The Smoke

Operating under a cryptic moniker, the former Hype Williams member Alina Astrova delivers a deeply surreal, incredibly disjointed minimalist electronic project. The album utilizes highly erratic, off-kilter synthesizer loops, cheap digital drum machines, and her signature deadpan, spoken-word vocal delivery to critique modern urban gentrification and capitalism. It stands as a brilliant, fiercely independent example of the artist's continued mastery of avant-garde pop.