Welcome to May 2022. It is at this time that I, WillQ, have completed listening to all the albums that seemed interesting from 2021, and am ready to deliver a ranking.
Why do it now, and not in December like everyone else? Well, for one, I was always a big believer in waiting until the year actually ends so that I don’t have to awkwardly treat the releases that come out after my ranking as next year’s. Secondly, as an independent music ranking maker, I like to rely on the hard work of professionals - i.e. check out all the big outlets’ end of year lists and select some albums to listen to from them. Ok but how many records could I possibly have needed to check out? Well...
Oh btw this is my usual few paragraphs of rambling about listening habits and plans for the future, if you plan on reading that then in the meantime you might as well listen to my top 20 tracks of the year (excluding songs from top50 albums). I’m also gonna list them at the bottom, in (almost guaranteed) case of some of them disappearing from YT in the future.
So anyway - 706! That’s almost twice a day for the entire year. How? Why? Well, compared to years past, I had significantly increased my input - in addition to my usual end-of-year spurs, I’ve tried to check stuff as it was coming out and had people to exchange recommendations with. But honestly, at some point, I think I just got addicted to seeing the number of albums grow - so I kept picking up anything that sounded even remotely interesting, even if I assumed I wouldn’t like it that much, just to rank and file it away. As you might expect, this made listening to music feel like a job - instead of jumping into albums I was excited to listen to, I was staring at neverending lists and trying to figure out which of these records I’m most likely to dismiss after one listen, so that I can rank and file it away quicker. As a result, I think I’ve overall dedicated more time this year to music that I didn’t enjoy than to music I did.
If there’s one positive of that experience, it’s that I think I’ve become much more discerning about whether I’ll enjoy a given album or not based on one representative track from it. Of course there’s never a 100% guarantee, I have to account for the fact that the single I picked is a significant standout and that the rest of the album is much less interesting - or inversely, that the song doesn’t work nearly as well out of context as when I go through the whole record. And the latter is partially the reason why I’ve been going through so many, intent on searching for that diamond in the rough that might pass me by otherwise. But looking back, there really hasn’t been that many of them and I could easily fill my listening time with just those that catch my interest from the start.
However, I still like the idea of sampling a wide cross-section of what comes out in a given year, releases big and small, across all the genres I follow. For now I’m still ironing out what I’m going to do - I’d like to say that I’ll never listen to that many albums from a single year again, but I said that in my 2019 AOTY and the number has been growing exponentially so I’m a bit scared of throwing out statements like that. But I have an idea for a sort of triage, where I first check out a single song, and if it really impresses me then I indeed add the album to the queue. But if I’m not so sure about it then instead I throw that track on a monthly playlist - and after listening to that playlist enough times, I pick out the few songs that I enjoyed the most and check their albums out, while the rest gets discarded. I hope this helps me solve the dilemma of wanting to reduce the listening time spent on music I don’t enjoy, while keeping my horizons relatively open. And honestly, I think I’ve originally been singles-oriented in my listening habits and only really forced myself to focus on full albums because the Internet told me I should. So let’s try returning to the roots with this palette that I’ve built up and see what happens.
Phew, alright, thanks for bearing with me, time to finally crack this boy open. Because I’ve had so many to pick from, I’ve felt comfortable in increasing my ranking to 50 places, at least for this year. In light of that I’m skipping honorable mentions - you can just treat the first ten-twenty positions as such, and I’ll keep my thoughts on them a bit shorter accordingly. With that said, it’s finally time to begin the countdown.
(Each album cover links to a representative song from it).
Hyperpop is the future and if I wasn’t a coward this would be in the top 10.
A solid cheerful indie folk-rock record with slightly post-punkish manner of speak-singing at times
I really appreciate the experimentation on this record and I’m looking forward to when BCNR finds a way to utilize it in a more exciting and emotionally resonant way (possibly already have on Ants From Up There at the time of writing).
