{"id":483,"date":"2013-01-02T17:22:37","date_gmt":"2013-01-02T17:22:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/?p=483"},"modified":"2013-01-02T19:53:42","modified_gmt":"2013-01-02T19:53:42","slug":"chafin-seymours-hip-hop-pop-rock-list-for-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/?p=483","title":{"rendered":"Chafin Seymour’s Hip-Hop-Pop-Rock List for 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

For our site’s inaugural posting of 2013, I proudly & happily yield the floor to Chafin Seymour (BFA, Dance, <\/em>The Ohio State University, 2012), who has picked up his father’s end-of-the-year compulsion\u00a0<\/a>to assess the things he hears and let the world in on what he thinks of them. Unlike his father, he<\/em> does his list, you will note, in ascending, rather than descending,\u00a0order (“Opa Letterman Style!” And, no, you wont find no damn Psy on this list.)\u00a0He also shows righteous critical acumen that, were I an overly envious person, would make my teeth ache. Instead, “my heart soars like a hawk”! (Name the movie. Win no prizes.) It would seem I have helped re-birth Lester Bangs, though he dances a whole lot better and takes better care of himself…I hope.<\/em><\/p>\n

These are my top albums of 2012. I will not go overboard with my intro except to say that 2012 was an exceptionally strong and eclectic year in independent and pop music, and I had a hell of a time deciding what I wanted to write about for this year end wrap-up. I decided on these fourteen albums (four honorable mentions and a top ten) arduously and carefully.<\/p>\n

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Honorable Mention<\/strong><\/em>
\nKiller Mike \u2013 R.A.P. Music<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Cagey rap veteran Killer Mike finally does his name and reputation justice. Independent, political, and fiercely opinionated, Mike makes the album we have been waiting for, with help from Brooklyn producer El-P, who takes some of the usual distortion out of beats in favor of banging southern bass. It is a smart choice that allows Mike to rock in his comfort zone from start to finish.<\/p>\n

TNGHT \u2013 TNGHT EP<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

THE party record of the year, hands down. This five song EP from producers Lunice and Hudson Mohawke was a giant smack across the face of modern dance music. Combining \u201ctrap\u201d style southern hip-hop bass with elements of House and Dubstep (note the intense-ass-drops on every track), TNGHT reveled in simplicity and space while urging pop consumers and club kids to \u201cwake the f\u2019 up\u201d and notice some real \u201cish.\u201d<\/p>\n

How To Dress Well – Total Loss<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This was the first proper cohesive album from How To Dress Well\u2019s Torn Krell. He continues to play with traditional R&B arrangements by taking out all the warm and fuzzy stuff to leave you with an anxious, empty sound. He does let some color in on tracks like \u201c& It was U\u201d but overall stays distant. Never has a bad break-up (and crippling depression) sounded so smooth.<\/p>\n

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\nBurial \u2013 Kindred EP & Truant\/Rough Sleeper<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I have always described Burial as being on \u201canother level\u201d from other electronic producers and the two EPs released by William Bevan this year continue to prove me right. While eleven-minute electronic house opuses steeped in otherworldly distortion and dark ambiance may not be the most palatable thing in the world, it is good to see an artist unafraid to explore the world he chooses to create. While we wait for another jaw dropping album like 2007\u2019s Untrue<\/em> these two excellent EPS will just have to be enough.<\/p>\n

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Top 10<\/strong><\/em>
\n10. Four Tet \u2013 Pink<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As any one who has spent a lot of time around me in the past year can tell you, I have been really<\/strong><\/em> into house music. In fact, much of this fascination was instigated by Four Tet\u2019s fabulous Fabriclive mix from earlier this year. Many of the tracks off of Pink<\/em> were released as singles or EPs,\u00a0but they were really begging to be compiled. Four Tet (actual name, Kieran Hebden) is an electronic music veteran. He has put out six very different albums and more live mixes and song remixes than I care to imagine. Pink<\/em> finds Hebden diving head first into the club. Where earlier records were rhythmically restrained in their minimalist tendencies, Pink<\/em> lets the rhythm drive and builds the structure around those. Loops abound and bass pounds, but you never get the sense that Heben is leading you on aimlessly. This is music based in his roots, and you can tell he cares. This is really a great introduction to house music for someone with little to no experience, and rarely does a modern producer delve so deeply with no effort showing. Never has so much thought gone into music that encourages folks to stop thinking and just let go. You will dance my friends, oh yes, but you will do so consciously.<\/p>\n

