I wasn’t planning on writing a “Best Of” list this year, seeing as no one asked me to (What’s up with that?) Fine, I’ve never been all that interested in these things anyway. But as I’ve read list after list these past few weeks, I noticed that few of the albums that impressed me this year were being acknowledged by other folks. Since I don’t get to write about other music styles as much as I get to write about rap, I thought I’d throw together a list of my favorite albums without any rapping on them. I’m not saying these are the best records of the year, in this order: they’re just the ones I listened to and enjoyed on a regular basis. I wouldn’t want to altogether leave hip-hop out of the discussion so I’ll be back with a shorter, all-rap list shortly. (Click on album titles to stream music)
Hypnotic, the world’s best post-hip-hop family brass band, has had a number of full-length, slim-case CDs for sale for years, but, until now, they’d never made a proper album. Recorded in several days for Damon Albarn’s Honest Jon’s label (Hypnotic are said to be featured musicians on Albarn’s next Gorillaz LP), this 11-song LP finally captures the majesty of their remarkable live performances on record. With the group having reportedly put their street performance career to bed, it’s a much-needed document. Read the rest of this entry »
The Very Best’s Warm Heart of Africa is that rare record that’s completely unique yet totally accessible; kind of like the M.I.A. albums but without everything that’s irritating about them. Producers Etienne Tron and Johan Karlberg (collectively, the London-based Frenchman and Swede are known as Radioclit) give singer Esau Mwamwaya, who’s from Malawi and sings in Chichewa, all sorts of unusual, Afro-techno beats to sound ecstatic over, but the song I find myself tuning to the most is probably the most familiar sounding one. The synth chords that drive “Chalo” recall the sort of anthemic stuff that aging arena rock bands (like The Who, maybe?) were making when they started discovering synthesizers in the new wave ’80s. I’d like to say why “Chalo” is good, but there isn’t much to say. It’s good because it’s so simple. Read the rest of this entry »
Extra Golden are a half-Kenyan, half-American band whose sound mixes a variety of American rock styles (Southern rock, psych) with benga, a celebratory, electric guitar-based musical form popular in Kenya’s Luo region. The result is something indescribably awesome, and should not be confused with corny, rich kid Paul Simon-wannabe bullshit. I dug their first album, Ok-Oyot System, back in 2006, and I like their new one, Thank You Very Quickly, even more. I wrote a brief piece in this week’s Time Outto preview their show this Saturday at Le Poisson Rouge. Their label, Thrill Jockey, put together this charming little promo video for their second album, 2007’s Hera Ma Nono. I think it really captures the feelgood essence of the whole project. Watch and smile.
