[centre][size=150][heading][color=#000000]2012[/color][/heading][/size]
[box=~~~~~]#5 - [url=http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/tron-sepia-weird-fishes-and-other-stories]"Weird Fishes and Other Stories" by Tron Sepia[/url].
Abyss brings this one to the list. An "all-time favourite" worthy song, but that one alone won't put this release as a whole any higher on this list.
Favourite track: Abyss.

#4 - [url=http://globular.bandcamp.com/album/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy]"A Self-fulfilling Prophecy" by Globular[/url].
Timebending material right here. Long tracks that make the time actually seem like nothing more than 5 minutes. Jogging album/driving-to-school album #1, all year every year.
Favourite tracks: A Highly Sprung Spring and From Mind, There Spills Forth Light.

#3 - [url=http://alexalfons.bandcamp.com/album/scenes-at-the-sea]"Scenes at the Sea" by ALEXALFONS[/url].
Finnish every-Electronic-genre-ever album. Just kidding. But it's Finnish. And it's Electronic. Calm that. Perfect for Finnish Autumn, wish you guys had a chance to get into that feeling too.
Favourite tracks: Campfire 1994, Safety Zone and Private Mindgarden.

#2 - [url=http://zastabujkopec.bandcamp.com/album/observation]"Observation" by Zastabuj Kopec[/url].
Another Finnish one. Taking Ambient to the Folktronica direction. In my all-time top 10, definitely.
Favourite tracks: Pecking Exercises, Moonlit Rooftops and Voyage Out.

#1 - [url=http://choongum.bandcamp.com/album/timefog]"Timefog" by Choongum[/url].
There should be words stronger than "the most magnificent", but until then, I can't give you an accurate description of this one.
Favourite tracks: The Church of Beauty and Despair and Aunt Gemini's Dark Matter Syrup.

[size=50]#0 - Late 2013 submission: [url]http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/ioon-the-ioonfinite-loop[/url][/size][/box]
[size=150][heading][color=#000000]2013[/color][/heading][/size]
[box=~~~~~]#5 - [url=http://owsla.com/releases/phuture-doom-phuture-doom-lp/]"Phuture Doom LP" by Phuture Doom[/url]
The weirdest shit I've heard for the longest while. Black Metal, Acid, straight out oldschool Gabber, Ambient, everything. It's addicting. It's damn amazing. Despite being released on OWSLA, the label of the goddamned Skrillex, it's kick-ass and way too underrated.
Favourite tracks: La Grande Messe Noire, Mach 100 and Paradise Lost.

#4 - [url=http://glue70.bandcamp.com/album/points-of-interest]"Points of Interest" by glue70[/url]
A particular piece from a labelmate of mine. Calm electronic tunes to drive to in a wintery sunrise. [size=50]That actually describes this so perfectly I can't even add anything else.[/size]
Favourite tracks: Step Into the Sunshine and Highway Broken.

#3 - [url=http://www.psyshop.com/shop/Downloads/ovn/ovn1dw101.html]"Out Inner Space" by Hinkstep[/url]
After releasing nothing official in 2012, the Psydub king of Sweden (cliché 10/10) returns with this well-dwelled diamond of just about anything you need inside your mp3-player. Definitely worth $8, despite being unavailable on Bandcamp.
Favourite tracks: They Come at Night and Second Sight.

#2 - [url=http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/phone-booth-robbers-falling-into-one]"Falling Into One" by Phone Booth Robbers[/url]
Phone Booth Robbers aren't a band of crazy ideas. It's a single man project. Absolutely beautiful downtempo tunes that will make me miss Spring 2013 forever.
Favourite tracks: Electric Insects Crawling Through A Greener Universe, The Hills of Faraway and I Can't Sleep Because You Can.

#1 - [url=http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/kurbeats-folktronica]"Folktronica" by Kurbeats[/url]
Not only the best of 2013, but one of my all-time favourites. Downtempo and Psydubbish elements fused with Folk and Tribal elements works way better than it should. Beyond amazing. Oh, by the way, the album is completely free.
Favourite tracks: Perineum #1 and The Noid[/box]
[size=150][heading][color=#000000]2014[/color][/heading][/size]
[box=~~~~~]#5 - [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeBuzmwOvhE]Caustic Window - Caustic Window[/url]
Might be cheating, putting an LP from 1994 on this list, only because it was "found" this year. The interesting story aside, this album is pleasant and all that music-wise, too, even better than the other album released as Aphex Twin, which, by the way, didn't quite make it to the list. Oh well.
Favourite tracks: 101 Rainbows (Ambient Mix)

#4 - [url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvhE8Lb6Uyp7GA5uUd7AlaxasNYa_lnKS]Tobacco - Ultima II Massage[/url]
I never enjoyed Tobacco's music ~that much~, but this one I've really been enjoying, maybe even more than some of his other project's, Black Moth Super Rainbow's stuff. Let's not forget that Eric Wareheim also directed the music video to Streaker. Now that's what I call a collision of masterminds.
Favourite songs: Streaker and Pool City, McKnight Road

