2016 Albums • Page 3

Update. Especially loving the new Frightened Rabbit.

 

I listen to far fewer records than you but I totally get what you mean; a lot of times it's so easy to focus on listening to more and more music that it starts to feel like a chore and you're not actually revisiting things you like because you feel the urge to expand.

 

61. GoGo Penguin - Man Made Object ++
62. Ty Segall Emotional Mugger *
63. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth *
64. Julie Rhodes - Bound to Meet the Devil +
65. The Coral - Distance Inbetween *
66. Matt Elliot - The Calm Before +
67. Bibio - A Mineral Love +
68. Charles Bradley - Changes +
69. Richmond Fontaine - You Can't Go Back if There's Nothing To Go Back To +
70. The KVB - Of Desire *
71. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Pond Scum *
72. Fightened Rabbit - Painting of a Panic Attack ++

 

I normally don't feel that way with current year releases -- they're spread out enough that I can do 25-40/month while at work and listen to everything I'd want to (and more) without feeling overwhelmed to do more. Then, any time I'm not at work and am listening to music or if I run out of new things to listen to, I listen to my favorites playlist and normally play those to death.

I have a lot more trouble with that when it comes to past year releases. There's so much out there that I haven't listened to that I really should, and have no idea where to start. Earlier this year, I tried picking a year (2010) and listening to everything that I hadn't heard that sounded remotely interesting, but it all kinda blurred together to me and I didn't enjoy any of it as much as I think I would have if it were spread out more evenly.

 

Yeah, it's all pretty intimidating to me. As a full time student, I just don't have much free time so I end up usually playing music while I'm doing something else, and it's really easy for stuff to run together -- and then, I end up rarely revisiting even albums I really like.

 

I also listen to music all day, and I'd say I listen to a pretty substantial amount of new stuff, but by no means am I trying to listen to everything I hear about or read about. There's just too much and that would draw focus from the albums I really love. That's also why I usually start the year listening to a lot of new records each month and then have a bunch of slower months in the middle/toward the end when I'm taking more time to appreciate my favorites.

 

*: Indifferent, dislike, hate
+: Didn't feel like I wasted time listening to it.
++: Might listen to it again.
+++: Definitely listen to it again.
++++: AOTY contender

January:

1. Basement - Promise Everything: + [Alt rock, Emo]
2. Bowie - Blackstar: + [Art/experimental rock]


February

3. Anime Collective - Painting With: + [Psych-pop]
4. The 1975 - Hey guys lets make a really cheesy and long album title: + [Pop, pop-rock]
5. Kanye West - So Swish Me Luck: + [Rap]

March:

6. Sia - This Is Acting: + [Pop]
7. Pinegrove - Cardinal: +++ [Indie rock, alt-country]
8. Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered: ++ [Rap]
9. Rihanna - ANTI: + [Pop]
10. Ducking Punches -Fizzy Brain: +++ [Folk-punk tinted indie rock?]

11. Weird Punctuation! At the Disco - Death of a Bachelor: ++ [Pop-rock] (was actually a surprisingly fun record)
12. The Wet Secrets - I Can Live Forever EP: + [Indie/garage rock]
13. SHEER MAG - III 7": ++ [Garage rock]
14. POLIÇA - United Crushers: + [Alt pop, alt rnb] (Wanted to like this more because I really like art pop & alt-rnb and it has a great cover but everything blurred together too much)
15. From Indian Lakes - Wanderer EP: ++ [Indie, acoustemo]
16. Like Torches - Shelter: ++ [Metalcore?] (absolutepunk-core mixed with Japandroids. Nice.)
17. Guerrilla Toss - Eraser Stargazer EP: ++ [Experimental psych-y rock]
18. Andersoon .Paak (or however you stylize it) - Mailbu: ++ [Alt rnb]
19. Signor Benedick the Moor - Maiden Voyage Suite EP: ++ [Experimental hip-hop] (major rec for experimental hip-hop fans)
20. Cherry Coals - s/t EP: + [Dream pop?]

