It’s not innovative (even within the context of his own work), but it’s still by far my favourite record of this year. James Murphy still has it. What this says about the state of music in 2010, I’m not sure.
I have to admit, I’m not sure if this album is as good as Robyn, but frankly, that’s a pretty high benchmark. This album (or three albums, depending on how you look at it) is a fantastic collection of eccentric pop. Robyn has a remarkable ability to craft really clever, original melodies that sound like no one else (c.f. the Diplo-produced ‘Dancehall Queen’ for just one example). She also has pretty impressive flow when rapping (c.f. ‘Fembot’).
This is probably mu biggest surprise of the year. I’m generally skeptical of the whole ‘lo-fi’ thing, and Wavves always seemed like one of the more egregious examples - excessive (crazy excessive!), ugly digital distortion hiding a complete lack of memorable songs.
As it turns out, however, he can write songs. Dumb songs, I’ll grant, but sometimes in the mood for really dumb shit (hence why I like the Ramones so much). Getting Jay Reatard’s backing band was also a really good idea. This is insanely catchy surf-rock, played through a smoky haze. It’s not deep, but it’s honest. And yes, the guy still seems like a complete douchebag, but in a strange way that actually makes the music more enjoyable - his personality comes through in all of these songs. Am I praising him for doing the same thing I criticised Kanye for? Perhaps, but I think the aims of the two records are fundamentally different. Anyway, they’re both great.
Yeah, it’s really good. Obviously. Honestly though, as good as it is, I don’t think I could reasonably classify it as my favourite of the year - at the very least, it simply has not been out long enough.
The thing that stands out about this album for me is the incredible production. Yes it’s bombastic, even by Kanye’s own standards, but it’s also forward-looking and innovative in a way few recent hip-hop albums have been (as great as Big Boi’s album is, it’s not exactly breaking new ground).
Unfortunately, the quality of the music makes the crude lyrics all the more grating for me. I have no particularly strong interest in Kanye’s exploration of his ego, and thus, his frequently shallow, always solipsistic lyrics hold very little resonance for me. I get what he’s doing, but it doesn’t quite jell for me.
I admit that I was really skeptical of Monaé at first - the whole idea of an r’n’b concept album based on Metropolis seemed to be pretty questionable in my mind, and her initial EP didn’t really do much to dissuade this notion. My natural aversion to anything musical theatre-ish kicked in big time when listening to this woman.
Thankfully, however, this album has completely changed my opinion of her. Yes, she’s still a bit arch and overdramatic for my tastes, but she’s managed to compile a really clever, catchy, and original set of songs. The clear highlight for me is the twin-punch of ‘Cold War’ and ‘Tightrope’, but the entire album is remarkably consistent, in spite of its length.
Congratulations by MGMT = bad, bad neo-psychedelic rock, unfortunately conflating hookless meandering with depth
Innerspeaker by Tame Impala = great neo-psychedelic rock, mixing catchy songs with genuinely interesting textures; be sure to listen with headphones
As someone who was always quite adamant that Speakerboxxx, a brilliantly eclectic, bizarre album that lived up faithfully to the legacy of Stankonia, was far superior to the collection of reheated Prince leftovers that was The Love Below, it’s hardly surprising that I immediately liked Big Boi’s first solo album. In a surprise outbreak of common sense, thankfully, everyone else seemed to like it as well.
Big Boi’s appeal lies primarily in his enthusiasm - the fact that he perhaps sounds more hungry and excited by the prospect of making music, in spite of the fact that he’s been a recording artist for about 16 years now. For me, the obvious highight is ‘Shutterbugg’, a piece of minimalistic, ‘Atomic Dog’-style electrofunk, produced by non other than Scott Storch, who should be congratuated for producing his first good beat in years.
Basically, this sounds like what we’d get if the dude from Wavves’ girlfriend decided to release her own album of reverb-drenched surf rock. Oh right, that is what happened [quality writing - I know]. Whilst I still think it pales in comparison to King of the Beach, it is, in its own right, a rather excellent album.
As with that aforementioned album, Crazy for You is all about two things: weed, and self-doubt. However, whilst Wavves guy’s self-doubt concentrates primarily on his own juvenility and inadequacy as a human being, Best Coast girl is all about relationship paranoia. There’s always some smarter, prettier girl to steal the boy away from her. Anyway, it’s great.
Admittedly, I was a bit sceptical of this album at first - it seemed little more than a gimmick. I have, however, grown to really love it. The sheer propulsive musical force is something that was lacking in most other music this year, and the whole cheerleader theme is amusingly perverse. Most importantly from my perspective, is that the songs are genuinely memorable. This isn’t just noise for the sake of noise.
It’s certainly not perfect; in particular, I find Alexis Krauss’ voice a bit too thin and twee to truly stand up against the music, even as an ironic juxtaposition. But in the end, I’m happy to celebrate bands that try something different.
