I can keep my cool, but tonight I'm wildin'

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's 50 best albums of 2024.

#29 : Fine Art - Kneecap

Having already baited unionists with a song called Get Your Brits Out and a tour called Farewell to the Union – prompting Kemi Badenoch to cancel a £30,000 UK government-funded grant, a decision that was later found to be illegal – the Belfast rap trio had seemingly even fewer damns to give this year, advocating for Palestine much more loudly than most musicians, releasing an energetic self-titled biopic, and putting out a thrilling new album that massively evolved the tinny hip-hop of their debut. Produced by Toddla T and suffused with taunts, boasts, “rhino ket” and the very occasional dab of self-reflection, these rave tracks are perfect for hanging out of a hot hatch as the trio handbrake-turn from Irish into English and back again.

I've read quite a few articles about the band and their film (which we'll be visitng at some point during the year) and I was left kinda perplexed as to how seriously they took themselves - but with no desire to listen some Irish language rap in an attempt to find out. But apparently there's some English as well - so I might like it, right?

Hmmm - it's more likeable, skilful and varied than I was expecting, but I find the mixed languages very confusing because you recognise some words and start listening and then you realise you no longer understand anything - particularly given how fast it moves. I've a lot more time for non-US rap than the reams of dross that comes across the Atlantic and I'm pleased I listened to this and enjoyed some of it, but I wouldn't go as far as saying I love it. I'm quite looking forward to watching the film though.

Wikipedia tells us this is their second album and it includes guest appearances by Radie Peat, Grian Chatten, Nino, and Jelani Blackman - which REALLY helps, I can tell you (although I'm quite impressed I know who Grian is). The critics were nice about it, without really (I got the impression) knowing what they were being nice about. We definitely have some chart action to talk about though because it got to #43 here and #2 in Ireland - I was desperately hoping they'd been kept off the top by Daniel O'Donnell but it was the boringly conventional option of Taylor Swift.

"Customers also listened to" Gemma Dunleavy, Fontaines DC, The Mary Wallopers and Jun Tzu - all fine Irish names! This was an interesting one - I think it's probably just safest to say it's not aimed at me. 

#28 : Tyla - Tyla

Tying together ultralight Afropop, US neo-soul and R&B, and the phosphorescent bass blooms of amapiano from her native South Africa, the production on Tyla’s debut album was expertly arranged and profoundly danceable. But the songwriting was even better – you expect even elite pop albums to have a couple of bits of padding, but every track here had a top line to cherish. Her serpentine high pitch on Jump, writhing with desire; her darting staccato on Art, softening into longer notes; her melancholy chatter on No 1, full of determination and resolve – this is pop performance at its most sensual, versatile and meaningful.

Never heard of her! It feels like something I'm not going to like, but let's see...

Well - it's certainly interesting. It's got some weird but tight rhythms with some interesting sounds and vocals on top of them and she's got a lovely voice - I was reminded of SZA in quite a few places. I feel like I should be saying that each song is too repetitive, but somehow she got away with it - possibly because each track is patently different from the previous one, even if I'm completely unable to explain to you how they differ. I very much liked "Water" which is a cracking track - but all in all I both enjoyed and was impressed by this album.

Wikipedia's got nothing on the album - oh no, I lied because it's got 417 milliPeppers on it. WHAT?!? It's her debut album and apparently "blends elements of amapiano, pop, Afrobeats and R&B" - and yes, I had to check Wikpedia to find out what amapiano was. At which point I learned it is "a subgenre of kwaito and house music" - and so I just gave up. The critics were very nice about it with it making a load of year-end lists and "Water" won the inaugural Best African Music Performance Grammy. The album also did very well commercially globally, getting to #19 here and #24 in the US.

"Customers also listened to" Libianca, Terns, Ayra Starr and Oxlade - unsurprisingly I've never heard of any of them. But I suspect we'll be hearing a lot more from Tyla - this is a very polished and mature debut.

#27 : Sentiment - Claire Rousay

The Canadian-American composer Claire Rousay made her name on gorgeously mundane field recordings, making her switch to Auto-Tuned slowcore pop on Sentiment seem surprising at first. Not just intimate but insular, it creeps through her self-loathing, depression and feelings of self-abasement, her lethargic melodies forging slow earworms: “Spending half of my whole life giving you head / Just in case you need to forgive me,” she sings, numbed, on Head. The cover depicts her hiding in bed, surrounded by empty cans and her guitar: perhaps Sentiment, suggesting an ecology of lo-fi bedroom pop, isn’t so different from her earlier work after all.

Never heard of her - but who's not going to love someone who "made her name on gorgeously mundane field recordings, making her switch to Auto-Tuned slowcore pop". I've absolutely no idea what to expect from this.

Well, it seems like I don't mind the "slowcore pop" element - there are decent enough downbeat tunes on here. But the "Auto-Tuned" element absolutely does my head in - but not in the way I was expecting. I'm quite happy if they introduce a bit of a wobble and there, but it's been used here to remove all inflection and emotion from her voice - I actually think Alexa would be more expressive. I appreciate this was an artistic decision, probably to reflect her "self-loathing, depression and feelings of self-abasement" but it's one I don't like - let's hope that doesn't make things worse for her.

Wikipedia does have an entry for the album but, to be honest, they might as well not have bothered - it exists, the critics generally liked it and it charted nowhere. Her entry is much more interesting because it tells us she dropped out of school at 15 to be a drummer (her parents must have been so happy), she creates "musique concrete" pieces and she has a dog named Banana.

"Customers also listened to" Martha Skye Murphy, Big Brave, Chanel Beads and Ben Seretan - another clean sweep of ignorance on my part. And it feels very unlikely I'll be making any moves to investigate anything else from Claire until she decides to throw away the Autotuner.

This round is an easy win for Tyla for me, but I do have to admit that the Kneecap offering is more varied and interesting than I was expecting.

#32-30 - Three understated offerings
#26-23 - A lot to love from the ladies