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9. Alabama Shakes \u2013 Boys & Girls<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I was a little skeptical of Alabama Shakes before I listened to them somewhere between the NPR accolades and adult-contemporary following. However, I allowed myself to indulge in this album. It is four-piece, grungy southern blues-rock in its purest form, nothing overly deep or onerous, and that is key. What really reaches through the speaker and grabs you is lead singer Brittany Howard\u2019s primal howl. From the thumping \u201cHold On\u201d to the trickling \u201cGoin to the Party\u201d to the love ballad of the year \u201cYou Ain\u2019t Alone,\u201d the consistency, believability, and sense of desperation of her vocals make up this album\u2019s driving force. While there were other notable blues-rock releases this year, namely Jack White\u2019s strong solo album Blunderbuss<\/em>, nothing stuck in my mind so concretely as Boys & Girls<\/em>. In this case, less is most definitely more.<\/p>\n

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8. Jessie Ware \u2013 Devotion<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In a post-Adele world how does a young, female, British singer-songwriter make her work stand out? There probably isn\u2019t one right answer to that question. But Jessie Ware certainly offers an intensely-appealing album of suggestions. Ms. Ware made her start singing hooks on electronic dance songs by the likes of SBTRKT and much of that club influence spills over into Devotion,<\/em> her first solo work. However, despite the \u201cof-the-moment\u201d nature of the production Ware manages to expertly write and sing timeless love songs. The centerpiece ballad \u201cWildest Moments\u201d is a song that could have gallivanted into glory by expressing the joys of a one-night stand or healthy sexual relationship. Instead, Ware manages to add uncertainty and poignancy by singing about a relationship that only makes sense to the two people involved. This attention and care makes an album that could easily have been\u00a0just another\u00a0pop-diva\u2019s introduction into a collection of smart artistic choices and memorably intimate melodies.<\/p>\n

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\n7. Grizzly Bear \u2013 Shields<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be up front: I love Grizzly Bear, always have. Ever since I heard those first tenuous notes of 2006\u2019s Yellow House<\/em> followed by the complete work-of-art that is 2008\u2019s Veckatimest,<\/em> Grizzly Bear has managed to run the emotional gauntlet from warm intimacy to cold distance. Shields<\/em> finds the Brooklyn band venturing out into the wilderness to look beyond their own backyard for influence. Musical references range from jazz to The Beatles; somehow they manage do it all justice. The arrangements on this album conjure up landscapes as breathtaking as they are intimidating. You can feel that Shields<\/em> came to be, relatively seamlessly and naturally when compared to the endlessly worked-over quality of earlier albums. In interviews, Grizzly Bear has said that this album was the most collaborative in terms of songwriting, and you can feel the vibe of a band intensely comfortable working together. In lesser hands, songs like these could easily be sappy or overly buttoned-up; in this case, it\u2019s just What They Do. I\u2019ll be damned if I can think of a band that does it better.<\/p>\n

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\n6. Beach House \u2013 Bloom<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most glaring critique I keep hearing about Beach House\u2019s Bloom<\/em> is that it \u201csounds too much like their earlier stuff.\u201d While this is true, that fact is also precisely what makes Bloom<\/em> such a strong effort. It has taken three other albums, but Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally finally take their synth-and-guitar-driven-dream-pop out of the bedroom and into the big wide world. The depth and scope of this album is impressive, as every song seems to, indeed,\u00a0\u201cbloom\u201d from start to finish. Legrand\u2019s voice is as scintillating as ever and the arrangements are indeed lush. However, her newfound lyrical assertions as well as the use of more confident percussion and rhythmic structures deepen and widen\u00a0a sound that could easily peg a less-adept band into a corner. Beach House knows where their niche is and, instead of shying away from that, they have found a way to dive deeper into it. Bloom<\/em> seems to say, in response to the criticism mentioned earlier, \u201cYeah it does and try to tell me you don\u2019t love it anyway.\u201d I can\u2019t, and neither should you.<\/p>\n

