Let’s just forget for a moment that the Collector’s Edition of DAMN. ever happened. OK, is it out of your minds? Good. Now let’s also for a moment ignore the nearly invisible thread of a thematic composition, as it’s really the drops of blood that fall from Kendrick’s mouth throughout the record that help illuminate this thin string. It’s true, Kendrick embraces his own death and almost enjoys the metallic taste that society has caused to pool in his mouth. And damn if he doesn’t lash out right away with “DNA.”, easily the banger of the year solidified by the fervent extra verse that ends the track with silent mouths agape. Despite “HUMBLE.” also taking from the leftover rush of endorphins, Kendrick decides to expand off of his jazz rap endeavor, this time with a rosy filter of R&B rap and laid-back vibes. “ELEMENT.” is the front-runner when it comes to such a trial, with Rihanna-featured “LOYALTY.” coming close behind. While not every love-drenched track succeeds quite as much as the two, it’s hard to argue against this next logical step in Kendrick’s style and sound.
I’ll be completely honest, though, I’m not the biggest fan of this album as a whole. Don’t get me wrong, the product in its entirety is put together quite nicely, nonetheless tacked on with some buttons of…
While not necessarily offering much in new material, The Wonder Years manage to affirm their intentions with this emotionally wrought collection of beautifully arranged acoustic renditions of previous material. Dan Campbell’s vocals ring as self-assured and vibrant as ever, and the band’s instrumentation adds many more colors to the pallet already established by the track listing. The production is intimate and the emotional tension is high on Burst and Decay, and The Wonder Years managed to create a nice batch of acoustic arrangements that arguably outshine their original renditions. –ianblxdsoe
Baseball is my favorite sport, so when it comes to the end of the year and evaluating its yield, I like the idea of tidying up my thoughts in terms of individual contributions. For a team sport, baseball’s modern era permits (nay, encourages) an insane degree of focus on individual performance and contributions (and there is a litany of statistics to this effect). It’s a weird analogue to draw, for sure, but it is super clear to me that Charli XCX is the 2017 MVP. Like DAMN, talk about output… there were the twin mixtapes (this one, as well as Pop2, both of…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of January 12, 2018. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Camila Cabello: Camila
Genre: Pop // Label: Syco/Epic
Background:
Leaving Fifth Harmony to pursue a solo career, Camila Cabello has found early success with her chart-topping ‘Havana.’ Camila may not be the most riveting album to kick off our 2018, but it’s sure to be a talked about (and almost certainly overplayed) pop outing that could set Ms. Cabello up for a a lot of mainstream success in the coming years. As a debut, Camila already appears to be positioned as one of 2018’s biggest pop albums. If you’ve managed to live under a rock for the last several months, you can hear her extremely successful single below.
“Havana”:
– Full List of Releases: January 12, 2018 –
Anderson East: Encore
Genre: Country/Americana/Soul // Label: Low Country Sound/Elektra
It feels weird to be kicking off our best of the year list with async. After all, the opener “Andata” is the sort of song associated with endings; it’s a funeral dirge, a reflection of where Sakamoto’s mind was no doubt wandering during his three year battle with cancer. Perhaps this fear of death also led to the common day sounds present throughout async. The first words spoken on the album (“Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times”) is the sentiment that I think sums up the importance of these sounds we take for granted, yet may never hear again. “Walker”, for example, features the sound of grass crunched underfoot and the background noise of a town or city in the distance, provoking the sort of quiet contemplation that no doubt Sakamoto experienced while crafting async. But if most of async is the quiet reflection that comes with the reminder of one’s mortality, then the title track is the sweating painful fear that comes with all the pangs and doubts as to whether remission will come. And for that complex duality, I think async deserves a spot here. –Mort.
