 8
2015 Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly 2204 62 6
2016 KING - We Are KING 1860 58 4
2017 Kendrick Lamar - DAMN 1253 37 8
2018 Low - Double Negative 1440 45 6
2019 Weyes Blood -Titanic Rising 1158 33 4

Weyes Blood won this last year? Not in a million years would I have been able to answer that question correctly. Itgehane...

I'm going to do a potentially out-there suggestion for #78, based on my own ballot and the fact that four people voted for the track - Special Interest?

kaleidoscope dream best album of 2012... good choice

IN A YEAR

has anyone listened to that big boi album since 2010

lol vmic but I am much, much more on board with the second half of the decade's winners

i don't know if i ever heard the big boi but it's better than destroyer i'm sure

14-18 is a nice run

14-19 you mean!

i'm putting sir lucious on now

i never got into the weyes blood, keep meaning to give it another try

Miguel, KING, and the Kendricks are the ones I'd still listen to.

I preferred the previous Weyes Blood, which I only listened to because imago and tangenttangent yelled at me for dismissing it. I've liked Low in the past but didn't remotely get the fuss with DN

My unjust kneejerk reaction is that Low and Weyes Blood in a row bodes very ill

The existence of laboratory-grown ILXbait Jessie Ware bodes iller imo

imo Low are the closest thing to an outlier on that list, the rest were totally predictable consensus picks for better or worse

anyway for me it's

pimp > low > d'angelo > damn > destroyer > miguel > king > weyes blood > big boi > haim

some of those arrows doing more work than others surely

I don't hate any of, haim didn't do much for me till album 3 though. big boi hampered by some of the worst unskippable skits ever

This year's #78 missed placing by a mere four points. Bragging rights if you can name that ill-fated artist and album before we get to the end of the poll.

Annie - Dark Hearts?

Only place online where two of my favorite albums of the year also were #1 here.

without revealing my votes, as I've had two or three #78s for my number one pick in the last decade i will go for that as my guess

I'm much more in step with ilx albums than singles, typically - that list of winners matches a lot of my favorites of the last decade

imo Low are the closest thing to an outlier on that list, the rest were totally predictable consensus picks for better or worse

Do you mean predictable for ilm specifically or predictable for music in general? Like there are definitely years where ilm went with the very-ilm choice (KING), but I would say that 2015 & 2017 (the two Kendrick albums) are the only years where ilm was exactly in line with the broader critical consensus.

kaleidoscope dream best album of 2012... good choice

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson)

Probably the best winner of the bunch. Not a bad album on that list although I still wish Susanne had won in 2015. As great as Kendrick is, I kind of like it when we go for things that other lists sleep on. KING being the best example of that.

I’m gonna say the 78’d album was....uhhh Squarepusher

Only place online where two of my favorite albums of the year also were #1 here.

― meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upsta (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

Which two Alfred? I didn't have them as my number ones at the time, but now I'd say Miguel, Destroyer, D'angelo and maybe Weyes Blood were all the right choices. I was looking back at some of my votes over the last 10 years and I don't even know that person anymore. 2010 and 11 in particular had some really weird choices.

Miguel and Weyes Blood were my choices at at the time, but if I were to revote I'd put Billie Eilish at #1 for 2019.

👍🏽

I remember being really excited that I finally had a #1 on my ballot go to #1 in our poll, but then I realized I'd put 'Double Negative' at #2. So I'm still batting .000

my guess for 78’d album is burna boy - twice as tall

I remember being really excited that I finally had a #1 on my ballot go to #1 in our poll, but then I realized I'd put 'Double Negative' at #2. So I'm still batting .000

― Johnny Fever

Yeah, I've never had the number one as my number one either. Since 2014 my number ones have either come 10th (Todd Terje, Shura, Paramore & The Beths) or 2nd (Susanne & Lana). I'm fully expecting my number one to be the runner up again this week.

Sorry, this is probably of no interest to anyone. I'm just bored.

Just going off memory, I probably had Susanne #1 in 2015 and Kendrick #2.

I think I had the 2015 top three as my own top three but in a different order. Great year.

my guess for 78 is PLUS

My wild guess for 78 is Plone.

(no right guesses on 78 yet)

Just checked what was on Pitchfork's list, having become fixated on the Fu&&or Quotient. Modest overlap, it turns out, lol

I feel like I'm out of step with everybody I talk to, so it's very lonely in general but also kind of thrilling to see something I like make the list. Small wins. We'll see.

I'm going to guess number 78 is either Freeze Melt by Cut Copy or the Empress Of album. Both albums I could see receiving four or five votes and getting that close.

Evan OTM

My guess for #78 would be Killah Priest's Rocket to Nebula (which would be TOO LOW obv.). Stoked!

#78 guess: Figures by Aksak Maboul.

I fear it could be a South African one: either Sun-El Musician or Simmy (for being ever so slightly too underwhelming), or (please no) Kabza De Small (for getting ever so slightly too little traction).

The Sun El album was definitely one of the finds of the nomination playlist for me. Would definitely have voted for it if I'd heard it earlier

#78 guess: Figures by Aksak Maboul

It'd be delighted if it made it that high! Love love love Figures, comfortably in my top 10, but there didn't seem much interest elsewhere.

My #78 guess: Ulla - Tumbling Towards a Wall

not to get your hopes up, but i voted for aksak maboul as well

My guess for #78, Bruce Springsteen.

it would be cool to see him place. i think it's his best work this century, though i just squeezed it in at #25! So the guess sounds pretty otm to me

C'mon guys Bruce really needs this one!

I'll go ahead and guess Arca for 78. I feel like the buzz about that album subsided quickly. (Tho it may have lived on in rolling threads that I don't read.)

That Arca album didn't really hold up to repeat listens (for me anyways, I revisited it while doing my year end list)

Not sure about this 'guessing the 78' in the albums poll. In tracks we were told it was a joint placement by the same artist, which narrowed the field considerably. Here it could be one of hundreds

didn't really go back to arca
fortunately he rereleased &&&&& on vinyl so i got my fix

I should have voted for this DJ Python album that I am now randomly listening to while waiting for this to start.

he? uh-oh

I would rather see what did make the rollout instead of people's guesses as to what didn't

wonder if there were any actual 78s released last year?

Here we go

I would rather see what did make the rollout instead of people's guesses as to what didn't

― Hello Nice FBI Lady (DJP), Monday, 1 February 2021 14:44 (thirty-six seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

I love how this is shade at both the gabbling 78 commentary and at forks and Moka for not getting on with it yet ;)

https://i.imgur.com/19ZpIzk.jpg

#77: Selena Gomez - “Rare (Deluxe)” - 184 points - 8 votes

Selena Gomez is Good For You

“Gomez is a force, an artist who continues to fight her bad odds, and is finally letting us get a little closer to the battle.”
https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/selena-gomez/selena-gomez-rare-review/

xps sorry she, my apologies

Spoiling us again with the graphics Moka

I guess if 78 is going to be something noteworthy/interesting, it's going to be Grimes

yeah that's good work

Good album.

Spoiling us again with the graphics Moka

― groovypanda, Monday, February 1, 2021 9:48 AM (forty-six seconds ago)

otm

double the votes needed for albums over tracks, could see some big ones miss out

gorgeous graphics too

itt Moka will improve upon every album's cover art by 77%.

looks like when you put a record on and drop the empty inner sleeve on top of the front cover

Gonna add to the love pile-on for Moka's graphics. <3

Hahaha the format for the top 77 albums is a bit more challenging than tracks since with tracks I can curate the images I want and with albums I have to work with the actual artwork. I like how most of these turned out but there are a couple where I disliked the album cover and there was no way around it.

I'd ask you to spill but that would involve spoilers :D

yeh let us know when they come up moka

A lot harder to crack the LPs 77 than the tracks 77! 8 votes needed here.

oh wow i nearly didn't have to talk about this album so i won't. i liked it better upon revisit tho

I like this album a good bit but only really listen to two songs on it, "Rare" and "Look At Her Now"

I guess I should revisit this one. Didn't do a lot for me beyond a couple of tracks when it came out.

I think you’ll notice it hahaha.

i could see some with less votes placing. Selena could've been low on most of those ballots (no #1's)

is this going to be a separate placement compared to the standard version

184/8 = 23, which is an average ballot placement of just below midway. I'd guess most of those are unranked ballots

rare japanese version #76

I think something with 5 votes could place. 4 is pushing it

is this going to be a separate placement compared to the standard version

― nxd

Iirc the standard version wasn’t nominated, so no more Selena Gomez upthread.

ah gotcha thanks

Moka, would it be within your remit to inform us what the lowest vote-count for a placing album is?

I've just barely listened to the album but I mentally shake hands with her for sitting down and deciding to make an album-ass pop album

My lock of the week(TM): both Saults will place

they're both gonna be in the top 15, if not top 10

My lock of the week(TM): both Saults will place

― maf you one two (maffew12), Monday, 1 February 2021 15:06 (eleven seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

if you'd added "inside the top ten" then this would have been a bolder call I feel

dammit

one in top ten, the other below 15

got a little lock for all y'all and it's called taylor swift TIMES TWO

I don’t see why not. Our lowest vote-counts are in this initial run and it’s 5.

8 is a lot of votes for #77, even if the enthusiasm isn't huge. Interesting.

Only one Autechre, regrettably

"Look At Her Now"

this is a good song

https://i.imgur.com/QXCV1cc.jpg
#76: Jeff Parker - “Suite for Max Brown” - 184 points - 10 votes

Rolling Jazz Thread 2020

“The veteran guitarist has created an effortlessly detailed album, full of tradition and experimentation that spans generations. It lives at the vanguard of new jazz music.”
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/jeff-parker-suite-for-max-brown/

Killer album, this.

