ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2022 - 21st Anniversary Edition

Was 2022 a good year for albums? The answer, as anyone old enough to be on this board can tell you, is the same as it was for any year since the advent of the 78 rpm record: it was as good a year as the time you put in.

Kurt Vonnegut famously noted that genius is as common as flowers, which is to say it's surely not everywhere, but it's also not that hard to find if you're looking. Well, we love music, to coin a phrase, so we had our ears wide open. Those 186 ears listened to 918 nominated albums, enough to account for two months of waking life if a single spin would do you. Of course, you won't find your favorites with just one play. So we listened again. And again and again, sometimes for a week, sometimes for a year. We listened until the rhythms and noise and strum and thrum and lyrics and flow and bleep and honk and joy and pain were scored indelibly into our memory. Then, with 918 albums well and truly Deep Listened, 93 sets of hands typed off 93 neat little lists of our crème de la crème, each name on the list so incredibly personally loved that we would be prepared to stand by our choices in a court of law.

So was 2022 a good year for albums? If you're seriously asking, we are prepared to offer 685 reasons why it was. And eventually we will! But what an unwieldy discography that would be to lug around, even in the digital era. What say we narrow it instead to 77? That's an auspicious number for the folks around here, one that would include every disc that got at least eight shared votes from our ballot pool. In the atomized 2020's, when everyone's ability to listen to most anything they want immediately and without impediment is unquestioned, that ever-so-slight buzz represents a raving consensus.

To be fair, our small sample size means that we had any number of blind spots. You won't find much contemporary classical or tejano or C-Pop or Norwegian rap in the mix. You could ably break down our more touted nominees into four neat categories:

• Undeniable pop and rock blockbusters: Beyonce, Rosalía, Kendrick, Taylor, The Smile
• Genre standouts: Makaya McCraven, Wizkid, Miranda Lambert, Shygirl, Pusha T
• Critical darlings: Big Thief, Beth Orton, Moor Mother, Björk, Wet Leg
• Board favorites: Real Lies, The Soft Pink Truth, Fievel is Glauque, Junior Boys, Asake

This is the Top 77 Albums of 2022 Spotify Playlist:
http://open.spotify.com/playlist/74uEDKSzf9JAsiEuPs7g4Y

This is the Top 77 Albums of 2022 Tidal Playlist:
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/fe7c7d5a-a866-45fb-879a-e77d27bc624e

This is the Nearly Complete Top 77 Albums of 2022 Nominations Spotify Playlist, with over 550 albums, 8800 songs and 638 hours of music:

http://open.spotify.com/playlist/45AL48bS1jzEgT7xqSZiXq


If anyone wants to clone matching playlists on YouTube / Amazon Music / Tidal / The Mythical Virtuous Corporation, it would absolutely be more than welcome here. Feel free to post those and we’ll edit them into the intro once they’re fully updated.

Your admins for this poll are myself (posting, playlisting), Moka (posting, graphics) and Seandalai (organization and vote tabulation).

Posting sample tracks from winning albums to share choice cuts is recommended but please make sure that, as a courtesy to folks without a high-speed internet connection, you refrain from posting embedded YouTubes so that this thread can load at a manageable speed. YouTubes can (and should!) still be posted as hyperlinks. If you're unsure how that works, click the “Show Formatting Help" button below the Submit Post button and it will explain how to use hyperlinks on ILX.

As in past years, bragging rights are available for whoever accurately names our #78 before the end of the poll.

Also as in past years, the conversation is more than half the fun, so please freely contribute your appreciation, slander and confusion as each album is revealed. For once, we can look forward to the discourse!

While you’re waiting, here’s the prior two decades of yearly album threads to explore:

The ILX Readers Poll 2002 - RECORDS OF THE YEAR
ILx'ers Top Albums of 2003
ILM TOP ALBUMS OF 2004
You could have it so much better.....with the ILM albums of 2005
***What's that coming over the hill? It's the 2006 ILX ALBUMS POLL RESULTS***
**********Hot damn it's THE ILX 2007 POLL RESULTS, part 2**********
TOP 10 NOW: //////////////shawty got poll poll poll poll poll poll poll (part II: 2008 ALBUMS)///////////////
(TOP 5 TODAY, MOFOS!) Yo P&J, I'm really happy for you, Imma let you finish, but ILX had the greatest 2009 poll of all time! All time! (2009 ILX Albums Poll Results)
ILM'S TOP 77 ALBUMS of 2010 (NOW COUNTING DOWN THE TOP TEN)
ILM's Top 77 ALBUMS of 2011
ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2012
ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2013
ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2014
ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2015
ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2016
ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2017
ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2018
ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2019
ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2020
ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2021

Moka will get the ball rolling on Monday morning. Best time of the year everybody! Enjoy!

Great intro, but I do want to point out that Norwegian rap is bad, and you shouldn't listen to it.

Also, great work to all the poll runners. Thank you so much for doing this. Can't wait to see the list. Top 10 for Asake?

Great post forks!

Great stuff I have been waiting anxiously for this for the past two monthd

Great intro, but I do want to point out that Norwegian rap is bad, and you shouldn't listen to it.

Eh, maybe if you went back to the mainstream 10-20 years ago. There's been a lot of very respected underground or underground-gone-mainstream groups and projects the last decade, some of which I quite like. I don't think Scandinavians are all that comfortable listening to their neighbours' rap acts, though.

kinda hoping we have 100 posts about Norwegian rap before Moka starts in the morning; would be a thread very much in character

Seems I threw quite a few points at "board favourites" myself this year, from the above categories.

Thanks for the not inconsiderable preparatory toil, poll-runners!

it's a bit weird to seemingly spoil a bunch of the placements already (some are obvious sure but not all) but please don't confirm if you actually did

Are we going albums first this year ?

Eh, maybe if you went back to the mainstream 10-20 years ago. There's been a lot of very respected underground or underground-gone-mainstream groups and projects the last decade, some of which I quite like. I don't think Scandinavians are all that comfortable listening to their neighbours' rap acts, though.

― abcfsk, Monday, January 30, 2023 8:25 AM (twenty-two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I'd love for you to try and change my mind in the WorldWide Rap thread. I've heard a bit for work-related reasons, and I mostly just think it's okay trap? I think we can agree it's better than Sweden, though.

I just think the productions in Denmark are better. Like how this backpacker-trap track breaks out in a jersey club beat towards the end.

excited

great intro

think i like the idea of doing albums before tracks

excited!

i mean 2022 was a genertally horrible year, why not cap it off with some bitter in-fighting, a bunch of wrong opinions and a general sense of alienation?

(just joking, u know i love you)

A wonderful kickoff there.

it's a bit weird to seemingly spoil a bunch of the placements already (some are obvious sure but not all) but please don't confirm if you actually did

― ufo

Yeah, it's a great post aside from that, but unless some of them missed out it's too spoilery for me.

What are people's opinions on Finnish rap?

My favorite Norwegian rap track is "Nå Om Da'n" by Gatas Parlament. The hook is just "Forgot About Dre" translated into Norwegian and over a sample of Steely Dan's "Home at Last."

So Undeniable Taylor released yet another album ?

love the intro, forks (but next time please no y/n spoilers), but it made me a bit nervous as well. I don’t want to get myself into hot legal water, so could I please retract my ballots if it’s not too late? between you and me, I can’t claim to have put them together in anything resembling a judicious manner, I’m afraid. I hang my head in shame.

ufo/emily/breastcrawl: no spoilers. those are all artists who, in the course of 2022, had significant and spirited discussion on their respective performer or genre threads in ways that make them "more touted nominees"

undeniable taylor won the royal rumble over the weekend

Thank you so much for that brilliant intro, forks!

Poll will begin shortly!

I voted for none of the artists mentioned in the intro, feel like I'm slowly getting further and further away from ilm hivemind

hopefully enough of us from without the hivemind imposed some sort of darklife on proceedings at least

We’ll start with a tie. I couldn’t for the life of me find a review in english for this album. Only placement in the poll with a review in non-english.

I'm pretty sure I did

https://i.imgur.com/dso4C84.png
#76: Javiera Mena - Nocturna - 154 points - 6 votes
javiera mena

“Nocturna” es así, una excelente y bien armada producción realizada en pandemia y en la vuelta a la normalidad, donde afloran noches de bares y discotecas y también vestigios del encierro y vida entre Santiago de Chile y Madrid de Javiera.

It wouldn't be an ILM EOY without her.

huh. virtually no talk on the thread either, though I don't suppose that will be the last such case

ooooh wouldya just look at those graphics? nice work, moka!

I think this Javiera Mena album had virtually no promotion. Super hard to find reviews of it online and almost no discussion which is weird considering how well regarded she is critically.

https://i.imgur.com/HDRYa72.png
#76: Arctic Monkeys - The Car - 154 points - 6 votes
Arctic Monkeys - The Car

The Sheffield band’s latest exists in some kind of kitsch pocket universe where people sit around in vintage Gucci watching Roger Moore James Bond movies for days on end, subsisting purely on irony.

With The Car as their preferred vehicle of choice, Alex Turner and co’s next journey is one of heartbreak and reflection, with a soothing undertone and the occasional foray into disco-era David Bowie for good measure.

wow, this almost missed out! didn't vote for it or anything but it's the first of their albums i've genuinely liked

the only thing I listened to on The Car was "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball" which is some very odd Bowie pastiche if ever I've heard it

I thought the Javiera Mena graphic was Justin Bieber at first

Hahah it does look like bieber

tidal playlist is here: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/fe7c7d5a-a866-45fb-879a-e77d27bc624e

I spent most of 2022 catching up on music from 2021, so I didn't vote in this poll. But I'm looking forward to get up to speed. Javiera Mena's 2010 album is an all-timer for me, so I'm excited to check this one out.

that's....just the album cover? lol

Huh, Arctic Monkeys? Really? Is this a notable departure for them or something?

I'm surprised The Car is so low, but then it is one that I consciously decided not to vote for because it wasn't really grabbing my attention and I assumed plenty of others would vote for it anyway

xp

it sounds a lot like their last one

unless it turns out moka is javiera mena's graphic designer too

it sounds like their last one but notably better imo

Lol, what was the last one? Was THAT a notable departure for them or something?

enjoying the Javiera Mena album, not really tempted to switch over to the arctic monkeys album

cover looks a Sam Prekop photo

Basically what I'm saying is that Arctic Monkeys as I know them are pretty bad, and I'm not sure why you'd expect them to place well in an ilx poll!

yeah they're basically austere lounge-pop now, nothing like the first few albums

this javiera mena album has a nice kpop bite to it which i'm v much enjoying

Great intro!

The previous Javiera Mena album was a disappointment and she kind of fell off my radar after that. I only checked this one out after hearing the single on the playlist and seeing Monotony campaign for it. It's really great and was a late addition to my list. Nice to see her make it.

I thought the Arctic Monkeys album would be much higher. I heard it a few times at work and just thought it sounded like a bunch of Richard Hawley B-sides. I don't think I'll ever get the appeal of that band.

6 votes for =76 doesn't fill me with much hope for the majority of my votes tho

Oh, more like whatever Alex Turner's side project band was? Something about Shadow Puppets? I wasn't into that either, tbh.

xps

Oh no! I didn’t do that album cover! lol as I explained in the voting thread:

For the album porting of the polls I always use the actual album covers with a template for info. This year the idea of using AI for both the album and tracks crossed my mind. But, using AI for the tracks proved to be too much time consuming and I wouldn’t have been able to start this poll today if done that way.

as i say, i wasn't sure about this direction at first but the songs are much stronger this time, something like 'sculptures of anything goes' was unthinkable even one album ago

anyway i'm not extremely invested in defending the arctic monkeys but given ilm leanings it's just surprising to see it this low. that's allllll

their last album came in at #30 in 2018

6 votes for =76 doesn't fill me with much hope for the majority of my votes tho

― nxd

I'm feeling this. I thought there might be a few surprise entries from my ballot low down but if it takes at least 6 votes to get in then, bleh, probably not.

I'm guessing there will be a lot of "shockingly low" comments as it was a pretty strong year overall.

The Arctic Monkeys album is a realization of what attempted on the last album, which I'd dismissed at the time and now I get, thanks to The Car.

I get not wanting to listen to them now.

Using AI was fun and all and there’s some results in that poll that I like even better than the actual artwork, but next year - if I’m around and invited to the eoy team - I’ll spend more time in the template instead of fooling around with ai lol.

not big on the monkeys but have checked these records out. shocking it was 4 years between?!

i hadn't heard of Mena and I'm enjoying this

154 points is a more important variable than 6 votes, imo. Something with 2 second place votes could stomp it.

https://i.imgur.com/FOHolSF.png
#75: Suede - Autofiction - 154 points - 7 votes
Suede

Contently changing, constantly evolving and refusing to commit to one sound, Suede sound totally rejuvenated, opening a fresh chapter in the ever-evolving story of the band.

