Musicwhore.org Music and memory

Men, are you OK? You haven’t released an album I could consider a favorite all year. Perhaps by the end of the year, you will be shut out. One can only hope.

Shiina Ringo, Hojoya

Shiina sounds energized with other women to collaborate on Hojoya. My favorite, of course, is her collaboration with Nocchi because it’s really nice to hear Nocchi without a ton of effects.

Beyoncé, Act II: Cowboy Carter

The ambition on this album is on par with Shiina Ringo’s Shousou Strip. I’m just a tad frustrated it’s taken more than 20 years for an American artist to reach that level.

Tiffany Poon, Diaries: Schumann

I’m not usually moved by music from the Romantic Era, but Tiffany Poon’s enthusiasm for Robert Schumann spurred me to learn pieces from the Album for the Young. I can understand why she loves Schumann so much.

Kim Gordon, The Collective

I think I would be more interested in clipping if their albums sounded more like The Collective.

Sleater-Kinney, Little Rope

I would probably put this album on par with No Cities to Love.

Cocco, Beatrice

The storm clouds of Rapunzel seems to have returned.

Reissues

Utada Hikaru, SCIENCE FICTION

I’m not sure I’m on board with re-recording some of the early songs, but as someone trying to salvage some of my own 20-year-old project files from bitrot, I wouldn’t be surprised if some practical decisions went into some of these re-done tracks.

Onitsuka Chihiro, UN AMNESIAC GIRL First Code -2000-2003-

I don’t mind that Onitsuka Chihiro’s various labels have tried to mine this fertile period of her career.

Nakamori Akina, CRUISE (2024 Lacquer Master)

CRUISE came at a time of personal turmoil for Nakamori Akina, and the narrative surrounding this album seems to have doomed it as a lesser work among critics. It’s the first album of hers I owned, so perhaps I have a soft spot for it. But there’s a melancholy to this album that feels genuine.

Catalog

Aran Tomoko, Fuuyu Kuukan

It astonishes me this album was released in 1983. Even in 2024, Fuuyuu Kuukan has some unhinged moments that feel more at home on a Shiina Ringo album. Aran Tomoko has a versatile voice, rocking out on one track, then becoming demure on another. If it were released in 2024, Fuuyuu Kuukan easily competes with Cowboy Carter, brat and Hojoya.

John Zorn, Simulacrum

John Zorn’s Simulacrum ensemble could have easily filled out this portion of the half-year retrospective because only Zorn could bring out the heavy metal in organ improvisation. But this first outing pretty much sums up what you’ll hear on the group’s subsequent albums.

Tyler Childers, Rustlin’ in the Rain

Not gonna lie: this album show up on this list on the strength of “In Your Love” and the accompanying music video. But the rest of the album is also good, and at a running time barely 28 minutes, it’s no-nonsense about delivering those goods.

Olivia Rodrigo, SOUR

It’s clear Olivia Rodrigo is descended from the music DNA that gave us Avril Lavigne, and for some reason, I’d much rather listen to Rodrigo. Rodrigo has the cleverness and grit that I never got from Lavigne, who always struck me as a pastiche of a rocker grrl.

Haim, Women in Music, Pt. III

Oh, so that’s why everyone loses their shit over Haim.

Brian Fennell, Safety Songs

Youthful works from the guy who would eventually launch Barcelona and SYML.

Yellow Magic Orchestra, Naughty Boys

For years, I’ve been told that Yellow Magic Orchestra has been “influencial,” but I never encountered an explanation of why that’s so. Then I picked up Naughty Boys and could see the connective tissue between Kraftwerk and the many ’80s bands that dominated the airwaves in my youth.

Tags: aran tomoko, beyonce, brian fennell, cocco, favorite edition, haim, john zorn, kim gordon, nakamori akina, olivia rodrigo, onitsuka chihiro, robin holcomb, shiina ringo, sleater-kinney, tiffany poon, tyler childers, utada hikaru, yellow magic orchestra