#the ants speak in morse code

[rumograph]

did you know that ants love code

[xbittersweet-nostalgiax]

I like bugs because

They're fascinating to watch as they work

Unique body shapes suited to their jobs

Sitting at a picnic table

Watching ants march in a wobbly line

Carrying home tiny bits of my snack

I like bugs because

They remind me of being a curious child

Peeking under a rock or fallen log

Sitting on the ground

Watching rolly-pollies scuttle around

Nature's little roombas nibbling away

I like bugs because

They're everywhere I go each day

Keeping me entertained through it all

Sitting bored in class

Watching a fly scurry around my desk

Rubbing its forelegs together to clean them

I like bugs because

They're beautiful to look at

Full of iridescence and luminescence

Sitting on the back porch

Watching the fireflies twinkle on and off

Speaking with their own Morse code

I like bugs because

They pollinate crops and aeriate the soil

They eat detritus and feed other animals

Sitting at my laptop

Watching people wish bugs were gone

Hating the scary wasps and spiders

I like bugs because

No one else seems to

Lots of people just want them dead

We often forget they exist

At least until we need them for something

Or they inconvenience us in some way

I like bugs because

People seem to feel the same way

In regards to me

They often forget I exist

At least until they need me for something

Or I've inconvenienced them in some way

I like bugs because

If they're so important despite all that

Then perhaps I am too

[19thcenturyedgelord]

TW: Transphobia, Homophobia, abuse, neglect, p3dophilia, s3xual assault, su!cide, alcohol

~Vent~

My mother is constantly saying that they is only two gender and is always dead naming me, the one time I get her to say my preferred name she rolls her eyes and scoffs as she says it.

My mother has told me my whole life that she owns me and that I don't get to make any decisions for myself, she was dressing me until I was disowned at 14.

My mother would threaten to k!ll herself is I ever did something she didn't like, this includes: having a panic attack, dealing with over stimulation, trying to dress myself, telling her to stop walking in on me while I was showering/changing, going to bed early, going to bed late, saying I was hungry, asking to be allowed to go outside, wearing my headphones, not being strictly christian/not eating kosher, ect.

My mother got rid of my pet hermit crabs without telling me and was constantly trying to release my turtles even though they would die in the wild and they were being taken care of very well with a large, clean tank and plenty of food and hiding places, a special light that was good for their shell, and a great water to land ratio.

My mother slut shamed me because I was wearing shorts that went above my knees (they were perfectly appropriate btw).

My mother would scream at me for hours if I got anything less than a 100% on a test and even if I did get a 100% she would ask me why I didn't get any extra credit even if there was none available and even if I'd did get extra credit she would ask why I didn't get MORE extra credit.

While I lived with my mother I had a diet of nothing but microwave meals and chips and chips because she spent all of her money on vape, cigarettes, and alcohol. I would constantly be near unconsciousness due to my low blood sugar because I had nothing to eat.

She has slapped me across the face multiple times, one time with sharp plastic that cut my chin, she did this as a punishment. One time she slapped me because my blood sugar was low and I was grumpy, this is how it went down:

Me: Hey I know you wanna talk right now but can I make some food first my blood sugar is low this should take me 20 minutes max"

Her: No, I'm you mother and your going to talk to me right now

Me: Can I please just get something to eat

Her: *yells at me wich causes me to get distracted*

Me: *spills uncooked mac&cheese because distracted*

Her: *yells at me then slaps me across the face*

My mother nearly beat me to unconsciousness because she was very drunk, I had bruises all over me the next morning but I was to afraid to say anything because I new she would scream at me and hurt me more.

She molested me daily, forced me to change in front of her, forcefully spooned me in bed for hours even after I said no, and would "playfully" spank me.

She was constantly talking about how sexy a 17 year old at her work was and even bought him vape. She would also talk about some of my friends like that and even tried to internet stalk two of them, we are all minors.

She would lock the door to the apartment and wouldn't give me a key and would force me to wait outside in knee deep snow for hours without any warm clothing because she stole it all. She also refused to drive me to school in -8 degree (f) weather because she didn't want to loose her parking spot. I was also forced to bike to and from band practice (with she forced me to to do because she wanted to live through me) in 30 degree (f) with heavy rain because she didn't want to loose her parking spot.

She would consistently make fun of me for reading or doing anything that I enjoyed because I was a "nerd" and a "looser"

She disowned me after she stole my phone, went through it and found out I was a lesbian.

I couldn't even go into my yard without telling her where I was going, if I didn't tell her I would be screamed at and not allowed out my room, for a day and then not allowed out of the house for two more weeks.

She routinely went through my phone and my belongings without my permission, knowledge, or consent, in case I had anything "suspicious".

I tried moving in with my dad and she sued him.

She stole my most prized pokemon cards, a bag, most of my clothes, all of my old toys, and over $200 from my in the span of two weeks.

My room didn't have a door and she positioned herself so that she had to go through my room to get anywhere else in the house.

She would frequently lock the bathroom door so that it was only accessable from her room.

I told her I like pop music and she called me a failure then continued to play her extremely s3xual, vulgar, music about dr*gs, alcohol, and r@pe.

From the time I was 8 she tried to force me to drink alcohol because its "cool"

She forcefully pushed me against a wall because I refused to give her a hug after she made an offensive joke and I called her out for it.

She screamed at me because I corrected her after she misgendered me.

I had to learn morse code just so I could speak to my friends without her knowing what I was saying.

When I started counseling because I wanted to k!ll myself and because I was having upwards and 15-25 panic attacks per day, she forced me to tell her everything that happened in counseling even if I didn't want to.

She always gangs up on me in fights but if I try to get back up she just yells at me more.

She refused to take me to the hospital when I had a concussion and forced me to go to school all week even though I could barely stand or speak and now I have verbal and motor tics which she makes fun of.

She would scream at me because I sit down in the shower even though I have arthritis. (Yes I have arthritis at 15, it runs in the family and before to long I might develop psoriasis, I have shitty genes)

I wasn't allowed to wear anything that revealed my shoulders, that was low cut, shower any part of my stomach or back, short that went above my knees, ect.

I wasn't allowed to get my hair cut below my chin because it " wasn't feminine enough"

I wasn't allowed to have anything that was "for boys" this included clothes, toys, books, stickers, blankets, posters, movies, ect.

She forced me to watch R rated movies with her even if I didn't feel comfortable watching them.

I wasn't allowed to have any friends over and I wasn't allowed to go to any friends house, the one time I did have friends over she judged all of them and tried me to stop hanging out with them after they left. My friends are all very good people and are the only reason I'm still alive rn, she was just mad that I was talking to people who weren't her.

She screamed at she because I got one (1) drop of dark green ink on her black coffee table that she got for free.

I wasn't allowed to draw any male characters because she was afraid I would get off to them or something idk (this was before I was forcefully outed)

She bought me a triple chocolate cake for my birthday once. I'm allergic to chocolate. She forgot my birthday the next year.

Anytime I would tell her about the terrible bullying that was going on she would tell me to get over it, even after I had been thrown to the ground and strangled by one of my classmates.

If I got into a new game or hobby she would either take it away or shame me for playing it.

She spent all day on the computer playing Sims 3 to the point where I had to feed myself, take care of myself, and play by myself as young as 5.

She screamed at me because while talking about Pokemon lore I mentioned how Arceus is the god of the Pokemon world and she said I shouldn't say that because it would "make god mad" ( I have nothing against christians or christianity btw, just the people who shove it down your throat like she does)

I wasn't allowed to eat or drink the last of anything (finishing a bag of chips, taking the last soda, ect.) If I did she would scream at me and slap me as punishment.

She threatened to forbid me form seeing my cousin (who for the first 11 years of my life was my only friend) if I ever "talked back" to her.

She wod frequently strangle me as a form of "tough love".

When I was 2 she tried to teach me how to swim by holding me under water over and over again, drowning is now one of my greatest fears. Luckily I did learn to swim with the help of cousin and granny and even enjoy swimming but it is hard for me to do things like wash my face in the shower or stay under water for more than a few seconds without panicking.

She never taught me how to cook but then would scream at me because I didn't know how to cook.

Her smoking inside and while driving has caused me to have some lung issues, she denies that she ever smoked near me.

She tried to take me away frome everyone in my life including my family and friends so that I could only spend time with her.

When I was in fifth grade she homeschooled me and forced me to do college lever reading, learn how to code, learn at least two other languages that weren't english, learn how to play guitar, do gymnastics, do jujitsu (japanese), do soccer, learn to sing (keep I mind I had no interest in music, but she did), do a digital homeschooling program set at a highschool level, and learn a bunch of useless skills like knot tying and making friendship bracelets because it was "feminine". This was in FIFTH FUCKING GRADE.

We didn't have a washer or dryer and she would never go to to town to get laundry done so I never had clean clothes.

If I had more that $10 I had to give the rest to her.

She tried to kidnap me once.

One time on accident I stood in a bull ant hill and got stung all over (if you don't know ants all sting at once), I was swollen all over and screaming in pain and she did nothing, not even give me ice or ointment, she just told me to be more careful.

[xyzikxyz]

jurgen leitner rant but its the shadow cultist milf from the underwood collection

ADRIENNE BLAKE?

STUPID SMARTASS MOTHERFUCKING ADRIENNE BLAKE GOD DAMN FOOL USHER FOUNDATION HEADING DUST EATING RAT OLD KAREN LOOKING SHITHEAD IDIOT AVATAR OF THE WHORE RINGMASTER OF THE SHITHEAD CIRCUS LAUGHED OUT OF TOWN PRENTENTIOUS ANTHROPOLOGY MAJOR MOTHERFUCKING ADRIENNE BLAKE

 STOP PINNING ME WHEN I TALK ABOUT ADRIENNE BLAKE I HATE HER SO MUCH WHY DOES SHE KEEP GASLIGHTING HER EMPLOYEES WHY DID SHE DECIDE TO FUCK AROUND AND BE THE WORST JUST BEING SUS AS FUCK I THOUGHT SHE SERVED THE WEB OR THE STRANGER WOMAN HAS SUCH A VISCERAL AFFECT ON ME NOT EVEN SEEN THIS WOMAN IN PERSON AND I ALREADY AM REMINDED OF MY ASSHOLE MOM

 if i was asked to see adrienne in her office i would piss on her feet for the sole purpose of getting fired and getting the fuck out of there

 if i have to deal with adrienne speaking one more word in person on voice in podcast not only will i close spotify i will delete the app out of spite and have to get all the plot updates from the morse code entity just to avoid this evil middle aged woman

 i know exactly why I hate her so much. she reminds me way to much of maternal figures that let me down but i am just mad because i am angy

 she better have some fucked up backstory to explain this if she's just some smug shithead who just happens to know the true identity of jonah magnus i'll go ham

BETTER have had some fucked up dark related trauma cuz if she didnt I'm going to scream

 paypal.com/IFuckingHateAdrienneBlake

 episodes not even about her. supposed to be about ulysses ant trauma but she pops up and I lost it

 what the fuck even is adrienne if shes some bodysnatching victorian bitch named lavinia poltergeist or some shit i will lose it

 vile old woman

 Ill pay ever bamba 50 usd to watch them punch adrienne and her skinny hollow body will crack and flake apart like natural clay in the heat of august and i will be eating eyes like popcorn the whole time all that will be left is her dope purple lipstick which i will sell to an eridan cosplayer for 69 cents

 im not breathing im hyperventilating at this point

 i hope theres a date given for when adrienne will die so i can make it a reminder on my phone everyday once a year i will see it and do anything but pay respects to the woman who acts Like That

[dontjudgemepeepswrites]

The 9-8 ~ S3 Ep15

Just pretend that the entire thing with Stevie didn't happen.