As solid a set of melodies and soundscapes as you can find on any of their records, though this one stands out as perhaps a bit more low energy.
The choice of guitar effects, strumming patterns and mixing make me think of emotional 2000s indie rock and maybe a bit of skate punk? Good callbacks in any case.
Just a very solid chill jazz record with each track telling a distinct melodic story and operating on a slightly different slice of the emotional landscape, but overall it comes together as smart and vibrant.
A cheerful South Korean punk record that sounds like it was built on a strong foundation of ideals that drive them to continue performing and recording but also like they’re having fun doing it.
I really like their unique electronics-driven but funk-oriented sound, together with fairly ambitious and impressive singing full of theatricality. Quite catchy too.
A kind of wild west-y but again somewhat theatrical sound, I can almost imagine a musical based on this garage-y rock’n’roll tracklist. Good leading melodies and choruses.
Kinda reminds me of Built to Spill in its overall sound, although it’s more on the garage-y end and doesn’t have a similar lead guitar focus. But each song is distinct and memorable yet they all come together into this very pleasant and mellow experience.
Richard Dawson in the most conventionally alternative rock incarnation I’ve heard him to date, and it suits him not half badly. Sprawling song structures give him sufficient space to do interesting things with his voice, both lyrically and sonically. Definitely an interesting addition to his discography.
An unmistakably modern album with how clean it sounds, but it very clearly harkens back to the 60s psychedelic rock with epic guitar solos, tasty organs and overall trippy song structures. Lyrics also go back, talking about drugs and broken hearts, but with arguably modern sensibility about it. A very solid tribute that could easily stand next to the classics of the era it emulates.
The new hot kid on the shoegaze block, taking it in an emo direction and creating something truly unique and captivating. Lots of reverb as well as lo-fi overdrive and a relatively cold mix, but with bright driving melodies. It sounds very personal and like it’s driven by a vision of a single author, which stands out in a genre traditionally occupied by bands. It’s also a very introverted record, seemingly by an actually shy person trying to come out of their shell through music.
A post-rock record with a very classic, atmospheric sound. Long build ups, droning crescendos, filling out the soundscape with filters and effects, the melodies just barely breaking through the wall of noise. Stays relatively close to classic and psychedelic rock roots unlike many of the contemporaries who’ve gone into various experimental directions which is nice for a change. Just a very solid record in a genre I love.
The debut album of Sel Balamir best known as Amplifier’s frontman, who both with his band and now in his solo work sticks relatively close to the prog rock formula. Long, sprawling tracks, with hypnotizing riffs and almost spiritual singing. It’s just very easy to get lost in the atmosphere and let your mind drift along the waves it produces, and feel like you’ve experienced something grand by the time it ends. Another solid “one of those” on my list.
A very pleasant indie rock record. I love the opener “Hi-Fi Times”, which opens on this soundtrack-like driving riff and very folk-sounding percussion before transitioning into the happy “Suddenly”. I’m not great at identifying keys but I feel like it’s got a bit of that “melancholic melody combined with a poppy rhythm” thing that creates a very warm and optimistic sound that makes one feel understood. It feels really chill, friendly and invigorating, almost relaxing. A great album if you need to brighten your day.
Man, what a kick of energy. Fun, zany, refreshing. It’s one of those more nice punk bands that use the noise and simplicity to try to shine light on important subjects and scream about ideals in a more encouraging “let’s do better” way rather than nihilistic “everything sucks give up”, and that feels very welcome. Fast songs with some really good guitar melodies and apt singing that would fit amazingly well on, say a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtrack. And if that’s not the highest praise for a musician I don’t know what is.
Now this one’s hard to describe. It’s like, wild-west infused blues rock with this incredibly passionate growly singing that hooks you in and refuses to let go. The album as a whole offers a captivating emotional journey, with intensity peaking in standout tracks like “Sister” and “Brother” where layers of loud instrumentation do their job of making the listener pay attention, and then they give you release in ballads like “Astral Pariah” and “Fater (Part II)”. They just have an amazing sound and they carve out a fantastic structure with it.
