Top 25 EPs
Top 100 Albums — Part 1 (100-81)
Top 100 Albums — Part 2 (80-61)
Top 100 Albums — Part 3 (60-41)
Top 100 Albums — Part 4 (40-41)
20. Zeal and Ardor- Devil is Fine
Black metal and gospel music probably shouldn’t work together, but somehow Zeal and Ardor have managed to pull it off. Devil is Fine is a weird, experimental record for sure, but Zeal and Ardor don’t go overboard trying to force its styles to clash. Some songs use blackened screams and metal instrumentation more than others, while songs like the title track are catchy, evil-sounding blues with a backing tremolo. It switches between some of the most unusual metal music I’ve heard all year and music catchy enough that I could see it finding an audience far beyond the metal and experimental scenes. There’s also a general sense of evil in this album, with its devil-worshiping lyrics that are magnified by its delivery in a gospel and blues sound. Unfortunately, it partly still feels like a proof of concept at only 25 minutes, and takes up a decent chuck of that with interludes. It’s also been pulled from streaming sites in anticipation of a re-release in February, so you may have to wait to hear it again if you want to keep things 100% legal.
*not currently streaming*
19. Niechęć- s/t
Niechęć is proof that Poland’s unusual jazz scene goes beyond just the avant-garde. The band’s second self-titled album is a cross-genre celebration, incorporating sounds from all over the rock and jazz spectrum. However, Niechęć do more than just throw jazz rhythms into rock music. Their music is often bombastic, but can quickly settle into ghostly moments of calmness. The piano is the prominent instrument, but horns, electronics, and drums are featured as well. All have quite the range on this album, and much like other recent Polish jazz gems, it’s remarkable how cohesive this manages to be. It’s an album that seems impenetrable on paper, with its vast array of influences performed in an improvisational setting, but it never sounds lost or completely overbearing. This is a phenomenal dark jazz record crossed with a phenomenal post-rock record, and mixed with a bit of noise, electronic, psychedelic rock, spiritual jazz, and hard rock. It’s loud at times, beautiful at others, and completely unpredictable.
Bandcamp
18. Frank Ocean- Blonde
Few albums seemed to be as highly anticipated as Frank Ocean’s latest, but at least for me, Blonde lived up the hype. Frank puts so much of himself out there, including the flaws, that we hear the humanity in his voice. This applies to the beat work as well, which is generally more stripped down than on Channel Orange, but still full of small details. It’s far more of a minimalist approach than you would expect from an R&B album, and it puts an emphasis on those small details and changes in rhythm. You get the sense that one person carefully worked through how each and every part should sound, and the production feels like an extension of the personal lyrics. Even the guests rarely feature full choruses or verses (with the exception of Andre 3000), but tend to fill small roles.It all adds up to one of the year’s most most deeply personal albums and a step forward for modern R&B.
Spotify
17. Roly Porter- Third Law
Third Law sounds like the soundtrack to a horror film I very much want to see. It’s an exercise in tension and spacing, with Roly Porter using moments of calmness, and even silence, to build to sequences of harsh noise, violent clashes, and abrasive cuts. It reminds me of a how a master horror director can lull their audience into a false sense of security before a big scare. Porter has timing nailed down, and listening to this it’s no surprise that he’s scored films with how well he understands tension and the physical aspect of music. And to be clear, this album is more than just noise drops. Even in its long sections of ambiance, there is always something creepy and uneasy going on, with strings, synths, and light vocal melodies. Roly Porter does everything he can to make the listener feel uncomfortable, and it works.
