I haven't seriously written about music in a rather long while so I will not speak about the quality of my writing, but the quality of the albums featured here are indisputable. I listened to a damn lot of music this year and despite generally enjoying most of it these 15 albums are the ones which I feel have really stayed with me for one reason or another. I will not be including EP's here so I wanna give a quick shout out to E-MO-TION Side B by Carly Rae Jepsen, Not the Actual Events by Nine Inch Nails and 4 1/2 by Steven Wilson for all being on the same level as everything on this list.
#15
Stranger Heads Prevail (Thank You Scientist)
Following up a debut album as phenomenal as Maps of Non-Existent Places is as good as an impossible task. Despite that Thank You Scientist manage to deliver an album not as consistent as their debut, but still has the same energy and musicianship which made it so likable. While this style of progressive rock can all too quickly just devolve into dull emotionless wankery there is a sense the entire album of just how much fun these guys are having that you start to forget that the album is as the band says, “a little cliche”. The first real song off the album The Somnambulist perfectly summarizes everything wonderful about the album: the interplay between the band and the constant peaks and valleys throughout the song give the feeling of the most well constructed roller coaster. In terms of wanky prog this year you will not find a better release than this.
#14
Plays The Music of Twin Peaks (Xiu Xiu)
Surprise of the year for me. I hadn’t really gotten into Xiu Xiu prior to listening to this but despite that I knew their output as of late had been inconsistent at best. Seeing as Twin Peaks’ soundtrack is up there as one of the most singularly perfect things to ever be created I decided to give it a try despite Xiu Xiu’s rocky rep and got one of the best cover albums I have listened to in a long time. While there are still hints of the original style in there Xiu Xiu takes the typically calming and ethereal soundtrack and transforms it into something truly disturbing. Blue Frank/Pink Room in particular sounds like a demon possessed Jimi Hendrix song while Josie’s Past manages to be easily one of the most uncomfortable listening experiences I have had this year. Instrumentally the album keeps itself diverse while still maintaining a constant sense of uneasiness. It manages to feel very Lynchian in style while still carving out a niche of its own. Whether or not Xiu Xiu can still write a truly great album of their own will be determined next year but they can sure as hell do a damn good job doing other people’s.
#13
Stage Four (Touché Amoré)
Definitely the most essential emo album to come out this year. From the first set of lyrics alone the grief vocalist Jeremy Bolm conveys throughout the entire record is immediately palpable and relatable to anyone who has gone through a similar situation in their life. While it is certainly the lyrics which are what really allows this to stand out from the other current emo releases it manages to to also deliver some of the tightest music to come out of the genre this year. The choruses are as large and anthemic as it gets and the wonderful drumming throughout the album ties everything together in a perfect little emo knot. Especially good to listen to on sad autumn walks I can 100% confirm this to be true.
#12
Floss (Injury Reserve)
While this certainly won’t win any awards for being the most intelligent hip-hop release of the year Floss is just so damn fun. The bangers on this thing bang hard, Oh Shit!!! in particular standing out as just about as joyously ridiculous as hip-hop gets. The flow throughout the album is pretty damn good all things considered but what brings up it up is the level of energy and joy which is incredibly apparent at all times throughout this. You can hear them having the time of their lives and it makes things all the better. Even when the album gets a bit more serious like on Look Mama I Did It the album manages to continue being a satisfying listen. Play this one loud and have a good time with it.
#11
Bottomless Pit (Death Grips)
With Death Grips’ penchant for the most unorthodox methods of releasing albums the most unexpected thing they could have done was announce an album and release it on time with no surprises along the way, because they’re Death Grips that is of course what happened. Bottomless Pit stands as their first album since The Money Store that really doesn’t hone in on one specific style the entire time. Eh wouldn’t sound too out of place on the average whiteboi Soundcloud playlist while Giving Bad People Good Ideas is basically Death Grips goes black metal. The wide variety of styles here added with the rather tongue in cheek lyrics at times gives the album a sense of levity Death Grips haven’t really had before. Most importantly however is the fact that when this album bangs it bangs hard, with Three Bedrooms in a Good Neighborhood and the title track being the best at that. Not a whole lot to say about this one other than Death Grips manages to continue being one of the most exciting groups of the current decade.