--------------------------------

y/n - your name

y/s/n - your surname

y/f/n - your full name

y/e/c - your eye colour

y/n/n - your nickname

--------------------------------

*Jakes pov*

"Are you serious? We have to share the already cramped bullpen with another precinct?" I ask, not believing what I'm hearing.

"Yes. And you will all behave," Holt says, as monotonously as ever. This is gonna suck. And I'm gonna have to have a desk buddy. Ugh.

"As long as they don't touch our microwave, we're good," Hitchcock (unhelpfully) inputs. I can practically hear Rosa's eyes rolling.

*when the 98 arrive*

"Here they are. The 9-8. Anyone got any info?" I ask, the rest of the 99 behind me.

"I do." I don't think I need to mention who even answers my question.

"Why am I not surprised, Ames? What ya got?"

"Pretty much that they're all lazy and unorganised. I went through some of their reports and most are worse than yours."

"Ouch."

"Except for one detective, Detective y/f/n. They singlehandedly took down a major drug case. But that's not all, I'm not sure which is better, but they also helped take down Colin the Cereal Killer AND have a binder filled with every case they've ever solved!"

"Did you say Colin the Cereal Killer?! The guy who left no fingerprints or weapons at his crime scenes, only empty cereal boxes?! That Colin the Cereal Killer?! I call dibs on having them as my desk buddy!"

"Too late, I already called dibs. Besides, you didn't talk about the binder!"

"Amy, you're the only one who cares about it," Rosa inputs.

"She's not wrong," is one of the many responses Rosa gets, all agreeing with her.

"You guys don't know real fun then," Amy 'sasses'.

"Why is there a party in the break room? Get back to work. Now," Holt says, interrupting our conversation/argument about y/n. "Except for you, Diaz. Come with me."

*Rosa's pov*

I follow Holt, not saying anything. We arrive in his office in which stands a man who I assume is the 98's captain and a detective.

"Detective Diaz, this is Detective y/s/n. You will be partners while the 98 is working here," Holt explains.

"Hi, I'm Rosa," is all I say.

"y/n, glad to be working with you, Detective Diaz," they politely respond.

"I've chosen you to work with Detective y/s/n as Amy would freak out about the binder, Jake would drive them away, and so would Charles."

"Understandable. What's our case?" I ask.

"You don't have one yet. You both have the rest of the day off to try and get to know each other."

"Ok. What do you wanna do?" I ask y/n.

"Go to Shaw's Bar?" they reply, asking if I'm alright with it.

"Sure. We taking your car?"

"I've only got a motorbike."

"Cool, so've I. What type?" I ask.

"An Indian FTR 1200."

"Holy crap."

"You wanna drive it?"

"Yes! I mean sure," I say, a smile falling onto my face for a millisecond.

"Get going then?"

"Sure."

My desk partner and I are gonna get on well, I can already tell.

*Jake's pov*

"What are they saying?" I ask Amy, hoping her lip reading skill will come in handy.

"Holt's assigned y/n to Rosa! Why wouldn't he assign me, I'm the best detective in the precinct!" Amy exclaims, shocked.

"Are you though?" Charles asks, wheeling his office chair over, giving Amy a look and putting his hand out for me to fistbump (which I obviously accept).

"His words, not mine."

"Hey, Santiago, Peralta, Boyle, this is Detective y/f/n. They're my partner while the 98 are here," Rosa introduces.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you all. You must be Amy, Jake and Charles. Captain Holt's told me all about you guys."

"What did he say?" Amy asks, an expression of fear arriving at her face.

"Well, he said that you, Amy, are a neat freak and will freak out about my binder, he said that Jake is a childish, big headed yet big hearted idiot and that Charles has a... way with words, and a peculiar diet. However, he did also say that you were amazing detectives and it'd be awful without any of you."

"Yeah, what was it like when I went undercover in the mafia for 63 days? Was it boring?" I indiscreetly brag.

"It was awful, JP, terrible," Charles announces.

"63 days in the mafia, you say? Impressive, but not quite a year with basically the equivalent of Hydra. I've seen some things."

"That's so cool," I gasp in awe, not even caring that I just got one upped.

"I'm just gonna ask what you guys are all thinking. How did you catch Colin the Cereal Killer?" Rosa bluntly asks.

"I got all of the cereal boxes he left at the crime scenes and noticed either a dot or a dash at the bottom of them, so I put all of the same cereal boxes together and it was, clearly, morse code. It took a while as there was no way to figure out the order of the Cereal boxes or exactly what letter it was, but I managed to decode it to an address, which happened to be his favourite bar. So, I went undercover to try and find out some information about him from locals and the owners. I eventually found him and went on a 'date' with him to make sure it really was him. Then I arrested him."

"And how old were you when you did that?" I ask.

"When I first became a detective so... when I was 21."

"21?!" we all scream at once, causing the other detectives to stare at us. One of them even stopped talking and getting china models out to glare at us.

"Yeah," they mumble, looking at their watch. "Hey, we should get going, Rosa. You ready?"

"Sure. We'll see you losers later," Rosa states, walking away with y/n.

"They're amazing."

*y/n's pov*

*at Shaw's bar*

"Hey, Rosa?" I ask to grab her attention.

"Mhm?" she says, acknowledging what I said.

"Do you think I'd be a good fit at the precinct?"

"Definitely. Everyone likes you. Why?"

"Because I want to transfer precincts. The 98 Captain's already given me permission, I just need to find a precinct and we all got on so well back at the precinct. I've never had a conversation like that at the 98, they're all jerks and it's nice to be with people who'll listen and give some useful input."

"Debatable, but then again, you haven't met Hitchcock and Scully yet, so. And I'm sure we'd all love to have you join."

"Thanks Rosa. I'll get some transfer papers and ask the rest of the 99."

"You don't need to."

"Why not?"

"Because we all like you. And you have both mine and Holt's seal of approval, you're definitely good. Just apply. In fact, don't tell the others and surprise them. They'll love it."

"Ok. I trust you. I'll get the papers ASAP. I can't wait.

"Just a heads up, you'd probably have to work in a desk opposite Boyle."

"Does he just talk about Jake loads?"

"Yeah. But if you start talking about him to Boyle, Boyle won't stop bugging you for a while."

"Tell me about the rest of the squad."

"Amy, as you know, neat freak and is obsessed with binders. She's also Jake's ex. They broke up mutually, agreeing that it was effecting the work environment for everyone, but they're friends and it's not awkward. Jake is a very childish detective. He's quite sarcastic too. And smart but dumb at the same time. He's very messy and gets a lot of ants in his desk since there's so much food that he never threw away. Speaking of food, let's move on to Boyle. He eats a lot of weird food and is a food fanatic. He even has a weekly email newsletter rating pizza places. And he has a category for mouth feel."

"Mouth feel?"

"Yup. He also says a lot of stuff that unintentionally makes people uncomfortable and will mention his 'buttholes'. Long story short, he saved my life by getting shot in the butt. Hitchcock and Scully. You've not met them yet and you'll soon wish you never did. Sergeant Terry Jeffords, he was out of field for a while but is back now. All you really need to know is that he loves yoghurt. A lot. He won't let you even touch it. Then we have Gina. Holt's assistant and a phone fanatic. She originally got a job here because her and Jake grew up together. She insults Amy a lot but she's cool. And finally, Captain Raymond Holt. We get on well, never discussing feelings. He just got back after being promoted to head of PR. But then he just came back one day and no one knows why."

"This is all a lot to process at once. I'm gonna guess that people don't know lots about you then?"

"Nope."

"Ok."

"Wait, you're not gonna try and pry information out of me?"

"No, why would I?"

"Everyone else normally tries to. I appreciate that you respect my life choices."

"No problem. Want another beer?"

"No thanks. We should get going, it's getting late. Wanna crash at mine? It's close."

"Sure."

*The next day*

Rosa and I walk into the bullpen together, me laughing at something she said. Everyone turns to me, wondering why I'm laughing.

"What?" I ask. "It was a funny joke."

"Rosa told a joke?" Amy asks, seeming surprised.

"Is that not normal?"

"No!" gets yelled simultaneously by the 99 workers.

"You want to see them get freaked out?" Rosa asks me, smirking. Oh no.

"Ok," my mouth disobeys.

"They crashed at my place last night." After Rosa says this, everyone stares at me with their jaws literally dropped.

"You guys should close your mouths. After all, we wouldn't want you to swallow flies, would we?" I sass, taking the opportunity that was handed to me on a silver platter.

"I know three things about Rosa, and one of those things is that she does NOT let people crash at he place. Are you a hypnotist?!" Jake gawps.

"I must be, because y'all seem to be in a trance right now," I playfully respond, sending a playful wink Jake's way.

"Make way for their highness, Detective y/f/n," Gina announces, bowing down to me. I let out a small laugh at the interaction we all just had and Rosa and I make our way to Captain Holt's office and try to open the door, only to find that it's locked.

"Diaz, y/s/n," Holt's voice announces his presence behind us. "I apologise that we're not in my office but I've been locked out."

"Sorry, Captain. The Deputy Inspector does that a lot. Could we maybe go somewhere more private to speak though?"

"Somewhere where Amy can't read everyone's lips preferably."

"Of course. We can go to the roof. I'll lead the way."

*After a brisk walk to the roof*

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Sir, I was wondering if it was possible for me to transfer to this precinct. Permanently."

"Of course. We'd be delighted to have you join the team," Holt accepts.

"Thank you. But may I ask you a favour, please?"

"Of course. However I can't promise that I'll be able to fulfill it."

"All I ask is that you keep my transfer a secret. I'd love to see everyone's faces when they find out."

"If you wish."

"Also, could we maybe get a case to do?"

"Oh, of course. The case that I prepared for you two is a murder. I can't remember the address unfortunately. I think Gina has it though. I'll let you two get it." And with that we all walk back inside. What I see shocks me slightly.

"Detectives, Gina, what are you doing?" Holt asks.

"Huddling," Jake responds, his answer, however, sounding more like a question.

"Why?"

"We wanted to have one of those team talks like they have in the movies," Terry answers.

"Ok. But I suppose we should join then." Holt, Rosa and I join the huddle, however everyone seems hesitant.

"Do you want me to leave?" I ask, worried that something happened.

"No, you don't have to. Now continue your team talk Terry," Jake answers. Terry glares at Jake discreetly, but not discreet enough that it misses my detective eyes.

"Well, get out there today, and do the best you can. If you don't bring anyone in, don't worry! You tried your best, and that's all that matters. 99!" Terry says, yelling the last part, making me flinch slightly, alerting Jake next to me.

"99!" everyone yelled in reply and unhuddled.

"Hey, y/n, could I quickly talk to you?" Jake asks.

"Yeah, sure."

"Are you alright? What happened there? Why did you flinch?"

"It just surprised me, that's all," I lie.

"y/n, I'm a detective. I know your lying. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I completely get it."

"Fine. But it's stupid. It's just that I've never really been a fan of shouting, and it was really sudden and sometimes my teacher in school would randomly go from a normal voice to yelling loads." Jake doesn't respond, he only pulls me into a hug.

"Oh y/n, it's not stupid. Of course it's not. I completely understand. Everyone here would."

"Thank you, JP. You don't mind me calling you that, right?"

"Go ahead."

"Thanks. Y'know, you're a really sweet guy."

"Hey, y/n. We should go. I got the address from Gina," Rosa informs me.

