As summer approaches, new music is abundant. Here are a few of the albums I’ve been enjoying during the past month or so:
“Modern Vampires in the City” – Vampire Weekend
With their third album, New York band Vampire Weekend moved beyond their Afro-punk influences, developing a more mature style that parallels their deeper lyrics touching on death, love, and time. Songs like “Diane Young” and “Unbelievers” continue the more upbeat style of earlier albums that serve as catchy sing-a-long singles, while deeper cuts such as “Hannah Hunt” and “Step” showcase the bands ability to tell great stories and discuss more mature themes.
“Random Access Memories” – Daft Punk
On their first studio album in almost a decade, French house producers Daft Punk eschew the genre they essentially kicked off, forgoing EDM-styled songs for more ’70s and ’80s disco sounds. This is particularly seen in their desire to use real instruments, making them composers of songs by hiring studio musicians to bring to life the sounds they hear in their heads instead of computers. First single “Get Lucky” is quickly becoming the song of the summer. On first listen, nothing particularly stuck out to me on the album, but since then I haven’t been able to get it out of my head and now find myself revisiting the whole album almost once a day.
“Acid Rap” – Chance the Rapper
Following up his fantastic debut mixtape “10 Day” Chicago-native Chance the Rapper dropped this back in late April and it is quickly becoming one of the most beloved tapes of the year. Though his odd voice might be a bit jarring on first listen, Chance quickly proves himself to be one of the most adept and skillful rappers making music right now. His wordplay shines in every song, with great production. Also, the themes he discusses are particularly deep at some moments, though he is also able to kick back and just have fun with his music.
“Trouble Will Find Me” – The National
It is rare that a band with such a consistent formula and rarely varying style would find much success, but that is exactly what The National has done. On this release, they stick to their formula of essentially turning grief and depression into extremely moving songs. Although many of the songs deal with similar themes, The National doesn’t allow the songs to seem repetitive or boring, each track brings something new to the album creating a well-rounded album that succeeds in captivating the attention after multiple listens with each new time bringing something new to the table.
Other Albums Worth Listening To:
“Seabed” – Vondelpark
“If You Leave” – Daughter
“Monomania” – Deerhunter
“MCII” – Mikal Cronin
“Holo Pleasures” – Elvis Depressedly
“Obsidian” – Baths