Lana Del Rey"Doin' Time"Sublime OST (out soon on Universal)If you grew up in California in the early 2000's, it was just about impossible to get in someone's car or go to a party that wasn't playing one of those two Sublime albums. Evidently, the same was true in wherever Read more
Stormzy"Vossi Bop"Digital SingleAfter a little while away, the London kingpin looks to be getting back in the game. "Vossi Bop" is a perfect comeback track because it is such a pure distillation of what makes Stormzy a true-one off. Over a tasty, yet simple beat, Big Mike goes in Read more
Even though we're a solid week into the second quarter, better late than never right? Here's a quick round-up of some of my favorite songs of the last three months. To keep numbers manageable, I didn't include anything from any of my favorite albums list and prioritized songs I Read more
Gah, I can't believe we're already 25% through 2019. That said, Spring is in the air, and we've enjoyed an excellent, diverse crop of music during these first three months. Have a look at some of my favorite LPs of the year so far in no particular order.
Dawn Richard
“New Read more
Chief Keef
"Ain't Gonna Happen"
GloToven (Glo Gang / RBC)
The Chicago stalwart's new project with the legendary Zaytoven is unsurprisingly full of weird and wacky sounds, moving in innumerable unexpected and exciting ways. Its most powerful moment is its starkest, as a heartbroken Keef floats freely over Zay's gorgeous piano.
"Face dried Read more
The Range
“Florida” Potential (out 03.25 on Domino) Florida is a strange but beautiful place, and so is James Hinton’s music. The first single from the Rhode Island producer’s second LP is an expansive cut that features rolling hi-hats, grimey sub-bass, tasty steel drums, and a spot-on vocal sample of Florida’s fave #babyangel, Ariana Grande. He’s never been a singles man, but this is probably the most streamlined work of his career. Whether there’s actual Purity Ring crossover potential here (as I’m sure his label wishes), it’s nice to hear Hinton explore a poppier sound, while maintaining his dancefloor roots.
A$AP Rocky
“Yamborghini High” (f/ A$AP Ferg, A$AP Ant & A$AP Nast)
Digital Single
A year and a day ago, 26 year-old Steven “A$AP Yams” Rodriguez passed away at his home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The much beloved Yams was somewhere between A&R and creative director for the A$AP Mob, and his influence on New York youth culture and hip-hop in general will be felt for years to come. To celebrate his life, his cohorts put on Yams Day at New York’s Terminal 5 last night. From allaccounts, it was a joyous occasion that captured Yams’ buoyant, inclusive spirit. Those of us who couldn’t make it to the event can slip on their coziest slippers, pour a glass of something, and give this rapturous single a couple spins, which is a fitting tribute to one of the most colorful, influential behind-the-scenes guys in recent memory. RIP YAMS.
CFCF “Arto” / “Sate Padang” On Vacation (out 02/19 on International Feel) It’s the start of my second week of work in 2016. It’s raining. I’m tired. Never mind that I just took 10 days off, I need a damn vacation. Luckily for me, Montreal mastermind Michael Silver is throwing me a bone with a fertile, 8-song collection of chill vibes and soothing sounds, designed to chase the post-New Year’s malaise away.
Its two lead singles recall two very different destinations; “Arto” is a peaceful walk through a provincial European town, and “Sate Padang” recalls a lazy beach day on some beautiful Caribbean island. While I tend to favor the former, both seem an improvement on the heavy coats, morning commutes, and meeting invites of office life.
Listen to Sate Padang on International Feel’s Soundcloud.
Memoryhouse
“Sarah” Soft Hate (out 02/09, self-released) Behold! It’s the third track from one of our most anticipated albums of the new year. It’s precisely the kind of evocative dream-pop that the Guelph, Ontario duo does so well, pairing Denise Nouvion’s faraway vocals with Evan Abeele’s lush instrumentation. Like excellent lead single, “Dream Shake,” “Sarah” is pepped up by a buoyant bass-line and a fairly prominent backbeat that gives their wistful vibes a welcome injection of pace.
20. 2814
新しい日の誕生 (Dream Catalogue) I’ve never been to Tokyo, but when I do, I’ll make sure to bring the ambient, post-Vaporware vibes of Dream Catalogue mainman, HKE and producer Telepath with me. The soundtrack to imagined midnight walks through the city, the disc’s cinematic, engulfing eight songs set a palpable mood, sure to keep your eyes closed and your mind wandering. Hottest Jams: “新しい日の誕生” & “真実の恋”
19. Billboard Brothers Billboard Brothers (self-released) Do you love listening to people rap? Then, this is your album. Over 13 joyful tracks, Doughboyz Cashout’s dynamic duo raps their asses off, weaving melodic, adhesive verses over timeless slabs of 90s indebted G-funk. Like Westbrook and Durant, Payroll Giovanni and Big Quis have incredible chemistry, and they work so well together that their verses blend together and stand out at the same time. Hottest Jams: “Strap on My Lap,” “Do What I Wanna Do,” “White”
18. The Staves If I Was (Atlantic UK) Whoever the Staveley parents are, they are fucking lucky. Imagine living in a house with three daughters who sing this beautifully together. On their second LP, they pair their heavenly three-part harmonies with the strongest, most evocative songwriting of their career, picking through the bones of a failed relationship with affecting honesty and relatability. It’s a sad record in places, but the ever-present mellifluousness of their vocals and arrangements guarantee that there’s always plenty of light streaming through the blinds. Hottest Jams: “Make it Holy,” “Let Me Down,” “Sadness Don’t Own Me”
Welp, that’s it for 2015. It was an incredible year for music, and it was tougher to whittle this list down to 65 than in recent years. Thank you for joining me for another year of ThunderPenguin, and it’s been awesome to see this little site growing. Hopefully, the album list will be up in a day or two.
