The short length and minimal production means Untitled Unmastered occasionally lacks the dynamics of Lamar’s previous work, but it remains an enthralling postscript to his masterpiece.
Hopelessness sees Anohni take a harder radical line--her rich, red velvet voice set not in the pastoral piano landscapes of lauded past albums, but in the contemporary electronic stylings of two producers: Glasgow DJ Hundson Mohawke and his Warp label contemporary, Brooklyn's Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never.
Schmilco in particular is best consumed as a contemplative whole.
They might not be able to change the past, but Night Thoughts is the work of a band very much at home in the here and now, all the while looking forward. Still something else, still something wonderful.
Morby has delivered largely run-of-the-mill roots rock, but Singing Saw is more measured.
Much of Give A Glimpse has the warm familiarity of a beloved sweater, but none of it sounds rote or autopilot. Mascis might be tending the same patch, but there's fresh flowers sprouting from that soil.
With its wealth of sonic adventure, its thoughtful merger of the personal and the political, and its four choice guest spots (Jack White; Kendrick Lamar; James Blake; Abel Makkonen Tesfaye AKA The Weeknd), Lemonade is a dazzling example of pooled talent coalescing around an iconic doyenne. There can be little doubt on whose head Prince’s crown should now sit.
There's an occasional clunkiness and Let England's Shake's visionary fever is lacking. Yet there's an authority in Harvey's voice, her brisk musical and lyrical stride demanding the listener keep up.
It’s a beguiling, meandering sprawl that rewards total immersion.
Post Pop Depression is every bit as startling, both in sound, and end-of-days openness.
FLOTUS is highly processed, highly textured--and yet for the most part, it sounds surprisingly natural and unforced.
Skeleton Tree is an extraordinary piece of work, one that might impact upon you profoundly if you choose to bed-down in its dark corridors of hurt.
Kiwanuka’s talent reasserts itself on a broader canvas through 10 compelling compositions that chart the life and thoughts of a young man growing up fast and in public, all expressed in ways anyone can empathise with.