Your algorithm has probably informed you of what a bad year for music it’s been. It’s almost as bad as social media pundits said 2022 was, and even 2021 before that. In fact, music historians are currently studying why all new music got bad the year you graduated college. Such is the case annually: I was prepared to close my laptop in despair when over 30 fantastic albums inexplicably descended from the heavens, just in time to post.
Honestly, though, it hurts to leave off overall enjoyable records that have some of my favorite songs this year. Bands like Yo La Tengo continue to impress nearly 40 years into their career. Teenage angst and heartbreak have never sounded more fun than the highlights on Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS. Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist finally released their full-length dream collaboration, and Yves Tumor completed their transition from experimental electronic producer to ostentatious rock god. But this isn’t “Projects Where I Love Four Songs, Another Four Are Fine Enough, and I Skip the Other Three in 2023.” It’s a guess at which albums I’ll return to for a full experience one year, five years, and ten years from now. Which will stand the test of time?
Find out for yourself by reading below and perusing the sampler playlist. If you find something you enjoy, support the artist by seeing a show, purchasing some merch, patronizing your local record store, and staying up to date with union causes.
These are the projects that defined my 2023, and deserve a place in your 2024.
Oddisee — To What End
Released January 20
You can’t pour from an empty cup. In the wake of the release of perhaps his career-defining album, The Iceberg, Brooklyn-based rapper/producer Oddisee needed a break. The six-year gap was hardly a hiatus, hosting a consistent stream of singles, features, and even an EP, but the absence of pressure to assemble and promote an album allowed for a period of personal growth. Oddisee entered therapy for the first time in his life. In the process of this self-examination, he landed on To What End’s general concept of motivation itself. The struggle of balancing ambition with contentment is always present, but its funky, neo-soul production feels like opting for grace in response to self-criticism. His twelfth album is a welcome return, but come on man, drop that explicit version already.
Selected cuts: “How Far,” “Try Again,” “All I Need (feat. Oliver St.Louis)”
Andy Shauf — Norm
Released February 10
Regardless of his intentions, Andy Shauf can’t help but write a concept album. After spending the better part of the last decade intentionally using his albums to explore nonlinear narratives, Norm was a deliberate decision to write songs with no connection before the story of the titular stalker began to form. What sounds like easy listening, lovesick ballads with a new synthesizer-based direction have a much darker undercurrent as Shauf toggles perspectives between God, Norm, and his victim’s ex. Love and heartbreak are still the record’s core, but his storytelling demonstrates our capacity to warp their definitions for wicked intentions.
Selected cuts: “Wasted on You,” “Halloween Store,” “Daylight Dreaming”
BigXthaPlug — AMAR
Released February 10
There’s just something about husky-voiced Texas hip-hop. BigXthaPlug has been making regional noise with a long string of singles over the past four years, but his latest stint in prison coupled with family illnesses inspired him to finally release an album to put him on the map. Drawing influence from the historic Houston scene and classic R&B, X glides across 808 bass and soul samples with a nimble but commanding cadence that forces you to bounce along. You can accurately guess how he’ll tackle a track by the end of the album, so his flow will need some variation on future projects to stay fresh, but AMAR is an undeniable introduction.
Selected cuts: “Rush Hour,” “Primetime,” “Texas”
Liv.e — Girl in the Half Pearl
Released February 10
Liv.e is the perfect melodic counterpart to more monotone, leftfield rappers like Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE. Her 2020 debut, Couldn’t Wait to Tell You…, effectively tapped into that same lofi hip-hop production while evoking the neo-soul of Erykah Badu. Girl in the Half Pearl still taps into similar influences, but like her fellow Dallas native, Liv.e won’t be boxed in. Her second album dials back lofi subtlety for kaleidoscopic, psychedelic R&B. The former still exists, but it’s interspersed between lightning-fast breakbeats and experimental synthesizers that never lose their soulful charm. Liv.e fully embraces her role as an iconoclast; every choice is made with a grin, making this strange journey one that never lacks on a good time.
