The 2021 Grammy nominations were announced last week. I have little interest or investment in the Grammys, which are usually even more out of touch than the Emmys or Oscars. But that doesn’t mean I don’t root for my favorites to get some recognition.

Happily, three of my five favorite eligible albums showed up in the Album of the Year category: Haim’s Women in Music Part III, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, and Taylor Swift’s Folklore. Two others missed the cut: Miranda Lambert’s Wildcard and Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters (which seemed like a shoo-in for this category right after its release).

This week I’ll give a listen to the other five Album of the Year nominees to see what, if anything, I’ve been missing.

First up is Jhené Aiko’s CHILOMBO, named after the Los Angeles singer-songwriter’s real last name. This album was written and recorded entirely on the “big island” of Hawaii, with Aiko freestyling most of her vocals and fleshing out the songs with traditional instruments.

At 20 songs and more than one hour, this record is an endurance test (and one I admittedly did not make it all the way through). It’s high on atmosphere but low on hooks, and exactly the kind of R&B/neo soul for which I have zero patience.