Now that you can make a Max Martin hit in two seconds on Suno, good music (in my opinion) is that which embraces the happy accidents that happen in the studio.
The last few years have produced a run of records that are deliberately, gloriously incorrect.
Mk.gee - Two Star & the Dream Police (2024)
Mk.gee’s tone has people excited about pushing boundaries with guitar for the first time in a long time. He famously uses a Tascam as a pre-amp, and he sings like Sting from underwater. A lot of this sounds like one take, but I’m sure it isn’t. Worth your time.
Dijon - Absolutely (2021)
My favorite on this list. Tracked with a room full of friends (including Mk.gee) playing together with mics all over the room. The songs are themselves great, but what makes them incredible is that they are constantly shifting through a blend of modulation, dynamics, and improvisation. It’s deceptively difficult to write stuff like this.
Geese - 3D Country (2023)
A band from Brooklyn that reminds people NYC should be the musical nexus of the universe. This feels heavily improvisational, borderline jazzy, but scans more like a Pitchfork 10/10 record before PItchfork became shitty.
MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks (2024)
Conventional-sounding, but sneakily off-kilter. The left guitar is slightly out of tune across the whole record. Like a country record with punk's tolerance for messiness.
Wednesday - Rat Saw God (2023)
Lap steel and noise-rock. Enormous dynamic range, probably a nightmare to master, and therefore good.