ST236

MUSIC FEATURE

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

There’s nothing quite like taking home some fresh vinyl and putting it on the turntable for the first time. It’s a total experience. Each month we pull together a collection of reissues, JB-exclusives, or just straight-up classic long-players to add to any burgeoning collection. Words: Bec Summer V I N Y L V I T A L

KIDS SEE GHOSTS KIDS SEE GHOSTS (2018) Frequent collaborators Kanye West and Kid Cudi once again collided for this hip-hop supergroup outing, and while the result was brief at a total of 23 minutes and 50 seconds of running to rock and dreampop with low-key beats, minor chords, and lyrics that broach mental health battles, addiction and more. Samples of the likes of Louis Prima and Kurt Cobain are deftly woven in (on 4th Dimension , and Cudi Montage , respectively), while highlight Reborn pulls off the feat of being both anthem and lullaby. ( GOOD Music/Def Jam) TOP TRACK: Reborn FAST FACT: The striking cover art was created by noted contemporary Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and was based on Hokusai’s classic landscape series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji . time, not a moment was wasted. The record bursts with creativity, melding everything from psychedelia

CHART Vinyl

1. TAYLOR SWIFT THE TORTURED

POETS DEPARTMENT

2. BILLIE EILISH

KENDRICK LAMAR MR. MORALE & THE BIG STEPPERS (2022) Following a whole five years after 2017’s Damn , Kendrick Lamar took his time working on long player number five. The wait for what was an often very personal concept album about his life experience to this point, including everything from childhood trauma to infidelity, was worth it, with Mr Morale garnering rapturous reception from fans and critics alike. Bursting with a who’s-who of guest appearances, tracks such as Mother I Sober, Father Time, and We Cry Together are powerful highlights, as Kendrick injects jazz and soul elements into his slick hip-hop sound. (PGLang/Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope) TOP TRACK: Die Hard FAST FACT: Beth Gibbons is one of many featured performers, appearing on the track Mother | Sober . Her distinctive voice first came to prominence via her role as lead vocalist in Bristol band Portishead, and their acclaimed 1994 album Dummy .

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

3. TAYLOR SWIFT MIDNIGHTS

4. TAYLOR SWIFT

1989 (TAYLOR’S VERSION)

5. LAUFEY

MF DOOM MM..FOOD (2004)

BEWITCHED

You don’t want to be peckish heading into a play of late British-American rapper MF Doom’s fifth long-player, a concept album that the man himself described as “about the things you find on a picnic.” Almost entirely self produced, the food references were often metaphoric, and how could you

6. TAYLOR SWIFT FOLKLORE (IN THE TREES EDITION) 7. HILLTOP HOODS WALKING UNDER STARS

8. LIPA DUA

not fall for titles (and the resultant tunes) such as Deep Fried Frenz, Fillet-O-Rapper, and Kookies ? They’re just three of the 15 top tracks packed in here, giving golden era hip-hop vibes aplenty, combining jazz-tinged beats with lyrics both witty, and boasting an appealing sense of the absolutely bonkers. (Rhymesayers) TOP TRACK: One Beer FAST FACT: In case you were wondering about the album’s title, and you hadn’t already worked it out, MM..Food is an anagram of MF Doom.

RADICAL OPTIMISM

9. TAYLOR SWIFT LOVER

10. TAYLOR SWIFT TAYLOR SWIFT

TYLER, THE CREATOR IGOR (2019) The titular literary trope provides a solid conceptual grounding for the prolific musical guru on this, his fifth album. Continuing on his soul-tinged hip-hop vibe from previous outing

Jerrod Carmichael as narrator. He’s joined by other guests, ranging from Solange to Kanye, with vocals that verge on pop more than rap at times, combining with hypnotic beats, sparse instrumentation, and often experimental song structure to deliver one heady beast of a long player. (Sony)

TOP TRACK : Earfquake FAST FACT: Both Justin Bieber, who the song was first written for, and Rihanna turned down the opportunity to record Earfquake , so Tyler did it himself. It remains his highest charting single in the US to date.

Flower Boy , Tyler self-produced this collection of 12 tunes that weaves a fascinating love triangle chronicle, complete with comedian

34 JUNE 2024

jbhifi.com.au