"Right. I'll see you later, JP," I say softly, giving him a kiss on the cheek and then walking away. Did we have a moment? I walk up to Rosa, ready to get going and I see a smirk on her face.

"So, you and Jake, huh?" she asks, bringing butterflies to my stomach. I roll my eyes, before a smile makes its way onto my face.

"Let's go, Rosa."

*At the crime scene*

"It looks like she was strangled. Look at the marks on her neck. And it looks like it was a piece of rope, if we're going based off of the marks. We need to try and find it. I'll check the bedroom and bathroom, you keep looking," I say to Rosa. She nods in reply.

I walk into the bedroom and start looking around. Rope, rope, rope. Aha! Under the bed. I start to inspect it, to make sure it was the right size when someone puts a bandanna in front of my neck and starts strangling me. Crap, this is terrifying. Wait, y/n, remember your training. I muster up all of my strength and push my foot back to kick them where the sun doesn't shine. My plan works and they let go, falling to the ground. I read them the Miranda Rights with a raspy voice, still short of breath and put them in handcuffs. I guide them back into the main room. Rosa hears the door opening and looks my way, immediately making her way over to me.

"Oh my god, are you ok? What happened?"

"Tried to strangle me... kicked her... arrested her."

"She tried to strangle you? I'm gonna kill you."

"We need to... interrogate... her first..."

"Go home, y/n. You need to rest. You're in shock and short of breath. I'll call the precinct."

"No, I'm fine... I'll... survive..."

"Fine. But only because I know that I won't be able to convince you otherwise. You're too stubborn for your own good, like me."

"Thanks. I... appreciate it... Let's go?"

"We're going to the station and I'm gonna make sure you get life in the most high security prison for life. You hear that, bitch?" she spits at the perp.

"Calm down, Rosa."

*At the precinct*

We arrive, ready to put the perp in the holding cell, only to find that everything's fallen to chaos.

"Oh for crying out loud. HEY! ALL OF YOU!" I yell, making everyone stop what they were doing. I get up on a desk so people an see and hear me better. "WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?! WE'RE MEANT TO BE CIVIL COPS, AND I RETURN FROM A MURDER SCENE, AT WHICH I WAS STRANGLED, TO SEE THIS! I'M DISAPPOINTED IN ALL OF YOU! APOLOGISE TO EACH OTHER! NOW!" I hear a murmur of apologies in reply, some people still wide-eyed at the concept that someone tried to strangle me. "Good. Now back to work, all of you," no one moves. "NOW!" Everyone sits back at their desks. "Sorry for standing on your desk, JP," I apologise, getting off.

"Someone tried to strangle you? Who? I'll rip their face off?!"

"Don't worry, Rosa's got it sorted and I got her before I got any major injuries. I was just short of breath for a bit.

"Oh, thank goodness. I am not strong enough to rip someone's face off," he jokes. I smile in return.

"Why did that fight start though?"

"Oh, someone that works for the 98 tried to take Gina's phone off her and it all escalated from there."

"Oh, that makes sense. But to be honest, just between you and me," I start, before motioning him closer and whispering in his ear, "everyone at the 98 is a bit of a dick." He laughs in response.

"y/s/n, may I talk to you for a minute? In private, I mean," Holt asks, taking me outside. "I have the papers you wanted and have signed all I need to, and got the 98 Captain to sign the parts he needed to. Now all we need is your signature," he informs me, after taking me back to the roof. I eagerly sign the papers and hand them to him. "Welcome to the 99." Call me Pinocchio, but I swear I saw a flicker of a smile on his face.

"It's an honour to join."

"By the way, after the incident today, the radiator broke, so the 98 is moving again. Today is supposed to be the last day that the 98 is here. You can figure out how you wish to play out the surprise, but Rosa and I will say nothing unless you ask us to."

"I only had a simple plan. I was only going to suggest that you introduce me as you would with any other detective. In briefing, announce that there will be a new detective and then I'll walk in."

"Brilliant idea, Detective. I'll see you in the morning. As your new captain, I order you to take the rest of the day off and rest. I imagine that it was quite traumatic, getting strangled by the victim's sister."

"She was her sister? That bitch! Did she murder her own sister?" I ask, my eyes wider than an oreo.

"Yes, she did. Rosa says that she confessed almost immediately. Rosa intimidated her that much."

"I'm not shocked."

"Oh, and take another detective with you. After all, you should get to know your new co-workers better."

"Thank you, sir." We both walk back inside and I go to say 'goodbye' to the detectives that work in the 99. "Bye, Sergeant. I hope we meet again one day."

"We'll miss you, y/n."

"Goodbye, Boyle. It's a shame I didn't get to know you more."

"It's been nice to meet you, y/n."

"Amy. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." She seems quite shocked that I'm asking to talk to her.

"Your Captain has given me permission to spend the rest of the day with a detective. Would you want the rest of the day off work and hang out at my place? I'll show you my binder."

"I'd love to!"

"Great! Let's get back to the others now, I have a few more people to say bye to." We walk back, Amy with a smile plastered on her face.

"Why're you so happy? Did a guy finally sleep with you?" Jake jokes.

"Bye, Jake. I'll hopefully stay in contact with you in some way."

"Where're you going?" he asks, confused.

"I've been ordered to go home and rest for the rest of the day and today's my last day at the precinct."

"Oh. Well, I wish the best for you. And, before you go, I was wondering..."

"What?"

"Never mind. It's nothing."

"Ok? I'll miss you JP." I once again kiss him on the cheek. "Bye Gina. We're still going to a Beyonce concert together one day, right?"

"You know it."

"y/n! y/n, I've just been told that I have to arrest this guy with Jake. Can I meet you at your place?"

"Sure! What's your number? I'll text you my address." She tells me her number. "Oh, I forgot to say bye to Rosa! I'll just say bye quickly. See you later, Ames."

"Bye, Rosa. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya, y/n."

"What do you mean 'see you tomorrow'?" Charles asks, obviously eavesdropping on the conversation.

"We're meeting up tomorrow, that's all," Rosa says in her normal voice. He looks at me for confirmation and I just nod.

"Alright, I'm actually going now. Bye everyone!"

"Bye!" everyone says in response. I step into the elevator. They have no idea, do they.

*Time skip*

I hear a buzz, indicating that someone wants to come in.

"Hello?" I ask.

"y/n? It's Amy."

"Hey Amy, come on up," I say, buzzing her in. I then hear a knock on the door. "Come in, Amy."

"Hey! Thanks for inviting me around."

"It's no problem! How was the arrest? Did you get them?"

"Yeah, but Jake seemed really bummed the entire time and whenever I asked why, he brushed it off."

"Oh. That's weird. He was going to say something to me when I was saying goodbye but then dismissed it. That must have been what was bugging him. Unless something's happened in an hour and a bit."

"That must've been it because I was with him straight after he talked to you and he looked like he was gonna cry and/or punch himself in the face. Do you have any idea what he was gonna say?"

"No. He just said 'I was wondering' and then 'never mind'. It could've been anything really." I say this, however I hope that he was gonna ask me out.

"You like Jake?!"

"No! Where did you get that idea from?!"

"You just said it."

"Did I?"

"Yes. You said 'I hope that he was gonna ask me out'."

"Crap. Fine, I like him, but I'm not expecting anything to happen, don't worry."

"Why would I worry?"

"Because Rosa said you two went out and it's weird to go out with your friend's ex."

"y/n, it's fine. If anything ever happens with you two, I won't mind. We've both moved on and it was mutual."

"Thanks Ames, but I still doubt anything would ever happen. That's just my luck with love: I'm about as lucky as someone who walked underneath a ladder on Friday the 13th who opened their umbrella inside and put new shoes on a table. Anyway, wanna see my binder?"

"I'd be honoured."

"Also, no one's ever seen inside it other than me so don't tell anyone what you see in here. Some of the cases in here and beyond imagination. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

"Ok then. Here we go..." but just as I'm about to open the binder, Amy's phone goes off. She looks at her phone and then me.

"It's Charles."

"Answer it." She sighs and accepts the FaceTime.

"What do you want, Boyle? I'm a bit busy so this better be important." While she says this, I mouth 'don't tell him I'm here' and I know she'll understand because of her lip-reading skill.

"Yes, it's very important, Amy. Jake's having a crisis!"

"About what?"

"y/n." My eyes widen at the mention of my name.

"What about y/n?"

"He was gonna ask them out when they said goodbye but backed out last minute. He's so mad at himself and scared and upset that he'll never see them again to tell them how he feels. It's awful! We have to find them!"

"I've found them," I say, alerting Charles of my presence.

"Oh... hi y/n. How much of that did you hear?"

"All of it. Is that why he was so bummed when he was with Amy?"

"Yes."

"Charles, get Jake on the call but whatever you do, you can't let him know that I'm with Amy. I need to hear this from Jake himself."

"Fine. But you owe me; I hate lying to Jake."

"I'll get you a free meal at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant."

"Deal. I'll call you back in a few minutes, and I'll have Jake." And with that, he hangs up. Amy stares at me and gives me a look.

"What?"

"It looks like your luck with love has turned upside down." And cue blush.

"Amy, I need a favour. Do not get me in frame at all in this call. I'm going to listen and that's all. Jake cannot know that I've heard his confession.

"Ok? I won't question it. I trust you." Amy's phone starts ringing again. "It's Charles."

"Damn, I'm terrified, Ames." Amy answers the call, making sure that only she is in view of the camera.

"Hey, Jake. So Charles tells me you have y/n related problems," Amy says casually.

"Yup. I hate myself for not asking them out when I had the opportunity. Especially since I'm never going to see them again."

"Have you tried watching Die Hard while eating take out?"

"Yup. It's not helped. I just keep thinking that I'm an idiot and can't focus. They'd never like me anyway. I mean, I'm a messy mess. Literally and figuratively." I so badly want to scream 'I like you, you dork,' but I manage to control myself.

"Dang, what's happened to you, Peralta? You never get this hung up over someone. You must really like them, despite only knowing them for 2 days."

"Yup. There's something about them that draws me to them. Maybe it's their amazing y/e/c eyes, and the way they glimmer in the light. Or the fact that they can gather everyone's attention by using their charm, immediately making others fascinated and draw them in. Everything about them is perfect. And the two times when they kissed my cheek, I went insane inside, but I now that it was a friendly gesture."

"Jake, listen. I don't want to make you more upset, but you never know unless you try. I mean, think about it: every relationship started by one person asking out another. And it's not like it would be awkward if they said no: they're not our co-worker, you probably won't see them again."

I quickly send a text to Amy because I can tell what she's about to do. The text reads 'You can't tell him that you have my number. I'll tell you why soon.' Amy quickly reads the text and sighs.

"So, at least, now you know for next time. Now, try going to sleep. That might help."

"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow, Ames. I guess this kinda helped."

"Bye."

"Bye." Amy hangs up.

"y/n, I need an explanation. Now."

"Fine. The truth is, I'm transferring to the 99. I'm gonna talk to him tomorrow. This was all supposed to be a surprise but now there's tea."

"That makes more sense. But anyway, let's look in that binder."

"Let's do it."

And we don't talk about the precinct for the rest of the night and Amy crashes in my spare room.

*The next morning*

Amy's already at the precinct and I'm about to leave. I'm terrified. How's everyone gonna react? How's Jake gonna react? Ugh. The relationship drama has really given this a new, bad twist. It's time to leave now. I'm not ready. Then again, when will I ever be ready for something like this?

*At the precinct*

I'm outside the briefing room, out of everyone's eyesight, waiting for my cue.

"And to conclude our briefing, we have a new detective. Please, come on in. Everyone, be nice to them and make them feel welcome," Holt introduces.

