Clover's Actual 2016 Q1 101
I thought it would be a good idea to listen to 300 albums from Q1 but it was a horrible idea so instead here are all albums i jammed from Jan 1st-April 31st that dropped in 2016. |
| 101 |  | Meilyr Jones
2013
3.5 ~ sugary sweet baroque pop with a very confident vocalist |
| 100 |  | Astronautalis
Cut The Body Loose
3.5 ~ I really expected this to be far worse. |
| 99 |  | Denzel Curry
Imperial
4.0 ~ Jams for days. |
| 98 |  | Explosions in the Sky
The Wilderness
4.0 ~ Explosions in the Sky being NOT boring for once |
| 97 |  | Holy Ghost!
Crime Cutz
4.0 ~ Sick little electronica EP that gets them hard hitting electro riffs going. |
| 96 |  | Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool
3.5 ~ Has the sound of a classic but the feel of missing something important. |
| 95 |  | ANOHNI
HOPELESSNESS
1.5 ~ political commentary [GONE WRONG] |
| 94 |  | Beyonce
Lemonade
3.0 ~ wore off quickly and sonically a major headache, still some jams here tho |
| 93 |  | Weezer
The White Album
4.5 ~ Read my review |
| 92 |  | The Drones
Feelin Kinda Free
4.5 ~ The Drones politically charged denouncement of their home country of Australia. One of the most experimentally intriguing pieces of alternative rock for this decade. So much bitter rage and sass is contained in a series of experimental electronics, wonky guitar work, and outright agonizing cinematic arrangements. Its a hell of an album you dont want to miss. |
| 91 |  | Sturgill Simpson
A Sailor's Guide To Earth
4.5 ~ Read my review |
| 90 |  | Avantasia
Ghostlights
4.5 ~ Power metal that wears it's hyper positivity on its sleeve unabashedly. Some of the best vocal and instrumental melodies i've heard all year and from a genre like power metal, which indulges in overstuffed straight forward production, thats a godsend. |
| 89 |  | Dalek
Asphalt For Eden
4.5 ~ Dalek's return with one of the most beautifully desolate records of the year. Heavy political undertones form the backbone of this album, with plenty of allusions to the race issues, society drama, and themes of war without ever directly referencing these subjects or pushing a hard hitting viewpoint of them. Perhaps this, combined with some of the most haunting and beautiful production from a hip-hop record, makes this one of the best of the year and will no doubt find its way in my top 10. |
| 88 |  | Massive Attack
Ritual Spirit
4.0 ~ THEY BACK THEY BACK. Ritual Spirit is like the perfect realization of their earliest work and their later outings into new territory. Im so hyped for their new album. |
| 87 |  | Signor Benedick the Moor
Maiden Voyage Suite
4.0 ~ Outstanding 12 minute rap epic that feels like a journey through space. This track covers quite a few bases for hip hop from soul, trap, and industrial so you get a lot of great variety. |
| 86 |  | Aidan Knight
Each Other
4.0 ~ The kind of record perfect for a late, stormy night like this. Slow moving chamber pop that heavily emphasizes simple, layered melodies that build a strong foundation around Knight's vocals. Not to mention the instances where guitar components are included (like in All Clear) are amazing with their liquid feeling and sound. Great record! |
| 85 |  | Rob Crow's Gloomy Place
You're Doomed. Be Nice
4.0 ~ Indie Rock with a mixture of math rock elements for a quirky and bitter rock record. Business Interrupts is a lot of fun so go listen to that. |
| 84 |  | Blue October
Home
4.0 ~ Justin is finally happy and that makes me happy! |
| 83 |  | Wendy Bevan
Love From the Moon
4.0 ~ Promising debut from Wendy Bevan. First track takes a minute to settle in with the flat, computer generated drum beats, but it picks up quickly for an "out there" dream pop track with a very warm soundscape that eases in beautifully with Bevan's deeper vocals. Keep an eye out for her future projects. |
| 82 |  | Esperanza Spalding
Emily's D+Evolution
4.0 ~ Perhaps this album tries a little too hard to sound technical, making for some convoluted instrumental backing. But the rest of this album excels in some of the most jamtastic, effective soul music for this year. |
| 81 |  | BONES
