for fans of: The Internet, James Blake, Childish Gambino
a poor illustration by me
The only thing that could awaken me from my eight-month writer's block/blogging hibernation was the same cosmic powers that placed Frank Ocean back into public consciousness. Frank's four year hiatus has, along with 'Hotline Bling' and Harambe, provided just enough meme material to last the Internet this long. Thankfully, Frank Is Dead is finally dead as he presents Blonde: possibly the most anticipated album of all time. No pressure then.
Blonde is not a pop album. It's not the euphoric, commercially on-point, occasional sing-a-long Channel Orange that made Frank Ocean a cult icon. Maybe that's why some fans haven't jumped completely on ship... just yet. Blonde is initially faux-avant-garde. It's an exploration, a way for Ocean to find his feet; oozing subtlety and spewing poetry to make Whitman green with envy. The Frank of Channel Orange fame has regenerated, and in his place comes someone every so slightly wary of his musical ambition.
This is mapped out in opening track 'Nikes'. It begins life rich in crispy autotune, interposing lyrics like "R.I.P. Pepsi / R.I.P. Trayvon, that nigga looked just like me" before it meanders into the unmistakable voice that a generation has missed. Much like the rest of Blonde, the noticeable lack of percussion makes it audibly light. Yet, also like Blonde as an entity, the labyrinthine artistry of Ocean weighs rings heavily in the silence.
That's not to say that there aren't parts of Blonde that are dyed orange. Much of the album is gracefully opiated and no longer youthfully hedonistic, yet many of the wistful and dreamy soundscapes wouldn't be far from home with Blonde's predecessor. This rings most true with the first half of the album, particularly with 'Ivy', 'Pink + White' (not to mention that Channel Orange features tracks entitled both 'Pink Matter' and 'White') and 'Skyline To' which excel in the trademark "indie-fied" hip-hop and paradoxically modernly Shakespearean poetry that have secured Ocean's superstardom.
His aforementioned stardom is one quite unlike any other, best exemplified in the album's use of featured artists. Only a musician who humbly commands the kind of respect that Ocean has could score a Beyoncé feature ('Pink + White')... and make her only provide backing vocals. I'm certain even Jay-Z could never get away with such a feat. It's a similar story with 'Skyline To': upon reading "featuring Kendrick Lamar" on the tracklist, the anticipation mounts to hear maybe an 'Alien Girl' or even a 'untitled 07'-esque refrigerated verse. Instead the rap superstar offers merely six odd words, shifting attention away from him and onto the musical landscape that him and Ocean have created. This composition, again like Blonde as a completed body of work, everything is as mis-matched as it is delicately balanced.
Yet, the most unlikely collaboration on Blonde turns out to be the most winning; possibly the most fitting track on the album's audible aesthetic. 'Self Control' features Swedish hip-hop hero Yung Lean, thus perfectly encapsulating the album's power struggle between its own simplicity and complexity. Every way the robotics bend make it sound like an illegal high in a way that's simultaneously out of this world and grounded firmly on earth. Then the strings kick in: it's affirmed that Blonde was worth the wait. It cements its status as a comfort album - an album for blankets and early mornings and awkward comedowns.
Arguably, Blonde wouldn't have been possible without a changing music industry. As digitalisation has more or less taken over the way audiences consume music (bar the vinyl revolution and emphasis on touring to generate revenue where album sales may miss out), artists are drawing attention to their upcoming releases through alternative mediums. While Beyonce twinned her blockbuster album Lemonade with an accompanying short film and Kanye continues to re-release edited and updated versions of The Life of Pablo, Frank Ocean has too selected streaming exclusivity as well as simultaneously releasing a very experimental visual album and a zine featuring the now-infamous McDonald's poem by Kanye (not worth reading, btw. Just adding it for interest.). And people still say they're "disappointed" with Frank. Sheesh, what's a guy gotta do to get some commendation? He cares 'bout y'all.