Imagine the heart-wrenching emotional reach of a track like “Colly Strings”, only blasted through the sleek production of an album like Simple Math. This is Manchester Orchestra in peak form. –Sowing
(24) Lorde – “Hard Feelings/Loveless”
Melodrama
2017 was the year of our Lorde, and she created one of the most captivating art-pop albums of the millennium. “Hard Feelings/Loveless” unravels in gorgeous fashion, evolving from the heartbroken laments of lost love to a sassy, fuck you of a little jingle. –Sowing
(23) Cairo Knife Fight – “A-Six”
Seven
A scorcher that balances groovy choruses with moody verses. As sharp sound scapes wrap around the buzzing guitars, the passionate, wide ranged vocals rip throughout the track with powerful hooks. –Raul Stanciu
(22) JASSS – “Every Single Fish In The Pond”
Weightless
Few artists can so seamlessly blend tribal base layers with industrial climax like JASSS. This is the sound of a civilization’s evolution from its eventual rise to its peak, envisioned in a nightclub, suspended in time. –Tristan Jones
Hello budding data viz lovers, and welcome to a post that will put the division in Joy Division. When it’s time to explain patterns and numbers to layman, it’s usually done with the help of a graphic of some sort. Why? Because numbers are abstract and visual aids are useful tools to make the abstract concrete. But perhaps, too, it has another quality.
A great genre of argument is the “this seemingly boring and mundane activity is actually an art and full of wonders”. It’s a hit because it’s always true. We humans will assign meaning to anything we spend any amount of time doing. Anything and everything has some great novel/film/etc. about it and it has a r/ page full of memes. So data and statistics are no different. There’s r/DataIsBeauitful, some Neal Stephenson novels, and Moneyball. Without rethinking baseball management, scouting, and talent evaluation via the aid of analytics; how else would Brad Pitt have reconnected with his daughter (or gained a pioneer/icon status that has let him keep his job for so long despite little success)?
Data visualization bridges the gap from something that is obviously artistic, making visual images, to something that is only an art if you explain it, working with data. Thus, data visualization is an art in and of itself, and it’s something that is treated with care and respect in order to enrich the mundane into something full of meaning and import. And since people that work in data visualization can be…
Frank’s been labeled (by me) a Modern Day James Joyce, 12 months ago, when “RAF” and “Slide” weren’t even a thing. Truthfully, he exceeds his own influences, and renders himself as his own auteur. “Chanel”, a song that juggles sexuality and 21 Savage references, is probably his best song on lyrical content and technique alone; a veiled throwback to Morrissey’s “Suedehead” as much as it is an excuse to talk shit. –Arcade
(49) Vince Staples – “Yeah Right”
Big Fish Theory
Instead of capitulating to a boom bap or g-funk, Kendrick and Vince assemble SOPHIE and Flume and wild the fuck out. There’s drums, and there’s a synthizer, and Kucka, too. On top of that, you’ve got Vince mockingly inquiring about your lifestyle, and Kendrick nakedly accusing you of faking your fandom. It’s an exhilaratingly forceful moment, made just that much better by Lamar’s bottomless pit of flows. –Arcade
(48) KirbLaGoop – “Mutombo”
Goop
Catchy flow, a snotty demeanor, and a moody atmosphere that burrows inside the folds of a sweater. –Tristan Jones
I’m glad this isn’t a country song, or a rap song, or a country rap song; I’m glad it doesn’t sound like Joanne, or Forever Young; I’m glad Juicy J, Dave Berman, or Al Gore aren’t rapping on this thing; I’m glad this doesn’t sound like “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” The 20/20 Experience, Future Sex / Love Sounds, or Justified. These are all things to be thankful for.
