The Top 25 Albums of 2021
#25: Ka - A Martyr’s Reward
(Abstract Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop)
On recent records, Ka has obsessed over the deconstruction of folklore, building his verses around cultural touchstones (be they Greek, Japanese, American, or otherwise) positioned as allegories for the rapper's personal struggles and hardships. On A Martyr's Reward, the figure being mythologized is not Orpheus or Cain, neither Toshiro Mifune or Frank Sinatra, but Ka himself, the mild-mannered Brownsville firefighter by day whose poetics have set a new standard for storytelling in the world of underground hip hop. His newest record does not disappoint in that regard; despite forgoing the reliance on metaphors and allusions in favour of a more direct style, Ka's words are still just as rewarding for the dutiful listener, layered and multifaceted yet unabashedly honest: "Enemy to many, wasn't equipped to be a friend/Don't fear death, 'cause every peer left, I get to see again". As per usual, the standout tracks (I Need All That, We Living/Martyr) are those with enough percussion to rescue Ka from his own inherent listlessness, and while the drumless approach continues to preempt enjoyment for many listeners, the need to meet Ka's music on its own terms is one of the many reasons he remains such a singular presence in his genre, well on his way to becoming a legend in his own right.
#24: R.A.P. Ferreira - the Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures
(Jazz Rap, Abstract Hip Hop)
After returning to the world of rap with last year's triumphant Purple Moonlight Pages, Rory Allen Phillip Ferreira's productivity has continued to see a renaissance in the form of not one but two albums released in 2021. The artist formerly known as milo bookended the year with a pair of scatterbrained sermons preaching his own aberrant philosophy, and while we can only guess at the true cause of Ferreira's regenesis, the Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures reaps many benefits from the fresh renewal of his musical zeal. The instrumentals are expectedly jazz-heavy, and Ferreira's lyricism as delightfully obscure as ever, while the shorter track lengths give him more leeway to bounce from thought to thought at will as he sharpens his meticulous flow to a finer point than ever. As unassuming as his latest effort may appear, never before has it been so easy to just sit back and let Ferreira's words carve a smooth path into parts unknown, picking out your favourite lyrical tidbits like bonbons and reveling in the vision of a man whose abstract artistry is as befuddling as it is inspiring.
#23: shame - Drunk Tank Pink
(Post-Punk, Art Punk)
Perhaps it was simply an issue of timing; less the month after the release of Drunk Tank Pink came the highly anticipated debut album from fellow UK post-punk outfit Black Country, New Road, and in the wake of this and similarly esoteric releases from bands such as Squid and black midi, the more traditional approach of shame was sadly all too easy to write off as an unremarkable footnote in the awkward dearth of new music that begins every calendar year. Foregoing the filled-out string section and protracted song lengths of their contemporaries proves to be no great loss, however, as shame mold their songwriting around established punk tenets in a way that leaves highlights like Born in Luton and Snow Day no less exciting for the loss of innovation. The riffs are consistently pummeling, the melodies are incisively and memorably constructed, and the result is a record that, while failing to hit the same highs as those willing to take risks and reinvent the wheel of post-punk, still manages to effectively capture everything that already makes the genre so irresistibly enjoyable.
#22: Ill Considered - Liminal Space
(Avant-Garde Jazz, Jazz Fusion)
Much of the spontaneity inherent in the previous nine self-titled releases from Ill Considered remains untouched on their latest album, even if its title alone proves that Liminal Space is a consciously separate affair in more ways than one. Their live improv performances, left relatively unaltered when pressed onto past records, have here been notably fleshed out in the studio by a fresh list of talented players, and the updated Ill Considered lineup brings a multifaceted sensibility to the group's avant-garde spirit. Musicians from every jazz scene and subgenre pool their expertise into the slick chaos of Sandstorm, the tense yet groovy Knuckles, the off-the-wall riffs running through Light Trailed and Dervish, and a host of other compositions whose quality rarely dips below excellent. Given how reliable as the group's improvisational formula has proved to be, to return after a two year gap with a project as intentional as Liminal Space was certainly a risk, but one that only serves to amply the magnitude of the album's success.
