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Not all of these are absolute favorites, but they’re items I’ve listened to steadily and consider highlights of new releases this year.
This year, I’ve been trying to put new releases of interests into a series of chronological playlists throughout the year. After some initial listening, as soon as I know if I want to keep an item in rotation, I then put the whole album into a “First Cut” series of playlists, meaning I really like the record as a whole and want to keep it in steady rotation. This is everything I have in the First Cut lists — I’m sure I’ve missed adding a few things that I’ve been listening to, but it’s close.
(There’s a lot - it’s been a great year, and there’s still plenty more to come.)
Also a lot of stuff that I haven’t got to really give good listens to yet isn’t included. And stuff from the last month or two is a lot lighter. This is mostly popular-ish — - - jazz-ish and classical-ish go in other playlists (albeit for dubious reasons).
Bowie - Blackstar.
Anderson.Paak - Malibu
Her - Her Tape #1
Adrian Younge - Something about April II
Saul Williams - Martyr…
Snarky Puppy - Family Dinner v 2
Tortoise - The Catastrophist
Tillery - Tillery (fans of Becca Stevens that haven’t checked this out yet should - it’s essentially an acoustic record from Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato, and Becca Stevens - sounds very spontaneous, intimate, organic)
!llmind - Four Three Two
La Sera - Music for Listening to Music to
Mavis Staples - Livin on a High Note
Esperanza Spalding - D+evolution
Tweet - Charlene (this deserves more attention - super refreshing album, solid listen from top to bottom)
BJ the Chicago Kid - In My Mind (hoped for something better, but still a solid album imo)
Ray LaMontagne - Ouroboros (total change-up for an act I’d largely given up on/ignored for a while - sad it hasn’t gotten more attention)
Andrew Bird - Are You Serious (yo - *Fiona Apple* makes an appearance…)
The Last Shadow Puppets - Everything You’ve Come to Expect
Charles Bradley - Changes
Laura Gibson - Empire Builder (this has been a record that has haunted me since it came out — didn’t think much of it first, but I keep going back to it)
Bonnie Raitt - Dig in Deep (produced w/Joe Henry — I think her voice has only gotten *better* w/time, the guitar playing is impossible to deny, and some really solid tunes here, especially the heartbreakingly beautiful closing, Raitt-penned track “The Ones We Couldn’t Be” - https://youtu.be/dFyJly5c0vU)
Anthony Hamilton - What I’m Feelin
Anohni - Hopelessness
Chance - Coloring Book
Radiohead - Moon Shaped Pool
Kaytranada - 99.9%
Corinne Bailey Rae - Heart Speaks…
Sturgill Simpson - Sailor’s Guide to Earth (weird, weird, weird album at times - yet I totally fell in love with it - the one-two punch of the opening track’s all-out oddity and the second track’s fragility is worth the price of admission alone)
James Blake - Colour in Anything
Aesop Rock - Impossible Kid
Gregory Porter - Take Me to the Alley (ready for him to switch it up, but this is still a great set of tunes)
Jenny Gillespie - Cure for Dreaming (not sure how I found this but the song titles sucked me in - her voice and songwriting reminds me of Natalie Merchant/10k maniacs in a way)
Mr. Lif - Don’t Look Down
Bob Dylan - Fallen Angels (this is not for everyone, lol, but there’s something perfect about his recent foray into standards - this pairs quite nicely w/Shadows in the Night, which was also very good, and the band is great)
Marissa Nadler - Strangers
Braids - Companion (EP)
PJ Harvey - Hope Six Demolition Project
Paul Simon - Stranger to Stranger
case/lang/veirs - case/lang/veirs (stunningly vital record)
Maxwell - blackSUMMERSnight
Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate
Emily King - The Switch
Blood Orange - Freetown Sound
Laura Misch - Shaped by Who We Knew (!!!!!! Lesson should be all over this)
Aphex Twin - Cheetah EP
Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math
Nice as Fuck - Nice…
Ta-ku & Wafia - (m)edian EP
Hieroglyphic Being - The Disco’s of Imhoptep
Oddisee - The Odd Tape, Alwasta EP
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - EARS
-thebigfunk
~ i could still snort you under the table ~
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