Useless
4.0 ~ Bone's darkest tape to date. Those screams give me some major chills. |
| 80 |  | The Black Queen
Fever Daydream
4.0 ~ Best described by the "nice" 2.5 star review on the top of the this album's page on RYM, this album is what happens when Nine Inch Nails has a baby with synthpop. Synthwave with cold melodies and beautiful vocals, this is a great record in all terms of the word. |
| 79 |  | Single Soul
cold drone blues expanded
4.0 ~ My boi yak making a cool ass record that sounds like a lost 90s classic. Especially love the post rock tracks riddled about here. |
| 78 |  | Eric Prydz
Opus
4.0 ~ Killer debut from one of prog house's longest running musicians. |
| 77 |  | Death Grips
Bottomless Pit
4.0 ~ *insert meme here* |
| 76 |  | Steve Angello
Wild Youth
4.0 ~ Pretty darn good prog/pop debut from Steve Angello. Aside from one or two duds, the rest of this album features a nice blend of your current progressive house tropes along with some more alternative production ideas that find a fine balance somewhere in the between. I suppose something good DID come out of Swedish House Mafia. |
| 75 |  | Diane Birch
Nous
4.0 ~ I have to hand it to Diane. Rare is it for an artist, especially female, to be the one and only figure in charge of songwriting, recording, and producing their music all by their lonesome. Nous is the latest in her short career and sees a more subtle, laid-back approach to pop music with sparse piano arrangements and chilling electronic production underlining it. Her soft vocals with a small baritone tint offers more than enough engagement and the lyricism, while a little weak, is strong enough to make a case that justifies an "excellent" tag from me.
Go ahead and check this one out, for sure. |
| 74 |  | TOOTHGRINDER
Nocturnal Masquerade
4.0 ~ An absolutely insane metal record that blends more styles and genres than you can shake a stick out. grinds the tooth for real. |
| 73 |  | Emmett Brown
Manic
3.5 ~ As synthwave begins its descent into generic mediocrity thanks to its over exposure on Bandcamp, its nice to see someone like Emmett Brown who knows how to keep the format fresh. Sure, your dark italia synths are still dominant over everything else, but what makes Maniac outstanding is the incorporation of far more glitchy elements than other similar records. On a track like I'm Coming For You, with a bridge that pounds with heavy hitting; glitchy, chopped up drums you remember that there is still hope for the genre.
Final track is absolutely atrocious though, what the hell was that Emmett? |
| 72 |  | Angels Dust
Musings
3.5 ~ Unsettling compilation of remixes that take the harsh dream pop of the source material and stretches it beyond the realm of comprehension. Glitchy, grimy, and chaotic are good descriptors. |
| 71 |  | Carter Burwell
Anomalisa
3.5 ~ Beautiful, beautiful soundtrack. Music box plays as a dominant instrument to allude to the childlike regression of the main character, Matthew Stone. However, for some reason it was decided that the tracks should be plastered with audio snippets from the film over the music. The intention was apparently to callback to the original stageplay that the movie was based on, however it detracts from the music overall. Massive shame and quite the loss. |
| 70 |  | Jordan Anderson
Error Theory
3.5 ~ doesn't try to do anything TOO impressive, and I think thats OK. |
| 69 |  | [peru]
Krew
3.5 ~ This album is crazy catchy. The riff combined with the yell vocals in the first track gets you hooked. Energetic two track EP from this Polish punk group. |
| 68 |  | ATATA
Joy
3.5 ~ Energetic and lively post-hardcore EP from this up and coming japanese outfit. |
| 67 |  | Say Anything
I Don't Think It Is
3.5 ~ In defense of the album. Heh.
This album has been getting rained hate upon but just about everyone. To be honest it makes sense... this album is kinda ugly to look at and listen to. But for me, this album feels like the closest thing to Is A Real Boy than any other album this band has worked on. Its a spontaneous ball of rage and every fiber of the production reflects just how pissed Matt sounds.