#3 - The Future Sound of London - Environment Five
I have listened to this one only once so far. I still know that it will be a classic masterpiece for me over time, just like the previous albums in the Environment-series, or anything that FSOL has done for that matter.
Favourite songs: Image of the Past, Somatosensory

#2 - [url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG20XaV5nudvGz086CqGwLh58ZgBzf-90]Porter Robinson - Worlds[/url]
Breaking the genre borders, Robinson takes the turn from EDM for good. Long, progressive tracks, experimental elements even including Vocaloid, and a complete change of direction from generic deep house to this material really shows how a musician can stay original and even then keep all the fame and appreciation.
Favourite songs: Flicker, Natural Light and Goodbye to a World

#1 - [url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6UbRhf8k-YJyG-sMGQIxSyP1czjlgkYg]Culprate - Deliverance[/url]
Breaking the genre borders, Culprate takes the turn from Dubstep for good. Incredible production combined with tons of collaborations with other musicians. By far the greatest album of 2014. I have no words left.
Favourite songs: Florn, Yin and In the End[/box]
[size=150][heading][color=#000000]2015[/color][/heading][/size]
[box=~~~~~]5. [url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0VM83wRgjwVsxMgDyXE5YrKUhIz7j4UD]Melanie Martinez - Cry Baby[/url] | Electropop, dark wave | Aug 14

A cute, conceptual electropop release featuring occasionally raunchy lyrics, while keeping the vocal performance soft and clean. One of my latest discoveries of the year, but it's never too late when you make it in time for the top list.

Favourite songs: Pacify Her, Training Wheels and Soap


4. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gTRzFmwy-8]Hop Along - Painted Shut[/url] | Indie rock, folk rock | May 4

With music like this you would rarely expect raspy and intense vocal performances like these on this record. You want to lie down and chill out but the vocalist constantly keeps you on edge for what's coming next. It's lovely.

Favourite songs: The Knock, Well-dressed and Texas Funeral


3. [url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIDJYi1vuyZhZZ_ucns3dbHRzTtUkyIpF]Purity Ring - Another Eternity[/url] | Dream pop, electronic, witch house | Feb 27

Very electronic and hard at some points, the soft songs balance it out into a journey that probably doesn't bore anyone. Once again, really beautiful vocals. Gives nice contrast on the harder songs and perfectly suits the softer ones.

Favourite songs: Repetition, Heartache and Stillness In Woe


2. [url=https://sakuraburst.bandcamp.com/album/deconstructing-nature]sakuraburst - deconstructing nature[/url] | Glitch, EDM, ambient, orchestral | Apr 14

A beautiful, beautiful album, combining traditional melodies and sounds with down-right brutal and noisy sound design - glitch at its purest form. The compositions are top notch, definitely the best in the electronic music scene this year.

Favourite songs: data corruption symphony, dream field and cherry blossoms explode across the dying horizon


1. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-i5nu-Mdag]Braids - Deep in the Iris[/url] | Indie rock, art rock, dream pop | Apr 27

By far the greatest instrumentation of the year. This album has both down-to-earth lyrics and deeper ones, fast-paced songs and calmer ones, which again makes it a really amazing journey that will not keep anyone bored.

Favourite songs: Warm Like Summer, Blondie and Taste[/box]
[size=150][heading][color=#000000]2017[/color][/heading][/size]
[box=~~~~~]This year started off quite promising, with several favourites of mine releasing albums after multiple years of no new material, including but not limited to Paramore, Lorde, St. Vincent, Gorillaz, Shpongle, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Igorrr and Phuture Doom. Unfortunately I ended up either feeling "meh" on most of them, or straight out disliking them. I wanted an improved version of Paramore's self-titled album, they delivered a plastic, empty Pop record instead. I desperately needed a good Gorillaz record seven years after the flop that was The Fall. I was given a below decent album with thousands of features, that sounded more like a Parlophone compilation album than a Gorillaz record. St. Vincent delivered a different but equally boring Pop record to Paramore's level. Shpongle went full-on gimmicky on their new record, bringing very little interesting, new elements to the table, instead just running their own river dry that was already gasping for fresh water after the release of their previous album, The Museum of Consciousness. Lorde, Phuture Doom and Igorrr thankfully all delivered solid albums, Lorde and Phuture Doom having released my top 2 albums of 2013 and Igorrr released my second favourite album of both 2012 and all time.

So, in the end, everything I had looked forward to fell quite flat. Thankfully, I was surprised by some veteran artists that I hadn't much cared about and some completely new, recent talents. I had a hard time narrowing my list down to Top 5, which, believe it or not, ended up showcasing the slightly above average quality of the year, after all. Without further ado, here's the list.

