March 2022 — Playlist Odyssey

ROSALÍA Drops An AOTY Statement; Charli XCX Makes Us ‘Crash’; MICHELLE Has Us Talking About Our Dreams After Dinner; and Band Of Horses Lets Us Know ‘Things Are Great’

By Joshua Gutierrez - Editor

As with Black Country, New Road’s “Ants From Up There,” there was an immediate realization, upon first listen, that ROSALÍA’s sophomore LP “MOTOMAMI” was going to be in discussion for Album of the Year.

On top of a vocal performance of virtuosic levels, the Spanish singer-songwriter intricately melded an assortment of influences to create a diverse sound experience across 16 tracks. Whether it was reggaeton dives, auto-tuned hyper pop, traditional bandas, flamenco, jazz or hip-hop, the brilliance of “MOTOMAMI” is how each track could be a self-contained genre.

With the album “CRASH,” I feel like English Hyper-Pop artist Charli XCX has made her most deliberate attempt toward pop superstardom. With plenty of debate on whether her past music was more artistically dynamic in the New Music community, I simply look at “CRASH” with one lens: Was it Fun? It sure fucking was!

Driven by Paula Abdul synth beats on “Crash” and “Good Ones”; and charismatic collaborations with Christine and the Queens and Caroline Polachek on “New Shapes” and Rina Sawayama on “Beg For You,” “CRASH” feels larger than life and stands as a statement of Charli XCX’s rising star.

On the topic of fun, New York group MICHELLE’s “AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS” was astonishingly fun! From the raunchy “END OF THE WORLD” (a Top 10 Song currently) to dance wonders of “POSE,” EXPIRATION DATE” and “SYNCOPATE,” MICHELLE not only feels immediate but have an endless ceiling in regards to their future!

In my Odyssey, Band Of Horses carries a special place. Whereas my teens and now my 30’s can be categorized as a time of great discovery across multiple genres, my 20’s felt like a more intimate connection with several bands, including: Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, Deer Tick, Daniel Johnston and Band Of Horses. So, to hear another solid record with their release “Things Are Great” feels like catching up with an old friend.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a Below Radar (Artist with 1 Million - 100K monthly listens on Spotify) album to fall in love with this month. So, my sole Hidden Gem (Artists with below 100K monthly listens) album, “Myriad” by Swedish band Oh Hiroshima, was even more special. With a dreadfulness and a sonically-charged cosmic space, Oh Hiroshima may have created one of my favorite heavy albums of 2022.

My second rap album of 2022 I fell in love with was Benny The Butcher’s “Tana Talk 4.” While I balked at Griselda counterpart Conway The Machine’s “God Don’t Make Mistakes” earlier this year, I was captivated by Benny The Butchers intricate balance of spaciously soulful beats and furious lines.

Lastly, one of my all-time favorite bands Arcade Fire dropped a pair of connected singles “Lightning I” and “Lightning II” ahead of their album “WE",” to be released May 6. While I’m reserving all my excitement, the singles feel like a return to their original sound.

Oh! and TY to everyone who got me to 1,000 on Instagram. I know it’s a paltry amount for some and just a number, but it means a lot. I love this little community I’m a part of and all those I truly consider my friends.

Byyyyyyeeeeee!