Disclaimer, this is not a ranking of how 'good' I think albums are, but how much I enjoyed them/how much they mean to me. Also, the actual numbering is hard and changes but I feel pretty solid about the groupings.
Notable releases that didn't make the list are bedbug's if i got smaller grew wings and flew away for good, which I love but feel like I'm too familar with to write about, and the CHVRCHES song "Bury It" featuring Hayley Williams because that's not an album but hearing Hayley's voice on a synth song was sorta like hearing music for the first time and I sorta listened to it 11 times in a row once...
Honorable Mentions
30. Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book
There were a lot of moments I loved here- especially the first and last tracks, but it was overall too grand and busy for my taste
Best Tracks: All We Got, Blessings (reprise)
29. Autolux - Pussy's Dead
So many beautiful textures all over these songs- it demanded patient, thoughtful listening and this year I was tbh just thirsty for hooks
Best Track: Selectallcopy
28. Abi Reimold - Wriggling
The amount of raw emotion in Abi's voice is heart-wrenching and she masterfully transitions from barren to soaring soundscapes- if it was shorter 'n punchier it would've been way higher
Best Tracks: Clouded, Mask
27. IAN SWEET - Shapeshifter
They're very good at the off-kilter math-y stuff that's popular- it's not groundbreaking but it's fun and sometimes the melodies hit perfectly enough to make it special
Best Track: All Skaters Go to Heaven
26. Told Slant - Going By
It's not their best songwriting, but Felix's voice and lyrics continue to uncannily vocalize our deepest, most vulnerable emotions- it's brutal with just enough hope
Best Track: Tall Cans Hold Hands
25. Zula - Grasshopper
The singer's voice is pretty weak but for some reason it creates a dreamy effect paired with all the interesting rhythms here- it transports me in a way I can't really describe
Best Track: Speeding Towards the Arctic
24. TV Girl - Who Really Cares
The lyrics are frequently pretty kitchy but the music is so dang fun they can be forgiven- I don't know a lot of music that builds this heavily on samples and it's pretty cool
Best Track: Heaven Is a Bedroom
23. Infinity Crush - Warmth Equation
Warm and atmospheric, Caroline navigates her grief and learning to feel normal again after her father's death- her voice isn't my favorite and it drags a little sometimes but there's a lot of heart
Best Track: Heaven
22. Ricky Eat Acid - Talk to You Soon
Not the most concise thing he's released and can't decide how I feel about the EDM-leaning tracks, but Sam Ray is a master at making diverse, powerfully emotional electronic music
Best Track: This is As Close to Heaven as I Get
21. David Bowie - Blackstar
This would've been a great album even without the almost mystical haunting effect added by his death- the arrangements are intricately detailed and the lyrics are frequently chilling
Best Track: Blackstar
20. Frank Ocean - Blonde
Opposite of Chance, I really loved the sparsity here, it's a very soothing album but it was a bit too long to hold my attention and fully digest it
Best Track: Solo
Really Good Albums
19. John K. Samson - Winter Wheat
The Weakerthans broke up officially this year but this might as well have been a Weakerthans album. These aren't John's best lyrics and some of his weakest melodies but honestly he could sing the phone book and I'd still get choked up. He tackles the feelings of isolation tied to technology in ways that don't seem tired and still has a masterful knack for atmosphere.
Best Track: Select All Delete
18. Angel Olsen - MY WOMAN
Okay, this one was really tough for me. I loved a lot of parts of it but there was just something slightly off about the mood that prevented me from flat-out adoring it. I listened to it a lot trying to figure it out and I think that everything was just slightly too polished which detracted from the emotional impact. Her voice is otherworldly and her songwriting, especially on epics like "Sister" (the "all my life I thought I'd change" part omg) and "Woman" is very impressive, but it's all kinda undermined for me by all the calculated, meticulously placed guitar parts and perfect drums (and the bass part in NGKY ugh). Most of the album lost the grit and rawness of Burn Your Fire. If it was gonna be so polished I wish there had been more synth lol.
Best Tracks: Intern, Shut Up Kiss Me
17. Porches - Pool
I saw Porches live three times this year. The first time I was unimpressed, the second time time they won me over, and the third time I went in with very high expectations and had an even better time than I expected. The same kinda happened with listening to the album- once I knew the songs well enough I could appreciate how subtly catchy they are and surrender to the sexy groovy vibe. It's a great night driving album.
Best Track: Mood
16. Elvis Depressedly - California Dreamin'
They write short, unassuming songs, but after a few listens they become so warm and familiar it feels like you've loved them for years. The lyrics are the same- they're simple but somehow also profound realizations of thoughts you've never really been able to put into words. I can really only describe Mat's music as magic. I love everything he does.