[b][size=150]1. Igorrr - Savage Sinusoid[/size][/b]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/N4AlxTm.jpg[/img]

Igorrr, the French madman with a chicken, finally delivered a new album last year, a whopping five years after his last album and three years after a brief split EP with Ruby My Dear, another French experimental mastermind. What seemed like a change in audio and dynamics in the beginning, with the release of the debut single, ieuD, the album turned out to be a hectic bag of genres in the end, exactly what we've been accustomed to expect from him. The album is more traditional and metal, less experimental and electronic than anything he has previously released, so it is an unfortunate deal-breaker for worse to some older fans, while it simultaneously gained him a whole new metalhead fanbase. For me, personally, it was the album I didn't realize I needed from him. Had it been more similar to his previous album, Hallelujah, I probably would have liked this one a much less. While for Hallelujah, my second favourite album of all-time, an accurate description would be "Experimental Electronic with Metal elements", Savage Sinusoid would be more on point with "Experimental Metal with Electronic elements". But even then, those descriptions are just weak scratches on the surface. The atmosphere of this album drifts Igorrr away a bit from the generic Breakcore sound, into a whole, unseen, completely new dimension of fucked up "murder Metal and Folk". So, to put it short, Hallelujah is more of my cup of tea, but Savage Sinusoid is a very refreshing change in sound. Like a black dewdrop in the jungle of glitched up lights.

Not only are the album covers and musical elements disgusting, but he also keeps naming his songs in a very unusual way, revolving around grotesque things in both French and English. Some of the best ones on this album are Viande (Meat), Houmous (Hummus), Apopathodiaphulatophobie (The fear of constipation) and Opus Brain, with some earlier highlights including Moldy Eye, Melting Nails, Cruciform Dachshund, Lullaby For A Fat Jellyfish and Sueur De Caniche (Poodle's Sweat). The titles actually do suit the songs, which probably should not be a good thing. They are as disgusting and uneasy in their sound design and genre hopping as their names would give away. There are some songs that are just overblown Metal anthems with very subtle electronic influences, some songs where the Baroque elements really get a chance to shine through, while some songs jump from a genre to another once every fifteen seconds. Even Chiptune gets a few seconds of fame for the first time, so now I think Igorrr has finally touched, at least once, every single genre that has ever existed. What's probably my favourite song on the album, Cheval displays themes from European Folk music, Dubstep, Death Metal and Opera. It sounds like what carving your brain probably feels like. It doesn't make sense to like it. But you do. Opus Brain and Robert are more classic when it comes to the usual Igorrr standards, with all the Electronic sounds overpowering the Metal side. Va te foutre on the other hand is just a two-minute Grindcore-esque song based on a looped blast beat and a cheap sounding harp on the background, by far his worst song ever.

While Hallelujah had some ridiculously strong highlights, Savage Sinusoid is definitely more consistent with the quality. A very strong album, but not my favourite one of the year by any significant amount. While the next entry is much more approachable, technically I still liked this album a teeny tiny bit more.

Favourite songs: Cheval, Robert, Opus Brain, Problème d'émotion
Least favourite song: Va te foutre

[b][size=150]2. BROCKHAMPTON's entire SATURATION trilogy (commentary based on SAT I & II)[/size][/b]

BROCKHAMPTON are the self-proclaimed “Internet’s First Boy Band”. If you follow any of the more popular music outlets, you've probably heard of them by now. They are a bubbly bunch of people of various origins and sexualities, which has basically become one of their trademarks. They are arguably the King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard of Hip-Hop – their output this year includes two full-length studio albums, several music videos from both of the albums and yet another studio album slated to be released before the end of the year. They also have a feature length movie in the works and have performed through a sold out North American tour, with a follow-up tour beginning right after the turn of the year. The boys have certainly asserted being capable of pulling off superhuman feats, when it comes to their activity and productivity.

These boys include, but are not limited to, the hook guy Kevin Abstract, the usually-melodic deliverer JOBA, the slick and self-confident Ameer Vann, the highly technical Dom, the over-the-top Merlyn and the well-balanced Matt. Aside from the more active vocalists, there is a ton of other members as well, including producers, a semi-inactive singer, a web designer, a video editor and several others.

Of course, when it comes to the ridiculous amount of media they have released, you might think they just favour quantity over quality. Mo’ money?

[img]https://i.imgur.com/5A5wr3c.png[/img]

[size=50][b]I'm not saying the boys like money, but...[/b][/size]

I was quite skeptical at first, too. It took me a while to check the first album, SATURATION, out. By that time the follow-up, SATURATION II, was already announced.

SATURATION was originally introduced to me as Pop Rap – I was anything but excited. In a while I was told the album featured acoustic ballads, hard-hitting bangers and softer hip-hop. For a moment I thought it could have been a bag of nuts too mixed up, but it started sounding at least partially up my alley. Not too long after that, I finally decided to go for it.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/sn4dRxK.jpg[/img]

Right off the bat I regretted everything I had delayed checking out the album for, as soon as I hit the play button for HEAT. The beat punches you in the face with no mercy, with Ameer on a verse that is still one of my favourites. The song is a gritty take on the darker side of the artists’ lives. Ameer clearly doesn’t want his stash to be fucked with, Merlyn cleverly expresses his hatred towards police brutality with his highly energetic signature style and Dom makes his introduction with a really technical, dark but nicely flowing verse about anxiety and other mental issues. After the first verses are done, JOBA ends up delivering a violent bridge, that features almost industrial sounding, noisy, screeching synths that are sure to pierce your skull if you happen to listen to it on repeat. HEAT bites hard.