#21: City Girl - C-GIRL
(Indie Pop, Bedroom Pop)
As recent City Girl albums have drifted further and further from the often-dismissed stylings of lo-fi hip hop, more music in the vein of last year's Siren of the Formless and Goddess of the Hollow seemed a natural next step, pushing closer towards the realm of downtempo and similar electronic subgenres. Instead, C-GIRL is shaped around contributions from a number of guest vocalists, integrated into a record of subdued synthpop hooks and emotive R&B ballads. Both moods work surprisingly well on average for such a drastic stylistic pivot, and even if the more upbeat tracks (LET GO, PACK IT UP BOY) tend to stick out on repeat listens, the sedated closer SEA moves with a gentle potency unlike anything else in City Girl's catalogue. In a sense, that C-GIRL stands as one of City Girl's best projects is even more of a testament to its quality than the songs themselves; how many established artists could work to make their style more accessible, and still end up right at the cutting edge of their genre?
#20: Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey - Uneasy
(Avant-Garde Jazz)
A collaboration born of political disquiet, artistic veneration, and annual meetings of three exceptionally talented musicians at a jazz workshop in Banff, Uneasy is a work of wonderous and multifaceted appeal. The aptly-titled record pulses with an energy that feels at once urgent, unsettling, and awe-inspiring, an atmosphere only bolstered by the added political dimensions of pieces such as Combat Breathing and Children of Flint. Though Vijay Iyer deserves much credit for his compositional skill, all three musicians consistently hone in on an equilibrium that feels perfectly synchronous while still giving each their moments to independently impress. Iyer's emotive melodies on the aforementioned Children Of Flint, the carefully paced contributions from Linda May Han Oh on the title track, Tyshawn Sorey's nimble performance on a cover of Geri Allen's Drummer's Song; the resulting procession of career highlights may have been an expected result of bringing together three of the greatest jazz players alive, but that foresight does not diminish the album's power in the slightest, and the sheer amount of talent on perpetual display here is impressive enough all own its own.
#19: Jeff Rosenstock - SKA DREAM
(Ska Punk)
What happens when you take one of the most jubilant and explosive pop punk records in recent memory and decide to remake it from the ground up as a third-wave ska album? For Jeff Rosenstock, himself at least partially responsible for ska's enduring legacy via groups like Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, the result is a burst of orchestral elation that works far better than it probably should, as exciting for its nostalgic value as it is for the music itself. The legitimacy of Rosenstock's interest in the genre is probably what saves SKA DREAM from becoming the half-ironic gimmick project it sounds like at its lowest moments, even if the first half is packed with more than enough exuberance to hook most listeners instantaneously. His thoughtful solo work throughout the past decade will likely still reign supreme for many, but even if the original NO DREAM slightly edges out this album in terms of quality, to hear Jeff Rosenstock come back to ska punk after so many years without missing a beat is worth the price of admission all on its own.
#18: Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams
(Neo-Soul, Bedroom Pop)
In a vast ocean of indulgent neo-soul that has seen little evolution in the past decade, talent alone is not enough to separate an artist from the pack; something more is needed to nudge listeners from indifference to interest, even if that 'something' can often feel too tenuous to put an accurate label on. What Arlo Parks has to offer from this perspective is not immediately obvious, despite her lyrics skewing a tad more facetious that most of her closest peers and the intimate, closed-off aura of her production pulling Collapsed in Sunbeams towards the nascent genre of 'bedroom pop' on singles such as Black Dog and Eugene. They, alongside the empathetic ballad Caroline and other highlights, hint at a mature edge to Parks' songwriting that could prove an incredible asset should she manage to establish a niche within her genre. Like fellow UK singer and neo-soul breakout Lianne La Havas, Arlo Parks owes as much of her sound to Radiohead as she does to Erykah Badu, and while it remains to be seen whether she can scrounge up enough novelty to escape the shadow of those inevitable comparisons, her music is still more than enjoyable enough to heap praise upon in the meantime.