Not to mention this album has some pretty great cuts. |
| 66 |  | Anderson .Paak
Malibu
3.5 ~ One of the classiest, well-produced, and fun RnB records in a while. While I wish there was a little more variety between tracks, you cant deny how big of a jam this is. |
| 65 |  | Muscle
White
3.5 ~ Incredibly varied and relaxing synthwave that goes beyond the normal "cinematic dark night post apocalyptic robot overlord future" thematics of the genre. First track is kinda iffy but the final three tracks do a very good job stretching the genre's boundaries for some off the wall stuff. Also the final track makes moaning noises if youre into that. |
| 64 |  | TOKiMONSTA
Fovere
3.5 ~ TOKiMONSTA experiments with more mainstream styles with great results. There is still a sense of her eccentric wonkiness (not the genre lol) that made her a name beforehand breathing through a fine mixture of big room inspired beats and her signature mixture of hodgepodged organicness and electronic fuckery. |
| 63 |  | School of Seven Bells
SVIIB
3.5 ~ Emotional synthpop that bursts with the energy of a phoenix reborn or some dumb analogy like that. This album is dedicated to the passing of one of their members, so except a feels trip. |
| 62 |  | King Charles
Gamble For A Rose
3.5 ~ Amazing melodies and lyrics squeezed in-between vapid indie rock cannon fodder, album could easily be trimmed down to 8 tracks because some of them just tread the generic indie rock ground of superficial quick percussion and run down, sappy love lyrics that youve already heard before. Best tracks are the ones that deviate from that format and explore King Charles' vocal abilities such as Loose Change and title track. |
| 61 |  | David Bowie
Blackstar
3.5 ~ The Starman's final release. While I have to say I absolutely admire David Bowie's drive to leave this world with a swan song that didn't make much sense until after his passing, on the other hand I really cannot find myself enjoying some of this album as much as everyone else is. Blackstar, I Can't Give Everything Away, and Lazarus are amazing songs for sure but something like Tis A Pity just seem kinda... pointless?
Still, excellent album and I completely understand the overwhelming critical acclaim going this album's way. |
| 60 |  | Tindersticks
The Waiting Room
3.5 ~ Newest from Tinderstick is a pretty solid entry for a band going at it for over 20 years. While I think the "elevator music" synthetic piano keys could be removed, the rest of the composition here is solid to great while the tracks with the female guest vocalist are absolutely gorgeous. Worth a spin or two. |
| 59 |  | ONUKA
Vidlik
3.5 ~ Interesting synthpop album from this Ukrainian pop artist. You get a cool mix of downtempo and bass on tracks Vidlik and 19 89 which sound like some cool bigroom hybrids and you also have some english sung tracks like Other and the aforementioned 19 89 that play more as great ballads. Check this one out. |
| 58 |  | Redemption
The Art of Loss
3.5 ~ Awesome power metal album that also kicks Dream Theater in the ass. It could benefit from dropping a few of the 17 tracks it has tho. |
| 57 |  | Chairlift
Moth
3.5 ~ Take a mid 2000s contemporary pop vocalist like Sara Bareilles or Kelly Clarkson and throw them into 2016s glitch filled electro-pop sound. Its good. |
| 56 |  | Aurora
All My Demons Greeting Me As a Friend
3.5 ~ Debut LP from a promising up and coming Swedish pop artist. Mixture of baroque/chamber pop elements and dark-tinted synthpop ala Susanne Sunfdor, BROODS, and Lorde. As for now, AURORA needs to focus on developing her vocals (she is only 19, though) and finding a stronger ground between the chamber elements and the synthpop elements. I have a feeling she will make something amazing in the following years, so I'll have my eye on her. |
| 55 |  | Dr. Lonnie Smith
Evolution
3.5 ~ Jamtastic piano shredding funk album from one of the genre's most hardened veterans. Fun hour waster. |
| 54 |  | EERA
EERA
3.5 ~ Fine little dream pop EP that may find itself struggling with keeping it fresh from time to time. Beautiful vocals drive very interesting and relaxing soundscapes, like the slight harsh noise on the second track or the watery synths on the third track. Check this out. |
| 53 |  | Ordinance
The Ides Of March
3.5 ~ My boy Mike dropping a sick prog metal record with plenty of catchy, poppy hooks and cool tech death wankery. Album could benefit from losing a few of the 17 tracks it has. |
| 52 |  | De Rosa
Weem
3.5 ~ Soft indie rock that emphasizes vocal/guitar melody as the music's core. There is surprisingly a lot that goes on in this record on subtle doses. Either its a simple introduction of a new instrument such as a piano or new sounds like guitar feedback or vocal effects, when they appear they add a large amount of level and character to the record's sound. Only downside is this album can get at a drag with tracks that often don't follow this trend of subtle composition.
