2016 Favorite Albums (Numbers 40-31)

Continuing my countdown of my favorite albums of 2016:

40.

Delorean - Muzik

While there are still several tracks on this record that will get you dancing, the majority of songs here strike a more melancholy tone. This collection feels like the comedown after the party, the memories of the evening fresh in the mind as you wander back home, wanting to be back in the thick of things, with nothing to worry about, all your cares lost to dancing. Reality setting in as the sun starts to rise.

39.

Pantha Du Prince - The Triad

Although Pantha Du Prince works with the same minimal palate with each record, he still knows how to surprise. Over these gorgeous tracks, he takes what I call lullaby techno into sublime regions.

38.

Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition

The music here is dense, dark, and unforgiving, with Danny spitting his paranoid and skittering verses over it. It's a challenging record and not an easy listen by any stretch of the imagination, however, it is essential listening.

37.

Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial

Catchy as hell indie rock that was one of my favorite go-to guitar records, in a year that, for me, was fairly devoid of great rock music.

36.

Dawn Richard - Redemption

The completion of a trilogy of records, Redemption finds Richard marrying her gorgeous vocals with maximalist production from producers like Machinedrum. Her records are always so striking because they don't sound like anything else on the R&B spectrum.

35.

LUH - Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing

After his first band WU LYF imploded, singer Ellery James Roberts comes back guns blazing with his latest project LUH (Lost Under Heaven). This record is messy, over the top, dramatic, and intensely brilliant. Ellery doesn't do anything half assed, going for broke with each track. While it can be overwhelming at times, once you let yourself get swept up in its waves, you will be transfixed.

34.

Jubilee - After Hours

Stylistically, After Hours is all over the dance floor map, jumping from trap, Miami Bass, and everything in between. In lesser hands, this would be a recipe for disaster, but Jubilee keeps it all in check, slamming down one jeep rattling track after another.

33.

NOVAA - Stolen Peaches EP

German producer/songwriter NOVAA was working on an album called Peaches when her laptop with everything on it was stolen. She recreated most of the tracks, releasing them under the fitting title Stolen Peaches. These nine tracks, are quirky electro-pop, with tons of texture, warped samples, and vocal manipulations. Against all this sonic exploration, is NOVAA's warm, human vocals that bring a beating heart to the record.

32.

Young Thug - JEFFREY

Young Thug continues to challenge notions of gender roles and stereotypes in his challenging music, and does it with sonically dense productions.

31.

ANOHNI - Hopelessness

Working with Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never, ANOHNI crafts a striking electronic protest record that speaks to these bizarre times we live in now.