#17: Armand Hammer, The Alchemist - Haram
(Abstract Hip Hop)
Haram does not take its title (or its cover art) lightly; the word's literal definition of 'forbidden' is the key thematic device tying everything on the album together, and as with any Armand Hammer project, it's also the only real clue as to the duo's intentions you'll get without looking intently at every single word the say. Both ELUCID and billy woods have always suffused their verses with an arcane sort of density, but even if blinking for but a second still risks completely losing the thread of what they're rapping about, Haram stands out positively amidst an already considerable discography, for its diversity in sound if nothing else. Recruiting as eminent a name as The Alchemist for production pays obvious dividends on standouts like Black Sunlight and Falling out the Sky, but the rappers themselves are also pushing themselves and their art forward throughout, particularly on the intimate closer Stonefruit, constructed unlike anything its genre has ever heard before. Too comfortable outside the realm of normalcy to make any concessions for legibility, woods and ELUCID are more than happy to make the listener work for their own understanding, and Haram is all the richer an experience for forcing fans to meet it on its own merits.
#16: Richard Dawson, Circle - Henki
(Prog Rock, Krautrock)
For all of Richard Dawson's interminable creativity, his albums routinely struggle to bridge the disconnect between his ambitions and his audience. Conceptual and brilliant as his songwriting can be, the English folk auteur's eccentricities can often appear a double-edged sword, his songs routinely littered with strained falsettos and discordant string plucks which distract from the main thrust of his ingenuity. Not so on Henki, a fresh collaborative effort with Finnish rock band Circle; while Dawson's vocals still refuse to concede to normalcy, here his avant-folk musings are backed by a generous helping of krautrock and psychedelia, wedded perfectly to some of his most inventive and sprawling compositions yet. From Dionysus and Prometheus to squirrels and geographers, Dawson threads together stories and fables of all stripes, connected to one another by an overarching botanical theme and stretched to prog rock lengths so as to accommodate a flurry of inspiring melodies that grant an operatic importance to Dawson's own brand of folklore. The unexpected chemistry on display here is as much a draw as the writing or instrumentals alone, and it is that synthesis which provides the perfect canvas for Richard Dawson's first true masterpiece.
#15: Tyler, the Creator - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
(Hip Hop, Neo-Soul)
Born as much from nostalgia for the mixtape era of 2000s hip hop as it is from loneliness and heartbreak, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST is a somewhat abrupt step for the career arc of Tyler, the Creator, in attitude if not necessarily in quality. Abandoning much (though not all) of the pensive introspection that brought about his critical resurgence on Flower Boy and IGOR, Tyler instead defines his latest effort with self-conscious displays of luxury, confidence, and DJ Drama ad-libs, none of which are consistently applied with the care and purpose that characterized his last two albums. Still, the incredible run Tyler goes on throughout the first half of the tracklist (from the infectious and self-aware CORSO to the breezy WUSYANAME to the impressive displays of rapping talent on HOT WIND BLOWS) is enough to make his latest record not feel too out of place alongside its most recent predecessors. After Flower Boy and IGOR ushered in Tyler, the Creator's artistic renaissance, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST has proudly cemented his status as a musical and cultural icon, even if it remains the weakest of this most recent trilogy.
#14: BROCKHAMPTON - ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE
(Pop Rap, Contemporary R&B)
It's a shame that the turbulence surrounding BROCKHAMPTON and its members has so often bled (intentionally or otherwise) into their music, even if that too-honest transparency has been a part of the group's appeal since the SATURATION trilogy pushed them into the spotlight back in 2017. Though certainly no exception in that regard, the direction of ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE feels much more deliberate than usual, recapturing at least some of the aforementioned trilogy's youthful creativity while refining both the experimental and accessible standouts of their most recent albums. Kevin Abstract's saccharine hooks share space with grimy synthetic bangers, ambitious posse cuts, and a plethora of R&B ballads, the overall quality remains startlingly consistent for a group this routinely unstable. The decision to burn out or fade away is rarely one made consciously, and even if the possibility of no more BROCKHAMPTON music to follow seems increasingly likely by the day, this is far from a disappointing note to go out on.
