| Track | Artist | Album | Comments |
| Generated Bodies | Lymbyc Systym | Split Stones | I'm pretty certain this was my most listened to album last year, and there isn't much new to say this year. I didn't spend as much time with the entire album this year but did enjoy coming back to it from time to time. It still has a solid place in my rotation when I don't want to mess with what I'm hearing and I want to know I'll like everything for the next hour or so. |
| The God Behind The Pines | L'Indécis | Plethoria | This is probably my first real surprise from the list this year - I didn't remember the name or sound of this track until I started working on this retrospective. Having said that - I can see why its here: The steel drums are nice but not overdone, there is heavily layered bass and underlying warm tones, and there is a bit of the quick loop style that I'm noticing comes up in a few places throughout the list. |
| 1977 | Adam Young | Voyager 1 |
Adam Young was my surprise find this year, and my goodness is there a lot here. First of all, he puts out an album a month, which is an absurdity. What is even more absurd is that they are each essentially meditations on a theme. What is probably craziest of all, however, is how good each is. Its like a painter doing a study in light, in red, in realism, in perspective, in tone - each for practice and improvement, rather than final release - but each is a museum quality piece in its own right.
This ties into something else that I find really interesting - the idea of doing things for the experience of doing them. Its learning through restriction. Its deliberate practice. Its making practice harder so game time feels easy. It isn't often, however, that you get such deep insight into the creative process.
Honestly, I love everything about what he is doing but 1977 is one of those standout tracks that is tough to put down. It might be impossible to say everything that I like about it, but I'll hit a couple things. First and foremost, it has a sneaky drop that reminds me of Mrs Jynx, another artist that I ramble on about. Its a goosebumps moment that doesn't involve the sunrising over Ibiza, and he comes back to it a couple of times and works it into the song tapestry. Usually the drop is a singular moment to help the listener know what to do, but here it is just how the song moves.
This is also a space odyssey song (the album Voyager 1 is about, well, Voyager 1) and this song gives the sense of blasting through deep space, alone, resolute, and full of wonder. Sure, you are never going back home and will die in the cold void of space, but that is in the future - right now you are rocketing around Saturn's rings seeing things that no one has ever seen before. It uses a couple vague static voice samples too - which is normally a trope - but here its just beautiful.
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| Aldgate Patterns | Little People | We Are But Hunks Of Wood |
I stumbled into Little People this year (I've listened to a couple songs here and there previously but never seriously) and it was Aldgate Patterns that got me hooked. Little People actually probably leans closer to the hipster style indie folk that bubbles up through NPR sometimes, so if that is the type of thing you like, maybe give this a try (if you like From Indian Lakes you will probably understand Little People).
One surprise for me as I started down this road was how much I genuinely enjoyed the full album, as well as the full Mickey Mouse Operation album previously released.
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| This Is America | Childish Gambino | This Is America |
Since leaving the world of working in bars and nightclubs, I've taken a step back from staying on top of mainstream trends. Still, every so often I listen to something because I think its a cultural touchstone that I need to have context for. That is why I started with this song.
One only need to talk to me for a couple minutes to learn that I don't have the familiarity or history to speak knowledgeably about hip hop or rap. I doubt I could really do this song justice, and in any case, so much has been written about it I think we've developed the This is America library of Babel. I'll just conclude with general thankfulness that I got to experience this.
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