#10
LAM (LAM)
Here we have my prerequisite album which makes my taste appear to be far more sophisticated than it actually is. LAM is a collab effort of three Polish minimalist artists, a clarinetist, a pianist and a drummer. The three of them are all shown in this release to be tremendously talented musicians who compliment each other perfectly. The piece is split in three different sections: one which starts quietly and gradually builds into something still slow but powerful, one which remains sparse and meditative, and one which starts fast and gradually erupts into the three musicians all demonstrating just how talented they really are. While the third section is undoubtedly the high point of the project the entire thing flows brilliantly together. Hopefully this isn’t the only thing this collab effort will put out because if this tells us anything it’s that these artists can make wonderful things together.
#9
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The Glowing Man (Swans)
A casual reminder that even at the age of 62 Michael Gira is still making more extreme music than anyone reading this will likely ever make. Bands coming together after being split up for a large period of time are more often than not a recipe for disaster, but Gira has managed to push that cliche aside and put out three of the best and most insane Swans releases in a very short span. While I can point to The Glowing Man as being the “weakest” of this trilogy of two hour monstrosities it still manages to be another high point of one of the most legendary discographies. While there isn’t a whole lot different in sound from To Be Kind the tone and feel are completely different. The Glowing Man is slower and more meditative while still managing to lock itself into hypnotic grooves which never manage to get old despite the constant repetition. The groove which the title track manages to get itself into is quite possibly the best and most powerful Swans have ever created, there has yet to be a time it doesn’t leave me completely speechless. This is the last release from “this incarnation” of Swans, whether that means this is the last thing we will ever see from this band has yet to be known, but having this as their last album would be a damn good way to end it.
#8
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Paradise (White Lung)
This here was a very pleasant surprise for me. White Lung was always a band which put out albums that had the potential to be great but always managed to just stay at pretty good. This time they decided to rocket past great and put out one of the best punk releases of the year. While the vocal performance of Mish Way is more restrained than previously her penchant for gloriously powerful choruses still remains. The guitar work on this album is phenomenal, managing to be brilliant from a technical perspective while still hitting just as hard as punk guitars should. Not really that much to say here, I’m just glad White Lung have finally reached the potential they have had since the start.
#7
Crippling Lack (David Thomas Broughton)
Easily the prettiest sounding album on this list right here. Running in at just around 100 minutes Crippling Lack is living proof that if you are talented enough you can make 10+ minutes songs of almost nothing but one man and an acoustic guitar, and still have it be some of the most interesting and poignant music to come out this year. David’s voice is certainly something of its own and takes a little bit to get used to but there is a sincere beauty and sadness to it which always manages to hit me in just the right places. Lyrically the album is just as beautiful and vivid as the music accompanying it. It is certainly simple but it is highly effective. Even with the massive length there is never a moment where it gets tired or a moment where I am sucked out of a song. As good as any folk album that came out this year got.
#6
elseq 1-5 (Autechre)
Only Autechre could make four straight hours of electronic polyrhythms work. While technically five separate works put together in one package they were all released at the same time so I am counting it all as one big release. While this certainly wouldn’t be where I would tell people to start with Autechre (go for LP5 or Tri Repetae for that) it is more proof that they are the best at what they do. While there are slight differences in quality from the five sections (4 is the best and 2 is the weakest fite me) they manage to make listening to four hours of it straight a tiring but highly satisfying experience. Each section has a real distinct attribute to it which keeps things interesting all throughout. I haven’t really given this one the proper time to digest as I only got to it rather recently but despite that it easily stands as one of the highlights of the year and continues to solidify Autechre as the masters of what they do.