Enjoyed this one a lot.

Moka, great job, but would it be possible to include Bandcamps and such? Happy to help out with this as well, to wit:

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/suite-for-max-brown

Need to go back to this one

Nice! Glad I put this back on my ballot at the last second

Huh, I don't know this one at all. Will check it out, though.

If people want a single track to check out, I think "Go Away" is my favourite here

Maybe include the Bandcamp links in the recap list at the end of each day?

Liking the ‘Safe As Milk homage’ aspect of the images.

Oh, he's the dude from Tortoise! I was a little wary of "jazz guitar" as a description but I'm on the third track and liking it a lot so far.

Jeff Parker album is real nice! the opener/single got a lot of play in this house

agreed that "go away" is probably the best track, but the smaller sketches are also really great and flow very nicely. my favorite of those is probably "del rio," which sounds like the ending music to a bittersweet sitcom episode in the best possible way

also for some reason this has me optimistic blake mills will do well

I suppose it could still place, but I might have gone for the Rob Mazurek album over this one if forced to choose between 2020 albums from extended-Tortoise-universe players

great music this for my first coffee of the day

For once the album I voted for at the bottom of my ballot also made the bottom of the countdown.

pretty

I'm definitely not as keen on the stuff that goes proper guitar jazz but I will be returning to parts of this.

This is pretty interesting fare. V much enjoyed the short wonky minimalism blast of Metamorphoses. This won't be the last time something with Parker on it places but nice he's got a whole spot to himself

Oh wow, 10 votes just to scrape the list! I'd like to retract my earlier guess at Cut Copy being number 78 then.

Our lowest vote-counts are in this initial run and it’s 5.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 1 February 2021 15:08 (twenty-two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Love the Jeff Parker album, and anyone who's listening for the first time and liking it should definitely check out his previous one on International Anthem, which is even better imo:
https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/the-new-breed

TOO LOW. Jeff Parker album is a treat.

https://i.imgur.com/HxPLlDL.jpg
#75: Poppy - “I Disagree” - 187 points - 6 votes - 1 Nº1 vote

Poppy C/D

“The album tosses the singer’s pop aesthetic into the shredder with heavy metal and industrial rock.”
https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review-poppy-i-disagree-obliterates-the-niceties-of-genre-convention/

xp
ha did you see this tweet too, imago?

An entry in the year-end lists:

Top 10 albums from 2020 that Jeff Parker contributed to

(ranked by his role) pic.twitter.com/yEqDuLwiBO

— jeff (@jazyjef) December 7, 2020

I didn't! But I knew about a couple of 'em :)

way too low

Wait, Jeff Parker is in Clipping. too? I'm so confused now.

(Also surprised at Poppy's low showing)

Sorry Brad. I'm sure I'll vote for her in the future, she is going to do great things. I saw this as a kind of finding-her-voice album. I did like it.

Poppy album is so much fun

he's a guest musician on this year's clipping album yes xps

yeh liked this album a lot, guess these first 3 placings all being released in january of last year tells a story

Wait, Jeff Parker is in Clipping. too? I'm so confused now.

He plays on the song "Eaten Alive" on Visions...

enjoying the jeff parker, was too lazy to listen to it before now, so thanks for the gentle kick up the aris

Sorry Brad. I'm sure I'll vote for her in the future, she is going to do great things. I saw this as a kind of finding-her-voice album. I did like it.

― imago, Monday, February 1, 2021 8:35 AM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

"the future" citation needed

Pre-pandemic 2020 albums definitely feel like they're from a different era

i disagree is definitely poppy finding her voice and figuring out what kind of music she should be making but it is also filled front-to-back with ten slappers

Didn't check out this album either but I liked the direction her singles took so I will

bonus tracks on the deluxe are great too

xp Or rather I am, right now, and it sounds good! Metal and bubblegum, two of my favourite things

“Concrete” was my song of 2020 and I own the Poppy LP (waited patiently for months during a pandemic to get it on vinyl to boot) but it never had a sniff of getting into my Top 25. That’s how good a year it was.

I had this album in my top 10. I secretly suspected it might be the #78 victim so I'm glad to see it here.

yeah important to stress that it was an amazing year and there will be lots of albums I liked or loved in this 77 that I didn't vote for

Also this makes me glad I decided to break my rule of no overlaps between the albums and songs lists, otherwise this might not have made the countdown.

okay the Max Brown title-track is the absolute star of the show, and it made me wait the whole album to hear it haha

that's where i'm at too
top stuff

ooo

https://i.imgur.com/H4o0Bm6.jpg
#74: Kairon; IRSE! - “Polysomn” - 188 points - 5 votes

Rolling Stoner/Psych 2020

https://kaironirse.bandcamp.com/album/polysomn-2

“Finnish four-piece Kairon; IRSE! are one of a number of acts dissecting the sounds of shoegaze, krautrock and prog; jumbling up the components and piecing them back together to make a murky and oppressive spaced out stew.”
https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/kairon-irse-polysomn-album-review

well that image is very pleasing

yes!! sooo relieved this made it as it was desperately close to my 25. the Wastement boys on absolute fire in 2020. beautiful, violent shoegaze glory

I voted for An Bat None in the tracks poll instead, which missed out by like 4 points :(

okay the Max Brown title-track is the absolute star of the show, and it made me wait the whole album to hear it haha

― imago, Monday, February 1, 2021 10:46 AM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

that's where i'm at too
top stuff

― nxd, Monday, February 1, 2021 10:47 AM (three minutes ago)

Jordan is right that you all should check out his previous album too when you get the chance

Love the Jeff Parker album, and anyone who's listening for the first time and liking it should definitely check out his previous one on International Anthem, which is even better imo:
https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/the-new-breed

― change display name (Jordan), Monday, February 1, 2021 9:31 AM (seventeen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Jordan OTM. I like all of his solo albums, tbh, though the pre-International Anthem ones are more straight-ahead.

5 votes

There's something I've been missing with Jeff Parker. He is fine as a sideman but I'm not sure I really get what makes him worth listening to over any other major jazz guitarist. Will try again with this one.

Don't know anything about this one, either! Sounds very cool and spacey so far.

Opening track of the Kairon is stellar imo

this is an annoying thing to say but if I'd heard "an Bat None" in time I'd have voted for it in tracks and it would have made the rollout :(

Yeah, I must've missed any discussion of this, I'm feeling it.

xp

On a very quick skim on Bandcamp: liking their maximalist sound but the vocals may be a dealbreaker for me.

This is another, like Jeff Parker, in the 'previous album incredible' bracket imo

xp i like the vocals - sounds like the pale saints!

anyhow it seems like a cool record overall, sounds kinda like mew meets swervedriver or something?

My copy of that Kairon IRSE album just arrived yesterday, but haven't had a chance to spin it yet. I've heard incredible things about their two most recent albums.

Feel like both the Parker album and this one start so strong that the rest of the tracks are kind of diminishing returns. But as I said with Parker, I feel like there's enough to like here that I'll come back to it.

the Jeff Parker and Kairon IRSE both got lots of play over here this year

Like, Nels Cline and Mary Halvorson released epic albums and this was what everyone lost their shit for? Xps

I liked the Halvorson a lot! Playing the Parker now and it's lovely.

https://i.imgur.com/ADtmgQV.jpg
#73: Deftones - “Ohms” - 188 points - 6 votes

Deftones: Underrated?

“After two and a half decades, Deftones are still finding new ways to energize, enrage, and inspire themselves – and with Ohms, they’re finding new ways to peak.”
https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/82095/Deftones-Ohms/

too low

i like that moka's design template makes the album art look like a face in the moon

I dig the Jeff Parker, it really is a suite, feels like a unitary work. Have not listened to the Nels Cline album from last year, I should.

Deftones??!! Actually, I do remember people chatting about this, but I think I thought they were joking!

Like, Nels Cline and Mary Halvorson released epic albums and this was what everyone lost their shit for? Xps

I listen to the Parker album more like an electronic record. He cares about sound & texture, it's more about the concept/big picture than the guitar playing. The Nels Cline & Halvorson records are more jazz documentary style recordings, more like guitarist's guitarist albums.

Also the Parker album really translated well to pandemic home listening, I don't really want much skronk these days.

Today I learned that Deftones still made music after, like, 2005.

wow, I haven't listened to a Deftones album since the 90s. I guess I was kind of vaguely aware they were still going, but did not expect them to show up here.

they have never made a bad album and are one of the best bands ever

agreed

my sole 'tones vote went to the phantogram remix alas

Idk if I've ever heard one of their songs, but I am impressed by the loyalty on display here

yeah, I'm gonna check this out. This was one of my favorite bands when I was 20ish.

Yeah def tones of it

I listen to the Parker album more like an electronic record. He cares about sound & texture, it's more about the concept/big picture than the guitar playing. The Nels Cline & Halvorson records are more jazz documentary style recordings, more like guitarist's guitarist albums.

Also the Parker album really translated well to pandemic home listening, I don't really want much skronk these days.

― change display name (Jordan), Monday, February 1, 2021 10:17 AM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

Wish more modern jazz was like this.

Don't think I've ever intentionally heard a deftones song or album. Where should I start?

they also progress on each album while still retaining the core sound, which i think is my favorite way to evolve musically: every album different but also the same

best introduction to deftones is the album white pony

thanks brad

Thanks, Jordan. I'll listen with that in mind.

you’re welcome! i hope you like creepy atmospheric shoegaze metal with electronics and synths whirring in between bc that’s what it is

There's something I've been missing with Jeff Parker. He is fine as a sideman but I'm not sure I really get what makes him worth listening to over any other major jazz guitarist. Will try again with this one.