People describe this as a mixture of Deathcab, Twilight Sad, and Frightened Rabbit. I can't back this claim up myself, but I don't doubt you'd find some enjoyment out of this. |
| 51 |  | Porches.
Pool
3.5 ~ This one is a pretty weird record. Porches vocals just barely pass as a passable performance on here and are pretty flat through-out. The production however, in its weird glitzy glory, seems to fit his vocals incredibly well and manages to make the overall product sound outstanding.
maybe im just weird. |
| 50 |  | Hamburger Helper
Watch the Stove
3.5 ~ Has corporate marketing gone too far? |
| 49 |  | Half Japanese
Perfect
3.0 ~ It's a Half Japanese record, that will already tell you if you think its good or bad. |
| 48 |  | Amiri
The New Negative
3.0 ~ I dunno, I think Amiri has some pretty good beats and solid lines, but he really needs to shut up sometimes. Rapping tracks get horribly cheesy and makes it hard to stomach the "industry commentary." |
| 47 |  | Future Girlfriend
Through Space To See You
3.0 ~ I wish i had a space waifu :( |
| 46 |  | Horror My Friend
Stay In, Do Nothing
3.0 ~ me irl. |
| 45 |  | Rihanna
ANTI
3.0 ~ Solid pop album from Rihanna. Album varies between some absolutely killer cuts like Kiss it Better and Work to one too many dull tracks. I got it for free during the TIDAL leak though so I won't complain. |
| 44 |  | Wrekonize & Sharpsound
Sunny Winter 2
3.0 ~ Solid release from MAYDAY member Wrekonize and producer Sharpsound. Very warm in sound and pretty funny at times, though the emphasis on repetitive "pop" hooks can drag it down. Especially in a song like Hydroplane. Phone recordings at the end of certain tracks can be pretty funny. |
| 43 |  | Agoraphobic Nosebleed
Arc
3.0 ~ Solid "grind goes sludge" EP, which is something you don't see everyday. Unfortunately, for how much this slaps every now and then I found myself asking quite a few times "why is this song still going?" Eh, I dunno. |
| 42 |  | Kill J
Quasi
3.0 ~ This album sits somewhere in between of being cool, sexy electronic RnB and really edgy and gross. I don't know. I mean, what can you say about a line like "You fucking pussy, you can't drink, I think I really love you" or "Will you kiss me now daddy? Will you touch me now daddy? I'm a good girl, swallow deep, I promise I won't weep." |
| 41 |  | Eric Bachmann
Eric Bachmann
3.0 ~ On one hand this is a pretty sweet sounding folk pop LP, but on the other hand some of these songs are a few Elton John writing credits away from a late 90s - early 2000s Disney movie soundtrack. Maybe its the vocalist, he has a weird 'movie song' quality to his voice. |
| 40 |  | Zomboy
Neon Grave
3.0 ~ Zomboy doing what hes always doing. Yeah. |
| 39 |  | Pinegrove
Cardinal
3.0 ~ Alt country folk pop punk rock indie experimental kitch sink-core. The new tracks are just alright and the old tracks are cool as ever. |
| 38 |  | Lontalius
I'll Forget 17
3.0 ~ I'll Forget 17 finds itself settled between solid sad-boi slowcore fun times and very boring composition. Thankfully it leans towards the former just enough to be worth returning to. |
| 37 |  | Abbath
Abbath
3.0 ~ Maybe im missing something here? Album seems pretty constrained and I cant find myself figuring out how it can justify a 45 minute run time. I can confirm that it does slap from time to time. |
| 36 |  | Basement
Promise Everything
2.5 ~ Another victim of Run For Cover Records uncanny tendency to smolder the creative talent of every artist that happens to release under it's wing. This album has it's moments, for sure. I for one love the push into harder vocals on the back half of Brother's Keeper and the slow-chugging guitars of Blinded Eye that lead into a very catchy chorus and later an overly produced guitar solo.
