2018 Albums I Love /no shift
the previous post were the albums that with time get stuck in you. effort is part of the journey to understanding and loving and finding beauty hidden quite clearly. these these are basically the pop albums. they aren’t exactly pop, they just get under your skin with the beauty first, and then give you so much more, and by that time they’re stuck. they use pop to their advantage, while never falling head over heals into the genre. so listen and develop the crush, the love will come with time, as they continue giving you beauty with depth.
d’alva — maus êxitos
there’s life lived and felt on this album, that’s given space here to dance. it has frustration, disappointment, disillusionment, as well as attraction, marvel, and immense love without bounds. the songs are delicious, the topics are personal to both alex and the listener, with specificity. it’s pure emotion fully expressed. there’s little holding back, thus feeling essential, to have been written, recorded, and heard. and all this with musical beauty for days.
rosalía — el mal querer
exploring tradition through the modern lens, flamenco feels alive and current through this album, and where it most succeeds is in the emotion. it’s massive in feel, and grows as the relationship described leads to a clausura and the rebuilding of the self takes place. this album shows her process of finding her poder, and allows all the feelings on that path to be fully expressed, from the lows of lamento to life in the éxtasis. a trail is left for the listener to grow from.
hop along — bark your head off, dog
i think it was the off kilter vocal rhythm and melody that sealed this for me. it sounds obvious that the voice and breath are the vehicle for emotion, intensity and most of the melody, and here it hit me most. hitting breathy notes and rhythms that i just want to sing along to. i just found myself coming back to it over and over, looking for the voice and melodies to make my heart happy. it’s exciting and makes me think and open up to the world with smiles and hugs.
young fathers — cocoa sugar
my most anticipated album this year, their energy is what i most love, and the rhythm brings it in droves. this allows the melodies to feel textured, between fragile and unbreakable, disquieting and confident. they are forging their own way through music, one where emotion is clearer than lyrics, energy is front and centre, and through those the message is clear, caring, and often in your face. the unpolished, unfiltered music gets straight at the heart. welcome it.
elza soares — deus é mulher
in many ways this legend holds a lot of the past, and in her eighties she pushes samba forward. she uses her energy and voice to shake brazil, its culture and the topics that are moving the country, full of grit, sensuality and politics. as with rosalía and fauxe, the future of music has a powerful milestone here: she forges a path into the uncertain with reality, meaning, tradition and such care that she can play with chaos, blended sounds and risks. while you dance.
mount eerie — now only
i don’t know if it’s right for this album to be here. it needed to. emotional. in a way experimental. a storytelling album. indie folk. a collage. still digesting his wife’s death, he’s starting to welcome life. trying to understand the idea that his grief got great critical reception with the previous album. the songs have bones and meander and ramble, he has more to say, new emotions to feel. it feels like he’s filling the space with sound, close to arriving. somewhere.
i played with poems in the previous 6 albums.
and become loud in the next 6.
