From Sufjan Stevens to Little Simz: Best Albums/Tracks Of September
Hey! What’s up? Doing alright? Cool. Missed you, but I took a week off while I was deciding to make this a BI-WEEKLY release. Isn’t that cool? More of this! Schedule will be pinned on my Twitter, if you want to see what you’re in for next… however long I do this.
Anyway, September is coming to a close. So, I’m gonna take a moment to talk about some of my favorite stuff I heard this month!
(As a side note, I already gave a little spiel about my favorite album from September, Injury Reserve’s tragic and triumphant “By The Time I Get To Phoenix.” Let it be known that that is my favorite album of this month, and potentially my album of the year if it keeps holding up on consecutive listens.)
MONTERO - Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X is a certified pop star. And a really good one, at that.
This album has just about everything, from your usual club tracks to some interesting introspection relating to Montero’s sexuality. He also went out of his way to get some really fantastic artists as features, including Jack Harlow, Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus and Megan Thee Stallion.
There’s a lot of variety on this album, which is one of Lil Nas X’s greatest strengths as a songwriter. “MONTERO” never bores you, and it keeps you guessing as you listen through it.
I think the biggest disappointment on this album is seeing that a track featured Elton John, but getting 0 vocals from him. I was really excited for a duet, but I suppose Elton’s piano playing will do.
I really liked this album. I was excited for it, and it ended up living up to the hype. Even though “Industry Baby” was released as a pre-album single, I still find myself listening to it nearly every day. “Scoop” is another one of my favorite tracks, because it sounds like both Lil Nas X and Doja Cat had a TON of fun recording it.
Lil Nas X’s songwriting is so catchy, and it somehow manages to blend in with the normal hip-hop/pop crowd while also standing out.
I’m sure you’ve already listened to it, but give it a try if you haven’t.
A Beginner’s Mind - Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
I cannot express the joy that I felt when I first heard the singles from this album. I’ve loved Sufjan since I was like 14, and as much as I love his orchestral compositions, I missed hearing his voice in new and interesting ways.
“A Beginner’s Mind” is just that. While there are no overarching themes that bind the songs together, each track is sonically interesting and filled with angelic harmonies from the two singers. De Augustine brings something out of Stevens that we haven’t heard in a really long time, and for that I am eternally grateful.
It’s not nearly as instrumentally complex as some of Sufjan’s most well-regarded records, but it’s the more stripped-down and raw style we’ve come to expect from Sufjan in the later years of his career. It brings a tear of joy to my eyes to hear him plucking arpeggios on his acoustic once again.
De Augustine is also a welcome addition. It just seems that the two of them fit together like musical puzzle pieces, enhancing each other’s singing and songwriting.
This collection of songs is memorable, interesting, and just so Sufjan. I love this album, and I missed him desperately.
Welcome back, old friend.
The Melodic Blue - Baby Keem
Top o’ the mornin’, top o’ the mornin’, top o’ the mornin’, top o’ the mornin’, top o’ the mornin’, top o’ the mornin’, top o’ the mornin’ - Kendrick Lamar
This album is actually not bad. It will survive for as long as it does mostly on virality, like the aforementioned verse from Baby Keem’s cousin Kendrick Lamar.
“Family Ties” is definitely the best song on the album, followed closely by “Durag Activity” featuring Travis Scott.
Keem himself is still working to find his individual style, but his voice will definitely help set him apart and features from prominent rappers will keep him afloat while he figures some stuff out.
I think there’s something to build on here. There’s some really interesting risks being taken on some of these songs, but they don’t really seem to hit like Keem is intending them to.
He’s has the proper influences surrounding him. With a little bit of nepotism and some extra work on flows and instrumentals, he could be one of the biggest names in hip-hop in the next few years.
Like I said, it’s not great, but it’s definitely worth mentioning for the features from both Lamar and Scott, as well as Don Tolliver. It’s definitely worth a listen if you enjoy some good, old-fashioned trap music, and want to be ahead of the curve and say you listened to Baby Keem before he became a superstar.
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert - Little Simz
This one is definitely in the conversation for best rap albums this year. I’m biased, because I LOVE r&b and soul music, and I love instrumentally-focused hip-hop, and “Introvert” has both.
Simz’s voice and flows are really varied and interesting throughout the album, scored by some really fantastic instrumentals.
There’s a few moments where Simz really leans into the UK drill style she takes influence from, but this record is at its best when its instrumentals are soulful, and Simz’s lyrics are introspective and poignant.
“Fear No Man” is definitely my favorite track, for a million reasons. I just can’t get enough of that Afrobeat instrumental.
Here’s a second track, because I love this record that much. Beautiful, smooth, and soulful.
Simz’s tone is just so perfect for instrumentals like these, it feels like the sampled songs were written for her, even though they stand alone beautifully.
This one gets a massive stamp of approval from me. If Injury Reserve ended this month in first, Little Simz ended in second.
Track Roundup
So, there are some tracks that stand out, but the albums themselves don’t stand out. I’m gonna put those here -
Anything released by Courtney Barnett this month, including her beautiful cover of Velvet Underground’s “I’ll Be Your Mirror.” I am SO excited about her upcoming album, and deeply upset that I have to wait until November to get it.
Parquet Courts’ “Walking at a Downtown Pace” is proof that they haven’t lost a step since 2018’s classic “Wide Awake!” I’m so excited to hear more new stuff from them, because I’m such a fan of basically everything they put their hands on.
PUP’s cover of Metallica’s “Holier Than Thou” and Rina Sawayama’s cover of “Enter Sandman” were a couple of highlights from an otherwise meh tribute to Metallica’s self-titled release. It gets by on name recognition alone, but so many of the tracks fall flat. Maybe it’s just because I’m not a huge Metallica person.
Japanese Breakfast, after writing a book and releasing a fantastic album, scored a video game. Glider is one of the results of that effort. Does Michelle Zauner ever sleep? The world may never know.
Alright, that’s enough, you animals. This was super fun though! There are so many albums and songs that I didn’t get to cover, but I’m already prepping a REALLY LONG year-end ranking list, so we’ll get there, I promise.
Here’s a playlist of all the albums/tracks mentioned in today’s newsletter, plus a few more just because I care. Talk to you MONDAY with a normal edition of Music Is Good, and then again on THURSDAY for a more in-depth review of a recent album that I enjoyed.
Bye! Miss you already!