Critics describe this one as “Krautpop” and you know what? Yeah. The motorik rhythm is there, there’s usually some amount of fuzz in the mix, and sometimes the noise just takes over, but the experimental instrumentation leans closer to art pop and maybe even avant garde - for me the association it brought to mind is Animal Collective, and also Modern Nature. Each song feels very unique, built out of different instruments and melodies, so as a whole it’s a fascinating journey. Especially if you want something unusual that will break your expectations but without being entirely alienating or unpleasant, just really interesting.
Speaking of weird and unusual music - free time improvisation with a rock-ish tone, but ultimately what are even genres anyway. I’m really at loss for words on this one. To my untrained ear, the drumming sounds absolutely frantic, like a slower version of Zach Hill’s performances. It forms its own world and as you think you might’ve grasped one of its rules, it takes a left turn to lose you again. And the guitar playing stays right on that edge where you can almost pick out a rhythmic or melodic pattern, but the way it flows and transitions, before you know it you completely lose track. But somehow it all together forms this really pleasant atmospheric package, just a rather nonsensical one.
Another shoegaze musician from Seoul, signed to the same (American) record company as Parannoul (they recorded a split later in the year along with Brazilian artist sonhos tomam conta). However, “Cull Ficle” to me is more of a fuzz folk record as it mostly reminded me of early The Microphones. The same kind of characteristic lo-fi production combined with acoustic guitar-driven melodies, simple drumming and limited use of additional instruments. And for me that’s a sound I really love and wish more artists aimed for and landed half as successfully as Asian Glow did, as it feels very intimate and charming in a way, like the musician is right there with you noodling and tweaking effects.
A long-time-coming debut record of the fairly eclectic Scottish band. W.L. is a generally poppy take on alternative rock, with light but generally emotional songs built on soft tones, melancholic sounds and catchy melodies. It feels to me a bit like a middle child between Interpol and Japandroids, though the Arctic Monkeys comparisons I’ve seen make sense too. Later on the album it goes slightly more experimental, borrowing from punk, post-punk and even radio-friendly pop rock but I think the band ends up working well in all of these settings. It’s a very pleasant and coherent album that I’ve highly enjoyed every time I returned to.
I seem to be in a minority of people who enjoyed Magic more than King’s Disease II and it was interesting to read the reviews and discussions of the two and figure out where I stand in that conversation. But ultimately those are two very different records, especially when it comes to song structures and beats. Magic sounds much more old school to me - it opens with this atmospheric intro with soft-spoken expression of confusion, and after a short pause it transitions into the track proper during which Nas tries to figure out where he stands and how he got here. I’m always fascinated by how he puts his ideas into lyrics, how he chooses words to paint vivid images and how he manages to seemingly effortlessly make it all very musical. More than any other rapper, his tracks really tend to sound like rants or stories - and they also often have very earwormy hooks, like the “run me the- run me the- run me the-” fast-paced repetition in “Meet Joe Black”. Just two tracks in and I’m already impressed, and not only does the album maintain that level, but it also doesn’t overstay its welcome.
In interviews the band said that their goal was to marry Black Sabbath’s approach to riff-driven songwriting with afrobeat rhythms. To be honest, to me the result sounds like a very conventional stoner rock record - but look at it this way, it’s the one that stood out to me, so perhaps those inspirations gave it the kind of subtle uniqueness that drew me in. It feels somewhat reserved and minimalistic, using just enough sound to hypnotize the listener and not any more. It’s an album that I feel like immediately puts me in a trance as soon as I start playing it and it’s very hard to escape it. The mixing makes it seem a little distant, but then songs draw you in and you want to close that distance, so that combination creates a very interesting effect. Together with the aforementioned aspects it makes one very hooked on the record.