#13: Cities Aviv - The Crashing Sound of How It Goes
(Experimental Hip Hop, Abstract Hip Hop)
"Let's make the day intentional/Let's make the face presentable" Gavin Mays avows at the start of his verse on Higher Up There, as the ominous, echoing vocal samples fade into the background and his words transition to a eulogy for the late MF DOOM that casts a melancholy shroud over the hour of music to follow. The Crashing Sound of How It Goes is a tapestry woven from pieces of musical history, as the Memphis rapper twists tidbits of inspiration from J Dilla, MIKE, the aforementioned DOOM, and so many more into a layered, multifarious exploration of sound that, derivative as it may seem, is entirely his own. Though his inspirations remain gracefully omnipresent, Gavin Mays manages to blend his years of experience under the Cities Aviv name as both a creator and connoisseur into a product packed with so many ideas both musically and emotionally evocative as to render it wholly distinct from anything to come before. Even at its most melancholy, The Crashing Sound of How It Goes constantly strives to move forward, to "make the day worth something"; that such artistic conviction led to the most exciting collection of Cities Aviv music to date feels all too fitting.
#12: Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth
(Neo-Soul, Conscious Hip Hop)
One would be hard-pressed to find a debut album that was brimming with as much talent and promise in merely one genre as Smiling with No Teeth displays across an staggering number of them. The sheer quantity of styles and moods that Genesis Owusu is not just adept at, but poised to become a revolutionary figure in, is astounding all on its own, but what truly makes this album special is how enjoyably it presents its unorthodoxy. For as much new ground as Owusu treads here, his musical flamboyance feels immediately at home in nearly every sound he adopts, and his experiments in neo-soul, funk, rap, or any other genre (while notably unrefined at times) are all seamlessly united under the curtain of Owusu's overwhelming personality. That the Ghanaian-Australian artist will manage to fully realize all his emergent potential is still uncertain, but that his debut is receiving such rampant and universal acclaim in the meantime is an entirely unsurprising outcome, and the least that Owusu deserves for such an inspiring first effort.
#11: CHVRCHES - Screen Violence
(Synthpop)
As unlikely as were the hits CHVRCHES generated off of their 2013 album The Bones of What You Believe, the fresh zeal with which they have returned to the world of synthpop nearly a decade later is at least as amazing a development. In a sense, though, neither occurrence is particularly surprising; the Scottish trio's debut record was essentially an extended showcase of the same fundamentals that propelled its singles like Gun and The Mother We Share into the collective pop consciousness, and it is those same fundamentals that have led them to this, confidently their best full-length release. Far from a reorganization of the synthpop genre, Screen Violence is from front to back an immaculate demonstration of why the style has persisted through half a century of musical innovation: evocative instrumentals, bombastic hooks, and vocals that draw the listener into a synthetic world they'll never wish to leave. The intense emotion pouring out of every song here proves definitively that CHVRCHES need not live and die by the strength of their singles, and can even maintain an impressive level of quality across the entirety of what ends up as one of the best synthpop albums in recent memory.
#10: Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END!
(Post-Rock, Drone)
Preserving a fondness for the cryptic that has persisted across over two decades of their existence, Godspeed’s latest album premiered in a livestream a week before its official release, accompanied visually by a spotty and abstract projection of images: urban landscapes belching out fire and smoke, distorted Rorschach-like blots of black and white, juxtapositions of civil unrest and government crackdowns. Though much of the found footage was no doubt meant to convey tone and atmosphere rather than a coherent message, as the curious affair began and the enrapt virtual audience was engulfed by the erratic opening blares of Military Alphabet, one word flashed over and over on the screen, unsteady yet distinct: HOPE. Godspeed You! Black Emperor are uncannily effective at using their art form to aurally epitomize the human condition, a talent that has reappeared in some form on every project since their inception yet has not sounded this impactful on a record in years. G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! is not a reinvention, either for Godspeed or for the genre of post-rock as a whole, but their confidence in our ability to rescue the world from our own sins is enough reason to separate this album from its legacy and commend it for its own creativity and vision.
#9: Mach-Hommy - Pray for Haiti
(Abstract Hip Hop, Jazz Rap)
It would be all too easy to bestow a larger-than-life importance upon Pray for Haiti within the canon of Mach-Hommy's discography, not only for the surprising level of mainstream acclaim it generated for such an (often deliberately) inaccessible artist, but for its role as definitive proof of the rekindled rapport between Mach and fellow East Coast rapper Westside Gunn. Gunn's contributions (as executive producer and otherwise) and other notable factors (Mach's thoughtful observations re. his Haitian heritage chief among them) certainly add to this record's charm; ultimately, however, there is no extraneous explanation for this album's success that can take away from its remarkable consistency. This is hands down the strongest collection of Mach-Hommy material ever amassed under one roof, his verses gliding from one captivating instrumental to the next without sacrificing an iota of the brusque arrogance that keeps his $200 vinyl records perpetually out of stock. With exceptions to this excellence numbering so few that they aren't even worth mentioning, Pray for Haiti is an blatant career highlight for Mach-Hommy, Westside Gunn, and the litany of producers supporting the duo's vision, one that can and will stand proudly on its own appeal no matter where Mach's obtuse artistry takes him from here.
