While the start of this year may not have the big name releases like last year it has had some very good albums to start the year of music off right. Here are the my top 10 albums from the first month of the year.

10.

John Cale has had a long career in music. Starting his career with the Velvet Underground he then ventured into a successful solo career that only got more experimental as he went on. This is ever the case in his first album in 11 years. At 80 years old, Cale is as hungry as ever combining his style of art pop with dark electronic and atmospheric music. To dive into this sound he collaborates with a fascinating group of musicians including Actress, Weyes Blood, and Animal Collective. Only of these songs is under 5 minutes with most songs allowing the atmosphere to carry these songs. While sometimes the songs feel drawn when the longer and more atmospheric songs work, they work very well. The best example of this is the eight-minute long song STORY OF BLOOD with Weyes Blood. With no clear verse-chorus structure, the song relies on the instrumentation and the strength of the two vocalists. The washing walls of electronic music mix in with John Cale’s vocals swaying and moving with the song. Weyes Bloods’ beautiful vocals create a contrast sometimes layering with Cales’ vocals and sometimes standing on their own. A recommended album if you like electronic or experimental music or just want to see how far John Cale can experiment.

9.

Indie and underground darling Parannoul have released After the Magic after their last album catapulting into the underground and music nerd scene. While I understand the appeal of their last album it never clicked with me. This album I enjoy more with a slightly bigger focus on indie rock. This album is more restrained and less angsty than their previous effort. They choose to take a bigger focus on beautiful melodies and structures within the fuzz and atmosphere of their shoegaze elements. While I still don’t understand all of the hype monumental hype for this artist this album is helping me to appreciate their sound more and I am excited to see where they go from here.

8.

This album introduced me to both Norwegian saxophonist and composer Mette Henriette and ECM jazz; a style of jazz that is very minimal combining cool jazz, jazz fusion and classical music. This album is a very relaxing and atmospheric listen. Mette’s saxophone play is the true focus of the album with soft piano and strings in the background setting a background for the saxphone to glide through. Her playing is cool and subdued showing a strong influence of cool jazz. While there is nothing truly exciting or genre-pushing for jazz music this album continues to show the strength and abundance of modern jazz.

7.

Gaz Coombes creates a likeable album filled with positive indie rock and rock pop songs with catchy choruses and positive vibes. Lots of this album feels like a more refined and genuine version of the mainstream indie-pop that blew in the mid to late 2000s. This is my first time listening to Gaz Coombes but he was previously in the popular Britpop group Supergrass so it was interesting first listening to his album divorced from that context. Now knowing that context it shows in the mature songwriting and musicianship shown on this album. Gaz Coombes shows more of a throwback Britsh indie rock scene in comparison to the more experimental groups coming out of the scene like Black Country, New Road and Wet Leg. While he may not have the relevance or hype of these artists he shows how this 2000s style can still be successfully translated to now and not feel tacky or like nostalgia bait. 

6.

While this definitely isn’t one of Boldy’s James compared to his prolific releases over the last 2 years. Despite this, my lovely for Boldy James still stands strong with melancholic, drowsy rapping. This album is produced by RichGains who has primarily produced trap music. RichGains adapts his styles with a plethora of vocal samples but still has a trap feel. This changes Boldy James’ style bringing a new vibe to his music with personal raps about drug dealing. He also has more features on this album teaming up with Jai Imani for a trap cut and with Sir Michael Rocks from the Cool Kids for the closing track. While this is definitely one of Boldy’s weakest releases in recent memory a subpar Boldy is a great album for most artists.

5.

The 4th in the Lyrics to GO series by Kota the Friend continues with his series of summery and snappy tunes clocking in at 16 minutes. His previous albums I have listened to haven’t fully connected with me. But this short and sweet style works perfectly for Kota’s style. The beats are simple and catchy on this album. This also allows Kota’s lyricism to be clear and direct. In contrast to the happy beats Kota gets very personal talking about the future, his doubters and how he has struggled. While the lyrics have a positive outlook took about the things that happened in his past and where he is now with him delving into his struggles still creates an interesting dichotomy between the beats and lyrics. Kota slots into a style that really works for him and hones his lyricism and songwriting in a simple and fun to listen to album.

