SAVANNAH STOWERS

A one-off collab EP between indie electronic duo, Phantogram, and half of southern hip hop duo, Outkast’s Big Boi, Big Grams combines both artist’s unique approach to their respective genres, bringing a 26 minute Southern Trip Hop experience that’s hard to fully pin down. A personal favorite of mine and a highly predictive album when it came to the role that electronica would play in the southern hip hop space in years to come (think Travis Scott’s Astroworld, Playboi Carti’s Die Lit, and the rise of trap as a genre). In fact, I believe this project could be released today and still sound relatively current. With features from Skrillex and Run the Jewels, and production contributions from 9th wonder, Big Grams weaves distinct conventions from all of its contributing sources, while still managing to produce a cohesive sound that has yet to be replicated and still feels fresh. Out of everything on this list, this is the combination I hope gets revisited the most.

Favorite Tracks: “Lights On,” “Fell in the Sun,” “Put it on Her,” “Goldmine Junkie”

Following a 5-year hiatus, critically acclaimed indie folk band, Bon Iver, released 22, A Million, marking a slight departure from the alt-folk sound that defined the band’s prior success. Placing more focus on the electronic undercurrents present in their previous albums and introducing more elements of soul and hip-hop, this album produces a sound that I’d describe as “glitch gospel”. The experience of listening to this album is hard to capture in words since at many times front man John Vernon’s lyricism, while excellent and thematically contained, takes a backseat to the melodic, jazzy, free-form instrumentation that shines in every moment of the project’s 34 minute runtime.

Favorite Tracks: “33 ‘GOD’,” “29 #Strafford APTS,” “666 ʇ,” “8 (circle)”

Ravyn Lenae’s second EP Midnight Moonlight solidifies the dreamy, atmospheric approach to Pop R&B that she established with her debut EP and sprinkling of features over the years, while also offering something distinctly new for her by building upon those foundations and growing within her sound. As its title suggests, the sonic atmosphere that Lenae establishes through Midnight Moonlight feels a little darker and more mature than the whimsical and childlike airiness that her music had prior. The combination of soft melodies, masterful lyricism and allegorical storytelling makes this project feel fairytale-esque and magical, capturing the ethereal, esoteric era of 2010’s alternative R&B. Lenae’s artistry is quite impressive, and this EP only serves as an early entry to a career that continuously refines and reimagines a sound that’s uniquely hers.

Favorite Tracks: “Genesis,” “Spice,” “Last Breath,” “Thirst”

Another collab album entry, Norwegian musician Lido (best known for his production work including Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book, Halsey’s Badlands and Amine’s TWOPOINTFIVE ) and Seattle multimedia artist J’von teamed up to produce Spacesuit: a jazzy, chillhop 7 track EP that simply put, feels smooth. Spacesuit perfectly captures late 2010’s internet-music-culture’s love for “lo-fi beats to study to,” which featured “vibey” instrumentation that created a chill, relaxed aesthetic. However, even though this EP represents the chillhop boom very well, the jazzy composition and melodic vocals/production contributions from Lido, as well as the freeform jazz flow that J’von brings to his raps, combine to create a final product that doesn’t feel tethered to its era, but rather picks out and elaborates on the timeless elements of jazz and hip hop present in lo-fi.

Favorite Tracks: “Sneakerhead,” “Highly Overdue,” “Stay With Me,” “Time and Space (Outro)”

In its blending of hip-hop, R&B, electronica, and indie pop, Graffiti feels like the slightly more upbeat, poppier sister album to Frank Ocean’s Blonde with a dash of something like Toro y Moi’s Anything in Return. While invoking the essence of some of his contemporaries, early BROCKHAMPTON/Kevin Abstract collaborator Roy Blair offers his own take on the alt R&B scene, crafting an immersive listening experience that, despite being a mixtape, sounds quite polished and stands amongst the greats of this era. I look forward to seeing how he continues to build upon this sound, especially following the 2024 release of Chasing Moving Trains, which further solidified his ability to mature and refine within the genres he combines. Graffiti is a great starting point when it comes to not only understanding Roy Blair’s individual perspective and approach to the indie R&B scene, but also how the conventions of this constantly evolving fusion of genres have been shaped over the years.