― to party with our demons (Sund4r), Monday, February 1, 2021 9:54 AM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

this album and the last one are both pretty unique projects, ymmv on whether they're your cup of tea but i think its hard to say they're run of the mill

oh jordan beat me to this

this sounds just like the deftones

https://i.imgur.com/2K0ch3A.jpg
#72: Nubya García - “Source” - 190 points - 5 votes

A catch-all thread for the current jazz scene in London, including Shabaka Hutchings, Yazz Ahmed, Moses Boyd, Nubya Garcia, Camilla George, Theon Cross, Zara McFarlane, Daniel Casimir, SEED Ensemble,
https://nubyagarcia.bandcamp.com/album/source

“On her stunning debut, the tenor saxophonist and rising member of the London jazz scene meditates on her humble family heritage, the continuum of jazz history, and the power of collective action in our present moment”
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nubya-garcia-source/

ooooh

This one I liked, just didn't buy or listen to enough, through no fault of its own.

I'll give Deftones a listen a bit later, I'm not entirely convinced I'll be won over but happy to try.

I looked at my ballot earlier to guess what would look the coolest in Moka's design and this was my pick

initial deftones reaction is I doubt I have the patience for this like I would have when I was 22.

If you're checking Source out for the first time, I'd suggest skipping to the title track

oof, i kept meaning to listen to this one

If people want jazz played as electronics, then I recommend Danish quartet RoemerKlindtHjortHeymanDombernowsky and their album 'Oprindelse', which came out new years day. The fifth member credited is the mixer of the album. And yeah, it's a soundscape.

I think a lot of new jazz has sounded like that recently, and a lot of good albums from International Anthem especially work like that. I kinda got lost in the scene this year and voted for none of it. Didn't vote for Nubya Garcia either, though I like it a lot.

also Garcia's Tiny Desk Concert is really nice

I like this album and love "Pace," and I really like her tone. (She shows up to good effect on some tracks on Moses Boyd's album too, which was my fave out of that scene last year.)

i didn't manage to get around to the jeff parker album last year but both it and the new breed were relentlessly wonderful listens this morning

"pace" is a massive highlight, for sure

Yay for Nubya Garcia, that was my #2 vote. (Would've been my #1, but late in December another album blew my mind even more.) Her debut was nice but way more in the trad "soulful hard bop" niche, whereas this one is just an incredible showcase of covering different styles and rhythms while still sounding like herself.

Why does Pitchfork think it's her debut, though?

"pace" is a massive highlight, for sure

― tiwa-nty one savage (voodoo chili), Monday, February 1, 2021 11:41 AM (two minutes ago)

ha ok maybe people shouldn't skip the first two then!

Because Pitchfork is dumb. I believe there's a thread about that.

Tuomas, I think her two prev were both EPs, no?

gdi moka your designs are gorgeous

For me, the highlight track of the album is eponymous track "Source" in all its 12 minute glory. She released an earlier, more stripped-down version of it with her quartet as a single in 2018, but in this case more is more, the extra players make this version better. Especially Sheila Maurice-Grey's trumpet.

ha ok maybe people shouldn't skip the first two then!

― rob, Monday, February 1, 2021 11:45 AM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i'm always listening to the piano first in jazz, and "pace" is a particularly impressive showcase for the instrument

Tuomas, I think her two prev were both EPs, no?

"Nubya's 5ive" is 47 minutes and has 5 long tracks, that's an jazz LP to me.

credit to joe armon-jones

*really* digging this Kairon; IRSE! record, it's kind of like early Tame Impala meets Pinkshinyultrablast?

xp to vc
tbc I love the whole album now, but likely due to my own reggae/dub biases I loved the title track the most off the bat

https://i.imgur.com/Ittar5Q.jpg
#71: Charles Webster - “Decision Time” - 190 points - 6 votes

What's Charles Webster up to?

https://charleswebster.bandcamp.com/album/decision-time

“Decision Time is a really remarkable comeback, a record that feels fully formed and totally assured of its existence, outside of the normal flow of time, possessed of some deep magic that appears just as glimmers on first listen but which each play brings out more and more.”
https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-charles-webster-decision-time

xp

Among the many things I love about the London scene is how much of a scene it really is, they've come up together, they play on each other's albums, just endless collaborations. Like '50s-'60s New York. (I know this is true of jazz scenes in general, but this one is just so on fire right now.)

xp to vc
tbc I love the whole album now, but likely due to my own reggae/dub biases I loved the title track the most off the bat

― rob, Monday, February 1, 2021 11:52 AM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

for sure, and it is fascinating to hear nubya and the band work their improvisatory brilliance in that context

amazing record, in my top five

well hello what's this

I've never heard of Webster, what's the deal?

ok this immediately sounds fucking awesome

I haven't heard this either but when I click on it and the first thing I see is "(feat. Shara Nelson)" I am interested.

yeah I read the bandcamp descrip and have saved this for later

This Deftones album isn't bad I guess, I mean, I guess it's pretty much what I expected and if somebody told me this was actually released in 2002 I would believe them.

voted for this

Very curious about that Charles Webster album, I had literally never heard or seen the name.
Voted for Nubya Garcia.

I've never heard of Webster, what's the deal?

― rob, Monday, February 1, 2021 9:57 AM (thirty-five seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

british downtempo house producer, only had one album to his name before this, 2001's born on the fourth of july (which is one of my favorite records). lol i feel like i made this exact comment in his thread but it's really remarkable to me that this album exists and the sound it hits is so exactly my thing, the kind of murky space between trip-hop and house

Love the Charles Webster album so much

having the same instinctual "oh fuck yeah" reaction I had to the nihiloxica record, well done folks

he does have other projects doesnt he under difft name

yes lol it was a very reductive description

i also typed the name of his first album incorrectly

still he hasn't released a lot of material in the last two decades

Presence - All Systems Gone is one ive been listening to

Never heard of this but "This Is Real" is beautiful and reminds me of Burial a bit

burial has a co-production on the album. his remix of "the spell" was also released as a single and is v good imo

https://i.imgur.com/LckXu9S.jpg
#70: Ulla - “Tumbling Towards a Wall” - 190 points - 7 votes

Ambient Recommendations

https://ullastraus.bandcamp.com/album/tumbling-towards-a-wall

“Tumbling Towards A Wall is by far Ulla's most crystalized effort yet, with jolty rhythmic patterns that plop into each other like stalactite drips.”
https://ra.co/reviews/24626

just reminding our creative community that you might wanna hire moka to design YOUR next album cover...

crazy what you can still miss when browsing ilm daily

Webster album rules

Ulla!! Maybe my album of the year. Totally my vibe 100% <3

just reminding our creative community that you might wanna hire moka to design YOUR next album cover...

Umm I have been contemplating this for sure

Catching up, I had the Deftones album high on my ballot - they've made some of their best records late on in their career, one of the few acts I liked in the late '90s who are still going strong.

The last three albums to place are all new names to me but all sound very intriguing.

not gonna read inevitable “nothing is happening here” comments lol ;-;

Charles Webster was top 10 for me.

Nubya never quite caught fire for me. Everything is in the right place though, so maybe need to persevere.

Also, the designs are fucking magnificent.

we're on track for my entire ballot to place today

now I'm remembering why day 1 of the albums rollout is almost always the best one

otm

OK Webster and Ulla both very much my thing. Good job Bandcamp Friday is coming soon, huh? Well done ILM

good job Moka adopting my Bandcamp suggestion, ty

God knows why I'm awake in the middle of the night, but I may as well say that the #72-70 stretch is cool and that I even happened to vote for #70. So yay!

put it on again, that'll help

I've had this wooshy head/head cold/inner ear fucked-up weirdness most of this year and it turns out that maybe I've just somehow aurally ingested this Kairon; IRSEI album.

Ftr, this is a positive review.

I think next one missed my ballot but it’s a great album and I like how it ended up looking like an actual sleeve when mixed with the template:

https://i.imgur.com/bnE74Zd.jpg
#69: Ana Roxanne - “Because of a Flower” - 190 points - 7 votes - 1 Nº1 vote
 
Ambient Recommendations
Kranky S&D

https://anaroxanne.bandcamp.com/album/because-of-a-flower-2

“The California ambient musician’s debut LP pulls from new age, dream pop, Medieval choral music, and Hindustani singing for a hypnotic and tender meditation on gender, identity, and self-love.”
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/ana-roxanne-because-of-a-flower/

TOO LOW. Only came across this in the last month or so and damn.

Really interesting results so far - as with the tracks I haven’t heard of many of these artists (other than Deftones and Parker) but will check them out eventually.

Need to investigate this, a lot of box ticking in that description.

vv nice album

Wait is Ulla half of Ulla Straus? Just thought the name was a coincidence but now see them in the same listener orbit on spotify. I loved Big Room. Not sure how I missed this... many gems today.

yeah discovered this one after I submitted but very great for late night/half-sleep

Really happy to see Ulla and Ana both place; didn't expect either to. Ulla yet another one from January 2020.

Ana: my no.3 - a total balm. Really crisp and nourishing

Yes and she's the other half too xps

Both also looking particularly exquisite here c/o Moka's fine work

Man this whole run seems like awesome music to work to (which is a category I'm always looking to expand). Maybe not Ulla, that might be more music to drift off to, but still. Thank you to the chillxors.

I really like the Ana Roxanne album, although it's definitely a headphone listen imo. Great pandemic record.

Also I've gone through most of her NTS shows at this point while working, very reliably pleasant mix of classic ambient/spiritual jazz/piano music.

I broadly liked the Ana Roxanne, but I decided to just back the track nominated for the tracks contest, as it was easily the foremost attraction. It wasn't all *that* far out of contention last week, it turned out.

