Hello everyone! Today is the first day 2019. I should be happy, shouldn't I? But tomorrow I already have to go to school, which means more stressful studying and anxiety... Two weeks holiday honestly is not enough for me... But, to cheer up the atmosphere, let's talk about good things, like music!
To be honest, I have not listen to much albums. I feel like my music taste is extremely narrow. I mean, I barely listen to anything outside of Gorillaz in the middle school! So now I'm trying to broaden my knowledge of music. In the meantime, here's some of my all-time favorite albums. Enjoy!
a. Kali Uchis - Isolation
If you consider yourself as a person who like Gorillaz, then you might know Kali Uchis. She was a guest singer in their 2017's album Humanz in 2 songs, Ticker Tape and She's My Collar. I found out about her from Gorillaz as well. The next year, Isolation was out, which at first it didn't really interest me, until a lot of Gorillaz fans pointed out that there was an unused Humanz song in Isolation, which was In My Dreams. I decided to check it out, and hoo boy the album was fantastic.
Isolation is an album that mixed various music genres, however it's mostly focused on the RnB or neo-soul genre. Theoretically, this album shouldn't work due to how varied the genres were. It could've been a mess that is similar to Humanz. However, thanks to the tight production, Isolation is a delight from start to finish. It's very catchy, the lyrics are beautiful, and the instrumentals are on point. Check this album out, and I'm definitely looking forward to Kali's next project.
FAV TRACKS: Your Teeth In My Neck, Feel Like a Fool, Just a Stranger, In My Dreams, After the Storm, Dead to Me, Miami, Tomorrow
b. Kero Kero Bonito - Time n' Place
The british band Kero Kero Bonito took a surprising departure from their signature bubbly cheerful music after Bonito Generation was released in 2016 (which you should check it out as well, it's very cute). The first sign of change was in their 2017's single Only Acting, which was a j-rock inspired song with a very... glitchy and distorted production. The lyrics were much more mature as well. In their previous album and EP, KKB usually wrote about the mundane things in life like graduation, flamingo, or taking a break. Only Acting, however, was about the struggle of being a star and how hard it is to separate your real emotions from the stage life. Definitely way more detailed and emotional. Some fans were disappointed by this change, however I've grown to like it and I found myself to be enjoying Time n' Place as well.
Time n' Place is a j-rock inspired album that mostly about overcoming the struggle of living. The highlight of this album is definitely the lyrics, I love how detailed it is. It makes the song much more emotional. The production is much more experimental and distorted, especially in the song Rest Stop. However, we still get some bubbly vibe that KKB had on their previous project like in the song Swimming. Overall, it was a great comeback album despite how different it was from their usual vibes.
FAV TRACKS: Dear Future Self, Swimming, Only Acting, Make Believe, Time Today, If I'd Known, Visiting Hours
c. Ariana Grande - Sweetener
At first, I didn't really like this album. I thought the songs were okay, but it's not something that I would listen again. However, I started to appreciate it more after seeing the horrible state of last year's mainstream pop music. I feel like Ariana had taken a risky move by releasing a more conceptual album than most pop albums, which were usually obvious Top 40 materials and some forgettable fillers. I really like the simple RnB production on this album, it's a refreshing break from the generic EDM stuff or overproduced pop songs. It's not a perfect album, I feel like some of the songs are samey, but it's worth listening. But I bet you already listened to it since it's freakin' Ariana Grande... oh well.
FAV TRACKS: God is a woman, pete davidson, no tears left to cry, breathin, R.E.M.
d. Rina Sawayama - RINA
Do you like late 90's to early 00's pop music? Do you wish it to come back? Then Rina Sawayama got something for you! RINA is Rina Sawayama's first EP and it's just so good. Thanks to Clarence Clarity's amazing production and Rina's vocal performance, this EP is a pop masterpiece. It's extremely catchy, but the lyrics are still written well. Usually pop songs on that era was about boys who don't like you back or generic positivity advice. There's nothing wrong with that, I mean I am still listening to Baby One More Time to this day, it's just that it tends to be a little bit repetitive. However, the songs on RINA is not like that. It's about the many sides of being a superstar and how technology has changed relationship or our daily life. It's very detailed and deep! In conclusion, this is a must-listen EP and I guarantee that you'll love it in an instant.
