First year in ages it’s not only not been a struggle to think of five but I had to agonise over keeping some off as well so with that in mind here is a very self-indulgent post for my top five and the very nearly made-its:
1. Noname- Telefone
Just a fucking beautiful piece of work. Lovely off-kilter beats, her technique and flow are fucking great and it’s lyrically a wonderfully personal, dark, important piece of work giving a woefully underrepresented perspective.
Highlight:
2. Anderson Paak - Malibu
Was so confident this would be my number one until Noname came out. This would have been my favourite for at least 3 of the last 5 years though. He’s a fucking talented dude, multi-instrumentalist, singer and rapper. This record is just fucking joyous in places
Highlight:
#3. Isaiah Rashad - The Sun’s Tirade
Never really properly clicked with Cilvia Demo but this is a brilliant album, it’s dark and filled with anxiety and tension and is as cohesive a hip-hop album as you’d hope to hear. Some fucking great guest-spots as well.
Highlight:
4. NAO - For All We Know
Just full of absolute bangers. Love the wonky-funk, really exaggerated high-production values sound and she’s got a voice that could easily be a bit irritating but matches the sound perfectly. I’m not a man that dances but this record is one of those rare occasions where I feel like I might want to.
Highlight (although not that representative of the record as a whole):
#5. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here… Thanks 4 Your Service
Can’t actually believe how good this is. A comeback album from an all-time legendary band who’ve been racked with fall-outs and reeling from the death of a member should now sound as cohesive and relevant as this does. The sound was a bit distancing at first withy vocals a bit hidden away but when it clicked it clicked in a big way. It sounds like how you’d expect them to sound if they never went away which is as big a compliment as you could give them.
Highlight: Whateva Will Be (can’t find a video)
#6. Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost
Fucking great fun with guitars. Been ages since a new album captured me in such a nostalgic way.
Highlight:
7 Ravyn Lenae - Moon Shoes
She’s destined to become the go-to hook girl for some fucking great tracks IMO
Highlight:
8 65daysofstatic - No Man’s Sky: Music For an Infinite Universe
The game was disappointing, the album was reliable as fuck from my “favourite band”
Highlight:
#9. Kendrick Lamar - Untitled/Unmastered
Kendrick’s throwaways are better than 99.9% of stuff that would be most artists best work
Highlight: untitled 05 09.21.2014. (Can’t find a video)
10. The Hotelier - Goodness
A bit of a disappointment from Home, Like Noplace Is There but only because that album is one of my favourites of the decade. Less “emo” and more “grown-up” but I still enjoyed it.
Highlight:
