A pretty satisfying abstract rap potluck, all things considered.

FAVORITES:
> Rose Royce
> Correspondence
> A Cure for the Common
> Lemon Rinds
> I-78 / Capillaries
> Medicine Drawer
> North Bridge
> Wan Chai
> A Scholar’s Rock
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Money in the Wild

Move over, 151a, there’s a new sheriff in town! I didn’t expect the full package to blend mainstream catchiness and instrumental eccentricity so smoothly!

FAVORITES:
> m’Lover
> Can’t Let Go, Juno
> Hey Big Star
> Ode to My Next Life
> Honeybody
> Say Yeah
> Why Don’t You Answer Me
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Who’d You Kill

Didn’t know what the cover art was until I zoomed in :(. Very cool music, though! Guitars reminded me of nails on a chalkboard (but in a good way???).

FAVORITES:
> Mosquito
> Donkey Show
> Slate
> Sun In
> Amaranth
> Crossing Guard
> Pure Mode
> Maria
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Divers

Doesn’t peak quite like their debut, but still sounds very sprightly and sweet.

FAVORITES:
> Harvey
> She Needs Him
> Under Wraps
> If You Know What’s Right
> Love on the Line (Call Now)
> Mannie’s Smile
> Don’t Think It Over
> Blue Lips
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Breathing Easy

Not a lot of references to Jane, despite the title, and as a whole the music’s kind of same-y, but there are certainly some standouts (looking at you, Sunday Morning). All in all, not a bad start for the band! Surely it can only go uphill from here!

FAVORITES:
> Sunday Morning
> This Love
> She Will Be Loved
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Secret

Annie Clark and her endlessly adaptable voice could keep me going for days on end.

FAVORITES:
> Marrow
> The Party
> The Strangers
> Actor Out of Work
> The Neighbors
> Laughing with a Mouth of Blood
> Just the Same but Brand New
> Black Rainbow
> Save Me from What I Want
LEAST FAVORITE:
> The Sequel

Very potent Fleetwood Mac energy off this one (which is complimentary!).

FAVORITES:
> Dusty
> Earthstar
> Summer Sweat
> Mountain
> Draggin’
> Baby You’re Lying
> Rag
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Una Spiaggia

A decent improvement over its predecessor in my opinion - it sounds more like the group coming into their own.

FAVORITES:
> I Heard
> Ebony Sky
> Come to Life
> Queen Is Dead
> Mr. Martyr
> Way Down in the Hole
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Bones

Impossibly groovy, textured and alive! One of the all-time great albums and arguably the pinnacle of recorded reggae music.

FAVORITES:
> Jamming
> Exodus
> Three Little Birds
> Natural Mystic
> Waiting in Vain
> One Love / People Get Ready
> So Much Things to Say
> Turn Your Lights Down Low
> Guiltiness
LEAST FAVORITE:
> The Heathen

Heavy on the egg punk concentrate!

FAVORITES:
> Running
> Pod
> Defect
> Microbe
> Fitness
> Xerox
> Powerball
> Town Topic
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Stretching

For some reason it didn’t sound like Pixies to me, but it’s still arguably their best work since their heyday in the 80s and 90s.

FAVORITES:
> On Graveyard Hill
> In the Arms of Mrs. Mark of Cain
> Silver Bullet
> Catfish Kate
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Los Surfers Muertos

Very tongue-in-cheek across the board, but it’s made pretty palatable by Newman’s homey vocals and warm piano playing.

FAVORITES:
> Marie
> Rednecks
> Louisiana 1927
> Rollin’
> Birmingham
> Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)
> Back on My Feet Again
> Kingfish
LEAST FAVORITE:
> A Wedding in Cherokee County

A wild and wooly musical journey, like underground hip hop’s One Thousand and One Nights.

FAVORITES:
> Crocodile Tears
> Blue Dream
> The Wake
> Pompeii
> Body of Work
> The Man Who Would Be King
> Human Resources
> Frozen Sunlight
> Duck Hunt
> DMCA
> A Mis Enemigos (High Tide)
> The Foreigner
> Sour Grapes
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Nigerian Email

Backyard party vibes galore! I’m spinning this at the family reunion!

FAVORITES:
> 10%
> Gray Area
> The Worst In Me
> What You Need
> Freefall
> Need It
> Vex Oh
> Go DJ
> Scared to Death
LEAST FAVORITE:
> September 21

Sadly all over the place. I’ll always respect Nemuri’s ambition but this album doesn’t coalesce as smoothly or even as interestingly as her past projects.

FAVORITES:
> anointment
> terrain vague
> supernova
LEAST FAVORITE:
> symposium

Carries some very strong David Lynch vibes, what with the smoky jazz instrumentals and clear-cutting vocals, all wrapped in a bow of mystique. All to say that the album’s quite good!

FAVORITES:
> No Tiempo
> Atemporal
> Bochinche
> Contenida
> Enviada
> Gena
> Dicen
> El Galatzo
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Epilogo

It’s a classic for a reason, the band’s synthesis of new wave and world beats is infectious!

FAVORITES:
> This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
> Burning Down the House
> Girlfriend Is Better
> Making Flippy Floppy
> Slippery People
> Pull Up the Roots
> Moon Rocks
> Swamp
LEAST FAVORITE:
> I Get Wild / Wild Gravity

Good music to listen in the afternoon while doing stuff (cleaning, cooking, ruminating, etc.) :)

FAVORITES:
> This Is Your Life
> Dissolving
> All I Wanted
> Wasting My Time
> Get in Line
> Old Bruiser
LEAST FAVORITE:
> What’s This All About

Industrial and danceable, I’m sure Jesus would groove to it.

FAVORITES:
> D.A.N.C.E
> Genesis
> Stress
> Phantom, Pt. II
> Let There Be Light
> Waters of Nazareth
> Phantom
> DVNO
> Newjack
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Valentine

Pretty sluggish when taken as a whole, despite there being some bubblier songs now and then.

FAVORITES:
> That Life
> The Garden
> Meshuggah
> Nadja
> Layla
LEAST FAVORITE:
> Drag