In the age of the algorithm, where our ready-made playlists are informed by the other playlists we already listen to, the album can seem like a bit of an anachronism. Why leave the curation of music to a fallible human, with all their subjectivity and artistic whims, when a machine can provide us a list of music we’re scientifically assured of liking?
Maybe we’re being a little facetious. But there’s no doubt that today’s music industry feels more geared towards singles than at any point before. National Album Day, however, which returns for its fifth edition in on October 15, is all about celebrating the long-player artform, reminding us all of “the huge impact they’ve not only had on our lives but on British pop-culture as we know it”.
