Since this is a Metal and culture blog, we don´t review most of the non-metal albums that we take a liking to. Yet, there is much to discover in other genres. This is a collection of our favorite 2022 non-metal albums that haven´t been otherwise covered on the blog.
Scuttlegoats Selection
Billy Woods - Aethiopes
Genre: Hip Hop
Label: Backwoodz Studioz
Release Date: 08-10-2022
Generally, I like myself a good Hip Hop album. The issue is that the mainstream of the genre has consistently moved in directions I do not particularly like. The whole mumble rap trend has gotten rid of a lot of flow and modern production choices often favor sparse but heavy instrumentals, which limit the creativity of the producer severely. As genres harden, they often become more interesting. Because of that, a lot of my favorite Hip Hop acts are somewhat rooted in the old school - even if their take on what the old school is is not necessarily straightforward.
Billy Woods is not the flashiest of rappers. His flow is constant and mid paced with a voice that I cannot quite place into either of the coastal legions. His diction is clear and he leaves lots of space over the instrumentals, which leads to a mostly relaxed performance. This is ideal though, as the production is really what makes this album shine. The beats are often abstract and not particularly rhythmic, with unique samples perforating every track. In some ways, it is Woods that is keeping time while the beats move under him. This album is best listened to when focused on the instrumentals and using the rapper as an anchor. It might be an album that appeals more to production nerds than the usual rap crowd for that reason and it certainly requires a different, unusual way of listening. I am confident that it would prove rewarding for most people, though.
Mali Obomsawin - Sweet Tooth
Genre: Jazz
Label: Independent
Release Date: 28-10-2022
Cécile McLorin Salvant had secured a really high spot on my list proper, but it had been a solid year for Jazz overall, even if not much exactly blew me away. It is fitting that the second Jazz record that stuck with me is not exactly on the same level of approachability. Mali Obomswaim, in addition in her interest in music, has somewhat of an agenda and her the music on Sweet Tooth is much more strongly defined by the musicians identity.
Sweet Tooth is a somewhat deconstrutivist effort. On the Jazz side, the album is a melange of the abrasive squeals of Free Jazz, an at times dixieland style swagger and the group improvisations of a Charles Mingus. This all gets merged with a strong Native American influence which at first served as one of my main barriers of entry for the album. The melodic and harmonic framework is as strange as the vocal delivery at times and the horns do their best to imitate those sounds. The benefit of this is that Sweet Tooth sounds seriously out of time. Recalling the beginnings of Jazz where the spirituals of people of color mixed with an decidedly European harmony, this might be a similar synthesis coming from a Native American direction. There is something decidedly tribal to the sound of the album and this makes it very easy to get lost in it - even if you have no prior experience in Jazz. I found that the initial strangeness of the album very much gets easier and easier with every listen. As with many really good albums, it requires just a little bit of resilience.
Louie Zhong - Business!
Genre: Synthwave / Vaporwave / Dungeonsynth
Label: Independent
Release Date: 26-09-2022
Louie Zhong has been very prolific in making albums with what I would call cute easy listening tunes. The albums range from a variety of styles and instrumentations and are always held together by specific concepts. Through all of this, a love of Video Game Music, Funk, Jazz and Latin shines through. From all the albums Louie has made in 2022, I think Business! is probably the strongest. Originally commissioned for a YouTube video I haven´t seen by a creator I do not know, the album consists of imitations of late 80s and early 90s corporate tunes, recalling the sound of instructional tapes, corporate training videos and infomercials.
Works like these always run the risk of surviving mainly on their ironic content. I would be dishonest if I said that my enjoyment of Business! didn´t have an ironic component at all, of course. But with Zhong in particular, I always feel that beyond the irony, there is a level of appreciation and the process of making music. Business! sounds like the corporations of a bygone era and it does utilise an ironic lens, but that lens is also at the same time appreciative of the process. Other than many, Zhong seems like he doesn´t view the incidental music composers of the past as iconoclasts or corporate tools, but working people who tried to do the best within a certain framework. Of course that is only my interpretation, and authorial intent can only ever be assumed. But either way: Business! is a surprisingly chill and relaxing affair and somehow much more authentic than anything the real Vapor crowd has recently produced.
Metalligatorrr's Metal-less Munchies
Björk - Fossora
Genre: Progressive Pop
Label: One Little Independent Records
Release Date: 30-9-2022
There is a good chance you will know of Björk whether or not you have actively given her a listen as she is a very successful musician. My history with her music stretches back to when her first album, Debut, was released and I heard "Human Behaviour" on TV. I've been an on and off fan since then but I admit that most of her output these last fifteen years haven not been up to the standard of her early career. Starting with 2007's Volta, I feel that her later works have favored experimentation above song craft. While this has produced some interesting music in its own right, they are albums that have stuck with me less than classics like Debut and Vespertine. 10th album Fossora arrives as Björk's mother passed away and she spent time in Iceland during the covid pandemic and this perhaps explains why this album feels like an exercise in looking back. Opening track "Atopos" starts out like something similar to Biophilia's sound with a minimalistic vocal driven track being backed by drums and then expanding into some more intense percussion. Already I'm reminded of why I love Björk; she wears her own weirdness with pride and doesn't give a fuck if people think her weird pop gets uncomfortable for a bit.
Other callbacks include the weird abstract Electronica from Vulnicura, the bass driven sensuality from Vespertine ("Allow", "Fungal City"), the Acappella from Medulla ("Mycelia") and Modern Classical Trip-hop that would belong on Debut ("Ovule"). What unifies these songs, however, is that the songwriting of early Björk seems to have returned to some extent and for the first time in more than a decade an album of hers feels cohesive to me. But she isn't only looking back as the songs that close out the album in the last third explore some new-ish territory, being a mix of Modern Classical, Industrial Electronic, Jazz and Folk music. At 54 minutes it is a lot to take in and understandably sounds like a tough sell if you can't stand Björk's vocal delivery, tone or cadence. Fossora is a bit long but I like a lot of the material on it enough to gladly put it on this list as a recommendation. I had a hard time finding music I enjoyed in 2022. At least Björk did not disappoint with this return to form.
The Mall - Time Vehicle Earth
Genre: EDM, Industrial, Minimal Wave
Label: Fixed Grin Records
Release D-ate: 07-10-2022
Now and then, looking through Bandcamp's popular- and new releases can be beneficial as you can stumble on things that have very little coverage even though they should have it. Here is me doing my part, then, as I'm recommending The Mall's new album for fans of the older kind of EDM Industrial sound made popular by bands like Front Like Assembly. Time Vehicle Earth is a fun approximation of the early albums of Front Line Assembly (listen to "Deconstruction" or the title track to see what I mean) and will additionally come off as aggressive video game music that recalls the mystery filled atmosphere of the Axiom Verge soundtrack (check out "Nostalgia" for that). This is synth music with some heavy danceable beats and aggressive vocals, as such it isn't overly complex but lives and dies on how it is felt. In my estimation, The Mall passes this test. At 38 minutes, the songs on this album are short enough to not overstay their welcome and feature an in-your-face sound that is hard to not smile at. The brevity also helps with a flaw that could have been a serious problem: much of the material spends its time in the same range. The band clearly have some cool ideas but for next time I would like to hear just a little more variety. Nitpicks, however, as I enjoyed this enough to come back to it. I haven't heard many newer bands focus on this side of the Industrial spectrum lately as they often trend towards the noise side, so this was a welcome find.
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