Selected cuts: “Find Out,” “Wild Animals,” “NoNewNews!!!”
En Attendant Ana — Principia
Released February 24
An odd algorithm recommendation from 2020 has proven to be a band worth following. The Parisian quintet returns for their third album after swapping out half their band between records. They’re still the same En Attendant Ana, but frontwoman Margaux Bouchaudon has a growing proficiency for songwriting. Their jangly indie pop sound of soaring hooks grounded by melancholic horn sections operated under an “everything all the time” motto. It absolutely ripped, but Principia is a record of timing and restraint. From the peppy horn stabs on “Ada, Mary, Diane” to the slow burn of “Wonder,” they know when exactly to flip the switch to elicit the strongest reaction. This is an album for your spring morning gardening — being mindful of the moment, but being aware of the storm clouds in the distance.
Selected cuts: “Principia,” “Same Old Story,” “Wonder”
Kali Uchis — Red Moon in Venus
Released March 3
In the five years since Kali Uchis’ debut album, the question has shifted from “When will she become a star” to “How much bigger will her star become?”. The eclectic Isolation took influence from collaborators like Thundercat and Gorillaz to create a left-field pop album that could appeal to anyone, regardless of indie preference or Top 40 taste. Her sophomore album, Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios), made her an international force across Latin America. Red Moon in Venus is a bilingual, neo-soul-leaning pop project that draws upon the strengths of both records to impressive results. Uchis’ penchant for mass appeal continues, all by virtue of being her authentic self.
Selected cuts: “Worth the Wait (feat. Omar Apollo),” “Fantasy (feat. Don Toliver),” “Moonlight”
Unknown Mortal Orchestra — V
Released March 17
Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s fourth record, Sex & Food, was filled to the brim with a collage of ideas. V follows in just as many years, and frontman Ruban Nielson still has plenty on his mind, expanding to a double album to fully explore the scope of the band’s abilities. After a wedding and family health issues brought him back to Hawaii, Nielson began reconnecting with his Polynesian roots. Traditional Hawaiian stories, critiques of Western culture, and the adulthood impacts of his entertainer parents’ “glamorized hedonism” are all central pieces of this record. The 70s and 80s radio music that soundtracked this period of his childhood fittingly influences the sonic direction, adding another impressive entry into UMO’s discography of maximalist lo-fi pop.
Selected cuts: “Meshuggah,” “That Life,” “I Killed Captain Cook”
boygenius — the record
Released March 31
If their self-titled EP didn’t warn you five years ago, you know it now. boygenius is a songwriter Voltron with no swords and blasters, just armed with deeply personal stories designed to make you cry. The 2018 union of Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, and Phoebe Bridgers wasn’t your best-kept secret, but it was a memorable moment for fans of admittedly reductive “sad girl” Spotify playlists. Fast forward to 2023 and their simultaneously intimate and heartbreakingly cinematic songwriting has made them genuine superstars. It’s a moment for just about anyone who follows music, while contributions from illuminati hotties and Jay Som can keep your indie credibility intact.
Selected cuts: “$20,” “True Blue,” “Satanist”
Larry June & The Alchemist — The Great Escape
Released March 31
Another year, another Alchemist collaboration on my year-end list. Similar to last year’s Continuance with Curren$y, San Francisco rapper Larry June’s primary focus beyond weed and cars is a self-made success story. June often lands somewhere between a lavish Instagram lifestyle account and a LinkedIn grind culture guru. However, he has a calm, cool affability that makes it easy to overlook every eye roll-inducing investment opportunity, simply because across the record’s 45 minutes, he proves to be a good hang. The Alchemist adjusts his jazz-influenced, hazy boom-bap to compliment June’s best traits, making The Great Escape feel like a celebratory, rainy afternoon joint after handling your business.