21. DIIV - Is The Is Are: + [Dream pop]
22. Future - EVOL: + [Trap rap]
23. Arashi-bu - 終わらないCORE: Oh! What A Nightcore: + [Post-nightcore] (forgot I listened to it)
24. Charli XCX - Vroom Vroom EP: ++ [Bubblegum bass] (would be a + if it weren't for that accent. i'm weak)
25. Mono/Poly - Cryptic: + [Glitch hop] (The album was OK, the bonus track - B Life - was great, think Boards of Canada but darker and glitchier)
26. Embedded Figures / Strange Harvest - SPLIT / SINGLE: ++ [Is there a specific name for this kind of dark synthy unsettling electronic?]
27. Letherette - Refresh EP: ++ [House]
28. Moderat - Reminder EP: + [Glitch pop, future garage] (Title track is total banger, the other 3 just good background music)
29. Frameworks - Time Spent EP: ++ [Post-hardcore]
30. Fuath - I: ++ [Deafheaven-core]

31. Brian Fallon - Painkillers: + [Bruce-core]
32. Favorite 水 - Not Slow Enough For Ducks EP: + [Post-nightcore]
33. 3 Doors Down - Us and The Night: + [2000s-radio-rock-core] (terrible but in a way not terrible 6/10)
34. Big Ups - Before a Million Universes: ++ [Post-hardcore]
35. Safe, So Simple - Too Close to Closure: ++ [Pop-punk, metalcore?]
36. Chairlift - Moth: + [Pop]
37. Adam Young - RMS Titanic: + [Orchestral]
38. Abayomy Afrobeat Orquestra - Abra Sua Cabeça: + [Afrobeat] (actual tracks were ++ quality but a lack of variation brings it down)
39. Massive Attack - Ritual Spirit EP: + [Trip-hop]
40. Ninos Du Brasil - Para Araras EP: + [Acid techno]

41. Shishamo - SHISHAMO 3: ++ [Jpn pop rock] (thanks to the person who listed this, v nice. Like Chatmonchy but more straightforward)
42. Varsity - Eye to Eye/Kelly Single: + [Dream poop]
43. Emika - Flashbacks: + [Minimal synth? Synth-pop?]
44. Ensoi - ISOLATION: ++ [Breakcore, ambient]
45. Mono Syntax - Echo EP: + [Dark ambient, lo-bit (just found out this is a thing)]
46. Eko_Fisk -Badwater EP: + [Ambient]
47. I Saw You Yesterday - Malibu EP: ++ [Garagey indie-pop, Mac Demarco-core]
48. Nic Fallon - We Know Time Single: +++ [Singer-songwriter, indie-pop] (Major rec, just 2 lovely pop songs with a nice voice and good guitar. Totals in at about 5:30 so no reason not to check it out.)
49. Quiter - From Me To You EP: ++ [Emo, AP user's band]
50. Panning View - Centerpiece: ++ [Emo, pop-punk, AP user band]

51. Loser Points - Buncha Bangers: + [Skatepunk, AP-user-core]
52. Tha Silent Partner - bitCrusha '09: + [Electronic, don't know what specific genre]
53. Squarecom広場SOFTWARE - Kanye West Turbo Grafx 16: ++ [a e s t h e t i c HOP]
54. TK from LING TOSHITE SIGURE - Secret Sensation: ++ [Art-rock, anime theme song-core]
55. They Might Be Giants - Phone Power: + [Alt rock, quirk pop]
56. Dustin Kensrue - Thought That Float on a Different Boat: ++ [Acoustic covers, nice voice and guitar but unfortunate lack of variation-core]
57. Elliott Smith - Heaven Adores You (soundtrack): + [acoustic songwriter stuff] (This would definitely be ++ if it weren't for all the boring instrumental demos. As a collection of rarities it satisfies its purpose though)
58. Julia Brown - An Abundance of Strawberries: ++ [Lo-fi indie/emo/pop, same guy as Teen Suicide-core, probably grows on you after more listens-core]
59. Andrew Bird - Are You Serious: ++ [Contemporary folk, chamber pop?]
60. ZAYN - Mind of Mine: ++ [Contemporary RnB, Pop, Limp Bizkit-like songtitle-core]