Already described in interviews by vocalist and songwriter-in-chief Brett Anderson as the band’s punk record, Autofiction represents a vast departure musically from Suede’s last record, 2018’s The Blue Hour. Yet at the same time, it easily identifies as a Suede album.

I've been hearing two Arctic Monkeys songs on the radio, one sounds like Spacehog and the other sounds like Supergrass. Maybe 11-year-old me would've liked them.

Oh wait, I might be mixing up this scoring with other polls'scoring. xp

Moka - having played around with AI images a tiny bit myself I can imagine it would take way more time than your normal way of doing things! There's so much tweaking you have to do to get a good result.

Suede brought it so hard live this year. First time I'd ever seen them.

Arctic Monkeys, Suede - what year are we living in?? (NB I have no idea if this Suede album is good and I could definitely believe it is.)

nu-suede has been amazingly high quality for a reunion group but this was a clear step down from their previous two imo. will give it another go mind

#1 vote gives 50 points iirc. So for something to place at this level you need to have over 4 highly placed votes.

My albums ballot was crazy short this year, but I'm glad I made room for Suede. It got them in!

I thought there might be a few surprise entries from my ballot low down but if it takes at least 6 votes to get in then, bleh, probably not.

― emil.y, Monday, 30 January 2023 15:00 (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

btw as we're here emil.y it's a shame i only discovered it this late but that 2021 MXLX album is insanely great, would have been high up my ballot (although not as high as his sideproject Won't from the same year)

Moka - having played around with AI images a tiny bit myself I can imagine it would take way more time than your normal way of doing things! There's so much tweaking you have to do to get a good result.

― emil.y

Yeah! When I started it seemed like a good idea but trying to get 77 decent images with all those variations is not that fun when you end up with 1,000+ images to choose from. I ended up manually editing a few that looked good but had details I didn’t like.

It’s weird… for some tracks I ended up with several images I loved in the first attempts and for others I had to keep changing styles and prompts dozens of times to get something that looked good and made sense

Woah, I did not expect to ever see Suede in one of our end of year polls.

Great album. This whole reunion has been such a triumph for them.

https://i.imgur.com/kUUiRs0.png
#74: The Garden - Horseshit on Route 66 - 162 points - 4 votes
rolling twenty-something RYM/internet stuff like hyperpop, hypnagogic pop, hexD, vaporwave, dungeon synth, cloud rap, nightcore, black midi, future funk, dariacore, seapunk, blown out anime voices, br

Horseshit on Route 66 is as fun and as it is experimental, as The Garden usually gets with their hallmark mix of metal, punk, and other alternative sounds.

Overall, Horseshit on Route 66 is an album that reminds us there’s always room to explore,
especially in a genre with a history of puritanical self-preservation.

lol this was one of things on the nominations list I thought was made up

nu-suede has been amazingly high quality for a reunion group but this was a clear step down from their previous two imo. will give it another go mind

― imago,

I strongly disagree. Even the mix doesn't clobber me upside the head.

just missed my ballot, really enjoyed this record

i didn't adore this but i uh know some people who do

Arctic Monkeys, Suede - what year are we living in??

Bloodsports and Autofiction are the two nu-Suede albums I feel the most affection for, but they're all high quality.

Bloodsports and Autofiction are the two nu-Suede albums I feel the most affection for, but they're all high quality.

― ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever)

Yeah, these are my two favourites too. The Blue Hour is the only one that hasn't fully clicked yet.

Wow- was not expecting to see The Garden place! If nothing else from my ballot places, I will be happy with these results.

https://i.imgur.com/1NAlbSk.png
#72: Ravyn Lenae - HYPNOS - 162 points - 6 votes
Ravyn Lenae - HYPNOS

What she’s taken from her classical training pours effortlessly over Hypnos, an album that fits in some unknown space-time continuum, and gives Lenae a path forward as a unique breakout voice in R&B.

Hypnos is a colourful and other-worldly debut, aligning with its obvious influences but also way beyond that, capturing the same unconventional essence as Janet Jackson in her ’90s prime.

Much as I am a fan of hypergarbage and snotty punk kids, The Garden is just not really for me. It's got too much of the nu-metal and ska punk influence that's floating around now (one of the things that turned me off the Gecs after a while).

I don't think I've even heard of the Ravyn Lenae one - any stans want to wax lyrical about it?

if I include Javiera M in this, so far we’ve gone back to 2011, 2001 and 1991. Next up, it’s Simple Minds!

Lol. Tears for Fears might actually place though

i actually didn't hate the Simple Minds album!

Though I don't think I voted for them, The Garden was a major find for me in this year's nominations. Will be keeping an eye on everything they do in the future.

"Freight Yard" is the definite stand out but there's lots of other hits on here, like Squished Face Slick Pig Living in a Smokey City.

I think I've probably voted for every The Garden album since "Mirror Might Steal Your Charm" in these polls. So this feels good. I also somehow missed the fact that the Arctic Monkeys sound like a totally different band now. This song is sounding pretty good.

You won't find much contemporary classical or tejano or C-Pop or Norwegian rap in the mix

or american rap!

https://i.imgur.com/v7iC0zh.png
#72: Burna Boy - Love, Damini - 162 points - 6 votes
here comes the AFRICAN GIANT / Burna Boy (2019)

An album for the ages, as well as being an awards season shoo-in, it is sure to succeed in doing precisely what Burna told Billboard his music is all about – “bringing people who don’t even speak the same language together to dance.

Despite its panoply of styles and personnel, the album remains consistently interesting while still adhering to the Afro-fusion vibe that is his hallmark.

I don't think I've even heard of the Ravyn Lenae one - any stans want to wax lyrical about it?

― emil.y, Monday, January 30, 2023 10:29 AM

I was a huge proponent of her track "Sticky" whichever year that dropped, but I only skimmed Hypnos once and intended to go back for a more thorough listen. I guess today's the day.

Sticky made it into our top 2017 tracks iirc?

Just checked #66 in 2018

I loved Sticky but ultimately couldn't get into Hypnos

Burna placing is a bit of a surprise! Should be an indication of several more afropop albums to come

Hypnos is an album I enjoyed when I heard it and kept meaning to go back to all year, but somehow never did. Definitely going to throw it on in the next couple of days.

https://i.imgur.com/NbTq3MB.png
#71: Loraine James - Building Something Beautiful For Me - 166 points - 7 votes
rolling careerist hacks, awkward pandering, transparently manipulative thread 2022

Building Something Beautiful for Me adds to a legacy by connecting it to another. Rather than tidy Eastman’s music into a neat little box, she leaves it unravelled for the next person.

Her light, airy palette, punctuated by arresting stabs and scattershot rhythm, is informed by vintage Squarepusher and Plaid - but Eastman's pioneering work as a black, gay musician operating in challenging times clearly resonates with James.

enjoyed the loraine james album, good time to revisit it

Think I voted for Venom not the album, but Hypnos is an awesome. Production from Steve Lacy, Kaytranada, Teo Halm (SZA, Rosalia), and Monte Booker (Smino, Vince Staples) is diverse but the overall sound of the record is very Chicago.

i actually didn't hate the Simple Minds album!

didn't get round to hearing this one unfortunately, but loraine james has made some brilliant records in the past. gonna listen via her bandcamp:

https://lorainejames.bandcamp.com/album/building-something-beautiful-for-me

Love Loraine James, she's very prolific and I haven't kept up with everything, so now's a good time to listen to the new one.

I don't know what I thought Arctic Monkeys sounded like, but it wasn't this...it's a very tasteful palette at least.

xxp there literally was, AND i heard it too!

Ah, Building Something Beautiful For Me is a really lovely listen. It's based on the works of Julius Eastman, so is fairly low-key musically while simultaneously mining deep veins of meaning. Only made it into the non-ordered section of my ballot but glad to see it here.

well that sold me on giving it a spin.

https://i.imgur.com/JH17VGQ.png
#70: Stromae - Multitude - 176 points - 5 votes
Stromae : C/D ?

Multitude is the perfect return for such a formidable musical talent, serving not only as a reminder of his innovative talents, but also highlighting how much richer his soundscaping and storytelling has grown over his hiatus.
With biting humor and striking intimacy, the Belgian pop singer’s adventurous third album examines how we humans care for one another—or don’t.

i did a small albums ballot, but watching this very intently nonetheless! thank you again to poll runners. graphics look great!

(also yes, the ravyn lenae album is fun and worth listening to if you haven't heard it yet)

her whatever the weather album from last year was great too, v different ambient-ish with occasional break-age

(Lorraine James)

wasn't that enamored with the stromae album, will give it another go tho

Looks like a bunch of us are listening to the LJ right now!

Yes! The Whatever the Weather album is great too! Not much discussion on it on ilm but one of my favorite albums this year.

I like James' bleepier stuff the most but pretty much everything she does is great, it's all worth checking out.

Stromae is another one I know nothing about - looks like there wasn't even any discussion of the album on the dedicated thread, was there any on a rolling thread somewhere?

don't think i saw it anywhere on here - iirc i came across it via a quietus review

big Eastman fan here and was unfamiliar with Lorraine James, poll delivers already

a lot i haven't heard! nothing i've voted for yet.

for the ones i have heard

arctic monkeys - the car - just missed my ballot. beautiful album, but not quite as good as tranquility base in my mind. it's a bit drippier, bit more sincere. the string arrangements are uniformly great, but they largely replace the smoky, noirish, roubaix-esque sound that defined its predecessor.

ravyn lenae - hypnos - been a fan of hers for a long time, but the songs on this one were not quite so, ahem, "sticky"

burna boy - love, damini - half of a great album with many beautiful moments. much preferred the asake, fireboy, rema albums this year. "last last" will undoubtedly place in the singles poll, and it deserves to!

stromae - multitude - liked this one a good deal, but the singles ("l'enfer," "sainte") towered over the rest

Discourse I saw on the Stromae album was limited to the controversy around its rollout. The singles jumped out whenever they'd come up on playlists, but the album fell a bit flat for me.

https://i.imgur.com/GUAFqch.png
#69: Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa - 177 points - 6 votes
Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa

Lucifer on the Sofa is a once-in-a-lifetime album, that succeeds in resuscitating moribund aesthetics in the best possible way.

Ten albums and nearly three decades in, Spoon still sound fresh, with swing and swagger – and there isn’t a dull moment.

nice

https://i.imgur.com/QdAmZEa.png
#68: Angel Olsen - Big Time - 183 points - 6 votes
Angel Olsen

The album as a whole is a strong argument for Olsen being her generation’s finest songwriter; perhaps now, the rest of the world will recognise that, too.

A record that’s testament to going through hell and coming out the other side, and one that confirms its author as one of the foremost singer-songwriters of her generation.

These linked reviews are rather hyperbolic lol

Nice! This album impressed the heck out of me.

I've tried several times with Olsen.

She'll have a very nice best of record one day

Very ILM-y choices, these last two.

https://i.imgur.com/PBMX2he.png
#67: Florist - Florist - 189 points - 7 votes
thread of Florist

Recorded in a rented house in the Hudson Valley, and weaving together found sounds with spontaneous music-making, the quartet’s self-titled album is as much an audio documentary as it is a folk album.

On the next quiet summer evening you can find, spend an hour within the album. You may find that everything else just feels a million miles away.

don't know this one at all, sounds intriguing

Thought Florist would be higher! Great album, mostly for the feeling and instrumentals. I almost never remember the songs but, like, in a good way. I always want to play it again immediately.

Adore this album. A serene listen.

liked the previous one and emily sprague's solo stuff, haven't heard this though. to bandcamp!

https://florist.bandcamp.com/album/florist

ooh Friday is a bandcamp Friday

https://i.imgur.com/z0RYKjt.png
#66: Little Simz - NO THANK YOU - 190 points - 6 votes
Thread of Little Simz

The brilliance of No Thank You is how Simz uses her brazenly unapologetic narrative to spin out larger points about institutional and generational racism, the danger of business practices indifferent to their human impact, and links all of that to contemporary mental health crises.

The Mercury winner’s surprise-release album finds her going in on mental health and the music industry, in a deep collaboration with Sault’s Inflo.

I didn't think Spoon would make it this year, glad it placed.

Love the Florist album (and as NickB says, Sprague's solo stuff is superb).

Mostly blanks for me elsewhere. Lots of stuff to catch up on.