Selected cuts: “Turkish Cotton,” “89 Earthquake,” “Palisades, CA (feat. Big Sean)”
The New Pornographers — Continue as a Guest
Released March 31
Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers have been one of the most quietly consistent bands of the new millennium. After 19 years of albums ranging from “good, plus some decent filler” to all-around classics, their first miss came from 2019’s In the Morse Code of Brake Lights. Frontman A.C. Newman has a knack for sugary, upbeat indie rock songs, but an effort to keep his songwriting fresh resulted in less melodic experiments that didn’t quite connect. Continue as a Guest is a rebound of sorts, ironically, as the work explores life beyond what’s considered your prime. He still refrains from embracing what he does best, but he comes closer to successfully taking the Pornos into a new direction. It will never be considered among the band’s most essential works, however, it’s a welcome addition to an impressive catalog that is further evidence of just how effortless a good pop song comes to Newman.
Selected cuts: “Bottle Episodes,” “Firework in the Falling Snow,” “Wish Automatic Suite”
Wednesday — Rat Saw God
Released April 7
Modern country music exists in a mythical small town where the summers are endless and filled with backroad driving, lake beaches, and cold beer. These moments exist for short spurts of time, but the depressing reality of those long, gray winters is where Asheville country rockers Wednesday thrive. Tales of rain-rotted houses and over-the-counter pharmaceutical abuse are delivered with a conversational, uniquely Appalachian storytelling. Sentimentality, anger, comfort, and discontentment are all equal parts of the same anecdote. The music itself highlights these complex emotions; down-home twang is just as vital as bursts of hard rock rage. Hometown nostalgia comes with a few ghosts.
Selected cuts: “Chosen to Deserve,” “Quarry,” “TV in the Gas Pump”
KAYTRAMINÉ — KAYTRAMINÉ
Released May 19
This isn’t just an alternative hip-hop blockbuster collaboration; it’s a reunion. Two years before Aminé’s “Caroline” became the unexpected hit of 2016, he was a broke Portland rapper sending cold DMs to producer KAYTRANADA asking for beats. The producer/DJ miraculously obliged, securing blog placements for Calling Brio and jumpstarting Aminé’s career in the process. Eight years and two chart-topping careers later, the two reunite to do what they do best. KAYTRANADA laces the production with his signature R&B-leaning dance music and soul sampling, oddball boom-bap, and it’s not the material he’s DMing out as freebies. Aminé’s radio-ready, punchline-friendly raps have significantly improved since their last collaborations, and frankly, since his 2021 solo record. He still drops the occasional bar that reminds you he sat on a toilet for an album cover, but the duo’s indisputable chemistry clearly put a battery in his back. This is Aminé’s most consistent album to date.
Selected cuts: “letstalkaboutit (feat. Freddie Gibbs),” “4EVA (feat. Pharrell Williams),” “Rebuke”
Kari Faux — REAL BITCHES DON’T DIE!
Released May 26
Childish Gambino’s “No Small Talk” remix was in constant rotation in college. Kari Faux has shown flashes of brilliance in the near decade since, but she’s struggled to put together all of the pieces it’s evident she has. Through collaboration with partner and producer Phoelix, Faux has finally captured that lightning in a bottle. Phoelix’s midwestern production for artists like Noname, Saba, and Smino fuses with Faux’s southern roots for something in the funky realm of Atlanta’s Dungeon Family (OutKast, Goodie Mob). It’s equal parts personal and brash, soulful and confrontational, and above all, it sounds timeless. Faux has been on the scene for a minute, but REAL BITCHES DON’T DIE! cements her as one of hip-hop’s new, exciting voices.
Selected cuts: “H-TOWN,” “Turnin’ Heads (feat. Big K.R.I.T.),” “White Caprice (feat. Gangsta Boo)”
Bully — Lucky For You
Released June 2
If Alicia Bognanno’s first three Bully records were a grunge revival of sorts, Lucky For You is the divisive late 90s/early 00s crossover record. It retains her trademark gravelly vocals and gritty guitars, but replaces the DIY ambiance with major label gloss and larger-than-life hooks. However, unlike the era it parallels, fans are a lot less interested in crying “sellout” in 2023. A record can remind you of Third Eye Blind just as much as The Breeders without feeling like a compromise, especially when it’s as emotionally rooted as this record dedicated to her late, beloved pup, Mezzi. A fantastic song is a fantastic song, and Lucky For You is packed with 10 of Bognanno’s most essential tracks yet.