Spotify | Bandcamp
16. Danny Brown- Atrocity Exhibition
I admit that I’ve never been as much of a Danny Brown fan as the rest of the internet seems to be. He’s talented, and it certainly shows on this album, but I’m always surprised that his voice doesn’t divide more people. With that being said, Atrocity Exhibition is the first album of his that really clicked with me. His voice is still as distinct as ever, but the production on this record is something special. There are raw trap beats, industrial hip-hop tracks, jazz samples, and a ton of experimentation. Most importantly, it all fits perfectly with Danny’s crazy voice and subject matter. On paper, his lyrics aren’t all that different from the typical hip-hop clichés, but Brown’s over-the-top stories about drugs and women are a little more clever than your typical rapper, and he seems to understand how ridiculous his persona is. All of that comes together to create an exciting, dynamic record that represents the gold standard for hip-hop production in 2016.
Spotify
15. Touché Amoré- Stage Four
As a genre that once stood for “emotional hardcore,” emo music is one that puts a tremendous amount of emphasis on the humanity of its creators. That emotion is at the core of Touché Amoré’s Stage Four, and talking about the album without that at the forefront would undermine its biggest strength. To put it simply, Stage Four is a concept album about the passing of frontman Jeremy Bolm’s mother, who died of cancer in 2014. There are songs where Bolm acts as a narrator, singing/screaming to the listener directly as he tells his story, while others have him sounding on the brink of tears as he speaks directly to his mother. Parts of Stage Four sound so personal that it’s hard not to wonder if you as the listener are really meant to be hearing it. It’s tragic material and Bolm’s performance captures the weight of it. Musically, however, Stage Four is very simple and on the lighter side of hardcore. The instrumentals acts mostly as a basis for the narrative, and often crescendo from light to heavy sections. It’s fine, but again, that’s not the point. It’s the emotion that makes this one special.
Spotify | Bandcamp
14. ２８１４- Rain Temple
One year removed from transporting us into through vaporwave version of Neo Tokyo, the duo of HKE and t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 return with something completely different. A lot of the typical vaporwave motifs are gone and replaced for more instrumentation, more techno, and more downtempo influences. It expands on many of the ideas found in last year’s 新しい日の誕生 , but not the ones that you may expect. For example, Rain Temple uses spacing and atmosphere incredibly well, but manages to be far more active than what we’ve come to expect from these artists. It doesn’t set up a specific time and place the way that their last album did, but instead manages gives us a consistent atmosphere (cyperpunk) and plays around with the instrumentation a lot more this time around. It’s a very different record from anything that HKE or t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 have made, but it’s also a more than worthy follow-up to last year’s breakthrough and a fantastic ambient release in its own right.
Spotify | Bandcamp
13. Marissa Nadler- Strangers
The best adjective I can use to describe Marissa Nadler’s Strangers is simply “haunting.” This is dark, dreamy record full of atmosphere in its music, and the lyrics and vocals only add to that. Nadler intentionally depersonalizes the lyrics, often telling stories of characters presented to us with the right amount of vagueness. Strangers is an album that always contains a mood and often a story, but never a full context to the people you are hearing about. They feel appropriately like strangers, and the folk/dream pop music that Nadler presents her stories over are appropriately lush. It’s dark, but not overwhelmingly so, and it rarely falls into the same traps that often plague folk records. This is in part due to the vocals, which are delivered with an incredible amount of control and subtlety. They’re powerful at times, but often subdued to the point of a whisper. Strangers just gorgeous to listen to, and it comes together as a both a fantastic folk record and one of the best “dark” dream pop albums to come out in some time.
Spotify | Bandcamp
12. Aesop Rock- The Impossible Kid
The Impossible Kid feels like the natural next step for Aesop Rock. It’s a self-produced album that makes its themes a little more obvious for people who are turned off by the vagueness of Aesop’s lyrics, but still has the depth and abstract wordplay that fans love. The production is full of synths and guitars and feels distinct from anything else in the genre at the moment. There’s also an energy to it that extends to Aesop’s delivery, as he flows with a speed and passion that immediately engages the listener. As an emcee, Aesop Rock has always stood above his underground peers, but he’s also evolved so much as an artist. He subtly carries themes from one track to the next and has enough depth to his writing to reward close listening. The Impossible Kid, with both the words and production coming from the man himself, feels like the most purely Aesop Rock of Aesop Rock albums, and certainly his best since Labor Days at the very least. He’s evolved as a producer and a writer, and the result is a truly fantastic record from the man with the largest vocabulary in hip-hop.
