Yeezus – Kanye West
You’ve probably already heard Yeezus. If you haven’t, I bet you’ve been living under that rock everyone keeps talking about. You were probably really into it, or you hated it intensely. I’m here to tell you this: it’s an incredible album. Rarely does an artist so long entrenched in the upper echelons of pop culture make an album so interesting, but this is Kanye we’re talking about. Yeezus bristles with violent energy, its strange disjointedness only adding to the album’s singular ferocity. From the politics of “New Slaves” to the deeply personal “Blood On The Leaves,” this album is worth spending time with.

If You Like: Kendrick Lamar, Music That Isn’t F**king Boring.

Something Wild – Radiator Hospital

Something Wild doesn’t sound like summer, it bleeds summer. Remember the feeling of being covered in multiple layers of sweat that you’d accumulated throughout the day, standing alone at someone-you-only-kind-of-know’s backyard party just getting drunk enough to text the person you know you probably shouldn’t? This is that feeling but in the form of music. By the time you finish this album the first time, you’ll want to start it all over again.

If You Like: Waxahatchee, Unrequited love.

Blessed Suffering – Pill Friends

The title of this album may seem strange at first, but by the end of it you’ll understand. The entire thing is a scratchy, noisy meditation on suffering painted in strokes both broad and well defined. But who cares about that, it’s also a damn catchy album. Beneath grinding guitars, the anger and desperation, the insidious melodies carry it all. Just try not to let the track “Satan Is Your Master” get stuck in your head and try even harder to explain to your friends why you keep singing it out loud.

If You Like: Contemplating the futility of your own existence, Recreational drugs.