Rhiannon’s second collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi. It’s themed around subjects like longing for home and passing away - both in the form of lament, but also graceful acceptance of the inevitable. It’s a very serious and classically sung folk album, although there is place for experimentation, blending traditions from many different regions and even adding some more modern bite in songs like “O Death”. The result is something that I feel like will speak to anyone even vaguely familiar with any European country’s music tradition. With its tasteful, minimal instrumentation and Rhiannon’s range of skills, it’s a very admirable record.
What impresses me the most about this album is that it feels like a very logical step in the progression of Iron Maiden’s sound - not at all like a band in the shadow of its early success and constantly trying to live up to it. To me “Senjutsu” feels like a more matured version of Iron Maiden, one confident enough to fill out the album with lower energy tracks that set up the stage for the three 10-plus-minute-long songs that close out the album, with hypnotizing rhythms, enchanting harmonies, engaging melodic progressions and epic guitar solos. But at its core it definitely feels like the same band, with the same sound and the same characteristic elements like the galloping bass, layered guitars and Dickinson’s unique manner of singing. They’re just a little older, more dignified, and perhaps slowly starting to look for the final destination of their journey.
Man, I can’t find much info about this lithuanian drone artist - I don’t know if it’s a single person or a band, if the recording utilizes any live instruments or if it's a purely electronic record. What I do know is that I like the places it takes me to - similarly to how I described None’s music in the past, I find myself enveloped with sound so thoroughly that it’s as if I’m being transported... Somewhere, but I’m not exactly sure where - on a journey through space? Into a strange factory? On a hike through caverns? Anyway, the sound changes just enough to maintain my interest, but slowly enough to impose its tempo on me and make me slow down and relax. Little bits of loudness ensure that the album doesn’t fall into the background, but other than that it doesn’t require intense focus, perfectly happy to seep into that middle space between conscious and subconscious. I wasn’t impressed at first, but for some reason I just found myself unable to dismiss it, something about it was too intriguing, it gave me some unique feeling that was hard to describe. And that curiosity eventually grew to appreciation and now you can call me a fan.
Very groovy pop soul. It’s also deceptively eclectic - opening track alone featuring elements of funk, rnb, gospel and arguably martial music. But I think the album excels the most in its more celebratory pop tracks - like “FREEDOM” with its modest instrumental track but an infectious rhythm and lots and lots of layers of singing, or “I NEED YOU” combining almost like rockabilly with jazz. A very smooth and polished record where everything sounds just very slick and professional.
I’ll be honest - 90% of this album's placement is due to the opening track “Soon It Will Be Fire”, featuring probably my favorite singer nowadays, Moses Sumney. That track is really magical - and not just because of him, but also perfectly placed subtle use of brass, the simple riff on an acoustic guitar driving the song and the overall evolution as it gets louder, quieter, then again louder, then almost silent and so forth. It’s a perfectly sublime canvas for Moses’ artistic singing, creating complex melodies with his voice alone. But that atmosphere set up by first track perfectly transitions into the following two, making this short record an absolutely hypnotizing, tranquil experience. As the title points out, it’s a cover album of one of the first records of a prolific artist Richard Youngs. The original rendition was just a single guitar and singer, so it was an interesting choice of a project for a funky brass band and I’m really impressed by how it came out, which raises my already high opinion on this ensemble.
Oh man, it’s so nice to have an album with such a strong and attention-grabbing opener. Blown out bass. Simple, steady beat that occupies a lot of space in the mix. Distorted singing. All the textures and effects that build up together. Edgy, soft spoken words of a lyrical subject confessing their selfish, destructive love. If there was a scientific formula for music to get my interest, this would definitely be one of its most effective variants. The album maintains some of these characteristics throughout the entire run, but it also experiments with some cleaner and more varied instrumentation on some tracks and more optimistic melodies on others - but quality wise, it's very consistent, with every track feeling equally worth returning to. My closest point of comparison is probably Metric, both in terms of sound and quality. Just a fantastic alternative rock record.