#8: Backxwash - I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES
(Industrial Hip Hop, Horrorcore)
It's strange to think of describing an album this abrasive as 'catchy', but for all of the ways Backxwash furthers her artistry on I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES, easily the most paradoxical of them is how perfectly her hooks and melodies have adapted to an increasingly outrageous sonic direction. Nearly every track builds to an incredible refrain of potent, horrific splendor only accentuated by an appearance from one of the Montreal-based artist's many collaborators: Ada Rook's desperate screamo on the title track, the eerie croon of Sadie Dupuis echoing distressingly over SONG OF SINNERS, a jaw-dropping verse from Censored Dialogue among the cavalcade of memorable lines that is TERROR PACKETS. As her heavy, atmospheric production creeps into even more harrowing extremes, Backxwash herself offers up an array of her most compelling verses yet, culminating in the immense catharsis of BURN TO ASHES that pushes both the rapper and her entire genre to explosive new heights. On its own, that closing track would make this a record worth remembering; that so much of the material here is just as persistent in its appeal only makes Backxwash's latest effort all the more intoxicating.
#7: Porter Robinson - Nurture
(Electropop, Glitch Pop)
Porter Robinson has occupied a hallowed space in the online music community for at least half a decade, and though he has always been far from untalented, even the most impossibly successful of his previous singles feel completely alien to the quality of his newest record. 'Magical' is a word that will flash in the minds of many in the wake of Robinson's masterpiece, overflowing as it is with captivating melodies that pair his electronic inclinations with uplifting piano lines and some surprisingly catchy synthpop hooks. If the immaculate production on songs like Get Your Wish and Musician weren't enough, however, their lyrics add an entirely separate dimension to their appeal, painting a vivid and thoughtful picture of an artist struggling to reckon with his success and push through an artistic burnout that too often feels inescapable. While Porter Robinson's words center around a need to reclaim an outlet for his untethered creativity, Nurture itself is the actualization of that need, and the totality of its success, both personal and artistic, cannot be overstated.
#6: SPELLLING - The Turning Wheel
(Art Pop, Baroque Pop)
An impeccably constructed work of art pop splendor, and entirely too drastic of a turn from the last SPELLLING album to truly comprehend. The shift from 2019's Mazy Fly and its uneasy synth dirges to the full-blown orchestral opulence of songs like Awaken and Emperor with an Egg has no business being as successful as it is, even if the less immediate moments on The Turning Wheel wield just as much power as their most bombastic counterparts. Sure, the seven glorious minutes of Boys at School and the choral magnitude of the title track are natural standouts, but anyone who makes it that far will have already been drawn in by the first minutes of opener Little Deer, as SPELLLING stacks more and more layers of strings and brass atop her opening melodies until finally reclaiming the chorus in a joyous burst of catharsis. As promising as its predecessor was, every measured and patient composition on The Turning Wheel succeeds for completely different reasons than any SPELLLING song to come before; further artistic experimentation is always welcome, but if there was ever a musical lane worth sticking to, this is the one.
#5: Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
(UK Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop)
Releasing a lead single as grandiose as Introvert is not something to be done lightly; songs this unapologetically ambitious are a gamble for even the biggest of big names, an invitation to christen the ensuing album as 'art' and hold it to a standard that its contemporaries are (falsely) seen as unworthy of. Unassuming UK rapper Little Simz was already turning heads after her stellar 2019 record GREY Area, and her latest effort deserves considerable credit for fully capitalizing on that newfound attention with a tenacious level of introspection and grandeur. While composed of the same basic elements as her earlier records (a carefully balanced palette of styles and flows, adept performances from Simz and all her guests, tactful hints of jazz, neo-soul, and boom bap layered into Inflo's production), Sometimes I Might Be Introvert stretches that artistry to places Simz has never dared to reach, pushing at her boundaries in many (arguably too many) directions. At nearly double the length of her last album (and already dragging at times even without factoring in its numerous interludes), the risk of opulence is arguably one that doesn't fully pay off, but the flawless run Simz sustains for the first half of Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is reason enough to shortlist her name among the genre's all-time greats.