Best Tracks: Slip, Cop Poet
15. Mal Devisa - Kiid
Every second of this album is saturated with emotion. A lot of the songs are mostly just her singing and playing bass and they're absolutely stunning. It's impossible to not stop everything and listen. There are also songs that get heavy and some beats thrown in, hinting towards her hip hop project. It's remarkable the depth Mal Devisa can maintain through the wide variety of sounds she creates on this album.
Best Songs: Fire, Dominatrix
Every second of this album is saturated with emotion. A lot of the songs are mostly just her singing and playing bass and they're absolutely stunning. It's impossible to not stop everything and listen. There are also songs that get heavy and some beats thrown in, hinting towards her hip hop project. It's remarkable the depth Mal Devisa can maintain through the wide variety of sounds she creates on this album.
Best Songs: Fire, Dominatrix
14. Noname - Telefone
Telefone is so gorgeously chilled out it has a really strong physical effect on me- I don't think I could possibly listen to this and be stressed at the same time. It's incredible how Noname's flow is always so commanding at the same time as it sounds so casual. She's not yelling to be heard, she's just doing her thing and people are stopping in their tracks and leaning in for the chance to hear.
Best Tracks: Yesterday, Forever
13. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
This was the first Radiohead album I got to anticipate and I don't think I was disappointed. Just like every great Radiohead album, it sort of occupies a universe of its own and it seems almost counterproductive to try to talk about it. It seems almost sacred in some way- I can only listen to it in very specific circumstances. It has to be nighttime, quiet, and clam. It's one of those albums that makes me really nostalgic even though it's new. It instantly puts me in a really pensive, reflective mood, which not a lot of music can. It's just really good. Thom's voice paired with Johnny's strings is haunting and heartbreaking.
Best Track: i see this album as too much of a unit to really decide lol sorry
12. Jeff Rosenstock - Worry
After releasing my favorite album of last year, Jeff returns in 2016 with another collection of exciting, energetic punk songs. His lyrics are still charming and urgent and he still writes anthemic, hooky choruses, but the second half of the album just kind of scatters them throughout a bunch of short, rapid songs so not a lot of them get a chance to shine. The first half of the album is nearly as strong as We Cool? even though it doesn't have the same emotional connection for me, but starting at "Bang on the Door" the album is just a big fun mess that doesn't do it for me as much.
Best Song: Staring Out the Window at Your Old Apartment
11. Horse Jumper of Love- Horse Jumper of Love
HJOL is short and sweet. There are jangly guitar parts over sweeping, shoegazey guitar tones and Dimitri's aloof vocals follow startlingly catchy melodies. I think that's what makes the band so special- you think they're just playing some pleasant, slow, unassuming music and all of a sudden it swells up and carries itself away and you're sitting on the edge of your seat. The album art is also some of my favorite of the year.
Best Songs: Spaceman, DIRT
10. LVL UP - Return to Love
In the past LVL UP has been good but not particularly special- they churn out a bunch of highly replayable, catchy rock songs, but they really stepped it up with this album. They still deliver the hooks but they have a much wider range of sounds here. There are moments when they almost sound like the Microphones and the closing song is an unexpected post-punk inspired showstopper that anchors the whole thing and gives it a gravity that I haven't heard in a LVL UP album before this one.
Best Tracks: Spirit Was, Naked in the River with the Creator
Best Tracks: Spirit Was, Naked in the River with the Creator
Favorites
9. Sad13 - Slugger
I really didn't expect to love this album so much but from the first listen I just couldn't put it down. Sadie discusses important topics like consent, abuse, and sexism with lyrics that are way too on-the-nose and melodies are frequently wonky and forced, but somehow these things that usually put me off just made the album really charming? I adore all the weird drum machine and synth sounds even though they sound like they're from a cheesy 2000's movie? Sadie really is just doing whatever she wants, but rather than feeling self-indulgent it somehow just feels really bold. I don't know if I could've loved this album if I hadn't already loved Self but I'm so glad to love them both.
Best Tracks: Devil in U, Tell U What
8. gobbinjr- vom night
Emma makes deceptively fun, bright pop music with often harsh but relatable lyrics about things like social anxiety. Her synthy, melodic tracks are hard not to bop around and sing along to. Her voice is sugary but she is not afraid to let it take on a frantic life of its own along with the lyrics. "Firefly" is certainly the masterpiece of this EP and my pick for song of the year both because the lyrics reflect beautifully the pessimism and disgust that was impossible not to feel this year and because it shows the expert-level control Emma has over her songs. Every second is perfectly paced for full emotional effect. "Perfect", a shorter, more unassuming song, highlights more of her skills. She repeats the same line over and over for two minutes while adding and layering effects and instruments. The changes are subtle but effective and demonstrate the words she is saying. She's keeps trying to tweak and add to the line she repeats in hopes of perfecting it and in the end, it works.
