The school year may only be nine months, but music is year-round. While on vacation, we’ve been bopping with the top down, banging our heads while hanging out, and jamming on Instagram (follow us @arouseosu) to our favorite releases of the year so far. Whether you’re on the beach or in your own backyard, here are 10 albums from this year we’d like to spotlight:
Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. – Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey’s ninth studio album is a reflection on legacy and love, brought to life by trademark descriptive lyricism and lush production, skills showcased and honed over her more-than-a-decade-long career. The heart of the album is the title track, covering nearly all ground made familiar by 15 others; quiet, jangling piano notes swell into guitar-laden orchestral choruses, moving between the record’s sonic extremes. Lyrics concerning beauty’s eventual decay and being loved, valued, and forgotten after death help ask the song’s fundamental question: “When’s it gonna be my turn?” Standout tracks like “Peppers” and “Let The Light In” feature exciting moments on the record, the former for its faster electronic beats and the latter with its warm guitar and soft orchestral passages. Both songs are vastly different, but at their core are about love- the central theme of Del Rey’s career, executed once again with her signature lachrymose style.
– Brie Blevins
Kaytramine – Kaytranada and Amine
Being one of the most anticipated collaborations of the year, Kaytranada and Amine did not disappoint with the release of KAYTRAMINÉ, blessing us with a basket of tunes that define a carefree summer. The pair introduces us to a total of 11 tracks filled with a solid groove to get you dancing. “4EVA” is the standout piece on this album, a guaranteed hip-shaker blessed with the backing vocals of Pharell Williams. There are many other notable tracks such as “Eye” with Snoop Dogg and “letstalkaboutit” with Freddie Gibbs. The release of this album shows how both artists blend their talents and provide us with the wonders born from collaborations.
– Abigail Hartzell
Madison & Floral – Sign Language
According to Rate Your Music, Cincinnati band Sign Language’s Madison & Floral is considered post-hardcore, emo, and shoegaze, which, while accurate, feels extremely reductive. What makes Madison and Floral so spectacular as an album isn’t just the fact that these 3 genres are played well, but rather the fact that they blend and bleed into each other so effortlessly. There’s never a song or section where a technique is jarring in a bad way or onerously clashes together. “The Nothing” and “Abide” are clear highlights, but at just 29 minutes and 40 seconds, there’s no reason not to listen to the whole collection straight through. Catching Sign Language live is also recommended, as they’re somehow even better in person. With cosigns from the likes of Hate5Six and literally just about every regular at local hardcore lighthouse Dirty Dungarees, Sign Language is a band with a bright future.
– Izzy Davis
Maps – billy woods and Kenny Segal
Continuing one of the strongest album runs in modern history, billy woods reunites with Kenny Segal to craft another set of contemplative, moody tracks with a newfound global focus. Shifting from the crawlspaces and back alleys of 2019’s Hiding Places, Maps is 17 tracks of briskly paced vignettes ranging from “falling asleep in the back of an Uber like Future” (“Baby Steps”) to having couples therapy over Zoom (“FaceTime”). woods’ narration is backed by ethereal, shifty production from Segal; whereas their last effort was driven by a single reverb-soaked guitar and drum machine, Maps broadens its spectrum to fit its increased lyrical scope, including modified toy noisemakers, dusty horns, and jazz instrumentation. Standing out amongst standout features from Armand Hammer partner-in-crime ELUCID, Danny Brown, and others, woods lands yet another landmark release. We’ll let him drive it home himself – “Just say he’s the best, let’s not argue”.
– Rohan Rindani
OXygen – Matt Ox and Surf Gang
When it comes to unlikely collaborations, former ‘child rapper’ Matt Ox and futuristic collective SURF GANG are a force to be reckoned with. Led by innovative producer Evilgiane, SURF GANG has been making waves for years. Recently, Evilgiane produced a track with Earl Sweatshirt and contributed to Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem’s “The Hillbillies.” Meanwhile, Matt Ox, who was just 13 years old when we last heard from him, brings an element of surprise to the table. On their collaborative album OXygen, spanning just 17 minutes across 8 tracks, Ox’s performance is addicting, loud, and emotionally charged, particularly on tracks like “428” and “Still Up.” With SURF GANG classics like “WTW” in the mix, OXygen serves as an appetizer for the exciting future of cloud rap.
