My Top Albums of 2016
This is always so hard to compile and complete, but alas, I did it.
Top _20_ Albums of 2016
1. Radiohead- A Moon Shaped Pool
As a Radiohead fan stretching all the way back to their first album, Pablo Honey, and when they were deemed "one hit wonders" of the '90s, but quickly came out with album after album that just continuously disproved that theory- each album showcasing a new approach to music, in either how they wrote it, how they recorded it, how that packaged it, and even how they sold it- they have continued to impress me, and I can say THIS is the album I've been waiting for, ever since "Kid A" came out. The orchestral sound is just perfect throughout the album, the composition of the band's music and the orchestra that accompanies on most songs is just damn near perfect. It's a reflective album. It's an album flush with romanticism, and in a way, it's a "breakup" album.
2. Chance the Rapper- The Coloring Book
Chance the Rapper does what a lot of rap artists seem to do, make "mixtapes" to get his name out there, but this being his 3rd one, he's already garnered enough attention to become one of Kanye West's proteges. And with this album, I dare say, the student has become the master. The mix of songs on here grabs and keeps your attention. It's nice to hear a rapper focus on "positive thinking" and spreading love and messages of kindness. With all that, it's still an album filled with its own complications, or perhaps because staying positive (especially over this past year) is so complicated, that's where the dichotomy comes in. And still, it's not brash and in your face. The music and samples are light in tone and the whole album just sound beautiful. Where Radiohead's album is reflective and romanticizing, "The Coloring Book" is itself an existential album, one to listen closely to.
3. Anthony Green- Pixie Queen
Here's why I love Anthony Green (and his music): The man has come from rock bottom and picked himself up and returned to near-perfect form in all his musical ventures. He stretches himself near-too-line with several projects. First, he started as the frontman for Saosin, left the band and formed Circa Survive (one of my all-time favorite bands), released several amazing albums with them, toured endlessly, also was part of a collaborative project called The Sound of Animals Fighting (quite an interesting venture, give it a listen), as well as recorded his own mostly-acoustic solo albums. Pixie Queen is his fourth solo record and the most focused and beautifully done. It also happens to be the only record he has recorded completely sober. You see, he struggled for years with addiction, perhaps most frightening was his addiction to heroin. And his wife has stuck by him the entire time (they have three boys, too), and this record is sort of his love letter and apology to her, as well as his confessional record. Every song is great and I had the opportunity to see him tour for it earlier this year (okay, I've seen every project of his multiple times live) and his energy is undeniable and contagious. His wife is his own personal "pixie queen" and you will fall in love with the man behind the music after listening to his album.
4. Maren Morris- HERO
I've always been honest for my unapologetic love for catchy, pop music, even when it's found in the country genre, usually it has to be a female country singer (I don't know, I just have a thing for the southern accent, I can't help it, it's very attractive to me). The first time I heard Maren Morris sing, I knew she would become a star. Every single song on this album has single potential, and each single that has been released has been awesome, not to mention catchy as hell. And her ballads on the album are just beautiful. She sort of plays with the country genre and flirts with giving the middle finger to it at the same time. She almost sounds like a gospel singer at times and it's quite entertaining to see where she goes with each song. She can thank Kacey Musgraves for opening this door for her, where a country musician can be quite vocal and unapologetic in their opinions because this is clearly the new wave of country music. I've been on board for a few years. Definitely belongs far up on the list!
5. Touche Amore- Stage Four
I was hooked on these guys when I saw them live, opening for another hardcore band, Everytime I Die. The energy they put into their performance was and is incredible. Then, I listened to their albums and was immediately like "Damn! This is a band that just gets it!" They are asserting themselves as the answer to At the Drive-Ins quick disappearance after the release of their album "Relationship of Command" each album just as equally hard hitting. But, it is with this album, their fourth, where the band gets introspective in their lyrics, as it is a concept album focused on the singer, Bolm's, emotions surrounding his mother's diagnosis and death from stage four cancer. The album is a beacon of light/hope to anyone dealing with or confronted with anxiety, depression, toxic relationships, and self-doubt. Heavy stuff, huh? And you're asking yourself, you get all that from a hardcore album? Hell yes! And it's presenting beautifully and melodically. It is brutally honest and unconditionally empathic.
