20. Fine Ho, Stay by Flo Milli
Flo Milli begins her second album on a much harder edge, recalling some ’90’s style hardcore bragging. She toughens her delivery and delivers a crackling "Understand." Then she is back to her more playful persona on “New Me.” No one in contemporary hip hop can make vulgarity and raunch sound as sweet and pretty as Flo Milli. Her delivery remains engaging throughout.
By the time she gets to the centerpiece – a new version of her hit “Never Lose Me,” with support from both SZA and Cardi B – you have to be sold. Flo Milli can make aggressive dis tracks sound like gorgeous pop or can make romantic pop sound edgy as hell. There may be a type of song she can’t pull off, but if so, I haven’t heard it yet. As good as “Never Lose Me” is, I find myself returning to the immersive “Can’t Stay Mad” even more often.
19. New Heaven by Inter Arma
This title track from Richmond’s Inter Arma’s sixth studio album is so disorienting that you may wonder exactly what brand of metal you are listening to. There are machine-gun drums and growling, snarling vocals, but there are also wild, experimental guitar runs and various other sounds that seem to leak in from nowhere. “Violet Seizures” and “Desolation’s Harp” are both titanic grindcore tracks that never fail to reach for unexpected progressions.
That is true of the album overall. The theatrically gothic “Gardens in the Dark” is begging to be the soundtrack to a new remake of some old horror franchise. And the portentous closing track “Forest Service Road Blues” could have been a Dire Straits song if Mark Knopfler were possessed of a deep southern drawl – or perhaps was just possessed. It even has a fiddle, sounding as mournful as a fiddle ever did.
18. Split by Dancer & Whisper Hiss
Dancer is a peppy dance band from Glasgow. Whisper Hiss plays spiky dream pop from their home base in Portland, Oregon. If you use some fuzzy math, Athens, Georgia kind of forms the point of a triangle between the two. And so it was that HHBTM Records in Athens put together an album featuring six songs from each band. Usually, such experiments are kind of hit and miss. For some glorious reason, this one was all hit.
The discoey pulse of “Priority Girl” matches the energetic grunge of “Fawn.” Dancer can do a nice Talking Heads on “Gig Economy” while Whisper Hiss fuzzes up a Shangri-Las vibe on “Never Again.” Gemma Fleet, the lead singer of Dancer, has the style. Whisper Hiss’s Rhiannon Flowers has the power. I’m not sure why it works, but HHBTM’s Mike Turner saw it, and that’s why he’s running a cool record label. In his notes about the two bands, he compares them both to Athens’ legends Pylon and if you’re making people think of Pylon, you rate high in the world of indie rock.
17. Funeral for Justice by Mdou Moctar
Sometimes, you just need to hear some kick-ass guitar-based rock & roll. When Mdou Moctar does it, you know you’ll get a lot more than that, with incisive commentary on whatever is going on in the world. But even if you don’t understand the Tamasheq language he mostly sings in, you know you are hearing urgent music.
The title track from Funeral for Justice is a searing guitar track. He follows it with some all-encompassing Southern blues. Of course, being provincial, I am translating this into my North American reference points. Moctar’s music is primarily inspired by desert blues, the hybrid blend of rock and blues with the Tuareg music of his native Nigeria.
That’s how he ends up with the fabulous guitar workout “Oh France,” which places its inventive electric guitar inside a propulsive tribal rhythm. Moctar has what appears to be an acoustic version of Funeral… due out this February, and if the early cuts are any indication, it is going to be a strong contender for Best-Of lists a year from now.
16. Cowboy Carter by Beyonce
I’m not going to tell you anything about Cowboy Carter that you don’t already know. It’s a great album, but then, we have come to expect that from Beyonce. It is a genuine country album in the same way Ray Charles’ New Sounds in Country and Western Music was written more than sixty years ago. Some battles rage for a long, long time.
Forget the “statement” that she may or may not be making about which artists are permitted to do which styles. You’re left with many great tracks. “American Requiem” brings more rock, blues, and gospel sounds to the mix than we might expect. We might not expect to hear a cover of the Beatles “Blackbird.” If she offered an exclusive mix of songs like that, maybe the argument over the authenticity of it as a country album could get traction.
But beginning with “16 Carriages,” we are in the country, and it’s a consistently involving, surprising place to be. Later, we get a radio skit with Willie Nelson setting up the most obvious country-pop on the album, “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Dolly Parton introduces the slinky, blues-drenched “Jolene.” Dolly will sing later on, as will Willie. And Miley. And Post Malone. And Shaboozey.
Of course, none of that guarantees the album will kill. Beyonce’s presence mostly takes care of that. I think it’s finally going to get Beyonce her Album of the Year Grammy this year, though that will have at least a little bit to do with politics. My only complaint – and it’s a minor one – is that across 80 minutes and 27 tracks (some of which are spoken word skits), the album occasionally lags. Maybe trimming it back a bit would have made it stronger. But scaling back isn’t exactly in this performer’s DNA.
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