The Top 10 Albums of 2016, So Far
Light Upon the Lake
While Whitney's debut might not seem like it's inventing anything new, it's hard to argue about their creating a sound that's exactly right for the place and time--a vintage-toned summertime album that may very well prove to be timeless. Tracks like "Golden Days" and "Dave's Song" combine fragile longing with smart songwriting to make the kind of record you can easily listen to three or four times without even noticing.
Stranger to Stranger
Simon's return to album-making sees him creating some of his most interconnected and self-contained songwriting worlds. To say he's anything less than an utter genius would be an insult to music itself, and Stranger to Stranger, is as challenging, odd, and thoroughly enjoyable as anything he's ever done. This is a showcase of the very best from an artist who refuses to be ordinary or to pigeonhole himself.
The Glowing Man
Our list may have started with two albums under 35 minutes each, but get ready for a two-hour mammoth journey into the insane. The Glowing Man is Swans' latest--and supposedly last--album, a visceral test of the musicians' abilities to continuously inspire while deafening, and a test of the listeners' abilities to stave-off exhaustion and madness, or perhaps embrace it.
Coloring Book
Chance the Rapper's third mixtape fulfills all the promises Kanye's The Life of Pablo failed to uphold. An intriguing and surprisingly beautiful combination of African-American church traditions and Chance's own brand of acid rap, Coloring Book subtly chronicles black history and uses it as a springboard for imaginative and truly incomparable creativity. Richly composed and rewarding multiple listens, Coloring Book is a transcendent addition to an amazing artist's already highly unique catalogue.
Hopelessness
Anohni's debut solo effort is incredibly morbid, especially if you focus just on the thematic material. However, if anyone can make drone bombings, polar ice melt, mass graves, and discrimination against racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities sound beautiful, it's the artist formerly known as Antony Hegarty. Anohni's hiring of electronic artists Oneohtrix Point Never and Hudson Mohawke is a brilliant move, and their combined talents truly turn what would otherwise be a dreary tone poem into a gorgeous ode to the apocalypse.
A Sailor's Guide to Earth
It's been a long time since I thought country music could be inspiring or emotionally gripping, but Sturgill Simpson's third solo album is just that. A concept album centering around both his short-lived naval career and the birth of his first child--a literal guide, by a sailor, instructing how to live life fully and completely and navigate the world. But this navigation isn't by the stars, it's interpersonal. A Sailor's Guide to Earth is an eye-opening and wholly moving experience.
Lemonade
Enough has been said about the subject matter and boldness of Beyoncé's Lemonade, but have we dissected it in terms of a brilliantly titled work? This is the product made from the "lemons" of infidelity and broken trust; you know...lemonade. And not only is the subtle use of just the one word an ingenious decision of syntax, but it also perfectly describes the music contained within: sweet, sour, refreshing, sophisticated. Beyoncé has never sounded like this.
Teens of Denial
Car Seat Headrest has been self-producing music for as long as I've been managing this blog, but Teens of Denial is their first professionally recorded and produced album, and goddamn is it amazing. If you claim to like any music from about 1990 to today, this is for you. "Destroyed by Hippie Powers" could recall the best of Weezer, make Pearl Jam good again, and raise Kurt Cobain from the dead. And that's just one song; there's another 65 minutes of grungy, guitar-shredding music after that.
untitled unmastered.
At this point, Kendrick can do no wrong. The songs might not have discernible titles, but does it matter? Lamar is so creative, inventive, and original it almost makes you feel dumb listening to it, with every note putting you in your place. Every sound he engineers--be it words or music--is ambrosia for the ears. For being "unmastered," this sure is well-produced, mixed, written, and performed. Kendrick Lamar just blew away the competition...again...with what is essentially a b-sides compilation.
Blackstar
Was there any doubt this would be #1? Barring any massively brilliant releases between now and December 31st, it will probably stay here. And no, it's not just because Bowie, the most inventive and challenging artist to grace the pop-music world, sadly and suddenly passed within days of this album's release. It's also because it ranks among his greatest work in a career filled with "best-of-all-time" entries. It's also because the album was so expertly designed to help Bowie and his fans cope with his death. To be so frank and raw about one's own imminent demise is harsh, but somehow also very enlightening. With brilliant production and tight, almost claustrophobic work by a massively talented jazz ensemble, Bowie makes himself appear a gorgeous specter and presents a beautiful last love letter to the world. Somewhere in the greater universe, he's travelling the stars he so often sang of.
How doth the hero strong and brave, a celestial path in the heavens pave.
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