However, I can't help but notice all these qualities I dig are the exact same things I dug from bands over 15+ years ago from the likes of Eve 6, Greenday, Weezer, and the various number of west-coast melodic punk bands that were forgotten by time. And with the tracks that often go nowhere on this album, you're better off listening to the artists Basement tires to replicate here. |
| 35 |  | JT The Goon
King Triton
2.5 ~ Yaaaaaawn. Uninspired and tepid collection of beats with synth work too archaic to justify their existence as the core element in production. |
| 34 |  | 2 Chainz
Felt Like Cappin
2.5 ~ 2 Chainz seems like the kind of fella who is perfectly capable of doing outstanding things, as noted on Back on the Bullshyt, Not Invited and Felt Like Cappin... but most of the time he seems content with being a dull rapper; hilariously against his energy that screams to be released. Production here is solid, too. 8X8 and TM88 can do amazing things. |
| 33 |  | Panic! At the Disco
Death of a Bachelor
2.5 ~ Emperor's New Clothes is the jam of a century but wow the rest of this album is a plain pile that steals too many ideas from Fallout Boy's last record. And I don't like to compare the two, but both albums literally have a song that samples a classic beach rock riff. Come on.
Maybe if Urie didnt fire the rest of his band and decide to take the entire production of this album into his own hands it wouldve turned out better. All I can say is that this guy can write a mean pop song when he has the chance. |
| 32 |  | Tricky
Skilled Mechanics
2.5 ~ Dreadfully boring record with some absolutely hilarious vocals that... I don't know. Just listen to the hook on Hero and you'll understand what I mean. Production is solid but damn, if this isnt just the most boring "in one ear out the other" albums out there. |
| 31 |  | Animal Collective
Painting With
2.5 ~ Nauseating vocal acrobatics that simulate the feeling of vertigo. Honestly I want to enjoy this album but there are so many claustrophobic influences in the production that make everything about it so damn grating. |
| 30 |  | Miike Snow
iii
2.5 ~ YAAAAAAAWN. |
| 29 |  | Wet
Don't You
2.5 ~ YAWN. |
| 28 |  | Savages
Adore Life
2.5 ~ yawn. |
| 27 |  | The Strumbellas
Hope
2.5 ~ Indie folk record that neuters whatever energy it has going for it with an uninteresting vocalist and forcing itself to stay in a very old and tired neo-folk format. These guys could make some amazingly bombastic pop music if they just let themselves go crazy. |
| 26 |  | Haywyre
Two Fold - Part 2
2.5 ~ Very disappointing follow-up to an outstanding Pt. 1. Blend of forgettable deep house and passable glitch hop that doesn't get anywhere near the experimental coolness of his earlier work. |
| 25 |  | 0h85
Feel Cold
2.5 ~ Pretty safe "juke" music that doesn't exactly impress enough to stand out yet it isn't a drag enough to be considered bad. I think my biggest problem is that 0h doesn't do a lot with the sampling and just lets it run in the background. If you need some spastic percussion and pitchy soul samples then I guess this is the EP for you? |
| 24 |  | Hinds
Leave Me Alone
2.0 ~ 2016's most polarizing album is unsurprisingly pretty bad. Never have I heard an album that can go from sounding pretty good to absolutely grating in the simple shift of a vocal melody. Weird, hazy indie rock that tries to find some weird blend of "tough guy" attitude and "sugar sweet" that just turns into an often hilarious romp of a debut album. |
| 23 |  | Mal Devisa
Kiid
2.0 ~ Props to Mal for being the first artist this year that I had to stop listening to and abandon the album. Theres a certain point between the grating screams on FAT where I had to give up. What I heard before ranged from mediocre to bad lo-fi soul music.
