Lav's Music Corner

Let the listing begin. In the first and smallest year-end list I publish I take a look at the tiny projects that were packed full of good songs. While this list lacks some of the stunning high-end releases of previous years, it's a very deep well full of versatile and compelling projects.  These are my 10 favorite EPs of 2023. Enjoy <3 10. Jlin - Perspective  EP Kicking off the list we have Jlin's pseudo-return to dropping new music with this Pulitzer Prize For Music finalist Perspective . After being originally composed three years ago the material was re-recorded by Jlin and finally made it to the public, which I'm very grateful for. Despite moments that feel undersold relative to her normal textural bliss, there is ton of magnetic and distinctive electronic music present throughout this project. Jlin continues to have a sound that is not only easy to identify but easy to love.  Listen To: Derivative , Paradigm 9. Softcult - See You In The Dark  EP Canadian duo ...

Panopticon is a Kentucky-based black metal project spearheaded by Austin Lunn. The band drew critical acclaim for its combination of the brutality of black metal with the sounds and occasionally even the themes of Appalachian folk music. After operating on a particularly prolific schedule early in its career, Panopticon has slowed down in recent years though Rime  is the 10th album from the project. Review by Lav: I still have a ton of fondness for the era that's considered Panopticon's classic period. The stretch of albums from Kentucky  to Road To The North  still sounds incredibly impressive, unique, and creative even in hindsight. Though there was only one album between that and 2021's And Again Into The Light  it represented a six-year gap in releases I really loved. But after hearing Again  my interest in the band was revitalized in a big way and I was excited to see where they went next.  The Rime Of Memory  sees Panopticon at its most chilling....

5.  Petroleum  - Yard Act While I came away from the first Yard Act album pretty mixed something tells me I'm going to like the follow-up a lot more. The singles have seen the band leaning into their grooviest eccentricities and the results are post-punk that fringes on danceability in the way very few bands can achieve. This may not be the most bombastic or infectious of the songs but I still like it quite a bit.  Listen 4.  Tunnel Lights  - Chelsea Wolfe While this track may not blow me away in quite the same way Chelsea's past two tracks have it still has everything I would want in one of her songs. From the spacious percussion marked by booming distorted drums to her haunting voice wrapping itself around mystical fairy tale refrains it's all still so compelling.  Listen 3.  The Fight  - Future Islands The most reserved single from Future Islands' new era might be its best moment yet. It has the patience to squeeze every moment of somber drama ...

Each of these artists fit the "hyperpop" label to VERY different degrees. But I want to cover all of them before the year is out so lets get to it.  Perfect Picture  - Hannah Diamond Hannah Diamond is perhaps the member of PC Music's inner circle that feels the most equipped to transcend hyperpop to something resembling genuine stardom. While she's flirted with it in the past, it also feels like she's never had her definitive moment. That's not to say I didn't enjoy her 2019 album Reflections , it just felt like it came late to the party to capitalize on the legitimate hype swirling around the distinct hyperpop sound it dabbles in. With the label itself now formally coming to an end, this feels like a potential swan song for one of the definitive acts to shine the brightest. It got off to a pretty great start too. I absolutely love the lead single Affirmations  which sees Hannah at her peak pop instincts crafting a song that is both bubbly and fun but subt...

Andre 3000 is famous, quite obviously, for being a rapper. The ATL legend served as one half of Outkast one of the best and most influential rap groups of all time. But since the pair called it quits between them Andre has been remarkably quite musically only making a handful of appearances in the nearly 20 years since. Though he is surprising fans with his long-awaited debut solo album its definitely not the album that many fans were hoping for. New Blue Sun  is a long and very indulgent ambient jazz album which prominently features Andre playing flute alongside a variety of expansive and occasionally quite minimal compositions.  Read More:  I had a lot of thoughts on this album before I even got the chance to hear it. Unlike a lot of the more idiotic rap fans online I don't hold any resentment against Andre for going in this direction artistically as he's always been very clear with fans on where their expectations for a new album should actually be set. But as someone ...

Rough week, we're getting to that time of year. Despite the slim pickings I did my best to make a complete list.  5.  Free My N***a  - Sexyy Red This one isn't all that complicated. It's a pretty dry week for new releases and despite a chorus that does almost nothing for me, Sexyy Red's intensity and personality carry the track through compelling verses that don't stick around beyond their welcome. Listen 4.  Cosca  - Conway The Machine & Wun Two If you did a double take hearing this instrumental and thinking it was Freddie Gibbs and Tyler, The Creator's Something To Rap About , you aren't alone. Despite the similar vibe sonically Conway is definitely focusing his bars elsewhere. He takes on the ways that he's trying to overcome from past traumas, looking forward and moving on. It isn't my favorite song from this new series of collaborations with Wun Two, but it's another solid entry.  Listen 3.  Labios Mordidos  - Kali Uchis (feat. Karol G) ...

We're getting to that point in the year where I'm just trying to make every recap count as much as possible. Here are the loose collection of albums I've assembled to cover under the broadest possible umbrella of electronica.  Bolted  - Forest Swords Forest Swords is the kind of musical project you don't easily forget. So even though it's been a full 6 years since the last proper studio album from FS, the distinctive brand of dark electronica with the occasional naturalistic field recording style mixed in still feels both instantly recognizable and artistically engaging. Though the album came out at a busy time for new reviews I still listened to it right away and I've had a lot of time to sit with it. Much of that comes from realizing just how good all of the album's singles really are. Tracks like the records first two songs Munitions  and Butterfly Effect  did win me over when I first heard them but the eerie, textured sonic anguish they both manage to ac...