Grief gathers its strength from fine details: childhood memories, sun-faded postcards, the box of Cheez-Its that never got thrown away. It’s difficult to render those artifacts as universal truths, especially to those who have been lucky (or young) enough to have avoided the experience. Stage Four definitely doesn’t have that problem. Instead, its vivid imagery, anthemic arrangements, and unsuspecting listenability position it as hardcore’s Carrie & Lowell: an autobiographical tragedy that soars in spite of an overwhelming urge to succumb.
6. David Bowie- Blackstar
In the same way that Johnny Cash's "American 4: The Man Comes Around" was a nearly perfect farewell album from one of the music industry's greatest contributors, coming from a man who knew he was nearing his last breath and wanted to go out singing, David Bowie had been quietly holing himself up for months in order to record his finale, his farewell to his devoted fans, and perhaps even gaining a new generation of fans with it. And it's quite a shame that this album will forever be tied to his death, because with it, he seemed to be re-inventing himself all over again, which is quite a feat for someone who was constantly creating personas and re-creating them. You were kind of left to wonder what he actually had left, and then he surprisingly dropped this album in our laps, filled with lots of young musicians, lots of jazz compositions in the music, but the lyrics are definitely more a farewell letter. He never sounds as if he's been suffering, instead, you almost feel a breath of relief and release listening to Bowie's voice as he sings on this album.
7. Julianna Barwick- Will
I don't know how I discovered this, but I am so glad I stumbled upon her and this album because it is absolutely gorgeous. Julianna Barwick uses her voice as the instrument, putting it through loops and effects to create an hypnotizing and intimate experience listening to the album. Her music is deeply and powerfully emotive, without necessarily expressing emotions but rather conjuring them in the listener instead. This album soars among the clouds and brings you up there with it. Along with the vocal looping, the album is filled with synthesizers and piano that remind you of a night at a beach house, sitting on the porch watching the waves and the dark sky. This album was an experience the first time I listened to it and then I found myself getting lost in/with it each successive time I listened to it, mostly while I was writing. It's meditative and romantic.
8. Big Thief- Masterpiece
Big Thief is the main project gathering of the mastermind/singer-songwriter Adrianne Lenker who crafts great folk-acoustic tunes like Joni Mitchell and others before her. The songs are as lo-fi as they could possibly get without sounding cheap or poorly recorded, although you do almost get the feeling of sitting around a campfire with her and the band as these songs take shape and she takes us on a journey of getting to know the people in the songs and their experiences. These songs are each like pages ripped out of her own journal or scrapbook and crafted into nice acoustic songs with the occasional bigger sounding guitars mixed in just when they needed to be. This is a folk singer's attempt at shaping her songs into something bigger, perhaps for a bigger crowd/audience to connect with them.
9. Bon Iver- 22, A Million
Each Bon Iver album is completely different from its predecessor and it's quite clear that the man behind the music is working with an incredibly inventive mind. And it's also clear that he inspires other musicians and finds inspiration with his collaborators. He has been tapped for work with Kanye West and James Blake as of late and on this album James Blake's influence shines brightly almost all the way through, in fact, the first time I sat down and listened to it, I could've sworn it was another Blake album, albeit Justin Vernon has a distinct falsetto voice that distinguishes him from others. He seems to make albums that sound like where they were made. Case in Point: For Emma just sounds like the product of a man isolated in the den of a cabin in the middle of the woods. Bon Iver (the second album) sounds like it was made on top of a mountain, made to be heard from distances far and wide. And then, there's this album, which sounds like it was made within a computer and stereo, which makes me wonder how it would translate live. It seems less personal and disjointed and hyperactive, much like Kanye West's work. The album is short, too short, and doesn't really sound like Vernon gave himself much time or opportunity to explore. It's an electro-acoustic obstacle course for your ears, which makes it hard to appreciate, but I definitely listened to it over and over and can appreciate it for what he was doing. It's sort of like his "Kid A" album. It will grow on you.
