Here’s a short list of some albums released in the last few months that are worth checking out. I’m also working a list of my favorite albums of the year to post soon (some of these may appear there as well).
The Beach Boys – The Smile Sessions
It took over 40 years for these recordings to finally be released. It was worth the wait. This is one of the greatest works in all of pop music history.
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Sandro Perri – Impossible Spaces
I just recently heard about this album through a good friend. I’d never heard of Sandro Perri, and I still know nothing about him, but I’m really impressed with his music.
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Lupe Fiasco – Friend of the People Mixtape
Lupe Fiasco already released a “proper” album early in the year. That album, Lasers, was tied up by his label for way to long, and end then end, Lupe wasn’t quiet about saying that he was unhappy with the way Lasers turned out. I thought it was a good album, but it doesn’t compare to this mixtape he released on Thanksgiving. Friend of the People is my favorite thing he’s put our since his first album, Food and Liquor. That’s saying a lot considering Food and Liquor is is my top 3 hip hop albums of all time.
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The Roots – Undun
There’s some really great music on this album. I’ve only had a chance to listen to it once or twice, but I can already tell it has potential to become one of my favorite hip hop albums ever.
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Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
This one came out back in September, but it slipped past me. After seeing it show up on quite a few end of year lists, I finally took a listen and liked what I heard.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – It’s a Corporate World
This is another album that slipped by earlier in the year. It was released in June, but I had never even heard of this artist (not actually part of the Earnhardt family) until this week. This is another one I discovered via an end of year list someone else made.
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I’m already looking forward to a few albums coming out next year – in particular of Montreal and The Explorers Club who both have releases in February.