ICYMI: 5 Under-the-Radar Albums of 2016

The way artists release albums has shifted the music landscape over the last few years. With the surprise release of Beyonc�'s eponymous 2013 record, the music industry has gone on to find innovative and exciting ways to drop new tunes. In 2016, we had big, showy releases from major artists, including Kanye West, whose rollout for "The Life of Pablo" was stressfully bizarre.

Beyonc� also returned with new music this year, spilling the tea with "Lemonade" via a stunning HBO special/visual album. With little warning, Drake plopped Views on Apple Music earlier this year. Frank Ocean pulled a similar stunt, releasing two albums directly to Apple Music, with murmurings that his new music was imminent.

Though thrilling in the moment, these event releases left behind a fragmented music industry. And it's easy to lose track of albums from smaller artists who don't land in the Top 40. With that in mind, EDGE profiles five fantastic albums in 2016 that didn't have a flashy release rollout - and most likely slipped under your music radar.

Artist: Metafive
Album: "Meta"
Released: January 13

It's hard enough to keep track of U.S. music releases, so the debut LP from the Japanese supergroup Metafive probably wasn't something you were looking out for. Comprising members from groundbreaking '80s Japanese acts - Yellow Magic Orchestra's Yukihiro Takahashi, artist Cornelius, producer/DJ Yoshinori Sunahara, artist Towa Tei, artist Tomohiko Gondo and rocker LEO Imai - Metafive's record, "Meta," is an ode to the music the men once made.

Full of groovy bass, snappy synths and electronic drums, "Meta" is more than just a flashback retro return: "Meta" has a polished and modern touch, like on the ethereal track "Luv U Tokyo." "Maisie's Avenue" is a glitzy jam that features some of the smartest production on the record. "Split Spirit" has a killer saxophone over glitchy beats, and "Albore" is a cool slinky cut that glides off funky guitar riffs.

"Meta" is an excellent piece of music that is not only inspired by modern funk and '80s J-pop, but also borrows from sophisti-pop, a bold music trend in the United Kingdom in the '80s. It's an interesting blend of music coming from some of the most talented and smartest musicians Japan has to offer.

Artist: Anohni
Album: "Hopelessness"
Released: May 6

"Hopelessness" is a complex electronic record. Politically fueled and remarkably dark, it's the debut solo album from U.K. singer Anohni, the transgender musician of Antony and the Johnsons. With her signature and striking vocals, "Hopelessness" is a culmination of frustrations and protests backed by waves of experimental electronic music.

On "Hopelessness," Anohni tackles social issues, and her haunting voice takes on a spectrum of worldwide problems. On the chilling "4 Degrees," Anohni chants about climate change: "It's only 4 degrees," she sings, referencing those who dismiss global warming. "I wanna see this world, I wanna see it boil," she later sings. "Watch Me" is sung with the bluntness of a Xiu Xiu record, where Anohni takes aim at the NSA's perverse spying techniques: "Watch me watching pornography / Watch my talking to my friends and my family." There's even an eerie dirge criticizing Barack Obama.

Despite its dense and devastating lyrics, "Hopelessness" is immensely enjoyable, thanks to the intense production from Anohni and leading experimental artists Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never, who give the record an otherworldly lift.

Artist: Ice Choir
Album: "Designs In Rhythm"
Released: September 9

If you're familiar with the two aforementioned releases, then you might notice a strange similarity between Ice Choir's sophomore album "Designs In Rhythm" and Metafive's "Meta."

The second LP from synthpop band Ice Choir, a project from former Pains of Being Pure at Heart drummer Kurt Feldman, is an ode to the glorious sounds of '80s Japanese pop music. "Designs In Rhythm" is a corny-cool record that borders schmaltz but is restrained and never gets too sentimental.

Inspired by the works of Yellow Magic Orchestra, Tatsuro Yamashita, Hiroshi Sato, Eiichi Ohtaki, Hiromi Ota and Masaki Ueda, Ice Choir's new music goes down as smooth as a sax solo. "Unprepared" is a glossy, chipper number, featuring Feldman's husky vocals, bouncy synths and drifting guitars. The title track is a dialed-back R&B cut, while "Windsurf" is lovely synthpop throwback. Closing track "The Garden of Verse" is an incredibly fun song with the best hook the Ice Choir ever created.

With stellar production and impeccable craftsmanship (that bass!), Ice Choir's "Designs In Rhythm" is a small but special album that oozes pure joy. Inspired by the sounds of the '80s is nothing knew - the genre has been mined to death over the last decade. But Feldman and his bandmates find something new, paying excellent homage to a specific sound of '80s J-pop. Ice Choir's new tunes will open up a new world to many listeners.

Artist: How to Dress Well
Album: "Care"
Released: September 23

With each new release, Tom Krell, who makes music under the moniker How to Dress Well, sounds more and more distinct. Starting off his career as a lo-fi R&B artist, How to Dress Well's debut in 2010 was a beautifully gritty and devastating record with reverb-soaked vocals and filtered effects. Fast-forward to 2016, and his fourth LP "Care" nearly sounds like it comes from a completely different musician.

Krell's vocals are now front and center, and his sonics are tuned up to a clean hi-fi sound. With help from artists like Fun.'s Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen, Tegan and Sara, Grimes), indie musician CFCF and dancehall producer Dre Skull, "Care" has more in common with Justin Bieber's "Purpose" than Burial's "Untrue."

Jumping on the tropical house trend, "Care" has a number of bouncy bangers, like single "What's Up," which is full of quirky effects that sound like they were yanked straight from the Donkey Kong Country 2 soundtrack. "Anxious" is chipper in sound but has some of Krell's most interesting lyrics to date: "Why am I so pathetic? / Why am I addicted to such attention? / When all I want is that love and affection / Had a nightmare about my Twitter mentions."

"Care" is Krell's most polished How to Dress Well album, but he doesn't lose the emotional gravitas that highlighted his past work, touching on loss, love and death.

Artist: The Radio Dept.
Album: "Running Out of Love"
Released: October 21

The Radio Dept. has been absent for far too long: "Running Out of Love" is the Swedish indie-rock band's first album in six years. The group has gained a cult following since their 2003 debut and boomed in popularity after their incredible 2010 LP "Clinging to a Scheme."

The Radio Dept.'s new album is a magnificent return and well worth the wait. Lead single "Occupied" is an epic way to come back: clocking in at seven minutes, the brooding song samples the iconic dark synths from Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks "Laura Palmer's Theme." On the hypnotic "Swedish Guns," the band opts for a slight reggae ting but holds on to their jangly guitars, making the song an interesting blend of old and new.

Unlike a number of dream pop and shoegaze acts, the Radio Dept., comprising members Johan Duncanson and Martin Carlberg, put time into crafting their lyrics, even though their vocals are often buried in the mix or blanketed in fuzzy reverb. The band has always been political, and things are no different on "Running Out of Love."

"When I started writing the lyrics of 'Running Out of Love, 'I tried to write about a lot of different topics. But every song came out like a political text every time," Duncanson recently told Pitchfork. "That's what I think about a lot of the time now. The political climate in Sweden is increasingly scary, all across Europe. Martin and I talk a lot about politics when we meet up. We do that with our other friends as well. Even though we're in between elections in Sweden - the next one isn't until 2018 - it's a scary time. It occupies our minds."