Whether he's navigating 21st century perceptions of dating and masculinity in the sketch-like 'Good Guy', churning alternative sunshine beats in 'Nights' or purring out odes to "your speckled face" on 'Seigfried', Blonde proves to be not always easy listening, but always a morphed kind of beautiful. Take your time to listen more than once before you fully form your opinion, because there's way more to Blonde than meets the ear. It was a really difficult album to write about - not even taking my writer's block into consideration. Yet, each time I've relistened there's something I haven't heard before and I'm slowly discovering myself feeling every syllable, every reverberated chord. If you've ever read Beckett, you'd know that everything is detailed and each word and punctuation mark is there for a reason. I feel like Blonde is almost an audible version of this experience. It's an album of nuances, and you've got to be open to being responsive to it all.
"Acciomixtape's end of year mixes are always the best. This is a fact." - Kanye West
A soundtrack for 2015.
21. Colors - Halsey
for fans of: Ryn Weaver, Troye Sivan, Banks
2015 was a great year for pop music. It's been a long time coming, but it seems that enjoying pop music is well on its way to becoming something of the mainstream. Critics are warming up to sugary beats, the stars are getting more serious and music snobs are becoming more and more extinct. Halsey, for example, has been hailed as the 'next-big-thing' but I personally think she's run-of-the-mill and a bit embarrassing and unbearable). She's nothing particularly original and seems to have molded her entire persona on a cocky model of Lorde, but this song still strikes a chord. Once the childish first verse dissolves into the bridge, everything supercharges. The sultry alien beats merge with the hue-themed lyrics to create a kaleidoscopic atmosphere, leading into the powerhouse chorus which oozes vulnerable emotion. Perhaps Halsey is so acclaimed is because of moments like her enchanting spoken monologue, the cherry on top of a remarkable pop song: "you were red and you liked me because I was blue / you touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky / and you decided purple just wasn't for you".
20. Eventually - Tame Impala
for fans of: MGMT, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Temples
On their strongest album to date, Tame Impala have been more scrupulous with their sound. Their universe is more sonic and immersive as it tackles the kind of 80s electronica that makes you think of permed hairdos being blown about by a wind machine. On Eventually, Kevin Parker whines "I know that I'll be happier / and I know you will too" in, what has become, a hugely reflective heartbreak anthem. The sticky bass reverberates through crashing synths as musical moments are left to run wild before abruptly being reined back in. Psych music has found its place in the 21st century with Tame Impala.
19. Loud Places (feat. Romy) - Jamie xx
for fans of: James Blake, Disclosure, SBTRKT
Part of Jamie xx's Mercury Prize nominated In Colour spectrum, Loud Places is gorgeous. Two thirds of The xx feature on this track, with one of the world's most knowing producers handing vocal duties to bandmate Romy Croft. The results are bewitching. Romy's hushed whispering vocals pull you in and make you listen closely - they're effortless and minimalistic yet introspective, complementing Jamie xx's downbeat production. The pulse of London's clubbing scene (that's the cool East London haunts, not Tiger Tiger Croydon) runs through the veins of Loud Places, making me think of blurry eyed drops and the luminosity of night buses. Soon the chorus builds spectacularly and you're lost in electric gospel where everything is alive and wonderful.
18. Know Yourself - Drake
for fans of: A$AP Rocky, Future, Post Malone
The king of the meme released a boundless stream of hits this year, starting with his surprise album, If You're Reading This It's Too Late, lighting fires with the Meek Mill diss track Back To Back, and finishing with worldwide phenomenon Hotline Bling. Whatever Drake touches seems to turn to gold, and the hurricane thrill of Know Yourself is no exception. Being the only person to ever refer to his hometown of Toronto as 'The Six' is a minor detail to the Canadian rapper - he can do whatever the fuck he wants. This time around he illustrates his demons racing through the city with him on top of the glistening neon beat that so comfortably glides along beneath him. It's classic Drake - "I'm the realist, but I'm also emotionally unstable". If only hip-hop superstars could be emos too.
17. Ladybird - Beach Baby
for fans of: Alvvays, Beach House, Gengahr
Deep in the grooves among the lyrical nonsense of Beach Baby's debut single ("I wanna be your brother / take a bite of the apple and just spit it out / I wanna be your mother / raise you up and fuck you right up" like...okay...) there seems to be a momentum. There is a growth in the song's melioration from stubborn acoustic twangs into wide-eyed indie rock - and it's a little bit magical. Everything is layered - the alternating lead vocals, swirling percussion, hazy backing vocals, ceaseless guitars - to create a dreamy musical landscape. Understated beauty at its best.
