[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/110721337″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
26. Huerco S. embraced the ether and brought us along for the ride, producing subtle/smudged dance music that’s suspended in time rather than a race against it.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/98697649″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
27. Joanna Gruesome gave indie pop a much-needed kick in the pants by dousing their candy-coated melodies in feedback and the occasional hardcore punk howl.
28. Deerhunter delivered their scuzziest set of songs yet, led, as always, by Bradford Cox, who delved further into his version of a frenzied rock ‘n’ roll frontman by frightening Jimmy Fallon with bloody, bandage-wrapped fingers and impressing Jared Leto with his impromptu acting skills.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/102734786″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
29. Luaka Bop treated their William Oneabor reissue like it was the Rodriguez-level discovery of the year, a mystery man who flipped Nigerian funk on its head with space-age hooks and sleek analog synths in the ’70s and early ’80s. No wonder why Moog lent the label custom keys for a special remix project in the months ahead.
30. David Bowie tricked us all into thinking he’s at death’s door by delivering a sentimental single about Potzdamer Platz. “Where Are We Now?” was an anomaly on an album full of classic Thin White Duke numbers however, making The Next Day Bowie’s most crowd-pleasing efforts in decades. Maybe that’s why it referenced Low‘s album cover by slapping a new title across its sleeve, a self-referential slab of street art in its own roundabout way.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/104394251″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
32. Julia Holter finally brought her high concept hooks into full relief, setting her wildly expressive vocals against a playful orchestra pit that shred its sheet music and decided to go with the flow instead.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/106182877″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
33. Nils Frahm redefined the “live album” with a field recording mindset that’s more indicative of his wide-ranging talents—neo-classical nods, cosmic synths and dollops of dub collide throughout—than a standard studio session could ever hope to be.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/65677556″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
34. Darkstar cut their loose ties to the post-dubstep contingent with a dream world that doesn’t dissipate until the very last drone tones of “Hold Me Down,” a meditative closer that’ll realign your chakras in no time.
35. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds rang in their fifteenth record by showing their sensitive sides. On the surface, at least; as suggested by its sparse, shame-ridden sleeve, Push the Sky Away is a discomforting descent into a self-made hell. It’s as if the Bad Seeds exorcised their collective id on the last two Grinderman LPs and decided to dial all that pelvis-thrusting rock ‘n’ roll down with a fully realized world of quiet storms and off-camera killings. Because what could be more unsettling than a record that’s full of restraint?
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/102329435″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
36. Trevor Jackson directed a sequel to his definitive grab bag of industrialized grooves. A masterclass in leathery dance loops and steely mood swings.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/93549370″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
37. Boards of Canada held a listening party out in the desert for their first full-length in eight years, reminding all the Radiophonic revivalists out there who left their library records and break-driven sample banks out in the sun first. At least until the rain kicks in, leaving the duo’s recordings waterlogged and warped, as psychedelic as ‘downtempo’ productions get.
38. Charli XCX used her “I Love It” money to make a record that’s weirder and wilder than her ghost-writing gigs, from a Brooke Candy guest spot (“Cloud Aura”) to a bonkers Gold Panda break (“You — Ha Ha Ha”).
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/105005293″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
39. Sandwell District kept its collective spirit alive with a posthumous Fabric mix (tightly edited by Function and Regis), a long overdue solo album (Function’s Incubation LP) and individual collaborations with Russell Haswell, Tropic of Cancer, Vatican Shadow and more.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/93874710″ params=”color=040100&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
40. James Blake’s Overgrown LP vaulted his skewered vision of 21st century soul straight into the stratosphere. And the singer/producer won the Mercury Prize because of it, beating David Bowie and Disclosure while keeping one foot in the underground with his newly minted 1-800-Dinosaur imprint.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/92148205″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
41. Mount Kimbie’s two King Krule collaborations were more compelling than his entire solo LP, making us wish the singer would meld his ample storytelling skills with an album’s worth of whacked-out loops and laser-cut synth lines.
42. DJ Koze brought a much-needed sense of humor to an underground dance scene that’s getting darker by the day. Bonus points for not letting his illustrious guest list (Caribou, Apparat, Matthew Dear, Milosh, Ada) get in the way of what’s clearly a DJ Koze album, too; they enhance his every move instead, coloring right outside the lines on cue.
43. J Dilla’s final, career-defining statement got split into eight 7-inch singles, forcing us all to face what a genius he was sample by sample, loop by loop. Talk about keeping that fire burning, even as life threatens to put it out for good.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/86482238″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
44. Young Echo translated their popular radio podcast into a long player that covers the collective’s robust blend of post-apocalyptic pop, dubstep, techno and grime. Bristol hasn’t had an underground uprising this promising since the Wild Bunch.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/12586926″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
45. Leyland Kirby reactivated his Stranger alias, sending a chill across our spines like Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works sessions, if they were hijacked and hastily remixed by Wolf Eyes.
46. Autre Ne Veut wrote a love song about his grandmother. And it was devastating.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/115798948″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
47. Heatsick did the unthinkable in the rarified realm of gallery-repped dance grooves: he produced chin-scratching cuts with a snicker and a smile.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/110704197″ params=”color=000000&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
48. Laurel Halo shifted gears once again, silencing the queasy pop songs of her last LP in lieu of hardware headiness and live wire loops.
49. Savages couldn’t quite capture their live show in the studio, but that’s okay—lightning that breathtaking isn’t meant to be bottled.
50. Broadcast made an imaginary soundtrack to a film within a film, honoring Trish Keenan’s legacy, and in some ways, furthering it.