FAV TRACKS: Tunnel Vision, Ordinary Superstar, Take Me As I Am, 10-20-40, Alterlife, Cyber Stockholm Syndrome, Through the Wire, Time Out
e. Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy
Tyler previously was known for his harsh and edgy lyrics, especially in Goblin and Bastard, which was so vulgar that it made him banned in the UK. That's why many were surprised for the direction that this album took. While he still didn't let go completely of his past personality such as in the track Who Dat Boy, as a whole Flower Boy is a soft synth funk hip hop album with a much more toned down lyrics compared to his previous work. And by toned down I didn't mean that it's bad, it's in fact the opposite. There are a lot of clever lyrics throughout the album, one of them is in the song See You Again.
"20/20, 20/20 vision
Cupid hit me, cupid hit me with precision
I wonder if you look both ways
When you cross my mind, I said, I said
I'm sick of, sick of, sick of, sick of chasing
You're the one that's always running through my daydream, I
I can only see your face when I close my eyes"
I really enjoyed Flower Boy, it was a beautiful LP and you should definitely check it out.
FAV TRACKS: 911/Mr Lonely, Foreword, See You Again, Who Dat Boy, Boredom, Garden Shed
f. Bjork - Post
Bjork's music takes time to fully appreciate, at least in my experience. When I first listened to Bjork, I was extremely confused. I thought, "Why do people like this? It's very confusing.". Structurally, her melodies are really jarring, especially in her later albums like Vulnicura and Utopia. But, as I listen to it more and more, I began to see her appeal and now I'm a huge fan of Bjork.
This album is a great introduction if you want to know more about Bjork. It's a quirky alternative electronic album with a great writing. Bjork's delivery was also fantastic, it definitely match the mood of the song perfectly. She wasn't afraid to go "all out" on her vocals, a great example is this is on the song I Miss You where she straight out screamed in many parts of the song. It may confuse you in the first listening, but it matched perfectly with the song's instrumental. Overall, this album is an interesting experience that I deeply enjoyed.
FAV TRACKS: Possibly Maybe, Isobel, Headphones, Hyperballad, It's Oh So Quiet, I Miss You, Army of Me
g. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Oh boy, here's an obligatory Gorillaz post... but for real, this album is fantastic. Let me try to keep this short. I know fans back then were expecting a second Demon Days, so when this album was released they were disappointed, but I love Plastic Beach despite that it's completely different from that album. While Demon Days' instrumental were dark and used a lot of traditional instruments, Plastic Beach was the opposite. It used a lot of electronic synth. This turned off a lot of people, but the great and clean production made it all works. I love how conceptual the album is, even more than Demon Days. I really wish Gorillaz's newer album is more conceptual since I feel like they just abandoned it all together, especially in Humanz. The Now Now was fine, but it was way too safe and didn't really felt... gigantic like their first three albums. But rant is for other days...
I really like the lyrics of this album as well. Some are abstract like Empire Ants, however there were a lot of songs that surprisingly had lyrics about romance, which is something that Gorillaz didn't focus much. And it felt really personal too. Here's an example from the song To Binge.
"I'm caught again in the mystery
You're by my side, but are you still with me?
The answer's somewhere deep in it, I'm sorry but your feeling it
But I just have to tell you that I love you so much these days
Have to tell you that I love you so much these days, it's true"
To wrap things up, Plastic Beach is a great conceptual record that you must listen. Like, right now.
FAV TRACKS: Empire Ants, To Binge, Some Kind of Nature, On Melancholy Hill, Stylo, Rhinestone Eyes, Pirate Jet, Plastic Beach
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And that's all I can recommend for today, I might make a part 2 on this! I hope you'll like those albums as much as I do. Do you have any recommendations? If so, leave it in the comments below. Thank you for reading!