61. Mechanical Facade - スンシネ EP: + [Electronic, Experimental]
62. Scandal - Yellow: +++ [J-pop/rock, anime theme song-core, v good] (This solidified Scandal as more than just a poppier/idol-ier version of Chatmonchy in my mind, I liked it a lot on first listen]
63. yodaka - Betrayal and Reincarnation: ++ [Post Rock, Electronic, Ambient-ish-noise-ish] (Kashiwa Daisuke side project that released an album I for some reason didn't know about. Good but isn't as good as his solo stuff, at least from first impressions.)
64. Forests - Sun Eat Moon Grave Party: ++ [Emo, Math-pop] (short and sweet check it out)
65. Milky Wimpshake - 'Velvet Pants' / 'Interior/Exterior' 7": + [Punk, pop-punk]
66. Mark Breeze - Be Alone EP: ++ [UK Hardcore (EDM)]
67. Photay - Sadie EP: + [Experimental Electronic]
68. Radical Face - The Family Tree: The Leaves: +++ [Indie-folk, concept album trilogy, is cool do check out]
69. Северный флот - Мизантропия: ++ [Russian Alt Rock/Metal, vocal stylings reminiscent of System of a Down]
70. Boy Parts - Five Songs EP: + [Really short pop-punk songs-core. Happens so fast you need to listen twice to know if you actually heard it-core. Despite that a pleasant listen-core]

71. Dinamite Club - Do Começo Não Dá pra Enxergar o Fim EP/Single: + [Brazilian Emo-pop, Pop-punk. Sounds cooler than it actually is but it's p good]
72. Teen Suicide - It's The Big Joyous Celebration, Let's Stir The Honeypot: +++ [Lo-fi indie, bandcamp-core]

April:

73. Weezer - White Album: +++ [Power pop, piano/pop rock]
74: Babymetal - Metal Resistance: +++ [Power metal, alt metal] (BIG improvement over their last album. Filled with bangers]
75. PJ Harvey - The Hope Six Demolotion Project: ++ [Artsy rock]
76. Seiko Oomori - Tokyo Black Hole: +++ [J-pop, art-pop]
77. Picnic - Four Ways to Cure Teen Angst EP: ++/+++ [Indie rock, jazzy pop influence]
78. Guided By Voices - Please Be Honest: + [Lo-fi indie pop/rock]
79. World's End Girlfriend - LIVE-10-10-2015 EP: ++ [Post-rock, modern classical]

80. Kashiwa Daisuke - Program Music 2: +++ [Modern classical, jazzy post rock]
81. 宇宙ネコ子とラブリーサマーちゃん - 日々のあわ.EP: ++ [Dream pop]
82. The Veldt - The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric Fur: The Drake Equation: + [Soulgaze, trap-ish]
83. Various Artists (j-label flau) - BRRWD LOVE Vol. : ++ [Beats, v nice]

 

81. Deftones - Gore ++
82. Jessy Lanza - Oh No +
83. Dej Loaf - All Jokes Asides +
84. M83 - Junk *
85. Tokyo Police Club - Melon Collie and the Infinite Radness (Part 1) EP *
86. Frightened Rabbit - Painting of a Panic Attack +
87. School of Seven Bells - SVIIB +
88. Twenty88 - Twenty88 *
89. Bossk - Audio Noir +

 

Usually at work I get a fair amount of downtime and can listen to stuff. Also, if I'm at home and not watching a TV show or movie, I'm listening to music. I'm working towards a career as a musician, so I try and listen to as much music as I can so that not only can I be more well-rounded and learn, but also so that I know what trends are happening in which genres and can really understand where everything is moving.