Ah well, at least her 4U EP was good. |
| 22 |  | ANLMA
Pilot
2.0 ~Even from the opening riffs of the first track this EP already struggles to stay in rhythm with its riffs. This EP trudges along with weak growls and acceptable cleans and incredibly boring and misshaped composition. |
| 21 |  | Tonight Alive
Limitless
2.0 ~ Read the review. |
| 20 |  | Fatima Al Qadiri
Brute
2.0 ~ Some odd homunculus beast of political commentary and whatever default heyboards Fatima's Casio had installed. Honestly this album sounds so absolutely cheap that any appeal or statement this album was trying to make flies right over your head. At least the teletubby album art is hilarious. |
| 19 |  | Dream Theater
The Astonishing
2.0 ~ The only thing astonishing here is how garbage this is huehueheueheueheuehuehuehue. |
| 18 |  | Benga
Future Funk
2.0 ~ Glad Benga got his personal life sorted out and hes back and kicking... but this album is a drab of experimental nonsense. Just a bunch of wonky white noise that doesn't sound like any care was put into how it was all arranged. Meh. |
| 17 |  | Dear Pines
Skipping
2.0 ~ Watered down emo music with vocals that don't impress, lyrics that invoke more eye-rolling than any moment of emotional reflection, and so many ideas done by others in the industry x1000 times better. As far as I'm aware, this is their first debut and final release... and as rude as it may be, that is probably for the better. |
| 16 |  | Sadistik
Salo Sessions
2.0 ~ Sadistik proving again that he is just not good at the sad-boi hip hop game. |
| 15 |  | Charli XCX
Vroom Vroom
2.0 ~ *seductive car noises* |
| 14 |  | Kanye West
The Life of Pablo
2.0 ~ Never have I seen such a dramatic drop in quality on an album like I have with Ultralight Beams to Father Stretch My Hands. Its like going from To Pimp A Butterfly 2.0 to an 18 year old's mixtape on DatPiff in less than 5 minutes. |
| 13 |  | Bloc Party
Hymns
2.0 ~ Just pitiful. |
| 12 |  | Kurushimi
Kurushimi
2.0 ~ If you've ever felt the need to listen to someone dicking around on a saxophone and guitar for 80 minutes without any real rhyme, reason, or substantial quality... then Kurushimi is for you. It's free form jazz at the absolute worst. |
| 11 |  | Let Em Riot
Programme
2.0 ~ Boring indie pop with phoned-in production that miraculously isnt as boring as the vocalist crooning over it. |
| 10 |  | Rachel Platten
Wildfire
1.5 ~ pop music for middle aged moms |
| 9 |  | Alphabet Botanical
Alphabet Botanical
Nauseating and jarring indie pop that goes nowhere in an unfocused blend of flat vocals with horrible production. Just listen to how unfocused Musical Jungle is. This sounds like something out of a kids show with it's phonetic chanting and uncanny valley cheer vocals that sound completely lifeless. |
| 8 |  | Sia
This Is Acting
1.5 ~ Did Sia ever consider why all of these songs were rejected by other big name pop artists during the production of This Is Acting? Absolutely terrible pop record all around with any interesting sounds or concepts squandered by weak songwriting and the worst album art of the decade. From a longtime fan of Sia, this breaks my heart. |
| 7 |  | Charlie Puth
Nine Track Mind
1.0 ~ Mr. Puth's debut is an exploration into how mechanical a single individual can get before people are turned off. Absolutely boring.
We Don't Talk Anymore is a jam and a half, though. |
| 6 |  | Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
This Unruly Mess I've Made
1.0 ~ What can really be said about an album that has a song about a cat's instagram at the beginning and a song about the black lives matter movement and white privilege at the end? |
| 5 |  | KSI
Keep Up (EP)
1.0 ~ Further proof that Youtubers should not make albums. This guy's head is so far up his own ass it makes it painful to sit through his 'DMX on a stroke' flow. |
| 4 |  | Coasts
Coasts (LP)
1.0 ~ Offensively banal indie pop on the verge of being borderline offensive figuratively and literally. I feel sorry for all the Starbucks workers who are inevitably going to be subjected to this monstrosity. |
| 3 |  | Kitties Of Death
Valley of the Death
1.0 ~ I mean, what can you expect from a band named Kitties of Death? Self proclaimed avant garde metal that settles beyond the realm of mediocrity so hard that it becomes one of society's few objectively bad albums. |
| 2 |  | Various Artists (Noise)
10 Seconds Compilation Vol. 3
1.0 ~ memes |
| 1 |  | Eric Stratos
Minion Dance Mix
1.0 ~ wake me up inside |
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