I’m not glad that Justin’s having his Yeezus moment. It didn’t suit Taylor Swift’s Reputation, as was evidenced by that album’s awkward sounds and playfully muddled production, and it doesn’t suit “Filthy,” which takes Justin’s falsetto and puts it over top of a distended, grand ‘70s rock sample and a screwy, unrelated wobbly bass thing. ‘Hater’s gon’ say it’s fake,’ spits Justin, rolling up the sleeves on his suit jacket and informing us that this ‘ain’t the clean version,’ in case there was any confusion. It’s not as terribly stilted or as unsexy as “Look What You Made Me Do,” this song’s closest recent compatriot, but it’s also overreaching for something entirely weird and unnecessary. Honestly, did Justin not leave N*SYNC a few decades ago? Aren’t we all use to him being sexy? Did he not write a song about bringing sexy back? Did he not release an album whose title alluded to his ability to court, fuck, and marry you? Why must he insist that this particular song is real, or a moment wherein he ‘gets [his] swagger back?’ Has the…
Many of you guys know the deal here. I’ve done the best album ranks for each year of sputnik’s existence starting here. Briefly, when users were complaining about the lack of charts, I made a post with the current year end rankings. For those who are too lazy to click links, these are the top 200 albums of 2017 as measured by calculating the weighted average of users’ ratings, with higher weight given proportional to a handful of user’s stats (number of comments, lists, reviews, and ratings). Afterword, a confidence interval is calculated based on the average and the number of ratings each album has (an album that is a 3.95 with 100 ratings is ranked higher than an album with 3.95 and 50 ratings, for instance). Finally, only albums with 50 or more ratings are included, and note that all types of albums are included in this: LPs, EPs, live albums, compilations, and I guess any singles that have snuck past our moderators.
UserUsageRank 1, MeanRank: 4, Gang of Youths_Go Farther in Lightness
Number of Ratings: 285, UserUsageMean: 3.99 (CI: 3.78 – 4.17), Mean: 4.01, Diff: -0.02
Users with Biggest Weight: SowingSeason (2.4%), Willie (2.1%), klap (2.0%), BigHans (1.9%), Green+Baron (1.8%)
So I have a lofty new years resolution for 2018 in music, and it’s one that my track record of consuming mainstream pop and thriving on the hyperbole of big-name indie-rock releases suggests that I’ll be unable to deliver upon. Regardless, I remain focused and intent on exposing only new/underground artists this year, particularly of the indie/folk/electronic variety. I’ve spent the better part of 9 years on this site covering artists who, for the most part, don’t need reviews from someone like me on a site like this. Sure, there have been your Astronauts, Tigers on Trains, et al sprinkled in – but now I’d like to make that my primary focus. I guess klap will have to review Taylor Swift every time from now on.
In light of this newfound direction in life (on Sputnik), I’d like to make this a somewhat regular blog. I realize that it borrows a lot of ideas (the name hype machine for starters, but Sowing’s Hype Corner just makes me want to punch myself), but it’s the best I can do for now. For each installment I’ll highlight three upcoming records that are not necessarily on most people’s radars, and then offer a quick synopsis, a sample track, and a “hype rating” that I shamelessly borrowed from Has It Leaked. Not that I’ve ever downloaded leaked music.
So enjoy, and hopefully this is the first of many beautiful unveilings that will help to bring hard working, “starving” artists into the sput-light. Look for…
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably done by now with the same tired-sounding retreads of Christmas classics. That’s why, like Rudolph, I’m here to save the holiday with alternative versions of the tunes we all know and love (and a few originals). This is just a brief 10-track, 35 minute collection that I spin every holiday season to help get me into the spirit and shake the radio-staples (although a couple of these may still get extended airtime, I don’t know) — I figured I might as well share it. Most of these you’re probably already aware of but for a long time I had no idea that Anberlin and The Shins made any Christmas songs, so hopefully you find something below that you enjoy. This is definitely not an exhaustive list of alt-rock/pop-ish holiday tunes, which is why I invite you to leave your favorite Christmas cover in the comments below. Merry Christmas, Sputnik (and happy holidays across the board)!
