Before Kendrick Lamar’s latest hip-hop opus "DAMN." drops Friday and blows everyone’s mind, catch up on the five greatest albums, mixtapes and playlists of the year’s first quarter.
5. Drake — “More Life”
In the last few years, Toronto sadboy Drake has released more than three hours of music. That’s too much Drake, and only about half of that prodigious output is justified. While “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” appealed to many, “VIEWS” dragged its way through twenty generally lackluster tracks. “More Life” finds a decent middle ground between the off-the-cuff brilliance of the former and dancehall flourishes of the latter. Clocking in at 82 minutes, "More Life" probably could have delivered a little less “Life” and come out a better album — excuse me, “playlist” — but it’s nonetheless his most fun project in years and a much-needed course correction.
One-hitter: “Passionfruit”
4. Mastodon — “Emperor of Sand”
Atlanta metal titan Mastodon shows no signs of succumbing to extinction. Returning to the absurd prog-metal of its first four albums, Mastodon has delivered its most sprawling and ambitious album in years with the pummeling and ambitious “Emperor of Sand.” While it lacks the immediacy of Mastodon's previous two records, it brings back the byzantine riffage that made 2004’s “Leviathan” and 2009’s “Crack the Skye” headbanger classics.
One-hitter: “Jaguar God”
3. Charli XCX — “Number 1 Angel”
Your mileage with the latest Charli XCX will vary depending on how much semi-ironic pop music you can stomach. But when the production is as outstanding as it is on “Number 1 Angel,” it’s hard not to sing along to the massive hooks and hum along to the sugar-coated synths. While it's shocking that the London-based Charli XCX wouldn’t hold on to some of these tunes for her forthcoming third album, it’s also exciting. If these cuts were good enough for a mixtape, what lies ahead on her next stop?
One-hitter: “Roll with Me”
2. Ulver — "The Assassination of Julius Caesar"
Norway’s black metal masterminds go goth-pop with their latest record, and the results are brilliant. Suspicious? You should be. Ambitious electronic records from beloved black metal acts don’t always hit the mark. When black metal contemporaries Liturgy released “The Ark Work,” its well-meaning attempt at fusing Bones Thugs-n-Harmony, experimental electronica and Gregorian chants two years ago, it became the laughingstock of the blog community. Ulver finds more success by sounding less like a haphazard mix of intentionally esoteric influence and more like the unholy fusion of the Backstreet Boys and Depeche Mode you never knew you needed.
One Hitter: “Rolling Stone”
1. Future — "HNDRXX"
It’s almost impossible to imagine how Future will be remembered 10 years from now. Will it be for his breakthrough trap hit “Tony Montana?” His much-publicized breakup with pop chanteuse Ciara? His 2015 mixtape blitz? All of these seem equally likely. But Future made Billboard history this year when he became the first artist ever to have two albums, “FUTURE” and “HNDRXX", each hit number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart within a week of each other. While “FUTURE” was a somewhat disappointing collection of standard Future trap tunes, “HNDRXX” stands as the real treat, a collection of wounded rhythm-and-blues slow jams and pop blow-outs. It might just be his best project yet. What a time to be alive.
One-hitter: “Use Me”
