ALBUMS OF 2016 (Clearing the backlog)
1. DAVID HOLMES
– LATE NIGHT TALES (MIXTAPE)
My toppest DJ of
all time put together his best ever collection with a haunting,
holistic and hypnotising collection of songs, comprising folk,
psychedelia and spoken word among others. It includes some
heartbreaking moments of self-discovery along the way and a million
and one fucking highlights.
2. TIM HECKER – LOVE STREAMS
Amazing fusion of electronic
dissonance, woodwind and choral voice on what could be his best album
to date. It is a beautiful abstract commentary on mentalist times of
selfies and love lost. Had to say it.
3. JUNIOR BOYS – BIG BLACK COAT
Tip of the fucking iceberg on the
criminally underrated fifth electronic LP for the Canadian duo. From
front to back it works sublimely, coming in from the fringe, in out
of the autumnal rain again.
4. BLOOD ORANGE
– FREETOWN SOUND
The most unlikely
re-branding of my fucking short life-span; former indie lightweight
Lightspeed Champion came back and brought an absolutely soulfully
championed delight of a delight.
5. RADIOHEAD – A MOON SHAPED POOL
If 2016 was the best year of the decade
so far for music, then A Moon Shaped Pool
was the best release by the band since Kid A.
A stunningly beautiful album of masterclass and tapestry.
6. BON
IVER – 22, A MILLION
The
third album and Justin Vernon can do no wrong. When I played this, it
had just hit October 2016 and I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand and the electronics
of “and I'm standing at the station” was on the headphones. At
times sounding like Bain from Batman, and others like the old beardo
from the log cabin that we loved on For Emma, Forever Ago
– this was a prime cut indeed Jack.
7. IMARHAN – IMARHAN
Wow! - Algerian desert rock group that
has some blood and musical lineage to the Malian and Algerian
purveyors Tinariwen, who are also highly drinkable. Feels like
drinking water in the desert – musical equivalent.
8. DAVID BOWIE –
BLACK STAR
An amazing
concoction of foresight to rest your head and cosmic retrograde in an
artists unparalleled vision of psychedelic loss, pining and so long
Davey here forever.
9. RUN THE
JEWELS - RTJ3
This came out on
Christmas Eve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The best musical Christmas
present since Burial released the Rival Dealers EP in 2013 – it
fittingly was the best hip-hop LP of the year.
10. JAMES BLAKE – THE COLOUR IN
ANYTHING
The longest, perhaps greatest piece of
work he has ever done – amassing seventeen tracks of electronic and
experimental R&B that has to be heard to be seen to be felt to
believed.
11. ANOHNI – HOPELESSNESS
Wouldn't have
predicted that Antony from Antony & The Johnsons would come
through to make an absolute belter of a protest album. This is so
much of its time. It sums up the shite turmoil we're in perfectamundo
with 21st century production more than I could ever have
imagined.
12. VARIOUS –
DAY OF THE DEAD – GRATEFUL DEAD
A three disc opus
of Grateful Dead covers spanning three volumes and over five hours of
pure Sunday folk and slumber , curated by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of
The National – following 2009's excellent charitable Dark was the
Night – the range of voices on here, from Phosphorescent to
Perfume Genius to Tim Hecker to Orchestra Baobab is just incredible.
13. NICK
CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS – SKELETON TREE
Offset by the death
of his son - he had actually written a lot of this before the tragedy
apparently – but I don't buy it – this album was so hard to
listen to. And it is now – the densest, most syrupy album of the
century. Listening to it now :(
14.COMMON
– BLACK AMERICA AGAIN
Maybe I should try
again and again to get into Kendrick, but it just ain't happening –
you can't just force yourself to like something – I really am more
fond of the old-school and Common Sense epitomises the need for an
established voice, though it is still great that we have the upstart
Lamar.
15. JAIMEO BROWN TRANSCENDENCE –
WORK SONGS
Blues, soul, funk, rock 'n' roll
distilled into stories of slaves and prisoners and workers. This is
an absolutely phenomenal piece of artistry.
16. UNDERWORLD – BARBARA BARBARA,
WE FACE A SHINING FUTURE
This is one of my besto friends
favoritest ever bands. The spoken poetry of Karl Hyde over the
pulsating electronica of seven gems from Bethlehem just rules better
than any world, Frankenstein or purrs.
17. CAVERN OF ANTI-MATTER – VOID
BEATS / INVOCATION TREX
Crunches, whirs, fizzes, cranks,
shafts, tussles, shovels, pangs, bangs, crunches, slams, scrapes,
clunks.
The onomatopoeic appeal of this
electronic busyness should be played in its entirety at Prague's The
Cross Club.
18. YORKSTON / THORNE / KHAN –
EVERYTHING SACRED
Three divergent musicians with varying
styles come together to make a sterling record that shuffles around
musically without fidgeting or getting whimsical. It is such a nice
piece that makes me feel I was being curtailed by forced
collaborations before I restored my faith in them again.
19. A
TRIBE CALLED QUEST – WE GOT IT FROM HERE... THANK YOU 4 YOUR
SERVICE
You wouldn't have
thought that at the end of a year devoid of good hip-hop, the
old-school would come back and save it – ATCQ and Common Sense both
dropped late 2016 albums – this one a sci-fi opus that did
fantastic things for the genre, before an amazing force brought the
fucking jams.
20. ADRIAN YOUNGE – SOMETHING
ABOUT APRIL 2
Soul, hip-hop, noir, all of your
musical grocery goods condensed into a soundtrack stye montage that
recreates old soul classics. This truly was the first great long
player of 2016 which was out in Jan.
21. LEONARD
COHEN – YOU WANT IT DARKER
As with Bowie, what
a final salutation before heading up to the clouds (if that's what
happens) – this was a real crooning of an album. I love to play it
around Christmas, booyah booyah. Shame he's gone, but he was 82 –
good innings.
22. DEERHOOF
- THE MAGIC
The sound of
swirlguns melding everywhere, this is mental-riffic from a band who
have cooked up a stew again on this, their thirteenth album proper.
23. ELUVIUM
– FALSE READINGS
I just love this
artist. He's had a bit of slander before for being a bit
blow-in-the-wind. kind of new-age but the piano and drones are just
out of this world again on album number eight.
24. MATMOS – ULTIMATE CARE ii
This was made with the sounds of a
parts of a washing machine. I really wanna give it a ripe pun like
“good clean fun” or “detergent of the year” but I'll get too
washed.....er.....carried away. Experimental triumph.
25. RIVAL
CONSOLES – NIGHT MELODY
Essentially a
mini-album that splibbles loads of great electronica over scuttering
beats. Man, the amount of times I have written the word “electronica”
or “electronic” on this post is mental.
26. DIIV – IS THE IS ARE
Playing in Taipei live at the time of
writing this. I wish I was there – their breezy indie makes me want
my old life back there for a short run the down the streets, even in
sub-tropical sweat.
