Apocalypso by The Presets
Apocalypso
The Presets
2008
Before EDM consumed the heart of electronic music, musicians were still experimenting with how to weave their humanity through synths. Rather than evoke a 1980’s pastiche, The Presets arrange the instrumentation of previous decades into an emotional thrill of ecstasy and aggression.
Recommended Track: This Boy’s in Love
Bloom by Beach House
Bloom
Beach House
2012
This is the sonic version of dense white mists quietly obscuring the landscape and unifying multiple views into a moody whole. The view pulls us outward in an invitation to wander and re-explore places we thought we already knew.
Recommended Track: Lazuli
Jump Rope Gazers by The Beths
Jump Rope Gazers
The Beths
2020
Ballads may be popular but they suck the uniqueness from many bands and weigh them down. I miss the raw, youthful punch of The Beths first album. Their sophomore effort includes just enough energetic tracks to save it but the energy drain is palpable. I’m rooting for their third album to be a rediscovery.
Recommended Track: Dying to Believe
Expert In A Dying Field by The Beths
Expert In A Dying Field
The Beths
2022
This album is a breath of fresh air. The Beths have crawled their way out of the boring balladry in their sophomore album and recentered themselves into the energy that made their original so compelling. They’re not regressing either as these tracks mature their sound into more complex arrangements. More like this please!
Recommended Track: Silence Is Golden
One Second by Yello
One Second (Remastered 2005)
Yello
1987
Less wandering than their previous albums, this is where Yello truly found their focus and created a masterpiece. Entirely separate bands can trace their sounds to individual tracks from this album. (For example: KMFDM and the track Si Señor The Hairy Grill)
Recommended Track: Hawaiian Chance
Technique by New Order
Technique
New Order
1989
When the former members of Joy Division were becoming New Order, they spent significant time taking in the new sounds coming out of New York City’s club scene to transform their sound. It makes sense that, at the end of that decade, they would choose to evolve again by soaking in the Ibiza club scene to find their sound of the next decade. The result was a blend of fresh house beats and alternative rock that I repeatedly come back to.
Recommended Track: Fine Time
SVIIB by School Of Seven Bells
SVIIB
School Of Seven Bells
2016
This posthumous album wouldn’t exist without the courage of Alejandra Deheza diving back into her lost partner’s laptop to find the musical pieces he left behind and resolve them into a finished album. The process must have been healing because, even though the pain of her loss is evident, an intimate hope permeates throughout.
Recommended Track: Ablaze
Six Wheels On My Wagon by Fluke
Six Wheels On My Wagon
Fluke
1993
In a similar way to contemporaries like Orbital and Underworld, Fluke made albums that were designed to be listened to in full. Sure, some tracks were pulled out for singles but the melodic flow of the entire album is where the real joy in listening can be found.
Recommended Track: Groovy Feeling
Songs From The Cool World by Various Artists
Songs From The Cool World
Various Artists
1992
Easily one of the most influential albums to me ever. This has been in my yearly rotation ever since I bought it on tape back in 1992. Before this album, British meant The Beatles but after my ears were opened to the then-new electronic dance sounds coming out of the country, my tastes were forever changed.
Recommended Track: Papua New Guinea - 7" original
Hello by Poe
Hello
Poe
1996
When I bought this album in the middle of my sophomore year of high school, I had no idea that I was about to listen to a piece of art. It’s a crime that so few people know about it. This is the album that birthed Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill and helped her brother, Mark Danielewski, write the novel House of Leaves. Listen past the 90’s grunge tracks and you’ll find artistic fusions of electronic, jazz, and hip-hop.
Recommended Track: Dolphin
Je Suis Une île by Halo Maud
Je Suis Une île
Halo Maud
2018
I enjoyed Halo Maude’s 2024 album, Celebrate, so I figured I needed to give her 2018 one a try and found there’s lots to like. The less “driven” rhythms of this album gives it the pacing of summer; the tracks encouraging you to slow down and bask in them without demanding you pay close attention. As the kids say, “It’s a vibe.”
Recommended track: Du pouvoir/power
Ladyhawke by Ladyhawke
Ladyhawke
Ladyhawke
2008
This whole album is filled with the driven excitement of youth that refuses to stop. You don’t fully understand yourself or others but the only way you’ll find answers is to dive in and mix it up. Bodies heal and so will your emotions.
Recommended Track: My Delirium
Get Ready by New Order
Get Ready
New Order
2001
Back in 2001, MTV only played decent music videos between midnight and 4 am and it was in that late night haze that I discovered this album. While it’s far from a perfect album, there are a significant number of tracks that hit. And when they do hit, they hit hard and prove that New Order “still got it.”
Recommended Track: Crystal
Up in the Air by Bent
Up in the Air
Bent
2020
Discovering Bent had released a new album in 2020 was like finding a favorite snack that I didn’t think anyone was making anymore. I’m just as in love with it as I am with their previous albums. Their lush production connects with something deep inside my brain and makes me feel like I’m being welcomed into a fantastical world that I never want to leave. I think I’ll just hit repeat.
Recommended Track: When You Come By
Our Time in Eden by 10,000 Maniacs
Our Time in Eden
10,000 Maniacs
1992
For at least a year of middle school, my family would put this album on during dinner and everyone would end up singing along with it. I’ve listened to this whole album so many times that I no longer have an impartial view of it.
Recommended Track: Eden
Jazz Du Jour by Djangophonique
Jazz Du Jour
Djangophonique
2020
I first encountered this band at the Detroit Jazz festival where they literally stopped me in my tracks. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them live many more times and I can’t get enough of their Jazz Manouche style. I can personally say this live album is as close as it gets to the real thing.
Recommended Track: What is This Thing Called Love?
Spirit Youth by The Depreciation Guild
Spirit Youth
The Depreciation Guild
2010
This album is a hot drink after coming in from the cold. It would be easy to mistake it for just another dreamy shoegaze album on your first listen but there is a lot more happening musically in each song. This is an album that begs you to live with it long enough to hear all of its secrets.
Recommended Track: Dream About Me
Momentary Presence by GIFT
Momentary Presence
GIFT
2022
This is an energetically dreamy album. GIFT blends synths of the 80’s with the vocals of 90’s shoegaze over 2000’s rhythms. It makes for music that feels out of time in the best way.
Recommended Track: Gumball Garden
Celebrate by Halo Maud
Celebrate
Halo Maud
2024
Adventerous and difficult to pin down by genre, Halo Maud feels like somebody who grew up listening to some of my favorite artists. The French sensibility she brings to familiar sounds and structures is refreshing and something I want more of.
Recommended Track: Last Day Song
For That Beautiful Feeling by The Chemical Brothers
For That Beautiful Feeling
The Chemical Brothers
2023
I had all but given up on The Chemical Brothers after my disappointment with Born In The Echoes but this album finally feels like one of my favorite bands found their voices again. I especially love how the brothers managed to find new sounds without resorting to a collaboration album. It is a swirling escape that I want to ride until its crescendo ending.
Recommended Track: The Darkness That You Fear