Our Top 10 Lists have been named in honor of late Blog Director and DJ Clarence Ewing, who pioneered and published this annual feature for nearly a decade.
Our next list is from Cole Irwin.
Please note, Cole's list is for the most part unranked, though their favorite album of the year is listed as Number 1.
10. Sanctuary by the Chicago Immigrant Orchestra (Wahdude)
The Chicago Immigrant Orchestra's new and updated 20-piece ensemble drawn from Chicago's immigrant communities is such an atmospheric bop. It represents an eclectic mix of musical heritages from across the globe. Sanctuary demonstrates a tapestry of sounds, taking cues from folk music from Haiti, Pakistan, Palestine, and more. The album features a broad range of instruments including violin, guitar, Chinese zhongruan, veena, horsehair fiddle, oud, and dozens of different percussion instruments. "Suld" is my favorite track from it.
Listen: Bandcamp
9. I Remember I Forget by Yasmine Hamdan (Crammed Discs/PIAS)
Paris-based Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan got her start in Beirut’s Arab-electronic scene in the late ’90s after living abroad for much of her childhood during the Lebanese Civil War. This is her third solo album. My favorites are "Shmaali," "I Remember I Forget," and "Reminiscence."
Listen: Bandcamp
8. Cosplay Karaoke by Takénobu (self-released)
Takénobu is the moniker for independent cellist and composer Nick Ogawa's musical projects, encompassing both solo and band recordings. This is a collection of 10 songs, all originally composed and recorded during livestreams. It is a calmly sung, plucky string-forward instrumented album that is a light listen. My favorite track is the single "Untomo Suntomo (Getting Ghosted)."
Listen: Bandcamp
7. Luminescent Creatures by Ichiko Aoba (Psychic Hotline)
This was my favorite live performance I got to see this year! Her being the only person on stage was a absolute marvel to see. She also named my penguin plushy that I had on me! Luminescent Creatures is the eighth studio album from Japanese folk singer-songwriter Ichiko Aoba. Aoba, known for her acoustic, dream-like folk music, returning here with arguably her least acoustic project yet. Luminescent Creatures finds Aoba largely influenced by chamber folk and ambient, exploring diverse soundscapes that range from lush chamber arrangements to minimalist pianos. My favorite tracks are "COLORATURA" and "Luciférine."
Listen: Bandcamp
6. Hay Veces by Petite Amie (Sonido Muchacho)
This is a Mexico City based group whose show I stumbled upon at the Hideout a few years ago after their first, self-titled album. In January this year, they put out another banger. They sing in both Spanish and French, and tend to encompass an airy 'french' electro-pop sound that is complete ear candy for me. My favorite here is "Palabras!"
Listen: Petite Amie webstore
5. The Overview by Steven Wilson (Virgin)
This is technically a two track album, though each track is over 18 minutes long and can be conceivably split into movements therein. This is a prog rock album that leans deeply into a slow burning atmospheric sound. It swirls, has call backs to itself, has sonic interjections that describe a space travelers perspective looking back on Earth, and more. I enjoy the "No Ghost on the Moor / Heat Death of the Universe" movement of "Objects Outlive Us" (the last 6 minutes of the first song) the most.
Listen: Steven Wilson webstore
4. Percepticide: The Death of Reality by Pixel Grip (self-released)
Percepticide: The Death of Reality is the long-awaited third album from the Chicago darkwave/industrial/EBM trio. This is Pixel Grip’s first self-released album that has been nearly 4 years in the making. When I saw them live this year, they talked about how parts of the album are speaking to the perspectives and resilience of the oppressed, which is also superimposed with absolute club bangers and sex-positive celebration. My favorite tracks are "Reason To Stay," "Split," and "Work or Shut Up."
Listen: Bandcamp
3. Choke Enough by Oklou (True Panther Sounds)
London-based Frenchwoman Marylou Mayniel has been recording under the name Oklou since 2014, releasing various singles, EPs, and a mixtape before finally releasing this debut album. Her show this year was delayed due to her having her baby, though I was able to catch it and it had a stunning element of light interplaying with loosely waving semi-transparent fabric. This is an alt-pop album that invokes a calm intensity—like building a beautiful sand castle and watching it get eroded away. There is a woodwind through-line that is grounding, with orchestrations that grow not quite all the way to a full blown crescendo—a stress that builds and doesn't ever fully gush and release. My favorite tracks are "Family and Friends" and "Harvest Sky," which might be the danciest part of the album.
Listen: Bandcamp
2. Racing Mount Pleasant by Racing Mount Pleasant (R&R)
TRacing Mount Pleasant is an Ann Arbor based band who have previously released music as 'Kingfisher' at the Univeristy of Michigan (also fantastic). This is their 'debut' self-titled album under their new name. It could be described as an atmospheric and orchestral combination of post-rock and midwest emo. Quite cathartic and has been the muse for my inner whimperings. My favorite tracks are "Emily" and "Call It Easy."
Listen: Bandcamp
1. All Worlds by Lust for Youth & Creation Amor (Sacred Bones)
This was my top album of the year. This is a collaborative album that blends the sounds between the two Danish electronic artists Croatian Amor and Lust For Youth (a duo). Croatian Amor's prior discography tends towards a poignant and downbeat ambient-industrial sound, whilst Lust For Youth has tended towards a dreampop/shoegaze-inspired eruption of lo-fi goth dance music. Those two sounds harmonize and can be found both distinctly and melded on this record - some tracks are more on the haunting soundtrack end, some interject deadpan and low quality voice samples over an airy atmosphere, and then there are also some dance bops on here. Some standouts: Track 2 is a cool example of dreampop guitars being recontextualized in modern dance music. Track 9 is a very, VERY lo-fi track featuring a voice recording of a woman talking about velella velella in tide-pools. The overall sound of this record is equally dreary and curiously imaginative; it is generally has a heavy, airy base and has either lo-fi voice samples or quippy industrial breaks over it. This is a record that largely shines for pensive nighttime or rainy day play for the songs outside of the recommended tracks. My favorite tracks are "Friendzone," "Passerine," and "Velella Velella Wind Sailors."
Listen: Bandcamp