I step into the briefing room, all eyes on me and am presented by everyone wearing a shocked face (except for Rosa, Holt and Amy).

"Hi," I say to break the silence. Suddenly there's an eruption of cheers, making me flinch again. Then a crowd of people sprint at me and pull me into a group hug.

"Hey guys, yeah, I work here now. And, uh, could you maybe not scream like that, please. It just reminds me of something from when I was younger. And Charles, you're hugging too tight." Everyone backs away and apologises profusely. "Don't worry, guys. You didn't know. Don't feel bad."

"Detective y/s/n talked to Detective Diaz on the first day the 98 were here about transferring and we did the papers yesterday. Detective y/s/n is now a detective for the 99," Holt explains. "They wanted it to be a surprise. However, I see that Detective Santiago knew as well. Did you tell her, y/n?"

"Yes, sir. There were unforeseen occurrences last night that lead up to me telling her."

"Ah, I see. Now, briefing over. You are all dismissed." Everyone gets up and to their desks while I walk over to the captain.

"Sir, which desk is mine?" I ask.

"The desk opposite Detective Boyle."

"Thank you."

As I walk over to my desk, I see Jake pull Amy aside and make a mental note to ask Amy about it later. I take a look at Jake. He doesn't look alright.

"Hey, Charles, is JP alright?" I ask, concerned.

"Honestly, I don't think so. He got no sleep last night, and he got here early. Early. That never happens. He's always fashionably late."

"Interesting."

"Detective y/s/n, I need you and Detective Santiago to go on a stake out. It won't be very long, don't worry. We've had a tip off that a huge drug deal is going on this morning. Not sure why they're doing it in the day, must be imbeciles."

"Of course, sir. We'll get going ASAP." I start heading over to Amy and Jake so we can get going for the stake out.

"Hey, Ames. Holt needs us to go on a stake out this morning, a huge drug deal's going down. We need to get going. Hey, JP. How are ya? Did you get any sleep last night? You look like you could fall asleep at any moment." I ask, pretending that I have no idea what they were talking about.

"I'm good thanks. I just stayed up all night trying to figure out a case."

"Cool! Did you solve it?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, you better get some sleep in. You may be able to sneak a few naps in here and there today," I say, only half joking, putting a wink in at the end.

"I'm glad you're working here, y/n. You're really gonna add something to the team," he says, not so subtly adding the second part in in a panic.

"It's gonna be so fun, I already know. I'd love to stay and chat, but I gotta go. See ya later, JP."

"Bye y/n/n." y/n/n. I like that.

*On the stake out*

"I've not done a stake out in so long, I'm quite happy to be doing one again. Especially since you're not a dick like the detectives in the 98," I say. Amy laughs in response.  "Hey, Ames. What specifically were you and JP talking about before I came over?"

"He wants to ask you out but is afraid that the relationship will end like mine and his did."

"Oh, ok. Understandable. If he asks again, tell him to just go for it. If he doesn't ask me, I'll ask him. At the end of the day, we won't know unless we try."

"That's good advice to live by."

"It's also risky. I'm honestly surprised I'm still alive." Amy laughs again in response. "There's movement. Eyes on the drugs, let's go, Ames." Amy and I get in and arrest the parties involved. No one really puts up a fight, surprisingly. We take them to the station, along with the drugs.

"Can I write the report? I love writing reports," Amy asks.

"Sure. Go crazy. I'm gonna talk to Jake."

"Good luck. If he blushes, take a picture for me for blackmail."

"Will do." I walk over to Jake, who's playing snake (really badly) on his computer. "That's a very interesting report, JP." As soon as Jake hears my voice, he closes snake and turns his office chair to face me.

"Hey, y/n, what's up? Yeah, my reports are going amazing."

"Can I talk to you? In private? Please?"

"Sure." He takes me to the evidence room, so we can speak with no one hearing us. "What's up?"

"Is it true that you like me? As in, like-like?"

"Pfft, what gives you that idea?"

"Charles said it last night and you said it to Amy when I was right next to her last night."

"That was your apartment? Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Not a problem. Hey, was that Captain Holt? We should go."

"Jake. I'm serious."

"Ok, fine. I like you, but I get that you just want to be friends."

"And where did you hear that?"

"My brain."

"Well, my brain says that your brain is wrong and that I like-like you too."

"Oh. Listen, y/n, as much as I want this to happen, it didn't work out with me and Amy, so it probably won't work out with us."

"I'm not Amy though. And we won't know unless we try. It's a risk I'm willing to take." Instead of saying anything, Jake just kisses me in response.

"Let's take the risk then."

--------------------------------

[hawkeye221b]

The story so far: a look at what has happened

Fair warning: this one’s a doozy, so i’ll put it under a read more tab, to save your dash space.

(And yes, another 2 am ramble by Hawkeye! god i’m tired but also... like, this needed to be put into perspective so.. idk anymore)

- In “Say Goodbye”, Anti finally, fully takes over and “kills” Jack, thus actively speaking directly to us. then... nothing and a delayed second video; the first that had ever happened.

- Anti then will show up in later months, such as Detention videos, an Epidemic video and, of course, the PAX takeover; promising more to come from the Glitch named Anti.

-From June into July, Anti once again shows up, but this time seemingly with our good doctor, Henrik, who was not acting quite like himself within those videos... Hints given by changed tags seem to indicate a corrupting Henrik.

-This pattern continues and on August 3rd, “Kill Jacksepticeye” happens.

- It is currently unclear as to what happened exactly, but to the best of our knowledge, the video starts with Jack getting sick, only for the Good Doctor to take over in an attempt to save him. this, however, is hindered by Anti battling for control of Henrik, at one point even forcing him to try and strangle himself with a headphone cord, but Henrik is able to resist until Jack “dies”, and with one chilling cry, Henrik is gone and Anti appears to taunt us, claiming to have had control all along.

-The difference in this appearance, apposed to his last one is that he’s angry, aggressive and very clearly desperate. whatever we were doing clearly shook him, as he felt the need to state how strong he had become, and how we did and could do nothing. The video ends with a promise of more; there is no second video that day. 

-Months pass and things go back to normal.. ish (as much as it can with this community)

-Then, with minimal warning; he returned on Halloween’s pumpkin video. The video, however, had already been taken over by a brand new Ego, whom we have since named Jameson Jackson (or JJ for short). Ant takes over the video, taunting us to show he’s still very much around, even if he doesn’t show us. (Note: JJ has since been confirmed to be a separate ego from Anti, with his own personality to be explored...)

- Anti shows up for a “fun”.. “sleepover” in between Jack’s Save the Children Charity Streams, showing how powerful he is becoming and what good puppets we are, to stay up all night, just for him

-Five days ago, Jack uploaded a picture of Henrik to Instagram with the single caption “Vacation’s Over” and the next day.... Henrik Returns to unmask the “Dr. Jack Septiceye” as a faker who took his place in the months of his absence.

-Three Days ago, Jack plays “Welcome to the Game 2″ and asks “Where is Jackieboyman when you need him. ”

-Two Days ago, Jack uploaded “Barry has a Secret”; and the ending is reminiscent of the bathtub ending with our.. “friend” Dr. Jack Septiceye; Also worth noting that Jack likes a comment saying “Sean has a secret”

- Yesterday, at the end of Stories Untold #3, Upon Jack asking if he himself was in a coma in the video, we heard the voice of Chase Brody, an ego we have not heard from since his attempt at his life; Presumably saved by Henrik, at the very end of the video, followed by a message in Morse code.

-Chase does not address us, but rather Jack, stating “Jack... JACK! It’s Chase... you need to wake up.”; thus confirming Jack was, indeed, in a coma.

-The Morse code read to “Where Am i?”

-It is currently unclear if Jack has been in this comatose state since “Say Goodbye” or “Kill Jacksepticeye”; but he is very much asleep

-Also worth noting that Jack posted a selfie on his Instagram story, with Marvin’s mask (another ego we have not heard from in a long time) in the background, barely in frame (the mask made an appearance on Jack’s whiteboard during a stream but was gone after a bathroom break)

-Today, In Storied Untold #4, Jack is seen at the end of the video, fighting in his sleep, with the occasional green tinting and is tossing and turning restlessly, only to jolt awake, look the camera, and thus us, dead in the eye and said “I remember what he did to me” and a single heart beat is head, before cutting out to silence.

[atmickeywhite]

2020 Favorite Albums

Hi friends,  So each year, I put together a list of 50 or so of my favorite albums on Twitter. This year, I’m shifting that to tumblr and using words, etc.. And fortunately, I took a long enough break from playing Wu-Tang in Brittany’s car to listen to new music. So a bit on music -- staying current on new music, making playlists, sharing with friends and learning the history has always had its way of cementing my memories. It’s been a great way to recall dreary bus rides and summer walks around Portage Park, the loneliness of working nights and the utter joy is was to become adults with Desirae.  2020 cranked the existential shit to 11.  In January, I had moved after a brutal 14-month situation in my last apartment. In February, my childhood friend’s little sister passed away. In March, the lockdowns happened. In April, I got fired. In May, I decided to move out of state. I spent a third of June traipsing around Chattanooga before finally moving there in mid-July. August was filled with impossibly long bike rides in the Georgia rain and summer heat. September was the heart of a frustrating job search and extensive dental work. COVID came roaring back in October. My anxiety caught up to me really hard in November and December hasn’t had the greatest start, either. That’s not to speak on what the homies went through this year, and it was a lot. But we keep it pushing.  The point is that life is constantly kicking our ass and these are fifty albums that helped me get some reprieve from all of that, whether is was listening or sharing or just going back and forth with Tyler about what’s new and relevant. To that end, this year saw the cementing of Griselda is a legacy street rap act, the rise of HAUS of ALTR as a preeminent techno label and surprise turns from artists that exist in a staid major-label milieu (Dua Lipa, Lil’ Uzi Vert). Stalwarts like Sada Baby, Shinichi Atobe, Angel Marcloid and Actress stayed on repeat. Jazz, metal and folk weirdos rear their head from time to time. Acts peaked and self-destructed. I left the individual writing of the albums to people get paid to be better than me at this stuff. History, context and a feel for what the albums sound like is more useful than me painting a picture of what riding your bike around Lookout Mountain with no breaks is like.  If you check any of these out and like what you hear, I highly encourage you to buy (directly from the artist’s Bandcamp page, if applicable). And remember, taste is built in cars, not in large public places.  25 Honorable Mentions: Anunaku - Stargate Anz - Loos In Twos (NRG) Arbor Labor Union - New Petal Instants Conway The Machine - From a King to a God Drive-By Truckers - The New OK Duval Timothy - Help Eartheater - Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin Eiko Ishibashi - Impulse of the Ribbon Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans Gabriel Garzon-Montano - Aguita GB - 186.22 Ian William Craig - Red Sun Through Smoke Jerry Paper - Abracadabra  Kali Uchis - Sin Miedo Lucinda Williams - Good Souls, Better Angels Machinedrum - A View of You Margo Price - That’s How Rumors Get Started Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders MJ Guider - Sour Cherry Bell Park Hye-Jin - How can I Quelle Chris / Chris Keys - Innocent Country 2 Ringo Deathstarr - Ringo Deathstarr Soul Glo - Songs To Yeet At The Sun Trees Speak - Shadow Forms

