2010:
Pablo Picasso once said, "It is not what the artist does that counts, but what he is." Well, Kanye West is many things: a dilettante, an obsessive, a contradiction. He knows enough about the world to speak a digressive and nervous truth to power, but not enough to recognize that MTV awards shows are only important as spectacle. Every discussion of MBDTF is essentially a discussion of Mr. West himself because the two are inextricable. Kanye doesn't rap under a pseudonym or leave the production to other musicians. He is his music. His unvarnished egotism, gleeful materialism, and clunky wisdom are all there on every song. As are his ambitions and intentions. Before MBDTF, you could never call Kanye a great rapper; he had his moments but his personality and production were miles ahead of his rapping ability. However, on this record he shows a lyrical advancement that could only result from hard hours of revision. And each song lives up to its intentions. In an age where celebrities' intentions are usually found underneath piles of PR agency press releases, it's inspirational to hear someone care publicly and profoundly.
James Murphy returns with more of the propulsive minimalistic hybrid-punk that put Sound of Silver on everyone's 2007 best-of list. But, this time he brings more depth. Over nine expansive songs, Murphy explores love, life and living in The City with understated wit and uncommon understanding.
A trained mathematician, Caribou aka Dan Snaith, seems to enjoy tackling complex problems. On Swim, he attempts to create his version of dance music while also taking cues from his struggles learning to swim as an adult. So on "Odessa," the drums sound vaguely like yelling heard underwater. On "Leave House," he sings like a ghostly merman. And throughout the album, the production has a fluid quality with some elements warped out of shape and others ebbing and flowing in and out of the track. The overall effect is the best Arthur Russell album never made.
I defy you to find an album that is more carefully-sequenced than Teen Dream. Each song flows elegantly into the next, sustaining the emotion, tension and mood of the record. And mood seems to be what this album is about - the songs all strike an impeccable balance between doleful and joyous, reluctant and willing.
Ever since hip-hop started moving away from the "He's the DJ and I'm the Rapper" template in the early '90s, it's become rare to hear a single producer and rapper collaborate exclusively on an album. Pilot Talk is a throwback to that era, but mainly because of its devotion to exploring two individuals' musical idiosyncracies. Over the course of 42 breezy minutes, Ski Beatz creates ornate and sinuous beats that are a perfect forum for Curren$y's understated and singular style. And Curren$y has style in abundance - he's perfected a languid posture that complements his Louisiana drawl. On Pilot Talk he strolls around Ski's beats, casually trailing behind plumes of weed talk, hilarious boasts, and stunning non sequiturs.
There's a notion that Big Boi was the fixed body that held Andre 3000's zaniness in orbit during their stint as the greatest rap duo of all time (i.e. Outkast, for those of you who've been spelunking and growing your beard long for the last 20 years). And it's understandable that Big Boi's chutzpah and metronomic ear for the beat would be clouded by 3000's willingness to experiment. A red Nehru suit appears subtle when your partner's dressed in pink plaid. Speakerboxx, Big Boi's de facto first solo release, remains largely overlooked for this reason. On that album, as on Sir Lucious Leftfoot, Big Boi shows a talent for creating and choosing jaunty, space funk-infused beats and burrowing into them with tongue-twisting lyrical aplomb. But, even now without Andre's "singing" or "outfits" to distract us, it's unclear whether anyone is paying attention.
Janelle Monae's The ArchAndroid is a flurry of quirky (and, at times, baffling) pop songs sung by a preternaturally clear and capable voice. It's a concept album without structure. But as her songs bound capriciously from hymns ("57821") to showtunes ("Sir Greendown") to that narrow sliver in the middle of The Supremes and Parliament ("Locked Inside"), it becomes increasingly striking how adept Monae is in all this chaos. Plainly speaking, ArchAndroid is a holy mess made coherent by a rare talent.