Best Tracks: perfect, firefly
7. Mitski - Puberty 2
I started this year thinking Mitski was highly overrated. I listened to Makeout Creek once and thought it was kinda a drag and wrote her off. I wasn't even going to listen to her new one this year but I'm so glad I did. The first track, which is reminiscent of the opener to St. Vincent's self titled album, brilliantly personifies the concept of happiness and is definitely one of the best-written songs of the year. This whole album is dripping with urgency and importance. Mitski sings every word as if these are the last 31 minutes she has to send a message to the world. The chorus of "Your Best American Girl" is deafening and claustrophobic and triumphant. I genuinely almost cry every time I listen to it. It's so special.
Best Tracks: Happy, Your Best American Girl
6. Looks Like Mountains - quick, before we're all dead!
Clocking in under 20 minutes, this album is quiet and peaceful and unassuming and I love it more every time I hear it. I've been able to see LLM live a lot this year and every time has just been simply beautiful. When I got the physical tape from Z Tapes (check their releases out if you haven't, lots of cozy bedroom pop), I listened to it while I got ready every morning for awhile and it just makes me so happy. Jack writes really delicate songs with really sweet, thoughtful lyrics. It sounds shy and personal and intimate. One of my favorite lyrics I heard this year is the closing line: "Songs are my windows/ Songs make me cry/ Sometimes they're the only thing keeping me alive." They end every show with that line and it's just as beautiful every time.
Best Tracks: everything is ok, listen to the whole thing it's so short just listen to it
5. Rihanna - Anti
If you told me at the beginning of the year that Rihanna would be in my top 10 I would've laughed at you, but wow, it's so good. And wow, I loved poppy female vocals this year. Rihanna is confident and commanding every second of this album and the production is stunning. Every synth is great, nothing is overdone- it's sparse where it should be to let Rihanna's vocal performance shine. The Tame Impala cover it better than the original. It has incredible musical range with dancehall, R&B, hip-hop, dubstep, some soul influences towards the end, and even closes on a piano ballad. There's just a lot to love here and nothing really to complain about. It was my go-to nighttime album pretty much the whole year.
Best Tracks: Consideration, Needed Me
4. Chairlift - Chairlift
Listening to this album is So. Much. Fun. It's a treat every time I put it on. It's biggest strength is its ability to be very poppy and very original and very emotional all at the same time. I don't think I can properly describe how much I love Caroline's vocals so I'm not even going to try. Her performance is incredible, but paired with Patrick's production they're really just making unfairly good pop music. Fun fact, Patrick is my 5th grade teacher's son (lol) and he did a lot of work on Solange's album from this year. Less fun fact, they just announced they're breaking up which is a shame, but I'm excited to see what they do separately going forward. I'm so glad this album exists.
Best Track: Crying in Public
3. Two Inch Astronaut - Personal Life
I'm such a sucker for these Exploding in Sound bands making heavy music with catchy melodies and bouncy bass lines, and this album struck just the right balance between aggressive and genuine. I really like Sam's voice because it reminds me a lot of Jim Adkins from Jimmy Eat World at places. I don't really listen to much music that reminds me of JEW anymore so it's got familiarity and nostalgia working for it. It'a a great driving album cause it's energetic but the lyrics are also surprisingly good. "A Happy Song" is definitely one of my favorite lyrical songs of the year. It's about facing the mundane realities of life and enjoy it anyway. "There are things I love/ I'll never do again...There are things you hate/ You'll do for the rest of your life"
Best Tracks: A Happy Song, Woodstock '99
2. Teen Suicide - It's the Big Joyous Celebration, Let's Stir the Honeypot
This album is 26 songs. That probably means it's not 'good', but it did not keep me from loving it. I can't believe how cogent a 69 minute long album recorded partially on iPhone mics, partially in a professional studio can sound. I think having something so ambitious actually work is part of what makes it so impressive. I'm genuinely floored by Sean Mercer's production here. It is flawless from beginning to end and is really what ties Sam Ray's sprawling mess of songs together. Sam has been releasing music under countless projects in the last decade and having all of his styles represented here in one place is exciting. The stronger Ricky Eat Acid influences in the last 6 or so songs give the album new life where it could start to get stale and are probably the best run of songs on the whole thing. I almost always get frustrated with long albums and wish they were more succinct, but here more really is more.
Best Tracks: Long Way Down, The Hurricane
0 comments:
Post a Comment