Here are my favorite records of the year thus far, in no particular order and continuously updated:
Sleater-Kinney – No Cities to Love
Björk – Vulnicura
Susanne Sundfør – Ten Love Songs
Screaming Females – Rose Mountain
Open Mike Eagle – A Special Episode Of EP
Doomtree – All Hands
Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
Laura Marling – Short Movie
Titus Andronicus – The Most Lamentable Tragedy
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Wig Out at Jagbags
Warpaint – Warpaint
Sun Kil Moon – Benji
St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Wild Beasts – Present Tense
Beck – Morning Phase
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Piñata
Liars – Mess
Cloud Nothings – Here and Nowhere Else
Have a Nice Life – The Unnatural World
A Silver Mt. Zion – Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything
The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Days of Abandon
Braid – No Coast
The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers
tUnE-yArDs – Nikki Nack
Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Swans – To Be Kind
Sharon Van Etten – Are We There
First Aid Kit – Stay Gold
J. Mascis – Tied to a Star
Thurston Moore – The Best Day
clipping. – CLPPNG
Mimicking Birds – Eons
Open Mike Eagle – Dark Comedy
Busdriver – Perfect Hair
milo – a toothpaste suburb
Shabazz Palaces – Lese Majesty
FKA Twigs – LP1
Aphex Twin – Syro
Princess Nokia – Metallic Butterfly
Azealia Banks – Broke With Expensive Taste
Iceage – Plowing Into the Field of Love
Perfume Genius – Too Bright
Mick Jenkins – The Water[s]
Caribou – Our Love
Flying Lotus – You’re Dead!
Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 2
D’Angelo and the Vanguard – Black Messiah
I was stoked when I found out Milo was releasing his debut album, a double EP, that involves the theme of day versus night and other overarching messages that go along with that concept. He recently signed to HellFyre Club that Busdriver and Open Mike Eagle are both signed to (how cool is that?!), so naturally I had high expectations for this new release. Personally, I really enjoyed Milo takes Baths, his last release, mainly because he rapped over the instrumental glitchy-electronic beats of the artist Baths, who I happen to enjoy quite a bit. Though I enjoyed this album, I felt slightly underwhelmed by it when compared to his previous release I Wish My Brother Rob was Here, which seemed more consistent in the sense that it was varied and flowed effortlessly. Milo takes Baths has some killer tracks on it, but was too short and lacking. Milo makes up for this on Things that Happen at Day/Things that Happen at Night by a long shot. I’m going to try and review this double EP without transforming too much into fangirl mode.
Things that Happen at Day dropped first and my initial reaction basically was love at first listen. The beats were right on point, the lyrics as cleverly written as ever, and Milo sounds more confident than before, like he is proud of his new sound and still maintains his “Modest Milo” swag while showing off how well his rapping skills have developed since his last mixtape. “Folk-Metaphysics” stood out to me immensely. Milo raps about a to-do list like, “I should eat more Fig Newtons and sign petitions for Women Right’s Movements.” I also love the hook on that track, “I won’t make promises I can’t keep, which is why I won’t make promises ever. And when I write letters to those ex-girlfriends, that’s going to be the header.” Also, did I mention how sick the beat is on this song? The guitar sounds mildly bluesy and the electronic part that jumps in makes the track really come alive. I love how Milo sings in reference to the song “One Headlight” by the Wallflowers. The strings on the song “Legends of the Hidden Temple” are absolutely beautiful. Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by this first EP because the beats, references, and messages were all so solid and it felt like I was listening to the same old Milo with a fresh new sound.
As for Things that Happen at Night, I immediately took notice of the references throughout the EP. Sailor Moon, Harry Potter, Gus Haynes (The Wire), and several others are spit out on the table along with other insightful ideas that Milo is known to spit about in his music. He samples the Warpaint song “Billie Holiday” on the track “Monologion” and that blew me away at first listen. I’ll admit that I wasn’t too hot on the beat used in the track “The Gus Haynes Cribbage League” because the generic high-hat beat seemed all too familiar and I was surprised to hear Milo using a beat that sounded so radio-friendly. However, the lyrics, of course, were so substantial and as soon as Busdriver spit out his rollercoaster-esque flow, I knew I was in for one hell of a ride. “Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (for Schopenhauer)” is probably one of Milo’s best songs yet, in my opinion. He is as philosophical as ever and the Middle-Eastern vocals that are sampled add a transcendental feel to it. Finally, there is a hidden track at the very end of this song that closes the album. Milo is rapping along with Open Mike Eagle about a pizza party with all of their friends that somehow involves Gameboys, dancing to Notorious, and someone stealing the pesto spinach garlic pizza slices. It’s just a goofy track, but the beat is so uplifting and fun. A good way to end such a captivating EP.
