Top Albums/Projects of 2016 - Draft
This is a list of my favorite projects to drop this year. I hope to keep it updated throughout the year. Hold me to it! |
| 1 |  | James Blake
The Colour In Anything
You can read my review of it to see what's up, but I'll summarize shortly: an intricately layered and wildly experimental effort that yields dividends for deep listeners. A hard listen, but a gratifying one. |
| 2 |  | agraph
The Shader
Again, my review does most of the explanation here. This album is all about atmosphere and tone. It draws you in and then refuses to let you go. "reference frame" is one of the best tracks of the last 5 years. |
| 4 |  | Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool
Yep. It's Radiohead's best album since In Rainbows, and definitely a worthy addition to their oeuvre. Whole thing is worth it just for "True Love Waits." |
| 5 |  | Beyonce
Lemonade
My review for this, as overwrought and political as it is, does the best job of expressing how I feel on this. A super well-produced pop album that boasts hitherto unseen depth for Beyonce. Worth listening to for anyone, regardless of race or gender. |
| 6 |  | Allan Kingdom
Northern Lights
Allan is the only person who can make that whole modern trap-soul thing work. Thankfully he lends his work a different edge, more Bon Iver than Bryson Tiller. |
| 7 |  | Kanye West
The Life of Pablo
It's good. It's not too great, and it'll probably be replaced by Mitski's Puberty 2 or Anohni's Hopelessness before year's end. It's got some of the year's best songs (OG Wolves and Real Friends!!!!) but it's hardly a cohesive or engrossing project. Some tracks like Silver Surfer and Waves are pretty bad. |
| 8 |  | Kaytranada
99.9%
This is probably one of the better albums to come from a Soulection partner. It doesn't rely too heavily on the formulas that that collective have popularized (overdriven bass, highly compressed kicks over 90s R&B and soul samples), and boasts some killer features (Anderson. Paak freakin' KILLS Glowed Up). |
| 9 |  | David Bowie
Blackstar
A powerful last statement by Bowie, Blackstar is easily the most emotionally resonant album of this year. But that's mostly because of context, not the actual music. It's a gloriously well-crafted album, and Bowie's final excursion into experimental jazz will leave almost anyone teary eyed or overwhelmed. I can see this rising to at least number 5 before year's end depending on how everything else goes. |
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