Which Sprague solo album would people recommend? I like the Florist so far—it's very pretty but maybe a touch twee for my tastes—but I'm curious about the ambient stuff as I like the overall sound world a lot

For Sprague, I'd go with *Hill, Flower, Fog* or *Water Memory*. Both lovely.

liking the florist album

https://i.imgur.com/ydT9bXr.png
#65: Kabza De Small - KOA II Part 1 - 196 points - 5 votes - 1 #1 Vote
drowning in a blissful ocean of log drums and keys: 🎹🎹 amapiano a-z 🎹🎹 an ilm poll
🎹🎹PİANO! PİANO!🎹🎹 - a song appreciation thread for “eMcimbini” by Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa ft. Aymos, Samthing Soweto, Mas Musiq & Myztro

For an 18-track album that spans over two hours, there is no boring moment on the project. Every spin feels like a swanky walk up Mount Olympus. Being the seasoned DJ that he is, he ramps up the tempo and ambience as the project progresses, it slowly morphs from the supple soulful sound that flagged it off to a gritty ominous sound that leans into Gqom and Tech Piano. Towards the last lap of the project, Kabza breaks down all barricades and leans into a concoction of experimental sounds.

wow thats a great cover shot

ty Chinaski

I like the Florist so far—it's very pretty but maybe a touch twee for my tastes—but I'm curious about the ambient stuff as I like the overall sound world a lot

― rob

Yes, I agree with this. Having a listen right now and the soundscapes are great but I'm not so into the songs themselves.

haven’t had time to really focus on this rollout, but Kabza placing is absolutely wonderful. fantastic album. is it okay if I call it extremely accomplished?

https://i.imgur.com/4AgG25h.png
#63: Björk - Fossora - 196 points - 10 votes
Bjork - 2017 album

You will probably want to play this a number of times, firstly to get yourself into the headspace, and then to appreciate what a truly special album this is, even by its creator’s very high standards. Time well spent.

With her 10th album, Björk is grounded back on earth, searching for hope in death, mushrooms, and matriarchy, and finding it in bass clarinet and gabber beats.

curious: who was the number one voter for the Kabza album?

Fossora was one of the many albums I wanted to try out last year but completely failed to get round to. Expected it to be a bit higher than this.

xp pretty sure it was me

KOA has lived with me for months and only grown on me in that time

https://i.imgur.com/eRuVjlX.png
#63: Alex G - God Save The Animals - “” - 196 points - 10 votes
Alex g Sandy

The album finds the already ponderous Alex Giannascoli in a particularly inquisitive mood.

Alex G is a genius at crafting intimately familiar feelings while injecting off-kilter miscues that satisfy the oddball compulsions living in our heads.

has alex g ever made one of these before? this is his best album, imo, barely missed my ballot

by "one of these" i mean "ilx year-end polls"

no surprise here with Bjork. Much of the thread about it is like.... well, good for her! Which is ultimately where I landed with it too. For this year.

people not saving a copy of their ballots, i love that

https://i.imgur.com/4GXS3iO.png
#62: Lambchop - The Bible - 197 points - 8 votes
Lambchop

The latest from Kurt Wagner’s shapeshifting group is its darkest yet: a haunting ode to everyday American pain and the small ways we make it through.

While reckoning with the struggles of his dad, nostalgia for his old Nashville haunts, and lingering questions regarding his own relevance, Wagner has helped to shepherd one of Lambchop’s finest records in almost two decades.

i liked 'little black boxes' - need to give the album a run

Ok! Last one for the day!

https://i.imgur.com/MG6SHxP.png
#61: D. Tiffany & Roza Terenzi - Edge of Innocence - 198 points - 7 votes
the melbourne → vancouver connection

Edge of Innocence's greatest asset is its sheer enthusiasm—the feeling that that there's always a new, brilliant sound lurking around the next corner. The duo operate in familiar environs, but on Edge Of Innocence they're taking us somewhere new: across the European techno capitals, sure, but also far beyond.

RECAP 77-61

#76: Javiera Mena - Nocturna - 154 points - 6 votes
#76: Arctic Monkeys - The Car  - 154 points - 6 votes
#75: Suede - Autofiction - 154 points - 7 votes
#74: The Garden - Horseshit on Route 66 - 162 points - 4 votes
#72: Ravyn Lenae - HYPNOS - 162 points - 6 votes
#72: Burna Boy - Love, Damini - 162 points - 6 votes
#71: Loraine James - Building Something Beautiful For Me - 166 points - 7 votes
#70: Stromae - Multitude - 176 points - 5 votes
#69: Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa - 177 points - 6 votes
#68: Angel Olsen - Big Time - 183 points - 6 votes
#67: Florist - Florist - 189 points - 7 votes
#66: Little Simz - NO THANK YOU - 190 points - 6 votes
#65: Kabza De Small - KOA II Part 1 - 196 points - 5 votes - 1 #1 Vote
#63: Björk - Fossora - 196 points - 10 votes
#63: Alex G - God Save The Animals - “” - 196 points - 10 votes
#62: Lambchop - The Bible - 197 points - 8 votes
#61: D. Tiffany & Roza Terenzi - Edge of Innocence - 198 points - 7 votes

I need to spend some more time with Edge of Innocence. So far I haven't gotten into it as much as some of the other stuff they've put out over the last couple years, but I'm a big fan of these two, so I'm excited to see them show up here.

Alex G sounds nice so far, wasn't familiar (I think I avoided it because I was thinking of a rapper who used that name?).

It's actually Sacha Baron Cohen

Alex G is way too low

lmao Keyes

i tried hard with the new bjork but it's the first album of hers i just can't get into.

listening to 'edge of innocence' now. first track was fine but "gravity bongo" is brilliant (and brilliantly titled lol)

Given up on anything I like or think is good placing, should have not voted as protest as I stated I would last January. Spoon? fucking Spoon?

I suspect at least two of my picks will place in this poll - would be shocked if they didn’t

Interesting first day. Florist is the only one I voted for but I like the Suede, Alex G, Loraine James and Kabza de Small albums. And Spoon was one of my favorite live acts of the year even if I never actually got around to the album.

(Actually liked the other Loraine James album even more — won't be surprised if it shows up, tho I didn't vote for that one either.)

xp to table: if Anna Butterss doesn't place I will be mad (partially at myself for not #1-ing it). There was a decent amount of jazz on last year's list, though it may have been a stronger year

what is Edge of Innocence? genre-wise or more specific if anyone feels like it

Loraine James is an artist I listen to at poll time each years when she places (here or elsewhere), enjoy, and then forget to keep up with. Gotta not make the same mistake again.

this is a very dull selection, especially for the bottom chunk of the albums poll, which usually has the best chance of containing some curveballs, but otoh lol at not voting as protest in an ilm music poll

This is probably going to follow the usual pattern of these polls where a few of my votes place on the first day and then nothing after that, as the poll converges more towards hive-mindy stuff. The Angel Olsen just clicked immediately with me, whereas I'd never really paid much attention to her before. Guess I'll have to go back and check out those earlier albums. I love how the glossy country-rock stuff just blends seamlessly into the more dirge-folky stuff. If there's any touchpoint I would name, I guess it would be Gene Clark's sui generis No Other.

what is Edge of Innocence? genre-wise or more specific if anyone feels like it

― rob, Monday, January 30, 2023 1:19 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

was gonna try to explain but i think their bandcamp description is worth reading in full haha: https://itsdelicaterecords.bandcamp.com/album/edge-of-innocence

i would've liked the angel olsen album a lot more if it reminded me of no other

currently listening to Florist and resisting the urge to say more than this

Getting "Do you know anything about techno?" vibes from that description

imago, say more, this has been too genteel

i didn't know songwriting was this easy

Spoon are going to be one of the few rock albums that will even place, still can't satisfy everyone. This might be the last Spoon album they release and might even be the last concert I will see. I went back and forth on their album all year but in the end made my list.

listening to 'edge of innocence' now. first track was fine but "gravity bongo" is brilliant (and brilliantly titled lol)

didnt vote for the album but yeah that track is a ripper. techno with a deep focus on groove

yeah the album is groovy and playful, and not in the cringe-y way that the bandcamp copy might suggest

Spoon are going to be one of the few rock albums that will even place

lol wut didn't a bunch more place today?

Imho this year most of the interesting sounding albums are in the middle portion of the poll, whereas in previous years it was usually in the lower end. I think Tuesday and Wednesday will be the days that might be the more satisfying for the more “esoteric” picks.

yeah "first day, best day" hasn't been true for a couple of years iirc

okay well i will abort my under-construction Stromae post and trust in Moka

My prediction is that… mmm Wednesday will be your day imago

Spoon has never clicked with me, like some other old-guard indie bands that ILM has a soft spot for (e.g. Lambchop, Low, Purple Mountains).

love spoon but this album didn't really do many of the things that i love about them. i preferred the left turn of 'hot thoughts,' this one was a little too black keys-y

#76: Javiera Mena - Nocturna: Hadn't given her a thought in years, but if it's k-poppy, I'll check it out!
#76: Arctic Monkeys - The Car: The first single was okay, but they just spend all their talents finding new ways to sound old fashioned.
#75: Suede - Autofiction: First single was okay, but I don't really care. ILX really loves nineties bands more and more each year.
#74: The Garden - Horseshit on Route 66: Don't know at all, but if it's hyper garbage, I'll check it out!
#72: Ravyn Lenae - HYPNOS: Couldn't get into it at all.
#72: Burna Boy - Love, Damini: My least favourite of the big Nigerian albums from 2023, but some absolute classic tracks.
#71: Loraine James - Building Something Beautiful For Me: Preferred 'Whatever the Weather'. And I thought both of them was a stepdown after Reflection. But she is one of the best new electronic artists in a while, and I look forward to following her career.
#70: Stromae - Multitude: My #5. A living legend returned with his best album yet. Yes, the singles tower over the rest, but they were mind-blowing! Sante especially, the rhythm was incredibly made. So great to have him back.
#69: Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa: Heard it quite a lot last winter, and it's good, but I never pondered voting for it.
#68: Angel Olsen - Big Time: Don't get in general, and this album was just boring.
#67: Florist - Florist: It's very abstract, and I only heard it a couple times, but I'm hoping to get into it. It's quite beautiful.
#66: Little Simz - NO THANK YOU: I thought it was better than 'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert', fewer incredibly bad skits for one. But I don't care about this type of British hiphop. Don't care about Stormzy either. And Sault made way too many albums this year.
#65: Kabza De Small - KOA II Part 1. Oh, wow. Glad to see this here, even though it kinda broke me. Way too long, I don't have time for it anymore.
#63: Björk - Fossora: Liked the gabber influences, but the release led me to go back through Björks discography, and then I just heard Homogenic and Vespertine on repeat instead...
#63: Alex G - God Save The Animals: My #12. So indie, but it kinda bowled me over. The electronic disruption is very well done. I love how people like Alex G brings back the feel of old lo-fi indie, but with modern computer-noise instead. It sounds like a new take on old genres. And the songwriting was extremely good.
#62: Lambchop - The Bible: My #16. Honestly kind of the same as Alex G. I love everything Lambchop has done since FLOTUS, it hasn't been as fantastic as Low, but a bit of the same feel.
#61: D. Tiffany & Roza Terenzi - Edge of Innocence: Heard a few tracks for work, liked it. I will check the rest of it out.

Re: Finnish hiphop: Bomfunk MCs are forever! But Finnish isn't a very good language to rap in. Not like Danish.

I do like the Loraine James record, just didn’t like it enough to put it on my list, but I’ve also been following Eastman’s revival for a while and sort of burnt out on him for a minute

Spoon are perfectly fine imho. At this point they’re so consistent they are hard for me to get too excited about, but if this is truly their last album I’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Most of their albums sound better to me when listening to them years after their release. I don’t think they have a single album that I’d rate below… idk 7.

I'm not going to be around very much Weds-Fri this week, so I hope tomorrow will give some interesting results.

Damn "Edge of Innocence" rips. How'd I miss this?

it was better than 'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'

that loudandquiet review pullquote that implies that the ravyn lenae album is on a par with the velvet rope is probably the biggest crime in this entire thread so far

Spoon were dull when I was a senior in high school, nothing has persuaded me otherwise since, and that was 20 years ago

if Anna Butterss doesn't place I will be mad (partially at myself for not #1-ing it).

Would like Butterss and the Jeff Parker IVtet to place

imo the two previous Florist albums - If Blue Could Be Happiness and Emily Alone - are better than this year's. i would suggest starting with those, but not if you're going to report back here with some nonsense about how they're not good.