I know this has been nothing but positive feedback about this new double EP, but as a critical music listener I must offer some elements of this release that I feel weren’t implemented as effectively as they could have been. Ultimately, I do enjoy how insightful Milo is with his philosophical constructs that lead him on a search to find objective truth, his political ideologies, his literary references, and the many geek culture references that he tends to tip his hat to. According to Milo, this double EP has an intended theme: “exploring duality and responsibility. it is unavoidably obtuse, overwhelmingly self-important and I am not sorry.” I’d agree with this, but I have to say that in terms of both EPs I’m not sure exactly how they are too different in the themes they portray. As a whole, I’m sold on every track and I love this thing to death. But when it comes to differentiating Things that Happen at Day and Things that Happen at Night, I’m at a loss because it seems difficult to decipher. I’m not trying to state that the mere concept of this release is too overwhleming or anything; I just feel as though there wasn’t a significant difference between the two EPs that would create such a lightness versus darkness concept of some sort. In other words, the EPs sound great as a whole, but I’m not sure how they’re intended to stand alone because separately, they do not seem to resonate as strongly because they aren’t too drastically different to me.
Needless to say, this double EP was everything I could ask for from Milo and more. I graduated with a philosophy degree which is why I appreciate all of the philosophical ideas that he throws at the listeners, but I think that anyone could relate to Milo regardless, because of how open he is and how much he references our current society. If you like underground hip hop or clever lyrics, this dude is your man. I would highly recommend this to anyone.
9/10
50. Why? – Mumps, etc.
49. Cat Power – Sun
48. Twin Shadow – Confess
47. P. O. S – We Don’t Even Live Here
46. Sharon van Etten – Tramp
45. Port St. Willow – Holiday
44. Pinback – Information Retrieved
43. Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet On Sky
42. Milo – Milo Takes Baths
41. Torche – Harmonicraft
40. Mount Eerie – Clear Moon
39. Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
38. Fang Island – Major
37. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
36. Purity Ring – Shrines
35. Mac DeMarco – 2
34. Liars – WIXIW
33. Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind
32. Sun Kil Moon – Among The Leaves
31. Beach House – Bloom
30. Open Mike Eagle – 4NML HSPTL
29. Burial – Kindred EP
28. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city
27. Waxahatchee – American Weekend
26. The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
25. Aesop Rock – Skelethon
24. Shearwater – Animal Joy
23. Grizzly Bear – Shields
22. Flying Lotus – Until the Quiet Comes
21. Lazerbeak – Lava Bangers
20. Lone – Galaxy Garden
19. Wild Nothing – Nocturne
18. TNGHT – TNGHT EP
17. The Evens – The Odds
16. Death Grips – The Money Store
15. The Tallest Man On Earth – There’s No Leaving Now
14. Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE
13. Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light
12. Tame Impala – Lonerism
11. Perfume Genius – Put Your Back N 2 It
10. Dark Time Sunshine – ANX
9. Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
8. Matthew Dear – Beams
7. Jens Lekman – I Know What Love Isn’t
6. Deerhoof – Breakup Song
5. Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do
4. Cloud Nothings – Attack On Memory
3. Anaïs Mitchell – Young Man in America
2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – ’Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
1. Swans – The Seer
Honorable mentions: Joie De Vivre – We’re All Better Than This, Grimes – Visions, Joyce Manor – Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired, A Place to Bury Strangers – Worship, Screaming Females – Ugly, Serengeti – C.A.R., The Sea and Cake – Runner, Stars – The North, Moonface – Heartbreaking Bravery
***For some reason or another, I found these albums to be enjoyable but inconsistent in some way. They each had some incredible songs, but as a whole they didn’t resonate with me as strongly as the 50 albums I chose above.
What are YOUR favorite albums of 2012? I’m sure I missed out on a ton of albums, so please let me know any ones you think are worth checking out that didn’t make it onto my list.
Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
Swans – The Seer
Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do
Perfume Genius- Put Your Back N 2 It
Anaïs Mitchell – Young Man in America
Jens Lekman – I Know What Love Isn’t
TNGHT – TNGHT EP
Dark Time Sunshine – ANX
Mount Eerie – Clear Moon
Open Mike Eagle – 4NML HSPTL
Burial – Kindred EP
Why? – Mumps, Etc.
Cat Power – Sun
Deerhoof – Breakup Song
Waxahatchee – American Weekend
Milo – Milo Takes Baths
Lazerbeak – Lava Bangers
Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city
Sun Kil Moon – Among the Leaves
Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
Grizzly Bear – Shields
Lone – Galaxy Garden
Death Grips – The Money Store
Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
Japandroids – Celebration Rock
Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE
Beach House – Bloom
Aesop Rock – Skelethon
The Tallest Man on Earth – There’s No Leaving Now
The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
Wild Nothing – Nocturne
Screaming Females – Ugly
Fang Island – Major
The Men – Open Your Heart
Liars – WIXIW
Matthew Dear – Beams
Joie De Vivre – We’re All Better Than This
Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet On Sky
Pinback – Information Retrieved
Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind
Torche – Harmonicraft
Shearwater – Animal Joy
Mission of Burma – Unsound
Port St. Willow – Holiday
Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
P.O.S – We Don’t Even Live Here
…to be continued…
