Michael's Cut

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At one point, I thought this list couldn’t get done, let alone an article about it. Though I started the re-listening period last January, I was also an undergraduate preparing for spring commencement. A dilemma approached me, one that had beaten me multiple times. I tried to balance my academics, but what about my social life, the friends I’ll never see again after this year because I absolutely hate Washington? And what about rent? Who’s gonna dress in cashmere to serve a bunch of picky 5-year olds lunch? Simply put, I had no time to finish these rankings.

Around August, I resumed the journey, and what a patient six months I indulged in. Re-listening to around 130 albums was so fun! I love when opinions about an album change; it makes me refer back to my notes and question everything I initially wrote. Feelings were hurt, all were mine and internalized. Numbers shouldn’t matter, but it didn’t stop me from making this list.

I learned how to break down each section into smaller bits. I wonder if you’ll agree with my takes, but, regardless, I hope you find a song or work you like or will check out later. Enjoy.

10. Hip Hop 50: Vol 1, DJ Premier

Basically, eight well-known DJ’s plan to drop an EP dedicated to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop music. DJ Premier starts this anthology with a gauntlet programming the beats. He’s still got it, and I’m a sucker for turntable scratch breaks. “Lettin’ off Steam” with Joey Bada$$ takes advantage of putting his various tags in, such as his beats sounding like crisp punches to the face. Nothing’s out of the ordinary on this record. Just sit down and enjoy five tracks with a roster talking their shit. Shout out to Remy Ma and Rapsody on “Remy Rap” for holding their verses down for best features.

9. SPACE MULAN, BÉBE YANA

Here, BÉBE Yana christens herself “Space Mulan,” a warrior adapting to the rapid technological advances. There’s a balance between light and heavy dance rhythms, not all of these beats adhesive to the ears, but most do outpace the point of obsoleteness. “1-2-3,” “SATELLITE,” and the title track all stand out, and pull their weight to make SPACE MULAN, a battle worth fighting for in our artist’s next objective, national – and international – capital.

8. Bruises, Jordan Rakei

Jordan Rakei’s been an artist you’d hear serenade an audience at a Michelin restaurant, beautiful but secondary to the conversations with your party, the seven-course meal. Bruises challenges that observation, establishing more presence in his performances. The title track enthralls you with a string ensemble and melodies deep enough to submerge in from the diving board, while “Lightning” fishes for wandering eyes as the synth bass evolves into a black hole engulfing anything in sight. A small yet rewarding project that hopefully confirms he’ll be commanding the room next time around, maybe with more dub instrumentation.

7. PERCEPTION EP, Clip

“I really want to develop who CLIP is, while remaining versatile,” the New York musician expressed in a 2022 interview with Crack Magazine. And with PERCEPTION, she achieves her mission quite well, flexing her girlish, slick soprano atop a car driving through a seemingly endless tunnel. Haze all around, and it’s a quarter after 2.a.m.. She’s wide awake, sad, aggressive, beaming. “FALL BACK” samples a Gangsta Boo verse and keeps the energy vibrant, the bass vibrating until you can’t hear the wind flushing through the car at 90 miles an hour. You’ll be coming out the other side either a bad bitch or morose.

6. The Girlfriend Experience, Chase Icon

A trap house where all of your favorite divas flood Hennessy down your throat, The Girlfriend Experience marvels how it can still get its insatiable house party rattled. Lessons from Ayesha Erotica and Slayyyter perhaps taught the southern Californian star how to formulate this hyper-feminine hydrogen bomb. “Bang” in particular gives ghettotech music a distorted punch that makes you feel coked-out on a spinning carousel. And for one final shocker, “Pussy Killed the Trapstar” narrates various sexual encounters ending with a fun surprise and gunshots, akin to the last thirty minutes of Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers.

5. Illusory Tracks, G Jones

G Jones makes music like a marksman. I feel like I’m being shot with a machine gun, with an endless stash of magazines firing off from the simple command of the press play button. Illusory Tracks, however, doesn’t always feed into the immediacy. Tracks like “Patterns Emerge” and “Thought Tracking” offer a panoramic view of space, with twinkling synths flashing and dissolving for the human mind to wander. Otherwise, you know the drill: grab your friends, wave your totems. The time to rave dawns.

4. NEON, Wednesday Campanella

NEON works with two objectives in mind: 1) a soft reset for the Japanese band, considering the departure of forewoman KOM_I. And 2) the promotion of their newest vocalist, Utaha, a Tokyo native whose buoyancy challenges the hyperactive rhythms of Hidefumi Kenmochi. And what’s great is how the EP allows these musicians to naturally intertwine, like roots and soil. “Buckingham” and “Himiko” take the biggest EDM moments from the ‘10s and gives them a sanctuary to flourish, with Utaha belting and rapping sometimes interchangeably. But NEON’s greatest offering, “Maneki Neko,” concludes the work with the need for more music. It combines her cheerleader pep with scattered footwork beats for an explosion of our most naive inhibitions to dance.

3. As the Blood of God Bursts the Veins of Time, Liturgy

My first encounter with Liturgy’s a tale of perplexity, making sense of the metal performances with inaudible screams from a patient locked in the bathroom, bells and pianos chanting, glitches working through the flesh. A metal performance in church with all its regality and sinister details. “36” makes for a great amalgam as the climax absolutely demolishes, the guitars slowing down, echoing through the church’s various chambers and hallways. “संसार,” referring to the life cycle, concludes the EP with piercing sounds and folksy hymns, a confusing sonic misdemeanor, but not enough to keep me away from the onslaught the band’s continuously surpassing.

2. The Lead, FLO

“Cardboard Box” may’ve boosted the London trio to virality, but The Lead understands the long game to break even. Y2K’s hot fashion, and each of these songs attest to the era: early Rihanna (“Summertime”) and Timbaland influences (“The Lead”) are just some references spotted, not to mention the chemistry calling back to the great girl groups of the ‘90s (think SWV, Destiny’s Child, and TLC). FLO channels their influences as a guide to climactic pop songs while also thinking economically. Because in this surging wave of instant gratification, the only way against the trend’s to keep things pushing, preferably with a good bridge.

1. White Ceiling / Black Dots Wandering Around, Parannoul

The most fleshed-out EP I heard in a while, most of it factoring in its longevity: 46 uninterrupted minutes of guitar noises and vocals crushed up like used folder paper. Drums crash and fizzle in this blocked-off basement, the one your dad warded off from the family so he can create his man cave. White Ceiling / Black Dots Wandering Around embraces this congestion with grace. “Soft Bruise” contain some of the most blissful melodies over sleepless piano jingles and revved guitar feedback. It’s almost like a jam session you hear downstairs; there’s a point where you can feel the band releasing any and all tension, the music starts to speak for itself. Enjoy with noise-cancelling headphones, and your own thoughts drift into the sky from your bedroom floor.

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