#76: Javiera Mena - Nocturna: another good javiera mena album, i appreciate her taking on a more balearic sound
#76: Arctic Monkeys - The Car: definitely the best arctic monkeys album, also expected it to be much higher considering the last one did better and this one's a big step up. didn't make my ballot but the single did
#75: Suede - Autofiction: if i've never gotten into suede at all will this one change my mind?
#74: The Garden - Horseshit on Route 66: lol what is this
#72: Ravyn Lenae - HYPNOS: voted for this, very solid, surprised it isn't higher since this sort of janet-y r&b is usually beloved here (no it isn't on par with the velvet rope but it's pretty good)
#72: Burna Boy - Love, Damini: voted for this, a return to form after twice as tall. maybe a little long but generally underrated
#71: Loraine James - Building Something Beautiful For Me: had completely missed that this exists but listening to some of it now it's lovely and i'll have to come back to it
#70: Stromae - Multitude: i always want to like stromae more than i do in practice, he has a tendency to end up feeling overwrought
#69: Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa: another solid spoon album but nothing to be remotely excited about here
#68: Angel Olsen - Big Time: moving to a more country-tinged sound worked well for her but it didn't end up doing much to stand out in a very strong year
#67: Florist - Florist: pleasant-and-nothing-more ambientish indie folk somewhere between the microphones and big thief, a good album to fall asleep to
#66: Little Simz - NO THANK YOU: thankfully free of the conceptual baggage of the last album and the production sounds impeccable of course but it doesn't move me
#65: Kabza De Small - KOA II Part 1: i find amapiano albums impossible to truly get into these days when they're all two hours long and the shaker loops become indistinguishable but i'll have to give it a go
#63: Björk - Fossora: still kinda tuneless in the way that a lot of late period bjork is but all the discordance is used to better effect than usual and there's a few nice moments like "ancestress"
#63: Alex G - God Save The Animals: best album i've heard from him, endearingly weird ramshackle production style that blends some sort hyperpop influence into his 90s indie sound. probably would made my ballot if i'd heard it earlier and spent more time with it
#62: Lambchop - The Bible: voted for this, very fond of their ongoing weirdo-sophisti-pop phase. "little black boxes" and "police dog blues" are especially great
#61: D. Tiffany & Roza Terenzi - Edge of Innocence: i only vaguely know the name d. tiffany. listening to some of it now and it's the sort of techno that doesn't really do much to hold my attention? i'm sure it makes more sense in a club context but not for me

i mean yeah it was sounding fine really, such comparisons will always elicit harsh judgement. reviewers should be more careful!

^shamefacedly crawling back hoping to curry ufo's favour obv. 'oh you voted for it! my bad!'

Alex G is kinda like if Ariel Pink had been socialized properly (I'm a fan).

suede obv one of my favourite rock groups of all time but no, if you didn't like Suede or DMS, or the 3 comeback albums, this doesn't have a great chance

will give the others a spin in the morning

i didn't vote for florist, it's just one of many decent enough albums that didn't make my ballot

enjoyed both the Ravyn Lenae and the Loraine James after a quick whizz through them. not feeling overly enthusiatic about listening to a lot of the rest, might put the playlist on shuffle and see if anything grabs me

Alex G is kinda like if Ariel Pink had been socialized properly (I'm a fan).

lol the key difference is alex g has gotten weirder as he's gotten away from his lo-fi roots while pink was the opposite

I should be posting here but I died of boredom halfway through Florist's second track. It made me want to listen to Big Thief for energy, imagine that.

Yes edge of innocence! Wild and groovy! D
Tiffany and Roza T completely own

what is Edge of Innocence? genre-wise or more specific if anyone feels like it

― rob, Monday, January 30, 2023 1:19 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Anyone who digs that HAS to check out their DJ Trance remixes from a few years ago:

https://www.discogs.com/release/13144981-DJ-Trance-And-Darwin-Chamber-Indians-And-Aliens

#65: Kabza De Small - KOA II Part 1: i find amapiano albums impossible to truly get into these days when they're all two hours long and the shaker loops become indistinguishable but i'll have to give it a go

Edge of Innocence first of mine to place, was my number 1 at one point until I decided to vote a tiny bit tactically. I can't get enough of the 90s indebted proggy idm stuff around at the moment

also on the D. Tiffany and Roza Terenzi tip, I enjoyed this Tapestry of Sound EP from a couple years ago

https://stepballchain.bandcamp.com/album/tapestry-of-sound

#63: Alex G - God Save The Animals: best album i've heard from him, endearingly weird ramshackle production style that blends some sort hyperpop influence into his 90s indie sound. probably would made my ballot if i'd heard it earlier and spent more time with it

― ufo, Monday, January 30, 2023 12:59 PM (fifty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Totally agree with this, and the sound is no doubt much of the appeal, but also think the focus on production undersells how consistent this guy's songwriting has become. "Runner" and "Mission" are superb tunes.

all i remember from the alex g album is the single that sounds exactly like "runaway train" by soul asylum

that would be 'runner' lol. I too couldn't shake thinking about 'runaway train' when listening to it.

ha

Following fan speculation that ‘Runner’ is a play on the 90s alt-rock staple ‘Runaway Train’ by Soul Asylum, Alex swears: “I totally hear it, but that wasn’t intentional… Hopefully they don’t sue me.”

great song either way ("runner" not "runaway train")

tho i guess maybe "runaway train"? been a while since i've heard

runnerway train

Huh. Assumed the "Runaway Train" callback was absolutely intentional.

I understand people being bored by Florist by I assume same people also don't like, e.g., Elliott Smith, Phoebe Bridgers, indie-folk in general. Which is fine! But it's a very good indie-folk album.

ok so i like "runaway train" more than i remembered. i prefer alex's shaggy dog manner to soul asylum guy's sub-bon jovi yarl

"runner" is also half the length, big plus

Elliott Smith and Florist are not from the same galaxy, compositionally

i get complaints that the florist album is boring - it's very sleepy and often barely there but that ambient tapestry effect is the main appeal

but also think the focus on production undersells how consistent this guy's songwriting has become

he's a solid songwriter but that wasn't really enough to make him stand out before, there's a whole lot of artists making competent enough 90s-ish indie rock. last time i paid attention to him was 2015 or so and he was fine back then but there were only hints of what he's doing now production-wise

I keep confusing Florist with Botanist.

slightly different sounds

I mix him up with Dr. Octagonecologyst

I couldn't hang with the Florist album ultimately (I tried one of her ambient ones and it also seemed a bit cutesy to me, but honestly on a different day I might like that about it), but I do think "no energy" is missing the point somewhat.

FWIW the "indie folk" album I adored from last year was Naima Bock's, which you might like imago? or at any rate she's interested in composition rather than atmosphere, and I like her voice way more

if you want florist with more substantial songwriting, then big thief are right there

For the life of me I don't understand why ILM doesn't love Little Simz as much as me. Seems right THERE.

I only heard the Alex G album after polling. I would likely have voted it high.

I probably should give the Big Thief a second try before it wins the poll and I resent it for that :)

Need to spend more time with the Lorraine James album. It's fucking gorge.

if you want florist with more substantial songwriting, then big thief are right there

Can't speak for the other Florist voters, but unsurprisingly Big Thief were much higher on my ballot.

Two Hands was Big Thief's "New Jersey" and I will die on that hill

ha if anything the new one is the new jersey

i don't think they actually have one, since their new one is their best yet, but whatever

too early to really get into the BT slagging so I will refrain

hey Kabza is on Bandcamp!! finally some amapiano I can DL as FLAC files.

For the life of me I don't understand why ILM doesn't love Little Simz as much as me. Seems right THERE.

last two albums did much better here, this one probably suffered from being a surprise end of year release and people seem to feel a little fatigued by her approach now

Because my partner can't stand the Big Thief singer's voice, but can listen to Florist

Would like Butterss and the Jeff Parker IVtet to place

― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Monday, January 30, 2023 12:56 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I would love that! That and the Prekop/McEntire joint

I think I truly have ilx to thank for getting me to keep trying with Big Thief, thanks to the overflowing praise for their first two albums. I actually like their last 3 albums best, I think? Really spectacular songwriting and such a great band feel.

he's a solid songwriter but that wasn't really enough to make him stand out before, there's a whole lot of artists making competent enough 90s-ish indie rock. last time i paid attention to him was 2015 or so and he was fine back then but there were only hints of what he's doing now production-wise

― ufo, Monday, January 30, 2023 2:55 PM (twenty-eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yeah I do agree -- there's a lot of texture added by his regular vocal manipulations on this album. More piano, too, than I remember in his previous albums, which complements his always-interesting guitar work. Recently found out that he did some of the guitar work on Frank Ocean's Blonde.

The kind of uk hiphop that this board really ignores is uk drill. 'Body' didn't make the track list last year despite being a groundbreaking #1 hit, and Pop Smoke wasn't even nominated in the decades polls (my fault too).

More piano, too

Also ufo if you never listened to House of Sugar, you should go back and give it a go!

I feel bad I still haven't heard the Jeff Parker IVtet, but it's not v accessible / is $$$

tbrr rap in general isn't that popular here these days

i'm planning on going back to house of sugar and the other alex g albums i missed, yeah

I keep confusing Florist with Botanist.

― ArchCarrier, Monday, January 30, 2023 2:59 PM (twenty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

This has happened to me tbh

More piano, too

---

this really reminds me of Mogwai on this record. Some of the guitar as well

The kind of uk hiphop that this board really ignores is uk drill. 'Body' didn't make the track list last year despite being a groundbreaking #1 hit, and Pop Smoke wasn't even nominated in the decades polls (my fault too).

― Frederik B, Monday, January 30, 2023 4:27 PM (thirty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

"body" didn't make it (as it shouldn't have) but that headie one song that samples crazy town did (maybe in 2020, idk)

"body" didn't make it (as it shouldn't have) but that headie one song that samples crazy town did (maybe in 2020, idk)

― sault bae (voodoo chili), 30. januar 2023 23:04 (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

But that one doesn't go full UK Drill until the last thirty seconds, and it has Stormzy on it.

It's still a nice track, though.

Voted for Stromae and Little Simz, but so many great albums that just missed my ballot: Ravyn Lenaej, Loraine James, Edge of Innocence, Florist, Alex G... Good stuff.

ok so i like "runaway train" more than i remembered. i prefer alex's shaggy dog manner to soul asylum guy's sub-bon jovi yarl

― sault bae (voodoo chili), Monday, January 30, 2023 12:31 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Dave Pirner is somewhere in Minneapolis, shaking his head at this blatant disrespect of his legacy

I need to check out The Bible, I've fallen a bit behind on my Lambchop. The reviews of Showtunes made it sound like something I wouldn't really like and I guess the association just carried over for the new one.

I need to check out The Bible, I've fallen a bit behind on my Lambchop

don't worry it gets to that part in the first book

Two votes of mine have placed on the first day and they were both from my top 10! I think I've said this already, but the Javiera album has an air of "greatest hits" to it (I've been hammering "‎Corazón Astral" since 2020). No wasted moments; it's smash after smash for me.

The Ravyn Lenae album perhaps lacks a rallying-cry track like "Sticky", but I adore it and put it at #3. It sits at the middle of an Erika de Casier / Janet / Syd & Steve Lacy Venn Diagram which for me is an attractive sort of place.

lol xp

also an hearty lol from moi

the new lambchop is somewhere between showtunes and this (is what i wanted to tell you) in sound, but it's much stronger than showtunes

I'm still not totally sold on the new Lambchop, but that unexpected "HEY" in the third song was one of my favourite musical moments of the year.

I really liked Alex G's 2014 album DSU and somehow nothing he has done since then has connected with me as much, even as he's gotten more acclaim.

Throw the rest of Lucifer on the Sofa out but keep the stellar title track (best they've ever done? If its their last album, what a great way to finish). Florist too kitschy.

Kitschy? Boring I understand, kitschy I don't.

voted for Ravyn Lenae, Björk, Loraine James today. hopeful that the latter will make another appearance here.

https://drayk.it/song/16ccebdfbd9e42628d8cc79e2a7b6b1f

you can just hit retry and it spits out another one.
https://drayk.it/song/763db56e08b042b286543e939cd067c7

Was there some interview or news item that hinted this would be the last Spoon album? I hadn’t heard that.

Stick a Fork in Spoon

It was in a Spin interview:

Is the goal you want to carry forward into the future with your next record? I’m assuming you’ve got to be thinking about your next steps.
I don’t know. Is there going to be another Spoon record? I don’t know.

Is there going to be another Spoon record after this?
I don’t know that. I usually wouldn’t have asked that question, but who knows? I don’t know. I could see us having a great time on tour in April and then saying, let’s write some more songs immediately. Let’s keep this train rolling. I could see doing any number of things though. Life is too short.

Then I read somewhere after the New York show that he is taking a break from Spoon and will do something else next. May or may not do another Spoon record.

https://www.spin.com/2022/03/spoon-britt-daniel-interview/

that just sounds like there's no plans to make another record immediately, not any sort of real suggestion they're going to break up or anything

you can just hit retry and it spits out another one.
https://drayk.it/song/763db56e08b042b286543e939cd067c7

― POLIZISTEN VERSINKEN IM SCHLAMM (forksclovetofu)

Lol it’s getting there… wouldn’t be surprised if 2023 is the year we get a top 10 billboard hit done by AI…. Although there’s already been some that make me suspicious of how long the technology has been around.

