Instead of just rolling through the best of June, let’s round up the finest music of the second quarter of 2016. Coming off last week’s Best Tracks list, here are my favorite albums of the year.
Beyoncé
Lemonade
Parkwood / Columbia
The album that stopped the world on its axis (and made me and my girlfriend 40 minutes late to a dinner), Beyoncé’s incredible, genre-spanning sixth effort needs no endorsement from me. Without a doubt, it’s one of the best albums of the year, but you probably knew that. As I’m sure I’ll be writing about it in December, I’ll spare you for now. All hail.
Hottest Jams: “Love Drought” “Pray You Catch Me”
The Hotelier
Goodness
Tiny Engines
Another album that I’m sure to be writing about in December, the Worcester, MA quartet’s follow-up to 2014 masterpiece Home, Like Noplace Is There, isn’t as bleak as its predecessor but packs just as much catharsis. The “emo” label never really fit right and isn’t even close now, as the group has established themselves as much more than a nostalgia act. Goodness is a dense, varied collection that is equal parts grit and grace, meshing melodic riffs with crashing drums and Christian Holden’s distressed tenor to absolute perfection. Easily, one of the best indie rock albums of the last few years.
Hottest Jams: “Soft Animal” “Opening Mail For My Grandmother”
Anderson .Paak
Malibu
Steel Wool
For all the rave reviews, big tours, and TV appearances, I still somehow feel like the Oxnard native’s beautiful second LP hasn’t gotten its due. In short, this thing should make Paak one of the biggest artists in the country. Over 60 engaging minutes, he proves that he can do just about everything well. He sings with the easy confidence of a seasoned soul singer. He raps with depth, cadence, and touch. He plays jazzy, swinging drums that drive the album forward. And, more than anything, he demonstrates his incredible gift as a storyteller, crafting Malibu into a living, breathing world that it’s impossible not to get sucked into. To me, this is cut from the same cloth and absolutely deserves to be in the same echelon as recent classics like To Pimp a Butterfly, Channel Orange, Lemonade, and the like.
Hottest Jams: “The Season / Carry Me” “Heart Don’t Stand a Chance”
Juliana Barwick
Will
Dead Oceans
The understated New York-based composer/vocalist continues to develop fresh nuances to the ambient, celestial sound that so many fell in love with on 2011’s The Magic Place. Her third album features the fullest, most varied arrangements of her career — from the undulating synths of “Nebula” to the plunked piano of “Beached” to the sweeping synths of her rapturous debut with Mas Ysa, “Same.” Of course, the disc still feels like Barwick with looped, faraway vocals aplenty, but it feels like she’s found the most evocative way to frame them yet.
Hottest Jams: “Beached,” “Big Hollow”
Skepta
Konnichiwa
Boy Better Know
Huge expectations can be a deathblow for most artists, but as we’ve learned, Skepta isn’t most artists. By the time the record dropped, I’d been writing about it for almost two years. We knew it would feature anthems like “Shutdown,” “It Ain’t Safe,” and “That’s Not Me,” but I was starting to worry that all the hype, delays, and outside voices would mean that Konnichiwa would yield little else of value. Boy, was I wrong. Skeppy delivered a tight, sharp 12-song set that embraced new influences, while staying true to the scene that raised him. Muscular tracks like “Crime Riddim,” “Man,” and “Corn on the Curb” are grime to the core, while “Text Me Back” and “Ladies Hit Squad” continue the genre’s rich history of sweet boy love songs. The only thing better than an uber-hyped album is one that actually lives up to it.
Hottest Jams: “Konnichiwa” “Man”
James Blake
The Colour in Anything
Polydor
You can accuse James Blake of being another humorless, whiny, warbling whiteboi, and I wouldn’t really have a retort. However, something about Blake’s sonic storm-clouds always seems to get under my skin. His expansive, 17-song third LP is the most varied of his career — ranging from gentle, straightforward piano ballads like “F.O.R.E.V.E.R.” and the title track to warped, almost dance-able music like “I Hope My Life” and “Timeless.” And it’s also the most natural balance between his early beat-driven EPs (think: CMYK, Klavierwekre) and singer-songwriter LPs.
Hottest James: “F.O.R.E.V.E.R” “Radio Silence”
Andy Stott
Too Many Voices
Modern Love
Too Many Voices may be the most accessible release of Andy Stott’s career, but it’s anything but plain sailing. The Mancunian has always used melody as the garnish, rather than the main course. But on tracks like the “Butterflies” and “On My Mind,” he lifts soothing chords and vocal samples to the forefront of their harsh backdrops. And they are beautifully weighted by the jagged, dissonant industrial thud of “Selfish” and “Over,” resulting in one of the most consistent, balanced efforts of his legendary career.