The second record of the Seattle-based instrumental funk ensemble that sounds like what I actually expected funk to sound like when I first heard it described. A big sound, but light and jaunty at the same time. Employs this very unique bright guitar timbre and rhythmic strumming with muted strokes, letting the brass do the majority of melodic work. And it’s all so, so smooth. Just a very solid record in a style I particularly like and always itch for more of.
A really intriguing project - two hiphop producers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (of A Tribe Called Quest fame) teamed up with a bunch of veteran jazz musicians to produce a series of records, giving their music a modern, hip-hop-inspired spin. Within the first seconds of the opening truck “Spiritual Ideation” a chime melody gives away that the record’s produced by beatmakers, but instead of straight fire bars, a straight fire saxofon comes in, perfectly complimenting the instrumentation. Throughout the record this seems to alternate - sometimes everything seems built like a backing track for Gary to shine, and other times it seems like the music is created around his performance, to build something extra on top of it. With bold experimentation it forms a very souly and funky jazz record full of bangers in a unique and fascinating style.
An atmospheric/depressive black metal project, focused on enveloping the listener in dark but warm and steady blanket of noise, as some of the sounds break out of the mold to form beautiful driving melodies, as vocalist’s screams hail from the back, unable to entirely break through. There is some variety throughout each of the three tracks that make this LP, but they are also perfectly content to stay on a single section for a prolonged period of time in order to really set the listener in the intentioned mood before they give him something different, but they never become boring or uninteresting - it’s one of the albums on the list that I was the most likely to replay right after it ends.
GY!BE in their more ambient and experimental end of post-rock spectrum. The opening track is a good way to set expectations, as it plays with shortwave radio aesthetic before adding some pretty rough and somewhat discordant notes, importantly with no drums, but some background notes becoming louder and louder until they resolve in the following “Job’s Lament”. It’s a very intelligently put-together record that combines musical and non-musical sounds as well as unique ways to utilize the instruments and a really good choice of keys and chord progressions to set up a slightly tense atmosphere, where every bit of crescendo or resolution feels incredibly refreshing and satisfying. It feels like an album that simultaneously does a lot and very little to elegantly achieve its goals, but without being hard to parse like some of the more experimental post-rock albums tend to.
Pakistani band Jaubi infuses some of their local folk traditions into their jazz sound, and then on this record they collaborated with a Polish jazz pianist Latarnik and British flute and saxophone player Tenderlonius, creating this very eclectic international mix. But my impression is that the two solo players tried to adjust themselves to Jaubi’s sound rather than trying to enforce their own style, although I felt like I could hear echoes of Polish sung poetry in few spots. All things considered, the album has a very strong identity and all the tracks are very interesting, with each element working very harmoniously, as if they were always meant to be together. It just feels very classy and skillful.
The third album Gizzers dedicated to experimentation with microtonality, which continues to be my favorite part of their output. Out of the three I think this one is perhaps a little softer, poppier and funkier and the least wild-westy, instead utilizing even more “oriental” percussion and melodies. And with their general skill in singing, playing, songwriting and mixing, it’s just another incredibly solid record such that even bands which don’t release multiple new records every year would be proud of making.
A really strong debut by this LA-based soul jazz singer. It hits all the right notes - groovy rhythm section, minimal piano and organs, occasional grandiose strings and choruses, and then of course the vocalist's voice being all kinds of impressive, but she’s also able to take a step back and let the instrumentation speak where appropriate. Another entry on the list that just feels very solid and classy and even if the sound isn’t super unique, the songwriting is just really good.