4.

Japanese singer-songwriter Ayano Kaneko has been able to break through into her mainstream with her familiar style of indie pop and rock and sets herself apart with her musical consistency and singing in another language. Guitar is the dominant instrument on this album and it’s played with a variety of grooves and styles throughout the album. She sets herself apart by her singing with long passionate notes that are reminiscent of J-Rock singers. This brings an interesting dynamic with the indie pop instrumentation and adds more passion to the songs. Her singing also allows the album to get noisier and play with dynamics, especially on the track 気分. It starts out with loud guitars and drums and uses multiple breakdowns throughout the song to keep it interesting. While this is not a particularly genre pushing album it shows an interesting crossover between indie pop and Japanese music.

3.

The music from this album matches perfectly with the album cover. It feels ethereal, ghostly and almost otherworldly. It is also a beautifully delicate album with soft vocals and instrumentation. Nicole Dollanganger is already over 10 years into her career making indie folk tunes but she continues to innovate. She brings a gothic and dreamy sound to this album with very soft and slow layers of piano, guitars, drums and some song synths. She cuts through this perfectly with her high-pitched wistful voice that is mixed higher than average above the instrumentation. The album is also very focused with Nicole singing about this sort of otherwordly love and the darkness that comes with it. She fully commits to the world of this album and for that, she creates one of the most engaging and entrancing listens so far this year.

2.

The second album by The Murder Capital follows up on When I Have Fears. They swap out the anger and aggression in that album for melancholy and art rock aesthetics. Lots of the instrumentations combines off-kilter rhythms with more beautiful moments creating a juxtaposition between the different style. It is also everchanging, for example, The Stars Will Leave Their Stage the song with bare rhythmic hits which eventually gives way to washing drums and a melancholic guitar lick. This is indicative of the instrumental pallets throughout the album changing from rhythmic and anxious to beautiful and longing on a dime. James McGovern, The Murder Capitals’ vocalist, is similar to many other vocalists in the recent post-punk scene. He straddles the line between singing and speaking and puts emotion behind his voice. If you’re a fan of the current post-punk scene with bands like Squid and Black Country, New Road this an album worth checking out.

1.

Probably the most unexpectedly amazing album I’ve ever listened to. Lil Yachty completely reinvents himself on this grand and psychedelic rock album. Coming from the SoundCloud scene Lil Yachty found his own niche with his unique voice and use of autotune. The success of pop rap hit Poland makes this left turn all the more surprising. To create this new sound he worked with some of the biggest names in the indie and rock scene including members from Magdalena Bay, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and the now defunct Chairlift and Jeremiah Raisen who has produced for a multitude of artists including Yves Tumor and Charli XCX. Yachty is clearly inspired and channels psychedelic bands like Pink Floyd and Tame Impala. While he wears his influences on his sleeve he sets himself apart with his vocals. With heavy autotune Yachty’s voice sounds almost robotic at points and essentially acts as another instrument. To contrast his vocal style he features a series of amazing vocalists Wynter Gordon on 3 tracks including the opening track where she gives a passionate, operatic performance reminiscent of The Greatest Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd during the instrumental at the tail end of the song. He also features vocals from Teezo Touchdown, Foushee, Daniel Caesar, Justine Sky and Ant Clemons. The variety and talents of these vocalists help to add to the grandiosity of the album and to contrast Yachty’s autotuned vocals. Across 14 tracks Yachty also keeps the tracks interesting with grand instrumental passages, trippy breakdowns, lush atmospheres and the showcasing of a plethora of artists in the current indie and rock scene. Yachty’s full commitment to a completely new sound and style pays off creating one of the most surprising genre shifts in music.