Australia

Australia

Entertainment | Music

September sounds: a recap of the month’s best albums

Site: Yeong Sassall

Click through to see September's best albums

1. Safia’s debut LP ‘Internal’ dropped at the beginning of the month, offering fans of the Canberra-bred electronica trio a chance to sink their teeth into a cohesive album. While featuring previously heard tracks like ‘Embracing Me’ and ‘Make Them Wheels Roll’ the 12-track album shows maturity in sound and execution. The trio are currently touring the country until November 18.<p><a style="font-size: 17px;" href="http://www.safia-music.com/">safia-music.com</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>

2. The third LP from critically acclaimed Aussie duo Big Scary is as bold and complex as its title suggests. ‘Animal’ opens with an intensity that peaks with ‘Saviour Add Vice’, evolves into a the frenetic energy of ‘Up and Up and Up’ then finally mellows into ‘Breathe Underwater’ and ‘The Opposite Of Us’. One to be played from start to finish, don’t be tempted to press shuffle.

3. Thought Irish folkster James Vincent McMorrow was just one long falsetto note? His third effort ‘We Move’ is full of grooves you probably didn’t know he had in him. Produced with the help of Nineteen85 (who’s famously worked with Drake) and Frank Dukes, it’s resulted in an LP that’s his most R&B-influenced yet. The result is impressive.

4. An artist whose social activism and outspokenness occasionally threatens to overshadow her music, M.I.A has lost none of her political bite on her fifth album. Case in point: ‘Bird Song’, the track she released with ex-boyfriend Diplo or ‘Freedun’, the one with Zayn Malik. While not without its important political messages, the production quirks of 'AIM' fails to be as groundbreaking as her earlier work.

5. After emerging from the shadow left by former collaborator Flume, What So Not’s 8-track EP is quietly forging its own experimental path. Opening with the bouncing sucker punch of ‘Divide & Conquer’, Emoh Instead utilises the vocals of JOY, Rome Fortune, George Maple, Burns and Kimbra – slicing and dicing them to sit inside his ominous beats. The Australian producer plays at Beyond the Valley festival, Origin NYE and Field Day this year/NYE.<p><a target="_blank" href="http://whatsonot.com/">whatsonot.com</a></p>

6. We wonder if Harts is sick of being asked about his late former mentor Prince? Being invited to jam with Prince has to be one of the highest compliments paid to a musician – and it speaks volumes about Hart’s prodigious way with a guitar riff (see ‘Power’) and melody (‘Peculiar’). ‘Smoke Fire Hope Desire’ is an irresistible funk/rock/soul mashup that has the markings of a classic.

8. An artist who can be squarely placed in that notorious late-noughties folk revivalist era, Bon Iver’s first hint that ’22, A Million’ was striving for something different to their previous two albums came in the form of ’33 “God”” and ‘22 (OVER SOON)'. While Justin Vernon’s voice is unmistakeable, the band’s sound has mutated into something more expansive and almost transcendent than before. And of course, having the Kanye West tick of approval now probably means the band has even more listeners than it did back in 2008 when in it debuted with ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’.

01
/
09

September's not over yet - Yeong Sassall recaps the albums you may have overlooked and the ones still to come

Last month might have finally delivered the Frank Ocean album ocean everyone was gagging for, but spring has gifted us with eight top-shelf albums to get acquainted with. Check them out in the gallery above. And for those who like to listen and read? Check out our September albums best of playlist on Spotify below.

22 A Million

Bon Iver

Goddess

Smoke Fire Hope Desire

Harts

Divide and Conquer

AIM

MIA

We Move

James Vincent McMorrow

Animal

Big Scary

Internal

Safia

albums

September

new album

What So Not

2016

Music

Entertainment

Related articles

Buro 24/7 Selection

The albums to listen to in July

MIA & Diplo release new track (and more of the best ex-collaborations)

Buro 24/7 Selection

Dissecting Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s first public appearance post-wedding

Entertainment | News

Guess who’s heading to Netflix?

Entertainment | News

Inside the Lancôme x Proenza Schouler make-up collection

More