I was sure about GOLD being one of the best hip-hop songs of the year after two listens – my opinion on it has yet to have changed a single bit. The beat is incredibly catchy. The hook is possibly even catchier and I hear it stuck in my head every once in a while. I mean, one reason might just be that I can’t stop listening to the song. The song is a boastful, materialistic, feel good song for a nice change after HEAT. Every single rapper on this song deliver intensely tight verses, with especially Dom’s verse again showcasing his talent not only in rapping, but songwriting as well. Love the Mean Girls reference, too. That must be the first one I’ve ever heard in a song. Merlyn’s verse is a bit jarring in its repetitive nature and slowness – the only thing that keeps this song from being a perfect ten. I love his voice, he has potential, but he feels the laziest when it comes to writing.

When STAR started I was ready to be disappointed. The beat is sedative and bland, but Dom comes through and saves whatever could have been a boring song with his sick delivery. If Dom’s references on GOLD were genius, well, here his and others’ verses are nothing but those. Feels like the shortest song on the album, and almost is, standing at the length of only 2:41. Could have been longer, no matter how small a fan I was of the background production at first.

Next up is BOYS. The theme is assuring again that BROCKHAMPTON is, in fact, not a rap group, but a boyband. The song only really gets great with Merlyn’s “They say that they want me, they forgot about me” bridges – ironically the most noteworthy sections of the song – and, once again, Dom’s skillful verse. I love the bouncy vocal effect on Merlyn’s parts. The hook on BOYS is one of the more boring ones on the entire record and even the verses are some of the most repetitive ones by these boys, ever. The background is not catchy – it’s mellow, but way too bland. The lyrics are boring and, for me, unrelatable, having no past with boybands or true suburban lifestyle whatsoever. It’s pretty forgettable all around, which is a shame.

2PAC is a short Pop Rap interlude. That's all it is. I feel like it could have worked really damn well as a full song, but the way it is left on the album just makes me wish it was removed altogether.

FAKE is a clever jab at the music industry. It starts again with a catchy hook by Kevin. The beat is a bit better on this, but still really nothing special. Every single vocal recorded on this song is pitch shifted on Melodyne to remove everything natural from the entire song. Dom is ironically auto-tuned on his own verse to “fake” his verse even further. I like everything about the song. It’s youthful and playful. It very much tells the mainstream corporations and labels to go fuck themselves. BROCKHAMPTON makes it clear – no matter what they make themselves sound like, they are real and straight to the point.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/YFyAX3C.jpg[/img]

[size=50][b]...and they certainly don't follow the mainstream when it comes to the fashion.[/b][/size]

BANK is certainly my least favourite track on the album. The hook is really annoying for a change, but sadly it’s also still pretty catchy. The lyrics do nothing for me – thematically it just feels like a lame version of HEAT. The beat is also one of the more nondescript ones.

Kevin has nailed the hook once again on TRIP. Even though it’s not super melodic, it’s still catchy. The beat is the right kind of chill, the vocals are about self-acceptance and generally pretty down to earth. Although Dom’s verse is about his mental issues again, the verse is brought to a fitting closure by a single word, ‘cause, which flows right into the “today I’mma be whoever I wanna be” hook. It’s tough to recognize who is rapping from underneath the layers of distortion, autotune and I believe there’s even a little bit of vocoding on there. Every single verse is so beautifully put together it’s fun to just focus on the song for the entirety of it.

SWIM is happy and light with its mood, but ultimately falls into its demise because of its slow paced and super repetitive flow. The background does not change a single time during the entire run time in any properly noticeable way. It’s not terrible, just pretty much flies into your other ear and comes right out of the other one.

BUMP is a hard banger for a change, something I gotta admit I have been missing ever since HEAT ended. The song talks about the guys’ rather unfavourable lifestyle again. Kevin’s calm hook gives a nice change in the middle, right before returning to Ameer’s and Dom’s lethal verses. They’re brutal, they’re fucking great and most importantly, deadly as hell. Well written and even more well produced.

CASH has technically no hook, just a single repeated sentence with the modulated vocal effects once again. I’m liking the guitar on the background. Oh wait, now it’s on the foreground. Where did my beat go? The verses are slow and short. Another take that overall sounds super lazy. Dom appears and brings at least something positive to the song, though. I think it’s pretty obvious by now, that Dom is my favourite rapper of the group. No offense to the other ones, though. Liking JOBA’s outro chant, it’s the only even remotely catchy thing in the entire song.

MILK has a nice modulated guitar sample starting the song, with Ameer delivering a spoken word verse about real life. It’s quite deep, something unexpected from these guys. Merlyn’s verse continues on the same topic, real life struggling, no gold chains, food or home. Abstract’s verse is pitch shifted high up for some reason again, but continues on the topic of poverty in a nice way. Abstract’s hook, or more appropriately it’s more of a chorus on this song, anyway, is one of my favourites on the entire record. Dom’s spoken word outro puts a nail in the coffin and marks the song as one of the best songs on the album. The beat is nice, with the modulated guitar playing in the background for the whole song, the lyrics and vocal styles are right on point, top notch. Lovely, lovely tune, with some of the deepest lyricism on the record.

FACE is a true love song, with a generic-bordering ballad beat with distinct hip-hop elements, still. Yeah. That’s about it. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it.

