May 2022 — Playlist Odyssey

Kendrick Lamar Reinforces His Genius; Harry Styles Invites Us Over To His House; ‘WE’ Still Love Arcade Fire; and amaii Has Seen Better Days

By Joshua Gutierrez - Editor

From this music fan’s perspective, May felt really big and shifts the landscape into summer.

With Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles, Arcade Fire, Florence + The Machine and Tate McRae dropping LP’s, May assuredly delivered among large artists with dedicated followings. But as someone who dives into way too much music, May was bolstered by several Below Radar releases and so much Hidden Gem singles.

Much like every Billboard chart and the community overall, Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” was our Album of the Month. While “To Pimp A Butterfly” and even “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City” remain personal favorites in his catalog, Kendrick continues to bolster his genius and exudes such a masterful voice in expression.

Among the most complete bodies of work in May was by Nigerian artist Obanjayar and his debut LP, “Some Nights I Dream of Doors.” With a mysticism and frenetic gravitation in his storytelling, Obanjayar connected on both a spiritual and human level.

Lastly, my Hidden Gem Album of the Month comes from underground Hyper-Pop composer amaii. There is not much I could find out about amaii, who may reside on the East Coast and who keeps her identity hidden with a kitten mask. But “I’ve Seen Better Days,” may not only be an AOTY contender in this category of artists under 100K listens, but of the entire field. Much like my attraction to Daniel Johnstone’s cryptic recordings, amaii encapsulates the terror, lonelienss and grandeur of this digital age.

Check out the slides below to see all 8 “Love’s” this month and find links to The Month That Was playlists below, Oh, and thank you to all who are liking my silly Reels. I’ve have always been shy in front of a camera and to get to this stage in life where I don’t care is actually holds more significance than I can explain.