Spotify | Bandcamp | Youtube
11. Radiohead- A Moon Shaped Pool
It’s always hard for me to properly rate a Radiohead album. After all, the highs that this band has achieved are so monumental, and an album like A Moon Shaped Pool simply isn’t on the level of their best work. With that being said, there is some truly fantastic material here that would be the high point of even many great bands’ careers. Much of this album consists of tracks Radiohead have kept unreleased for years, and have re-recorded/altered to fit within this album. With that in mind, it’s remarkable A Moon Shaped Pool ends up sounding cohesive. Each song feels like a part of the same theme, as there’s a lush and melancholic feel to the project a as a whole. The electronic elements that have become such a staple of Radiohead are also more subtle in this album, as it’s much more a chamber/art pop record with an orchestral aesthetic. This is Radiohead at their most reserved, but it also has some of their catchiest and most instantly gratifying pop material the band has produced in years.
Spotify
10. Metá Metá- MM3
There’s been an interesting jazz-rock scene brewing in São Paulo in recent years, with Metá Metá (as well as solo work and collaborations from its members) at the forefront. MM3 introduced the collective to a new audience in 2016, and it’s their most focused record to date. Their influences are still vast, with elements of punk and hard rock, samba, noise, and various assortments of jazz music, but the tracks here are a little bit tighter and more accessible. There’s also a great passion and immediacy to them that makes me wish I could understand more of the lyrics. Each of the musicians is an exceptional talent, with vocalist Juçara Marçal delivering a powerful performance over some incredibly varied and often loud guitars, drums, and saxophones. MM3 is a chaotic album to be sure, but it’s also one that has catchy moments and builds to its chaos noticeably well. It’s simply one of the finest jazz-rock albums of recent years, and it’s about time the greater music world discovered what the Brazilian underground has been hiding.
Spotify
9. Anenon- Petrol
The saxophone is not exactly a new instrument to minimalist music, with Colin Stetson especially proving its worth in recent years. However, Brian All (Anenon) shows that there is plenty more than can be done in that realm. Petrol, his third full length release and easily his most expansive, is a simply a stunning piece of work. It uses a heavy dose of saxophone and moderate (but often dominant) touches of strings and percussion, while it stylistically takes elements of jazz, electronic, classical, and ambient music. Those styles are found in its structure as well, as Petrol was recorded as a series of improvisational sessions that have been edited for the record with digital sounds added. That allows All to be very and meticulous about the album’s pacing, while the instrumentation sounds beautifully organic. Petol is an interesting experiment between the physical and digital sides of music, and that in and of itself makes it worth listening to. However, it’s also a uniquely mesmerizing jazz album that deserved far more attention than it received in 2016.
Spotify | Bandcamp
8. Vektor- Terminal Redux
Vektor takes thrash metal to space with their first album in five years, and the results are breathtaking. Terminal Redux is a great example of looking to the past and creating something new. The production is modern, but that and a few subtleties taken from the recent influx of technical metal, are the only things that keep Terminal Redux from sounding like something that could have come out in the early 90s. Their influences are mostly taken from late 80s thrash bands, such as Kreator and Anihilator, with vocals reminiscent of early 90s death metal. On top of that, the lengthy songs have a ton of atmosphere and progressive tendencies that resemble something out of a Hawkwind or space rock album. It’s a combination that makes Terminal Redux an incredible achievement as a technical album, while it also shows off a range and ambition from a songwriting prospective that is unheard of in thrash metal. You’ve heard these components before, but rarely done this well, and never put together quite like this.
