Quarter One Roundup: 10 Albums from Winter 2024
“ORQUÍDEAS” - Kali Uchis
12th January - r&b / latin pop - Los Angeles, USA
Key track: Igual Que Un Ángel
I wasn’t expecting such a short turnaround for this record, returning so soon after she had given us Red Moon in Venus. On ORQUÍDEAS, Uchis returns to a more Latin rooted sound for what’s close to her best album. Across the album’s fourteen tracks Uchis weaves a rich, soulful tapestry with influences from a wide array of genres, flirting with these different styles whilst consistently delivering quality in her brand of R&B. Her vocals are compelling as ever, anchoring the album’s stylistic experimentations to a consistent focal element, all dressed up in her typically hazy production. Whilst there isn’t much to be said for the songwriting, the album plays to Uchis’ strengths, a slick, entertaining and danceable project that makes me long for a summer that remains all too many months away.
12th January - trap - Paris, France
Key track: GARE DU NORD
This streamlined record is the second from Yvnnis, a stylish up-and-comer from France’s buzzing underground. Whilst aspects of this short album remind me of the synth-laden cloud rap of the last decade, the production offers much cleaner vocals that keep Yvnnis at the centre of his songs, however interesting the beats are. His rapping is precise, varying vocal tones complimenting the different themes explored, including some surprising moments of vulnerability as he deals with life as a musician, and what that means for his relationships, particularly his family. Beside his obvious lyrical competency and emotional reflections, Yvnnis appeals through somewhat experimental production choices. As the beats glitch and morph around his engaging vocals, the album is grounded by its organic instrumentation - guitars and pianos that, whilst warped and distorted, provide a necessary depth that helps the album reach almost cinematic levels on some songs. All in all, a very rewarding listen and the only album on here that was recommended to me, so it’s my pleasure to pass that along. If this is what Yvnnis is capable of just two albums into his career then I am eagerly awaiting what he does next.
18th January - hip hop / experimental - Curitiba, Brazil
Key track: Território
Aggressive and atmospheric, if you’re not immediately turned off at the cacophony of industrial guitars and harsh brasileiro funk beats then strap in, because this album takes you for the thrill ride of your life. Across its concise 35-minute run time, Acelero finds the time to confront Brazilian politics whilst drawing from an expansive pool of sounds and ideas - sirens wail against a foundation of stuttering percussion, whilst throaty guitars and warbling synths attempt to pull the album in conflicting directions. Its messy, and there are certainly songs here that threaten to derail, but the rappers ground the project amongst its many extraneous elements, providing uniquely aggressive and consistent bars. The lyrics, I must admit, are beyond me, littered with specific references and slang I don’t understand, but they are no barrier to my enjoyment of this truly explosive project - if you want something with some genuine edge and grit, then look no further.
26th January - hip hop / experimental - Chicago, USA
Key track: Magnum Opus
There’s something to be said for the ease with which Angry Blackmen are able to balance their eponymous anger with a strong sense of… fun? Take a moment to consider this album - another entry into the industrial hip hop canon (one of three on this list alone!), full of distorted 808s, abrasive synthesisers, and very intense rapping from the duo. Despite this, it is an incredibly fun listen, I think a result of the intentionally cinematic and self-referential framing. Neither are unique to rap music, if anything they’re indicative of it, but usually on projects as intense as this the artist will use their references to add layers of pain and irony to their storytelling. Instead, Angry Blackmen move seamlessly between moments of strife to ones of ecstasy, equal parts amusing and depressive. Moreover they save the best until last with the intriguingly spacey “Magnum Opus”, a dark coda to a thrilling and glitchy album.
“Drop 7” - Little Simz
9th February - hip hop / dance - London, UK
9th February - hip hop / dance - London, UK
Key track: SOS
After a disappointing lull in an otherwise spotless career, Little Simz is back with a change of sound and reinvigorated energy. Her last album, 2022’s NO THANK YOU, Simz felt like she was coasting - unimaginative writing over mostly familiar beats and patchy production, it left a lot to be desired. On this new EP however, Simz embraces Brazilian and afrobeat rhythms to forge a much more danceable record than anything she’s done before. Whilst her move into simpler lyrical territory may feel hollow to some fans, her flows are as sharp as ever and her creativity has been refocused into her exploration of these new sounds and styles. Perhaps the greatest difference between this and her previous work is the minimalist ethos that has replaced her typically rich soul compositions. Thankfully, the crisp production helps ensure each element of the music stands out, and her vocals are the clear centrepiece. It will be interesting to see if this is just a one off, or if this new sonic direction is something that Simz will continue to pursue - either way, I’m on board.
9th February - psychedelic pop - New York, USA
Key track: Best For You and Me
This sugary sweet indie release is a nostalgia trip that’s too good to pass over - beautifully produced and paced, it finds a pleasant middle ground between the summery simplicity of George Clanton and the comforting fuzz of Neon Indian. Whether guided along by the beautiful instrumentation and glitchy production, or by Helado’s syrupy vocals, hypnotically emerging from the psychedelic haze to deliver catchy mantras of love and yearning, this album is a delight. Are some of the songs here repetitive? Yes. Does that detract from the appeal of the album? Not at all. Equip yourself with a hot drink, your best headphones and an oversized jumper and let yourself sink into the immaculate warmth of this album. You won’t regret it.
