David Byrne has always been pleasantly weird and experimental and he once again tries to push the musical envelope. What results from that sincere push is at best, a mess however. It's a mash up of different sounds and influences that, when it works, can be refreshing and exhilarating, but those moments are far too often undercut by clunky breakdowns and unnecessary introductions of new elements.
Somehow The Weeknd manages to step back towards his original sounds while still implementing some of his more recent poppier inclinations, creating a whole new sound yet again. It's a great mix of listenable pop with his more sinister, cynical side and there's not a single track worth skipping.
Thirty Seconds to Mars try their hand at a politically charged record but they ultimately come up well short of saying or adding anything worthwhile to the conversation. It's essentially an album that's full of vapid buzz words/phrases set to painfully generic electro-infused pop rock. It's not a "terrible" album but it's not a particularly compelling one either.
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino can be best described as hallucinogenic lounge music that's left-field, inventive, and smoldering. A highly unexpected direction from an established band that could've easily played things safe, but instead chose to take major risks that paid off in one of their most exhilarating albums to date.
Somehow even after 7 albums they're still able to make each new album feel like the first time you heard them and despite music coming more in line with the style they perfected over a decade ago, they still feel light years in front of everyone else. "7" won't do much to change your opinion about Beach House one way or another, but it's hard to argue how hauntingly beautiful it all is.
Despite 'so sad so sexy' running a bit tired, Lykke Li's voice still sounds fantastic on the somber backdrops and she's still puts out some massive choruses that are perfect for the festival rounds. Just don't expect anything groundbreaking from it.
Florence + The Machine have produced a superb song brimming with brilliant dynamics and depth here and it's a hard thing not to appreciate.
Florence + The Machine try to strip things back for a more intimate listening experience. So there are more ballads and the production tries to be more subtle, but there's really only so much you can do to hold down a voice as powerful as Welch's.
It's volatile, angry, aggressive, and unrelentingly experimental - basically everything we've come to expect from a Death Grips project.
Dawes' album is surprisingly political (at least cultural) as they speak of our great cultural divide, and in lesser terms romantic divides, and tries to find understanding and common ground on which we can come together on. It's admirable, it's just not all that exciting.
THECLECTIK's latest is a mad mix of hip-hop fusion that may sound crazy on paper, but it works in execution; and the project's to the point lyrics about navigating society in an ever more disconnected world make for one of the more intriguing listens of the year so far.
It's strange to say the least and almost hallucinogenic in nature; a perfect fit in one of those old school sci-fi flicks. Alone, there's no way I'd be able to make it through either the audio or visual part of the project but together they create a mesmerizing loop that stands as art as much as it does music.
Although Boarding House Reach is probably Jack White's most experimental project yet, there's heavy influences from blues, country, and most surprisingly funk, with entire songs dedicated to said genres, he still keeps that sincere approach to his music. All in all, it was an unexpectedly experimental album that's a mixed bag of good and bad, but the good largely outweighs the bad.
I'm not saying The Decemberists come off as gimmicky or overtly "hipster" but I have no problem imagining many of the songs here being played at a local renaissance fair or in the soundtrack to one of Wes Anderson's latest movies, and not in an ironic way either. But for as much as I found myself eye rolling, I found myself singing along, which in itself is the ultimate goal of music isn't it.
What could have been a unique, inventive experience came off as more generic and safe than anything. There's some flashes of something truly special throughout Primal Heart, but ultimately Kimbra is unable to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
Evolving and progressing your sound is always a tricky affair but on "Electric Light" James Bay has been able to pull it off 'almost' flawlessly - giving his core fans what they fell in love with in the first place while boldly pushing into a new audience and direction without it feeling forced or gimmicky.
'Kids See Ghosts' is almost impossible to categorize the sound they've crafted but it's wholly their own it's got some very strong vibes. Not quite on Daytona levels, but definitely better than Kanye's own offering out of the bunch.
Post Traumatic is a commendable effort by Mike Shinoda and certainly a cathartic one for him but the actual music is nowhere near as compelling.
There are some folksy moments on the album but for the most part it all has a heavy funk flavor to it and paired with their smooth synths and soft melodies, it makes for some the Gorillaz's most unassuming and non-threatening music yet.
The fact that Father John Misty can carry such a musically stripped down album with not much more than his vocals and some superb songwriting should say it all. It's a stand out.
Panic! At the Disco's latest is all radio-friendly pop that's good for a listen or two but won't keep me coming back for more or get me excited for anything new from them in the future.
Dirty Projectors' latest is a bright, airy listen that may go overboard with some of its sappy love proclamations but still remains an infectious and wildly imaginative listen nonetheless.
"Familiar Bell" carries everything we love about Historian - subtle melancholy and spacey melodies that take you to a different, ethereal state of mind.
"No Sleep No Sleep" is not only groovy, but groovy that’s masterfully wrapped in a unique musical sheath of a few very different types of genres.