Weekly Post: 2022 Highlights

Each year, there are some highlights I love that I never got around to reviewing until the end of the year. Due to my new blog format, I placed them all in one round-up.

Sufjan Stevens - Fourth of July (April Base Version)

Sufjan Stevens' original Fourth of July is one of the greatest songs of all time, a beautiful ode to his late mother, and more than anything, a track of healing. It is hard to actuate into words how much I love the song, but its rerecording this year at April Base studios somehow makes it even better.

To explain the original song, Stevens writes a final conversation between him and his mother. He expresses regret and sadness at the situation, while his mother helps him cope, reminding him "We're all gonna die." It is a bleak song, but with a positive message of the importance of life, paired with some of the greatest lyrics of the 2010s.

Let us talk about the changes to the song. While the melody remains the exact same, Stevens sings at a higher octave. Additionally, the instrumental is now led by a quietly strummed ukulele. I love how it crescendos during the chorus. The highlight of the entire remix, however, is the backing vocals. The ghostly choir in the post-chorus is both haunting and heavenly. It all culminates in the greatest musical moment of the 2020s so far, the incredible final segment. Stevens quietly chants "We're all gonna die" while the ghostly choir slowly fades out along with the ukulele is simply perfect. Simply perfect.

If the original song was a track about accepting a tragedy, the April Base recreation is a song looking back at the memories, both happy and sad, and being glad they happened. Stevens does not hide the tragedy of death, but by stating the closeted truth, Stevens forces us to accept it, and perhaps "Make the most of your life, while it is rife, while it is life."

If I counted it as a 2022 release, Fourth of July (April Base Version) would almost undoubtedly top my end-of-year list. However, I am conflicted if it should count, given the fact the song's melody remains entirely unchanged, even though the entire vibe of the song changed. I have yet to decide, but will tell before the top songs of the year list is published. Either way, here this song, it is the most profound piece of music since Official Hige Dandism's Laughter.

Listen to and Purchase Sufjan Stevens' Fourth of July Right Here!

Hikaru Utada - Bad Mode

Last year, Hikaru Utada's One Last Kiss was easily my favorite song of last year, leaving its eventual album perhaps one of my most anticipated moments of 2022. But while classic Hikaru Utada albums thrived on their immersion into the fiction of youthful love, Bad Mode is much more the aftershock of the days of chaotic youth. The moment you look at the album cover, you can see how different it is from Utada's old albums. First Love has a hazy and beautiful cover, one that evokes a feeling of nostalgia. Then, compare that to the cover of Bad Mode, realistic and messy, the contrast is sheer euphoria.

Euphoria is the only way to describe the album. R&B is hardly my favorite genre, but its skill in portraying sentimentality young and old has never been in doubt. Utada is particularly adept at blending the various sounds of the genre into something both fresh and exuberant, but also vary and tired, as to fit with the lyrical themes of the album. If there is one thematic throughline throughout Bad Mode, it is the difficulty in showing vulnerability. The opening single, the eponymous Bad Mode, focuses solely on this question, with Utada wondering how to show her lover that she is there for him properly, and vice versa. While each song works with its own themes, questions of vulnerability and fear of intimacy are a constant.

Bad Mode is intensely personal in a way that few albums have ever been, and Utada somehow finds a way to express this via music. Perhaps one of the main reasons for this is Utada's choice to call in legendary hyperpop producer A.G. Cook, who brings his usual emotional pathos to the songs, while at the same time reducing the chaos associated with his PC Music classics. Additionally, Sam Shepherd and Nariaki Obukuro were highly involved with various tracks, providing an electronic and synth-driven aspect to the album.

Despite this, Bad Mode is still fundamentally an R&B album. With the exception of the EDM Skrillex-collaboration Face My Fears, which feels tacked onto the album due to its success, each track is a gorgeously crafted merger of various '90s elements through a contemporary lens. Bad Mode sounds like a chill coffee house song but merges deeper into jazz elements. Find Love pops with a classy addition of perlocating house. Somewhere in Marseilles recalls the best of '90s house and dance music, while Time captures a strong nostalgic vibe that only grows as the song continues.

My favorite moment of the album, and perhaps of Hikaru Utada's entire career, would be the 2021 single One Last Kiss. A beautiful track, One Last Kiss builds from a minute pattern of synth pads and Utada's silent reflections on the question of grief, and only builds from there. The term "euphoria" might be overused often, even on this blog, but there is no way that I can describe the final two minutes of One Last Kiss. The synths build to an overwhelming crescendo, peaking in one of the most fulfilling and joyous moments throughout this young but tired decade. Peak songwriting at its very best. One Last Kiss is a fulfilling centerpiece of a fantastic album, with each and every moment coming together for a cohesive whole, with each and every moment complementing the other.

Listen to and Purchase Hikaru Utada's Bad Mode Right Here!

Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Aquamarine Ft. Michael Kiwanuka

Producer Danger Mouse and rapper Black Thought's collaboration album, Cheat Codes, may or may not make my end-of-year album list depending on how large I choose to make it. The production on the album is fantastic, but sometimes the album lacks a hook to hold together the duo's expansive ambition. This is not an issue on pre-release single Aquamarine, which finds a hook via vocalist Michael Kiwanuka that not only holds together the track but instantly appeals, merging with the clanking, pre-industrial soul music, with melancholy fear.

