My top 12 albums from this year! 12 only because it fits nicely in a 3x4 grid. Here’s a Spotify Playlist with a highlight from each album.
My favourite album from this year. Danger Mouse’s rough soul beats match Black Thought’s voice perfectly. The features are incredible too, with everyone from Russ to Michael Kiwanuka sounding at home. I have a longer review here.
Genre: Hip Hop
Best track: “No Gold Teeth”
Best Tracks: Ladies of the Road, Islands
Genre: Progressive Rock
Year: 1971
King Crimson is easily one of the most celebrated rock bands to ever exist. In the Court of the Crimson King is often cited as among the first and most influential progressive rock albums. Their new wave reorientation with Discipline is almost just as beloved too. As a band with as much history and influence as King Crimson though, some albums get overshadowed.
Best Tracks: B.B Butcher, The Middle of Next Month, Got Flicked (Rebirth)
Genre: Jazz Rap, Post Jazz
Year: 2020
Manger on McNichols is timeless. I don’t mean this in the sense that it will never sound dated (even though I bet it won’t), but instead that the narrative being told here is nonlinear. Boldly’s lyrics come off as prophetic, telling us the story of his life before it has even happened. In “The Middle of Next Month”, for instance, Boldy describes what will happen in his near future, as if it has already happened. In this hypothetical future, he will go to jail for murder, and in past-tense, he tells us who specifically sent him letters while he was there. In “Mommy Dearest” too, we hear a reporter inquiring about the very song we are listening to, and we get to hear Boldy’s answers about its songwriting process.