Jeff Rosenstock figured out the best way to put ska back into the spotlight - become a successful indie rock/power pop artist, and then once he has a following, drop a Ska cover album of his last one on his fanbase. The fact this album exists alone brings a giant smile to my face, and while I’m not sure if the ska renditions are strictly better to the originals, who cares, it’s ska! As you might expect, some of these tracks get drastically different energy - intense “NO TIME” becomes a chill “NO TIME TO SKANK”, melancholic “OLD CRAP” becomes wacky “Old SKrAp”, defiant “***BNB” becomes uplifting “***SKA” so at the very least all those reimaginings are very interesting. Ultimately I see it as more of a novelty than a particularly high quality record, but if it works it works,
Here’s where we start getting into those really emotional records that can have a total grip on my mood as soon as I play them. Perhaps that’s an inherent advantage of melancholic albums, but at least for me, that bittersweetness is just super effective. Whether it’s the soft intro of “Sine Qua Nonentity”, a sort-of ballad in “Empire Builder” or the incredibly personal “We’re in It” utilizing a constant string of words with perfectly placed pauses, and returning to the homophones “come in”/”coming” and the way the overall song structure continuously builds intensity all the way the ending... The record has a lot of strong standout tracks, while the low-key ones allow the listener to rest while maintaining the atmosphere. I think this is the best band of this type recording today.
Among the cleaner and more “pleasant” releases in the catalog of my favorite fuzz-folk-infused indie rock outfit. This relatively short EP has definitely grown on me with consecutive listens - perhaps it’s thanks to the variety on display, or maybe just because WAOHO found a way to speak directly to my soul so I have no choice but to listen. Overall it’s a nice mix - some cleaner tracks at the beginning, some more typical WAOHO tracks in the middle and then two warm instrumentals to close out the disc. Packed a lot of good sounds into those 17 minutes.
Another pop soul record, but this time on a less celebratory and more contemplative and bluesy end of the spectrum. It’s the solo debut of the artist best known as second vocalist and drummer of Durand Jones & The Indications, and it’s a bit of a celebration of vintage soul sound. Relatively simple piano melodies, sparsely placed brass, vocals kept mostly in a single style - it feels like the album treats its subject matter with a lot of respect and wants to let chord progressions and melodies do the job, without any of the performers dominating, or creating a wall of noise as they fight for position. That almost feels like the best way to describe the record - it’s very polite and elegant, and those to me are great qualities for the chosen style.
A really impressive debut of the soul-star-in-the-making Celeste. “Not Your Muse” has this very grand and classy, yet simultaneously personal and intimate feeling that reminds me of Adelle’s music, although style-wise I think it’s fair to say Celeste leans more into jazz and early rnb. But regardless of how you classify it, this is a very thrilling collection of songs that have a lot to offer to someone paying attention, but work just as well as a pleasant background mood lifter. The star of the show is definitely Celeste herself with her big, fantastic voice, but the song structures themselves are also very impressive. Whether it’s some of the loungier tracks like “Some Goodbyes Come With Hellos”, or more lively “Tonight Tonight” and “Stop This Flame”, the melodic progressions are just very musical, delicate and easy to enjoy.
A very curious art punk record. At its basis lies a very sludgy, mean basis of guitars, drums and singing, but then everything built on top of it is so weird and discordant that it’s almost hard to process. Erratic, unnerving brass. Synths that sound almost designed to be repellent, like some sort of anti-riot machine to disperse the crowd. In fact the entire record together with lyrics has this aura of being intentionally off-putting, presenting itself in the worst possible fashion to keep people at arms length - but of course at the same time being weirdly magnetic and making the listener look for its good sides. It fits the satirical machismo lyrics and together forms something that really stands out in the 2021 landscape.
A rare even mix of jazz and rock, with some emo thrown into the singing and math into overall song structures. Each track is defined by a bunch of really nice melodies, sometimes juxtaposing and sometimes seamlessly combining its brass with the guitar backbone, drums sometimes playing a standard 4/4 beat and sometimes going for swing patterns. Despite only having 5 members and not utilizing too many overdubs as far as I could tell, they achieve a very rich and eclectic palette of sounds. It’s one of those records I just found very pleasant to listen to for long periods of time, never getting bored of.
