Oneohtrix Point Never – Good Time Soundtrack

In an interview with Pitchfork last week, Oneohtrix Point Never explained how he needs weird breakages and colliding contrasts to happen for music to feel truthful, and how this also applies to all good film scores. After listening to his soundtrack for Good Time, a new film by the Safdie brothers, reading this passage felt like a tiny lightbulb flickering on.

It’s the rough, distinctive patina surrounding everything he’s ever recorded, the philosophy underpinning the very reason his music is so often astonishing. It’s something he’s expressing most clearly on this, a movie score that basically functions as a proper new album.

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Miles Davis – Miles Smiles

miles-davis-miles-smiles

Wow. Just wow. This is Miles Davis at that stratospheric peak he seems to ride every few albums, the ones with mountains of praise written about them over the decades. For some reason it’s far less revered than the likes of Kind of Blue, Bitches Brew, and On The Corner, but it’s just as important to his development as an artist and just as incredible of a listen for jazz fans today.

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David Bowie – No Plan

david-bowie-black

One year ago today, I was drinking on a beach in Mexico, blissfully unaware that David Bowie was dying. I set a reminder on my phone to grab his then-upcoming album Blackstar as soon as it dropped, so that I could listen on the flight home. I was looking forward to hearing what might come next, sure in the magical knowledge that the man was immortal, in some strange way. That he’d always be there for us, with some new adventure.

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Skyjelly – Black Panthers

skyjelly-black-panthers

Skyjelly is that perfect kind of discovery, the sort of album that falls into my lap when I least expect it. I wasn’t looking for music like this, and I didn’t know how much I’d enjoy it at the moment.

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Sade – Promise

Sade - Promise

I’m writing about the most soulful, beautiful album I’ve heard this year. It just happens to have been recorded over thirty years ago.

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Drake – Views

Drake - Views

A million people write on Drake’s every move so I’m not going to try to compete with all the lengthy reviews of Views. This is a new Drake album and you’ve probably already got an opinion. I’m just writing to say that despite the meandering bloat, this album is full of serious fun and hits some of the highest peaks of his career.

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Mark Pritchard – Under The Sun

Mark Pritchard - under the sun

Looking at the startling cover art, I knew I had to hear Mark Pritchard‘s new album, Under The Sun. Beyond his decades-long pedigree across many galaxies of the electronic music universe, this image seemed to portend an idea of something truly groundbreaking. While it might not shake up an industry, it’s certainly one of the most interesting releases from a man with several genre landmarks under his belt.

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