In a year with no shortage of big, populist musical events, 24 hour Miley Cyrus updates and Kanye West comparing himself to God, it may seem like a chore to invest in music that hasn’t quite impacted the charts (or the headlines for that matter). If you choose to do so, I have gathered a collection of albums that may be of interest.
As a refreshing sidestep to the current music infatuation with mid-range heavy EDM and lethargic trap, I would suggest Oneohtrix Point Never’s R Plus Seven. Budding music historians have coined the term “vaporwave” to label this artist and the scene’s soundscapes, which makes it sound more clinical than it is. It’s more like a harkening back to the spirit of very early Warp Records (think ambient Aphex Twin and F.U.S.E.) with Microsoft 95 synth pads and children’s voices. It’s music for people who miss the time when computers weren’t capable of becoming a home entertainment system, basically.
You may have heard of A$AP Rocky, but his protégée A$AP Ferg perhaps created the A$AP Mob’s definitive statement of swag and syrup so far. His album Trap Lord is a grittier take on the A$AP aesthetic. Plenty of girls, drugs and money, but backed with agitated production and moments of tenderness, like the prophetic ‘Hood Pope’ or ‘Cocaine Castle’, a commentary on drug infested street corners.
https://soundcloud.com/asapferg/shabba-feat-a-ap-rocky-dirty
Perhaps my favourite album of the year is Julia Holter‘s confounding kaleidoscope of literary references, free jazz, dissonance and conventional beauty -the show stopping Loud City Song. What may sound like an incoherent mess of various loose ends eventually makes a lot of sense and can actually become surprisingly catchy. The adjective “ethereal” has been overused by critics to describe music which sounds pretty, but this term really is applicable here. What sets this album apart from her previous works is the larger focus on live instrumentation, which makes the album sound earthier and more human than before.
There has also been plenty of music worthy of mention, although there is not enough space to do it justice. Matana Roberts’ Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile is undoubtedly my favourite jazz album of the year. It’s one which both has a feeling of the original spirit of the genre with some boundary pushing as well. Mac Miller somehow went from frat-boy favourite to serious contender with Watching Movies with the Sound Off. Heavily influenced by abstract hip-hop such as MF DOOM and with production from Flying Lotus, Mac Miller successfully made a transition to a respectable artist this year.
https://soundcloud.com/matana-roberts/dumbo
For something completely different, try Mark Templeton’s Jealous Heart if glitch, audio panning and haunting nostalgia sounds like your thing. Lastly, attention must be given to Shaking the Habitual, the mammoth double disc statement that scopes topics as feminism and mass delusion in the 21st century by The Knife. Best known for their electropop anthem Heartbeats, covered by Jose Gonzales, this album may come as a surprise. Simultaneously bombastic and minimalist, The Knife have created an album that may never make any sense but is still fascinating at the same time.
I hope these suggestions are useful for those trying to find albums which may have slipped their radar this year, and I eagerly anticipate another year of musical insanity in 2014.