50 - A Pregnant Light - You Cannot Pour From An Empty Vessel "These songs were written and recorded in 2017, and in a haze of... well, just imagine the bad sort of things that cause a haze over one's life. These songs were lost. In the process of cleaning out some tapes and recording sessions, these songs were found and completed in 2020. It's a bridge between where APL was three years ago, and now. It was so strange to hear these forgotten songs and go in and finish them. It was like collaborating with a person I used to know. It was an odd experience, but turned out fruitful." - A Pregnant Light Bandcamp Page 49 - Rian Treanor - File Under UK Metaplasm "We hardly need any convincing on the quality of Rian Treanor's productions as he's been completely unfuckwithable from day one, but "File Under UK Metaplasm" is still next damn level.Rian bashed out the initial demos on returning from a trip to Uganda in 2018 for Nyege Nyege Festival. Inspired by the producers he'd collaborated with in Kampala, he switched up his workflow and began jamming out ideas at higher tempos, harnessing the energy of singeli music without simply carbon copying the style. Initial sketches were eventually fleshed into proper tracks and tested on audiences (and on soundsystems) around the world where Rian could assess the power of each element.It was worth the hard work, the result is a fiery set of tunes that sound like everything at once and nothing at all. Opener 'Hypnic Jerks' is ragged kick-bubbling 200-bpm club on secondment to Tanzania; 'Vacuum Angle' is wobbly DMT-step that sounds like an attempt to use aging educational computer software to power the Stargate; 'Mirror Instant' is shuffling bassline house kicked up to 45rpm; 'Opponent Process' is EP7-era Autechre with the fun switch turned on; 'Debouncing' is double-speed grime that glides into parts unknown. By the time the album reaches a close on 'Orders From The Pausing', a melancholic gabber tune with an almost inverted, whisper-soft kick (?), Rian suddenly introduces reverb to the mix, just because he can.Peerless, unfathomably inventive electronic music from the North of England, via East Africa - fucking essential." - Boomkat Product Review 48 - Sex Swing - Type II “Fuck,” I thought when I first heard it. “This really, really rocks.�� - Adam Lehrer, The Quietus

47 - Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind

"In that way, Heaven to a Tortured Mind is the most straightforward record in Tumor’s catalog. It’s an album with commercial, or at least mass, appeal in mind. And it seems to confirm something Tumor hinted at in a 2016 interview about their musical aspirations: “I only want to make hits. What else would I want to make?” The product of this ambition is a gratifying and intense record, one whose pleasures are viscerally immediate. Above all, it’s loads of fun to watch Tumor don the guise of a devilish rockstar. It’s not exactly a new archetype in our cultural imagination, but the ravishing delight Tumor brings to this character is what makes their music so affecting. Yves is a performer whose roles, played with the utmost rigor, always find a way to linger in the memory." - Kevin Lozano, Pitchfork

46 - DJ Taye - PYROT3K

"Pop music moves fast: new instructional-dance songs, new Drake songs, and new instructional-dance songs by Drake can bombard the zeitgeist one week and all but evaporate the next. Footwork, the lightning-fast Chicago-born house subgenre, is well suited to capture that frenetic pace. Young footwork master and Teklife member DJ Taye instinctively understands how to combine footwork’s adrenaline rush with the pop’s euphoric glee to build tracks with a distinctive energy. Last month he self-released Pyrot3k, the third entry in the Pyrotek mixtape series he launched in October. On the latest volume—also available in a deluxe version called Pyrot3k (SS)—he focuses on blissful melodies and antsy samples. On “Gang,” for example, he loops a snippet of JackBoys’ “Gang Gang” into a hypnotic koan at a speed that makes the original sound like it’s stuck in the mud. Several of Taye’s friends, including Teklife members DJ Earl and Heavee, join in on the fun, and I’m especially partial to his collaboration with Night Slugs label owner James Connolly, aka L-Vis 1990. On “Parade Float,” the two producers whimsically intertwine Morse code beeps and battering-ram gabber-style kick drum to manifest a cartoonish energy that seems to gather itself and balloon outward during the song’s tiny silences. - Leor Galil, Chicago Reader

45 - Hudson Mohawke - Poom Gems

"At the moment, nothing can stop Hudson Mohawke. After a hiatus from his solo work, the Scottish producer started his summer by releasing his first single under his HudMo title since 2016, “BENT” with JIMMY EDGAR. Since then, he’s only upped the ante, with his inexhaustible activity culminating in his first solo LP in four years, Big Booty Hiking Exhibition. Now, HudMo is back with his second album in a month’s time.

Poom Gems can be thought of as a companion album to Big Booty Hiking Exhibition, as both comprised previously unreleased tracks that Mohawke has been sitting on. Like Big Booty Hiking Exhibition, Poom Gems ranges from some of HudMo’s most off-the-wall beats yet to his classic, unreplicable, and bombastic sound, though as a whole, Poom Gems is more accessible than it’s predecessor. After almost no announcement before Poom Gems‘ release, only one question remains: how much more is to come amid Mohawke’s return?" - Mitchell Rose, Dancing Astronaut

44 - Shinichi Atobe - Yes

"The stately, melodic techno and deep house made by Shinichi Atobe—a resident of Saitama City, just north of Tokyo—puts me in mind of his country's devotion to orderly calm. One of two non-European artists to appear on Basic Channel's legendary Chain Reaction imprint, Atobe took 13 years off before the archival Butterfly Effect album arrived via DDS in 2014. His re-emergence into the dance music world has been one of the decade's most welcome surprises.

Yes is his fifth album for DDS. Demdike Stare states their communication with Atobe is limited to a CD that arrives in the post every so often, "no words except for the track titles." The first circulated photo of Atobe was included with the Yes CD-R, perhaps to quell rumors Shinichi Atobe is an alias of another Chain Reaction artist. He's never granted an interview.

He doesn't need to. Each Atobe album feels like the latest installment in a serial novel, a body of work mysterious in its ability to mix calm rhythms and atmospheres with achingly beautiful melodies. As usual, Yes will sate the small group of obsessives that smash the pre-order on each new Atobe album. He's nearly always in top form. The title track's hopeful mix of synth and house-y piano stand up to Atobe's other melodic classics "Heat 1" and "The Butterfly Effect." "Lake 3" contains Atobe's most boisterous synth theme to date, the '90s Carl Craig-esque figure mixing with Atobe's signature sad piano and, in a novel twist, hand drums.

The progression in Atobe's work is incremental. Beyond the title-track, Yes mostly does away with the classy, tech house-style snap prevalent on 2018's Heat. For an artist that emerged as a model of consistency, Atobe takes a surprising amount of left turns. The closing cut "Ocean 1" is Atobe's placid take on a synth-funk jam. The opener "Ocean 7" is beatless, with hectic arpeggios. In the background of that track, there's a peaceful drone that runs throughout. A similar tone runs in the background on the entirety of "Lake 3." These touches imbue Atobe's sonic world with its own concept of gaman, enveloping the listener in an eerie sense of calm." - Matt McDermott, Resident Advisor

43 - Various Artists - HOA 012

"Did you think we were done?

The story is not over, but only beginning. HOA012, We come together as a unit, to continue our story. A story that needs to be told. For those of you just joining us, welcome. For those of you returning, welcome back. Now fully on the path, we march toward a future of unabashed black electronic expression." - HAUS of ALTR bandcamp page

42 - Garcia Peoples - Nightcap At Wits' End

"New Jersey-based avant-jam band Garcia Peoples were a little slow to take shape, but after the release of their excitable 2018 album Cosmic Cash, they switched into overdrive. Constant live performances, residencies, concert documents, and prolifically recorded studio albums tracked a creative development that morphed from record to record. The group took cues from the open-ended improvisation of classic jam band acts like Phish and the Grateful Dead, but also incorporated dual-guitar wizardry on par with Television or, in their more Southern-fried moments, the Allmann Brothers. For their 2019 album One Step Behind, the band expanded to a six-piece lineup and added avant-jazz touches to the equation as they stretched out over the course of a half-hour-long title track. With Nightcap at Wits' End, Garcia Peoples shift gears yet again, with a set of neatly composed and relatively concise tunes that distill their wandering impulses into easily digestible forms. This can take the form of rowdy prog-lite tunes like album opener "Gliding Through" or the shadowy but mystical folk-rock of "Altered Place." In this more composed rock mode, the band recalls the shadowy mystique of early Bay Area psychedelic giants like Jefferson Airplane as much as they do obscure acts like Anonymous and Relatively Clean Rivers. After a lively start, the album shifts into mellower territory with the drifty "Fire of the Now." "Painting a Vision That Carries" is made up of delicate vocal harmonies and a dynamic structure that goes from controlled acoustic segments to blasting verses and back. As this song burns on into a vamping jam, the band's Dead-like tendencies come to the surface with noodling guitar leads and dazzling group interplay. The second half of Nightcap at Wits' End becomes a string of woozy and meandering pieces that blur into one another in clouds of hazy jamming. Themes resurface as the band shuffles through meditative riffing on "Crown of Thought," Krautrock-y interludes, and the blissfully droning Popol Vuh-esque "A Reckoning." Garcia Peoples' excellent psychedelia manages to recall moments from past masters while still offering a chemistry and composition unique to the band. Nightcap at Wits' End is the most complete articulation of their wide-reaching creative range, and stands as the their most focused and engaging work to date." - Fred Thomas, AllMusic

41 - Nonlocal Forecast - Holographic Universe(s)?

"Angel Marcloid's recordings as Nonlocal Forecast focus the trajectory of a vast catalog squarely in the realm of retro Weather Channel-inspired smooth jazz fusion, intricate prog, and expansive new age experiments. Trading off a measure of the typically overloaded compositional style found in other projects to favor lush atmospheres and relatively pared down arrangements, Marcloid populates Nonlocal Forecast pieces with progressive keyboard and synth harmonies, complex drum programming, and majestic leads performed on guitar, keyboards, and guests' saxophones. The project runs alongside the omni-combinatory works of the flagship project Fire-Toolz and many other monikers including the vapor-focused works of Mindspring Memories. Holographic Universe(s?)!, the second Nonlocal Forecast full-length and the first to be released on vinyl, follows Bubble Universe! with a cycle of songs that elevates Marcloid's grandiose compositions to previously undiscovered heights, while packing the music with dramatic shifts that allow it to journey off into dynamic new directions." - Fatbeats product summary

40 - Black Dresses - Peaceful As Hell

"The Canadian noise-pop duo’s music conjures a psychotic slumber party, or a Second Life rave, but remains grounded in the bittersweet beauty of lifelong friendship. " - Leah Mandel, Pitchfork

39 - Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song

"Owens’ self-titled debut album played with sounds that felt spiritual, almost new age, like the tablas on “S.O.” and sitar drone on “8.” On Inner Song, that meditative quality comes less from instrumental texture and more from the actual form of the songs. Though she drifts across tempos and dabbles with a variety of drum patterns, loops—both instrumental and lyrical—provide the record’s through line. On “Wake-Up,” life’s circular patterns are made explicit: “Wake up/Repeat again/Again.” Owens writes with clarity and simplicity, using her own voice as something like a synthesizer, processing a phrase and then repeating it as she sings subtle variations in timbre and tone. Her lyrics are, in their own quiet way, a celebration of the pleasures of solitude and self-love." - Nathan Smith, Pitchfork

38 - Pink Siifu - Negro

"The core of NEGRO is defined by its antipathy for police. “DeadMeat” was inspired by a harrowing incident in New York, where a black cop threatened his life for jumping a subway turnstile. Siifu recorded “DeadMeat” the next day, reeling from the fact that someone of his race would treat him with such unmitigated hate. It begins with Siifu repeating the police officer’s threat verbatim and ends with him drawing the distinction between police officers and “pigs.” - Max Bell, Bandcamp Daily