#4: Turnstile - GLOW ON
(Post-Hardcore, Alternative Rock)
Arguments about whether or not GLOW ON truly belongs in the hardcore genre sprang up part and parcel with the album's sudden, staggering acclaim, making it the latest subject in a long lineage of genre-based squabbles that seem to crop up every time a band dares to try anything remotely new. Such stylistic elitism is at least understandable in this instance; GLOW ON doesn't really sound like most other post-hardcore albums, largely because it sounds way, way better than its closest peers even while attempting to shake the style's most intransigent tenets. The vocals (a favourite target for many detractors) eschew hardcore punk's usual discordance for a tuneful confidence that perfectly suits their underlying melodies, themselves consistently memorable on a level that most rock bands can only dream of. As brief as its songs are, every single hook sticks out distinctly from the last, and uproarious bangers like BLACKOUT and HOLIDAY prove that Turnstile are more than adept at crafting a recognizable punk sound, even if it's the moments where they leave that sound behind that best showcase exactly why GLOW ON is such an exciting development in its genre.
#3: SAULT - NINE
(Neo-Soul, Funk)
Aside from its transient release (made available for free download and streaming for only ninety-nine days before disappearing forever), the newest SAULT record at first appears to be no great departure for the elusive UK supergroup. But NINE is a deceptively complex record, one which takes the uplifting soul and funk-tinged black empowerment that drew so much attention to last year's pair of Untitled releases and deconstructs that formula down to its barest elements. Rather than tether their creativity to hooks or verses, SAULT employ a hoard of unassuming samples and snippets as their building blocks, fragments of sound arranged and rearranged at will into raucous funk jubilance (London Gangs, Trap Life), experimental creations of sound collage (Fear), or poignant and political neo-soul (Bitter Streets, Light's In Your Hands). The difference in approach is understated, yet imbues the album's shrewd observations on culture, trauma, and nationality with a significance more palpable than on any previous record. From every angle, NINE is an ingenious and singular record, one that redound to the same sense of communal optimism as its predecessors while taking its compositions to engrossing new levels of detail and genius.
#2: Black Country, New Road - For the first time
(Post-Punk, Post-Rock)
When a work of art as anomalous as this appears out of nowhere, our instinctive response is to retreat into the realm of what is familiar, trying to make sense of the new using what we already know and understand. For the first time challenges with its very existence the validity of that approach, asking the listener to trust that something that appears utterly alien can simultaneously offer both immediate enjoyment and a staggering depth for those who wish to venture further into unknown territory. Ultimately, this album doesn't really sound like Slint or Godspeed You! Black Emperor or black midi; it sounds like itself, and whether or not that appeals to you is ultimately up to Black Country, New Road themselves, not any of their influences. What For the first time offers cannot be found anywhere else, and considering how much the fledgling band got right on their first try, the sheer potential their future holds is frightening to imagine.
#1: Injury Reserve - By the Time I Get to Phoenix
(Experimental Hip Hop)
That so few albums in any genre could be said to resemble By the Time I Get to Phoenix, that its experimental fervour in many ways defies our idea of what music can accomplish, would be reason enough for many to laud Injury Reserve's climatic summation as a work of art without peer. But it is the presentation of its aberrance that defines this record, the suffocating atmosphere of despair and loss that pours out of every note and every sample and every filtered, enigmatic vocal. Intentionally or no, grief is the vehicle through which Injury Reserve deliver their magnum opus, an emotion felt subtly yet evocatively in both its desperate, unsettling sound and the handful of (absolutely stunning) verses littered throughout. The group's ruminations pass by in a blurry haze of electronic noise and irreverent vocals, completely severed from notions of melody and structure: erratic, apocalyptic, and far from hospitable. In crafting this record, Injury Reserve managed to tap into something completely alien, a sound as foreign to our understanding of music as death is to life, and we are left to merely reckon with the results, as impossibly gorgeous as they are.