Member Since: 8/16/2011
Posts: 60,893
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20. Lamentations – Moses Sumney
"Lamentations" is a solid effort from Moses, albeit a bit contrived. It tries to present a healthy balance between a myriad of sentiments like grief, hope and perseverance, but ultimately, it feels more like meandering reminiscences rather than lamentations.
19. Conscious - Broods
Despite its flaws, Broods’ music works very well as a concept. The vocals are enjoyable and the beats are refreshing but still familiar enough to evoke comfort in the audience.
18. Paradise – White Lungs
I’m not usually into rock music but this is fused with invigorating melodies and some top notch vocals.
17. Songs for lovers to sing to - LUH
I don’t really like to use the word “rawness” to describe an album because the word is overused but it truly fits in this case. This album is a sincere illustration of the artist’s perception of love.
16. Crab Day
This is a fun indie pop album filled with music that carries the weight of the world and transforms into enjoyable music.
15. A hope demolition project – PJ Harvey
An album with noble intentions and quite a few gems.
14. Pool - Porches
There is a certain maturity that emanates through their music and it pleases me.
13. Remember To to life – Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor continues to dazzle us with her unqiue, in-your-face style and morbid lyrics.
12. Freetown sound – Blood Orange
Being a gay (or at least queer) man in the black community and a black man in this white community, Devonte Hynes is certainly one to talk about discrimination. He pours his soul into this album, and there's something strikingly genuine about it. The lead single is titled after the similarly tormented author and saint Augustine. This album almost reads like a cry for help. And it's as beautiful as ever.
11. Will – Julianna Barwick
There is a imposing serenity that comes with listening to this album, and that’s not just because of the genre the album belongs to.
10. Long Way Home - Lapsley
Lapsley has very interesting melodies and layered music. Those two factors combined with her sweet voice made her album once of the best revelations of 2016.
9. Not to disappear - Daughter
To be completely honest, I haven’t listened to this album since the first half of the year, but that’s more due to forgetfulness rather than anything else. In this album, Daughter do what they do best, a simple and efficient Alternative pop (an bordering on rock) album.
8. Church – Kelsey Lu
Kelsey Lu is the musical discovery for me this year. She has a wide spectrum of musical influences and they shine through her music.
7. Aftertouch – Princess Chelsea
Princess Chelsea is known for her unique style and that has extended to the covers she recorded for this album.
6. Skeleton tree – Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Upon listening to this album, I was simultaneously elevated by the ethereal melodies and brought back down to earth by his resonating voice. A journey you don't want to miss out on.
5. Hopelessness - Anohni
Grief and hope are the choice that Anohni's being faced with here.
4. Sremmlife 2 - Rae Sremmurd
Rae Sremmurd managed to incorporate enjoyable melodies into their rap music without fully commercializing their sound (as opposed to other rap artists like Florida), and it’s impressive
3. Altar - Banks
On The Altar, Jillian Banks asserts her womanhood and her pride in pertaining to womanhood. What might seem like a trivial lyric at first is really the manifestation of bent up oppression, wether it be conscious or unconscious.
2. The Colour In Anything - James Blake
Focusing more on the lyrics than his previous albums, James Blake produced a rather thorough, yet efficacious, exposé of a relationship that clearly left more than a mark in him.
1. Anti - Rihanna
Rihanna's music has always expressed a wide spectrum of emotions, and it's more accentuated on Anti than ever. She doesn't announce the sentiment at hand in order to subsequently recite some poem about it. The feelings are more sporadic, as they usually are. She's rebellious but secretly vulnerable. She's strong but not so secretly insecure. No human being is devoid of contradictory qualities and Rihanna embraces it very well. There's more to feminism and womanism than acknowledging it, and Rihanna just goes that extra mile.
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