37 - Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now

"Our homes have become offices, churches, mutual aid hubs, child- and eldercare centers. Every inch of space has been claimed by a corner of life, worn from multi-purpose use, yet hopefully loved and lived in. But the home — even just one room strung with cheap lights — can also be a refuge to dance through your emotion. how i'm feeling now — an album whose title says everything, and whose music has a rave intimacy that reaches beyond quarantined walls — doesn't just capture the mood, but the modes of our survival. Charli XCX collaborated remotely with trusted producers (A. G. Cook, Danny L Harle) and new ones (BJ Burton, 100 gecs' Dylan Brady), to lean harder into the buzzing-yet-glam-blammed hyper-pop that she's explored in recent years. While the aural abrasion amplifies our collective WTF, turnt up on video chats and pining for reckless nights, the core of how i'm feeling now deepens around the loving bonds forged in close quarters." - Lars Gotrich, NPR Music

36 - Armand Hammer - Shrines

"Shrines boasts a larger roster of producers and featured artists than any of the group’s past work. Many of them were already members of the duo’s tight-knit, avant-garde circle: Curly Castro, Fielded, Kenny Segal, Messiah Muzik, R.A.P. Ferreira, Quelle Chris. A woozy instrumental (“Bitter Cassava”) and verse (“Ramses II”) by Earl Sweatshirt suggest that Armand Hammer could soon extend their reach even further. In this fraught time, the camaraderie on Shrines feels intentional. In 2018, Elucid told Pitchfork that his music is about bringing like minds together, to feel like “we’re fighting against the same evil.” Shrines is a confirmation that the more people who put those sunglasses on, the better." - Christina Lee, Bandcamp Daily

35 - Bad Bunny - Yo hago lo que me de la gana

"From the moment Bad Bunny's sophomore album begins, over a synthesized interpolation of bossa nova staple "The Girl From Ipanema," the Puerto Rican superstar leans heavily on past classics to breathe new life into Latin trap. El Conejo is, for the most part, done missing his ex jeva for now — instead he's dressing up as his female alter ego to call out creeps at the club, de-stigmatizing a particular romantic pursuit on a perreo-fueled symphony, and rocking out to his own success on an emo-trap anthem. YHLQMDLG is an homage to the reggaeton bangers that raised Bunny, complete with collabs from some of the greatest vets in the game, including Daddy Yankee, Ñengo Flow and Jowell & Randy. It's an album steeped in nostalgia for the garage-party-perreo of the early-aughts, but with a modernity that forecasts a bright future for urbano — even one that may find Bad Bunny (if you believe the album title) permanently tapping out. He does what he wants, and he gets away with it, too." - Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR

34 - Popcaan - FIXTAPE

"In its mix form, Fixtape is framed as an epic tale in which Popcaan shares moments along his route to dancehall’s most prominent torchbearers. Instead of starting with the self-produced “Chill,” the SoundCloud version begins with melodramatic piano strokes, almost reminiscent of the theme song to The Young and the Restless. Those key hits grow into a symphonic instrumental adaptation of Popcaan’s 2011 hit “Only Man She Want,” and soon after, the first two non-Poppy voices you hear are a drop from incarcerated icon Vybz Kartel and audio of Drake’s praise at the first Unruly Fest in December 2018. Though even novice Popcaan listeners already know these affiliations, starting the project in this way is like flexing for the mirror, a moment of self-affirmation before proving it to the world. So it makes sense that the first song on this version of the tape, “Killy Dem Crazy,” is Popcaan trying his hand at Nas and Diddy’s Trackmasters-produced classic “Hate Me Now”—the perfect “fuck whoever don’t like it” gesture." - Lawrence Burney, Pitchfork

33 - Drakeo The Ruler - Thank You For Using GTL

"Since the genre's inception, the voice in rap has been sped up, glitched out, chopped and screwed, slowed and reverbed, all to convey textures and feelings that language alone cannot. On Thank You For Using GTL, Drakeo The Ruler's was shrunk to fuzz, transmitted through a jail phone. The intent wasn't to create a mood, but to create something, to continue a career that was snatched away. At the time, Drakeo had spent most of the three years prior in Los Angeles' notorious Men's Central Jail, and nine of those months in solitary confinement, first battling a murder charge he'd be acquitted of, then a gang conspiracy charge that the prosecution built out of his lyrics and music videos. He was suddenly freed in November on a plea deal, days before L.A. county district attorney Jackie Lacey lost her seat to the more progressive George Gascón. His lawyer, John Hamasaki, told NPR that "if the case had been continued to January, it probably would have been dismissed by [Gascón's] office."

Even when transmitted across a scummy phone line, Drakeo's sneer cuts like a knife. Submerged in static and woven over JoogSZN's brooding instrumentals, his raps feel suspended in a constant denouement, transient and purgatorial, as he probes at the suits trying to end his life. "It might sound real, but it's fictional / I love that my imagination gets to you," he raps on the final track. What isn't fiction are the cruel and convoluted circumstances that shaped GTL, that cost its creators thousands of dollars to record while profiting a billion dollar telecom company, and that continue to take lifetimes away from Black men." —Mano Sundaresan, NPR

32 - Nathan Fake - Blizzards

"Blizzards has almost no breaks or meanders, just relentless club music adorned with beautiful melodies. In taking stock of his music and returning to his fundamentals, Blizzards highlights everything Fake is good at: the way his drums tend to dance in between established genres, melodies that sound like a warped Boards Of Canada record, the constant push-and-pull of dark and light. It's more of a reset than a reinvention, a return to the earnest simplicity that made him a wunderkind all those years ago." - Andrew Ryce, Resident Advisor

31 - Dj Diaki - Balani Fou

"The absorption of multiple streams of African electronic music into a western club milieu has been patchy. Where styles like kwaito and gqom have slotted into house and bass idioms, and kuduro has made an impact via diasporic scenes like the one in Lisbon, the harder and faster styles—like Shangaan electro and the emergent singeli sound from Dar Es Salaam—haven't easily found a foothold. When they do appear, they're often an anomalous peak in a DJ set from which it's hard to climb down. But with the current vogue for speedy techno and other hard dance sounds, along with the interest in singeli and other belting East African sounds, Diaki's Crazy Balani couldn't have smashed its way to the dance floor at a better time." - Chal Ravens, Resident Advisor

30 - Caribou - Suddenly

"Dan Snaith’s latest is as sly and layered as ever, but he finds ways to be more direct with his songwriting. There are no bum notes, no wasted motions, no corners of the audio spectrum left untouched. " - Phillip Sherburne, Pitchfork

29 - Deradoorian - Find The Sun

"The LP’s guitar-centric approach is a bit of a surprise, but Deradoorian isn’t a stranger to big riffs. She’s done stints in bands like Dirty Projectors and Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks; more recently, she’s been ripping it up as the vocalist of BSCBR (aka Black Sabbath Cover Band Rehearsals), filling Ozzy Osborne’s shoes alongside artists like Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and drumming virtuoso Greg Fox. Find the Sun never reaches Paranoid levels of bombast, but it’s easily her brawniest solo record to date. Songs like “Saturnine Night” and closer “Sun” channel the psychedelic swagger of ’70s giants like the Doors and Led Zeppelin, while the rubbery bassline and surging guitar chords of album highlight “It Was Me” bring to mind the likes of Nirvana and Hole—or at least the times when those bands emulated indie pop groups like the Vaselines and Young Marble Giants.

But Find the Sun shouldn’t be mistaken for an exercise in rock worship. The influence of Can looms large, and Deradoorian’s music is still psychedelic, weird, and seemingly primed for a hallucinogenic trip to the outer recesses of the human psyche. With its motorik groove and dramatic talk-singing, “The Illuminator” sounds like a freaky, nine-minute-long outtake from Andy Warhol’s Factory, while the slinky “Devil’s Market” recalls the space-age lounge music once championed by bands like Stereolab. “Saturnine Night” does feature growling guitars, but they’re paired with an unkempt Krautrock rhythm that could have been pulled from Neu! 2, along with a dramatic, PJ Harvey-esque vocal turn from Deradoorian, who belts out brooding lines like “Innocence/In my death” and, simply, “I die.” - Shawn Reynolds, Pitchfork

28 - Thundercat - It Is What It Is

"Left savoring the tasty morsels of 2017's critically-acclaimed Drunk and 2018's Drank (its "chopped not slopped" remix album), it was an absolute pleasure to sink hungry ears into Thundercat's It Is What It Is this year. The bassist born Stephen Bruner blurs genre boundaries, dishing out dizzying acrobatics on "How Sway," beefy funk vibes on "Black Qualls" (featuring Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington and Childish Gambino) and cheeky R&B hilarity on "Dragonball Durag." Coproduced by longtime collaborator Flying Lotus, It Is What It Is drips with curtains of lush vocals. The album chronicles a broken heart's analysis of grief and its subsequent recovery by asking probing questions and finding joy where it can to survive pain, uncertainty, rejection and isolation. It's an enchanting tale of hope and growth in a year that served us heaping portions of gloom and melancholy" - Nikki Birch, NPR

27 - Against All Logic - 2017-19

"That Beyoncé is the first voice we hear on 2017 - 2019 is instructive of the bold new direction. Hers and Sean Paul's vocals are lifted from "Baby Boy" and layered over a crackling broken beat, an uncanny string-like instrument and inviting synth chords. A sample of Luther Ingram's 1972 soul song "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" appears on track two, a degraded house cut, thus establishing a template of sorts: 2017 - 2019 is an album of stylistic leaps, radiant melodies, difficult-to-place sounds and red herrings. Back-to-back opening tracks with instantly recognisable sample flips, for example, sets up an expectation of many more to follow. Instead, there are none. That is unless you can spot the source of the hip-hop loop on "With An Addict." Jaar casually filters it into the arrangement to create a half-time contrast with the main drums, a rolling footwork/jungle-style pattern that features percussion reminiscent of the "Apache" break. The poignant, daybreak melody caps a track that bundles the album's strongest qualities." - Ryan Keeling, Resident Advisor

26 - Adrian Younge / Ali Shaheed Mohammad - Jazz Is Dead 001

"Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad both have impressive resumes as purveyors of modern soul, jazz, and hip-hop. Younge, a bassist, keyboardist, composer, and producer, has scored films such Black Dynamite and collaborated with artists ranging from Philly soul legends the Delfonics to Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah. Meanwhile, Muhammad was a member of A Tribe Called Quest and has worked on various projects outside that group. Together, Younge and Muhammad formed the Midnight Hour, a versatile band that brought a modern edge to retro soul and jazz sounds." - Rich Wilhelm, popMatters

25 - The Soft Pink Truth - Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase

"Drew Daniel's latest LP as The Soft Pink Truth, Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase, is a stunner that revels in communitas while flirting with house music and ambient tropes" - Bernie Brooks, the Quietus

24 - Jessy Lanza - All The Time

"The early days of writing All the Time, Jessy Lanza's first album since 2016's Oh No, marked a sea change for Jessy and her creative partner Jeremy Greenspan. After Oh No, Jessy left her hometown of Hamilton to go and live in New York. Written long distance for the first time, across Jessy’s new set up in New York to Jeremy’s home studio in Hamilton, and finishing in the recording studio Jeremy had been working on during this period.

Even though the move to New York and the change in remote working was tough, 'All the Time' has turned out to be the most pure set of pop songs the duo has recorded; reflective and finessed over the time and distance they allowed it. Innovative juxtapositions sound natural, such as rigid 808’s rubbing against delicate chords in 'Anyone Around', unusual underwater rushes underpin Baby Love . Jessy’s voice is treated, re-pitched and edited on songs like Ice creamy and gestural sounds seem to respond to her lyrics in songs such as Like Fire.