Selected cuts: “Days Move Slow,” “How Will I Know,” “Lose You (feat. Soccer Mommy)”
feeble little horse — Girl with Fish
Released June 9
There’s a palpable electricity in the room when you’re just riffing with some buds. Maybe everyone is giving improv comedy their best go, or maybe you just converted your best friend’s closet into a makeshift recording booth. When everyone is on board to try something weird, you’re bound to stumble upon some magic. feeble little horse is just that. The band formed at the University of Pittsburgh in 2021 under the simple premise of making sounds like the ones they listen to. It’s provided a solid foundation for their glitchy guitar rock, but their chemistry makes Girl with Fish such a rewarding listen. You can easily picture the band crowded, grinning around a laptop as someone suggests, “What if we tweaked it like this?” Youthful, raw emotion, inside jokes, and a “why not” attitude might just place this quartet in a new generation’s pantheon of DIY heroes.
Selected cuts: “Tin Man,” “Steamroller,” “Paces”
Youth Lagoon — Heaven Is a Junkyard
Released June 9
Trevor Powers abandoned his Youth Lagoon project seven years ago in an identity crisis, feeling constrained by the idea of what that moniker could release. He opted to release his next two albums without a pseudonym until his near-death experience in 2021 left him unable to speak. As he trained to regain his actual voice, he rediscovered Youth Lagoon’s creative voice he had long thought was dead. Heaven Is a Junkyard is a natural extension of the core of the project’s initial run, but Powers has a newfound self-assuredness after losing it all. He lets his voice and piano take center stage like if Randy Newman was a tortured, artsy drama kid. His debut felt like eavesdropping on your neighbor’s passion project through poorly insulated walls. This return sheds the obscuring filters and effects, inviting you to experience his sharpest, crispest body of work firsthand.
Selected cuts: “Rabbit,” “Idaho Alien,” “Trapeze Artist”
Queens of the Stone Age — In Times New Roman…
Released June 17
Your audience doesn’t know what they want until you give it to them. If your experiment is a success, your fans will appreciate the challenge – but experiments be damned in this case. Queens of the Stone Age’s eighth record sounds like a singles compilation of familiar sounds in the best possible way. Frontman Josh Homme has long reveled in portraying a villain, and this record provides just the sinister hard rock backdrop needed to exorcise his real-life rage. Cancer recovery and a very public divorce and custody battle is an objective plateful making In Times New Roman… a menacing, booze-soaked drag of a cigarette before flicking it and setting fire to life’s challenges.
Selected cuts: “Paper Machete,” “Negative Space,” “Emotion Sickness”
Geese — 3D Country
Released June 23
Geese’s 2021 debut, Projector, would make for a solid addition to any post-punk revival playlist, but they were just another band in an increasingly crowded scene. Few could have seen the left turn their sophomore album would bring. Moments of punk catharsis remain, but gospel jubilation with a jam band’s playfulness make Geese a much harder group to pin down. The Rolling Stones are the record’s most obvious reference point, but don’t mistake 3D Country for boomer-bait. There are enough unconventional song structures and vocal experimentation to keep this vintage sound unique and these young Brooklyn musicians an exciting collective to watch develop.
