3. Hemina – Venus
Genre: Progressive Metal
Put On A Playlist With: Addicted!-era Devin Townsend, Dream Theater, Haken, Coheed & Cambria, Opeth
Every once in awhile you run across something that pushes an established genre or style's boundaries just a bit wider than their contemporaries. I had that feeling hit me the first time I listened to Dream Theater's Images & Words back in 1992 and Emperor's In The Nightside Eclipse in 1994. And now I've heard it again this year. It took three records to get them here, but Hemina are officially at the highest tier of melodic progressive metal. Intricate musicianship, beautiful male/female vocal interplay, eclectic instrumentation (including flutes and sax), plus an unusual feminist-oriented concept and some great hooks to go with the package. From the King For A Day-era Faith No More vibes of 'Expect The Unexpected' to some absolute stunners in the form of 'High Kite Ride' and the catchy 'Dream State Of Mind'. I've heard a lot of great sludge, death, goregrind, etc. this year, but the metal album that ended up trumping them all for me this year was a poppy prog metal album from Australia. Who woulda thunk it?
2. The Midnight – Endless Summer
Genre: Synthwave
Put On A Playlist With: Timecop1983, John Carpenter, your favorite late 80's synth-pop
Synthwave is a reto-tastic little genre that's started to come into it's own over the last few years since Drive hit theaters in 2011, but as of 2016 I can safely say the first "masterpiece" of the genre has emerged. The Midnight consists of Tyler Lyle (a songwriter from the Deep South) and Tim McEwan (a producer from Denmark), and together they've made an album that captures the late 80's with absolute mastery. As my friends would say, this is some "next level shit", and it still manages to sound contemporary when you least expect it.
1. Ice Choir – Designs In Rhythm
Genre: Classic Synth-Pop
Put On A Playlist With: Johnny Hates Jazz, Tears For Fears, Level 42, Pet Shop Boys, Prefab Sprout, A-ha
At what point does nostalgia cross the line into creating music that sounds indistinguishable from the era by which it's influenced? That's the question I asked myself as this triumphant cascade of 80's pop rolled over me, sounding like classic Tears For Fears or a-ha being blindsided by the jazzy, occasionally angular sophist-pop coming out of England around the same time period. Ice Choir is the brainchild of some 20-something producer/songwriter named Kurt Feldman out in Brooklyn who had some indie cred but hadn't really blown me away with anything previously he was involved with (like The Depreciation Guild). Yet somehow he managed to put together the musical equivalent to pure joy and wrapped it all up with a nice bow. This is the album you listen to when skiing down the Alps or ice skating during Christmas Eve in Sweden, and it is not only the best 80's sounding album of the year, but its my personal favorite album experience of the year as well. Merry Christmas all!
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