Yes and she's the other half too xps

― groovypanda, Monday, February 1, 2021 11:40 AM (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

confusing, but thanks

https://i.imgur.com/JpM3NIt.jpg
#68: Moodymann - “Taken Away” - 192 points - 10 votes

I'll ruin Moodymann for you

https://moodymann.bandcamp.com/album/taken-away-kdj-49

“Following a 2019 episode of police harassment in front of his own building, the Detroit house legend’s latest goes hard on depth and funk, but there’s often an ache where the fun used to be.”
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/moodymann-taken-away/

so glad i'm aware of the charles webster album now

xp the moodymann album just never connected with me sorry to say

my first vote!

also I'm enjoying this more minimalist rollout style

same

xp

Presence - All Systems Gone is one ive been listening to

― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Monday, February 1, 2021 10:08 AM (fifty minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i had forgotten this was webster and y'all should put it on right after decision time ends

Moodymann record is amazing too.

my first vote too. felt a little lighter in tone and more nostalgic than 'sinner' but this one is still fresh as hell

My albums ballot was so much stronger than my tracks, it was real hard work to cut it down. That's being borne-out by the rundown, great stuff so far

Webster, Parker and Garcia albums are new for me and really good. Thanks for discovering these for me!

My albums ballot was so much stronger than my tracks, it was real hard work to cut it down. That's being borne-out by the rundown, great stuff so far

meanwhile, I couldn't find 25 albums on the nomination list I'd actually heard when I went to vote

xp Deftones' placement seems right to me. It's their best since Diamond Eyes (2010) for sure but their have at least 4 albums that are better.

I never got around to listening to the Deftones album, mostly because they are a band I primarily consumed via alternative radio rather than owning any of their music and didn't have a driving desire to check out the album when it was released.

https://i.imgur.com/cB9mdbp.jpg
#67: Perfume Genius - “Set My Heart on Fire Immediately” - 199 points - 8 votes

A thread where we appreciate the genius behind Perfume Genius

https://perfumegenius.bandcamp.com/album/set-my-heart-on-fire-immediately

“With trusted producer Blake Mills (Fiona Apple, Laura Marling), the artist born Mike Hadreas ensures that each and every note on his new album, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, lands with devastating precision. These 13 tracks are finely wrought works of art that draw as much influence from Purcell and Mozart as they do scuzzy Nineties post-punk.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/perfume-genius-review-album-stream-sparks-moses-sumney-a9512171.html

oh man this is definitely too low, because it's another I wish I could have voted for

I don't get Perfume Genius at all

rollout today has been a wild combination of albums I voted for (Parker, Garcia, Moodymann) and lots of things I've never even heard of

voted for Ana Roxanne!

I love Perfume Genius, but I unfortunately didn’t have the time and space last year to get into the record, so I kept it off my ballot

love love love 'on the floor' off this record

I don't get Perfume Genius at all

― Hello Nice FBI Lady (DJP),

I was hoping the album would be more like "Describe" which sounded like nu-grunge / shoegaze to my ears and it got me excited about the whole thing but then, it's a bit of an outlier.

I don't get Perfume Genius at all

― Hello Nice FBI Lady (DJP),

― meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upsta (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, February 1, 2021 11:22 AM (forty-three seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

rt even though i kinda dug the first song released from this

find it odd that DJP doesn't like PG as this album is kinda Queer Radiohead in some ways imo

what even are these albums lol? ilm u r weeeird

Blimey, Charles Webster - I used to know him in Nottingham in the 1990s. He was also the first person to tell me about Moodymann, so it's nice to see that placing nearby.

I'm glad this Ulla placed so I can actually check something out from the list while working

brad, was that "on the floor"? i liked that one too while the rest of the album left me cold. it's hard for me to resist a 12/8 shuffle, to be fair.

I voted for "Describe" in the tracks poll and honestly thought it had an outside chance of placing high, but I was way off. I like the rest of the record too, but didn't vote for it.

this album and the last one are both pretty unique projects, ymmv on whether they're your cup of tea but i think its hard to say they're run of the mill

Tbc I didn't mean that Jeff Parker is some BMus playing "Autumn Leaves" in a bar (which I often enjoy!) but that I just didn't see what was so exciting or impressive about what he does with the guitar, in the context of the major modern players working today. But it makes sense to listen to this primarily as an electronic composition (on headphones because my wife said the sustained tone in "Fusion Swirl" was making her want to strangle someone). The layers on "After the Rain" are nice, actually.

if I want Queer Radiohead, I'll just listen to Radiohead

First single was “describe”, second single “on the floor”

"describe" was the one i loved

Also, there's nothing even remotely Radiohead about PG, queer or not.

first thing from him i ever really enjoyed tbh xp

Blake mills had a year huh

dark art-pop with economical construction and surprising arrangements

his best since Put Your Back N 2 It, imo

I fully agree with that

Perfume Genius strikes me like a slightly less irritating version of ANHONI

took the charles webster with me on my evening run, up and down the main road out of town in the dark and cold, just a constant stream of headlights for company, pretty perfect soundtrack so thank you voters. and I only stopped five times to check the rollout on my phone! wish I'd heard it before, i think he was erroneously filed under charles bradley in my mental rolodex (don't worry, I've already fired the clerk)

oof xp

took the charles webster with me on my evening run, up and down the main road out of town in the dark and cold, just a constant stream of headlights for company, pretty perfect soundtrack so thank you voters. and I only stopped five times to check the rollout on my phone! wish I'd heard it before, i think he was erroneously filed under charles bradley in my mental rolodex (don't worry, I've already fired the clerk)

― would a nit be nice? (NickB), Monday, February 1, 2021 6:30 PM (thirty-five seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

awesome!

I accept the craft of Perfume Genius' work while recoiling from his rather miserabilist outlook.

First Perfume Genius track to click for me was "Fool" - haven't been that into the stuff of his that gets into end of year lists on the whole.

that's the exact opposite of how I'd, uh, describe the outlook

actually that's not entirely accurate; more like a slightly less irritating ANHONI being supported by Interpol pretending to be Low

so, I appreciate the nods towards something I like and enjoy but all of the actual components make me want to punch a wall

that's the exact opposite of how I'd, uh, describe the outlook

― swing out sister: live in new donk city (geoffreyess), Monday, 1 February 2021 18:34 (nineteen seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

if this^ plum had managed to complete a simple ballot submission I'm guessing this album would have been much, much higher

https://i.imgur.com/EEq3qRE.jpg
#66: Autechre - “Plus” - 200 points - 8 votes

Autechre - PLUS

https://autechre.bandcamp.com/album/plus

“PLUS seems to meander as much as its predecessor, but its greater focus on rhythm helps it appear to hold together more strongly, and rapt concentration reveals that these pieces are as intricate and thoughtfully crafted as the duo's best work.”
https://www.allmusic.com/album/plus-mw0003443787

Glad it's this low. Autechre stanning is one of the things I hate most about this place.

lol nobody tell JF

lol

i thought this was a poll of music, not sound design

(Yay both autechres placing!)

i cannot imagine getting irritated by autechre stanning but it takes all kinds

aw shit, I forgot there were two

hehehe

xps wow i'd never even heard "describe" haha. not bad, but kinda interminable.

"ecole4" is the masterpiece on this one (after a fantastic first side) imo but it doesn't hang together as well as sign which is coming up.

lol if this actually placed SIGN might be top 10

"fuck those people who listen to crunchy abstract dance music, how dare they"

I hate being bombarded by autechre at the supermarket

lol

hadn't heard this but it's sounding way fresher sound-design-wise than loads of their recent stuff (I found the NTS sessions to be a slog), which is v promising

Nah, it's more that every morsel they put out is worshipped like it fell from God's hand. There's not much critical give and take. If Autechre releases anything, they'll be ranked in the poll.

like, a good-ish slog, but

Also, it sounds like farting mice behind the wall trying to build a nest.

Finally

66 is probably fine knowing another one will surely be coming up

Also, it sounds like farting mice behind the wall trying to build a nest.

tbf this description justifies the ranking over Perfume Genius

xp they're a weird band where some of the songs you might hate are someone else's favorites. They seem to have a unique combination of style and variation that makes it hard to debate the subjective qualitative merits of their tunes and gain a semblance of collective agreement

i think pom is right to characterize this record as hanging together less well than sign which is an unusually unified experience, but plus also feels more exploratory and dance-oriented (especially on tracks like "X4") and that is the autechre music i crave

I preferred Plus a bit more to Sign. It's a little meatier, and I had aural experiences while stoned and listening on headphones the likes of which I hadn't had since I first heard them in the late 90s. It's a really enjoyable Ae album

I had to check, but PLUS was a last minute cut from my ballot. It was a pretty tough cut to make, I really like it, but I wanted to give room for other stuff.

and i thought demurring about the moodymann album was going to be an unnecessary downer

when they release bad music i'll let you know jf

didn't know Johnny Fever disliked Ae. Thought there was a rule that if you liked Pavement, you liked Ae but apparently not.

i think pom is right to characterize this record as hanging together less well than sign which is an unusually unified experience, but plus also feels more exploratory and dance-oriented (especially on tracks like "X4") and that is the autechre music i crave

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, February 1, 2021 6:46 PM (thirty-five seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

*raises hand* hi

xp who says I like Pavement (much)?

just checked and PLUS was my number 2. I doubt my number one will place, so *pops single party popper"

JF didn't you run the Pavement poll?

Yeah, I did. My 90s fanship of them has definitely waned over the last decade or so.

'marhide' is an excellent soundtrack to reading about and contemplating a Pavement fan losing his zeal for Pavement

Haha, what is the connection between Pavement and Autechre?

no idea

They were both slated to play Primavera 2021?

dog latin likes them, I think?

