5. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert by Little Simz (2021)
It’s a cinematic, soul-infused hip-hop epic—and a powerful emotional statement of identity that elevates Little Simz from critically adored to one of the U.K.’s most urgent artistic voices. Inflo’s production layers live strings, brass, and polyrhythmic percussion against sampled textures, creating a symphonic framework that lets Simz’s cadences lock into the pocket with some serious precision.
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4. Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple (2020)
When Fiona Apple dropped this intense piece of work, we were still only weeks into the COVID lockdown and life was blowing up in our collective faces. We were venturing into the unknown, emotions were all over the place, and somehow Apple had captured it all, despite the fact that she had written these songs before the pandemic. Books could be written about this album. We certainly needed it at the time.
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3. Scarlet by Doja Cat (2023)
The followup to 2021's Planet Her saw blossoming phenom Doja Cat take a more subversive, experimental and gloriously disturbing route with Scarlet. Songs such as "Demons" sounded great on record, and came to life in the live environment. With Vie on the way, Doja has set the bar high.
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2. Tension by Kylie Minogue (2023)
Kylie Minogue had gone from '80s pop star to dance icon, even trying her hand at pop-country. With Tension, it all came together magnificently, an the album featured some of her purist pop tunes in years. "Things We Do For Love," "You Still Get Me High" and "Vegas High" are highlights, but there's no filler here.
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1. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar (2022)
Very easily Lamar’s most vulnerable album, it’s candid and relentless, offering an unfiltered self-portrait that challenges both the listener and the artist’s own legacy. Shifting between minimalist trap beats, fractured jazz harmonies, and through-composed piano-driven motifs, the production mirrors Lamar’s rhythmic elasticity—favoring asymmetrical phrasing and unpredictable bar extensions over conventional loop structures. Its double-disc sprawl mirrors its psychological scope, moving between moments of claustrophobic intimacy and bursts of chaotic release that, like it or not, stick with you.
Little Simz photo credit: Thibaut Grevet