Menomena: Mines
As compelling as VW's debut was, I can never shake the sense that they're more concerned with boxing clever than knocking you out. They're comfortable mining Afro-Caribbean guitars and rhythms and making smirking observations. Contra is not much of a departure from that. But as much as Contra sounds like a band consolidating its sound and themes, there are still sublime moments of expansion (the vulnerability on "I Think Ur A Contra" and the bold-type punk of "Cousins" spring to mind). It's clear that Vampire Weekend could expertly make an album like this over and over again (and to universal acclaim); I just suspect that they're capable of something more.
Referring to music as a "visceral experience" is a tired metaphor, but Sleigh Bells (mostly with material from their stellar 2009 demo) have succeeded in transforming that description into a totally literal statement. Theirs is music that punches you in the gut - sneering, bullying guitars and drums only slightly mollified by nonsensical and nonchalant vocals. I'm still not sure what they're saying, but it feels important.
Best Coast: Crazy For You
Wavves: King of the Beach
Sufjan Stevens: Age of Adz // All Delighted People EP
Where MBDTF succeeds partly because of its excesses, Age of Adz succeeds despite them. Songs tend to descend into electrogoop. Sufjan tries something new and owns it.
Darwin Deez: Darwin Deez
Rick Ross: Teflon Don
Ariel Pink: Before Today
Arcade Fire: The Suburbs
Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest
The Walkmen: Lisbon
When I heard Fate (the last, wonderful Dr. Dog album), I downloaded every other record that the band ever made. I was disappointed. They sounded turgid, jam band-y and far too unabashedly derivative. So I got rid of the old ones and kept listening to Fate, an album that sounded like a band getting up on its own two feet. To belabor that simile, Shame, Shame sounds like that band now running at full speed. You can still hear all the bands that they admire (The Beatles, The Band, Pavement, etc), but those are just murmurs behind a sound that they can now call their own.
Big K.R.I.T.: K.R.I.T. Wuz Here - Pimp C and OutKast's lovechild
Twin Shadow: Forget
Alicia Keys: The Element of Freedom - Expensive and expansive
Erykah Badu: New Amerykah Part Two - Weird, warm, and witty...
Das Racist: Shut Up, Dude // Sit Down, Man - Pastiche hop from a couple of cool guys.
The National: High Violet - Songs that age gracefully.
Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM - Beck: Do you trust me? Charlotte: Yes!
Pantha du Prince: The Splendour EP // Black Noise - Bleeps and blurps to add a chill to any occasion.
Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma - Jazz in the digital age.
Broken Bells: Broken Bells - Danger Mouse breaking more boundaries.
The Roots: How I Got Over // Dilla Joints - another solid offering from the rap band that white people like.
Twin Shadow: Forget
Alicia Keys: The Element of Freedom - Expensive and expansive
Erykah Badu: New Amerykah Part Two - Weird, warm, and witty...
Das Racist: Shut Up, Dude // Sit Down, Man - Pastiche hop from a couple of cool guys.
The National: High Violet - Songs that age gracefully.
Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM - Beck: Do you trust me? Charlotte: Yes!
Pantha du Prince: The Splendour EP // Black Noise - Bleeps and blurps to add a chill to any occasion.
Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma - Jazz in the digital age.
Broken Bells: Broken Bells - Danger Mouse breaking more boundaries.
The Roots: How I Got Over // Dilla Joints - another solid offering from the rap band that white people like.
The Tallest Man on Earth: Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird // Wild Hunt
Neil Young: Le Noise
The-Dream: Love-King - Missing some of the dynamism of other Dream releases.
Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles II
Local Natives: Gorilla Manor - A couple of things done well (that have been done better).
Diamond Rings: Special Affections
Toro y Moi: Causers of This
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: I Learned the Hard Way
Neil Young: Le Noise
The-Dream: Love-King - Missing some of the dynamism of other Dream releases.
Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles II
Local Natives: Gorilla Manor - A couple of things done well (that have been done better).
Diamond Rings: Special Affections
Toro y Moi: Causers of This
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: I Learned the Hard Way
