Issa’s Albums of the Year

There were some good albums this year. Here are blurbs about 15 of them.

Themes include:
Playful immaturity
Existentialism
Whimsy

5 HMs:

people – jackapplepeople

The Smashing Machine – Nala Sinephro

Runway Cremations – African American Sound Recordings

Lifetime – Erika de Casier

Mark William Lewis — Mark William Lewis

1. Thank You For Almost Everything – Headache

The end of music. The beginning of music. Where the sidewalk ends.

The fizzle-out of a mid-life crisis with a brochure for a tropical resort in hand.

Vast swaths of useless knowledge from someone that’s definitely got it all figured out.

Two anchovies could never hurt me they’re too delicious. And remember, dinner plans can always be successfully enlarged.

2. The Passionate Ones – Nourished By Time

A meditation on what it takes to be passionate, modern cults, and the intersection between the two.

The satin sound of 90s slow jams injected with freestyle beats brought into an undeserving future.

Syrup where you can actually taste the maple

dancing with angry tears in your eyes.

3. The Most Dear and the Future – ear

Visiting your old elementary school

reading on the floor primary colors

sitting in rough dark blue plastic chairs, arms wrapped around your knees

worst days ever, best days ever

made during a playdate

4. choke enough – Oklou

Melodies that ran through your head when you were seven

Zelda

Something to dig deep down for

Secret hideouts with friends

Trading pinecones for rolly pollies

Hugging yourself super tight

5. Big city life and Big city life (EDITS) – Smerz

“the group builds minimalist worlds out of fleeting moments. No frills and no flowers take up unwanted space, all of their effort goes into pouring as much as they can into the simple things, encouraging the different pieces of each song to mutate, morph, and evolve into their own entities.”

-Me, a while ago

the EDITS version takes most songs in wildly different directions all with a clear imprint of the artist that took on the job. Haloplus+ take “What” from a 30 second interlude fun little jam. Clairo takes “You got time and I got money” from the bedroom doorway to between the sheets. Astrid Sonne takes “Easy” from dark uncertainty to Astrid Sonne.

-Me, now

6. Lick the Lens – Pt 1. – Oli XL

Just awesome, almost impossible to dislike

Electro-pop that makes you want to walk around an unfamiliar city and do whatever calls out to you most

A treasure trove of fun sounds and an expert collaging of all of them

A constant casual listen

7. The Velvet Underground & Rowan – Worldpeace DMT

Probably the most child-like album out of a list chalk-full of child-like albums

Sometimes it borders too much on music you heard only in a Macy’s you’re only in to get to the rest of the mall but DMT’s incredible collection of over-the-top videogame effects and toddler instruments puts it into a league of its own.

With its mix of overjoyed and sometimes frowny songs it could soundtrack a Yo Gabba Gabba spinoff made exclusively for white people.

8. Cutting the Stone – Safe Mind (Cooper B. Handy, Augustus Miller)

The class clown made an album with only a 90s/2000s greatest hits sound bank.

The last sentence of the last review goes for this one too

I still can’t stand Cooper B. Handy so the fact that this album is great all the way through is a miracle. Augustus has him on a leash of convention.

9. 无尽的夏天 Eternal Summer – the river, orchestration, walkman!

Bittersweet Chinese experimental improvisation desperately trying to hold onto something that’s bound to end.

Fighting the urge to go crazy on the playground on the way to work.

A puppet procession parading to the tune of conch shells, recorders, and bike horns in a fantasy world where a rat king rules all the land.

Meow meow-meow-meow, meow Meow meow-meow-meow

10. Ear World – Dorothy Carlos

True to its title. Trapped in the Dorothy Carlos contraption

Machines whirr. Humans breathe. Cellos chop. What’s the difference?

My ears are definitely in a world. It’s kind of a hear it for yourself type deal

11. Forever – Bassvictim

Electroclash-wanna-be-floor-tom-folk-pop. Don’t ask me what this means, I’m just a lowly messenger for the music criticism machine. Just know that it works.

12. Guitar – Mac DeMarco

I actually really really liked the review I wrote about this so I’m just going to link it here

https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/guitar_mac_demarco

13. Getting Killed – Geese