Selected cuts: “Cowboy Nudes,” “I See Myself,” “Undoer”
Grian Chatten — Chaos For The Fly
Released June 30
You would think a solo album would be the last thing on your mind when you’re in one of the indie world’s most buzzed-about bands, but in Grian Chatten’s case, it was a necessity. Dublin post-punk band Fontaines D.C. released three albums in four years, and relentless touring on both sides of a pandemic had taken its toll. Chatten’s mental health was deteriorating. While everyone in his life is telling him to take a break, this debut is his attempt to process his issues on his own terms separate from a group collaboration. Fortunately, it avoids the solo pitfalls of frontmen falling short of capturing the magic of their main gig’s sound. Acoustic guitars and programmed drums give ample space for his poignant songwriting and weary voice to command attention. Hopefully, Chaos For The Fly is the pause to sigh he needed.
Selected cuts: “The Score,” “Fairlies,” “Bob’s Casino”
Black Milk — Everybody Good?
Released July 19
Detroit rapper/producer Black Milk’s eighth album asks a simple but all-encompassing question. Its title was intended to further explore the sociopolitical topics of 2018’s FEVER, but plans changed sometime around 2020, making Everybody Good? more of an internal wellness check. It’s an album about persevering through struggles, but not letting that perseverance deter your vulnerability. Black is far from down and out though. His funk influences are dialed up to 11 with eccentric synthesizers, autotuned singing, and live instrumentation giving his sound a breath of fresh air. Introspection doesn’t have to be ruminating in a dark room. Sometimes it sounds like soaking up the spring sun with an iced coffee in hand after a Headspace meditation session.
Selected cuts: “God Willing,” “For How Much?,” “Feelings Don’t Feel (feat. Mick Jenkins)”
Noname — Sundial
Released August 11
Noname has become one of the more divisive names in hip-hop since 2018’s Room 25. The Chicago rapper and book club founder never shies away from using her prominence to speak upon racial and economic justice, opening herself to overwhelming backlash from capitalists, white fans, and every paid member of whatever we’re calling Elon’s app when this is published. Sundial is an uninterrupted platform for Noname to fully explain concepts like the white voyeurism of Black trauma in rap, while also acknowledging her compromising her own morals by performing on the Coachella stage. It’s this personalization of societal woes that makes this such an intimate, gripping listen.
Selected cuts: “hold me down (feat. Jimetta Rose & Voices of Creation),” “balloons (feat. Jay Electronica & Eryn Allen Kane),” “namesake”
Ratboys — The Window
Released August 25
Following one of my favorite albums of the past five years wasn’t going to be an easy feat. Ratboys’ third record, Printer’s Devil, was wall-to-wall with 90s-reminiscent power-pop gems. Written as the duo of frontwoman Julia Steiner and guitarist Dave Sagan, most songs were tightly constructed, could-be singles. How do you follow that up? Fortunately, the addition of bassist Sean Neumann and drummer Marcus Nuccio into the writing process, plus production from Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla, redefines the idea of a Ratboys record. The Window is still overflowing with singalong hooks, but songs have more freedom to explore and change shapes should the moment strike them. Their country rock-influenced power-pop sound has flipped the other way around, turning up the sentimentality in the process. Printer’s Devil will always be a ridiculously good time, but The Window is where Ratboys fully finds their voice.
Selected cuts: “Morning Zoo,” “It’s Alive!,” “I Want You (Fall 2010)”
Deeper — Careful!
Released September 8
After building a buzz across two albums with Fire Talk Records, Chicago punks Deeper make their debut with indie juggernaut Sub Pop. Most of the record went through phases of pandemic-induced virtual experimentation, but the band found the record’s tone by asking some simple questions. “Does it feel good when you’re listening to this song? Does your body want to move with it?,” frontman Nic Gohl asks. The band takes more swings at expanding their early 80s post-punk sound than on previous records like the Bowie-esque synth experiment of “Tele” or the heartfelt mid-tempo closer, “Pressure.” The result doesn’t reinvent the genre, but sometimes you just want something that makes you move.
