The forum album of the year discussion thread

What’s the deal with EP’s? Do they count as actual albums? I’m not sure if its a silly question or not.

Anyway, I’m asking for a friend. That Carly Rae Jepsen Side B record is 27 mins of absolute perfection…i mean i’ve heard its pretty good

Haven’t found much to absolutely love this year, though have been put onto a few other albums by AOTY lists in the last few days. Hate having to vote before the year is out.

At this stage, it’s something like:

  1. Sleigh Bells — Jessica Rabbit
  2. The Operators — Blue Wave
  3. Preoccupations — Preoccupations
  4. Santigold — 99 cents
  5. Autolux — Pussy’s Dead

good year, lots of great fuzzy ambient albums, a couple of excellent experimental singer songwriters, some eclectic electronica and a little bit of meatier guitar and hip hop stuff. I’d give all of these between an 8 and a 9.6

  1. sarah mary chadwick - roses always die (singer songwriter, slow yamaha organ beats and raw lofi vocal, singing in heartfelt misery and joy)
    Roses Always Die | Sarah Mary Chadwick

  2. david thomas broughton - a crippling lack (huge magnum opus running at 1hr40, long beautifully meandering songs, closest thing he’s done to ever rotating sky)
    Crippling Lack | David Thomas Broughton | Song, by Toad Records

  3. aesop rock - the impossible kid - (reflective and comical, good beats, fantastic lyrics.)
    The Impossible Kid | Aesop Rock

  4. abul mogard - works (really enjoyed hiding under the duvet with this on the headphones, my favourite emotional drone of the year)Works | Abul Mogard

  5. bracken - high passes (still finding new little things in it, little elements of many things, electronica, hood goodness, best album for racing on forza 3)
    High Passes | Bracken | Home Assembly Music

  6. dag rosenqvist - elephant

  7. moderat - iii

  8. wreck & reference - indifferent rivers romance end

  9. ian william craig - centres

  10. roger goula - overview effect

11 - 26
paul jebanasam - continuum
dead light - dead light
wrekmeister harmonies - light falls
willamette - diminished composition
tape loop orchestra - the invisibles
eluvium - false readings on
time hecker - love streams
ttng - disappointment island
e - e
david bazan - blanco
hammock - everything and nothing
ka - honour killed the samurai
ben lukas boysen - spells
liima - ii
Johann Johannsson - orphee
saaad - vermillion

If The Oh Sees had released both albums this year as a double album it would have been a definite AOTY contender (and one of the best double albums ever)

Top 20:

  1. Ulrika Spacek - The Album Paranoia

  2. DIIV - Is the Is Are

  3. Solange - A Seat at the Table

  4. So Pitted - Neo

  5. Wray - Hypatia

  6. Tegan and Sara - Love You to Death

  7. Flowers - Everybody’s Dying to Meet You

  8. Glass Animals - How To Be A Human Being

  9. Death In Vegas - Transmission

  10. Shura - Nothing’s Real

  11. Angel Olsen - MY WOMAN

  12. Autoheart - I Can Build A Fire

  13. The Radio Dept. - Running Out Of Love

  14. Suede - Night Thoughts

  15. Moderat - III

  16. Rihanna - ANTI

  17. Yes Alexander - Kyanite

  18. Usher - Hard II Love

  19. Hante. - This Fog That Never Ends

  20. Palmistry - Pagan

JFC what a mess (this forum deserve an edit button!)

  1. Ulrika Spacek - The Album Paranoia
  2. DIIV - Is the Is Are
  3. Solange - A Seat at the Table
  4. So Pitted - Neo
  5. Wray - Hypatia
  6. Tegan and Sara - Love You to Death
  7. Flowers - Everybody’s Dying to Meet You
  8. Glass Animals - How To Be A Human Being
  9. Death In Vegas - Transmission
  10. Shura - Nothing’s Real
  11. Angel Olsen - MY WOMAN
  12. Autoheart - I Can Build A Fire
  13. The Radio Dept. - Running Out Of Love
  14. Suede - Night Thoughts
  15. Moderat - III
  16. Rihanna - ANTI
  17. Yes Alexander - Kyanite
  18. Usher - Hard II Love
  19. Hante. - This Fog That Never Ends
  20. Palmistry - Pagan

been enjoying watching sean go all deep-blue today on facebook after some people made fun of The 1975

keep forgetting how good the Ulrika Spacek album is

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My classification:

