Even though Mick Jenkins has been an incredibly strong force in underground hip hop for over ten years now and garnered a lot of critical acclaim, he has still generally been slept on by a wider audience beyond a few singles. This - his fourth official record - is a statement from front to back that showcases the range that Mick has: effortless flows, a cutting pen game, and an endlessly engaging selection of beats. Even beyond all of that, he has an immediately engaging presence that’s intangible but that makes these tracks impossible to ignore.
Cuts like ROY G. BIV that have an overarching lyrical arc/concept are hard to execute, but he pulls it off effortlessly. I also appreciate that this record clocks in at just under 30 minutes. In a time where a lot of records feel bloated with tracks simply to add time - this is all killer no filler, which makes it easier to keep on repeat. And that’s clearly the point here, that the bars on tracks like “Smoke Break-Dance” aren’t to be taken at face-value, but require some, well, patience to unpack. This is about as focused a record as you could hope for from an artist that has clearly worked hard to constantly improve instead of repeatedly treading the same ground.
Retribution Gospel Choir could very well be categorized as a Low side-project, since it features both Alan Sparhawk and Steve Garrington. If you’re used to Sparhawk’s role in that band, this might at first seem like a bit of a departure. This record features just two songs, a Side A and a Side B with each track clocking in around the 20 minute mark. This RGC album was released in 2013, the same year as Low’s album The Invisible Way, and in that context this makes a little more sense. That was the last Low album before the band really started to tweak their tried and true formula, ending with their most experimental album Hey What in 2021. Here, Sparhawk starts diving more into some of the noise and chaos that would populate those later Low albums.
I’ll be honest, if you aren’t into noisy extended jams à la Crazy Horse, then this will not be your cup of tea. However, if you are then I can’t recommend this enough. The second side especially features some truly beautiful guitar work contributed by Nels Cline (of Wilco fame) and lovely vocal melodies by Sparhawk that soar over the top. It’s a great time capsule that captures a distinct shift towards the slightly more loud/experimental approach Sparhawk would be bringing to Low in the coming years while also being wholly enjoyable on its own.
Besides being one of my favorite album titles of all time, this is a great pop album from front to back. Lykke Li is a pop singer from Sweden who had a huge hit in 2011 with the song “I Follow Rivers” but has continued to put out a whole bunch of inventive releases since then. I remember when her 2014 album “I Never Learn” came out that it was on repeat for me all year and I still revisit it often. This 2022 album tends towards more modern pop production, but her songwriting feels focused here with a very welcome self-aware humor running through the lyrics. It’s impossible to make a song called “sex money feelings die” and sing it with a straight face, but that’s what makes this album so fun. It’s not afraid to take today’s pop tropes and poke a little fun at them, while still making the songs themselves bangers.
Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) by Yves Tumor
It’s rare that a record feels as fresh and innovative as this one did when it was released last year in 2023. This is the fifth full-length they released under this moniker, but previously had released chill wave music under the name Teams. This is album is art rock for the modern era, with sonic surprises around every corner. Their earlier releases tended towards noise, but in the past few albums they have focused in on trying to make hits - and with this album they truly succeeded. What’s even better is they haven’t left their experimental past behind - there are still some jarring sounds on here and the arrangements take some daring twists.
Also, thanks to the production here of shoegaze pioneer Alan Moulder (producer of bands like Ride), there are some incredibly heavy, jaw-dropping guitar sounds throughout the album. It’s just impressive that even with all that, it still remains so catchy and listenable with such a strong melodic/pop intention throughout. There’s plenty here for someone who is deeply entrenched in experimental or shoegaze music who loves to listen carefully with headphones on as there is for someone who just wants to blast a record with the windows down.
Formed in London in 2017, this band has been described as sounding like “if William Onyeabor discovered cumbia.” The members of this band variously have roots in Uruguay, Australia, Sweden, Turkey, and the UK, but manage to blend all those influences into something extremely cohesive. Honestly, it sounds a whole lot like the album cover looks - a fun time! If you’re a fan of Khruangbin, or even early surf-rock like The Ventures, then there is a lot you’ll love here. These tracks are mostly instrumental, but manage to switch up their style and arrangement enough that it keeps things fresh all the way through.
Nymph by Shygirl
An album that’s perfect for people who like the idea of going to the club, but are a little too weird and anxious when they actually get there. Even though, at face level, this is an experimental pop album pitched as a club record - it feels in many ways like it’s best made for dancing alone in your room with earbuds in, volume up. Shygirl is a singer, DJ, rapper, and producer from London who rose to prominence in the mid-2010s along with other experimental producers like Sophia and Arca. There’s a lot of elements pulled from a whole variety of sub-genres here including deconstructed club, industrial, and grime - but at its heart are a bunch of catchy, soaring pop melodies and hooks that burrow into your head and don’t come out.
This record was, well, a major album for me. It was released on Carpark Records in 2013 and 16 year old me was obsessed with it. At the time, I was still discovering a lot of the late 80s and early 90s bands that were a heavy influence on this album. Now, I can namecheck bands like Pavement, The Breeders, and Slint, but back then this sounded wholly new to me. And honestly, even over ten years later, this music holds up all on its own. Sure, it takes inspiration from those bands, but the songs here are truly something special - something all their own. The production is incredible - the guitar tones - whether sharp and angular or heavy as hell - weave in and out of some great bass lines and nimble drum parts. Sadie Dupuis - the frontdemon of the band - has a great, unique voice that propels everything forward. If you’re at all a fan of “angular slacker rock” or whatever the kids call it these days, then you won’t regret picking this one up.
Formed out of the ashes of the emo/rock band Glocca Morra, Spirit of the Beehive has been your favorite band’s favorite band since 2014. In this album in-particular, the Philadelphia based electro-psych trio manages to capture glitched out paranoia in a way few bands could even come close to. If you want to feel anxious, then listen to this record! Truly though, this is definitely not a “background” album, since every time I listen to it I feel inherently unnerved and get distracted from anything else I try to do.
While some bands try to capture the fun side of psychedelia, this band is without a doubt gunning for “the worst acid trip of your life.” I musical terms, the production is incredible, the arrangements are unpredictable but somehow always work, and the guitar/synth textures are 100% perfectly dialed in. And while most of what I said probably makes it sound like I hate this record, I truly think it’s one of the best “rock” albums of the best ten years and is incredible in the same way an innovative horror movie can be incredible, even if you’re uncomfortable while watching it. Also, they just released another great full-length that’s well worth checking out after giving this one a spin!
I got into this band in sort of a backwards way. When they first released the single “Get Out” in 2016, I became obsessed with it and then the rest of the album Painting of a Panic Attack (which, sadly, turned out to be their last). I learned later that this was a divisive record among fans because of how clean the production was and that it had a more pop bent to it, but those were all elements of that particular record I personally appreciated. After that, I listened to the rest of their catalog on repeat, including this album, which is their 2008 sophomore album.
The Scottish band was fronted by Scott Hutchison who often cataloged his struggles with mental health in brutal detail and sincerity. Sadly, he took his own life in 2018, but the music he left is truly beautiful and has helped me through a lot of hard moments in my own life. The music here, while lyrically containing many dark themes, has a hopeful resonance to it. It’s immediately accessible folk-rock with choruses that are all-too-easy to sing along to. I feel lucky I got the chance to see them live and their entire catalog will always have a very special place in my heart.