Selected cuts: “Build a Bridge,” “Tele,” “Sub”
Nation of Language — Strange Disciple
Released September 15
We all have obsessions. Take a glance at your Instagram Explore feed for your first piece of evidence. Obsessions take the form of vintage synthesizers, workaholism, and romantic codependency for frontman Ian Devaney. All three come into play for Nation of Language as he shares the stage with his wife Aidan Noell each night. It’s clear when our compulsions cross the line into unhealthy territory, but Strange Disciple pulls the thread where they straddle that line. These preoccupations bring joy, but there’s still an awareness that being so beholden to something is a dangerous game. It might spell burnout for Devaney eventually, but for the time being, the result is the synth-pop trio’s strongest work to date.
Selected cuts: “Weak In Your Light,” “Too Much, Enough,” “Stumbling Still”
Blonde Redhead — Sit Down for Dinner
Released September 29
There’s a point in most lengthy careers that begs the question: do you still release music because you have a passion for creating art, or because it’s a demand of the job? As Blonde Redhead begins their third decade with Sit Down for Dinner, it’s evident the answer is still the former. From instant dream pop classic opener “Snowman” through the delicate instrumental closer “Via Savona,” these experimental legends return after nine years with the purest intention to make each idea as interesting as possible. My lone grievance is the album’s sequencing as the back half could use a boost in energy from the front end. That complaint aside, Blonde Redhead has crafted one of their most vital works.
Selected cuts: “Snowman,” “Melody Experiment,” “Before”
A. Savage — Several Songs About Fire
Released October 6
The idea that New York City is a film and television “character” itself has become a punchline, but it’s rooted in earnest emotions the city inspires. In this context, Parquet Courts frontman A. Savage’s second solo album is a breakup record. Much like 2017’s Thawing Dawn, Savage’s punk influences inform his slant on a stripped-back, folky approach that allows his underrated lyricism to shine. He’s leaving New York for Paris, but his grievances have more to do with the direction of the United States at large. Personal disappointment and political anger are at the forefront, but there are embers of hope across Several Songs About Fire. Take a deeper dive into this record by reading my interview with A. Savage here.
Selected cuts: “Hurtin’ or Healed,” “Elvis in the Army,” “David’s Dead”
Sufjan Stevens — Javelin
Released October 6
Few artists have the ability to romanticize the ordinary quite like Sufjan Stevens. Even the simplest moments can carry a profound weight, like a nearby cardinal prompting memories of a loved one passed. His music has always been deeply personal but shrouded in metaphors; this record marks several direct, rare glimpses into Stevens’ personal life. It’s his first album since his being diagnosed with an autoimmune nervous disorder, and he officially came out in an Instagram post dedicating the project to his recently deceased longtime partner Evans Richardson. The meaning behind his songs has long been debated. Between his life in upheaval and its career-spanning arrangements, you can’t unhear these events’ impact. Javelin is an epic that fluctuates between the theatrical grandeur of his All Delighted People EP and the singer-songwriter intimacy of Carrie & Lowell, but no matter the size of the production, he makes every emotion feel colossal.
Selected cuts: “Goodbye Evergreen,” “So You Are Tired,” “Shit Talk”
Jamila Woods — Water Made Us
Released October 13
It may not surprise you to learn Jamila Woods is in therapy. There’s a maturity to her love that shines through on Water Made Us. Not maturity as in age, but it’s a growth that comes when you’re actively working on yourself. After discussing her therapy sessions and relationship research with producer McClenney, the R&B vocalist set out to model the album after a full relationship cycle and her own romantic patterns. Even through the cycle’s highs and lows, she’s practicing the things we know we need to do. She finds nuance in her partners, remembering no person is entirely one thing. She seeks contentment in any given moment, recognizing it only comes when you stop chasing it. Her love isn’t always overly romantic, and it doesn’t make for a good “fuck my ex” playlist, but it’s healthy, steady, and consistent.
Selected cuts: “Tiny Garden (feat. duendita),” “Boomerang,” “Headfirst”
L’Rain — I Killed Your Dog
Released October 13
Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist L’Rain’s exploration of heartbreak operates in universally accepted dream logic. It was your house, but it wasn’t really your house. You ran into a stranger, but you also knew it was your ex. Her songs can transition from sparse, autotuned ballads to lost Strokes instrumentals to freeform jazz explosions at the drop of the hat. You might leave the experience somewhat bewildered, but it all makes sense throughout the journey. This gorgeous record surveys our ability to hurt those closest to us, or put down that dog in someone, in a way that’s as mystifying and nonlinear as grief tends to be.