Spotify | Bandcamp
7. Street Sects- End Position
Right off the bat, End Position is a punishing album. It presents a chaotic mix of industrial, noise, punk, and power electronics. And yet, through it’s dirty aesthetic and bombastic pacing, there’s unexpected bit of light that always seems to shine through at the perfect time. End Position has just enough melody to elevate it beyond just an album of industrial brutality and into some real creative territory. It would be strange to call this an “accessible” album in any way, but it’s also among the more approachable albums I’ve ever heard to use power electronics, and it doesn’t sacrifice intensity to do so. It’s just that Street Sects have found their own blend of abrasiveness. That blend of fast punk rock, pounding drums, industrial beats, and noise drops make for an oh-so-satisfying level of brutality. End Position is the debut record that impressed me most in 2016, and few albums are capable of pounding my skull in better.
Spotify | Bandcamp
6. A Tribe Called Quest- We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
A Tribe Called Quest could not have picked a more perfect time to drop their final album and their first in 18 years. Released just after the November election and towards the end of a year where death dominated the themes of music and the news regarding its creators, We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service is an inspiring politically-charged record that simultaneously reflects on marginalized groups in modern America and pays tribute to the late Phife Dawg, who passed away during the making of the album. These themes may not always sound easy to connect, but Phife and Q-Tip present their lyrics with a great deal of passion that ends up keeping the album focused. The beats are on point as well, with Tribe’s quintessential jazz samples found throughout the record. In 2016, they sound more timeless than old school, and that can be said for the album as a whole. This may be a classic group returning after nearly two decades, but so much of this album feels appropriate and almost necessary for hip-hop in 2016. This isn’t so much a return to the past as it is a powerful sets of voices speaking to us again when we need them most.
Spotify
5. Tanya Tagaq- Retribution
If this were a list of the best vocal albums of 2016, Tara Tagaq’s Retribution would be firmly planted at #1. Tagaq’s Inuit throat singing blows me away every time I listen to it, and that vocal work is the centerpiece of the songwriting here. There’s so many layers to Tagaq’s voice and so much variety and emotion to her performance that I can’t help but be reminded of her mentor, Björk. However, Retribution is more than just a vocal showpiece. Tagaq continues to impress as a songwriter as well, as she creates unsettling and at times terrifying compositions throughout the album. Most the songs exist somewhere between experimental, minimalist, and rock music, but there’s an unexpected hip-hop track featuring Shad that works quite nicely. It’s eclectic to say the least, but it needs to be in order to satisfying the range of the vocals. Retribution culminates with a chilling cover of Nirvana’s “Rape Me,” a track that exemplifies Tagaq’s ability to work within Western songwriting and turn it into something completely outside of mainstream conventions. It’s a brilliant end to a brilliant album from one of modern music’s most interesting and talented artists.
Spotify
4. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds- Skeleton Tree
While much of Skeleton Tree was recorded before the tragic death of Nick Cave’s son in 2015, themes of grief surround the album. This is a dark and heartbreaking listen, but also a powerful one. From a musical standpoint, it’s one of the most minimalist albums Cave has released, and makes heavy use of drone and light electronic touches to build tension. This is especially true on its masterful opening track, which feels like a punch to the gut right from the start. Other songs are more piano-driven, but still stripped down. The compositions are actually some of the most interesting in the Bad Seeds discography, as they’re so far removed from the rock roots the band is known for. The vocals sound tragic and demand attention, but fit within the minimalist tone of the music. Nick Cave has always done grief well, but this feels like something else. It’s just more personal and tender, and it’s hard to turn away from it, even as a broken sounding man roughly sketches disturbing images with his voice. Skeleton Tree isn’t always an easy album to listen to, but it’s certainly an affecting one.