  1. A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead

  2. Hopelessness by ANOHNI

  3. Skeleton Tree by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

  4. Wildflower by The Avalanches

  5. Blonde by Frank Ocean

  6. 22, A Million by Bon Iver

  7. The Colour in Anything by James Blake

  8. Preoccupations by Preoccupations

  9. The Wilderness by Explosions in the Sky

  10. My Woman by Angel Olsen

  11. Blackstar by David Bowie

  12. Freetown Sound by Blood Orange

  13. For Those of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have) by Huerco S.

  14. I Had a Dream That You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam

  15. Puberty 2 by Mitski

  16. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future by Underworld

  17. Blood Bitch by Jenny Hval

  18. III by Moderat

  19. You Want it Darker by Leonard Cohen

  20. Malibu by Anderson .Paak

YG - still brazy - yg isn’t the best rapper in the world, but he has a fucking incredible ear for beats and has released two albums full of utter bangers, respect. highlight:

young thug - jeffrey - thugger had three albums this year, all of them very enjoyable. this was the only one that was consistently excellent throughout, might just be the best thing he’s released in his career thus far. highlight:

touché amoré - stage four - absolutely loved ‘is survived by’, not sure that this reaches the same heights but it comes pretty damn close. utterly vital modern punk, and at times, genuinely moving highlight:

danny brown - atrocity exhibition - there’s a run of tracks in the middle that I really can’t abide. luckily everything either side of it is wonderful. highlight: tell me what I don’t know, but that’s not on youtube so have this instead

deftones - gore - the late career resurgence continues. had completely written them off after the mess that was saturday night wrist, then they go and release three excellent albums in a row. highlight:

the hotelier - goodness - didn’t grab me the same way as their previous album and I could do without the cringey campfire interludes, but this is still a very enjoyable “mature” emo album. that doesn’t sound like much of an endorsement, but trust me fam, this album is great. highlight:

camp cope - camp cope - think this slipped under the radar a bit which is a real shame as it’s damn good. highlight:

ezale / dj fresh - the tonite show - another one that’s gotten slept on I think. half an hour of good old fashioned west coast slaps. highlight:

atcq - we got it from here… - incredible that this is as good as it is. incredible that an album this good is maybe only the 4th best of their career. rip phife. highlight: melatonin, not on youtube so let’s watch we the people instead

kanye - the life of pablo - it’s a mess. a glorious, wonderful, infuriating, baffling mess. highlight: probs one of wolves, waves, real friends or 30 hours, none of which are on youtube.

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Topsters chart, L-R descending order:

Feel like I need to go right to the wire to work out where I stand this year…

I can’t decide which albums have affected me more; the ones with wonderfully complex overarching narratives (Skeleton Tree, Blackstar, Blonde) or the straight-up enjoyable albums (A Weird Exits, Nonagon Infinity, My Woman). Even that isn’t an exhaustive list, as Ian William Craig has been my favourite for months.

I’ve not gotten round to listening to Blond(e), A Seat At The Table nor Everything and Nothing!! Probably only listened to A Moon Shaped Pool twice maybe (?) and really enjoyed SVIIB when it came out but I haven’t really revisited it.

For a year that’s felt like I’ve caught up with a lot of new music, I’m still incredibly behind…

Noticing there isn’t as much love for Ka’s album as I thought there would be (with the exception of Static, obvs).

Wasn’t on my list either even though I really liked it. Loads of people seemed to be into it on the forums when first released. A forgotten gem perhaps?

- YouTube

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Since you first posted I’ve been playing Angel Olsen again. The first half has clicked a little bit more and I’ll reckon the album will move up my top 10.

There is a magpie-like quality to some of the mid-album tracks. I can hear Pixies, Hole and Heart-Shaped Face is similar to Belly’s Full Moon, Empty Heart.

Sister, Those Were The Days and Woman is an astonishingly good run and Shut Up Kiss Me is a great pop tune.

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I’m playing it at 33 and it sounds fine to me!

when I got Mutilator Defeated At Last I played it wrong speed for a bit and just thought he’d got a new singing style and gone doomy. was enjoyable

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I did play the whole new ep at 33 by mistake when I first got it and really enjoyed it. It’s amazing how good it sounds at 33 - really sludgy and heavy like The Melvins. I like it at the right speed too, though.

My offering:

  1. Ian William Craig - Centres
  2. Nicolas Jaar - Sirens
  3. Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits
  4. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
  5. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

Honourable Mentions (which might be in my top 5 this time next week)

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity
The Comet is Coming - Channel the Spirits
Bon Iver - 22, A Million
Whitney - Light Upon the Lake
Frank Ocean - Blonde

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Shut Up Kiss Me is probably my single of the year - it’s completely infectious and gets right under your skin!

I’ve not heard that Belly track but her vocals reminded me of Hope Sandoval on Heart Shaped Face. Totally agree on the three track (Sister, Those Were The Days and Woman) run leading very nicely into the devastating Pops.

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