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\n5. Grimes \u2013 Visions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Grimes is definitely a product of our over-digitized culture. Canadian art-student Claire Boucher makes music entirely on her laptop using technology that is, relatively speaking, available to anyone. She has garnered a following and buzz using just the Internet, no record label needed, and Visions<\/em> is Boucher\u2019s most accessible release to date. Despite being an indie darling (thank you Pitchfork), Boucher does something unexpected here by making something she clearly enjoys as opposed to trying to please critics or an audience (a tactic, I believe, more artists, in and out of music, should look into). You can tell she is having a lot of fun with this record. Her layering of her own sugar sweet vocals over gloppy, bounding digital tracks is equally appealing and subversive. The fact that you can hardly understand her lyrics (I\u2019m pretty sure she slips into singing in Japanese on a couple tracks) is part of the escapist absurdity of it all. Visions<\/em> is not the easiest album to listen to, to be fair. But it truly grows on you, going from ridiculous to danceable to contemplative in just a few minutes, further reflecting the over-stimulating effects of the \u00a0Internet. By allowing yourself to revel in the commentary as well as the fun, Visions<\/em> becomes a worthy indie-pop experience.<\/p>\n

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\n4. Kendrick Lamar \u2013 good kid, m.A.A.d city<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

good kid, m.A.A.d. city<\/em> has already been hailed by some critics as, \u201cthe most important commercial rap album in the last decade.\u201d So let\u2019s calm down and start by jumping off the Kendrick Lamar bandwagon for a second. Yes, he is a skilled lyricist with a strong instinct for radio-friendly hooks. Yes, he expertly chooses assorted beats from the best of today\u2019s hip-hop producers. Yes he\u2019s been featured on every hot hip-hop track over the past six months. Yes, he can count such industry heavyweights as Lady Gaga and Dr. Dre in his corner. However, despite the buzz, what stands out most about Kendrick Lamar is his ambition. This album is subtitled a \u201cShort Film\u201d and indeed the scope of the narrative-driven LP can feel a bit cinematic at times. It contains twinges of na\u00efvet\u00e9, with stories of adolescent peer-pressure and family alcoholism (\u201cSwimming Pools (Drank)\u201d), mixed with youthful bravado (\u201cBackseat Freestyle\u201d), and a dash of timeless swagger (\u201cBitch, Don\u2019t Kill My Vibe\u201d). At the edge of it all gnaws the darkness and emptiness of growing up in South Central L.A. gang culture (or, for that matter, any violent American urban center) and the cultural contradictions often present in African-American culture, such as devotion to God and religion equal to that of substance abuse and violence. It remains to be seen where this album will fall historically; hence my tentative urging to give it some breathing room. It is, nevertheless, instantly recognizable as an important and original portrait of urban music in 2012 — and, by far, the strongest rap offering I have heard from a new artist in quite some time.<\/p>\n

