Best of the Month is decided by a number of different variables; voter counts from preceding posts, reader reaction ratings, gut feelings, and lots and lots of heated discussions.
Album of the Month
March was a really tough month to call for the best album of the month. There were a number of very high quality releases that all had their own appeal and differing strengths. But after much consideration, the album that we felt was the most complete from front to back was Voids by Minus The Bear.
It is quintessential indie rock that effortlessly combines the essentials of rock (guitar, drums, and vocals) into really high quality, compelling music that rarely misses a step in it’s 10 track offering. Their expansive, clean, and expertly constructed song structures created some of the more sonically pleasing sounds to drop so far this year, with “Silver” being a song that we found ourselves returning to over and over again. Voids was a razor sharp project that accomplished everything they set out to accomplish without any unnecessary fluff; making it the most complete album to drop in March.
Runner-ups
Trailer of the Month
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri absolutely came out of left field and looks like one of those films that has cult classic written all over it. It gave us very Fargo-esque vibes with it’s dark humor, small town setting, and seemingly exceptional performances from both Mildred Hayes and Woody Harrelson. Which is really no surprise seeing as Fox Searchlight is behind this one and they’ve been churning out nothing but hits these past few years. The trailer is a great cut that does a great job of highlighting the tone of the movie without giving too much away and they couldn’t have done a better job at song selection. Fully expect to see this one getting early Oscars buzz.
Runner-ups
Video of the Month
Even though March had a ridiculous amount of great new music videos from the likes of Run The Jewels, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Gorillaz, this one was an absolute no brainer. You would have had to have been literally living under a rock to have missed Kendrick Lamar’s return to the spotlight. After releasing his first song in quite a while and getting everybody speculating at possible shots thrown, he quickly followed that up with what many assume to be the first single from his next album slated to drop sometime in the VERY near future (this week?). The song itself is a sharp departure from what we heard on To Pimp A Butterfly and is more of a return to that traditional hard rap that so many (including ourselves) have been clamoring to hear from him; with it’s own deeper meanings of course. The video is easily one of the best edited videos we’ve seen in recent memory and the visuals and imagery used throughout are absolutely stunning. All aboard the hype train!
Runner-ups
