OOPS! 2023 / #25 – 21: A Twin, A Smile and A Puma

Today’s entry has some bands I listened to in college and some I was only introduced to this year. It is crazy to think about bands who have been putting out music for over 20 years still being relevant and putting out good stuff. So, let’s see what we have in this OOPS! entry.

25. Aphex Twin: Blackbox Life Recorder 21f

I have been listening to Aphex Twin since the late 90s back when I was a student at UW Madison. Their breakneck EDM pace is still there in the beginning of this track, but as the track progresses it descends into a dark and foreboding combination of low synth and robotic humanoid voices. This is a little darker than I would expect from Aphex Twin and it may speak to the idea that this is a track about a life recorder. The track starts light and full of energy, but eventually falls under its own weight and fades out, which could be in relation to Aphex Twin’s thoughts on mortality. This may be a stretch, but tracks like this from Aphex Twin are meant to be art that is open to a variety of interpretations.

24. The Smile: Bending Hectic

The Smile consists of Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead with buddy Tom Skinner on drums. They just put out the record A Light for Attracting Attention last year, which had a track on 2022’s top 50. That could be why I totally missed this track’s release this year. Bending Hectic is a fragile and warm song, which is some of Yorke’s best Radiohead work as well…think of True Love Waits, which explores the contrasts of suffering and the healing nature of love. Similarly, Bending Hectic explores the conflict between trying to control your life and the freedom of letting go and experiencing life on its own terms. This is a complex and beautiful song that is further evidence that we need a new Radiohead record.

23. JPEG MAFIA and Danny Brown: Burifect!

Danny Brown has had a busy 2023. He teamed up with dj and rapper JPEG MAFIA on this record, came out with a solo record of his own and spoke to NPR about sobering up and cutting out drugs and alcohol. It is great having Danny Brown back with his unhinged and unique flow and teaming up with JPEG MAFIA is a match made in heaven. The beat with the horns and Brown’s high octane and unpredictable flow is a pairing I could listen to for hours.

22. Kali Uchis: Moonlight

Kali does some crate diving and channels 1970s sexy funk with a touch of disco in her new track about putting on lipstick and sexing up. This throwback is full of sex, her excellent vocal range and a groove that won’t quit. This is the first track on the OOPS! list that is a straight sex track full of grooves and swing. She mixes in references to the moon and celestial bodies as a series of chymes ring in the background to set the mood. This is a great track to both set the mood and amp you up before a night on the town.

21. Black Pumas: Mrs. Postman

Best New Artist Grammy noms last year and OOPS! list recipients in 2022 are back. I really have to move them off the OOPS! list and pay more attention. Firmly planted in the late 60s / early 70s R&B / soul sound of Marvin Gaye, Black Pumas bring soul unmatched in 2023. Unlike other soul throwbacks in the last five years, Black Pumas have an honesty behind their music, which shows how they are not just fans of the genre, but honoured to carry on the tradition. I feel that they are still flying under the radar, but I think they will break out soon.