– Wesley Kamau
Rat Saw God – Wednesday
North Carolina-based indie rock outlet Wednesday released Rat Saw God in April, and its poetic lyrics and musical elements of folk, shoegaze, and grunge come together to create an album that authentically describes the experience of our generation. The duality of these genres work beautifully together, realistic in their uncertainty. Karly Hatzman’s voice, both desperate and intentional, paints scenes of the melancholy beauty of our world today. Including niche experiences, media references, and tragic yet relatable anecdotes, Rat Saw God has a song for everyone: it is a friend who knows exactly what you are going through and what you need to hear.
– Sarah Jenkins
The Record – boygenius
Five years after the release of their self-titled EP, boygenius amaze with their debut album. The EP combined the voices of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, but The Record solidifies them as a band. It’s a cohesive and profoundly friendship-driven work, particularly in opener “Without You Without Them” and album single “True Blue”. The Record revisits familiar themes such as Christianity and mental health, now with an optimism unseen in their past work, such as the change from “I wanna be emaciated” in the EP’s “Me and My Dog” to “I wanna be happy/I’m ready” in record closer “Letter to an Old Poet”. The Record is highly self-referential to the EP and the trio’s solo work, along with a myriad of references to musical inspirations from Leonard Cohen to Sheryl Crow. Through artful, anecdotal lyrics and a love for their bandmates, boygenius has released an indie classic.
– Abby Almaguer
Scaring the Hoes – JPEGMafia and Danny Brown
Scaring the Hoes is an electric experimental hip-hop album with a total run time landing just under 40 minutes. The new album unites a plethora of pop culture references, from opening track “Lean Beef Patty”, named after the fitness TikTok influencer, to the sample of Kelis’ “Milkshake” on “Fentanyl Tester”. Packed with nostalgic references, “Kingdom Hearts Key” and “Orange Juice Jones” utilize samples from Michael Jackson and anime composer Yoko Kanno. Alongside JPEG’s hypnotic production, Danny Brown forms his storyline as the album continues. Hinting at his substance abuse through his ironic one-liners, the album heads toward a more contemplative tempo as it revs on. Right at the halfway point, everything slows down, as Peggy and Danny shift the conversation towards their use of drugs and ultimately going to a therapist in “HOE (Heaven on Earth)”. As expected, Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA have outdone themselves with their newest full-length release.
– Delia Alkhatib
That! Feels Good! – Jessie Ware
Whereas 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure was a more sensual affair, Jessie Ware’s newest collection of funky disco grooves is much bolder and cheekier. Tracks like “Pearls” showcase Ware’s humor alongside her knack for light-up floor-fillers like “Free Yourself”. Ware’s affinity for R&B also occasionally bubbles into the mix, primarily on the bubble-bath luxury of “Hello Love”. Despite the tight consistency of That! Feels Good!’s 10 tracks, the album’s centerpiece, “Begin Again”, towers over the rest. A piece of epic, brass-stung disco bliss, “Begin Again” is a cinematic boogie that certifies Ware as a bell-bottom-clad queen of the night. As Ware hits the climactic high note over a swell of horns and strings, the sun comes up, commanding the listener to start the party all over again. It’s a euphoric feeling that lingers over the entire rest of the album, accomplishing exactly what Ware set out to do: That.
– Connor Telford
Velveteen – Pony
On their second LP, Toronto power pop duo PONY infuse all ten tracks with wit, genuine emotion, and hooks that are sugary enough to give your dentist a nightmare. Velveteen sounds so sunny, you’d never guess vocalist Sam Bielanski recorded the demos alone in a closet. Skeptical? Behold the one-two-three punch of “Who’s Calling,” “Did It Again,” and “French Class.” From the plucky strings and youthful angst of the former to the ‘90s modern-rock tinge of the second (think Veruca Salt-meets-Radio Disney), to the Stereolab echoes and melancholy breathiness of the latter, the trio of tracks would be enough to put any album in the running for “best album of the year.” That the other seven tracks are just as sublime cements Velveteen’s candidacy for the title.
– Nigel Becker
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