#5
Atrocity Exhibition (Danny Brown)
This is the only correct choice for hip-hop album of the year. I won’t hear anyone say otherwise. It is just about as off-kilter a hip-hop release as I’ve ever heard and I love every second of it. It doesn’t shy away from how abrasive it is either, with an opener which I am still trying to properly wrap my head around. The beat on this song is almost indescribable and with Danny Brown’s nasally delivery and dark lyrics added to that we get about as perfect an introduction into this madhouse of an album as possible. This album is seriously disturbing. Complementing boasts of drug induced frenzy with thoughts of isolation and suicide. The production matches the lyrics brilliantly, creating some of the most memorable and unnerving musical backdrops in hip-hop history. The truly impressive thing about them is managing to create these freakish backgrounds while still managing to have them bang hard. Ain’t it Funny and Pneumonia especially succeed in this regard. This here is a real milestone in hip-hop and I pray that it will be regarded as such as time goes on.
#4
Act V: Hymns With The Devil In Confessional (The Dear Hunter)
While concept albums used to be my absolute shit and I ate up every little bit of them that I got I am now at the point where if the story gets in the way of the actual music I get annoyed very quickly. I say this because despite this album's title it manages to not fall into this trap. There is some overarching narrative with previously released albums that I honestly know nothing about but despite that I can look at this album as a work of its own and decree that it is brilliant. This is progressive rock carried not by endless solos but by the level of songwriting on display here. Each track is a style truly unique to itself in the context of the album but manages to never once feel out of place. The transition from the gorgeous strings of the opening track Regress to the hard bass line of The Moon/Awake stands out as one of the most striking musical moments of 2016 and sets a standard throughout the album that never once wavers. As modern progressive rock goes it does not get much better than this.
#3
Nonagon Infinity (King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard)
I’m really not that hard a person to impress. Just give me 40 minutes of nothing but really good hard psych rock riffs and I’ll be satisfied. King Gizzard manages to go a step above that and gives 40 minutes of really good hard psych rock riffs that repeats infinitely. This is undoubtedly the album I have listened to the most this year because sometimes I like to have fun. The riffs here hit hard, hit fast and are intricate enough to still be musically interesting. Lyrically it’s as nonsensical as an album like this usually is but it manages to present enough fun moments to shout along with as you are speeding on the highway. As previously mentioned the this album is set up as an infinite loop. Each of the nine songs flows directly into the next and the final song flows into the first song, hence the name Nonagon Infinity. While this is gimmicky as all hell it’s a gimmick which works and just adds another layer of charm to an already joyous album. It’s an album I’ll be keeping on infinite repeat for quite a long time.
#2
Dissociation (The Dillinger Escape Plan)
There’s something to be said about ending something at the peak of its quality. While people will obviously be disappointed there will never be anything else which comes out of a project which had been at its strongest you also ensure that things never dry up and get stale; just watch almost any episode past season 10 of The Simpsons to get an example of that. The Dillinger Escape Plan have been one of the defining bands of mathcore for basically as long as the genre has been around and them breaking up will be leaving a hole in the genre which will never truly be filled. Luckily however they have ended on as strong a note as they have ever made. Dissociation gives us more of Dillinger doing what they do best, giving some of the most complex and aggressive material they have ever put out. Opening track Limerent Death sets the stage perfectly; starting off normal enough but quickly descending into absolute chaos which continues throughout most of the album. While there is plenty of experimentation with the band’s typical sound as found in the glitchy IDM of Fugue or the Faith No More esque Nothing to Forget; the real addition to the band here is how hopeless the lyrics are. Dillinger have never been what I would call an optimistic band but the lyrics here paint an especially dire picture. Coupled with Greg Puciato’s absolutely manic delivery we get easily the best vocal work of any Dillinger album. With the closing track of this album Dillinger doesn’t end their career on something big, loud and triumphant, but the most strikingly simple song they have ever made. Built from a Zach Hill drum loop the song plods along slowly as Greg gives possibly the vocal performance of his life. It plods along until nothing is left but Greg quietly singing “Finding a way to die alone”. It’s as powerful and as unexpected a final note as there can be from such a legendarily raucous band and cements Dillinger as the eternal kings of mathcore.
#1
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