Album(s) of the Week: Catching up

Anderson .Paak – Malibu

We haven't heard from Frank Ocean yet this year, but .Paak could almost make you forget that.

The singer/rapper blends tropical jazz, boom bap hip-hop and 90's R&B into a delightful mix. Much like last year's fantastic Surf from Donnie Trumpet, .Paak uses an amalgamation of styles to create something incredibly unique. May be the sunniest music we get all year, and we were blessed with it in the second week of January.

Malibu is out on OBE. 

Future – Purple Reign

No rapper had more of a breakthrough year than Future did in 2015, and he takes all that momentum and just keeps charging ahead.

It's entirely possible he's the most interesting voice in the genre right now, and the Atlanta rapper still buries his aching heart in woozy beats and codeine mumbles. Sometimes it's difficult to know what the hell he's on about, but the vibe never changes.

Only Future could mix braggadocio and heartbreak into a line that is supposed to sound like a boast: "Hit another city, and another city, I was just grooving/I was trying to tell you I was losing/I was gon’ tell you I’m improving.”

Purple Reign is out for free online. 

Rihanna – Anti

Rihanna has always been a singles artist for me, and I've never found a full album of hers that satisfied me. Then she dropped Anti out of the blue on Jan. 29.

It's easily her best and most cohesive album to date, and that's because she stops worrying about singles and instead embraces a grander vision. There are no radio-storming singles – instead, Rihanna stretches out her aesthetic into woozy, swirling mix of synths and beats. She even covers a fucking Tame Impala song (and beats the original).

Rihanna's voice has never been this strong (check out album highlight "Higher"), nor her skills more evident. 

Anti is out on Roc Nation. 

Future – EVOL

I know I already wrote about Future up above, but shit if he isn't on a killer roll. He released his second album of the year on Feb. 6, and it's a better album than Purple Reign.

EVOL is not as despondent as Purple Reign, and gets in some more sonic variety. It also gets a little more upbeat for those who are tired of sad Future. Right now, the man can't be stopped.

EVOL is out on Apple Music.

Also recommended this month:

Bloc Party's long-awaited return, Hymns.

Chairlift's melancholy techno-soul release, Moth. 

DIIV's muscular shoegaze sophomore effort, Is The Is Are.

Dr. Dog's rejiggered debut album, The Psychedelic Swamp.

Kevin Gate's major-label debut, Islah.

Majid Jordan's self-titled collection of lovesick R&B.

Migos' long-awaited, Young Rich Niggas 2.

Sia's latest songwriting display, This Is Acting.

Tedeschi Trucks Band's blend of jazz and blues, Let Me By.

Wet's dreamy soul-pop debut, Don't You.

Lucinda Wililam's dust bowl of an album, The Ghosts of Highway 20.

Young Thug's first full length of the year, I'm Up.

Adrian Younge’s sweeping soul opus, Something About April II.

Album of the Week: Hinds Leave Me Alone

Seasonal music is a tricky thing, and everyone has their own definition of the perfect music for a snowy winter or sunny summer day. As a listener, I've found sunny music works better in the winter than vice versa (because really, who wants snow in June?) and the right amount of pep and energy on a grey, cold day can make all the difference.

So in the heart of winter, be thankful for Hinds and their debut full-length, Leave Me Alone, which injects some grungy electricity into the garage-rock scene.

The Spanish quartet don't do anything new or groundbreaking in the 12 tracks on the album, but what they bring in spades are hooks and sharp writing in their lyrics.

Album opener "Garden" tells the story of a good girl fallen for a bad boy, and while that story has certainly been told to death, writers Ana Perrote and Carlotta Cosials find a unique way to get across the feeling of being in a relationship with someone that doesn't really match with you:

And I feel like I’m freezing again

You won’t say you’re bored anymore

‘cause I can take you dancing.

Use me to feel home.

That last line is absolutely brutal, and how effortlessly it comes across is a testament to the writers' ability.

Another album standout is "Chili Town," which makes use of some seriously sexy and sarcastic language to try to grab the attention of someone. It's not clear whether that that person is new or a past love, but lines like

I am flirting with this guy

Just to pretend I’m fine

Saliva mixed with lies my laugh is oversized

Forever yours, right?

give the song a wonderful air of mystery.

And the musicians can just create a piece of startling beauty when they want to, as on the instrumental "Solar Gap," which features some luminously gorgeous guitar lines.

Leave Me Alone grows on you, and each repeat listen provides more hooks and wit for the listener. All and all, this is a lovely grace note to start the year off.

Leave Me Alone is out on Mom+Pop/Lucky Number.

Also recommended this week:

David Bowie's jazz-rock amalgamation, ★.

The Straight Out of Compton soundtrack.

Album of the Week: Adele 25

Breakup albums are not all that rare. Plenty of artists in every genre have have taken a crack at it over the years. But great breakup albums are rarer.

It is pretty much beyond questioning that Adele's 21 has a spot among the greats. But the question becomes, once you've devoted an entire album's worth of music to chronicling a broken relationship, what do you do next? You don't want to risk being the sad-sack musician who can't move on, but something utterly ebullient might be a little too much whiplash for listeners.

With her long-awaited junior release, 25, Adele decided to split the difference. By no means is it a joyful album, but it's not exactly bleak either. What 25 is all about is saying goodbye to the past – specifically, to relationships that have taken too much of your heart. This could be relationships that are long over, or those still going on.

All of this works (mostly) because of Adele's voice, and because it follows pretty naturally from her last album. To really move on from the kind of devastation of 21, you need a clean slate.