I have a special connection with Vince Staples’ music because my partner lives in Long Beach. The first time my partner drove me around Long Beach, I saw the city through the lens of the rappers that call it home and speak about the city through their music — mostly Snoop Dogg and Vince Staples. My girlfriend would remark, “That’s the Roscoe’s Snoop eats at.” “Hmm, I wonder where Vince ‘Real Artesian’ Staples eats. Maybe that vegan Thai place I really like.” As I spent more and more time in Long Beach, I started to actively seek out Vince Staples. When I’m at The Pike I’m peeking; whenever I drive near Ramona Park, I’m scouting for him. It started to become absurd. I can recall a back to school event at Cal State University Long Beach that was actually quite popping, but definitely not somewhere Staples would be. “Maybe he’ll make an appearance. They managed to get Drake a couple years ago. Man, when I went to CSUN we had fucking LMFAO.” Long Beach is as eclectic and grimy as the music of Big Fish Theory. You can walk ten minutes in one direction and hit the ocean, or walk ten minutes in the opposite direction and stumble into a crack house, much like how he can start the record with a jovial track like “Big Fish”…
Seven albums deep, Propagandhi know how to riff. They also know how to write evocative political lyrics. Combine these two qualities and it becomes difficult to craft a subpar record. Seven great albums in a row, Propagandhi have perfected their blast-to-the-face thrash-influenced punk. While peers like Anti-Flag fell flat on their faces after the Bush years, Propagandhi have consistently found fresh ways to keep their politically-charged lyrics relevant — mostly because they strike the listener as a band who actually know what they’re talking about — as opposed to some of their peers who clearly never got past Political Science 101. Victory Lap isn’t their best record, but “Cop Out of Frame” puts a tear in my eye, and “Failed Imagineer” gets me banging my head, which should be enough to crack any best of the year list. –Robert Lowe
Slowdive are a band that makes it all too easy to wax poetic. Their lush and vibrant music is the soundtrack to everything: depression, elation, love — moments of emotional encumbrance which call for the band’s malleable sounds and textures. Slowdive’s triumphant self-titled is, like every album before it, an arresting record full of surprising substance; a mountain built seemingly from nothing. “Slomo”, the opener, features a handful…
2017 was a solid year for epic doom metal, with some of the best releases of the last few years arriving in the form of Below’s Upon a Pale Horse, Doomocracy’s Visions & Creatures of Imagination, and Arduini/Balich’s Dawn of Ages. However, if I had to choose just one album that I will be listening to 10 years from now, it would be The Crowning of the Fire King. After disbanding in 1992, Sorcerer acquired a cult status, which their 2015 LP In the Shadow of the Inverted Cross further augmented. Drawing influences from acts such as Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, and Martin-era Sabbath, the The Crowning of the Fire King is a continuation of the band’s debut with a slightly more modern production. Those who enjoy traditional ’80s metal will love the Swedish outfit’s sophomore effort, as the combination of epic songwriting and convincing atmosphere is enhanced by an array of amazing guitar leads, solos, and one of the best vocalists in metal today. All in all, Sorcerer might have only two albums under their belt, but in my book, they are one of the best epic doom metal acts of all time. –manosg
**Click the Arrow on the top left of the player for songs from 40 – 31**
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40. In the Nursery – 1961
Post Rock/Classical/Ambient // ITN Corporation
In The Nursery have been around since the early 80s and have gone through a number of style changes without ever losing sight of their original formula. That formula is basically percussion-laden classically-influenced music. 1961 is significant because it marks yet another stylistic adjustment, and it might just be their biggest yet. This time In The Nursery have added rock elements to their classical sound, and it basically makes the album sound like a very symphonic post rock album with occasional vocals. In the Nursery have never really released a bad album, and this one isn’t bad either. Every change they’ve ever made has been great and the rock influence on 1961 is no different. The song on the video doesn’t really do the album justice, but it was literally the only video I could find for the album.
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39. Cyanotic – Tech Noir
Industrial // Glitch Mode Recordings
I’m a big fan of Cyanotic’s brand of industrial metal. A lot of industrial bands that feature guitar riffs tend to get real lazy with the programming and electronics, but Cyanotic never have. I guess that’s why they can pull off an album like Tech Noir.Tech Noir drops almost all…