I should have voted for the Arctic Monkeys album but I didn't love it like their two albums before. It did barely make it so all is good I guess. I did vote for a single off of it however.

Edge of Innocence is great, was in the top half of my mixed ballot.

For those enjoying it for the first time, would also recommend Black Rave Culture's Vol 2 album

https://blackraveculture.bandcamp.com/album/brc-vol-2

i definitely should have voted for the alex g album

whoa, this is v interesting stuff, dunno why i didn't pay more attention

moments like the end of 'cross the sea' making me sit up

i hope he keeps pushing and ends up in frailty territory

yes, but this is already very fine stuff where he is now. definitely a step or 3 up on what i heard of him before, more confident and apt to take risks

yeah he still really went for it on half this album

He’s been taking risks and unpredictable detours in his past albums. Rocket had songs like brick, sportstar and horse.

Also House of Sugar didn’t do it particularly well but the middle portion of it got really weird and abstract with songs like taking or project 2.

I gave (unweighted) points to Loraine James and Little Simz from the first batch. Two artists I dutifully check out without necessarily expecting to be blown away. But they both proved more durable than expected in the fullness of time.

I guess Björk and Lambchop are in much the same category for me but I didn't seem to persist with the former and overlooked the latter this time around!

Going to take a shower and make breakfast for baby girl. I’ll start now and post around 4 albums this next hour and afterwards the usual 6 per hour.

https://i.imgur.com/eZC4hcv.png
#60: Pusha T - It’s Almost Dry - 201 points - 7 votes
pathetic pusha t moments

The album finds a man torn between realities: weighted down by his past and a seemingly never ending pandemic, crushed by the loss of his parents within months of each other, yet lifted up the simple, pure grace of his child.

The rapper’s fourth solo album presents a well-balanced portrait of a complex man with some serious burdens on his heart.

yawn

give us rap! no not that one!

lol sorry vc i do get it

The first Pusha album I played weeks (and even months!) after release.

funny because this album grew old for me as i was listening to it and made me wonder why i ever listened to him in the first place

https://i.imgur.com/qILTwEu.png
#59: Chat Pile - God's Country - 202 points - 7 votes
Rolling 2022 Metal Thread
Music that rocks in 2022

It’s too personably grounded and idiosyncratically voiced to be mistaken for anyone else’s recycled diatribe; it punches up tenaciously every step of the way; it’s ready for the end of days, and it hates itself for this with a vengeance.

Terrifying and thrilling in equal measure, the debut album from the Oklahoma City sludge-metal band is a vivid rendering of the towering piles of poison littering America’s psychic landscape.

give us metal! no not that one!

don't know this band at all - what would be good reference points?

Tried w/Chat Pile, found it interesting but not for me.

Couch Slut mine similar-ish musical territory (I much prefer them) - as far as explicitly anti-establishment metal last year went I was more into Ashenspire. I guess all roads lead back to Godflesh

'gravity bongo' really is rather cool isn't it

Really liked this album, think I gave one of the tracks some points as this missed my ballot

xxxp Jesus Lizard/Melvins/Flipper obvious points of reference too, it's a great album

https://i.imgur.com/d1HhbK0.png
#58: The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention - 205 points - 8 votes
RAdiohead

The debut from Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and drummer Tom Skinner’s new group is instantly, unmistakably the best album yet by a Radiohead side project

The Smile’s looser creative approach offers a new light and welcoming side to Yorke and Greenwood, all while showcasing the enduring creative chemistry behind two of their generation’s most celebrated musicians.

It's possible I casually heard "Brambleton" (etc) more than any other 2023 music, as It's Almost Dry spent much the year at the very start of a 2022 playlist lol. It all sounded okay to my ears, without getting as far as parsing lyrics, etc.

Speaking of which, Chat Pile's "Why" is quite striking, lyrically. Never knowingly heard them before this instant.

I liked the Pusha T album and I voted for it.

chat pile is not metal, it is noise rock

Give Chat Pile some credit for calling their best song "grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg"

straddles the line imo. it's in all the metal magazine lists fwiw

Real hero of The Smile is Tom Skinner imo.

I enjoyed The Smile album when it came out the few times I heard it, but never felt the need to go back to it. This placement seems about right.

https://i.imgur.com/GfUjNIz.png
#57: Taylor Swift - Midnights - 206 points - 7 votes
Taylor Swift - Midnights

Her tenth album returns to the dazzling synth-pop of albums like '1989' and 'Reputation,' with lyrics caught between a love story and a revenge plot.

Whilst lyrically Midnights doesn’t quite match the poetic grandeur of folklore and evermore, there’s plenty of fun to be had, even Swift’s less elegant rhymes don’t jar, served up as they are, with a knowing wink and delivered in an engaging, relatable conversational tone.

too high

ho ho

should've just called it Mid

only 7 votes though...is this fake

her worst since 1989, doesn't even manage to have the camp value of reputation, but "you're on your own kid" is her best summary of self since "the archer"

"anti-hero" is also a very good song. i wish i were more enthusiastic about this record. tim's posts about it are good

if "anti-hero"'s instrumentation were more "rock" it'd be the best sheryl crow song in decades y/y?

her worst

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, January 31, 2023 9:06 AM (fifty-one seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

:(

Wow, this is low. Even Reputation made our top 20 and that was slightly worse.

Reputation is actually good

Seeing Taylor that low actually just gave me a boost of confidence that some decent records are coming up

Reputation gets a bad wrap but she wasn't afraid to try new things -- not all were successful yet it has at least three Greatest Hits worthy tracks. Nearly every song on Midnights is a rehash of something she's done before. Needs to break the Antonoff chain.

https://i.imgur.com/cIbpAiM.png
#56: Beach House - Once Twice Melody - 207 points - 8 votes
Beach House

From the majestic opening notes of the title track to the last electronic flourish of closer “Modern Love Stories,” Once Twice Melody is the culmination of everything Beach House do best.

Careening between gloomy pop and cinematic ballads, “Once Twice Melody” flourishes in its subtlety and warmth. Intimately familiar, yet cautiously exploratory — Beach House have delivered their most grandiose work of art to date.

There's way too many underwhelming records from once-good artists on this list, but yeah, at least they're placed low. But I voted for Animal Collective, so it's hypocritical for me to complain anyway.

Heh -- the Taylor Swift album sounds like a washed out Beach House album.

My interest in Beach House peaked around ten years ago I guess but 'Hurts To Love' is nice enough

This was just too much Beach House. It starts so strong and then I always lose interest about five songs in. It might actually be their weakest album since the debut.

i don't think that the taylor album sounds like beach house haha

speaking of beach house, i listened to this one time on the plane and thought it was fine!

https://i.imgur.com/oqNdyWr.png
#55: Wet Leg - Wet Leg - 209 points - 8 votes
WET LEG a girl band from the Isle of Wight on Domino Records

Wet Leg fulfills expectations for its awaited debut album with a collection of catchy, dazzling songs.

Wet Leg do an excellent job of creating a wild kitschy-ness out of the ordinary, putting a party chorus to a song about grocery shopping and making all of our lives a little more glamorous and a lot less mundane.

aw, was secretly hoping for a 78

good job on ilm for relegating the overhyped critical darlings to the 50-60 range

The Smile live record that came out recently is better than the record.

great stretch this. gives me plenty of time to prepare more amapiano posts that everyone will (un)politely ignore.

lol yes, 51-60 is not looking dissimilar to a lot of zines' top tens

The From The Basement Radiohead performances of TKOL were also miles above the album version.

Hm. I was going to complain that today was billed as being an interesting day and nothing so far has been interesting, but I think the low placements of Taylor and Wet Leg actually *are* pretty interesting (assuming they aren't fake-outs). I would have expected both to show up on the last day, honestly.

https://i.imgur.com/42R6u9n.png
#54: Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werlin - Ghosted - 214 points - 8 votes
S/D: Oren Ambarchi (and projects)

The trio feel more interested in embracing rather than relieving tension. The tracks come across like sonic Rubik’s cubes, exploring the possible permutations of a confined structure. Ambarchi’s guitar playing is on wonderfully nuanced form here, but the rhythm section hits quantum mechanical levels of intrigue.

I liked what I heard from that Chat Pile album but didn’t spend enough time with it to vote for it.

Hm. I was going to complain that today was billed as being an interesting day and nothing so far has been interesting, but I think the low placements of Taylor and Wet Leg actually *are* pretty interesting (assuming they aren't fake-outs). I would have expected both to show up on the last day, honestly.

― emil.y

I promise they’re not fake-outs. In my defense I said the most interesting albums are in the middle portion of the poll so albums that placed somewhere around 55 - 35 :P

good job on ilm for relegating the overhyped critical darlings to the 50-60 range

So Renaissance is coming up next?

Don't think I voted for it but the Wet Leg album was actually pretty decent

xp i said "overhyped"!

Right. I was mostly joking on that.

Something like Jockstrap would be more appropriate to pop up now.

So glad to see this rank! Listened to Ghosted a dozen times in Novemeber in December. Though Shebang's "I" is a higher high, this one is a more captivating listen overall.

https://i.imgur.com/KCazQ6C.png
#53: Bill Orcutt - Music For Four Guitars - 216 points - 6 votes
2022 AOTY So Far

While comparisons could be made to Steve Reich’s early work, it would be reductive to call this minimalism. In many ways it has more in common with the indeterminate or chance music of composers such as John Cage, so the inclusion of a notated score in the sleevenotes offers a tantalising glimpse as to where this path could lead Orcutt.

Was just playing that Orcutt last night, it is indeed fantastic.

I think I've liked every Ambarchi record I've heard without ever quite becoming a full-on fan

Ghosted is sounding great right now

Ambarchi and Orcutt I kind of file in the same mental space: it's cool, I like it, but it rarely moves me much.

Someone smarter than me could make a joke about the upcoming tie and horse races.

https://i.imgur.com/9CDcsyC.png
#51: Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance - 220 points - 8 votes
Horsegirl (RIYL: Cat Power, Mercury Rev, Galaxie 500...)

With clear priorities and unsaddled creative impulses, Horsegirl are the authoritative future of noise pop. With their help, we too can run free.

Do not confuse this album for some retread of the 90s alt-rock cannon. It stands on its own legs, as part of the ongoing saga of rock music, a 21st century reinvention of that which has come before.

i love orcutt's guitar albums, but "music for four guitars" is probably my least favorite of them - it's a little too much. i prefer him just playing live guitar, not overdubbing.

Ghosted was my #10, Horsegirl in my top 20, glad to see both. Ghosted has been a go-to all year for "music to write to" for me.

Yay Horsegirl! That's two placements for me now.

Love the Orcutt record, and I think Ghosted is okay but a little too refined for my taste— I kept waiting for a moment to take me by surprise, like so many other groove-based heady jazz wanderings, but it never happened. Same level, the whole time.

presuming the other is Horse Lords, Moka is totally a coward for not posting three chinstrokingcore albums in a row lol

Horsegirl! Great band, great album

anyway Horsegirl album is good yeah

https://i.imgur.com/S0MBHbv.png
#51: Horse Lords - Comradely Objects - 220 points - 8 votes
Horse Lords

Comradely Objects seems like some of the most complex, demanding music Horse Lords have made, yet, amazingly, it's also their most danceable album.

Comradely Objects sounds less like the work of four individuals jostling for their turn in the spotlight than one finely engineered, utilitarian rhythm and riff machine chugging along with unstoppable momentum towards its goal of a joyful collective trance.

presuming the other is Horse Lords, Moka is totally a coward for not posting three chinstrokingcore albums in a row lol

― imago

Lol I’m going by alphabet on ties

Ghosted is good, but I honestly thought Shebang was a much better 2022 Ambarchi record.

Renaissance has a horse, too

yawn

― sault bae (voodoo chili), Tuesday, January 31, 2023 8:08 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

This is how I feel about The Smile tbh

It’s just …. It’s technically well done and I should be enjoying myself, but it goes on forever and something doesn’t quite click

On the other hand, Pusha T is my first vote to place

I listened to the Smile record twice right through and have never felt the need to listen to it again. I'm probably revealing my drumming ignorance but I didn't find Skinner was given much room to reveal himself, tbh.

Loved the Orcutt and Ambarchi but couldn't find room for them on my ballot.

I am generally a Horse Lords booster but I didn't get around to this album - there were so many albums that this happened to last year, I'm glad I'm not one of you journalists b/c I don't think I can do the whole "listening because I'm supposed to" thing, even when the "supposed to" just comes from the fact that I'd probably like it if I tried it.