Nah, it's more that every morsel they put out is worshipped like it fell from God's hand. There's not much critical give and take. If Autechre releases anything, they'll be ranked in the poll.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, February 1, 2021 6:43 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is all fair and true. it's hard not to get philosophical about Autechre in a critical sense because there's not really such a good thing as "good" or "bad" Autechre - on the whole, fans just experience it and the experience is completely subjective. That said, I agree with many people (imago upthread) that the increasing length and impenetrability of their releases up until last year proved very testing, and I'm glad they kept this phase of their career to two regular-length albums that I can listen to all the way through in one sitting.

stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.) at 6:41 1 Feb 21
I hate being bombarded by autechre at the supermarket

Haha, what is the connection between Pavement and Autechre?

― to party with our demons (Sund4r), Monday, February 1, 2021 6:50 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Dunno, just that in the 90s people I met who liked one seemed to like the other, or at least there was significant crossover to notice it.

Nice to see Perfume Genius make it. Kinda surprising this is the first time he's ever made our albums list. No Shape was slightly stronger but these last two have been the best things he's done.

Didn't get into Plus as much as Sign. I'm a very casual Autechre fan if that helps JF? They're very hit and miss.

The results today are making me feel a bit out of touch.

FWIW ecol4 is the keeper from PLUS

ecol4 is feeling v much like a follow-up to Surripere

SIGN was great but too many of the tracks seemed to hang around four-chord dirges and I just need a bit more something or other

i don't even really consider myself much of an autechre stan, i don't listen to them a lot, i only got it in my mind to try to listen to all of their records in the last year bc it seemed like a fun and interesting project, and what i have learned is that their arc is incredible and every album and ep has its own rewards lol

So I listened to the Jeff Parker all the way through now and it's interesting because I actually don't really know what to even make of it, like I'm often not sure what it's even supposed to be doing, but there are a lot of things going on, which makes me want to dig in more and break it down. (Both Pavement and Autechre were a bit like this too for me, actually, although Autechre crank out so much stuff that I stopped digging.)

Omg it's Monday - I completely forgot! Catching up - already a really diverse and interesting rollout. Voted for Perfume Genius and Kairon; IRSE! very high. That Kairon graphic was so pretty (as are they all).

autechre is fun, definitely don’t feel like listening to them all the time. their music is kind of like watching those videos of hydraulic presses crushing crayons and stuff... idk something really satisfying about hearing those crunchy computer sounds speeding through all sort of oddly shaped tunnels and funnels

https://i.imgur.com/86HXbG3.jpg
#65: Adrianne Lenker - “Songs” - 200 points - 9 votes

Big Thief - Two Hands

https://adriannelenker.bandcamp.com/album/songs

“Lenker's work continues to reimagine love and loss, and albums like songs are her way of turning those complex emotions into something timeless.”
https://exclaim.ca/music/article/adrianne_lenker_songs_album_review

Surprised this is this low

After the hype over the two Autechre albums (hype being a relative thing in this case, obviously) I gave them a try despite always having classified them as "interesting/not my thing." That remained true, but I put it on while I was cleaning the kitchen and it entertained me how every noise I made — water running, dishes clinking — felt like part of the tracks. So, still not my thing, but actually not bad to do housework to.

Songs really grew on me. I like Big Thief a lot, but at first pass this felt pretty slight, or pretty but slight. But then I wanted to keep listening to it, and each song really emerged, it's a sweet collection of tunes.

I didn't "get" this AL solo record as much as Big Thief

I love Autechre but this year’s offerings didn’t blow my socks off.

If I voted for Plus - don’t remember for sure - it’s because it was the more enjoyable of the two and because I was trying to get to 25 albums and the options were limited.

Lenker solo is too precious for me, or something

also so insular it becomes alienating

thought this was good but just wasn't in the mood for it this year. it happens.

I felt a bit burned out on Big Thief/Lenker after last year and this album didn't really suit my mood. Shocked to see it so low.

a shit, still not got round to listening to this despite being a huge Big Thief fan. maybe it's because i have an aversion to solo acoustic singer-songwritey music? is that what this is?

yeah, I'm an AL/BF fan but haven't connected with this (...yet)

how every noise I made — water running, dishes clinking — felt like part of the tracks

see, this would make it impossible for me to actually experience and enjoy the music.

nothing like people's autechre comments in a poll thread to highlight the fact that most people never got into / will never get into music as sound sculpture.

I felt a bit burned out on Big Thief/Lenker after last year and this album didn't really suit my mood.

Same. I didn't find the noodling compelling either.

Big Thief are just about the right side of "slight" for me. Took me a while to appreciate how luxuriant U.F.O.F. really is; it felt so whipsy and thin on first listen. Maybe that's why I'm put-off listening to a Lenker solo album

Meetings all day today, on a short break now, sorry to be missing this rollout, but as usual it is full of artists I've never heard of with descriptions that make me want to dive in. I have actually been jonesing for new jazz that doesn't sound like pastiche of old jazz and this Jeff Parker record, esp. "Go Awat," is exactly hitting it for me right now.

Enjoyed PLUS but despite my fave Autechre albums often being their most dishwasher-y it was such a joyful surprise to hear a conventional, gorgeous album from them in SIGN, and it sounding as great as in the ol' days.

https://i.imgur.com/SLheReL.jpg
#64: Run The Jewels - “RTJ4” - 204 points - 8 votes

Run The Jewels - El-P and Killer Mike

“Killer Mike and El-P have always traded dazzlingly intricate verses, all alliteration and propulsive rhymes, over inventive, nonlinear productions, and RTJ4 supersizes their outsider aesthetic without squandering any hard-won authenticity.”
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/07/run-the-jewels-run-the-jewels-4-review-a-remarkable-hit-rate

big thief fans should not miss out on "not a lot, just forever" imo. ymmv

another perfect crop!

I can never understand what separates Big Thief from the kind of miserabilist indie that gets clowned on here on the regular.

RTJ inherently a tracks act to me

I’m not a RTJ person, but for those who are: does this placement surprise you, or does it seem just about right?

wow -- this is low

there's just something about RTJ that really really grates on me. everything sounds so hot and over-compressed so it distorts just a tiny bit, and Killer Mike always sounds like he's got his hand clasped around the mouthpiece. it's a production choice that i can't get past

Guardian quote says it all!

I think this is too low, I usually find RTJ albums have just a few highlights, but this one is just solid all the way through and very cohesive

my favorite Mike verse on RTJ4:

Amazing, ain't it, how we made it and didn't fake it?
Life's a disguise, the truth is butt naked
Used to be a time I'd see it and not say it
Now I understand that woke folk be playin'
Ain't no revolution is televised and digitized
You've been hypnotized and Twitter-ized by silly guys
Cues to the evenin' news, make sure you ill-advised
Got you celebratin' the generators of genocide
Any good deed is pummeled, punished, and penalized
Rulers of the world will slice it up like a dinner pie
Race in a nation told you to identify
People take false pride and warfare incentivized
Fuck that, me and my tribe, we on an iller vibe
We accept the role of the villains 'cause we been villainized
Stomped to the dirt of the Earth, we still will arise
In the Terrordome, let me alone as I soliloquize

i still think the first run the jewels album is the best one

xp to DL that production choice is very on-purpose and I'm not always in the mood for it myself, but there are other times it's exactly what I want to hear. Everything just hits so *hard* sonically

RTJ are one of those acts that are both kinda corny and very very good

i still like them. But holy hell do i not want to meet anyone who's always in the mood for them

that would certainly be an exhausting person

R.A.P. Music >>>> RTJ but I still like RTJ fine, I just wish El-P rapped less

meow the jewels is my favourite

I mean, obviously it was unfortunately timeless already, but hearing this verse just weeks after George Floyd's murder knocked the wind out of me and still hits hard:

The way I see it, you're probably freest from the ages one to four
Around the age of five you're shipped away for your body to be stored
They promise education, but really they give you tests and scores
And they predictin' prison population by who scoring the lowest
And usually the lowest scores the poorest and they look like me
And every day on the evening news, they feed you fear for free
And you so numb, you watch the cops choke out a man like me
Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, "I can't breathe"

I think this placement isn't so bad. RTJ4 had some really good songs, but as an album I rate it well below the earlier ones.

the Lenker album is another that just barely missed my ballot, really nice stuff

I'm not always in the mood for it myself, but there are other times it's exactly what I want to hear

I feel like I could say this is true for pretty much all the music I love. The stuff I like the most is the stuff that hits the spot when I'm in a specific mindset.

count me in as also being surprised at how low this is. I can't really put my finger on what made the difference, but this is the first RTJ album that didn't quickly wear out its welcome for me. I always felt like there was something missing from the first few, but I couldn't say exactly what.

many xps but

most people never got into / will never get into music as sound sculpture

For me, I can get into it but it helps if it's in a museum or gallery or even a live venue. Some place set aside just for listening to music. It doesn't translate to home listening for me, I think it requires too much attention (and/or it just fades into the background).

digging the ana roxanne at the moment, a hearty thanks to its voters

https://i.imgur.com/kyGApC2.jpg
#63: Lido Pimienta - “Miss Colombia”   - 210 points - 6 votes

Lido Pimienta

https://lidopimienta.bandcamp.com/album/miss-colombia

“The organic, delightfully earnest tracks blend Miss Colombia‘s avant-Latin sonic palette with revered cross-generational traditions, forging a new world of musical borderlessness that Pimienta is glad to call home.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/lido-pimienta-miss-colombia-review-984306/

For me, I can get into it but it helps if it's in a museum or gallery or even a live venue. Some place set aside just for listening to music. It doesn't translate to home listening for me, I think it requires too much attention (and/or it just fades into the background).

― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Monday, February 1, 2021 7:31 PM (fifty-three seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

i hear you on this, it's a struggle. i only catch moments of full attention on good days, but when i do it's great. helps that i wear headphones everywhere lol.

i really like this record

never heard of this, intrigued

Rules. Voted for this. i think only discussion around here was on the Polaris Prize thread.

won the polaris before right?

loving this

this made my ballot. lido is so fucking cool. this is a good placement for her - it's a v good album but she's going to top this shortly I think

oh, missed her own thread, linked

also some great remixes floating around

i'm late, but the selena gomez album is really great in parts ("lose you to love me", "vulnerable", "ring", "let me get me"), but still felt like a disappointment bc i feel like she has a masterpiece in her but i'll probably have to wait another 3-5 years for the next attempt. her work with mattman & robin is god-like

I prefer listening to Killer Mike's interviews to listening to RTJ these days

Very surprised RTJ4 placed this low! (though I didn't have ballot room for it myself either)

Lenker s/t is beautiful yet soul destroying and probably best consumed in tiny doses, at least it is for me.

Very happy to see Ana Roxana place!

xps Her previous album won the Polaris Prize yeah

I need to give this one another listen, I liked her album before this.

yeahhhhh! Lido was in my top 10

my Virgo-Libra cusp sister

Check out the A cappella closer, Para transcribir

I like all the Pimienta I've heard but didn't get round to the album, glad to see her place though. Even though I've not heard most of the albums today and can't keep up with listening along like the tracks rundown, I feel like this has been a good day. Nicely varied in genre and a mix of more obscure/well-known stuff.

"te queria" is a jam and a half

charles webster album is so SO good, and "we belong together" is the best song in the world

FLOATING ON AN ETHER

josh thanks to your post I now know lido and I were born on the exact same day lol

love the moodymann lp too, so funky and fragmented idk

love how "Eso Que Tu Haces" starts like a Julianna Barwick song -- kept throwing me off when I'd hear it on the radio

Simon this also means we're brethren! Sept 20 here

but are you all 38

I like that this has been for the most part such a lovefest

https://i.imgur.com/GcbBKXD.jpg
#62: DJ Python - “Mas Amable” - - 216 points - 7 votes

Rolling techno* albums thread for people who are clearly doing it wrong

https://djpythonnyc.bandcamp.com/album/mas-amable

“Mas Amable is basically just one big track. It's a track that shapeshifts constantly. But does it so subtly, so imperceptibly, that every little detail feels natural, free-flowing, unobtrusive—like it never changed at all."
https://www.popmatters.com/dj-python-mas-amable-2645882335.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2

I like love that this has been for the most part such a lovefest :)

oh now i have the guess the city thread in my head lol

really sick record i couldn’t fit on my ballot

Had I voted, Lido would have been in my top 5. I love this whole album. Gorgeous melodies, nice mix of Afro-Colombian trad and modern pop — and not in the clunky way such things are often done, but in the way they're done by someone who loves both. And her voice was one of my favorite discoveries of the year.

tried spending time with the DJ Python, didn't really connect with it at the time, then it went out of my radar. its presence in the poll is intriguing me to check it out again, though

Didn't vote for this but 'ADMSDP' is so killer

dug the python album but the ultimate result of my checking it out was getting me to listen to "descanse" 40 times in a row one afternoon

i like this. i also couldn't seem to fit it. i will listen again.

This was low on my ballot but that's more a sign of how much good music there has been this year, because it rules.

I don't recall clearly but p sure I liked prev Python albums a lot more than this one, so I'm a little surprised to see this place

Last one for the day!

https://i.imgur.com/majmchB.jpg
#61: Brandy Clark - “Your Life Is a Record” - 230 points - 10 votes

Brandy Clark's 12 Stories

“Subtlety is her strength and that skill is still evident in her witty, elegant turns of phrase, but the distinguishing characteristic of Your Life Is a Record is warmth. From its enveloping sound to its empathetic tales, the album feels openhearted and comforting, a sensibility that helps the record seem charmingly out of step with the times.”
https://www.allmusic.com/album/your-life-is-a-record-mw0003349625

I didn't vote for DJ Python, but like I mentioned upthread, probably should have. It didn't hook me in like the previous album did, it's a bit more subtle, but it's an album I will probably keep coming back to.

too low!!!!

ahhhh my listening the week before lockdown

I prefer the baby-I'm-burnin' bump of Big Day in a Small Town, but she wrote several small miracles here.

Oh wow, I'd thought ilm had cooled on Brandy Clark so much that her appearance in the eoy poll is a real surprise. I should have voted for it to boost it a little more.

dj python album is cool, easy to get lost in

I don't recall clearly but p sure I liked prev Python albums a lot more than this one, so I'm a little surprised to see this place

― rob, Monday, February 1, 2021 3:00 PM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i definitely preferred derretirse, which wore its reggaeton influences on its sleeves.

really hoping not the last artist names brandy to place :-)

named

late to this but the ulla album is really good, like vibing out on a beach that is also inside a submarine

didn't really get into any country at all this year

Love love love the Lido Pimienta album. DJ Python and Brandy Clark also great.

i kept thinking huh none of the stuff i voted for is showing up and then i checked and apparently i never voted OOPS

really hoping not the last artist names brandy to place :-)

― brimstead, Monday, 1 February 2021 20:10 (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

won't be :)

Voted Clark and Gomez; both feature spectacular songwriting.

I got 1 in today (Moodymann). Interesting first section!

Ah, finally something I voted for (Brandy Clark). Voted for Lenker in tracks only, but all of ‘songs’ is good. Lido Pimienta has a lovely voice - will def check out this LP. DJ Python also sounding promising.

Nicely varied first day.

I had Brandy Clark at #15 on my ballot and, while I had held out a small hope that it might do better than this, ultimately I'm just glad it made the countdown.

voted for the autechre and RTJ albums. Had previously listened to the DJ Python, Perfume Genius and Moodymann albums, all of which I like. Pretty good rollout today, will try to listen to the stuff I haven't heard.

RTJ and Python were on my long list.
Been listening to the Jeff Parker and Poppy albums today. Good stuff!

I don't think I had anything place today but I do love a lot of these. good run so far

Hope pretty much lost anything I voted for placed at this point

just scroll up

I wanted to save my daily roundup post for later when I had gotten to sampling all the records I'm interested in that I haven't heard of/checked out yet, but HOLY FUCK this Kairon;IRSE! record is the fucking coolest thing I've listened to in a long, long time

welcome to psych finland

this has been a great roll out so far

yeh its cool, probs the finnish connection but makes me wanna relisten to plenty of circle

GOD I really should be following the stoner/psych thread

if we're very, very lucky there might be a Circle-related thing yet to show up

and then of course there's

if we're very, very lucky there might be a Circle-related thing yet to show up

That would be cool, if it's what I'm thinking. Not sure that would get enough votes though, even some Circle fans weren't sold on it.

oh i think i know this connection!

did you vote for it y/n xp

i don't think pharaoh overlord made it unfortunately. that lokki has flown

KAIRON thing too heavy for me, sounds like Yamantaka/ST??

not bad, just not my preferred version of psych

was not feeling the pharaoh overlord this year but Dark Buddha or Oranssi Pazuzu would be cool

That's weird, the KAIRON didn't strike me as particularly heavy but maybe my barometer for that is a little broken

did you vote for it y/n xp

I did not vote this year. Had a list in progress, but a series of family issues that popped up suddenly meant I missed the deadline. So perhaps I shouldn't even be posting itt.

aw man hope all is okay. you are v much encouraged to post

pharaoh overlord is now my 78 prediction btw ;)

haha, yeah, Kairon IRSE seems more blissed out than heavy to me

idk the first track got real loud and I gave up, "blissed out" to me is, like, Satwa or Paavoharju or something

I suspect tomorrow will be Why Does ILM Sometimes Want To Rock?? day

brandy clark album is stunning except for the annoying centrist randy newman one

I suspect tomorrow will be Why Does ILM Sometimes Want To Rock?? day

― stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Monday, 1 February 2021 21:05 (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

"if you thought Kairon was too heavy for shoegaze, get a load of Hum"

bleah

i think my fave shoegaze of the last ten years was eidôlon

Voted for Lenker and RTJ. Both were extremely well executed, consistent albums that I listened to front-to-back repeatedly throughout the year. I don't find "songs" precious so much as vulnerable.

Feels like Brandy Clark's best album is yet to come--12 Stories is still my favorite by a mile. I do very much like "Long Walk," and her imagery and storytelling on songs like "Pawn Shop" are excellent, but sometimes it can all feel very staid.

I fell hard for the Brandy Clark album late last year finally. “Apologies” is the keeper, with “Pawn Shop” another standout.

Nubya Garcia the only album from my ballot to place today. Great album, think I had it at number 5, very happy that it made it.
The Ulla, Run The Jewels & DJ Python albums were all ones that I considered at some point but didn't make my final cut. Didn't like the Moodymann album as much as I expected to but I'll probably go back to it.
Lots of things already that I've not heard and in some cases never heard of. It's going to be impossible for me to keep up with the whole thing in real time but I've listened to the Jeff Parker, most of the Kairon;IRSE and about half of the Selena Gomez and enjoyed them all a lot. Will give Charles Webster a shot next.

Interesting rollout so far. The things from my list that made it (Lido Pimienta and RTJ) feel right in their placement. Nubya Garcia, Ae's PLUS, Moodymann, Adrienne Lenker and DJ Python were all things I enjoyed this year, but not enough to put on my ballot. If anything, this year feels a bit weird with so many things showing up that I enjoyed and listened to more than once.

