2016 :: TOP ALBUMS – 30 THROUGH 02
It seemed like the musical landscape was reflecting a year littered with moments of difficult trial, deep loss and strange triumph. A weird year deserves a weird list, so I am doing something different with this one. Each album review is in the form of a haiku (the classic 5,7,5 syllable arrangement). I attempted to capture the essence of each release in feeling, significance or message. I don’t know how many of these actually work as successful haikus, evoking sense images, but what the heck… These are where I ended up.
30
The 1975
I LIKE IT WHEN YOU SLEEP, FOR YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL YET SO UNAWARE OF IT
The Seventy-Five
Struts, preens, rocks, slaps, turns, shimmies
In shiny velour.
. . . . .
29
Margot Price
MIDWEST FARMER’S DAUGHTER
Sweet honeysuckle.
Lost farms. Hard jobs. Defiance.
Country redemption.
. . . . .
28
St. Paul & The Broken Bones
SEA OF NOISE
Funky gospel fir
Slaked in the chill of cool blues.
This is soul cooking.
. . . . .
27
Lucius
GOOD GRIEF
Lucius makes luscious
Pop as blunt as their razor
Sharp bob cuts. Forceful.
. . . . .
26
Hinds
LEAVE ME ALONE
Lo-fi perfection
From The Velvets’ old garage.
A nostalgic grin.
. . . . .
25
Solange
A SEAT AT THE TABLE
A black woman works
Through pain, joy, sorrow… struggle.
A declaration.
. . . . .
24
Kaytranada
99.9%
Warm blood of Haiti
Pumps through pop, hip-hop, space jazz.
Assured and refined.
. . . . .
23
The Anchoress
CONFESSIONS OF A ROMANCE NOVELIST
Lace draped over steel.
Baroque visions of Broadway
Behind a rose crown.
. . . . .
22
Anderson. Paak
MALIBU
Jittery, languid,
Autobiographical,
Radiant, shrewd rap.
. . . . .
21
Jenny Hvala
BLOOD BITCH
A pale vampire stalks
Through the still of 3AM
And considers art.
. . . . .
20
Blood Orange
FREETOWN SOUND
Modern man wrestling
With self, race, sex, diffidence.
Joy and fears equate.
. . . . .
19
Bon Iver
22, A MILLION
Angularity
And e-spirits, soaring high,
Meet in warm comfort.
. . . . .
18
Margaret Glaspy
EMOTIONS AND MATH
Smith, Mitchell, Phair, Young,
Echoed in introspective
Songs of dirty gold.
. . . . .
17
River Tiber
INDIGO
A rich layer cake.
Pooled, dark and haunting as blood
On an iced sidewalk.
. . . . .
16
Swans
THE GLOWING MAN
Razor-edged whispers.
A black orchid slowly blooms.
Gothic rock reborn.
. . . . .
15
Whitney
LIGHT UPON THE LAKE
Fine summer nights scored.
Gram Parsons with a good buzz
Dancing to Stax soul.
. . . . .
14
Lucy Dacus
NO BURDEN
Polaroid candids
Narrated with wit and guile.
Sun insists through clouds.
. . . . .
13
Pinegrove
CARDINAL
Honesty matters.
Evolution makes friends flex.
Pretense sucks. Be real.
. . . . .
12
Case/Lang/Viers
CASE/LANG/VEIRS
Lightfoot echoed in
Poised songs of weary heartache.
Dignity in art.
. . . . .
11
Radiohead
A MOON SHAPED POOL
Lush tendrils climb through
The cyclic dance of signal.
Dream faces nightmare.
. . . . .
10
Vijay Iyer / Wadada Leo Smith
A COSMIC RHYTHM WITH EACH STROKE
Time, space transcended.
Passages of the soul mapped.
Jazz conversation.
. . . . .
09
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
SKELETON TREE
Trauma meets swagger
In the swell and sway of hurt.
Endurance restores.
. . . . .
08
Car Seat Headrest
TEENS OF DENIAL
Anthemic, indie,
Syncopated, straight soundscapes
Drive, buck, march and weave.
. . . . .
07
Angel Olsen
MY WOMAN
Plumbing the depths of
The frail heart through sparkling, frank
And spare rock poems.
. . . . .
06
Leonard Cohen
YOU WANT IT DARKER
The last anthem of
An inky poet-minstrel.
A stately goodbye.
. . . . .
05
A Tribe Called Quest
WE GOT IT FROM HERE… THANK YOU 4 YOUR SERVICE
Realness has returned.
An analog masterwork.
Biters take notice.
. . . . .
04
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down
A MAN ALIVE
Garbus produces
And a new voice emerges.
Pure, divergent gold.
. . . . .
03
Savages
ADORE LIFE
Love is imperfect
Open wounds blossom hemic.
Life should be adored.
. . . . .
02
Sturgill Simpson
A SAILOR’S GUIDE TO EARTH
Screw expectations.
Sturgill cuts a bold new path.
Life affirmations.
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