A lot of these sounds came from live take experiments using semi modular/modular equipment like Mother 32 and Dfam and Moog Sirin. Jessy says ‘We got all of the machines talking to one another and would run patterns through. A lot of the little burps and quacks and squiggles heard on songs like Anyone Around, Like 'Fire', 'Face', and 'Badly' are from those experiments. That’s when I’m having the most fun, making music and improvising through takes of the song and editing together all the best gurgle sounds afterwards’.

More than previously the lyrics on All The Time were an important focus for Jessy, articulating difficult feeling into her outwardly joyful music. ’Anger is a familiar and safe feeling for me. The album became a conversation with myself about why that is. Some songs refer to real and legitimate things to be angry about; 'Lick in Heaven' takes aim at what the culture expects from women. The cynicism I felt towards the people around me kept coming up and All the Time is an exploration into those feelings and a conversation with myself about other possibilities when it comes to my outlook on life.’

As the final elements of the album were being put in place, everything changed overnight. Her European tour was cut short and she flew back to New York quickly, plans for the foreseeable future dissolved. Whatsmore her lease was up on her apartment and she couldn’t find another in New York due to quarantine restrictions, so she packed what she could into her van and drove to San Francisco to be near her family, stopping on the way in increasingly empty motels as she journeyed from coast to coast.

‘Even though All the Time was written in 2019 the themes feel even more relevant now. Like a lot of people,I’m still struggling with the reality that life is hard to predict and it’s even harder not to make the same mistakes over again, trying to control what i’m able to and leave the rest.’ The cover photo of Jessy in her van was taken before these events , but it’s taken on more importance since. ‘Through many changing situations my minivan gives me comfort. It seems like such an American thing to say.m I realise it’s symbolic of a much larger existential struggle in my own life but regardless I wanted it to be a part of the album cover. Sitting in my van made me feel so comfortable and it’s rare for me to feel that.

All the time has ended up being a triumph, channeling difficult feelings into something that has whit energy and style. " - Jessy Lanza bandcamp page

23 - AceMoMA - A New Dawn

"AceMoMA connect back to their NYC forefathers (with nods to techno dons Derrick May and Jeff Mills), while also keeping a healthy disregard for the past, pushing ahead with palpable enthusiasm and energy. As Stevens explained in that same interview, “[As] brown people making dance music… we needed to create context for what we were doing. So we did.” Like the best moments of a night out, A New Dawn feels like instant history and an instant party." - Andy Beta, Pitchfork

22 - Adrianne Lenker - songs

"As a solo artist or with her band Big Thief, Adrianne Lenker has been at or near the top of my year-end lists for the past five years, more so than any other artist. The simultaneous strength and frailty in her voice attract me to her music. Earlier this year, she told NPR's All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly, "I was really sad, and I hit a wall — I kind of hit the bottom of myself and went to a pretty dark and sad space for a while. And the music itself, and writing these songs, was a thing that was getting me through it." The songs on songs were birthed in a one-room cabin in Western Massachusetts' mountains and recorded on an old Otari 8-track. We hear acoustic guitar, her voice, the sound of the cabin and whatever bugs and birds happen to be in the background of the poetic paintings she sings. The intimacy is magnetic" - Bob Boilen, NPR

21 - Trees Speak - Ohms

"The act of driving informs the music of Trees Speak, who take cues from the Autobahn-extolling music of classic Krautrock, specifically Kraftwerk. The roads green West Germany led Krautrock pioneers like Kraftwek to produce smooth, seamless electronic rhythms—but the rugged, dusted Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona leads Trees Speak to a more rough hewn electronic sound." - d mittleman, Aquarium Drunkard

20 - 21 Savage / Metro Boomin - Savage Mode II

"Ultimately, though, ‘Savage Mode II’ feels like a throwback: one rapper and one producer focused on a single creative project. Think Eric B and Rakim; Missy Elliot and Timbaland; Method Man and RZA. Their collaborators, such as Drake and Young Thug (the latter on ‘Rich N**ga Shit’, an anthemic rap about their lavish lifestyles), ably support, stepping in occasionally to craft the project into a more well-rounded shape.

‘Savage Mode II’ allows the Atlanta-based MC the space to make his point and cast all nonsense aside, letting his talent speak for itself. Metro Boomin, meanwhile, further showcases his generational abilities. As a whole, the album is confirmation of two young artists at the top of their game, watching the landscape unfold from the throne they earned themselves four years ago." - Dhruva Balram, NME

19 - Various Artists - HOA 010

"Ahead of the dawn, there could only be us...

HAUS of ALTR presents HOA010. Our second compilation, featuring the future of Black electronic music, and as the music as it exist in its current state. In these trying times, we come together to stake claim on the roots of techno and its potential future. Too Black, Too Strong." - HAUS of ALTR bandcamp page

18 - Emma Ruth Rundle / Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full

"Stemming out of an offer from Roadburn Festival organizer Walter Hoeijmakers, mutual acquaintances, and a shared love of each other’s output, May Our Chambers Be Full is the first recorded document of collaboration between Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou. While their solo material seems on its face to be quite disparate, both groups have spent their respective careers lurking at the outer boundaries of the heavy metal scene, the artists having more in common with DIY punk and its spiritual successor, grunge.

May Our Chambers Be Full straddles a similar, very fine line both musically and thematically. While Emma Ruth Rundle’s standard fare is a blend of post-rock-infused folk music, and Thou is typically known for its downtuned, doomy sludge, the conjoining of the two artists has created a record more in the vein of the early ’90s Seattle sound and later ’90s episodes of Alternative Nation, while still retaining much of the artists’ core identities. Likewise, the lyrical content of the album is a marriage of mental trauma, existential crises, and the ecstatic tradition of the expressionist dance movement. “Excessive sorrow laughs. Excessive joy weeps.” Melodic, melancholic, heavy, visceral." - Thou Bandcamp page

17 - Mong Tong - Mystery

"For Mystery秘神, they imagined a version of ancient Asia where all of the continent’s superstitions were real, and wrote a record based on how that world would sound. Their songs usually consist of a lolloping bassline, a snakey guitar lead, and campy synths that could perfectly soundtrack both an ‘80s crime flick and a highly stylized video game. Their sound evokes the simultaneous futurism and nostalgia of vaporwave, and the duo consider it “sample-based” because of the post-production process, in which they cut up, loop, and re-pitch their jam sessions into structured songs. All of the percussion is constructed in Ableton; there are no vocals, but they do include a few soundbites from Taiwanese films and TV shows. (“Chakra,” for example, features a bit of a dialogue about the connection between aliens and Hinduism.)" - Eli Enis, Bandcamp Daily

16 - Sada Baby - Bartier Bounty 2

"His voice is at a-near constant sneer to match the furious pacing until the surprising collaboration with Dej Loaf that showcases a smoother version of the 27-year-old rapper. Street anthems like “Trap Withdrawals” approach standard topics of growing up hustling with bombastic brilliance. “Horse Play 2” even samples Linkin Park’s “In The End” and makes it work. Bartier‘s sequel takes all of Detroit’s current hip-hop momentum and propels it to Super Saiyan-level dominance thanks to Sada Baby’s need to experiment." - Patrick Johnson, Hypebeast

15 - Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi

"Even at nearly an hour in length, the album flies by, dense and vicious and evocative as a novel, as contemplative as the featureless gore of the cover art. I've had this promo for perhaps two full months now; I've listened to it nearly every day since then, often multiple times a day. I've commented before about a spate of records that were battling it out for the number one spot for me this year, and while that number has now expanded, the number then at least was three. One of them was Spectral Lore and Mare Cognitum's incredible progressive black metal split full-length. Another was Sweven's immaculate death metal debut. The third was this.

It's hard to deny that a certain strain of the listenership is right: this isn't black metal anymore. But this is for the best for Oranssi Pazuzu. The past seven years have seen them put out record after record that was better not only than the one before it but of the whole of their work. By Värähtelijä, they were scraping Hall of Fame territory. On Mestarin kynsi, they exceed it." - Langdon Hickman, Invisible Oranges

14 - Sunwatchers - Oh Yeah?

"The album’s title “Oh Yeah?” is at once an homage to Mingus, Thee Oh Sees’ album “Help” (whose Brigid Dawson hand-sewed the tapestry adorning the album’s front cover) and (naturally) the rallying cry of KoolBrave himself - the Kool-Aid Man-as-Braveheart avatar the band adopted as their symbol. The three years since the band’s second album (and TiM debut) “II” was released, has seen the band grace stages across the USA and Europe, enlisting more comrades in their mission of solidarity (sonically speaking) with every show." - Sunwatchers Bandcamp page

13 - Fire-Toolz - Rainbow Bridge

"Rainbow Bridge was made in part as a reflection on the death of Marcloid’s cat Breakfast, which explains in part the way the record swings back and forth between beauty and cacophony. Marcloid’s work as Fire-Toolz has always been about the way that these two emotional poles can coexist, but the way we deal with death is especially complicated. Even the most intense grief is braided with moments of peace and clarity, the beautiful memories of a life well-lived. Rainbow Bridge mirrors the intensity and the confusion of these experiences and shows that even in the direst times, it’s possible to find comfort." - Colin Joyce, Pitchfork

12 - Beatrice Dillon - Workaround

"Chain Reaction meets mid-20th-century minimalism with spectacular results." - Chal Ravens, Resident Advisor

11 - Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia

At 24, Lipa has been working towards this moment for almost 10 years, and her sights are set higher still. A false start in modeling impressed the importance of going where you’re wanted; in Lipa’s case, to Warner Records, who sought a female pop icon to compete with the Rihannas and Lady Gagas of the world. She leveraged her talent as a songwriter, developing an early Dua Lipa single, “Hotter Than Hell,” in the first session with her prospective management team. Her sly swagger and fashion-plate style gave her the presence of someone who’d achieved diva status already. “I’m a bit too far down the line for anyone to try and tell me something,” she said of her creative autonomy in 2017, even before the release of her first record.

But where many of pop’s most recent stars are emphatically emotionally available, Lipa radiates blithe coolness. Her brand is style, competence, taste—this is, in a way perhaps not obvious to those who actually remember the ’80s, entirely tasteful pop music—and the sultry low voice that makes her the star of even a middling Martin Garrix collab. Future Nostalgia is nonstop, no ballads; for 10 tracks, the closest it comes to feeling vulnerable or revealing is “Pretty Please,” a plea for stress-relief sex with an ultra-thick bassline. When Lipa proclaims, “You got me losing all my cool/’Cause I’m burning up on you,” on the Tove Lo cowrite “Cool,” she rhymes it with, “In control of what I do.” - Anna Gaca, Pitchfork

10 - Jasmine Infiniti - Bxtch Slap

"It’s building on that myth of being The Queen of Hell and how as a black trans woman, often just existing in this world feels hellish. The things that I have personally had to go through and that many other black trans women endure, it’s almost as if we are existing in hell already. It’s kind of like, well if I’m already here, I might as well live it up and find the best parts of this existence that I can. It’s about embracing that hell vibe. If I’m already here then I’m gonna be debaucherous and party to all hours of the morning. I want it to reflect that, but also have a little bit of sadness, a little bit resentfulness and a little bit anger, but also happiness and joy. It’s about taking hell and having fun with it." - Jasmine Infiniti, Vice

9 - Actress - Karma & Desire

"Karma & Desire bears the sonic touchstones of his landmark full-lengths like R.I.P. and AZD, but it also represents a profound shift in Cunningham's approach. For the first time, he's invited friends to help out. "I just wanted to give Actress a voice, basically, to use vocal performances from, like, a muse perspective really," he recently told Bandcamp Daily.