(no one has called the artist/album combo for #78 as of yet)

There's no way it's Bob Dylan, but that would be hilarious.

I have a hard time gauging just how popular Soccer Mommy is here, but that popped into my head as a #78 guess.

gonna be nigh-impossible to guess the 78 until more albums have placed, but this already feels high for lil uzi vert - eternal atake, so that'll be my revised guess.

my only guesses for tracks were preemptive self-pity, and I haven't hit that point yet in this rollout

I am totally overwhelmed by the amazing roll-out as I am pretty much disconnected from current music. The Nubya Garcia is the only one I would have voted for, my fave from that album is the title track, what a great dub jam.

Of the stuff I didn't know - almost all - I am totally blown away by the cosmic Ana Roxanne, phantastic out of the world stuff.

Besides that I am intrigued about the Charles Webster (not a lot happening in the first tracks but more than in Burial which I find boring), the Moodyman (great soul flowing nicely), the Autechre (there is a lot to chew there, my connection to sound sculptures is much stronger than to real sculptures) and the Brandy Clark which seems to be up my alley if she doesn't go too much into country territory. I also dug the Deftones and the Adrienne Lenker in small doses.

Great poll up till now, yes the first day of the album roll-out is always the best!

Alex, I have some bad news for you re: Brandy Clark

he Brandy Clark which seems to be up my alley if she doesn't go too much into country territory.

Brandy Clark does not sound like Morgan Wallen.

Who is Morgan Wallen?

I totally forgot about DJ Python, never heard of him before but besides the cover I like the quite open sounds of the first track, Descanse is very different but fine too. So much to listen to, thanks you all!

just put on the Ana Roxanne, good lord this is beautiful

ditto

"Suite Pour L'invisible" pushing my Grouper fanboy buttons

Jeff Parker: I probably would have voted for this if I noticed it on the doc, oops. I'm not great with most jazz but I enjoy what I've heard of Parker's stuff solo and with Isotope 217, etc.

Kairon; IRSE: Almost voted for this but it got bumped off, I like their previous albums but this one underwhelmed me aside from a couple of tracks.

Autechre: I'll never get Autechre. They're not bad, just don't get anything out of it.

Deftones: lol ok

Having picked through a few others that I haven't heard, it's obvious we collectively needed comforting vibes this year eh. I'll definitely be going back to Lidio Pimienta, Ana Roxanne and Moodymann.

xp totally, this is great

I regret not voting for the Ana Roxanne, I didn’t even see it in the noms and it’s probably one of my top 20 albums of the year. Glad it did made it either way. It’s seems like an appropriate time of the year to get into it.

#77: Selena Gomez - “Rare (Deluxe)” - 184 points - 8 votes
#76: Jeff Parker - “Suite for Max Brown” - 184 points - 10 votes
#75: Poppy - “I Disagree” - 187 points - 6 votes - 1 Nº1 vote
#74: Kairon; IRSE! - “Polysomn” - 188 points - 5 votes
#73: Deftones - “Ohms” - 188 points - 6 votes
#72: Nubya García - “Source” - 190 points - 5 votes
#71: Charles Webster - “Decision Time” - 190 points - 6 votes
#70: Ulla - “Tumbling Towards a Wall” - 190 points - 7 votes
#69: Ana Roxanne - “Because of a Flower” - 190 points - 7 votes - 1 Nº1 vote
#68: Moodymann - “Taken Away” - 192 points - 10 votes
#67: Perfume Genius - “Set My Heart on Fire Immediately” - 199 points - 8 votes
#66: Autechre - “Plus” - 200 points - 8 votes
#65: Adrianne Lenker - “Songs” - 200 points - 9 votes
#64: Run The Jewels - “RTJ4” - 204 points - 8 votes
#63: Lido Pimienta - “Miss Colombia” - 210 points - 6 votes
#62: DJ Python - “Mas Amable” - - 216 points - 7 votes
#61: Brandy Clark - “Your Life Is a Record” - 230 points - 10 votes

Heard 3, voted for 0, gonna check out 7

Kairon; IRSE!: this is one I never really listened to because it seemed so obviously up my alley that there was no point in listening to find out. Listening on Bandcamp (where the sound quality is obv reduced in the first place), the sound seems brickwalled in a way that makes it hard to hear but when I look past that, I can get swept away by the wash of noise and glide guitar. Soft vocals are nice too. Manages to sound like shoegaze and still sound fresh.

I never really listened to because it seemed so obviously up my alley that there was no point in listening to find out.

Huh? Unless you meant “not up my alley”, I’m completely baffled by this approach to music. “Seems like I might love this, better pass...”.

voted for poppy, charles webster and adrianne lenker. the charles webster album was a really late discovery thanks to brad's list, it's wonderful. i'm very surprised that adrianne lenker is so low, i thought that would have been a lock for top 20. it's not quite as good as her work with big thief but she's still a remarkably strong songwriter and it has some of the best acoustic guitar sounds i've ever heard, really wonderfully recorded.

i enjoyed the ana roxanne and perfume genius albums but not enough to make my ballot. i need to revisit the selena gomez one as i haven't heard it since it came out. the only albums i haven't heard at all here are the ulla and kairon albums, but the descriptions are intriguing so i'm looking forward to checking those out.

the sound seems brickwalled in a way that makes it hard to hear

maybe this is what I heard as "too loud"

Xps this happens to me sometimes. I put off listening to something because I know it's going to be slap bang in my wheelhouse and I'm either not ready to appreciate it yet, concerned it won't quite live up to the height, or irrationally worried that it will somehow attack my fragile ego by shining a light on it and speaking: "LOOK. THIS IS YOU. THIS IS WHAT YOU LIKE. YOU SIMPLE HUMAN OF LIMITED WORTH"

Crude and offensive categories ahoy!

- Pleasing, and was on ballot at some point and possibly still should have been when I submitted it: DJ Python, Ana Roxanne, Jeff Parker
- Kinda wish I liked this more than I actually do as the track nominated for the tracks poll was kinda extraordinary: Kairon; IRSE!
- I dig this and should have listened more - remedial study has been scheduled: Moodymann, Nubya Garcia, Charles Webster
- Never even heard of this but clearly should have, as I've listened to the whole thing twice already this morning: Lido Pimienta
- Voted for this, having found repeat listens rewarding: Ulla
- Listened a bit but seemingly semi-consciously took a break from artist this time around -- am prepared to believe that that may be revealed to be folly in the fullness of time: Autechre, Run the Jewels
- No palpable interest in listening in depth - if I've missed something extraordinary I think I can live with it for now: Brandy Clark, Adrianne Lenker, Perfume Genius, Deftones, Poppy, Selena Gomez

Huh? Unless you meant “not up my alley”, I’m completely baffled by this approach to music. “Seems like I might love this, better pass...”.

Yeah, with the vast glut of music out there that it's impossible to keep up with, things that are obviously designed to cater to my pre-existing preferences often go on the backburner (although, weirdly, usually not when they are by artists I already know and love). It's perverse.

Woo. Cool countdown so far. My timezone makes it hard to interact with the rollout, but glad to see three of my votes place early doors - Ulla, DJ Python and Ana Roxanne (a late inclusion). Jeff Parker just missed out.

Look forward to giving Charles Webster and Nubya Garcia a spin!

Sorry Sund4r, didn’t mean that to be as dickish as it came off, just not an approach I can relate to... if anything I end up giving too much time to something I expected to love due to the description, but only ended up kind of liking... if that makes sense.

I was the #1 voter for Ana Roxanne! Glad it made the cut.

Brandy Clark also on my list (though I'm not wild about this record's subdued strings & horns palette)

listening to the selena gomez album and it's clear why i didn't really come back to it. it's all very tasteful and decent enough but nothing at all has grabbed me either.

Semi-shameful admission, every time I read Kairon; IRSE!'s name I sing it in my head to the tune of that Mr. Mister song as "kay-ee-ron err-sea".

this charles webster album is breathtaking stuff.. how did the likes of pitchfork and resident advisor and all the other big publications not eat this thing up?? burial is on it!!

Semi-shameful admission, every time I read Kairon; IRSE!'s name I sing it in my head to the tune of that Mr. Mister song as "kay-ee-ron err-sea".

I can tell you that the name isn't very easy to parse even for a Finnish-speaker. "Kairon" is a word in Finnish, it means "of Cairo", so presumably that's what the first part comes from. But "IRSE" doesn't mean anything in Finnish, so is it an abbreviation of something? Why is there a semicolon between the words? And why the exclamation mark in the end? Due to all this, they're often mentioned when people make lists of the stupidest band names in Finland.

i really recommend the charles webster album to all the south african house fans ilm has too, he's currently based in south africa (he moved there many years ago after one of his 90s tracks was a hit there iirc) and the influence of the house scene comes through on a few tracks, with a few south african singers featured too

he's reportedly one of burial's favourite artists which is what lead to the collaboration. idk how it didn't get any coverage either, like you really would think 'burial is on it!' would have been enough for someone to take notice

really grateful to brad for putting it on my radar

Brilliant album, as is his previous one. (Brad got me into it as well)

Further appreciation for the Charles Webster, which I was totally unaware of - not least because it's so brilliant to see Shara Nelson on something new. Whole album is great

she's all over one of his previous albums too (Presence - All Systems Gone) which is also great

I loved the Presence album back in the day and had totally failed to keep track of anything he'd done since; as ever, lovely ILMpoll points the way

I wasn't aware of the Presence album. Listened to it last night and, in my head, a couple of the tracks bled perfectly into some of the recent Moodymann album.

