Björk - Vulnicura [2015]

It is a little bit ironic for an artist like Björk that her return to form, which this album surely is, would be an album like Vulnicura. This level of quality was not expected. Björk is an incredible artist, but unlike Vulnicura, her past two albums have missed the mark. Volta was inconsistent, containing stunning songs like “Wanderlust” and “Vertabrae by Vertabrae” but at the same time containing songs with questionable production such as “Innocence” or “Declare Independence”. Next came Biophilia, which was easily her worst project to date, with a concept that ultimately proved to be a lot more interesting than the final musical execution of it. Moving on, the irony here is that Vulnicura has two aspects that were not present in any past Björk releases. The first being that, as many have pointed out, this album is by far the most personal, revealing, and lyrically literal album Björk has ever put out. This is not to suggest that everything she says on this album is literal, but it is very direct, especially during the first half. There are many lyrical metaphors and similes of course, but gone is the science of Biophilia or the supernatural stories of things like “Isobel”. Here we find Björk singing about her relationship and eventual break up with Matthew Barney, demanding “emotional respect” (“Stonemilker”), questioning if “he will come out of this loving me” (“Lionsong”) and wondering if there is anywhere to “pay respects for the death” of her family (“Family”).

D'Angelo - Black Messiah [2014]

There are some who waited almost 15 years for this album. There are many people who justifiably had no faith in this seeing the light of day. To use a hip hop analogy, take out the two previous classic albums and D'Angelo, before this, would be the original Jay Electronica. This is to say - loads of talent, long wait, media hype, quotes from famous peers, but no albums. People who follow D'Angelo, especially those who post on Okayplayer forums, knew the story all too well. Once upon a time a singer named D'Angelo released two fantastic records that arguably set a new bar for Neo-Soul. His musical chops and voice combined with a certain music video made him ridiculously famous. Perhaps he struggled with the fame, with being a sex symbol - the only way to really know is to ask the man. In any case, in the years after Voodoo, the public was patiently waiting, and eventually the public gave up.

Throughout these years, Questlove said many things about this album, some of them definitely being hyperbole. For example, in regards to D'Angelo's guitar playing, the drummer said this to Rollingstone in 2012: "I think in his head, if he doesn't surpass Eddie Hazel, Santana, James Blood Ulmer and Frank Zappa as an axeman, he doesn't want to share it with the world." Anyone who has listened to Black Messiah, which has a strong emphasis on D'Angelo's recently obtained prowess on guitar, knows that D'Angelo, while quite good, is not on the level of the people Questlove mentioned. Despite this, it's hard to blame Questlove for hyping this record up, considering that back then, he probably already knew it was going to be this good. Black Messiah does the thing that albums with meteoric hype behind them rarely do - it delivered. The abrupt release of the extremely funky "Sugah Daddy" as a single seemed random as hell at the time, and the fact that 12 hours later physical copies of a new D'Angelo album were in stores was shocking.

D'Angelo had already put out two stunning works of art. He didn't really owe anyone anything, but he also made people wait almost 15 years and the high amount of media teasing by Questlove did not exactly help matter. Everyone knew there were new songs, just go to YouTube and you can find live versions of "Really Love" and "Another Life" from 2012. Thanks to a recent Q&A, people on Okayplayer forums now know that the most recent song (yes, most recent) was written sometime in 2010. Despite all of this, with a product this excellent in hand, it's easy to forget about all of that. Black Messiah is somehow on par with the quality of the first two D'Angelo records. The voice is still fantastic and the style, while notably heavier, is still instantly classic.

The first vocals that hit the listener come from "Ain't That Easy", a tune that is clearly inspired by the likes of Sly & The Family Stone and Funkadelic. It's like getting hit with a tidal wave of soul - these are extremely powerful layered vocals. Next, nothing can prepare the listener for the raw energy and frantic chaos of "1000 Deaths", which is driven by urgent drum and bass work. It is followed by "The Charade", which sounds like something Prince might have done in a different life - it's a song that explodes with soul.

Although all the songs here are good, "Really Love" is arguably the best. A Spanish Flamenco inspired intro is probably not expected in a D'Angelo song (the guitar style on "Spanish Joint" is completely different), but it works perfectly. The song opens with a gorgeous transition between guitar and strings with seductive Spanish vocals in the background. The rest of the song manages to be just as good as the beginning, featuring beautiful, strings, horns and harps. After this, there is "Back To The Future", a fun tune that is given an extremely funky reprise five tracks later.

One possible criticism of this album is that despite the top notch melodies, it can be hard at times to make out exactly what D'Angelo is saying, but on "Till It's Done (Tutu)", the singer is loud and clear. "Till It's Done (Tutu)", with its questions of war, pollution and the human race in general, is probably the album's strongest track lyrically. Right after, "Prayer" immerses the listener in a funky spiritual atmosphere full of eerie gongs and skillful guitar work. The guitar on "Betray My Heart" is impressive as well, but in a different way, instead of the slightly psychedelic tone of "Prayer", D'Angelo opts for the clean guitar sound of a straight ahead jazzman.

The album ends with "Another Life", a song that could be described as D'Angelo releasing years of pent-up soul. Vocally, it's the most stunning song of the album. The entire second half is an incredible vocal call and response. It's the perfect way to end a ridiculously successful comeback record. If the next wait is another decade, at least there can be no doubt that the end product will be great.

   

CunninLynguists - Strange Journey Volume Three [2014]

CunninLynguists' strong discography has established them as one of the best hip-hop groups of their era. Producer Kno's unique and atmospheric approach always features great sample-work and meshes perfectly with Deacon and Natti's strong lyrics, flow, and wordplay. A few years before the release of Strange Journey Volume Three, the group announced that they wanted their fans to vote on the featured collaborators. The result is a top-notch album packed with features.

Wendy & Bonnie - Genesis [1969]

It is hard to believe due to the quality on display here, but Wendy & Bonnie were 17 and 13 respectively when they released this album. Gary McFarland, who was primarily known for arranging jazz, produced this entire album and enlisted various musicians from L.A. to help out. Genesis features invaluable contributions from Mike Lang and Mike Melvoin on the keyboards, Larry Carlton on guitar, Randy Cierly on bass and kalimba, and Jim Keltner on the drums. In short, it can be described as a psychedelic pop album with some slight influences from Brazilian music that was also being released at the time. One thing that stands out in the initial listens, besides the fact that the sisters' voices are drop-dead gorgeous, is definitely the guitar playing. Carlton and Bonnie really do a great job throughout the album - a great example of this being the second half of “You Keep Hanging Up on My Mind”. The guitar playing on this album, whether it is done by Carlton or Bonnie, is mostly very clean, with the occasional appearance of an electric solo.

Abbey Lincoln - Abbey Is Blue [1959]

Abbey is Blue is a record that stands out among many other vocal jazz albums by Abbey Lincoln herself and other singers of this classic jazz era, just as much for what it does include as for what is often not present in this album. The first thing that stands out here, besides Lincoln's gorgeous voice of course, is what it lacks: elaborate arrangements of any kind. In terms of the band that accompanies Lincoln throughout the album, everything here is generally quite minimal. This sparseness here is arguably one of the most important aspects of this album. The band, which included talented musicians such as Kenny Dorham (trumpet) and Max Roach (drums), contributed the perfect amount of mellow, sparse and often melancholic sounding accompaniment, giving the space needed for Lincoln's beautiful voice and lyrics to take center stage.