 

136. Hailey, It Happens - Under The Brilliant Lights (2014)

@cshadows2887 soooooooooooooo I never got around to the whole EP til now, whoops!!!

 

Hah! Well thanks for listening, man. Hope you enjoyed

 

I'm experiencing some of the same thing you're describing. I haven't listened to anywhere near the music you have so far (but has anyone, really?), but I'm averaging about two new albums a day, and since I usually don't listen to much new stuff on weekends, it really adds up during the workday.

So far, I haven't branched too much outside of my comfort zone, though. If you look at my list, it's pretty much pop, pop-punk, rock, synthpop, symphonic metal, and instrumental stuff. I definitely plan on branching out this year, but so far I've just been trying to get through the backlog of stuff on my to-listen list, and it's all stuff I know I'll like ahead of time.

In some ways, that makes it easier to remember the music, and there have definitely been recap days where I've relistened to new albums that really stood out. But I'm afraid I'm going to start forgetting why I liked certain albums a couple months down the line. So I think I'm going to take a couple days at the end of each month and recap what I've listened to and give a few things another chance to really settle in. That might help me remember.

 

Definitely did, if you can't tell by now, your music is very much in my wheelhouse

 

Aw thanks, man. Glad to hear it.

 

April

57. BABYMETAL - Metal Resistance ++
58. Perfume - Cosmic Explorer ++
59. Hanae - Show Girl +
60. Cicada - Farewell ++
61. Mogwai - Atomic +
62. Seiko Oomori - Tokyo Black Hole ++

 

Uppppdate. Surprised I enjoyed Sleeping With Sirens but it was a nice calming acoustic performance. Loved the covers. AHTY really had it's moments but too much cheese made it hard to take seriously.

 

Yikes! I feel severely outclassed by the length of everyone's lists here!

Well, here's everything I have an interest in listening to that's been released/slated for this year. Asterisks denote albums I have listened to to completion...

"Showbread Is Showdead" by Showbread*
"Death of a Bachelor" by Panic! at the Disco*
"I Don't Think It Is" by Say Anything*
"The Life of Pablo" by Kanye West*
"Distant Like You Asked" by Like Pacific
"Taking One for the Team" by Simple Plan*
"Anyways" by The Starting Line*
"First Day Back" by Somos
"Under the Covers" by Ninja Sex Party*
"Humblest Pleasures" by Turnover*
"Incarnate" by Killswitch Engage
"Long Live Happy Birthday" by The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die*
"Painkillers" by Brian Fallon
"Concepts & Phenomena" by Once Upon a Dead Man*
"Acoustic" by Unwritten Law*
"Weezer (The White Album)" by Weezer*
"Chasing Shadows" by Angels & Airwaves
"Gore" by Deftones*
"Home" by Blue October
"Just Give Up" by Thief Club
"Bittersweet" by Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties
"In Glendale" by Tim Hiedecker
"Youth Authority" by Good Charlotte
"BNL Rocks Red Rocks" by Barenaked Ladies
"If I'm the Devil..." by letlive.
"Friendville" by Sunrise Skater Kids

 

Favorites so far:

Young and Heartless - Stay Away
M. Ward - More Rain
Hammock - Everything and Nothing
Somos - First Day Back
Pinegrove - Cardinal

Looking forward to/possibilities:

Gregory Alan Isakov?
Now, Now?
From Indian Lakes?
Owen?
Blink-182
The Hotelier - Goodness

 

137. Steely Dan - Aja (1977)

 

One of my all time favorite albums. Check out the darcy's full album cover. It's dark-electro tinged indie. Really cool interpretation

 

I don't want to break your heart, but I didn't really like Aja.... at all, haha.

 

You are hereby dead to me!!

 

RIP me, RIPthesteve, RIPbadger

 

He will be missed.

Not by me... or Steely Dan... but someone.

 

Aja is great