65. Post Malone “White Iverson” Digital Single
I hated it, then I loved it, and then I hated myself for loving it, then I hated it again, and now I’m just confused about it. No matter where I end up with it, the Houston crooner’s ode to the Answer deserves a spot on this list, because of the emotional energy I expended dealing with it.
64. Nicole Dollanganger
“You’re So Cool” Natural Born Losers (Eerie Organization) Remember that 90s movie Crazy/Beautiful? The 23 year-old Canadian’s breakthrough LP should really be called Creepy/Beautiful. Its towering closing track is half wedding first dance, half slasher flick, as Dollanganger stretches her unique falsetto to extol the virtues of a love interest who seems to have committed some very grizzly murders (“You got guns for trophies mounted up like animal heads with the skulls of all the high school champs you keep in rows above the bed”). It’s unsettling, romantic, creepy, and very, very beautiful.
63. f(x)
“4 Walls” 4 Walls – The 4th Album (SM Entertainment) The Korean girl group’s bilingual banger is bright, breezy, and far from the average American perception of what K-Pop is supposed to sound like. There’s bits of R&B, hip-hop, and New Jack Swing (seriously!) in here, and it brings me back to the girl groups of the early 2000s, like Dream, 3LW, and 702, which — in my book — is pretty high praise.
62. Justin Bieber
“Sorry” Purpose (Def Jam) I considered “I’ll Show You” (Justin’s very own “I’m not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman”), but I settled on the 21 year-old’s delightfully sarcastic mea culpa. It should really be called “Sorry (Not Sorry),” and Bieber plays the mischievous scamp to perfection, acknowledging his past hijinks (i.e. monkey buying, speeding, this haircut) while hinting that he’s just getting started. Let’s hope he is.
61. Sufjan Stevens
“Should Have Known Better” Carrie & Lowell (Asthmatic Kitty) There are a lot of meaningful lyrics on “Should Have Known Better” and many more on the exquisite album that spawned it. But none touched me like the final one here: “My brother had a daughter. The beauty that she brings, illumination.” My sister had a daughter last October, and I’ve been consistently overwhelmed by the staggering mass of power and beauty yielded by someone so small. Much of Carrie & Lowell is focused on the final acts of the people we love, but this special moment of tribute to his niece stands out as a shining beacon of light on a very dark album.
It’s a Christmas miracle! Yesterday, King Terius blessed us with a surprise EP of faithful Sam Cooke covers, inspired by his late mother. Nash sang poignantly about her on 1977‘s stunning, “1977 (Miss You Still),” and IAMSAM gives us more insight on Nash’s strong relationship with his mother and their shared love of Sam Cooke. Aside from the affecting backstory, Nash’s voice is a perfect match for Cooke’s timeless songwriting and melancholy lyrics. It’s been a difficult year in Dream-Land, but this collection assures 2015 ends on a high note.
It’s the day before your wedding — what are you thinking about? The flowers, your hair, keeping your stepdad away from the bridesmaids? Not Jack Red. Jack Red is THINKING ABOUT ANOTHER GIRL?!?!? DUDE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? While his wedding is likely to go worse than Mark’s from Peep Show, at least it yielded a breathtaking song, and “Sometimes” highlights the Chicago singer’s evocative vocals and affecting storytelling. At the risk of being hyperbolic, there’s a hint of Nostalgia, Ultra here, from the soaring falsetto to the non-traditional R&B arrangement. He’s only just getting started as a solo artist, and it will be fascinating to see how 2016 plays out for him…and this marriage.
Undaunted by the mediocre, plodding Tumblr-pop source material, the ever-reliable MssingNo pinpoints the best part of the original — Weaver’s strong, stately vocals — and brings them to life with a beautiful, swirling arrangement. From Brandy to R. Kelly to (my all-time fave) Teedra Moses, the shadowy Londoner is a master of isolating a vocal and twisting it around itself until it is nearly unrecognizable. While Weaver’s vocals aren’t as chopped as much of his work, he uses them tastefully, only really unleashing their power on the climactic final chorus. The result is an absolute anthem that deserves to be setting dancefloors on fire across the planet.
One of the brightest breakout artists of 2015, the talented vocalist puts a cap on her excellent year with this wistful bedtime story. She’s already crafted two extremely strong, underrated EPs — The Suspended Kid and Children of Silk — and one of the finest videos of the year, and “One Armed Lullaby” features many of the hallmarks of that excellent work. Her music has real restraint, and she uses negative space more effectively than just about anyone (FKA Twigs?), punctuating her breathy, muscular vocals and adding extra contrast to her oft-undulating arrangements. It’s an affecting, delicious sound, and I’d be shocked if her career doesn’t explode in 2016.
The Range
