John Prine - The Tree of Forgiveness (2018)
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John Prine's illustrious folk/country career is bookended by a perfect debut and a perfect finale. I went with the finale because it has all the tenderness and humor of the debut but with 47 extra years of wisdom.
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Ambient from the lead singer and guitarist of Sigur Rós and his film-scorer partner. Keeps the ethereal, child-like vibes of Sigur Rós and adds warm drones and modern classical strings.
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Powerful singer-songwriter/slowcore with the timbre of Christian worship music and lyrics about substance abuse, depression, and mental illness. It feels inappropriate to call this the apex of all emo music but that's what I want to call it.
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Keith Jarrett completely improvised this entire live performance, while sleep-deprived and wearing a back brace, on a broken rehearsal piano after a concert-booking went comically wrong.
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Massive, ambitious, eclectic hip-hop with consistent funk influence. Kendrick can definitely be criticized for his weird savior complex stuff but all the self-doubt and anxiety expressed here feels really genuine. And his talent and versatility is just undeniable.
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Aggressively silly and colorful bubblegum pop songs about selfies, goldfish, trampolines, etc. Production is fantastic and sounds exactly like the album cover looks.
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Quiet and intimate anti-folk songs with Kimya Dawson's characteristic simple, goofy sound. Despite her songs often sounding like innocent children's songs, she's never shied away from difficult lyrical themes and this album is a good example of that. Some genuinely harrowing songs here about addiction and sexual abuse but always mixed with Kimya's trademark humor and positivity.
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Warm and uplifting jùjú music from Nigeria. Sort of a mix between Christian congregational music and complex Yoruba folk music.
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Hypnotic progressive electronic/ambient. Still sounds futuristic even today. A lot of early glitch sounds before glitch music was really a thing.
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Just a titanic, ruinous, masterpiece of an album. The lyrics about domestic violence, sexual abuse, Biblical judgement and apocalyptic vengeance are literally stunning. And the lyrics are matched and even exceded by Kristin Hayter's vocals and musicianship. She transitions from black metal screeches over death industrial electronics to glass-shattering operatic crescendos to genuinely blissful, gentle piano liturgies. It's not fun to listen to, but if I had to pick a "best" album I've ever heard, this would be it. Hayter is currently the most talented, most original and impactful musician I know of. Her whole discography is a masterpiece but this one stands out to me. I cannot sing its praises enough.