16. Baby Blue (feat. Chance The Rapper) - Action Bronson
for fans of: Joey Bada$$, Childish Gambino
There are a lot of rappers way more meaningful and necessary than Action Bronson, but few have an audible charisma like his. Baby Blue is a scathing curse to an ex-lover that still manages to be endearing and fanciful. Bronson's raspy, soulful delivery is somber and unapologetic, whereas Chicago superstar Chance The Rapper is rogue enough to distribute a very sincere 'fuck you' to whoever deserves it. This is braided into jazz and funk inspiration, which become less abstract once you know the track has been produced by Mark Ronson, drawing unlikely comparisons to the attitude of someone like Lily Allen. Spiteful and petty, but the mid-tempo bounce adds humour, not hatred, to both rapper's use of ingenious wordplay.
15. Mess Around - Cage The Elephant
for fans of: The Strokes, Palma Violets, Spring King
Kentucky rockers Cage The Elephant seem to have almost completely ditched the teenage angst of their first two albums, first evident in 2013's Melophobia which was rife with a new kind of maturity. Though they haven't returned to the jumpy anxiety of their early years, they've shaken off this sophistication in favour of a regression into cheeky adolescent rock - and this is a good thing. Produced by god almighty Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, it's an entirely eccentric take on crooked and gnarly blues sounds. Self-proclaimed OutKast influences are evident in the mischief of Matt Schultz's delivery, resulting in a playful and vintage-tinged yet full-sounding rock record that paves the way to a reckless fourth album.
14. Can't Feel My Face - The Weeknd
for fans of: Miguel, Frank Ocean, Trey Songz
Who would've thought that the guy with the filthy lyrics and the poodle on his head could turn around and make one of the world's most astronomical hit records? Beauty Behind The Madness spawned a superabundance of polished hits, but none were as polished as his Michael Jackson moment Can't Feel My Face. To say this track is smooth is an overwhelming understatement - it's so damn smooth you could spread it on toast. The extraterrestrial production pulls you in from the minute it drops and your feet are left itching until the very end. With basslines that wouldn't be out of place on the Drive soundtrack and lyrics so absurd they almost make sense (he can't feel his face when he's with her? Well okay, I'll roll with that), Can't Feel My Face revels in its own simplicity. What The Weeknd lacks in vowels, he makes up for in universal appeal.
13. One Great Song And I Could Change The World - Swim Deep
for fans of: Peace, The 1975, Splashh
"Have I said why I love the sunrise? It's cause it's only gonna get lighter / feels different than paradise, is this love?" lead singer Austin Williams murmurs into the static on the opening track of Swim Deep's second album Mothers. Optimistically and epically titled, One Great Song And I Could Change The World has the kind of futuristic orchestral arrangements you may expect to find in a space movie soundtrack. Having ditched the drippy indie rock, Swim Deep have found bliss in the euphoric psychedelia evident in songs like this. Everything sounds deeper, snappier and magnified, lost in the acidic twilight of fizzy synths. One dizzy spoken monologue later and Swim Deep have a great song on their hands, but can it change the world?
Just because Honey Moon are the lesser-known act on this list, it doesn't mean they need be overlooked. Ellie, the first track from their self-titled and independently released EP, is a pensive catapult back into the sounds of childhood. Listening to this track feels like watching a home video VHS tape. Whimsical and romantic, Ellie is shrouded in heavenly harmonies and shimmering instrumentals. The atmosphere created is of nothing but luscious and self-indulgent summer laziness and the innocent gaiety of first love.
