Steph's Top 5 Of 2022 So Far
1
Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Pulitzer Prize winner, Kendrick Lamar offers more hard-hitting poetry on his latest double album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Much of this album -- his last with Top Dawg Entertainment, where he has been since he was 15 -- seems to serve as a confessional. Behind the album cover, which gives us a look at Lamar’s fiancée and two children, the lyrics are introspective and honest, touching on themes like childhood trauma, therapy, domestic violence, fatherhood, gender, sexual experiences, and racism. Kendrick is a leader in combining rap, jazz, soul, R&B, and trap, and his song structures are as unpredictable as ever, never allowing us to get into a groove for too long. As he fleets from style to style, his heavy subject matter meandering scruffily, Kendrick delivers a dangerous, difficult, and masterful 73 minutes.
2
Plosivs - Plosivs
Swami Records
Plosivs is a new band made up of artists we already know and love: John Reis (Hot Snakes/Rocket from The Crypt/Drive Like Jehu), Rob Crow (Pinback), Atom Willard (Against Me!) and Jordan Clark (Mrs. Magician). The Hot Snakes influence is strong in this one – and while it’s less abrasive and awkward, it’s still got hard-hitting down strokes and fast chord changes. The vocal melodies are soft and poppy but the punky feel is relentless backed by the wild, pounding drums of Atom Willard. It conjures a Dillinger Four punk rock feel with darker sensibilities, as it drags us through melancholic riffs and never once hits the breaks.
3
Pusha T - It's Almost Dry
Def Jam Recordings / GOOD Music
Since discovering Pusha's last full-length, DAYTONA, I've been more or less obsessed with him. I love his clear-yet-scowling voice, his cheeky rhymes, and his signature "yuck" sprinkled throughout his own albums and the many collaborations he appears on, including many with Kanye, who guest stars on and produces half of It’s Almost Dry. Plus, Pusha is from Virginia, from where I also descend, and I like to think the "T" in his stage name refers to the surname we share. His latest album does not disappoint. It only builds on his established talents as a vocalist and songwriter. It sees Pusha trying out some higher ranges in his voice while syncopating his bars in peculiar ways, creating unease at times. The uneasiness is intensified by the Joker laugh scattered throughout the album amongst his nonchalantly threatening lyrics. It isn’t all uneasy though – Kid Cudi lends his croons on “Rock N Roll” and Pharrell Williams (the rockstar producer on the other half of this album) chimes in with smooth backing vocals on the catchy “Scrape it Off”. Kanye’s reliance on soul music samples on “Just So You Remember” and “Rock N Roll” are reminiscent of his early 2000s beats and conjure a comfortable nostalgia.
4
Flasher - Love is Yours
Domino Recording Co Ltd
Flasher’s second full-length, Love is Yours, was released four years after their first, and their sound has shed the punk feel and gone in a more indie-electropop, funky direction. The drum machines and synths combine with sweet his and her vocal melodies bouncing with reverb over catchy hooks, begging the listener to sway across the dancefloor. While the lyrics are somewhat melancholic, touching on break-ups, disappointment, and betrayal, the music is always uplifting and fun.
5
Oceanator - Nothing's Ever Fine
Polyvinyl Record Co.
Nothing's Ever Fine is the second full-length from Oceanator, the indie-rock project of Brooklyn-based musician Elise Okusami, and this album really covers a lot of ground. Despite the sweetness of Okusami's voice across the album, sometimes the odd time signatures, distorted chords, and heavy rhythm section conjure a grungier feel bordering on metal. These grungey, cacophonous crash-laden tracks are sprinkled between mid-tempo ballads and poppier party anthems -- which loop in fun riffs from a saxophone and an organ -- about beach days and teenage Saturday nights.