Fiddlehead is apparently a post-hardcore supergroup, featuring members of bands like Have Heart and Basement, and this is their second record. Thematically it opens up with reflections on grief, with aptly titled “Grief Motif”, but later it transitions into more general longing for love and confusion about one’s place in the world. Musically, it’s meat-and-potatoes post hardcore - light-to-mid guitar effects creating a constant layer of fuzz, relatively simple melodies and chord progressions, yelled out vocals that are intentionally slightly burried in the mix so as not to overwhelm, and also to create this feeling of vocalist trying to make their voice heard against the obstacles. A few lighter tracks to break the monotony, and bang, you have yourself a great record in this genre. It’s very short and tight but I got a lot of mileage out of it, it came out over a year ago at time of writing and I’m still regularly listening to some tracks from it almost every day.
This indie folk band’s turn to americana isn’t exactly what I was hoping for, but they seem to feel right at home here. It’s lightly framed as an old-timey show, with some tracks put through lo-fi filters to make them sound distorted and old, as well as announcer and audience soundbites being present a few times throughout the album, but for the most part it’s a straightforward collection of songs. But what songs they are - hopeful and determined “Mine Forever”, wistful “Love Me Like You Used To”, defiant “Not Dead Yet”, but all these emotions are quite subtle and kept within an overall chill atmosphere maintained throughout the record. But man, some of these are really catchy, with my favorite probably being “Twenty Long Years”, with a really characteristicly sung melody in the chorus, alternating between loud lines and then more reserved “responses”. Overall the album just blends very nicely together and it’s a jolly good time.
Every record of this band has been a must hear for me and this one’s no different. Starting with the slow burn of “Shelter Song”, through mesmerizing “High & Hurt”, haunting “Love Kills Slowly”, all the way to savory “The Holding Hand”. Every track seems built around a great musical idea, and their overall post-punk sound is just extremely refined, with perfect choice of instrumentation, timbres, melodies and effects for each song. Finding the perfect blend of rock fundamentals and experimentation. Pairing the sublime music with poetic lyrics. They just don’t miss.
Absolutely visceral. If Fiddlehead is the refined post-hardcore, this is some of the most primal, raw and honest display of artistry I’ve heard in a long while. Rhythms and melodies that just “make sense”, very passionate singing, good combination of folk punk and midwest emo elements. Surprisingly catchy considering the style and “dirty” production with blown out effects and somewhat lofi mixing. Just one of those tight and phenomenal records that escapes most descriptions I could give, can’t recommend enough.
Perhaps the most gutting WAOHO release, it mostly cuts out on effects and filters and focuses on acoustic instruments and pretty clean singing. Like most of this band’s output it’s a very contemplative and introspective record and here in particular they seem to focus on heartbreak, grief and suicidal thoughts, with the most heartwrenching track being the shivering elegy to I believe Adalyn’s mother, “Alright Again”. The words sung in cracking voice are enough to break the listener, but I also find this to be an absolutely masterful track in terms of progressively added instrumentation, including a rare addition of a violin which, cliche as may be, does an amazing job adding another layer of emotion to the usual repertoire. I like that the album ends on a positive note, optimistic “The Greatest Adventure” - a much needed moodlift after something so harrowing.
I highly suspected this would be my AOTY less than halfway through the first listen. Some of the driest, most exhilarating and most captivating psychedelic rock I’ve ever heard, straight from Nigerien Sahara Desert. The addition of what I assume are local folk musical traditions in the style of singing, groovy rhythms and wacky guitar riffs feel just perfectly suited for this genre. Fantastically produced, feels like it surrounds you with sound, faithfully recreates a live show's energy. And then you have tracks like the titular “Afrique Victime” which just wholly capture your senses and take you on an insane ride. Absolutely next level.
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