23rd February - psychedelic pop - New York, USA
Key track: Dancing In Babylon
This is a better album than Little Dark Age. Make no mistake, I adore the synthpop sheen of that album, and I love it for bringing back commercial and critical success to a band that had understandably but undeservingly been abandoned. They had dug themselves deeper and deeper into the psychedelic rabbit hole on previous releases, and Little Dark Age brought them back into the light, but I can’t say that it had the same standards of production and writing that made Congratulations their most accomplished. Well, that title has finally found a true challenger. On Loss of Life, MGMT have made their greatest step away from the lyrical abstracts of prior releases, coming up with arguably their most moving set of songs to date. Translating their poetry and existentialism into more direct and emotionally involved territory, the band finds a new foothold in a more acoustic and guitar-driven sound palette. Don’t be deceived though, as the synths, organs, and pianos are still very much present, patiently providing texture in the background until the band decides to unleash them. On “Bubblegum Dog”, behind the bristling britpop guitars and crunchy vocal refrains, these musical elements are lying in wait for solos that are gratifyingly provided, and later, on the title track, the synths are allowed at last to take over in the album’s biggest surprise. I’ll leave it for you to find out, and I encourage you to put the time in with this one - it’s a wonderfully rich and beautifully constructed album, though I’ll need the power of hindsight before I can claim it as their best.
8th March - hip hop / experimental - Los Angeles, USA
Key track: I Don't Miss My Mind
Kim Gordon never fails to be a pioneer. She contributed to the creation of the “noise rock” subgenre with her acclaimed band Sonic Youth, she’s tried her hand at free improvisation and collaborations, and now on her second solo album she’s found a new home in blending together her noisy, industrial guitar tones with glitchy trap beats and poignant spoken-word. This is seemingly an amalgamation of techniques and styles from across her varied career, and its not an easy feat in bringing all of these elements together and in such an effective project, but that’s exactly what she does. The closest reference point I can think of is in Jehnny Beth’s TO LOVE IS TO LIVE, one of my favourite albums of 2020. That comparison is tenuous however: Beth’s album was incongruous, haphazardly flitting between its influences. Gordon’s, by contrast, is a cohesive statement, a synthesis of its many components into one new style, consistent and focused across its eleven tracks. An achievement in sound.
22nd March - folk / americana - New York, USA
Key track: Over the Finish Line
Over the years I’ve developed quite a fondness for the storytelling of americana, particularly when it delves into many of the underrepresented histories of America. All My Friends is a lamenting reflection on the progress (and stagnation) of women’s rights over the last century, and a love letter (and partial biography) to some of those feminists and suffragists who fought for their progress. Upon first hearing O’Donovan’s voice, almost acapella at the start of the title track, I’ll admit I was entranced. There is a delicate beauty to it as she navigates through tales of struggles and successes, guiding the listener through a complex and intentionally unfinished narrative. This is where the album’s sequencing shines - “Over the Finish Line”, a song that on paper should make for a phenomenal closer, is followed by “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”, a Bob Dylan cover that provides more context to the album in its depressingly potent story of a wealthy man who gets away with murdering a woman, and still it is he who is known. It was a bold move from O’Donovan, leaving this song until last, but it represents exactly what the women of the previous eight songs were fighting against, and I believe its placement here encourages the listener to acknowledge that the fight is very much still ongoing, much as we might want to pretend it isn’t. Overall, an album that is as stunning in its songwriting as it is in its production and performance, and well worth a listen.
29th March - ambient pop / experimental - International
Key track: larger blossom-pleasure
This strange supergroup hails from Italy, France and the US, and I’m not sure what drew them together but the resulting textures are as wonky and peculiar as you might guess - electronic and acoustic elements blend together, and clash - sometimes there are vocals, other times unintelligible whispers pop uncomfortably close to my ears. The album moves at a slow pace, stumbling over itself without a clear throughline or a consistent, grounding element. Despite this rather harsh set of criticisms, I find this one of the most intriguing ambient albums I have heard in a while, its slow pace providing a simmering tension, the clutter of instruments soaking into me with each passing minute, and new elements commanding my attention each time. Across a relatively brief runtime, the album builds itself up and back down over and over, a crescendo falsely implying the start of another more intense song, only to be followed by a scattered and largely abstract composition. It keeps you on your toes, calm and unsettling all at once, intimate yet cold, inviting and hostile. It is this very set of juxtaposed feelings that keep me coming back for more, and whilst it won’t be my ambient album of choice for sleep, it is an encompassing listen in the dark and one that I am glad to have stumbled onto.
So, those are the albums, if you enjoyed these mini reviews and you want to keep up with more new music as it's released throughout the year, feel free to give me a follow. I can't promise to be consistent but I can promise a lack of spam. Is that enough of a selling point? Maybe...
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