Album anniversaries: Three records to celebrate in April 2024
Every month of 2024, Euronews Culture takes a trip down memory lane and handpicks a trio of albums celebrating a major milestone.
(January, February and Marchâs trios can be found here.)
These are the three records you should choose to (re)discover as they respectively turn 10, 20, and 30 this April.
Turing 10 in 2024: Chet Faker â Built On Glass
(Release date: 15 April 2014)
Turning 10 mid-April, this electro neo-soul debut from Chet Faker isnât necessarily an album for the ages. However, if youâre in the right mood, it hits the spot. Especially if that mood happens to be sultry canoodling under the bedsheets.
Before the Australian singer-songwriter (whose real name is Nicholas James Murphy, in case you thought that his stage name implied he was a cousin twice removed from Baker) released his debut album âBuilt On Glassâ, he made a name for himself with his promising EP âThinking In Texturesâ and by collaborating with fellow Aussie Flume. He went viral after releasing a brilliant cover of Blackstreetâs âNo Diggityâ - which was featured in a 2013 Super Bowl commercial. Safe to say that his debut LP was eagerly anticipated.
Many were disappointed by the vocal performance, but the minimalist restraint throughout works â making âBuilt On Glassâ as delicate as its title suggests. Itâs an album of two halves. The first six songs honour Fakerâs chill-out, slow-downed jazz and Motown influences, with tracks like âTalk Is Cheapâ and âGoldâ standing out. The first is arguably the albumâs strongest, a brassy and warm song perfect for a naked Sunday morning in bed with your legs intertwined around those of your significant other; the second is a more up-tempo disco-inspired pop track which is by no means less sensual. The second half of the album, marked by an interlude which encourages you to ârelax still more and drift a little deeper as you listenâ, is more rhythmically adventurous. Standouts include âBlushâ and its looped synths, â1998â and its entrancing house beat, and the textured / Postal Service-esque âCigarettes And Lonelinessâ.
Again, none of it amounts to a stone-cold classic, and thereâs no (diggity, no) doubt that Chet Faker peaked here. However, if youâre looking for a laid-back record that conceals riches behind its modesty (whilst luxuriating in that early morning lovemaking mood), this is an excellent choice.
Also turning 10 in April: Eels' eleventh studio album 'The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett', which is very underrated.
Turning 20 in 2024: mĂșm - Summer Make Good
(Release date: 12 April 2004)
mĂșm (stylized in lowercase) were dealt a bit of a rough hand.
Breaking out in the early 2000s, at the same time Sigur RĂłs were getting their big break and Björk was riding high off the back of a flawless three-album streak (and about to drop her masterpiece âVespertineâ), the Icelandic quartet entered a scene which was seemingly a full house.
To drop the protracted playing cards bit and venture into another metaphor, mĂșm werenât always the bridesmaid - they were relegated to ring bearer.
Their second album, 2002âs âFinally We Are No Oneâ - despite seemingly confirming the statements above - was a luscious and delicate post-rock affair that was equally as moody as Sigur RĂłs, but sweeter, and far more whimsical. It got them some press but hardly the same sort of love their fellow Icelanders were enjoying.
The third studio album, 'Summer Make Good', wouldnât change that, despite being the unsung jewel in their discography. Itâs a darker, more experimental project, something which relies almost entirely on brooding instrumental compositions reminiscent of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Newly a trio, with the departure of cellist Gyda ValtĂœsdĂłttir, the band leaned into heavier electro glitches, eerie drones and wall-of-sound stylings which conjured ominous images of rocks battered by the cold sea and desolate landscapes haunted by angry ghosts. Some tracks perforated the menace set up by the likes of âWeeping Rock, Rockâ, like the stunning âNightly Caresâ and its beautiful trio of trumpets, as well as the intimate âThe Ghosts You Draw On My Backâ. The rest of the album could have made for the ideal horror soundtrack (listen to the opening of âStirâ and youâll get the picture), with KristĂn Anna ValtĂœsdĂłttirâs lone voice often sounding like something youâd hear in the background of Rosemaryâs Baby.
Much like Sigur RĂłsâ first two albums, this arresting and otherworldly 20-year-old effort has the capacity to mess with your head. However, take the time to get a decent set of headphones, dim the lights, and listen. Youâll be enveloped in a world of cracks, hisses, creaks, samples, and the occasional glockenspiel - all courtesy of a band who still stands as one of Icelandâs best kept secrets.
Also turning 20 in April: The Zutons' debut (and best) album 'Who Killed the Zutons?'
Turning 30 in 2024: Nas â Illmatic
(Release date: 19 April 1994)
Having celebrated the 50 years of the genre last year, one of hip-hop's holy grails turns 30 this April, and itâs not an anniversary to skip.
Itâs rare that an artist drops an instantaneously legendary album, especially when itâs their first, but thatâs exactly what Nas accomplished in 1994 with the release of âIllmaticâ. The then 20-year-old newcomer hailing from Queensbridge, New York, released his debut to little chart success; however, it was never under any doubt that he emerged as a âverbal assassinâ out for the crown. And he got it, as âIllmaticâ is now recognized as a landmark album in East Coast hip-hop, as well as one which directly contributed to the revival of the New York City rap scene.
From the smooth flow, the spellbinding collage of sounds and jazz samples, to his sophisticated lyrical prowess, Nas set a new benchmark, one which captured the essence of growing up in the projects of NY and Americaâs ills on a wider scale. Over the course of 10 tracks, with 'N.Y. State of Mind', âHalftimeâ, âIt Ainât Hard To Tellâ, âOne Loveâ and âThe World Is Yoursâ, the rapper managed to cast a timeless spell. Thirty years on, it remains, alongside Madvillainâs âMadvillainyâ (which turned 20 last month), one of the most influential hip-hop albums of all time.
âLifeâs a bitch and then you dieâ, Nas insisted on the track âLifeâs A Bitchâ.
Heâs hardly wrong â but his debutâs legacy is one that still has a long shelf life ahead of it.
Also turning 30 in Apirl: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds' 'Let Love In' - more on that album here; The Offspring's third studio album 'Smash', featuring the anthemic singles 'Come Out and Play' and 'Self Esteem'; Blur's 'Parklife' - which wasn't picked because we already did a piece on their best albums here; country legend Johnny Cash and his stunning 81st album (81st!!) 'American Recordings'.