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3. Frank Ocean \u2013 channel ORANGE<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There is little doubt in my mind that Frank Ocean is the future of urban and pop-music. I am also decidedly OK with that. After an early mixtape in 2011, the phenomenal Nostalgia, ultra<\/em>, and tabloid fodder regarding his sexuality, Ocean, whose birth name is Christopher Breaux, emerged from the hype with the meticulously-crafted channel Orange<\/em>. The album is meant to transcend boundaries and identities, and it does. At first listen, it can come off as simply a strong debut from a pop singer. You can feel how much\u00a0Ocean has sharpened his teeth\u00a0while ghostwriting for such artists as Justin Bieber and John Legend. However, upon repeat listening, one can begin to recognize channel Orange<\/em> as a much stronger statement; not just on Ocean\u2019s pop sensibility but on America\u2019s. The fact that a song as cloyingly sweet as \u201cThinkin\u2019 Bout You\u201d can slide into play on urban radio stations next to Rick Ross and Meek Mills, while still being a sing-along favorite for soccer moms, is both impressive and intelligent. This eclectic, constantly-shifting mix of pop ideas is so deftly, almost nonchalantly, executed that by the time you realize you\u2019re listening to a John Mayer guitar solo over gloomy, ambient synths at the end of \u201cPyramids,\u201d\u00a0 it\u2019s almost too late. From start to finish, Frank Ocean plays to our comfort zone while periodically throwing in ideas you would not expect. A delight to listen to as well as to discern, channel Orange\u00a0<\/em>is an unexpected pop pleasure.<\/p>\n

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\n2. Flying Lotus \u2013 Until the Quiet Comes<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This album represents a musical and intellectual quandary to many people. A traditionally hip-hop\/electronic producer strips down his digital cacophony with (get this) live musicians. Steve Ellison (a.k.a. Flying Lotus) has embraced his heritage. He is the great nephew of Alice and John Coltrane. After releasing three albums to increasing critical acclaim he arrives with the wonderfully-understated Until the Quiet Comes.<\/em> It is, in essence, an electronic jazz album. But before you write it off as overly experimental, just put it on and let it take you for a ride. The way in which Ellison can synthesize so many disparate elements (African percussion, free jazz, West Coast hip-hop etc.) into a cohesive sonic journey is a wonder to behold. The influence of fellow Brainfeeder Collective member, Thundercat is clearly discernable in the strong bass lines and psychedelic milieu. The use of live set musicians, as opposed to exclusively digital instrumentation, further expands Ellison\u2019s current trajectory. Nothing here seems forced. And despite existing in a clear and heady intellectual space, there is something discernibly intimate and personal about this album. You really feel as though Ellison has found his \u201cquiet\u201d place where all his musical ideas can flow organically and take shape on their own.<\/p>\n

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\n1. Dirty Projectors \u2013 Swing Lo Magellan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For those of us keeping score at home Swing Lo Magellan<\/em> represents Dave Longstreth\u2019s eighth album in the past decade with his Dirty Projectors project. What is most impressive about the latest effort is the seeming lack of it. Longstreth finally seems comfortable in his own skin as a songwriter. Not to say he has abandoned his distinctly complex vocal harmonies or tempo shifts, but he has found a way to not let his technical arrangements get in the way of simple and pleasurable song writing. Swing Lo Magellan<\/em> is a collection of literate love songs for a generation of young people hyper aware of the impending doom of society. However even in the darker moments of the album (such as \u201cOffspring are Blank\u201d), Longstreth trusts in his expressive and eclectic musicality to carry through while allowing himself to be lyrically playful. This is by far Dirty Projectors most accessible and fun release to date and it is undeniably catchy. Try getting the chorus from \u201cAbout to Die\u201d or \u201cImpregnable Question\u201d out your head after one listen\u2026Impossible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For our site’s inaugural posting of 2013, I proudly & happily yield the floor to Chafin Seymour (BFA, Dance, The Ohio State University, 2012), who has picked up his father’s end-of-the-year compulsion\u00a0to assess the things he hears and let the world in on what he thinks of them. Unlike his father, he does his list, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[134,107],"tags":[137,140,135,145,144,136,143,141,139,138,142],"class_list":["post-483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-history","category-jazz-reviews","tag-alabama-shakes","tag-beach-house","tag-chafin-seymour","tag-dirty-projectors","tag-flying-lotus","tag-four-tet","tag-frank-ocean","tag-grimes","tag-grizzly-bear","tag-jessie-ware","tag-kendrick-lamar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=483"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":489,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483\/revisions\/489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}