Jan 25
lol I've already messed up this year's resolution to write blog posts in a timely manner, my excuse is that I wanted to finally finish Blood Meridian (only took me like 3 months to read ffs!)...which was probably good use of my time, it eventually grew on me
What I Listened To #
Oklou - Choke Enough #
"Choke Enough" is a combination of the structure of (the classic) Opus and the sounds of the (also classic) Superimpositions. It's a rumination on nostalgia (sonically and lyrically) which is usually something that wouldn't appeal to me. It works for me here because the combination of the minimalism and the subtle progression have an attention-grabbing and transportive effect. "Choke Enough" invites you to fill in the space in the song, rather than dictating you to feel a certain way about the time it is evocative of.
The rest of the record is a bit more conventional (which I was a little disappointed by) but I'd recommend checking out the previous Oklou release, Galore.
Jane Remover - Flash In The Pan #
In the past, I've haven't been really drawn to Jane Remover. I was never really a huge hyperpop enjoyer (outside of the progenitors) and her turn into rock music didn't appeal to me much either. Then I encountered her Tinashe remix last year and her incredible NTS mix. This made me revisit her past work and what I was drawn to most were the batch of fantastic loosies she dropped in the middle of 2024. These tracks (from a scrapped album! oh well) essentially meet in the middle of Jane Remover's previous styles and sound like bootleg Soundcloud remix of multiple selections from a Y2K Now That's I Call Music. They're all Jane Remover's best work so far but I've listened to Flash In The Pan for it's wonderful vocal runs and chugging nu-metal finale the most.
Listen to "Flash In The Pan" here
Swallowed - Libations #
If you think I won't pass on an opportunity to interrupt a selection of short fun pop songs to recommend an over 20 minute long black metal track from an obscure Finish band who have never released anything other than one album in 2014 then you don't know me at all. (It also has such incredible album art!)
SahBabii - Viking #
SahBabii isn't necessarily doing anything new but his latest record Saaheem sounds great and calls back to a time when hip-hop was more fun (or maybe when I was having fun while listening to hip-hop lol). Viking is an obvious highlight of the record and a great summation of why Saaheem is such an appealing listen. Anaconda Livin is also a favourite.
Bladee - Flatline #
Bladee turned 30 and made a 30-song-long album about wanting to die, being paranoid that everyone is out to get him, being close to death, hating hanging out with people and actually dying. I'm generally hit-or-miss when it comes to Drain Gang and Sad Boys affiliated projects but when they hit, they really hit for me. Would recommend listening to the entire project for the full effect but Flatline has been stuck in my head for ages, so it's my choice here.
Jawnino - sentfromheaven #
Kept seeing people repping Jawnino's 40 so I finally checked it out in 2025. As a Lucki enjoyer, I'm pretty into the low-energy delivery on-top-of expertly curated and varied beats school of hip-hop and Jawnino fits pretty well into that category. There's no real stylistic consistency across the whole tape apart from Jawnino himself, which makes it a surprisingly engaging listen in comparison to how engaged Jawnino sounds with the act of actually rapping itself. This track 'sentfromheaven' has one of the wooziest and weirdest productions of '40' and Jawnino's style fits it perfectly.
Listen to "sentfromheaven" here
- Previous: 2024 lists