WASTE is the only song featuring Bearface on the entire record, and WASTE also only features Bearface. He was out of the city for the entirety of the time this album was made, so at some point he put this song together and sent it back home. He plays the guitar, aside from additional drum and vocal production from Rome Gomez, the only other instrument on the song. It’s a chill outro for the project, more of an indie ballad than a Rap song. Nothing wrong with that, though. It somehow manages not to sound out of place, after all.

Before, I go into talking about the second SATURATION, I will briefly address their debut “mixtape” ALL-AMERICAN TRASH, released in April 2016.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/FjRtl6k.jpg[/img]

It was the last project by them I ever checked out, although I did go through my first listen one week after SATURATION II was out.

The fanbase is a bit divided on it – in my eyes, or ears, it is less catchy, but more moody. It’s more variable in the genre spectrum, although the quality is still pretty constant, even more so than on SATURATION.

It has some worse songs on it, which are definitely balanced out by the better ones, surprisingly, considering it’s the debut project of a then-new group. It does lack some more noteworthy songs, the only song I regularly keep returning to being MICHIGAN – lyrically a very simple song, featuring nobody but Kevin – one of their most neatly produced songs to this date.

It only has a couple of harder songs, mostly relying on softer ballad-esque songs. The couple of bangers on it expose that they had yet to have mastered that style. I guess they had realized that even themselves. MICHIGAN, on the other hand, nailed down the golden ratio of sweet niceness and funkier beats, not directly falling into either of the categories.

Simply put, the better ones are not as good as on SATURATION, but the less good ones are also not as bad as SATURATION’s less good ones.

After I had ingested SATURATION and was properly into BH, it didn’t take long until SATURATION II was out. Of course, I went into this project with higher hopes, knowing better what to expect from these guys.

I was probably even more positively surprised this time.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/fAv0IoY.jpg[/img]

[size=50][b]Looking at my face, you could tell I was.[/b][/size]

The album boots up with two pretty solid bangers. The opener, GUMMY, starts off with a beautiful, orchestral intro, that abruptly cuts into a buzzing noise, soon starting the song. The video plays with this contrast as well, evolving from a chill Sunday walk into a bankrobbing scheme. Kevin shows some proper evolvement right from the start, with his most solid verse ever, as of the current. Lyrically his verse mostly revolves around hate talk he has received, pretty tough subject to adapt into a poetic verse, but it does work. Dom and Ameer’s verses are more straight-forward self-assuring messages, that they are new and alone in this game, but already ahead everyone else’s games.

The second banger, QUEER, is a hard-hitting one, when it comes to the beat and the lyrics. Merlyn is just generally aggressive towards Dolce & Gabbana’s rather recent and racist campaign, featuring “slave sandals”, while the others talk about deeper stuff. Dom is making it more clear than ever that his verses are a good way for himself to express his real feelings.

JELLO is a light, daily life-centric song. As expected, it features a modulated hook, soon kicking in with a cool, twisting beat. There’s not much depth to it, but it’s fun to listen to.

In TEETH, Ameer talks about racism and poverty from his first-hand experience while growing up. The production features nothing on the background but a choir and a grim bell synth, which go well with the dark theme of the lyrics. For an interlude, surprisingly good and thought provoking.

SWAMP is a pretty mixed variety of lyrical themes. Ameer is talking about his crime past, Merlyn refers to several things in just eight lines and Dom’s verse is pretty ambiguous. Could be more constant, but it’s one of the catchiest songs on the entire record. SWEET features the first rapped verse by JOBA, which works surprisingly well. JOBA’s style is melodic, unlike what we previously heard from him on HEAT.

Luckily, it’s not the last of its kind, as JOBA chops right into the next track, TOKYO, with a machine gun paced, melodic verse. Story-wise, it’s mostly revolving around the boys worrying about both their past and their future, both as individuals as well as a collective. The hook is catchy and the synthwork is the more melodic than on any other song off the album.

JESUS is a short, bittersweet love ballad, reminiscent of the material on ALL-AMERICAN TRASH, about a past relationship. A single verse rapped by Kevin, with a sung part by Bearface for the outro – the first time we hear him after his only feature on SATURATION. Overall, very beautiful, with the lyrics bringing some good, nicely fitting contrast to it.

In CHICK the boys rap about self-confidence and hate issues, which could make for an interesting song, if the production was not so boring and characterless. What a shame, considering it's a subject rappers rarely want to touch. Has some definite potential, but falls flat, ending up as the least favourite pick for me on the record.

JUNKY is pretty interesting right from the beginning. Dark synths, dark lyrics, dark everything. Kevin addresses the received internet hatred and his homosexuality once again, Ameer vents about his past drug addiction, Merlyn delivers a verse about his self-disappointment, having done badly in school and Matt raps about him being ashamed of men not respecting women in a manner that they would deserve. One song that has definitely taken the longest to grow on me, but lately I’ve really started loving it. Let’s be fair here – both the beat and the lyrical themes in JUNKY are uncommercial, which makes it a brave choice for a single. But that’s what these boys do the best, not subjecting to any mold the bigger corporations try to fit every artist in. Not an easy one, but once you're properly into it, you're properly into it.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/B8jzMQS.png[/img]

[size=50][b]Neck deep into it.[/b][/size]

FIGHT is more or less a couple of verses talking about the racial issues Ameer and Dom have had to tolerate in their earlier years and a bunch of repetitive bridges for the latter half of the song. Doesn’t have a lot of catchy or memorable stuff, but stays true to its theme from the start till the end. Not bad.

