CyberPunk Essentials - Best of 2019

hello welcome to Gannon’s cyberpunk essentials. Here are the albums I listened to the most last year:

Weyes Blood, Titanic Rising

This is a beautiful album. Touching and neurotic, with soaring, moving hooks. I think I’ll be listening to this for a long time. Lyrically excellent, musically dense - every time I sit down to listen to this, I’m blown away with how many great songs it has, and how quick the listen feels. A masterpiece.

Big Thief, U.F.O.F. & Big Thief, Two Hands 

These guys deserve the praise they get. Both of these records are colossal, and its gotta take tremendous bravery to drop another release after you already hit one out of the park only 8 months previously. I love the way these records varies between tense psych acoustic numbers (UFOF) to cathartic rippers (Not). These are dense albums with a sound that’s familiar while also being still immediate and thrilling. Brilliant vision. Seriously, “Not” is such a fucking barnburner.

Great Grandpa, Four of Arrows

This one is cathartic ripper with huge hooks. I’m still listening to these songs into the ground - powerful stuff with a great sound. Still has me excited. Highly, highly recommend to Neoscum likers with a melancholy hearts who dig indie rock or pop punk. 

LUCKI, Freewave 3

LUCKI cultivates a singular sound taking the melancholy of soundcloud rap while (while cutting out that terrible melodic shit. Rappers: if you’re not Rod Wave, please stop singing), and keeps it lyrically direct. He’s got some ace production here, buoying his deadpan delivery and creating a really exciting sound. This hits for me. The snares and hi hats sound good, the piano compels and doesn’t get sappy. Lyrically, LUCKI uses the traditional trap background of women, drugs, and crime to delve into paranoia and loneliness. It’s walking through the rain music. IT will make you feel tough and make you cool for being sad.

SACRED PAWS, Run Around the Sun

A whirling afrobeat inspired propulsive and upbeat release. Love the voices of the two singers, both have a wonderful ear of lyrical delivery in a percussive back and forth. Always a good time putting this record on.

Holly Herndon, PROTO

This album has my tied for #1 favorite songs of the year: “Eternal” and “Frontier.” People made a lot of hay about how this album was written with help from an AI, and I’m excited to hear how she did it, because there is nothing inorganic about these recordings. This is pristine holy music. These choirs are transcendent, liek the music of alien gods. I love these songs, I’m sure the rest of the record will follow. Can’t recommend enough. 

Young Thug, So Much Fun

Every song on this album feels like a party. The production whips, the features kill, and Young Thug is in an elastic ecstasy. The dude is a genius. 

Kim Petras, Clarity

Similar to Weyes Blood, I found myself returning to this album frequently and continuing enjoying it. Kim is a master of pop - no one is bringing hooks like she brings. With all the treacly over enunciated uumpah production, her voice and sound are tremendous. It’s Kim for life.

Freddie Gibbs, Madlib, Bandana

Follow up to one of the greatest releases of the last decade. does not disappoint - Madlib brings a diverse sonic palette, and Gibbs continues to show off his immense lyrical ability and tremendous delivery.

Jessica Pratt, Quiet Signs

The album sounds out of time. Her voice sounds like nothing else - the way she plays guitar is transformative. Lyrically evocative of something distant - it takes you there.

Control Top, Covert Contracts

The album is top to bottom unrelenting post punk that pumps blood. Front-person Ali Carter has a spectacular voice and presence. One of the most exciting punk bands going. 

Maxo Kream, Brandon Banks

The album is lyrically beautifully, and it’ll snap your neck. Maxo is a great writer, with a great style, and the production backs him up through this release.

100 gecs, 1000 gecs

A top-down thrasher for those who are also suffering from terminal exposure to the internet.

ALLBLACK, Offest Jim, 22nd Ways

Great stuff from the west coast. I like ALLBLACK because his ad lib is thanking the listener for fucking with him. He’s also got the off beat rap thing down as good as it gets with stunning punchlines. His spastic lunging stlye is well paired with Offset Jim’s cooler trash talking. 

Charly Bliss,Young Enough

I really love the singles from their last album, so I was way stoked for this release. This is a fully realized album, with a vibrant heaping of young adult tragedy. I still enjoy listening back to this.

Gong Gong Gong 工工工,  Phantom Rhythm 幽靈節奏 (幽霊リズム)

Garage rock from china. Two dudes, no drums, all stellar garage riffs. Sparse but it’ll get you thrashing. I’ve had this on repeat lately.

Fury, Failed Entertainment

Hardcore that keeps melody, and keeps at a pace dominant enough so that you can rip to it, without turning into the speed polka that other hardcore groups fall into. Huge riffs here. Evocative of Rage Against the Machine and Refused in the best ways. You will rock to this.

Knocked Loose, A Different Shade of Blue

Serious unrelenting hardcore riffing, of the blackened sludge, double bass pedal variety. Not subtle, rocks hard.

AFTERWORD
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