Despite several rave-worthy tracks voiced by the LA artist Aura T-09, this is not Actress's vocal house album, nor is it an album of pop songs. Instead, he utilizes the considerable vocal talents of artists like Zsela and Sampha in a signature Actress style, with snatches of stream-of-consciousness vocals rearranged into dreamlike sketches. The New York artist Zsela exhales "Destiny is stuck in heaven," on the burbling "Angels Pharmacy," before reprising the same theme on the very next track, "Remembrance." Just as hazy pads and white noise form motifs in Actress's catalogue, evocative phrases surface and resurface from the murk." Matt McDermott, Resident Advisor

8 - Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake

"Few make rapping sound as purely fun as Lil Uzi Vert. His second album, Eternal Atake, arrived on the heels of a nearly three-year label dispute, yet it still sounds unburdened. The songs traffic in abundant imagination — words and syllables are deconstructed and restacked to form breathless cadences that explode across beats as funky as they are futuristic. When he chants "Balenci" enough times to void it of any meaning on "POP" or when he spits out a multibar hook that skirts repetition altogether (or, really, any qualities that usually make up a hook) as on "Homecoming," it's the chutzpah, but it's also the musicality of it all, the way the melodies are both instrument and a vehicle for lyrics. One of rap's most precise technicians, Uzi has been perfecting this craft since he began his career ascent in 2015, but Eternal Atake prompted us to hear the extraterrestrial — a world within worlds that's all his own." - Briana Younger, NPR

7 - bbyMutha - Muthaland

"Across Muthaland, bbymutha reclaims several words used to jab at her pride: “baby mama,” “slut,” “hoodrat.” She says them with her chest and siphons the negative energy in order to lift herself above the competition. It’s exhilarating, which makes the prospect of her early retirement all the sadder. Rap could use several more voices like hers. If Muthaland really is the last album bbymutha plans on releasing to the public, she’s brought us into her twisted world at its creative peak." Dylan Green, Pitchfork

6 - Jeff Parker - Suite for Max Brown

"The album is a mixture of live improvisations backed by drum loops. This was inspired by Parker’s time as a DJ. “I used to DJ a lot when I lived in Chicago,” Parker recently said. “I was spinning records one night and for about ten minutes I was able to perfectly synch up a Nobukazu Takemura record with the first movement of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme and it had this free jazz, abstract jazz thing going on with a sequenced beat underneath. It sounded so good. That’s what I’m trying to do with Suite for Max Brown. Man vs. machine.” - Nick Roseblade, The Quietus

5 - GAIKA - Seguridad

"Brixton’s GAIKA has already proven himself a heavyweight via his releases on WARP Records, where he imbues the moodier end of dancehall, R&B, and Afrobeats with the kind of apocalyptic political vision you might expect from righteous roots reggae. Here, he’s teamed up with Mexico City’s NAAFI label, and eight members of their musical family. The music ranges from a reggaetón canter (“Maria”) to an almost drum-free crawl (“Nine Lives”); GAIKA’s hoarse voice, swimming through glutenous resonant autotune, draws it all together. It draws you into a zoned-out science fiction night time world, a Black Atlantic gothic cyberpunk fever dream that will haunt you long after it’s ended." - Joe Muggs, Bandcamp Daily

4 - Nazar - Guerrilla

"The roughest rough kuduro on Guerrilla lives up to the billing. Over charging horns and erratic snare sprints, "Arms Deal"'s midrange is filled with raging, Pollocky slashes of tapehead noise. "Why"'s 8-bit Sonic synths, Terrordrome trance leads and rap fragments are also fantastic. Guerrilla can be stealthy, too. Take "Fim-92 Stinger," a carnivalesque hip swinger with shades of the slinky batida from DJ Nigga Fox's Cartas Na Magna. It's a rare gem: fun, seductive, somewhat steady. You could even call it celebratory. But when Nazar says, "The ceasefire should at least last until the duration of this song," his pessimism resurfaces. Sure enough, the next track, "Immortal," illustrates what seems like a bullet-time detachment from conflict. It's possible to make out the ambience of the Angolan bush, stray gunfire and casual bravado, but the clearest sounds in its spectral quiet are an amped-up wheeze and the continuous loading of magazines. You're hearing the itch to fight." - Ray Philp, Resident Advisor

3 - Benny The Butcher - Burden of Proof

"With the help of Hit-Boy, Rick Ross, and Freddie Gibbs, Benny has another one for us to mob out to. At one point on this album, he says, “I don’t care about haters/ I only care about what hustlers think.” The proof is in the eating of the pudding. This is not for the meek. This is not for the golf courses. Benny never dives into nihilism. He knows his purpose, but the album is called Burden of Proof because if you are going to be on the streets, you have to prove who you are. Benny has done that and then some. The Butcher is here, and he isn’t respecting old arrangements. He runs this ship now." - Jayson Buford, Consequence of Sound

2 - Yaeji - What We Drew "But while What We Drew is more internalized than past releases, it is not conflicted; rather, Yaeji finds clarity in vulnerability, in the pendulum swing of her humanity. Crucially, the mixtape doesn’t turn its back on one of Yaeji’s strongest traits as an artist: Her music has always been deeply social, and now it is more gregarious than ever in its gratitude for those around her. Some of the best tracks are valentines to the friends and artists who fill Yaeji’s world—and she has been proactive building scenes, from New York to Seoul—and her appreciation for this community feels all the sweeter balanced with her revelations of struggle" - Stacey Anderson, Pitchfork 1 - Various Artists - HOA 011

"Back once again, we assume the role of Vanguard in the war against white supremacy in electronic music. We bring part 2 in a story of black technological expression, from the perspectives of some of its most prolific, alongside much needed new perspectives. HOA010 was a call for a new path. HOA011 we embark.

Too Black, Too Strong." - HAUS of ALTR bandcamp page

[boomanmc]

on one single giant team

go for it aligned right off the top sitting at this desk right her outside im in to flop thinking down the tube i open up the rain propping up these lyrics with a super nova brain who is this dude focused on these keys he doesn’t ever compromise he stays strong at the knees built like a tank meditates to bank car a coupe of transport filled with hos who will not gank these bitches wanna fuck they all up on my dick what they don't know I'm selective where I stick my bat in their tiny chatte more french for all you francophiles an s coupe I will pat ego gone samadhi is the course paid this patience at t intention no remorse delicate ensemble a gangster glance upholds placing my attention the spirit shows the molds fuck machine crushing all these hos walking with their pussies tucked neat between their toes purses full of cash until it’s obsolete compression stance I got my pants light beneath my feet Good night Irene rap your twat around my pipe better make it clean with paper as I type digital nuisance a stoop at an old club data enter once set the meeting in the tub I need to debut and show this world my stage record deal with self the door to this new page save back it up real rhythm sent downrange comes a rapper scaring bitches who are bent on real close action lighter at my side life stick these hos pay me none will be my bride case on feels better for these songs got the proper shot now to jungle where its long overdue for summer fingers hit the spot thank you google nexus I'm back on this whole new pot does it really hold the data set I'm free backed up as I type it now I gotta just be me killing off the reals not sure how it all pops reading in my curtain shades to fifty I go tops yes I'm back in line blissful this return thoughtless action dictates an early morning burn slowly over falls the ever present plunge one point mind my focus line empty full the dunge rick resting in my hands cool calm to this here touch I like it close to metal now I need to see this much further down the road for enter where it be I love the close to metal wrote that twice plus six you see that I've got it dialed smooth and fast it goes now I'm rocking faster and you know that I got hos comparison weak but I like to see here finally got the troll rock that slices through the fear the case I do not need it's back in this good hand how does this thing feel decisions drilling through my gland I line up here to steal the rap game like I said all taken from the top hijacked it now i’m dead a clown face this b. higher hills all rest above I'm down here in the flats what about my love? off case my fingers taps thumbs they act shu be where oh where does this ball move I'm here to channel chi faster global mobile to the keys making all these beats with rhythms to the breeze chilling out in style watching it all move crystal meritocracy gets me right in the groove so to speak and so to make it sound pretzel dose of salt keep it from the ground above and in the pocket where it all turns out generate the silence ignore all those who pout the phone is now my handle the lens is my commune grouped in kill her tempo tomorrow is full moon that's whassup boulevard of stars Best mc all time don't exist just my bars flow in the streets master in the sheets bitches holding knives cool walking feats full moon standard where it all began Frank rizzo with connections all invited if you can capacity full a bridge across a moat purple lounge resting as I check out this boat what a city what a wicked place jars pressing canisters buildings built on pace exclusive retro fitting as long as you have cash power in the vortex with a reptile born to lash out at all the demons and crying flying drones tapped in to the lyrics with these dedicated moans women cumming true thoughts all bounce and drip peaceful beneath sleigh bells till palm trees make it flip it wasn't a mistake the best hook in the game can I improve or will it will remain just as it was for you it as you were potable my measure these women want to purr little cats some be oversize a button and a passage a cavalcade of lies lines don't hold truth stands out can you set the exp lead it to a rout this corner head I nod reasons in the dark candles lit above me in this wonder one filled park blessings in disguise removal of the mask a present given taxi a truck up to the task in n out I've hit this shot before codes in the cancel women running more total meditation obsolete at best present bring my fortress a body built to test so listen up close to my message and my name i’ll show you all for certain how to unwind this whole game we’re leading by example all lining up in line walk the walk we all talkie only mine is what’s mine earned not burned don’t need to take by force if it’s up for grabs then it’s different of course but if someone’s out there chillin’ and you’re still there think of killin’ look inside at motivation understand why you be drillin’ conscious action at the tip of your sword it’s by your hip hold these cops to highest standards if they clown then bring the whip of collective vision the jury of all times they walk the straight and no row less their mock ups turn to fines ideal not needed just basics at the core for those who can’t handle here’s a pathway to the door of ignorance and planks how come it comes to that? master slave in the physical holly epic hat revolution here let’s all get in gear see the truth for what it is take the wheel and steer source it’s key we all know where to be keep each other in check a vouch it aint free cause it’s earned with moves as we navigate the board watch out for games-a-running just stay true to your chord know what’s what and know who’s where don’t let bamas enter and tussle your hair neck up is all you and all neck down no on has the right to tock tick your crown your life is yours and so is your space if they give you and beef say oh my ace i found another bama who’s trying to take control label vouch hash tag flag this one on the dole it’s balance at its best dark v light guess who wins? easy victory for the beam snakes losing their grins Everybody knows Every single thing The breath is the connector All the particles sing Unison chord Pirates are ignored Ants crawling on the sidewalk Bipedally adored Why? I know. I can explain it all Maybe not all in total But one day when I'm a ball Potato bug curled Inside my tiny moat Defensive recognition As the cyborgs simply float On by My eternal dream Sequence plays with beats and poses As the weeping girl screams Out loud For some kind of cause Kindled quick then burned back up Nothing more than just a clause A rote play He said it so clean Conscious folding on itself On one single giant team No separation here Islands crash boat goes off course Watch my words and here my music Cracking codes like oldie morse

[rumograph]

shhh. they're having a conversation

[futurebird]

[Image Description: A drawing in pen and ink of two ants. One is black the other bright red. They are realistic ants. The black ant has a square speech bubble with morse code dots and dashes in black, the red ant has a round speech bubble with morse code dots and dashes in red.]

Black Ant:

-.-- .. .--. .--. . . . . .

Red Ant:

.- -. -

I don't know if that really says anything. Can someone decode it please?

did you know that ants love code