Spotify
3. Death Grips- Bottomless Pit
Bottomless Pit is Death Grips doing their thing. That is to say, it’s an album that takes the core sound of the industrial hip-hop duo and sends it into strange places with amazing results. This might just be the craziest, rowdiest, and most aggressive Death Grips album to date, but it also has some of their most reserved tracks as well. It’s just that there are so few artists who willing to go this crazy in terms of constant experimentation with their sound, all while still sounding so distinct. MC Ride shouts his way through most of the record, even forgoing actual words at times. Most of the album is a shot of raw energy that rarely ever lets up, and is even successful when it does. No other album in 2016 had this kind of “break everything now” feel to, and it does so with consistently surprising production that varies throughout the record. From a musical standpoint Bottomless Pit sounds more directly influenced from punk rock than any prior Death Grips album, and it’s heavy on glitch and electronic as well. I have no idea where they go from here, but Death Grips continue to make raw, entertaining music that sounds like no one else.
Spotify
2 . Nicolas Jaar- Sirens
I don’t really know where to start with Sirens, other than to say it really blew me away. It’s an album of constant unease and frequent stylistic shifts, and it makes for both an intricate experimental electronic record and an entertaining pop album. Jaar takes influences from all over (and well outside of) the electronic realm, and consistently merges them together in interesting and often surprising ways. There’s certainly a political message at the core of Sirens, but it’s usually presented abstractly. Individual lines stuck with me throughout the year, and the variety in which Jaar produces allows him to get the most out of their delivery. That variety is really what impressed me most about Sirens, as for something that goes in this many different directions, what Jaar has produced here sounds incredibly focused. No two tracks sound even remotely similar, yet it all feels like its part of the same concept. As a whole, Sirens is challenging as both a musical journey and as a political statement. It also manages to be catchy and accessible enough to recommend to just about anyone with even a sliver of tolerance of experimental music.
Spotify
1. David Bowie- Blackstar
First and foremost, it’s impossible to separate David Bowie’s sudden death two days after the Blackstar‘s release from the album itself. After all, Bowie’s impending death is what this album is about. Blackstar was the rare opportunity for the world to hear a legendary artist confront their own death through their art, and that’s intrinsic to what makes this album special. It’s also the most experimental album Bowie ever put out, with its heavy emphasis on art rock, jazz, and electronic. It comes together into an absolute masterpiece of dark and atmospheric music. That atmosphere sets the tone for its lyrics, which are beautiful in both how abstract and honest they manage to be. Bowie continuously paints pictures of death, the afterlife, and memories of career, with motifs in the instrumentation that do the same. The vocals complete the tragic beauty of the record, as Bowie performs with a stunning passion that has a fair amount of uncertainty in its tone. “I’m dying too,” he rumbles towards the album’s end, as we hear his voice start to break. Blackstar is many things. It’s a tragic, epic, fascinating, and ultimately an essential listen. It’s also one of the great swan songs in modern music history, and the best album of 2016.
Spotify
Honorable Mentions:
Alfio Antico- Antico
Anna Högberg Attack- s/t
Ansome- Stowaway
Arashi- Semikujira
Be’lakor- Vessels
Black Mountain- IV
Céu- Tropix
Chthe’ilist- Le dernier crépuscule
Deakin- Sleep Cycle
Deathspell Omega- The Synarchy of Molten Bones
Fallujah- Dreamless
The Gerogerigegege- Moenai Hai
Horseback- Dead Ringers
In the Woods…- Pure
Inter Arma- Paradise Gallows
Kate Tempest- Let Them Eat Cake
Kayo Dot- Plastic House on Base of Sky
Kuedo- Slow Knife
Leon Vynehall- Rojus
Maria Usbeck- Amparo
Mizmor- Yodh
Mono- Requiem for Hell
Open Mike Eagle & Paul White- Hella Personal Film Festival
Pleasure Model- Kendo Dynamics
Sainkho Namtchylak- Like a Bird or Spirit, Not a Face
Schammasch- Triangle
Trap Them- Crown Feral
Valerio Tricoli- Clonic Earth
Thanks for reading!
Sounds of the Night 