11. Different Angle - The Cribs
for fans of: The Courteeners, Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines
This year, The Cribs released their seventh studio album For All My Sisters - arguably their best to date. It boasted pop-tinged garage with tough punk edges. While the lead single Burning For No One tingled with disco vibes, Different Angle blusters potent rock and roll that reaks of classic status. As the song makes its way through each verse, chorus and bridge, the melodies beef up and the band's dynamics flourish. Lacking no luster on the Jarman brothers' behalves, the slippery guitars make for riotous festival rock for the ages. Drenched in harmless fun and characterised by shout-a-long chourses, it will have Cribs fans old and new toe-tapping for years to come.
for fans of: Public Access TV, Twin Peaks, Circa Waves
Kickstarting the top ten is Jasmine - a diamond in the rough from new kids on the block The Magic Gang. Hotly tipped for 2016, the Brighton band offer an airy approach to sprightly indie rock. It's refreshing to see a band from this genre not taking themselves too seriously and embracing their uncoolness. Their upbeat nerd rock is most conspicuous in Jasmine: modest yet tender and heartfelt, built around coquettish riffs and buoyant hand claps. Woozy and summery, The Magic Gang have captured the kitschness of a certain 50s barber quartet feeling for the modern age.
9. You're A Germ - Wolf Alice
for fans of: Drenge, Alabama Shakes, Superfood
This year Wolf Alice released one of the best debut albums to come out of the UK music scene in many years. My Love Is Cool won the hearts and souls of music fans and critics alike with their unique brand of glitter grunge. The album had a fair sprinkle of cheery indie sweetness (Bros, Freazy) but was most daring when the London quartet dabbled in bold, slaughtering rock. You're A Germ is the best of a very, very good bunch. Beginning quiet and unassuming (oh, how you've underestimated Wolf Alice), the track abruptly, and heroically, dives headfirst into brash noise. It's a fearless track, characterised by tenacity and screaming countdowns, but, of course, it's bloody and shameless and ticks all the right boxes. Long live Wolf Alice.
8. Jealous - Nick Jonas
for fans of: Justin Timberlake, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande
As a feminist I should hate this song - it's possessive, portrays women as solely purposed to be the object of the male gaze, and its lyrical content encourages women to relinquish control of their own sexuality even though many live performances of the song feature scantily clad women dancing behind Jonas. However, I am only human and I have a weakness for boppy pop classics. Maybe it's the surprising and new-found slinky confidence of the baby Jonas brother or the glorious falsetto hook that make this song truly irresistible. The slick R&B infused production and aeronautical singalong chorus are a recipe for chart success. Huge props to Nick J: in early 2015, when this fuckboy anthem was unleashed in the UK, Jealous was well on its way to being the pop song of the year. However, that was until What Do You Mean hit the airwaves and pissed all over it (that said, Sorry soon ran away with that crown).
Kendrick Lamar is important. Really important. Not only are modern day legends clamoring for a piece of the Kendrick effect (David Bowie has claimed that he was influenced by the US rapper on his forthcoming album), but music fans across the universe are all nodding simultaneously and praising his sophomore effort To Pimp A Butterfly as the album of the year (this fan is wholeheartedly in agreement). There are a plethora of tracks to choose from as the best from the album, but there's something special about Hood Politics. As ever, Kendrick's flow is smart, but it's sharper here - teasing aggression instead of respiring it like he does in The Blacker The Berry. There's a certain cheek in charting his journey "from Compton / to Congress" that he seems very self-aware of, highlighted by the mellow and sophisticated beats that boil under his spits. Lamar has been instrumental in promoting the #BlackLivesMatter movement and is taking no liberties in accentuating its prominence both socially and politically, calling out the "Democrips and Rebloodicans" in a fusion of a critique of 'real' politics and the politics of hip-hop. When the offbeat synthetic drums drop out and he pipes "Obama say what it do", Hood Politics falls far into soul-influenced glory and reminds us of Kendrick's genius.
6. Shutdown - Skepta
for fans of: Wiley, JME, Stormzy
Grime superstar Skepta has arguably had the biggest breakout year of them all. Skepta went from the guy who London school kids used to talk about on Formspring (that didn't happen to you? Where were you?) to the favourite of your upper middle class white friends who live on country estates in Suffolk. Everyone's had his name tattooed on them, from kids who belong on Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents to actual Drake (kind of), proving that, bar Adele's Hello, Shutdown is probably the most iconic song to come out of 2015. It has topped best track lists complied by everyone from The Guardian to NME, and is way more important than anyone gives credit to the North London MC for. It's catchy, has a bombastic brass intro, and is entirely tongue-in-cheek as it basks in its own brilliance. The king of counterculture is a true trailblazer with fire under his Adidas.