Anyway, double horse placement is excellent serendipity, I approve.

Double Horse Placement Theme Tune

https://i.imgur.com/4x3lnrF.png
#50: Broadcast - Maida Vale Sessions - 222 points - 7 votes
New Broadcast (RIP Trish Keenan Jan 2011)

Warp Records has clearly noticed the internet's small ecosystem of Broadcast bootlegs, and has remastered four of the band's BBC sessions for a new compilation. Maida Vale Sessions, recorded from 1996 to 2003, serves as an overview of the band's evolution as it morphs through lineup changes and sonic experiments. It works wonderfully as an introduction to Broadcast for curious newcomers, or a gift to those who know these songs inside and out.

somehow had no idea this existed, this is amazing

still not clear what level of reissue/rarities/b-sides is allowed in the poll and what isn't, i.e. this broadcast release is OK but not the pj harvey collection? is it just that no one thought to nominate the pj harvey?

people don’t listen to enough new music

brimstead otm

Last time I think people complained that Taylor fans on ilx put all her albums in the top 10 no matter what, which wasn't true then and definitely not now. After folklore/evermore, possibly my two favourite albums of her and kinda my dream TS projects, I said she could do whatevr she wants from now, and I guess the answer to that is middling repetition with a few really nice standouts.

The Orcutt came, of all his solo records, nearest to being my bag, but missed my ballot and general lost.

List

"Running Up That Hill" really is going to place in the singles poll, isn't it.

Yay for Horse Lords, another one I voted for, and I think their best yet.

https://i.imgur.com/p68aCKY.png
#49: Moor Mother - Jazz Codes - 223 points - 7 votes - 1 #1 Vote
Moor Mother

Jazz Codes sees Ayewa’s artistic antenna picking up some especially serene signals. These 20 sprawling tracks are built around production by the Falmouth-based Olof Melander, leaning on loose, textured jazz and soulful contemporary hip hop.

On her second solo album in nine months, the experimental poet and musician grapples with Black musical histories and “the work of memory.”

I didn't vote for Broadcast as I wanted to focus on new albums as apposed to reissues or releases of older music, but if I had it would have comfortably been my number one.

https://i.imgur.com/k899Vcf.png
#48: Miranda Lambert - Palomino - 224 points - 8 votes
miranda lambert

Miranda Lambert’s Palomino is a damn fine record with 15 tales of love and the American Dream in her trademark powerful, declarative yet tender voice.

The different sounds and scenes add up to a rich, complex album, one where Lambert finds the perfect blend of the writerly The Weight of These Wings and the breeziness of Wildcard.

Another good Miranda Lambert album, also in my top 20. Didn't vote for Jazz Codes, but I liked both it and the 700 Bliss album. Moor Mother is awesome. (Irreversible Entanglements was in my top 10 last year.)

Moor Mother is extremely deep and intense

I really need to get around to hearing the 700 Bliss album

Broadcast and Moor Mother a fitting entry into the top 50

https://i.imgur.com/a85X9dE.png
#46: Mr Fingers - Around the Sun Pt 1 - 232 points - 7 votes
fingers inc / mr fingers / larry heard

With absolutely no sharp edges to snag on, the whole thing purrs and seduces with a classic appeal strongly accentuated by its (as yet undisclosed) debonaire vocalists, with each tracks sounding like it was left to marinade and simmer on a low heat for years to let its juices really thicken and enrich the flavour.

I like the 700 Bliss record more than Jazz Codes, personally

hell yeah

nice! didn't vote but enjoy this one

That Mr. Fingers was my summer '22 album.

The legend

Couldn't quite get into this one, but it did take me about two years for his previous one to click, so I'll keep trying

The albums by venerable house music legends that i voted for were Ron Trent and Omar S; would highly recommend both - sad that they probably won't place

https://i.imgur.com/iz8bTPm.png
#46: Hatchie - Giving the World Away - 232 points - 7 votes
Hatchie

With her fantastic second album Giving the World Away, Hatchie offers a majestic and towering contrast, blending her influences and hitting a rich vein of knowing pop music with artistry, brimming with neon hooks, layered intricacy and self-aware, emotional depths, that you can return to again and again.

By letting her existential anxieties take center stage, Hatchie embraces alt-pop sensibilities on Giving the World Away to process life and loss in all its messy glory.

Jazz Codes is my first vote to place. I've admired her solo work before, but I really enjoyed luxuriating in the sound of this one. I've never heard of 700 Bliss! I'll check it out now

The albums by venerable house music legends that i voted for were Ron Trent and Omar S; would highly recommend both - sad that they probably won't place

Same, but swap out for Louie Vega.

Ok I'll admit that Oren Ambarchi is one of those names that I've seen around forever but have never really checked out, and both Ghosted and Shebang (also from 2022, don't know if it was nommed) sound incredible.

Looking forward to listening to Horse Lords too, another band whose albums I only hear about from these polls apparently.

MMM it's 15 albums per day so I think that might all for the day. Unless you want one more?

Convinced Miranda Lambert is just never going to have a real miss, unless you want to count the Pistol Annies Christmas album

I talked to MMM and they said one more plz

well, if MMM approves, say no more

https://i.imgur.com/fizyt6Q.png
#45: Charli XCX - Crash - 240 points - 10 votes
Charli XCX

Crash finds Charli back at the earworm territory of 'Boom Clap' but with the production and songwriting experience of almost ten years of solid, mostly diamond experimentation.

Charli’s best full-length project since Pop 2 is a canny embrace of modern and vintage pop styles by one of its most sincere students.

"lightning" and "twice" - both great. the rest of the album was pleasant and didn't really stick with me.

RECAP 77-45

#76: Javiera Mena - Nocturna - 154 points - 6 votes
#76: Arctic Monkeys - The Car  - 154 points - 6 votes
#75: Suede - Autofiction - 154 points - 7 votes
#74: The Garden - Horseshit on Route 66 - 162 points - 4 votes
#72: Ravyn Lenae - HYPNOS - 162 points - 6 votes
#72: Burna Boy - Love, Damini - 162 points - 6 votes
#71: Loraine James - Building Something Beautiful For Me - 166 points - 7 votes
#70: Stromae - Multitude - 176 points - 5 votes
#69: Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa - 177 points - 6 votes
#68: Angel Olsen - Big Time - 183 points - 6 votes
#67: Florist - Florist - 189 points - 7 votes
#66: Little Simz - NO THANK YOU - 190 points - 6 votes
#65: Kabza De Small - KOA II Part 1 - 196 points - 5 votes - 1 #1 Vote
#63: Björk - Fossora - 196 points - 10 votes
#63: Alex G - God Save The Animals - “” - 196 points - 10 votes
#62: Lambchop - The Bible - 197 points - 8 votes
#61: D. Tiffany & Roza Terenzi - Edge of Innocence - 198 points - 7 votes
#60: Pusha T - It’s Almost Dry - 201 points - 7 votes
#59: Chat Pile - God's Country - 202 points - 7 votes
#58: The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention - 205 points - 8 votes
#57: Taylor Swift - Midnights - 206 points - 7 votes
#56: Beach House - Once Twice Melody - 207 points - 8 votes
#55: Wet Leg - Wet Leg - 209 points - 8 votes
#54: Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werlin - Ghosted - 214 points - 8 votes
#53: Bill Orcutt - Music For Four Guitars - 216 points - 6 votes
#51: Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance - 220 points - 8 votes
#51: Horse Lords - Comradely Objects - 220 points - 8 votes
#50: Broadcast - Maida Vale Sessions - 222 points - 7 votes
#49: Moor Mother - Jazz Codes - 223 points - 7 votes - 1 #1 Vote
#48: Miranda Lambert - Palomino - 224 points - 8 votes
#46: Mr Fingers - Around the Sun Pt 1 - 232 points - 7 votes
#46: Hatchie - Giving the World Away - 232 points - 7 votes
#45: Charli XCX - Crash - 240 points - 10 votes

Hatchie solo started out crazy strong imo, but neither of her ensuing lps have really made much of an impact on me. I'm intrigued to see what becomes of a revived Babaganouj, though.

charliiiii. love this record though "only" managed to put it at #6

love every track and even came around to thinking the bonus tracks are awesome

strong year i guess!

Still only on one of my votes placing, though there's a fair amount of stuff here I feel generally positive about (and the usual dross too, lol).

yay Horse Lords! great record, I liked it much more than the previous one

i think i'm still somehow at zero votes placing

none here yet either and expecting ten or so of mine to place still but who knows

Just Florist for me, but it's hard to imagine my number one placing, could be interesting with some of the others?

Fuck though these Oren Ambarchi records are really hitting my current sweet spot, based on some music I've been working on.

0 for me so far, and have a lil hope for 1 or 2 maybeeee

Mr Fingers shd've been higher, i think it was the one album i forgot to vote for

You voted, NV? Glad to hear it, I thought you were a staunch non-voter.

I've got one definite vote to come, possibly one or two more might sneak in?

don't tell me Shabason & Krgovich is 78

did it in 5 minutes, just the albums i've been into last year, didn't over-worry about it

still on 0, think i'm on for 4 total, possibly all tomorrow lol

new charli was kind of okay but really a letdown by any reasonable metric imo

it was the best charli record since pop 2

yup I'm on 0 too, and honestly idk if any of them will place lol

(i did not vote for it; i support her working more with george daniel tho) xp

Thinking the album from my list most likely to be 78'd is Rachika Nayar, but also wouldn't be surprised to see it in the 100s.

voted for Horse Lords from today, Little Simz from yesterday. I figure there's probably another 3 to 5 of mine that will show up in the coming days.

i think that mighta been my fave horse lords album, glad they went a bit different this time as it's the sorta genre where bands keep repeating themselves

here's a question that's probs been answered elsewhere - how good are they live?

Horse Lords and Oren Ambarchi are a great 1-2 punch of minimalism, poll delivers

Only Hatchie and Charli from my list today. I've loved both Hatchie's albums and she was so good when I saw her live this year. I thought this album was going be her breakthrough, but it seems like she's just going to remain a cult artist for now. The album seemed like a perfect next step for her going in a dark and more synth based direction. That latest non-album single is excellent too.

Crash suffered from following How I'm Feeling Now which was such an important album for me in 2020. I know a lot of people were disappointed with it (mainly on RYM) and I can see why. I wasn't expecting much from the singles which were all mid-level Charli. It grew on me a lot when I went back to it in December even if I didn't quite have the same connection I had with How I'm Feeling Now.

I'm at five already (Little Simz, Björk, Alex G, Broadcast, Moor Mother) and I like the general look of the list. It has introduced me to the Javiera Mena (pleasant) and right now to Oren Ambarchi (the kind of music that doesn't need to go anywhere).

I've had four place so far (Alex G, Angel Olsen, Beach House, and Hatchie ). Based on past polls I'd expect two thirds of my list to make it and I wouldn't be surprised if my top three is the board's top three.

broadcast, orcutt, chat pile and horse lords have shown up for me so far. love all 4 so much.

Digging Ghosted a lot. I voted for a different Ambarchi that im now assuming will show up later

I'll make a random guess that Destroyer is #78

Just one (Pusha) for me.

At most, Parker, SZA, Prekop/McEntire will place from my ballot, but probably just SZA.

Nothing for me yet but I expect at least 8 of my top 10 to show up.

hmm i still expect all 3 to come up

xp

#78 remains undiscovered btw, make your bets now

nxd - Horse Lords are incredibly brilliant live

Although I've not heard this record. I think I ordered the LP twice and it was out of stock both times

Nice to see Bill Orcutt place - voted it very high. It's a beautiful record.