Favorite Tracks: “I Don’t Know About Him – Mixed,” “12345,” “Won’t Let You Down,” “Lightleak”

Kicking off the 2020’s, I ultimately decided to include this album because it represents a refinement of generic “nostalgia collaging” that continues to define the pop-cultural productions of this new decade: indie pop duo Tennis’ Swimmer is a mish mashing of retro futuristic proportions, embodying this era’s simultaneous nostalgic tendencies and desires for forward thinking expansion. The Beatles/60’s pop rock vibes on the album are heavy, but the modern application of lo-fi and R&B production styles help distinguish the album from a pure genre study or replication attempt. With all of these elements – including the 70’s inspired cover art – the album bounces around from era to era and seamlessly weaves them together in its 31 minute runtime.

Favorite Tracks: “Need Your Love,” “Echoes,” “Tender as a Tomb,” “Matrimony II”

Following the trend of nostalgia collaging that the 2020’s boasts, Rose Gray brings 90’s euro dance pop into the contemporary with her debut mixtape Dancing, Drinking, Talking, Thinking. Building on the British approach to R&B that she established with her early singles, the added and emphasized dance influence to this project marks the beginning of a slight shift in Gray’s career – and one that I’m very thankful for. While her early releases still hold up, I was looking for the element that set Gray apart from a sound that had already been established by artists like Jorja Smith and RAYE, and with this mixtape, she accomplished just that. Additionally, the featuring of 90’s dance pop follows the (much needed) transition away from 80’s synth that dominated the mid to late 2010’s with echoes that have carried into this new decade. With her 2024 release of Louder Please, I believe Rose Gray is here to stay, continuing to prove her unique sound and blending of genres and having already established quite the impressive discography.

Favorite Tracks: “Save Your Tears,” “Nothing Can Stop Us,” “Interlude, Thinking,” “The Best Thing”

New Zealand brother-sister indie pop duo, Broods, released their 4th album Space Island in 2022, only their second album following a label change and shift into a new image. Through title alone, the album immediately establishes the futuristic, yet grounded aesthetic that the project will confront through lyricism, story, imagery, and (of course) genre. Broods combine ethereal, space-age production with peaceful and tropical melodies, contrasting and contributing to the feelings of isolation and self exploration that the lyrics deal with – all while building an overarching story of heartbreak and recovery and perhaps a more meta-narrative about the band’s own healing and self-discovery process after parting ways with their first label. For an album about rediscovering oneself, Space Island knows exactly what it is from its opening track to its final moments, skillfully weaving genres together to craft a cosmically tranquil sound with catchy and polished pop lyricism that keeps listeners engaged the whole space ride through.

Favorite Tracks: “Distance and Drugs,” “I Keep,” “Like A Woman,” “Days Are Passing,”

Scottish experimental hip hop group Young Fathers released Heavy, Heavy, after a 4 year hiatus, following their previous album Cocoa Sugar (my personal favorite) and refining the progressive hip hop, soul rock sound present throughout their career. Ironically Heavy, Heavy offers a much lighter, jovial approach to the themes of identity, spirituality, and politics that the critically acclaimed band often confronts in their music. For a group that has always been experimental, there’s a method to their madness and they have not only been able to consistently establish conventions within their crafted sound that they build upon with each consecutive release, but also have always simultaneously subverted expectations for their listeners. As a longtime fan, listening to Heavy, Heavy felt like both a celebration of the band’s previous projects and a surprising yet welcome departure from them. The album cover art highlights the clash of pain and joy that this album so beautifully displays, showing us all how these heavy, heavy themes don’t always have to be shrouded in complete sorrow, but can also be lightheartedly celebrated.

Favorite Tracks: “Tell Somebody,” “Geronimo,” “Shoot Me Down,” “Holy, Moly”

Last year, up and coming Biritish singer Willow Kayne released her second EP The Zenosyne, a 7 track, 20 minute coming-of-age story that considers love produced by algorithms, how it feels to be an outsider looking in, and what it’s like to grow up and realize that the world around you might be moving at a different pace. The title refers to a term coined by writer John Koeng in a long-standing project to define previously undefined concepts: “Zenoysne – The Feeling That Time Is Getting Faster”. Much like the cover art suggests, this EP feels both hyper realistic and highly animated, as the personal lyrics, catchy melodies, and DNB beats can come at you fast and repetitively until you realize the song is ending and the next one has begun. For such a short project, not a minute is wasted as every song feels polished and packs its own unique punch. It’s rare for someone to display this much consistency and diversity of sound at this stage of their career and it’s specifically Kayne’s writing that sets her apart from her pop contemporaries. The girl has a gift, and I truly can’t wait to see what she’ll continue to put out.

Favorite Tracks: “Riots,” “the good life,” “cola head,” “Zenosyne”