SWEET was unbearable for me to listen to at first because of its annoying synth. Over time, I started tolerating it, more or less. Which is good, since the rest of SWEET is pretty sweet. Aside from his verse on HEAT, this is the peak of Merlyn, definitely. “Don't call me stupid, that ain't the way my name pronounced. Don't call me Cupid, I got too many hoes right now” is one of my favourite pair of lines on any HAMPTON song, ever. It’s stupidly smart, and Merlyn delivers it with an evolving style, starting aggressively and progressing into a smooth, slick, Kanye West-esque fly. True to its name, the song is pretty bubbly and positive. In the last couple of verses Ameer and JOBA are highlighting their boyband roots. There’s nothing better than that.

Following in the happier footsteps, GAMBA features verses by Dom, Kevin and, surprisingly, Bearface. It’s a self-assuring, feelgood anthem. Happy synths accompanied by a light beat, one that's still far from being weak. Like the recent non-album gem, LAMB, nothing complex, just a happy, friendly atmosphere.

SUNNY and SUMMER are going in further with the mellifluous tone, SUNNY talking about tougher matters in an upbeat way and SUMMER being another simple indie closer by Bearface. SUNNY is, simply put, pretty and bordering cheesy, when it comes to the production, but lyrically delves into deeper issues, such as loneliness and surviving on very little.

In general, the SATURATION trilogy has, so far, tampered both the happier and the darker matters; both of the current albums falling more into the latter category, with hopes of the last album being a bit lighter in tone. The second one was, arguably, at least a bit lighter in tone than the debut, after all.

BROCKHAMPTON have currently shown the ability to be the biggest hip-hop group of the present and the near future, if not the entire decade. While the styles of the members clash in a way that might be too big of a variety for some, it brings a good spectrum of different personalities into the mix, which seems to attract quite a bunch of people.

But take caution; don’t expect anything from these guys. They have guaranteed to be the most unpredictable, original and productive pack of dudes in all of their multi-talented skillfulness and activity.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/BYgU6ZZ.png[/img]

[size=50][b]Calling their videos "original" is a bit of an underestimation, though.[/b][/size]

Favourite songs: HEAT, ZIPPER, RENTAL, SWEET, GOLD
Least favourite song: BANK

[b][size=150]3. Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy[/size][/b]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/98vAzkO.jpg[/img]

Ever since I discovered Tyler and the rest of the OFWGKTA gang after the release of the OF Tape Vol. 2, the entire collective has been quite polarizing for me, when it comes to the quality of their output. I’ve liked some members more, while I’ve harshly disliked the music of others. Tyler himself has been the most polarizing character on his own, with me liking some of his stuff and hating some. But generally, I’ve liked each new album by him more than the previous one, never having been a fan of Goblin, literally enjoying only one or two songs on it, to Wolf having at least a few great tracks, finally coming to Cherry Bomb and Flower Boy.

The two are no exceptions to this rule, Flower Boy being better than Cherry Bomb, an album that I for the most part like just enough, but also pretty much never listen to, as it’s nothing unbelievably amazing and groundbreaking.

Now Flower Boy, that’s an album I could go as far as to call it revolutionary. It has some worse picks that try to appeal to the mainstream, albeit not terrible, ones that I’ve found myself skipping a lot lately. But overall it is thematically fantastic, both lyrically and musically.

Just two seconds into the album it has already started with one of the most appealing beats of the year on Foreword. The entire background production sounds almost IDM-like. Tyler’s flow and choice of words is tightest I’ve heard from him so far, Rex Orange County bringing smooth, smooth singing into the mix. Someone I’ve never before paid attention to, positively catching me off guard. Halfway in we hear some analog pads that immediately remind me of IFHY. One of the few songs on the album, that does not incorporate any realistic sounding instruments at any point, but pulls off that aspect very well.

Where This Flower Blooms sounds like a cheap synthesizer. Frank Ocean’s singing sounds kind of tired, but it actually fits the song. Tyler’s flow here reminds me of his earlier output on Wolf and Cherry Bomb, which is not particularly a bad thing. It’s original, at the very least. Despite all these “issues” I still love this song, although the outro sounds a tad too extended with its instrumental part and finally the piano solo and what not. Tyler’s 6/8 section before the outro is really delightful, though.

Sometimes… is a nice, short interlude. Usually the kind of a filler I find myself disliking, but it’s well produced and interesting. The electronic bassline and the eerie vocal samples and soft piano melody. Enchanting. Ends the previous song well and brings the next song in kinda abruptly, albeit in a fitting manner.

See You Again is so catchy it should be illegal. 20/20 20/20 vision. Kali Uchis is a great guest addition to the song, bringing a beautiful contrast to the romantic background and Tyler’s vocals. The brass section in the end is incredibly smooth. Absolutely one of my favourite songs on the album and most likely one of the best songs released the entire year overall.

