Adrianne Lenker, of Big Thief, performs during Tempelhof Sounds, in Berlin, earlier this year. Photo: Getty ImagesAt the close of a busy year for beats and notes, our music reviewers look back over some notable releases from near and far.
Music reviewer Cain Lindegreen
HARDCORE
Turnstile
Album: Glow on
For people who aren’t quite sure what hardcore is. Poppy.
Off!
Album: Free L$D
For old buggers who love hardcore. Experienced.
Soul Glo
Album: Diaspora Problems
Best album for smashing the state and burning flags. Wild.
JAZZ
Domi & JD Becck
Album: Not Tight
As the nice lady said, "I believe the children are our future". Virtuosic.
Alabaster Deplume
Album: Gold
The most subtly uplifting album of the year. Tranquil.
Mary Halvorson
Album: Belladonna/Amaryllis
Guitar playing of the highest order. Shredding.
REISSUE
Wilco
Album: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot box set.
Instruction manual on how to build a classic album. Perfect.
Tall Dwarfs
Album: Unravelled
Pound for pound more pop power than a Beatles smoothie. Dizzying.
Les Rallizes Denudes
Album: The Oz Tapes
Beautiful fuzz freak out in Japan 1972. Overdriven.
POP
SJD
Album: Sweetheart
Sophisticated adult transmissions to stir the heart and ears. Soulful.
Beyonce
Album: Renaissance
Amazing, every detail polished to pop perfection. Immaculate.
PUP
Album: The Unravelling of PUPTheBand
Fun, catchy, communal rock and roll. Hooky.
WONDERFULLY HORRIBLE NOISE
Cuck
Album: Cuck
Merciless tape from Dunedin. Ideal for running wild in the streets. Mental.
Bjork
Album: Fossoria
Conceptual royalty makes a mushroom album. Strange.
Chat Pile
Album: God’s Country
Yep, things can seem a bit hopeless. Crushing.
FOLK STYLINGS
Bill Callahan and Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Album: Blind Date Party
Enough to sooth the most raging of beasts. Nice.
Big Thief
Album: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
Proper double album from the best band in the world (?). Comprehensive.
Richard Dawson
Album: The Ruby Cord
Visionary release from the most singular musician working today. Important.
YOUTHFUL ROCKING
Black Midi
Album: Hellfire
Like Domi & JD Beck, but spewed from the mouth of Satan. Intense.
Black Country New Road
Album: Ants From Up Here
Emotional high-wire act. Breathtaking.
Night Lunch/Koizilla
Album: Nightzilla
Vicious rock’n’roll from Dunedin. Hoolie.
Music reviewer John Hayden
5. FKA TWIGS, CAPRISONGS
On her debut mixtape, the former Tahliah Barnett’s avant-garde aloofness gave way to a more playful approach. Opening with the click of a cassette, and interspersed with snippets of conversations with friends and collaborators, Caprisongs saw her trademark delicate wisps of electronica delightfully infused with afrobeat and dancehall melodies.
Single download:lightbeamers
4. THE LINDA LINDAS, GROWING UP
With plaudits from Hayley Williams, opening slots for Bikini Kill, and a debut album recalling The Ramones in its brevity, Growing Up turned adolescent angst into a pop-punk masterclass. Anchored by the viral Racist, Sexist Boy ("We rebuild what you destroy") the quartet — with a combined age of 57 — proved that the kids are all right.
Single download:Racist, Sexist Boy
3. BEYONCE, RENAISSANCE
Her seventh LP again showcased Queen Bey as fierce, fluid, and in perpetual motion — this time in thrall to the glitterball, whether with the metronomic buzz of Chicago House or New York disco’s frictionless grace. Renaissance not only shimmered with a euphoric sensuality, but was a sumptuous celebration of disco’s touchstones.
Single download:PURE/HONEY
2. ROSALIA, MOTOMAMI
On Motomami, Spanish shape-shifter Rosalia brazenly claimed "I’m very much me/ I transform," then set about showcasing her uncompromising genre-bending over 42 kaleidoscopic minutes. Her third LP was awash with drama and diversity, as Flamenco rhythms collided with reggaeton, jazzy inflections and distorted, demented hyperpop.
Single download:Bizcochito
1. KENDRICK LAMAR, MR MORALE & THE BIG STEPPERS
"Kendrick made you think about it/ but he is not your savior" opined the Pulitzer Prize-winning rap prophet on his fifth LP. His half-decade of dormancy — prompted by the weight of this messianic reputation — was unflinchingly examined on Mr Morale ... , perhaps the genre’s most forensic self-flagellation.