For those enjoying Charles Webster's 2001 album I would also recommend Tom Middleton's Sound of the Cosmos three CD mix from around the same time, especially Disc Two

Very good first day! DJ Python was 9th on my ballot and Ulla 12th, although probably they should have bteen the other way around (certainly I listened to Ulla more) - both are albums I could listen to endlessly.

Charles Webster would have been there if I'd heard it in time (I only discovered it via Tim F's end of year list); Autechre and Adrianne Lenker both made the unranked part of my ballot although both were probably lucky to make it (if I was voting now they would both have dropped off).

Glad to see the Deftones and Jeff Parker albums place, I listened to both of them a few times although neither stuck.

Not my usual thing but I am enjoying the Webster! Just got to Secrets Held, which is probably the highlight so far

Listened to all of these yesterday evening and I adore the Poppy and the Charles Webster

How is Poppy not the biggest thing idgi this is fucking insane, Katamari Damacy plus Slipknot? I'm smitten

She's going to be huge. That kind of ADHD genresplicing pop* is going to be one of the major forces of this decade, duelling the more sedate doomer charms of yer Eilishes (who I still think can be convinced over to the Hyper Side)

*yes it's Been Done, but it can be done more and more successfully

Each time I listen to the Poppy album, I am newly taken aback by how beautiful it is, especially the proggy finale with all the reprises

And why the exclamation mark in the end?

for emphasis? i mean, what are exclamation points usually for?

who knows!

Here we go

https://i.imgur.com/aP8iDx1.jpg
#60: Pharaoh Overlord - “6” - 232 points - 7 votes

Circle :: what album is their best

https://pharaohoverlord.bandcamp.com/album/6

“Boldly unearthing the missing link between disco and death metal, Pharaoh Overlord deserve to be taken seriously – just don't call them a Circle side-project”
https://thequietus.com/articles/29254-pharaoh-overlord-6-review

what a lovely surprise

WE DID IT <3

Jagger Disco 😎

My #2. Astonishing synthesis of things that shouldn't work but do. Just so badass and strutting and heavy and sick, all done with insane attention to sonic detail and melodic development. I could go on, but really it's up to you to enter the disco of death

This is the one of two albums I voted for that I only heard for the first time through the nominations. I ended up listening to it a bunch throughout December/January.

woohoo

This album struts

things that shouldn't work but do

Seriously. I'm somebody who dislikes a lot of metal because of the vocals but somehow loved this.

My #2. Astonishing synthesis of things that shouldn't work but do. Just so badass and strutting and heavy and sick, all done with insane attention to sonic detail and melodic development. I could go on, but really it's up to you to enter the disco of death

Yes yes yes, this. So glad to see this place!

Well, I meant to get around to this record and never did, so now seems like a good time to actually give it a go.

at last a novelty placement :)

oi

totally get the appeal, but had to admit I am pretty much never in the mood to actually listen to this

Not as good as the previous PO albums, simon?

oh great more pastiche

(j/k I've never heard this, and silverfish's post has me more intrigued than I'd expect)

giving this a spin now

as i say, this isn't pastiche, this is synthesis (with an element of pastiche) ;)

Listened to all of these yesterday evening and I adore the Poppy and the Charles Webster

How is Poppy not the biggest thing idgi this is fucking insane, Katamari Damacy plus Slipknot? I'm smitten

― flamboyant goon tie included, Tuesday, February 2, 2021 8:25 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

5 years ago someone showed me a Poppy youtube and I thought she was just some experimental/meme youtuber at the time. Pretty surprised to see her making music lists these days! I had no idea.

ahahaha ok this fucking rules

I want to like this but I just have never been able to vibe with the cookie monster vox

5 years ago someone showed me a Poppy youtube and I thought she was just some experimental/meme youtuber at the time. Pretty surprised to see her making music lists these days! I had no idea.

― Evan, Tuesday, February 2, 2021 8:04 AM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

she was! then she started making music and it wasn't very good. and then it got very good

BRAD

no one accosted me and told me to listen to pharaoh overlord last year, what can i say

I did try

oh i quite like the first poppy record

v different of course

https://i.imgur.com/M55oqOZ.jpg
#59: Brandy - “B7” - 239 points - 12 votes

Brandy - most consistent newsoul girl singer type thing?

“‘B7’ is a triumph. A record worth savouring, it sits alongside NewGen R&B talent ... while retaining that classic touch. A master of the form, it’s a joy to have Brandy back in our lives.”
https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/brandy-b7

omg my ballot keeps placing haha

this was my #13. a masterpiece of harmony and so brilliantly weird for such a seasoned musician, feels like a true rebirth

I didn’t get why this album was so favored. Guess I’ll give it one more shot.

oh i quite like the first poppy record

v different of course

― nxd, Tuesday, February 2, 2021 8:08 AM (forty-seven seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

i mean maybe i should go back to it, it's been a few years! i just remember encountering her and being like "is this some naomi elizabeth-type meta youtube pop star thing" and the songs not grabbing me at all

I'm not quite as convinced as you lot about this PO combo. I am, however, listening really quietly through my computer speakers, and I think it would do a lot better louder, or through headphones while walking somewhere. My thing with cookie monster vocals, though, is that I can like them, but I usually like them in contrast with a sweeter melodic vocal (see Runhild Gammelsæter etc), so them being the sole vocal might wear on me a bit.

no one accosted me and told me to listen to pharaoh overlord last year, what can i say

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 15:08 (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

my Brandy vote was a direct result of Brad doing this to me fwiw, maybe it works lol

xp

the vox aren't death metal cookie monster vox though

there's a part where he says "this is Pharaoh Overlord 6" and it sounds just like Nathan Explosion. I may have to move on now.

listening to PO, i read

cookie monster vox

Other people have used "cookie monster" without being corrected itt. It's similar enough FFS, you know what I mean.

haven't listened to anything circle-related in about a million years. not sure i'm totally into this pharaoh overlord one, it seems like a comedy record and just made me want to listen the sisters of mercy instead. sorry :(

genuinely surprised this pharaoh overlord album has not been used at the entire soundtrack for a horror movie yet

paging panos cosmatos

wake me up when a metal album uses elmo vocals

catch me at the roller rink trying to get the dj to play some fucking pharaoh overlord

Pharoah Overlord is making me want to listen to Ulver instead

I hope the excellent new Eximperitus­erqethh­zebib­šip­tugak­kath­šul­weliar­zaxułum album places next year, I want to see what Moka can do with that design.

Although now I have some sense of what it would sound like if Vince Clarke worked with a metal vocalist

that's easy for you to say xp

B7 was one of the last cuts from my ballot. It's one of those albums where I was kind of blown away on my listen but then as I went back to it, it never had that same impact on me. It grew off me slightly for some reason.

the brandy album is 1. very cool 2. too low. her writing has gotten more oblique and direct at the same time, which i think accounts for the varied reactions, every melody is like an oddly-shaped glass fragment in the total mosaic

Actually the first song sounds like a synthpop band doing their version of a Skinny Puppy song, only I'd rather listen to Skinny Puppy because the percussion would hit harder

basically everything I listened to as a teenager sounded like this and I liked all of that more

i think my favorite part of the record is "no tomorrow" -> "say something" xp

eximperitus­erqethh­zebib­šip­tugak­kath­šul­weliar­zaxułum is such a fucking funny band name concept (the "unsayable true name of god" or whatever)

I played Brandy's album once and was like "... yep, it's a Brandy album" and then never went back to it

eximperitus­erqethh­zebib­šip­tugak­kath­šul­weliar­zaxułum is such a fucking funny band name concept (the "unsayable true name of god" or whatever)

Oh it's totally ridiculous, which is why I avoided them for so long but the new one is really good. Anyway, enough talk of something that isn't on the countdown.

https://i.imgur.com/0Hy0xVJ.jpg
#58: Victoria Monét - JAGUAR - 240 points - 9 votes

rolling r&b 2020

“This record heralds her as one of the most enticing acts in R&B’s contemporary canon, near-guaranteed to become a bonafide star in her own right.”
https://www.nme.com/reviews/victoria-monet-jaguar-album-review-2721734

There was a great instrumental cosmic disco track (Villaa) on the Pharaoh Overlord album called Circle.

Jussi Lehtisalo put out a "pop" album right at the end of last year which is also excellently wtf, perhaps even more so.

Nice showing for Victoria :)

Brandy album too low wtf

i also always feel like i'm overstating the weirdness of the brandy album but idk... someone compared it to dawn richard in the thread and i think alongside full moon it's the brandy album that makes her influence over richard's writing extremely explicit instead of implicit

yeah seriously, felt like ILM should have been all over it. also good point re: DR influence

Monet beating her by 1 point feels like an aesthetic choice ILM has made lol

lol I was just about to say I'd rather listen to "What About Us?" if I wanted a proto-Dawn Richard fix

Not sure how I missed Victoria Monet last year. I loved all songs on the nominations playlist and the album ended up just outside my top 10.

lol DJP when I heard "Arms of the Butcher" my first thought was "I wonder what DJP would think of this"

totally get the appeal, but had to admit I am pretty much never in the mood to actually listen to this

― stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 15:00 (forty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I'm never not in the mood to listen to it! Such a persistent, simmering psychedelic energy. Death-disco is a fantastic genre hybrid and this is their best project I've heard so far.

https://i.imgur.com/ctLte9X.jpg
#57: Annie - Dark Hearts - 246 points - 8 votes

Annie (From Norway)

“Annie’s first album in about a decade, written and and recorded in a haunted house, collapses decades into an evocative blur.”
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/annie-dark-hearts/

Ok Pharoah Overlord is hilarious, can't believe I haven't heard that combination before. It reminds me of this old Dan Swano album, except with drum machines instead of prog/psych rock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV1tyCkhsgU