That's what first single and album opener, "Hello" is about, and does it ever work on that song. The thing is complete slapper, and demonstrates right off the bat why so many people are willing to follow Adele anywhere – she has the kind of voice that can blow the walls off of any joint she wants. "Hello" is the perfect showcase of that voice: the way it builds over a simple piano line, and floors you when the chorus hits. I mean, holy shit, there's no stopping it here. It's an absolute wrecking ball of vocal delivery, and each time the chorus returns, it somehow gets bigger. Her voice starts taking on levels, and the way it kind of wavers just kills me. This is what Adele was born to do.

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the record trades pretty heavily on schmatlz, and how much you enjoy the music is going to entirely depend on how many big, grand musical gestures you can take. She also makes music for old souls (always has) but for someone who is only in her mid-20s, she sure writes a lot about missing her early days. She still has so much life ahead of her.

All of this can be a bit much for those allergic to too much sentiment, and I don't necessarily disagree. But when it connects, it connects.

"Water Under the Bridge" is driven by a lovely little guitar riff, and features some absolutely killer, acrobatically high-backing vocals. The song is all about the challenges and desire of a new love, and fighting to hold onto it. The more upbeat music and delivery is a good look for Adele, and she sings the hell out of it.

"Love in the Dark" manages to balance some of the schmaltzier things (those sweeping strings and somber piano) with a perfectly detailed examination of the gulf between two people. It's one of the best songwriting efforts here, and shows her attention to nuance as a writer.

The most interesting (and encouraging) song here is closer "Sweetest Devotion," which is not only the happiest love song Adele has written in a while, but easily the most joyful track on the album. There's almost a Motown vibe too it, and it could pretty easily be remixed to a club banger if someone wanted (please, someone want to). Closing the album on such a note is hopefully a glimpse of what's ahead for Adele, and if she can stay in this happier lane, we could all be in for a treat.

I doubt 25 is going to rock people back the way 21 did, but it's a more than solid effort by one of the best voices we have right now. And even more importantly, it's the album Adele had to make so she could move on to something new. So, hello, Adele. Welcome to the other side.

25 is out on XL.

Also recommended this week:

John Coltrane's three-disc remaster of A Love Supreme.

Foo Fighters' surprise EP, Saint Cecilia.

The 20^th anniversary reissue of the Goo Goo Doll's debut, A Boy Named Goo.

Natalie Prass' covers EP, Side by Side.

Punch Brothers' second release of the year, The Wireless.

Album of the Week: Alessia Cara Know-It-All

The state of pop music in 2015 is strong, and unsurprisingly, we have the ladies to thank for it.

Taylor Swift's pop opus 1989 is still kicking down doors, and inspiring alt-leaning musicians to publicly embrace a genre they would normally scoff at; Carly Rae Jepsen delivered not just the best pop album of the year, but one of the year's best albums period; underground R&B songstresses like Kelela and Tink are adding vital new voices to the music; Grimes is fracturing the music and using the scraps in unique ways; and we have Adele coming back next week.

Amidst all this, you should make room for 19-year-old Alessia Cara, a musician who takes bedroom R&B and brightens it up with her own pop sensibilities. On her debut album, Know-It-All, she's made an album for the wallflowers, love sick and those on the verge of adulthood.

The undeniable highlight of the album is "Here," a party anthem for those who would rather be anywhere but the party. The song samples Isaac Hayes "Ike's Rap II," and adds some booming drums and bass over tinkling keys. The whole song is basically Cara telling off people who are trying to chat her up at a party: "I don't dance, don't ask, I don't need a boyfriend/So you can, go back, please enjoy your party," and she adds a healthy measure of cynicism and biting wit to the proceedings. Verses like

Excuse me if I seem a little unimpressed with this

An anti-social pessimist, but usually I don't mess with this

And I know you mean only the best

And your intentions aren't to bother me

But honestly I'd rather be

Somewhere with my people

eloquently shows the nimble mind of a person who knows where they belong. It deserves to go into every party mix, if for no other reason than so the people who don't want to be there (and trust me, there are always a few) have something to nod along to.

As evidenced on the album, Cara's wheelhouse is love songs that capture the surprising way love comes along and changes people.

"Outlaws" makes the best use of a horn riff since Ariana Grande's "Problem." The lyrics are a dash of Jay Z and Beyonce's "'03 Bonnie & Clyde," run through Drake's lonely worldview. It's the kind of escapist pop song that rock music has traded on for decades, but I'll be damned if Cara doesn't sell the hell out of it.

"I'm Yours" it's the cynic's love anthem, with verses like

How dare you march into my heart

Oh how rude of you

To ruin my miserable

And tell me I’m beautiful.

It's a song for everyone who has fallen in love when they were least expecting it, and is a catchy example of the kind of smart humor Cara possesses as a songwriter.

"Stars" is among the best love songs of the year, and is a swooningly romantic ode to loving someone who adores you for who you really are. Cara really sells the moment of acceptance in lines like

See I need you

And sometimes we need to

Shed our facade and be just who we are

All broken and torn, then we could be stars.

Almost everyone can relate to that heart-stopping moment when you reveal who you are to someone and it only makes them love you more. It's a rare occurrence, and all the brighter for it.

For a first effort, Know-It-All is brimming with promise and potential. Cara knocked it out of the park, and more than lives up to the album's name. We should all be excited to see what she does next.  

Know-It-All is out on Def Jam.

Also recommended this week:

Justin Bieber's trap pop return, Purpose.

Logic's space-rap sophomore release, The Incredible True Story.

Mark McGuire's lovely classic-rock techno, Beyond Belief.

One Direction's last album before a hiatus, Made in the AM.

A Sunny Day In Glasgow's EP, Planning Weed Like It's Acid / Life Is Loss.

A Tribe Called Quest's reissue of their debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.

Ty Dolla $ign's long awaited full-length, Free TC.