Selected cuts: “Our Funeral,” “Pet Rock,” “New Year’s UnResolution”
Sampha — Lahai
Released October 20
Just the sound of Sampha’s soulful, resonant voice could bring you to tears, even if the content of his lyrics evokes them for totally different reasons. His full-length debut, Process, was an emotional gut punch rooted in struggles with his growing stature, relationship turmoil, and the death of his mother. It was a captivating, sorrowful collection of electro-R&B songs with isolation as their common thread. Lahai is its antithesis as it marvels at the miracle of connection. He meditates on everything as existential as experiencing fatherhood after losing your own parents and ordinary as conversing with an old friend; it’s these relationships that ultimately make up who we are. Sure: Sampha’s angelic voice is a given, but what makes him remarkable is his ability to articulate the beauty in the full scope of what life hands us.
Selected cuts: “Spirit 2.0,” “Jonathan L. Seagull,” “Only”
Pink Siifu & Turich Benjy — IT’S TOO QUIET..’!!
Released October 31
Bonded by a background in Cincinnati, Pink Siifu and Turich Benjy’s chemistry was evident across standout tracks like “Bussin’ (Cold)” and “BRAVO’!” on Siifu’s 2021 album, GUMBO’!. The duo’s first album builds up the sound established on these collaborations. Call it a “mumble rap” record if only for shorthand; it’s not entirely inaccurate, but it doesn’t present the full picture. While a lot of the production is trap-based, Pink Siifu is deeply invested in ambitious musicality, making every song sound like it came out of a jam session. Mainstream southern rap trends, dance music, neo-soul, and underground hip-hop unorthodoxy are all colors used in their palette, like if Young Thug got really into the new Liv.e record. Even if IT’S TOO QUIET..’!! doesn’t connect on first listen, it’s an engrossing experience you can’t help but run back.
Selected cuts: “WWYD..’!?,” “exxxtra..’!!,” “SWAMP..’!!”
Danny Brown — Quaranta
Released November 17
XXX was the hedonistic start of Danny Brown’s 30s just over a decade ago. Each subsequent album has provided glimpses into the highs and lows of his rockstar lifestyle, but the party can’t last forever. Quaranta, Italian for 40, was released after Brown spent several months in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. That cocktail of stimulants and depressants has passed through his system, and the manic mix of cartoonish delivery and chaotic production has largely subsided as well. He relies more on his natural voice and comes the closest to making a traditional boom-bap album since he was almost signed to G-Unit. All that’s left is a broken man on full display. “This rap shit done saved my life, and fucked it up at the same time,” he raps on the album’s opener. Quaranta serves as a therapeutic attempt at the former.
Selected cuts: “Y.B.P. (feat. Bruiser Wolf),” “Hanami,” “Bass Jam”
Brian Brown & Carmine Prophets — BBGonProfit
Released November 28
It took Brian Brown a long five years of sporadic SoundCloud singles and teaser tweets to finally deliver on his 2020 debut album, Journey. Brown has arguably become the poster child of Nashville’s hip-hop scene since its release, and he’s been rapping like he’s hungry to keep that crown. The mic presence on his January EP Two Minute Drill was a sample of what was to come. If that project was practice, this album showcases an emcee with the confidence to go straight to the league. This is complemented by trading Journey’s soulful, introspective sounds for producer Carmine Prophets’ lush, retro-futuristic, southern trunk-knocking. By the time you reach track 9, it’s evident BBGonProfit is more than a title. His continuous improvement and evolving sounds are bound to bring success.
Selected cuts: “Kurt Wagner,” “RIP Big Pokey (feat. 30 $ALE$),” “Home”