#78 remains undiscovered btw, make your bets now

― POLIZISTEN VERSINKEN IM SCHLAMM (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, January 31, 2023 3:27 PM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

gonna go with lady aicha and co.

tho given moka's comments i wouldn't be surprised if it shows up tomorrow

#60: Pusha T - It’s Almost Dry: It didn't stick with me, but I liked how it was supposed to be one half Pharrell productions, one half Kanye. So then Pharrell did half the album on his own, while the other half was made by the, like, ten producers or so, who are currently doing the work for Kanye.
#59: Chat Pile - God's Country: One of the last albums cut from my ballot, I also ended up voting for a track instead, and now I'm curious if that one will place. Also, like imago, I much preferred the Ashenspire record, but I thought they were both good enough to list. So I also really hope to see Ashenspire on here.
#58: The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention: I liked it well enough, but the only Radiohead-related project I've really been into since Amnesiac was The King of Limbs.
#57: Taylor Swift - Midnights: Such a disappointment. What a shame to be such a great artist, and then play it so safe. Nothing new, nothing she hasn't done better before. It didn't even feel like she lost it, it was very accomplished, there was just nothing on it that hadn't worked over and over and over before. Complete bore.
#56: Beach House - Once Twice Melody: I do not need 80 minutes of new Beach House, lol. What an insane idea, when they kinda don't change that much from album to album.
#55: Wet Leg - Wet Leg: Not my thing, but thought it was fine. Would have been fine with it placing higher. One of the better britrock hypes in years.
#54: Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werlin - Ghosted: My #6. Feared the vote would be split between this and Shebang, but I just loved the sound of this one. The groove just sounds amazing. My favorite thing he has done since Audience of One
#53: Bill Orcutt - Music For Four Guitars: Don't know it, will check out.
#51: Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance: Don't know it, will check out.
#51: Horse Lords - Comradely Objects: Don't get it. They are fine, but a bit too samey.
#50: Broadcast - Maida Vale Sessions: ILX really love the nineties.
#49: Moor Mother - Jazz Codes: Very good album, almost voted for it. Though I preferred her last two.
#48: Miranda Lambert - Palomino: Some day I will give modern country a change. It wasn't 2022. And it probably won't be 2023.
#46: Mr Fingers - Around the Sun Pt 1: Don't know it, will check out.
#46: Hatchie - Giving the World Away: Don't care.
#45: Charli XCX - Crash: Definitely her best since Pop 2. Didn't vote for it or for any of the singles, but she is the best at what she does.

Is #78 Animal Collective? That would make a lot of people happy.

it was their best record in years, I expect it to do better but idk

I'm going to guess Tove Lo.

the only Radiohead-related project I've really been into since Amnesiac was The King of Limbs.

What a fascinatingly bizarre opinion!

will probably never listen to any of these albums but I like a lot of the album covers.

i love how these polls show what little musical bubbles we all live in. people are always like "hmm so [album i've literally never heard of in my life] hasn't placed yet, hopefully that means it's in the top 10!" (view this as either me being in a bubble or the person talking being in a bubble or both, your choice)

lol

maybe some people think like that, but i know with 100% certainty that the cash cobain and chow lee album is destined for the top 10

20 slizzy 22 sexy

I think it's actually the opposite? Like, I've already given up on three of mine.

the only Radiohead-related project I've really been into since Amnesiac was The King of Limbs.

What a fascinatingly bizarre opinion!

I was genuinely surprised when the reviews were so bad. It's the one genuinely weird turn they've taken the last twenty years. I was 13 years old in 2000, and Kid A was the weirdest thing I'd ever heard, and I guess I'll always want Radiohead to give me that feeling again?

I can see it, it's definitely their murkiest album, and Kid A has a similarly dark, murky tone to me

#78 remains undiscovered btw, make your bets now

― POLIZISTEN VERSINKEN IM SCHLAMM (forksclovetofu)

I'm going to guess either Mitski or Gwenno for 78. Both seem like the kind of album that could get four or five votes.

I agree with Frederik, TKOL might be after Kid A the Radiohead album I return to the most. Only flaw is Staircase didn’t make it into the album.

In Rainbows is still great tho but haven’t revisited in years.

TKOL is their grooviest record.

#60: Pusha T - It’s Almost Dry - wasn't much too compelling about this idk
#59: Chat Pile - God's Country - not my sort of sludge
#58: The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention - down with the weakest radiohead albums, too many weird time signature grooves & thin arrangements seemingly limited by the power trio format
#57: Taylor Swift - Midnights - cannot believe this is so low here when reputation placed #32 and lover was #11 and those are much much worse albums
#56: Beach House - Once Twice Melody - beach house definitely do not have the range to have even considered making a double album
#55: Wet Leg - Wet Leg - i am a gigantic hater of "chaise longue" but at least it was memorable compared to the rest of this
#54: Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werlin - Ghosted - ambarchi's shebang was nice, will have to check this out
#53: Bill Orcutt - Music For Four Guitars - this sounds like math rock with everything except the guitars removed, i don't really expect to be into this for the length of a full album
#51: Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance - i have to know why imago likes this because what i'd heard of this was the sort of serviceable indie rock he'd normally denounce. but i'm listening to "billy" now and it's pretty nice at least, somewhere between stereolab and yo la tengo
#51: Horse Lords - Comradely Objects - for some reason i was expecting this to be skronkier - oh there it is on the third track. the smile could learn from the grooves on this!
#50: Broadcast - Maida Vale Sessions - if broadcast never quite did it for me i probably shouldn't expect an archival live release to be revelatory or anything?
#49: Moor Mother - Jazz Codes - how did i miss this? where was this discussed here, since forks said it got a lot of discussion? the little i listened to sounds lovely, hope the rest keeps that up
#48: Miranda Lambert - Palomino - too much of this is the sort of country that's really not my thing
#46: Mr Fingers - Around the Sun Pt 1 - pleasant but not transcendent
#46: Hatchie - Giving the World Away - this was fine, hooks not as good as the debut though
#45: Charli XCX - Crash - a few great tracks ("lightning", "twice", "crash") and the rest is solid but nothing more. underwhelming compared to the last two but still better than expected

I agree that Midnights is better than Reputation or Lover (though I'm sympathetic to people who feel otherwise, in particular re Reputation), but I can understand that at a high level it seems like a less interesting or compelling album than those, in that (for the first time) it feels like Taylor's artistic development has basically rebounded on itself.

I spent a lot of time trying to identify what I felt was novel and interesting about the approaches and decisions taken, but I can't blame anyone else for not going to the same trouble and instead concluding that there is nothing new in the album to "get" (and anyway once I felt like I had "cracked the code" of what Taylor was doing, I basically stopped listening to the album, albeit that that is a common thing for me with most music).

“you’re on your own” is good

The Reputation hate is mystifying (and a bit disappointing, tbh)... guess that's the Taylor album I love (second-favorite only to Evermore) that I'll have to accept many folks just don't appreciate.

reputation and lover are both interesting failures and midnights is a boring success

I haven't listened to Reputation in a very long time, and even when it was new I only spun it 3 times max, but there's almost nothing I hate worse than pop singers chronicling their own stardom and obsessions with their haters and their, er, reputations. Taylor's never not been guilty of this, but it seems like that album in particular is when she couldn't practice any restraint.

“getaway car” tho

Reputation and (to a lesser extent) Lover sound a lot better to me now than they did at the time, when it seemed like Taylor was (with the occasional exception) on an ongoing path of progressively reducing the prominence of her creative voice in her own songwriting - now they seem like detours and explorations.

"You're On Your Own, Kid" is not only very good but also probably the clearest example of why I do maintain that Midnights is secretly interesting. It's really the third in a trilogy comprising "Long Story Short" and "Renegade": voluble talking cure songs that from almost anyone other songwriter would flop utterly (it occurs to me that a precedent for this approach might be Joni's "Lessons In Survival", which IIRC also dispenses with choruses).

Mr Fingers, the one thing hear I don't recall at least sampling previously, sounds exactly like the background playlist for the menus on a cable TV interface I'm acquainted with. (Not dissing. I'm all for furniture music tbh, and will stick around to see how this might stand out from that crowd. Just as I type that "Coastline Paradox" offers hints of 70s synths and dub, so it's looking up lol!)

"the one thing HERE" obviously, geez.

I don't think it's a record that courts the spectacular but I rarely look for that in a record nowadays

It's nice to chill out to.

I love Mr Fingers in general but I am still surprised by how much I love that album. It was on repeat all summer.

FWIW I did vote for the aforementioned Ron Trent LP, which I guess is just as scrupulously, er, unspectacular. Hard to say why that would be a more immediate thing for me.

i didn't vote for ron trent but i hope it places, might have made my ballot if i'd heard it sooner

Xps much of the Moor mother conversation is with irreversible entanglements and international anthem threads iirc

which threads are those?

i loved both mr fingers and ron trent but i voted for the latter, which seemed a bit more eventful and adventurous and less hermetic

International Anthem: S/D

Glad to see Ambarchi place - it made my ballot iirc. I was a huge fan of Interventions and The Common Task but didn't get around to hearing all of Comradely Objects until just now and it's ofc great.

sometimes I think moor mother is just as 'background' as larry heard but like, inverted

the Moor Mother Myth: there has been no discussion whatsoever on Jazz Codes that I can find.
none on that International Anthems•• thread (and there doesn’t seem to be a thread on Irreversible Entanglements), and only two posts about it on the actual Moor Mother thread. it has been mentioned in several AOTY (So Far) lists tho.
hope to find out if she really exists when she’s coming to a place very near me, which will be soon

••people were discussing Daniel Villarreal’s Panamá 77 there however, which is sounding pretty good this morning

you caught us: we made her up

reputation and lover are both interesting failures and midnights is a boring success

― ufo, 1. februar 2023 00:58 (eight hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Absolutely correct and a perfect way to say it. And Taylor Swift is the best songwriter of her generation - by far - so 'boring succes' is, well, unacceptable, I think. She just made a ten minute song that became an instant classic, she has the ability to do anything. And Midnights is what we get :/

tbh i think this is more of an ish with scoring records and artist narratives than it is with individual albums

i think midnights is one of her strongest front-to-back, but that's more a comment on how wildly inconsistent most of her albums are. this one's just fairly consistently decent but it doesn't really have career highlights or push her sound or songwriting forward or anything so i get why people are underwhelmed in that regard. just large sections of reputation and lover are so bad that i have no idea why people like them more overall - if it's "i prefer the version i edited in my head" then i can understand preferring lover at least i guess but idk

ITT: half the people claim they don't expect more than 2 of their votes to place, the other half is discussing TS. I'm now looking suspiciously at all of you.

Taylor Swift is the best songwriter of her generation - by far -

Moor Mother definitely exists, fwiw— I met her and smoked a cig with her back in 2017, when I first got into her work.

#51: Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance - i have to know why imago likes this because what i'd heard of this was the sort of serviceable indie rock he'd normally denounce

have noticed on here (not you rly!) a tendency to sort of lump all indie rock together as one thing. we saw that the other day with the absurd equation of Florist and Elliott Smith. there are a HUGE amount of variations and nuances and different influences and styles even in the seemingly narrow band of indie rock that makes it to some level of acclaim. Horsegirl are really nothing like a whole load of their contemporaries - it's largely in the guitars. they use whammy bars extensively, they employ unusual chords, use distortion creatively, have a good sense of dynamics and tempo shifts. compared to something slick like Alvvays it's a completely different animal, way looser and way less about the pop song as object, much more about a whole-album sonic experience. i get the sense that because they're young women making indie they'll get lumped in with the Wet Legs of the world but unlike Wet Leg they have bundles of musical ability and extremely promising songwriting instincts. hopefully they get wilder, weirder and more willing to take risks as their career develops, because i can hear the explorative spirit of the best 90s indie in here

Strongly agree about Horsegirl. Very promising album and instincts for a band of teenagers.

there is a UK indie album placing probably today which gets lumped in with a whole bunch of dross by the music press when it really is nothing remotely like much else, again with the guitar work a key point of difference. more as we get it

tl;dr: stop talking about 'indie rock' like it's one thing, you wouldn't like it if i described all your slow-as-molasses arty jazzy mathpiffle as 'chinstrokingcore' oh wait i already did lol

nah let's give bill orcutt a fair crack

segues surprisingly well out of horsegirl in the playlist

i get the sense that because they're young women making indie they'll get lumped in with the Wet Legs of the world

i looked at the horsegirl page on rym and it was entirely people arguing about whether that's a reasonable comparison point lol

also very confused to learn they're american not british?

joining a venerable tradition! see also swirlies and so forth

okay, this Horse Lords album, at fucking LAST, seems to have songs that actually go somewhere, enjoying it so far

that said, small note of criticism - both the first two tracks have introduced a developing theme as an outro. you'd kind of want to hear the songs go on, push further, use these developments as a springboard. there's still an instinct towards the neat object, but at least this time the objects are moving. u can prog it up Horse Lords i believe in u

hmm

Let’s go

!

https://i.imgur.com/LQe1GUE.png
#44: The Comet is Coming - Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam - 244 points - 10 votes
London jazz wizard Shabaka Hutchings: Sons of Kemet / The Comet Is Coming / Shabaka & the Ancestors

Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam is bass-laden and synthesised, setting the stage for extraterrestrial adventures in jazz.

Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam is unlikely to appeal to conservative jazz heads. It will please fans of the hybrid jazz scene in England and draw in many new listeners internationally who will be deeply attracted to its apocalyptic energy, innovative beats, and rowdy abundance.

haha this IS my day isn't it. my first vote to place! yay

absolutely sick, hutchings and chums in full techno-prog adventure mode, borderline riding a horse through space content, one of the highest forms of content

First one for me too, some stomping jams here.