The centerpiece of the song, however, is Black Thought's lyricism. While the rap flow is already on par with the best moments of the album, the lyrics see Black Thought give his beliefs, and well, thoughts, of the current state of the hip-hop scene and his place in it via analogies and references spanning land and time. From the Crusades to Hindu and Muslim scriptures, Black Thought references them all only in his first verse. While it occasionally feels like a bit much, it is hard not to appreciate Black Thought's dedication to his craft, and the depth of his references.

Listen to and Purchase Danger Mouse & Black Thought's Aquamarine & Cheat Codes Right Here! 

Epik High - Epik High is Here

It is hard to talk about hip-hop trio Epik High's latest album, not necessarily due to its thematic complexity or experimental production, but simply due to its sheer length. Combining both parts, the Shang (upper) and Xia (lower) releases, the album measures a magnificent twenty-two tracks. As one who finds long albums often aimless and overextended, Epik High is Here remains sprint and dynamic. Additionally, the album works much better combined than with its segments individually.

Tablo's lyrics have a habit of being a tad dramatic, but given his theatrical and tragic life, he manages to unironically proclaim isolation and angst in a surprisingly dramatic fashion. Lines such as "He taught me to love everyone but me sadly." The album opens with arguably its strongest set of songs, moving from Lesson Zero to Rosario to Based on a True Story, peaking in the fantastic Acceptance Speech. I initially didn't care much for the last of the four, but it has slowly grown to be arguably one of my favorite tracks in Epik High's discography. Perhaps one of the region is because it genuinely feels like a collaboration of icons, rather than "Tablo and friends," as some Epik High songs act. Mithra Jin is the song's trump card, with his deeper voice driving the song. B.I's pre-chorus is fantastic, and Tablo is arguably at his very best here, tearing into each line with unlimited ferocity and fear. There is a reason I consider him one of rap's all-time greats.

The rest of the album is also surprisingly strong. While the downbeat vibes might be unfortunate for those who prefer Epik High's more upbeat early 2010s material, it works well with the lyrical themes of the album. Epik High have conquered every single obstacle and hurdle in the path of a Korean rapper, they stand as boundary breakers of unparalleled reputation in their industry. Now what? Epik High is Here is a reminder by the group not only of their collective relevance, but of how they reached here. Without ever reaching a point of overwhelming self-pity, the group crafts an analysis of their legacies, their vulnerabilities, and their hopes into this expansive record.

Listen to and Purchase Epik High's Epik High is Here Right Here!

Amit Trivedi - Qala

Sometimes you find an album that you know is going to age like fine wine, and one day become a classic. However, you have just heard it, and its effect has yet to fully sink in for you, and you have just been left in awe. This just happened to me the other day when a commenter asked my thoughts on the soundtrack for the Bollywood film Qala. I heard it, and have been merely been attempting to comprehend the album ever since.

With the film being set in the late '40s world of Indian music, Amit Trivedi creates a soundscape for the film that encapsulates the merger of early lyrical Bollywood with classical Indian instrumentation that dominated '50s Bollywood, an era that I and many others particularly love. I have been dreaming of an album in this style for ages, and here it finally is. I am still attempting to contemplate the success of the record, but I will give it my best shot.

Perhaps one of the greatest tools for Qala's musical success is Trivedi's insistence on sticking to one singer for each character, giving it the sort of immersion similar to Raj Kapoor's Shankar-Jaikishan classics of the '50s. Newcomer Sireesha Bhagavatula voices the titular character and provides what can only be described as a heavenly performance, easily my favorite of the year. Her partner, Shahid Mallya, more than carries his weight as well with some golden vocal moments.

Every decision in this album that could go right, went right. Clever decisions, such as the strings in Rubaaiyan or the lyrical samples of the poet Kabir in Udh Jaayega are decisions that need not be made, but were made and only improved the quality of the album.

Normally, this is where I would share my favorite song from the album, but I am having difficulty deciding which to pick. Ghodey Pe Sawaar is a beautiful little romp, reminiscent of so many classic OP Nayyar and SD Burman songs with pitch-perfect production. The aforementioned Rubaaiyan one-ups its predecessor with one of the album's best melodies, paired with somehow even better production. Phero Na Najariya is an emotive classical ballad of the highest caliber. Shauq, where do I even start? Such a beautiful song. Swanand Kirike's minor cameo steals the show, and so does Sireesha's segment. Udh Jaayega is a beautiful song layering classical Indian elements for a blend that is the peak of modern Hindustani this decade, for sure.

While writing, I think I have found my current favorite, at least. Nirbhau Nirvair samples the poetry of Sant Kabir for dramatic effect, paired with a beautiful and emotive production in the best way possible, with the burgeoning strings swimming right below the blends of tablas and Hindustani singing for beautiful effect. From the poetic lyrics (I mean, most of it comes from Kabir's poetry) to Shahid Mallya's perfect performance, I really have very little to say, just listen to the song.

This still remains truly close though. The more I type the more I appreciate the beauty of Qala's music. If I have to provide one criticism, maybe some of the hooks could have been stronger, but they improve with each and every listen. It may be early to say, but I think Qala's soundtrack is a future masterpiece.

Listen to and Purchase Rubaaiyan From Qala Right Here!

Image Source: Pledge Times