Year by year in EDM, the synths get ever sleeker, the effects ever more otherworldly, and if songs are too much to ask for, at least some of the vocalists (Gunna, Zhu) sound like otherworldly beings with sentience (“Buenos Aires”, “Praise”, “All on Me”)
Nate Wooley: Seven Storey Mountain VI
Not-so-free jazz, with the drummers low-key clattering and the sculptural guitars, violins, keyboards, and bicycle bell ensuring there’s always something melodic to pay attention to, and if this turns out like one of those contemporary classical pieces that stretches fifteen minutes of stuff to forty-five, you say that like it’s a bad thing
Empress Of: I’m Your Empress Of
Partly about discovering one’s identity as the child of Honduran immigrants and mostly about a rough break-up, this sports original beats, rhythmically astute singing, nice cameos from her mom, and did you know love is a drug (“What’s the Point”, “Give Me Another Chance”, “I’m Your Empress Of”)
Emily A. Sprague: Hill, Flower, Fog
Ambient music is great because you can have your presskit write about ‘a homespun ode to existing in “this cone of time in our universe”’ and only the least homespun grouches will bat an eyelid as long as it’s pretty, which it is (“Woven”, “Horizon”, “Mirror”)
Major Lazer: Music Is the Weapon
One of 2017’s most anticipated albums finally came out last year as if the Eilish-Nas X sea change never happened, with familiar reggaeton and trop house beats that picks up some steam through sheer guest star power: J Balvin, Khalid, the guy from Mumford and Sons (“Que Calor”, “Jadi Buti”, “Trigger”)
Disclosure: Energy (Deluxe Edition)
They notably embrace African singers—there’s a song built around Introducing Etran Finatawa!—though like all their singers besides protege turned relevance-securer Khalid, they’re treated as glorified sound effects, but the likes of Fatoumata Diawara and Blick Bassy know how the game is played (“Etran”, “Know Your Worth”, “Ce n’est pas”)
Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley: Being Astral and All Registers/Power of Two
The first half is near-classic with piano and drums smashing fancy rhythmic patterns whose tunefulness would be a surprise if it wasn’t Taylor; the second half is more noodly (“Being Astral and All Registers”)
Like de-sambafied Arto Lindsay in its drawn-out vocal lines and avant-chill arrangements, though not in its relative groovelessness, especially considering how many drummers and bassists are credited (“Centreville”, “Hurt People”)
WJSN: As You Wish EP
Geopolitically interesting Korean-Chinese girl group puts the K-pop in okay pop, though the ballad is classier than the norm if you like that sort of thing, plus one song is titled “Luckitty-cat” (“Lights Up”, “As You Wish”)
Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl: Artlessly Falling
The Robert Wyatt tracks are by far the most successful, as he gives the poetry the same some-but-not-too-much respect he gives pitch (“Bigger Flames”, “Walls and Roses”, “Lemon Trees”)
New Zealander who counts as Americana as she was born in the USA (well, San Francisco) provides Victoria and Lucinda Williams registers, tricky folkie melodies and ironies, a bit of tedium because did I mention this is Americana, some rockism because did I mention San Francisco (“Don’t You Know Who I Am”, “The Last Word”)
Chloe x Halle: Ungodly Hour
Two good harmony singers and one increasingly savvy producer, yet I can’t help thinking their idea of an ungodly hour is 11 pm (“Tipsy”, “Ungodly Hour”)
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Next week: Sports! Sorry.