Never actually got around to listening to this, even though I like the Comet crew a lot. Guess I should!

https://i.imgur.com/sunsXkf.png
#43: Oren Ambarchi - Shebang - 246 points - 7 votes - 1 #1 Vote
S/D: Oren Ambarchi (and projects)

The experimental guitarist’s latest piece thrives on tension—between pulse and drone, repetition and variance, and, particularly, between the naturalism of the musicians’ playing and the artifice of the mix.

Fastidiously complex, yes, but also capable of moments of disarming prettiness.

lovely record this

have had zero place. have 2 that might - soft pink truth (slight chance) and rosalia (high chance). i should probably have voted for the comet is coming but never got to spend enough time with it. of the ones already polled, i dug the bill orcutt, but not as much as some of his others and the oren ambarchi is great - i would definately have voted for it if i'd heard it.

definitely!

More Ambarchi!

If the Comet Is Coming is "riding a horse through space"-core, I'd better give it a proper listen.

The Comet Is Coming is my number 3, listened to this one a lot, I already liked them before, but this felt like a big step up from their previous stuff, just so full of energy

I enjoyed catching up on the Taylor Swift discussion last night from Tim F, ufo, Frederick, JF, etc.

I hadn’t heard Comet until now; it certainly lacks a punch.

xxp fully agreed on the step up, banging tunes too

lacks or packs?

Packs

https://i.imgur.com/3oQwwxY.png
#42: They Hate Change - Finally, New - 248 points - 8 votes - 1 #1 Vote
They Hate Change - Finally, New

‘Finally, New’ is a daring reach into the future. Firmly establishing itself amongst British sub-cultures at its own leisure, They Hate Change is a buzzing escapade that re-defines its own boundaries.

The joy is not in going over this effervescent record with a fine-toothed comb, but instead allowing the British influence – sonic and lyrical – to gradually reveal itself.

enjoyed all three of these albums last year, great start to the day

nice! the word "British" is way too prominent in those quotes though lmao

ooh what's this then

the pitchfork review I quoted in the thread is not a bad capsule description:

On their latest LP, Finally, New, they spit aggressive, East Coast-flavored braggadocio raps over UK breaks and drum’n’bass beats filtered through local styles like Tampa jook and Miami bass. Even amid a deluge of rap music made with sounds from the club, little else sounds like this.

never heard They Hate Change previously but loving it so far.

yeah this is enjoyable stuff

https://i.imgur.com/ymc8QQE.png
#41: Animal Collective - Time Skiffs - 249 points - 9 votes - 1 #1 Vote
animal collective

After a prolific period of experimentation, Animal Collective return with an album that achieves a peaceful equilibrium between their immersive 3D soundscaping and innate melodic charms.

Even within such historical constraints of tradition, the group manages to find new flavors to express, new combinations to offer. The collective’s preservation of our musical past continues to make time skiff and point the way to the future.

oh cool, didn't know the AnCo crew was still active here

loved the album, think it's easily one of their 3 best which is saying something because I think all their albums are pretty great (besides the ones that are not). "We Go Back" is probably my favorite song of the year. also saw them live which ruled.

I’m 75% sure I didn’t vote for this, but it’s a nice enough album.

All my AnCo attention went towards Panda Bear this year so I didn’t spend too much time with this one. Sounded pretty good iirc, might need to revisit it.

oh cool, didn't know the AnCo crew was still active here

https://i.imgur.com/d8NiZvt.png
#40: Fievel Is Glauque - Flaming Swords - 252 points - 9 votes
Zach Phillips (Fievel is Glauque / Blanche Blanche Blanche / OSR Tapes)

Phillips and Clément, along with the band of players enlisted for this record harnessed a free-flowing, unrestricted creative spirit and contorted it into something angular, stupefying and endlessly listenable.

Multi-instrumentalist Zach Phillips and singer Ma Clément craft alluring jazz fusion songs in miniature. It is heady but not stuffy, precise but not rigid, dense but not cluttered.

Lol I voted for the Aérodynes EP instead, this is great tho

three straight that i voted for!

they hate change was my #1! shout out to all the other voters

Oh, yes, a second entry for me! As I said on the dedicated thread, this is the first one that really clicked for me, and I ended up liking it a lot. Missed the EP, I think someone said it was taken down?

yeah I had to cut this from my ballot, but it's very cool

The EP was taken down but then put back up on Bandcamp if you'd bought it, am sure it is findable tho! imo they probably have plans to re-release it in some form

https://i.imgur.com/pLiHWe2.png
#39: Weyes Blood - And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow - 255 points - 9 votes
Weyes Blood

Titanic Rising was met with rave reviews, but this record – which spans steely indie-rock and strummed country ballads – might just be her magnum opus.

LA-based artist Natalie Mering cuts through this strange and isolating period of history with a subtle touch, carefully unearthing a scrap of hope in the process.

#1 to #39

i mean, she's one of my favourite songwriters ever and i didn't vote for it. probably unfairly, as it still has a few brilliant songs on it (not least that opener), but the overall effect was that of a softening and a partial retreat from the boldness of the records prior. 'might just be her magnum opus' - imo it might just be her 5th best release. if you think it's her magnum opus, bully for you, but....nah

loved the (anco) album, think it's easily one of their 3 best

i honestly think so too. was shocked about how good it was. def not quite at the level of feels but it's jockeying with mpp and strawberry jam in second place for me

your attitude to the new weyes blood album kind of depended, in a nutshell, on your attitude to 'god turn me into a flower'. is weyes blood fully embracing new-age ambient birdsong vybez ft. rich-kid-era 0PN a good thing? RYM immediately ranked it in the top 20 singles of all time, because they are children, but i'm not on board

anyway it's still a good album dammit

didn't vote for anco but listened to the whole thing a few times which is more than i can say for most of the albums on here
tried to listen to the weyes blood and it was so dull

I only listened to the Weyes Blood once and found it mostly boring, but I only really like FRStE anyway

Wasn't able to get into this Weyes Blood, listened to it a handful of times and it made no impression on me at all

i liked it

"Grapevine" is a brilliantly lush single, and I still voted for the album, but it slipped out of my top 10. The last couple set a really high standard though, so can't be too hard on it.

Never got around to the AnCo album but heard a track in the Track Noms playlist and was surprised how much I liked it. Will put that in the queue.

xp yeah i mean the only thing that damns this album is how astonishing that innocents thru TR run was

now stop hanging out with lana and get your edge back lol

https://i.imgur.com/tJtSmgx.png
#38: Shygirl - Nymph - 257 points - 9 votes
Rolling techno* albums thread for people who are clearly doing it wrong

With Nymph, Shygirl brings another original voice in the mix; good luck hearing a record that portrays sex in similarly tactile, authentic and effortlessly cool fashion.

Sensuous, funny, and smartly produced, the London artist’s full-length debut transforms dusky electronic beats and trending pop sounds into a singular celebration of sexual agency

I had a feeling Weyes Blood would be a lot lower this time round. I had her just outside my top ten. If the album had all been as good as the first half, I would have had it higher. It's just not quite on the same level as her previous two albums which are close to perfect.

very cool album, this

https://i.imgur.com/jlEp4Io.png
#37: Perfume - PLASMA - 262 points - 8 votes
Where is the LOVE for Perfume?

PLASMA indeed is the album I’ve been waiting on since, well, JPN. The production here is absolutely wonderful, Nakata has put care into every facet of the soundstage. Instead of bringing in modern sounds as a new influence, he looks inward and brings out slices from his entire catalogue. The most outward sound he has brought in here is an older one- a splash of truly well constructed and blended city pop, that doesn’t feel gimmicky or trend hopping at all.

probs my favourite perfume album in a decade

Only heard Plasma for the first time in the last month. Had no problem putting it in my top five almost immediately. Incredible album and probably the best I've heard by them.

Oh, great to see Perfume place. I didn't vote for it because it was never quite what I was in the right mood for last year. It's really good just wasn't my ~*~vibe~*~ at the time. I think I did end up voting for a track from it, though.

well on its way to finally dethroning game as my favorite perfume album, which is saying something

also was a great replacement for going to therapy or working on my mental health at all last summer

I am way behind but my comments so far is that Florists is a beautiful vibe, thank you for introducing me to it, and I like this new easy-listening version of Horse Lords, it scratches my Penguin Cafe Orchestra itch

Oh cool! This was my #2 and yeah my favourite record of theirs now.

Today > Yesterday

Catching up, as a new lover of Ambarchi I can't pick between these two albums but I'm glad they're both on the poll, looking forward to going through his back catalog.

Fievel is Glauque is more of a "respect" than "enjoy" thing for me so far, but hopefully they're just getting started. Drummer is fantastic.

yeah this They Hate Change is verrrrry cool

Feels like Liam Howlett is somehow involved lol

seems to be a break so, here are more thots on albums i voted for

from my year-end post about they hate change: "An album built for both head-nodding and ass-shaking. It’s in constant motion even when it slows down...they operate with supreme confidence, creating a singular sonic blend informed, but not defined, by their omnivorous musical influences"

and about flaming swords: "Zach Phillips aims for sensory overload, cramming complex chords, modal key changes, free jazz freakouts, and hyperactive drum beats into his miniature prog-pop masterpieces. Nearly each one of these 18 songs has a moment of unexpected virtuosity, whether in the composition or the performance...From my description, it might seem like Flaming Swords is a difficult listen, but though it takes some time to get used to the hyperactivity, these songs are targeted missiles aimed directly towards the pleasure centers of the brain"

Are you calling is thots

Us

😊

yes

https://i.imgur.com/lGG9YDq.png
#36: Soccer Mommy - Sometimes, Forever - 262 points - 12 votes
soccer mommy

Expertly navigating an ocean of stylistic and lyrical juxtapositions, Soccer Mommy’s third album serves as a modern mercurial masterpiece.

The Nashville indie-rock group’s Oneohtrix Point Never-produced third album is their most creative work to date, and sacrifices none of their signature sound.

was composing a Post but With U came in with some v pleasing synth squiggles so I will hold fire

They Hate Change is sick so far, looking forward to giving that some listening.

I thought it was going to be a different album that was posted somewhere, rap with similarly adventurous (more abrasive) beats, but now I can't remember what the name of that group was. :(

Injury Reserve?

i guess 0PN (lest we forget in his rich-kid era!) is the point of difference here, more going on in the sonics than This Kind Of Thing often has

god help me am I quite enjoying the Soccer Mommy album

https://i.imgur.com/PbPOXPq.png
#35: Death's Dynamic Shroud - Darklife - 264 points - 7 votes
rolling twenty-something RYM/internet stuff like hyperpop, hypnagogic pop, hexD, vaporwave, dungeon synth, cloud rap, nightcore, black midi, future funk, dariacore, seapunk, blown out anime voices, br

On a new double album, the experimental collective continues its journey from vaporwave toward fractured, maximalist pop music.

DDS is back to blow your fucking mind.

confidence is a preference etc

and it's more than just 0PN, you don't make something like Unholy Affliction without a bit of cross-band ambition

aha here we go, one of my top ten hath arrived. well what to say, the future is here folks

god help me am I quite enjoying the Soccer Mommy album

― imago, Wednesday, February 1, 2023 9:27 AM (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

that's because it's fucking good

Ha, this is imago day for sure. Also kind of me day but I didn't actually vote for many of these (felt like I had a bit much of DDS in previous years and needed a break from it, I will definitely return to this at a later date though).

confidence is a preference etc

― nashwan

Also lol

12 votes! We’re moving into seriously popular waters

i can never tell which one's soccer mommy and which one's snail mail or whatever. this is right good tho yeah. now everyone go and listen to messe de e-102

my first vote to place
glad dds finally made an eoy poll here
ended up my #2

just the most wonderful culmination of everything they've been doing for the last few years

neon memories my choice cut

They Hate Change is sick so far, looking forward to giving that some listening.

I thought it was going to be a different album that was posted somewhere, rap with similarly adventurous (more abrasive) beats, but now I can't remember what the name of that group was. :(

Found it, it was Infinity Knives:
https://phantomlimblabel.bandcamp.com/album/king-cobra

https://i.imgur.com/1CYIfNR.png
#34: Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy - 276 points - 9 votes - 2 #1 Votes
Jeff Parker

This is deeply intuitive, subtly detailed, endlessly grooving, holistic jazz-trance music that was improvised at at an extremely high level.

Recorded across a few intimate evenings at a cozy L.A. cocktail bar, these four side-long tracks of bass, drums, sax, and guitar dissolve revelatory improvisation into mesmerizing ambient atmospheres.

i thought the infinity knives/brian annals album was hella corny lol

maybe that's just me, the beats were interesting but the rhymes were garden variety, sub-twitter level social commentary

Hmm