5. Bitch Better Have My Money - Rihanna
for fans of: Beyoncé, Azealia Banks, Nicki Minaj
Rihanna courted controversy this year (does she ever shy away from it?) upon premiering the accompanying video of 2015's coolest club hit, Bitch Better Have My Money. Was there a feminist message behind the gory violence? Or was it entirely misogynistic and reductive? Were there important representations of race intertwined in the narrative? Or was it all simply self-indulgent and ridiculous? In short, the video split opinion and distracted from how kind of brilliant the song itself is, suggesting we're all a bit too wrapped up in the fickle Madonna-Miley shock factor. Executively produced by Kanye West (who else), Rihanna shakes off her R&B royalty in favor of taking her rightful place as the commanding and reigning empress of hip-hop. Melodically, the track is monotone but the metallic beat drips with a wholly lovable breed of arrogance. The OG trap queen is back, this time evolved as a sassy garage gangster, and she doesn't show any signs of slowing down.
4. Sooth Lady Wine - Matt Corby
for fans of: Jeff Buckley, Chet Faker, Ben Howard
Following a hiatus that has lasted for over two years, Australian singer-songwriter (and real-life Jesus) Matt Corby declared on his Facebook page "I recorded an album two years ago that I didn't like". This was the sound of the rumbling folk-rock of his international smash hits Brother and Resolution, however his latest single, Sooth Lady Wine, could not be further away from the genre he made his name in. As the honey-soaked production ripples through the instrumental, Corby croons "you sold me out to the man to the man to the man with the nuclear plant", bringing hippy 70s vibes into context, taking listeners on a delirious acid trip. There is a timelessness in the song's swooning psychedelia; its syrupy riffs and jazzy percussion are delicious. Corby has found himself knee-deep in a new, drippy kind of genre and, by the sound of things. he has already mastered it.
3. Sorry - Justin Bieber
for fans of: music in general
2015 was the year everyone became a Belieber: the critics, your nan, the roadmen on your Snapchat, and the ones who were always fans but concealed their love for fear of public ridicule. His comeback blockbuster Purpose is loaded with enough ammunition to set the world alight, but it is Sorry which is the masterpiece. Sorry is his Starry Night, his Weeping Woman, his Mona Lisa. The Skrillex produced track takes audiences worldwide on a whirlwind trip into ecstasy with contagious verses and lofty choruses (even though the opening makes me think of a seal). It's impossible not to be dazzled by the bubbling beats and tropical bops. There's even something very emotive in his utterances...deep down...somewhere. Regardless, the world is going through a Bieber renaissance: Where Are Ü Now caught our attention, What Do You Mean sustained it, but it was Sorry which made us Belieb. The only thing Justin should be apologising for now is for not warning the public before releasing such an unprecedented set of bangers.
for fans of: Father John Misty, Max Jury, Paul McCartney
Heartbreak ballads don't come more devastating than Without You. Piano man Tobias Jesso Jr. is the balladeering answer to Drake; both Canadian giants (Drake is one of the biggest rappers in the world, Tobias is a ginormous 6ft7) have you nostalgically philosophising over loves you never lost and exes you don't miss. His debut album Goon, produced by The Black Keys' Patrick Carney, is full of gems, but Without You stands out head and shoulders above the rest (as Tobias does, the freakin' giant). From the first trembling murmur of "why can't you just love me?", you're drowning with him until, by the track's conclusion, you're literally drowning in a puddle of your own tears and screaming "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?" (this has never happened to me). And you're not alone in this: the Haim sisters are superfans (Danielle plays drums on the track) and Adele has declared him one of her favourite people and snapped him up to co-write that low-selling underground album of hers, 25. Without You works so damn beautifully because it's simple; there are no gimmicks, nothing to sell himself with. - just a piano and his broken heart.