Sadly the next one is quite boring and generic, Who Dat Boy. Starts with some dark synths, but ultimately ends up disappointing with its beat and lyrics. Rocky does not bring anything positive to the song, possibly in my opinion making the song even more generic with his style. The video is also pretty grim. Some could probably like it, but it’s not at all appealing to me. I also just hate the title of the song. It’s not as horrible as most of the mumble rap you hear nowadays, but it’s still far from original and enjoyable.

Pothole starts pretty quick with some nice, chill production. Not entirely dark, but definitely not light and happy either. Some really cryptic lyricism and smart rhyming, one of the best songs of Flower Boy, at least lyrically. Jaden Smith’s vocals have grown on me a lot since I first heard the song. I did not even know it was him, just thought he was some random dude. Unenthusiastic style, not interesting in its slightest. But some time after I actually found out it was him, I started liking his vocals more, still not sure if it’s because of that or if I would have started liking them no matter what. But the vocals fit. Now I see them fit.

Garden Shed, another favourite right after the previous, incredibly beautiful production and I honestly can not find words that seem to describe it well enough. It’s lush, it’s calm and it’s for a change very happy and hopeful in its mood again. Tyler’s smart writing is seen again in the combination of thirds in the vocals with the steady, slow 2/4 beat. Beautiful vocals by the guest singer Estelle, another name I’ve never ever heard of before this album. Very slow song until the last minute of the song, when Tyler suddenly busts out a fast, intense verse in a super unusual flow, right when it sounds like the song is about to end. The lyrics are beautiful and full of natural metaphors, really bringing the definition to the title Flower Boy again.

I probably keep calling like half of the songs on this my favourites, but next up is yet another one of those, Boredom. Right from the beginning we have Rex Orange County singing really smoothly again on luscious chords and background female vocals, shortly afterwards bringing in a delectable, funky beat. It’s lyrically super playful and relatable, sounding like a story right out of my lazy Sundays. The classical section in the end is beautifully composed albeit a little bit too long again.¨

I Ain’t Got Time! is a bit more mainstream again, compared to Who Dat Boy, the other Trap-influenced song on the record, a lot more enjoyable song. Not as dark, and rapped better, although Tyler’s flow reminds me of his old songs once again. Not horrible, but I ain’t usually got time to have three and a half minutes wasted on this one.

911 / Mr. Lonely is a smart twin song, 911 starting with positive and confident attitude. The production is beautiful and bubbly, with the vocals especially during the bridges bringing in some playful elements. Both of the guests on it fitting in really well, from Steve Lacy’s great, even raspy vocals and optimistic lyrics to Anna of the North’s cute and excited “ring, ring, ring” onomatopoetic filler. Mr. Lonely turns the song right off the bat into a more pessimistic one, even depressed song. Minor chords on the piano and the guests A$AP Rocky and ScHoolboy Q venting about being lonely in a true first-world problematic manner, just “needing bitches”, you know. Lyrically not as interesting for that reason, still an interesting song when it gets to Tyler’s verse. It has got some obviously electronic production and a steady beat, leaving very little room for the natural, happy and even hopeful elements. Very different from its positive counterpart for every possible reason, but still fits ridiculously well together with 911.

Droppin’ Seeds is just an interlude. I cannot stand Lil Wayne on it, but the background is nice, reminds me of Pothole. It’s… forgettable. Lyrically nothing special, the background is good and, well. Tyler’s short part in the end is alright but Lil Wayne should have passed the mic to someone else.

November and Glitter are pretty boring compared to the rest of the album, although still perfectly enjoyable. November is pretty pessimistic and scared lyrically, with Tyler questioning anything he can, sounding like the mid-life crisis of a rapper with self-confidence issues. The beat is nothing special and in the end slows down in a questionably bad way, usually leading me to skip the last minute. The weird spoken word samples right before that are aesthetic and interesting, though, and the lyricism has to be awarded a few extra points on it, although it does drift off from the overall theme of the album. At least it does it in a weirdly attractive way.

Glitter is not the worst song on the album but it certainly sparks the least opinions in me, both positive and negative, about anything on it. It’s okay. His voice is modulated both on the sung chorus and the rapped verse in an annoying, high pitched way. Oh, and then this song also slows down to a chopped & screwed –like section for the second half of the song. Really, really uninteresting and a horrible choice in Tyler’s part. Well, actually, it’s still pretty lush and floaty. Chill and quite enjoyable. I always find myself trying to hate it more than I in the end do.

Enjoy Right Now, Today is a fully instrumental song with only a child sample saying “hey!” over and over again a number count about 1/3 into the song and some additional vocals by Pharrell during the latter half of the song. It’s an intriguingly beautifully made song, ever-changing with its strings sections and even ambient-bordering pizzicato part right before the halfway mark. Like most of the songs on the album, it’s happy and positive, ending the record on a nice, optimistic note. Some people do not understand the song in its instrumentality and desperately have begged for vocals on it, but I in turn do not understand them. It’s kept fairly short but also not too short, it cleverly ends the album on a note with no spoken story and tops it all off with a clever, encouraging title. It is weird to say this about a completely instrumental song on a hip-hop record, but it is, no matter what, one of my favourite tracks on Flower Boy. It is the perfect kind of an outro to a hip-hop record, something I have never heard of before, and something I am very, very happy about.

