Consequence of Sound's Top 25 Albums of 2016 (So Far)

Consequence of Sound's Top 25 Albums of 2016 (So Far)

Original Source →

25.

Greys - Outer Heaven
April 22, 2016
Critic Score
76
9 reviews

Outer Heaven finds Greys indulging in their experimental inclinations to add color to a framework not especially prone to deviation. By challenging their listeners and pushing themselves, they manage to sound fresh by refusing to settle.

24.

The Body - No One Deserves Happiness
March 18, 2016
Critic Score
76
11 reviews
Despite the misery that inspires and thrives within their suffocating work, the band shows a remarkable sense of vitality, inspiring to longtime and new fans alike.

23.

White Lung - Paradise
May 6, 2016
Critic Score
76
31 reviews

Paradise is White Lung pushing their limits and coming out bloodied, hungry for more. It’s a record full of disease, doubt, dumpsters, and death, with the band rising above it all and reveling in their filth. Damn anyone who tries to get in their way.

22.

KAYTRANADA - 99.9%
May 6, 2016
Critic Score
80
27 reviews
Whether working in strands of hip-hop, house, funk, or whatever next might come to mind, there’s something inherently glowing about his beats. All those genres are jammed together into a single album, just like they are within Celestin; he finds joy and fun in them all, so why bother trying to deny any of it?

21.

Låpsley - Long Way Home
March 4, 2016
Critic Score
74
21 reviews

Exploring is a good word for a lot of what Låpsley does across these 12 tracks, and her most fascinating discoveries come when she pairs organic sounds with the aggressively synthetic soundscapes normally associated with electronic music.

20.

The Range - Potential
March 25, 2016
Critic Score
78
20 reviews

Potential not only makes a shockingly strong case for the top tier of contemporary sample-indebted achievements (alongside pillars including Burial’s Rival Dealer EP and Jamie xx’s In Colour), but does so while insisting that the universe, much like ourselves, will never be explored in its entirety.

19.

Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
April 15, 2016
Critic Score
82
26 reviews
While he may not be breaking new ground here, Morby shows that there’s plenty of resonance yet to be mined from familiar tropes while also finally finding a distinct voice within.

18.

Deftones - Gore
April 8, 2016
Critic Score
77
31 reviews

Gore could be the Deftones’ best album, but you can earnestly say that about any album they’ve ever created and make a strong argument. If anything, it’s the most modern, and a statement that style and substance are not mutually exclusive.

16.

Mothers - When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired
February 26, 2016
Critic Score
78
16 reviews

Like all impactful records, When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired elevates its words with sharp, aware, and plush instrumentation. 

15.

Tim Hecker - Love Streams
April 8, 2016
Critic Score
80
28 reviews

Very few composers can achieve this kind of beauty or this kind of experimentation, and yet Hecker does both, time and time again. Love Streams feels a lot like drifting along a cool river under the Northern Lights on a sailboat, until the boat sprouts wings and zooms into the heavens.

14.

Savages - Adore Life
January 22, 2016
Critic Score
80
44 reviews

Adore Life is many things, but the thing it feels most like is a celebration. On one level, it’s a celebration of the fact that guitar-driven rock music is probably here to stay. But it’s also a celebration of life at its strangest, messiest, and most vital.

13.

Into It. Over It. - Standards
March 11, 2016
Critic Score
75
10 reviews

Standards is by far the most bombastic album of Into It. Over It.’s career.

12.

Explosions In The Sky - The Wilderness
April 1, 2016
Critic Score
76
27 reviews

For a group whose bread and butter has until now been the musical equivalent of a whisper building to an H-bomb explosion over the course of twelve minutes, The Wilderness proves that Explosions in the Sky aren’t stuck in any creative rut.

11.

Frankie Cosmos - Next Thing
April 1, 2016
Critic Score
74
19 reviews

Frankie Cosmos solidifies her style by strengthening her voice. Next Thing gives short songs life, chasing the vibe of impromptu chirps thanks to cushioned, velvety delivery.

10.

Sioux Falls - Rot Forever
February 19, 2016
Critic Score
74
3 reviews

The massive Rot Forever gives Sioux Falls the capacity to be both: both sensitive and aggressive, messy and precise, cloyingly retro and fiercely modern.

9.

LUH - Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing
May 6, 2016
Critic Score
77
15 reviews
They avoid the placid, disillusioned platitudes that can befall music like this, earning the catharsis they strive for. Their commitment and belief to what they’re saying sells it, and by building a world of sound that rises to meet their longing, they achieve that grand scale.

8.

James Blake - The Colour in Anything
May 6, 2016
Critic Score
79
34 reviews

Now that a broken heart’s left him wounded, the melancholic fissure of his music widens, dropping him into a pool deeper than any he’s ever found himself swimming in before. Yet here he is, splitting it up, sectioning it off, and presenting a work that feels equal parts natural and divine.

7.

Pinegrove - Cardinal
February 12, 2016
Critic Score
78
9 reviews

Pinegrove builds and burns a lot on Cardinal, and they’re left with the hard-earned knowledge that everything’s probably going to be alright. It’s not the stuff teenage anthems are made of, maybe, but maturity comes with its own small pleasures.

6.

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
May 8, 2016
Critic Score
87
49 reviews

Only now does it seem like Radiohead, a group too big to break up, could call it quits after pouring everything into their music, ending with a record of personal exhaust examined through leisurely means.

5.

Anderson .Paak - Malibu
January 15, 2016
Critic Score
81
19 reviews

.Paak seems to be in total control of his talent. It might be a challenge for him to make something as relatable and soulful as Malibu again, but fortunately, the album has the kind of substance that suggests he’s built to last.

4.

ANOHNI - Hopelessness
May 6, 2016
Critic Score
81
38 reviews
For so long, ANOHNI had felt like a supernatural force, of this world but able to see a thread of love and hope through all the sadness. By expressing the grimmest realities, that thread becomes harder and harder to find. But ANOHNI’s music makes that struggle all the more powerful.

3.

David Bowie - ★ [Blackstar]
January 8, 2016
Critic Score
86
45 reviews

Blackstar is a battle cry against boredom, a wide-eyed drama set in a world just beyond our scopes. It doesn’t get more Bowie than that.

2.

Beyoncé - Lemonade
April 23, 2016
Critic Score
90
38 reviews

Lemonade marks Beyoncé’s most accomplished work yet. It is the perfect combination of the sharp songwriting of 4 with the visual storytelling acumen of her self-titled record. Here, we see Beyoncé fully coming into her own: wise, accomplished, and in defense of herself.

1.

Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book
May 13, 2016
Critic Score
86
27 reviews
Serving as a stark antithesis to the drill movement, Chance’s gospel worship doesn’t seek to hold a mirror to the daily horrors of Chicago, but instead to uplift, empower, and heal its people.
Original Source: http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/06/top-25-albums-of-2016-so-far/
Comments
Sign in to comment
No one has said anything yet.
Connect with AOTY
Like Us
Follow Us

February Playlist