Starting with an End

It’s 2025 and with so much going on, I thought I’d throw some unrequested thoughts out into the world. But seriously, any more music discourse in the world helps, and if anyone wants to read this and find something new to listen to or rethink something you’ve heard before, goal accomplished!

To start by wrapping up 2024, I wanted to talk about some albums that I haven’t seen being talked about enough. These aren’t my favorite albums of the year, or particularly underground releases, but something that I think many people can find worth a listen.

But before that, I think I should quickly mention some of the popular releases that I obviously won't be talking about, but I would love to join the collective music culture in reiterating my love for these projects: Doechii announced herself as a old school queen in the rap game with Alligator Bites Never Heal, GNX and CHROMAKOPIA were both career statements by Kendrick and Tyler asserting themselves as some of the best artists of our generation (See "THAT GUY", Tyler's remix to "Hey Now",as further proof), and HIT ME HARD AND SOFT was a hypnotizing masterclass in production and pop music. Now for the actual albums I would like to highlight:

NPR's Tiny Desk also popped off towards the end of the year, with some all time performances from Doechii and Billy Eilish definitely worth checking out!

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Dark Times - Vince Staples

Vince’s sixth studio album, arguably his best so far, finds him conflicted. With all his success, Vince is proud of what he’s done, but struggles with issues that surround him. Dark Times allows Vince to explore this conflict through a satisfyingly structured concept album with some head-bobbing production.

The album finds Vince reflecting on his past actions and the consequences of his lifestyle. Like the album title implies, these thoughts often get dark, but Vince often presents moments of hope to hold on to. Tracks like “Black&Blue”, “Children’s Song”, and “Justin”, breakdown his pains with the world, around him (rap peers dying, struggling to connect, and relationships), while tracks like “Etouffee” finds some joy in his career, though success also isn’t free from its problems. The album carries out these ideas poignantly, as Vince gets to his darkest and most hopeless in “Nothing Matters”, but then gives us an absolute bop with “Little Homies” that doubles as a mantra to keep pushing through the challenges of the world we live in. Vince then holds on to that positivity with “Freeman”, the last track of the album, reflecting on his time with Def Jam and coming to peace with his life. The closing skit wraps up with Vince and album collaborator Santigold discussing the album and her reaction to it.

This narrative shows there is substance below the surface, but the album's sound is the immediate hook. Vince returns to his familiar pocket of boom-bap style, but with a deeper and more complex production that hooks your ears immediatly once you hear the heavy drums on Black&Blue. The album’s creative use of sampling and layering create a compelling soundscape to bop your head to in a way reminiscent of old-school conscious hip-hop and backpack rap. The shorter runtime also allows for the album to feel very cohesive and purposeful. Tracks like Black&Blue, Etouffee, and Little Homies work as the catchiest tracks to vibe to, but the surrounding tracks really help to create an album that works best as one complete work.

Flight b741 - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

King Gizz have found a pocket in their 26th album that is irresistible! The band’s latest studio project is a return to the upbeat jam style of previous albums like Fishing for Fishies, but this time it feels different. Flight B741 feels like teleporting through time to the 70’s, where the band is no longer replicating the sound of rock and roll bands back then, but have perfected it. 

The band sounds more expressive than ever, with groovy chords and silly lyrics that cultivate a theme of pure fun. The sound doesn’t change too drastically through the LP, but the pace of the album never truly letting you rest. Tracks like “Field of Vision” and “Le Risque” whip you up in the energy with a thumping beat and screaming guitars, with great moments that feel hard not to want to join in. Other tracks like “Antarctica” and “Sad Pilot” help to shift gears, creating a smoother, groovy back beat and guitar jams. The whole time, the lyrics keep a smile on your face with silly, comical bits like the exclamation in “Field of Vision”, “I’ve been a silly-billy!”, or the unhinged pig calling of “Hog Calling Contest”.

Albums like Flight b741 show, much like it did back in the 70’s, that when a band is collaborating, working, and learning as one whole unit, the best albums are made. I was fortunate enough to see the band perform in Minneapolis, which proved more of what I could hear, this felt like the most fun the band has had yet! But if you haven’t had the chance to see the band, their making of documentary on youtube exceptionally expresses this point, showing all the joy that seemed to come from the recording sessions for the album (Oink Oink!). With 2024 being the way it was, albums like this can be a refreshing nostalgic reset.

In Waves - Jamie xx

In Waves shows Jamie xx expanding upon what he started with In Colour back in 2015, not forgetting that sound, but evolving it. In an interview by Margaret Farrell with Stereogum (see here), Jamie says he focused on making the new release sound like an album, with an opener that feels contemplative and acts like a prologue for In Colour. However much you can get that feeling from a house record, the opener achieves that, putting you in a headspace to listen closely to what you hear.

In Waves can be read as simply an album of house bops that can be enjoyed passively in the background as most house albums, but then you would be missing much of what’s there. Tracks like “Baddy On the Floor” and “Life” work great as danceable house beats heard at top volume through club speakers: dynamic, fun and exciting. But through headphones, songs like “Daffodil” and “All You Children” create a dynamic, shifting effect that hypnotises you into the groove, using creative sampling and features to get a full dramatic effect to the song. Jamie xx is an artist that hopes to create a headspace for you in the music that puts you into a certain place, time, or feeling. In Waves works as a great release this year for either type of house fan. Much like back when In Colour hit, it’s hard to believe that there isn’t a place on everyone’s 2024 playlist for one of these tracks.