for fans of: The Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club, Arcade Fire
British rock music climbed to new peaks following the release of a brand spanking new Foals record this August. What Went Down trampled new ground while staying true to what it is to be Foals - their sounds, their visions that they so uniquely possess. Everything Foals have done since Antidotes has felt very naturally inspired and elemental - both aesthetically and audibly. While the trance-rock of Total Life Forever dealt with oceanic bodies of water and Holy Fire rumbled with fiesty guitar thrashing, What Went Down married the peaceful with the epic and was truly mountainous. It can only be right that the true highlight from the Oxford band's latest gem was Mountain At My Gates: an anthem for the ages. It is the vocals of lead singer Yannis Phillipakis' vocals that seize the listener and are an artform to behold; beginning tamed and graceful, they soon break free as his roars are catapulted to soaring heights before crashing back down into a breathless ending that lingers onto the rest of the record. Each beat builds and builds into the zenith where a culmination of those incredible Phillipakis vocals, thunderous percussion and ricocheting riffs manically result in the finest climax of any song of the past 12 months. I hope you're festival-ready for 2016, because Foals are coming at ya.
for fans of: The Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club, Everything Everything, Bloc Party
In selecting a name, Foals did themselves an injustice. Such as namesake suggests that they are meek and mild baby horses waiting to graze on success, yet, in reality, they are stallions galloping to the forefront of British music. To an extent, this is achieved through beautifully cogitated albums that mediate between geeky wackiness and swooping trance rock, however it is their live shows which set them far apart from their modern contemporaries.
Although they're set to sell out arenas throughout the UK in 2016 (and probably headline a few festivals while they're at it), Foals' most recent tour saw them territorising intimate venues across the country - including the University of Bristol's Student Union (like, is this real life? Foals are playing at my uni?!???). It was a weekend of epic proportions for the SU, with their Anson Rooms hosting two of the country's hottest live acts - Slaves shut it down on Saturday with Foals following suit on Sunday.
The tour is in support of their fourth studio album What Went Down - their most emphatic to date. Part of Foals' brilliance is their ability to craft four albums that, on the surface, are noticeably very different yet are all distinctly very Foals - they have their own intricately woven narratives, their own quirks, their own variation on sounds, yet it's easy to exclaim "yes! That's Foals!" in each respective era. It's been a gradual progression from the irrepressible vitality of 2008's Antidotes to the blizzardly intensity of their latest effort that have enabled Foals to shapeshift into one of the world's most intoxicating live acts.
It was of little surprise that the Bristol leg of their tour was nothing short of a spectacle. However, from the strike of the first chord of Snake Oil, things look initially unpromising. While the band instantly got into their element among the robotic guitars and febrile percussion, the crowd's response was lukewarm. A swell of panic swallowed the room - is this really what the show would be like? While Foals trotted thunderously onstage, the audience would just... bop? Luckily, as Snake Oil trickled into the emblematic opening of indie anthem Mountain At My Gates the tables turned and the circus was in town. The surge in enthusiasm created one of the most elated moments in the set and it became clear that, although they cherish the recent gems from What Went Down, Foals fans love one thing: familiarity.
Throughout the gig, the Anson Rooms perspired with sweat and passion in equal measure, exuding from both the stage and those who worshiped beneath it. From the disco bop of My Number; to the trance-inspired, shoulder-climbing rock of Spanish Sahara; and the fiery outbursts from frontman Yannis Phillipakis, booming "FUCK THE TORIES" to an explosion of cheers - anything thrown out there by the Oxford band was met with ardor. Foals fans experience something along the lines of idoltary for this band and their unique stream of thrashing guitar magnetism.
In a triumphant encore, Foals reentered the stage to deafening applause - which could've been way rowdier if not for the fatigue and breathlessness deep in the pits. They begun their final juncture onstage with delicate ballad London Thunder. Expressing the band's ambidexterity for the gracefully tender and the roaring epic, they launched into the incitement of their new era - What Went Down, whose blustering guitar rock could've caved the roof in, as limbs flew wall to wall and shoes soared off of feet. Terminating the hysteria with Two Steps, Twice, Phillipakis dives into the bodies and fully immerses himself in the success and undying devotion that the group have worked so hard to cement. Here's to another year of triumph for them.
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