I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, over the last half decade, very few new albums have stuck with me—I just don’t spend the time with them anymore. Sure, I’ve enjoyed lots of stuff, but I lose interest after a couple listens, bowing to my waning attention span, my anxiety that there’s too much to listen to, and not enough time to take it all in.

Artists have to work twice as hard today to get me to like their music. And then they homogenize their beats and repeat them and mix them over and over again until it all sounds average. The risk takers in music are dwindling even more and more. For me, the notable breakout artists that have made an impression consist of Frank Ocean, The XX, Com Truise, and Tycho. Yup, just four artists.