Also I totally rushed some of these write ups to get this up before the New Years. I'll revisit it later when I have more time.
10. Haruka Nakamura - Twilight
I'm not sure if I really want this up here. I was slightly disappointed by this, especially since Grace (2008) was so so so good. I love it, but it's just not quite god-tier like Grace was. It's still beautiful and soothing ambient music to relax to though.
9. Igorrr - Nostril
Honestly I love this album, but It's really weird, though I'm sure everyone's figured out that I like weird now. Since I'm not sure if the novelty will wear off on me on repeated listens, this position is a bit shaky. I love the combination of breakcore, classical and metal in it though.
8. Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
This may or may not be too low. It's very easy to tell that this album is incredibly ambitious, with all the genre hopping that occurs. I love some of the tracks on here (Tightrope, Come Alive), but I didn't find myself paying enough attention to the others. Probably my fault, so I'll go through it again sometime later.
7. TOKiMONSTA - Midnight Menu
Months after first hearing it, Midnight Menu still creates a great atmosphere to relax to.
6. The Q4 - Sound Surroundings
Interesting production, and incredibly varied compared to a lot of electronic artists. The guest vocalists really add a lot to this album.
5. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
Even though I feel like I never find the time/urge to revisit this often, it's just a great album, and putting it any lower would seem like an insult to how good it is and how much I like it.
4. Antennasia - Qus-cus
Great feathery vocals, haunting melodies. While I'm still slightly sad it's not like their old style of trip hop, it's consistent as an album and this new direction definitely isn't bad (I hesitate to say good because a part of me wants them to return to their old sound).
3. World's End Girlfriend - Seven Idiots
This is quickly becoming my favorite of his albums. Les Enfants du Paradis is so amazing. I love the almost schizophrenic transitions from beautiful melodies to angular, almost robotic instrumentation. It's this dichotomy that makes the album great, in my opinion. The album is also a lot less subdued than his older works, since there's more guitar work and more experimentation, as well as just huge explosions of energy. I've heard a lot about this being one of the most difficult of his albums to listen to, which I don't really understand, but I suppose those who were expecting a more atmospheric album like Hurtbreak Wonderland would be a bit disappointed. I got into it pretty much immediately, and if anything, because there are so many different ideas being thrown around, it never once gets boring.
2. Satanicpornocultshop - Arkhaiomelisidonophunikheratos
Chaotic, beautiful, refreshing.
1. Tokyo Jihen - Sports
I freely admit bias on this one. It contains one of my favorite songs, and was basically more of their amazing amazingness.
Honorable Mentions:
The Glitch Mob - Drink the Sea
- Down here because I just recently listened to it. Almost all the individual tracks are very good, and the beats are great, it's just that I don't want to form such a hasty opinion when the initial "novelty" hasn't worn off yet.
65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway
- One of my favorites early in the year. Still very good, explosive climaxes, great buildup. It's a really high energy album that doesn't let up. Pretty great the whole way.
The Delta Mirror - Machines that Listen
-This is an album I really loved at the beginning of the year, and over time I just... lost interest in it. It's probably still very good, but it gets less interesting when replayed and tends to drag.
Rin Toshite Shigure - Still A Sigure Virgin?
- Ridiculous, insane, awesome, loud indie/progressive/noise rock. It's more or less the same as their previous releases, but that's definitely not a bad thing in their case.
school food punishment - amp-reflection
- Great soundscapes, shoegazey rock/pop sound. Catchy stuff.
The Black Keys - Brothers
- Bluesy. Bluesy is good. Also helps that this is one of their catchiest albums. Tighten Up is definitely up there in my list of great songs from this year.
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
- Too soon for me to properly judge. This album as a whole may or may not stay in this category, since I've never been a huge Kanye fan. Monster is a great track though.
Gayngs - Relayted
- I debated whether or not I wanted to mention this. On one hand, tracks like Faded High and No Sweat are great, but as an album, it suffers a little from too-much-of-the-same. Tracks that would be good on their own are lost when played together with the rest.
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
- Fun. I'm not going to try to think about it any more than that. It's a great throwback to the old psychedelic pop of decades past. And it's really really catchy in its own eccentric way. I'm enjoying it a lot right now, but I've noticed that oftentimes this kind of thing loses its appeal after a while.
How to Dress Well - How to Dress Well
- Reverb soaked super falsetto lo-fi R&B. Definitely cool to listen to.
Disappointing :(
Beach House - Teen Dream
- Incredibly meh.
Caribou - Swim
- " "
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
- Didn't hold my interest. Unfortunate, since I really liked a lot of the tracks from the previous two albums.
Spoon - Transference
- I liked Kill the Moonlight. Maybe my interest in "indie" is just dying. Though as far as disappointments go, it's not unredeemably terrible or anything.
Warpaint - The Fool
- I was mildly interested in their 2009 EP. Their songs got grating to listen to after a while though, and this was more of the same.
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles II
- It should be cool. I should like it. But I don't.
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
- Unremarkable the first time through. Worse the second.
LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
- Annoying.
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