8 Great Albums You Might Have Missed this Year
From dance-diva pop to honky-tonk country to southern glam, you gotta catch 'em all.
Forgive us if we're starting to sound like a broken record, but 2016 has been a great year for music—so great, in fact, that there are likely a whole bunch of great albums that never even landed on your radar. Here are some choice sleepers—ranging from decadent dance-jams to cabaret-glam to honky-tonk—that kept us (happily) up all night during the last twelve months.
- Bell’s self-titled debut—the latest release out of East Nashville’s renowned Bomb Shelter studio—is a reminder that the future of country music is bright. This instantly affecting 32-minute LP has no filler, delivering heartfelt ballads (“Where Ya Been?” and “The Bullfighter”), old-school sing-alongs (“Ragtime Troubles”), and, of course, yodeling. Bell’s voice is up for the eclectic mix; it’s a bit Lefty Frizzell, a touch of Hank Williams, and some winking Roy Orbison when he needs it. —*Joseph Bien-Kahn* WHERE TO START: The surprisingly bouncy breakup jam “Sometimes”
- A velvet goldmine full of cocksure, cockeyed glam-pop, *Dolls of Highland* finds 27-year-old Craft with one foot in the swamp and the other dangling over a cabaret stage: The Southern-boogie banger “Eye of a Hurricane” would have given *Honky Chateau*-era Elton John severe pianists’ envy, while “Lady of the Ark” is a sneakily gospel-tinged ode to the sinners. Equal parts rollicking and rapturous, *Dolls* is an all-inclusive ode to the joys of being an outcast. —*Brian Raftery* WHERE TO START: The piano- and pulse-pounding “Berlin”
- For some reason, Dawn Richard’s latest album shows up on my iTunes as “Unknown Genre”—a semi-fitting descriptor, as the dance-demanding *Redemption* roams from Vangelis-vamping instrumentals (the title track) to atmospheric electro-pop workouts (“Lazarus”) to slow-burn bangers (“Hey Nikki”). It all makes for a modern-pop odyssey that’s as [exploratory](https://www.wired.com/2016/06/dawn-richard-vr-music-video/) as it is celebratory. —*Brian Raftery* WHERE TO START: The strobe-lit stunner “Love Under Lights”
- Furman is the classic big(ish)-in-Europe-ignored-in-the-US rock act. That’s a shame, because this gender-fluid Chicagoan writes catchy-ass hooks and smart, scabrous lyrics that hearken back to *My Aim Is True*-era Elvis Costello. This latest EP packs an album's worth of angry, poppy fun into 20 must-hear minutes.—*Jason Tanz* WHERE TO START: The aching but assured live version of “Teddy I’m Ready”
- Halfway through her debut LP, Kamaiyah tells us she’s “been doing my own thing since like ’94.” The Oakland rapper was only two years old at the time, but by that pointin the album, you kind of believe her. *A Good Night* overflows with a rare kind of confidence; Kamaiyah’s cool, and she knows she’s cool, and she knows you know she’s cool, too. The frontwoman of Big Money Gang plays up her throwback style, but her album still feels vital today—it’s funky, self-assured, and refreshingly joyous in a year that’s been anything but. —*Joseph Bien-Kahn* WHERE TO START: "How Does It Feel"
- Masego can play drums, piano, sax, guitar, trumpet, violin, bass, and marimba—as he only too happily mentions again and again on *Loose Thoughts*, which finally assembles his string of recent singles. Thankfully, the 23-year-old shows as well as he tells. From the winding saxophone on “Wifeable” to the freestyling on “You Gon’ Learn Some Jazz Today," *Loose Thoughts* is as joyous as it is infectious.—*Charley Locke* WHERE TO START: Listen for the trembling strings and vocal range in "I’m in Hollywood."
- Snail Mail singer-songwriter Lindsey Jordan was only 17 when *Habit* was released this summer, but she already seems to have the whole middle-age angst thing down cold: “I've been down countless halls/And once you've seen one it's like you've seen ’em all” she sings on “Dirt,” one of six deceptively low-key gems on this EP. Full of braided guitar lines and quietly triumphant choruses, *Habit* is smart-kid ennui that’s almost too relatable—no matter your age. —*Brian Raftery* WHERE TO START: The soft-power power pop anthem “Thinning”
- You might recognize Jamila Woods from her joyful cameo on Chance the Rapper’s *Coloring Book*, but on *HEAVN*,** her melodic voice stands on its own. The album deals with social justice, but in a voice of unity rather than protest—and with an emphasis on the power of girlhood: On “Blk Girl Soldier”, Woods harmonizes with herself in a round while linking “black girl magic” with a tradition of activists that ranges from Harriet Tubman to Audre Lorde. *HEAVN* has schoolyard clapping games, statistics, and verses from a range of Chicago talents—Chance, Saba, Kweku Collins—but you’ll come (and stay) for Woods' crooning voice. —*Charley Locke* WHERE TO START: The title track, which—with its cascading melodies and wistful harmony—serves as a gorgeous homage to Erykah Badu.
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