Hottest Jams: “Butterflies” “First Night”
Kodak Black
Lil Big Pac
Dollaz N Dealz
Kodak Black was two years old when The Block is Hot came out, but the Pompano Beach, FL native’s impressive new mixtape conjures up memories of when the Hot Boys ruled the airwaves. The 19 year-old’s melodic drawl slaloms effortlessly between the disc’s consistent production, highlighting his massively underrated talent as a lyricist and storyteller. Black even sounds at home when Lil Boosie and Gucci Mane come through, standing toe-to-toe with two of best to ever do it without breaking a sweat. This kid is the future.
Hottest Jams: “Can I,” “Too Many Years” (f/ PnB Rock)
Huerco S
For Those of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have)
Proibito
There is mood music, and there is Kansas City producer Brian Leeds’ ambient second LP. Known primarily as a techno artist, Leeds ditched the percussion and crafted expansive, formless synthscapes instead. While they may not sound like much at first listen, the soothing sounds will grow on you over time, revealing themselves to be much more than background music.
Hottest Jams: “Promises of Fertility” “Lifeblood”
Japanese Breakfast
Psychopomp
Yellow K
Philly songwriter Michelle Zauner’s goodbye to her late mother is crushing, but it is far from a solemn dirge. Zauner remembers her mother and expresses her pain over gorgeous, layered shoegaze guitar and warm synths, which put a hopeful sheen on proceedings. I cannot imagine how hard it will be to lose my mother, but Psychopomp is a powerful reminder that even the most painful experiences can yield something beautiful.
Hottest Jams: “In Heaven” “The Women That Loves You”
Payroll Giovanni & Cardo Got Wings
Big Bossin, Vol. 1
Self Released
As the Detroit native’s easy flow sounds dope over just about anything, combining it with mellifluous, sumptuous Cardo Got Wings beats is a recipe for trouble. Their frustratingly underrated debut project is filled with gems that recall the warm G-funk of the mid 90s. Giovanni is a reminder that hooks aren’t reserved for singin’ ass rappers, injecting his memorable bars with micro-melodies that will stick in your head.
Hottest Jams: “Big Bossin” “My Whole Life”
Lil Uzi Vert
Lil Uzi Vert Vs. The World
Atlantic
The Philly native’s fourth mixtape reminds me of Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart — all neon lights, sharp turns, and high speeds. The disc’s nine tracks go by in a flash and are bursting with saccharine hooks and Uzi’s auto-tuned flow. And while he won’t be mistaken for a young Nas or Kendrick, the 21 year-old is a fine lyricist, letting us in on the joys and stresses that come with a meteoric rise to fame.
Hottest Jams: “Money Longer” “Canadian Goose”
Palmistry
Pagan
Mixpak
The London songwriter has taken a lot of shit for supposedly ripping off dancehall, but anyone with a cursory understanding of either the artist or the genres will tell you that the two have very little to do with each-other. Sure, there’s an influence — mostly in the syncopated percussion — but Pagan‘s quiet, romantic love songs aren’t built for the dance-floor, rather the ride home or the bedroom when you finally get there.
Hottest Jams: “Club Aso” “Lifted”
LSDXOXO
Fuck Marry Kill
GHE20G0TH1K
When beloved NYC club night GHE20G0TH1K announced that they were going to become a label, you could bet that longtime collaborator LSDXOXO would be one their first releases. Fuck Marry Kill is a microcosm of what makes that whole crew so exciting, mixing aggression with sensuality to make a unique sound. Standouts like “Learning” and “Lady Vengeance” match the mantric, repetitive samples of dance music to the swagger of hip-hop. Hopefully, this will be the first of many great releases from GHE20G0TH1K.
Hottest Jams: “Lady Vengeance” “Learning” (f/ Miss Prada)
Modern Baseball
Holy Ghost
Run For Cover
Modern Baseball is currently on tour with the legendary punk band the Descendents, which is ironic because the record this reminds me most of is one by a Descendents offshoot: ALL’s 1995 LP Pummel. Like that record, Holy Ghost is dripping with impossibly sticky pop-punk melodies, affecting lyrics, and absolutely no excess fat. Whether Jake Ewald is facing the everyday struggle of missing his girlfriend on the road (“Mass”) or Brendan Lukens is preparing to make the life-changing decision to check himself into treatment (“Just Another Face”), MoBo tells each of their stories with a disarming earnestness, honesty, and touch of humor.
Hottest Jams: “Everyday” “Mass”
Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool
XL
Your favorite dad-dancing, fedora-wearing, middle aged manbun-having Brits returned with their ninth album — a haunting, subdued collection that is their best since 2007’s masterpiece, In Rainbows. While much of the press around it focused on its political message, to my ears, this is heart music with much of its finest moments (“Daydreaming,” “Glass Eyes,” “Desert Island Disk”) inwardly focused and grappling with love and being present.
Hottest Jams: “Daydreaming,” “Desert Island Disk”