Tyler has evolved into a clever artist with a clear vision, often incorporating mixed time signatures and triplets on the songs, bringing in real instruments (or at least very realistic sounding samples) and really upping his production game. The album is unpredictably beautiful, when we take into account it is written by the same person who made Goblin, but also he did have some similar songs on Cherry Bomb, so if you have heard that one multiple times, you’ll probably not be as surprised. In turn, you might appreciate this album even more than if you have never heard his previous couple of albums. Or any albums by him. Ever.

Flower Boy has got to be one of my favourite records of the year, one of my favourite hip-hop records of all time and definitely the best Tyler album by far. If he is seeking to improve even further with whatever he is putting out next, I have no idea how is that going to happen. This album is bordering perfection, with only two uninteresting songs on it, plus an useless interlude, so technically if he is able to make as many interesting songs as he has on this album and is able to leave the generic-bordering elements totally out, he might be able to make the greatest hip-hop record of all-time.  But that is just my opinion. Maybe people do in fact like Who Dat Boy and I Ain’t Got Time!. That’s what the ratings on several sites are pointing towards, in the end.

I gotta recommend this album to everyone, hip-hop fan or not. It is not usual hip-hop aside from the two songs I keep on mentioning all the time. This is a fantastic record with or without them. Highly recommended.

Favourite songs: Boredom, Foreword, See You Again, Garden Shed
Least favourite song: Who Dat Boy?

[size=150][b]4. luupy - Horror Story[/b][/size]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/LBND61A.jpg[/img]

The recent talent in the underground Neuro, Glitch & Drum 'n Bass scenes, luupy pummels their way into the most prominent names of the year with their debut full-length album, Horror Story. Distortion is not an alien idea for luupy, with nearly every other track being distorted to the point, where the soundscape is nothing but hard, pounding beats and monstrous, droning bass and noise. The title of the album really stands behind the style of the production of the album, it's definitely one of the uneasiest albums of the year.

idk, I don't have commentary ready for this. It's pretty... dark and grim. I love it.

Favourite songs: badtrip, fakeskin, fuckingslamyourheadinthewall, cave explorers
Least favourite song: origami

[size=150][b]5. Jamiroquai - Automaton[/b][/size]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/Y3fx7WU.jpg[/img]

After an extended silence since their last album, 2010’s Rock Dust Light Star, Jamiroquai, the funky, disco-influenced Acid Jazz band from the Great Britain return with Automaton, their first full length effort in seven years. It’s the perfect music to just jam out to, and it’s hard not to. Not only was the album in works for a full three years over 2013 to 2016, another three-year chunk of inactivity between the previous album’s release and the boot-up of Automaton and extended delays before the album’s release took in place, making the unreasonable seven-year wait almost excusable. Still, I think I would have liked it even more, had it come out earlier.

Featuring the exact same lineup as the previous album, the guys have certainly mastered their own style by now. While I’m not the biggest fan of their earlier output, it still being fully decent and enjoyable on occasion, Automaton pretty much blew me away this year. It’s more or less exactly what you’d expect from the guys. Now, I know being too “same-y” might not exactly be too favourable in the ears of the fans and critics, so I like to call it “familiar, but next level” instead. On Automaton, Jay Kay’s vocals are electronically modified more often than on any earlier record of theirs. These influences are especially present in Superfresh and the title track, Automaton, which is a song too experimental for their own good, as the song feels to be all over the place for the entirety of its duration. While the song in question tampers the issue we have started to hear about so often in Pop music nowadays – the ever-progressing digitalization of the world – the rest of the album, with a couple of exceptions, tends to be more of a feel-good, happy dance record, with very little lyrical depth to it, making the song Automaton feel even more out of place on the full album carrying its own name. I can’t remember if someone else put it this way or if I originally came up with it, but as a whole, ignoring the title track, it’s basically “a dance record about dancing”. You definitely have to be in a good mood to listen to the album. It’s definitely not your first choice on a rainy, unenergetic day, when you just want to lie down on the couch and focus on the lyrical content.

Favourite songs: Cloud 9, Hot Property, Something About You, Vitamin
Least favourite song: Automaton

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Honourable mentions that didn't make the cut: Long Awaited Journey by Alon Mor, Death Peak by Clark, Fragile by fox capture plan, II by Phuture Doom, Drunk by Thundercat, Melodrama by Lorde, the five King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard albums we received in the span of a single year and, last but definitely not least, the first two installments to the SATURATION trilogy by BROCKHAMPTON.

Favourite songs excluding the albums in the Top 5: HEAT and SWEET by BROCKHAMPTON, Bobbie Caris and Honey Badger by Clark, Saint by Phuture Doom, ラビリンス by Mondo Grosso, Lush by Four Tet, Mania by Alon Mor, Birds & Bees by IDK and Diamond Dust by Way Out West.[/centre]