10. Angel Olsen- MY WOMAN
Angel Olsen got me hooked on her music a couple of years ago when I heard the aching in her voice throughout her album "Burn Your Fire for No Witness." That album was folk heaven. Simple. Easy to listen to. Filled with great lyrics and songwriting. She was clearly coming into her own as a solo artist, after backing Bonnie "Prince" Billy. With this album, "MY WOMAN," Angel Olsen is really stretching herself and quite possibly looking for more mainstream attention, as she attempts to make a "pop" record (kind of in the same way Tegan and Sara turned themselves into pop mainstream successes). And here, Angel Olsen knocks it out of the park. You almost forget it's a pop record as you focus solely on her voice, which steals the show, along with her biting lyrics, telling stories.
11. Car Seat Headrest- Teens of Denial
I see Will Toledo (the mastermind behind the band) as sort of a mix between Max Bemis (Say Anything) and Stephen Malkmus (of Pavement) for a new age of indie rock. This album is a collection of songs that range in emotion and tackle subjects like mental illness, alienation, epiphanies or lack thereof, and plenty of angst. The album is a glimpse inside of the head of a depressed young man who flirts with disaster and happiness equally. It's a great album with excellent songwriting, perhaps in the same vein as someone like Paul Simon. And he allows himself to stretch songs out with no apologies.
12. Lucy Dacus- No Burden
This is indie rock the way Liz Phair used to make with her "Exile in Guyville" record. The songs are slowly crafted with softly-tuned guitar that seems to pour in through the speakers directly into your ears, along with her soft-spoken voice. She offers a good perspective and acts as a voice of reason (for herself) while allowing us permission into her mind as it works itself out through songs. Her voice is really on display here on this album. There is "no burden" in listening to this album and you will feel a sense of relief like there's someone else that gets it.
13. A Tribe Called Quest- We Got It from Here... Thank you 4 your Service
These guys haven't made an album in 18 years, but they've each still kept their hands in the music business separately throughout the years, perhaps they just never felt a need to return to the booth together as a unit, especially after "The Love Movement" back in 1998. It's hard for a rap group to stay together for years when each individual member clearly has talent and could break out on their own, and it's always amazing to see what they can do together. Tribe never disappoints. They've always been innovators in the rap game, the music that accompanies their lyrics always stands out and reminds me of fresh jazz/rap, which we've seen come back with an artist like Kendrick Lamar. With this album, Tribe is welcomed back into the rap game with a comeback album that hits its mark and also writes itself as a goodbye note to Phife Dawg (who passed away this year). It is a great social response to all the African-American killings and mass shootings. It's a bit of social justice, as rap has always seemed to be a great pulpit for.
14. Thrice- To Be Everywhere is to be Nowhere
Most bands are not given second chances once they hang up their instruments, especially if they do not necessarily go out on top of their game. I have loved Thrice for years, and enjoyed their musical changes, since they started as a fast, hardcore band and seemingly changed overnight with the release of "The Artist in the Ambulance" and then continuously changed their sound with subsequent records, but they decided to call it quits when they realized they'd never receive the same amount of praise that "The Artist in the Ambulance" garnered them. That was their pinnacle of success. And this album is a welcomed return to form, with crushing guitars and piano-driven, softer guitar sounds in their songs. This album is a triumphant return not just because it actually exists as do Thrice as an entity not to be ignored, but also in how it was executed and created. Listen to this album loud and be proud that they've returned.
15 (tie). Kanye West- Life of Pablo
And where Chance the Rapper outshines his mentor with the light tone and sound of his own album and the questions in his songs, Kanye West fails and falls quite short, unfortunately, on this album, which never seemed complete or finished (and he was quite honest about that, and said he would keep adding and mixing it around so it would be like a live-stream event, instead of a stand-alone album). Where that is quite inventive, it is also the album's biggest downfall, though, because it just comes across as an incomplete project, filled with ADD and hyperactivity. It's definitely like cracking open a genius' head and roaming around for over an hour, but it's also like running through a labyrinth of ideas and lyrics and songs, never really focused. It is an overzealous project from one of the greatest rappers and it really could have been so much better if he had focused more. It's just a chaotic experience that leaves your ears almost bleeding, but not in a good way.
15 (tie). Run the Jewels- RTJ 3
This is probably the best and most amazing surprise album drop of the year (besides Beyonce's "Lemonade" but that's a topic I won't discuss, because as you'll notice I strategically left her album off my list, not because it isn't good, I'm sure it is, but simply because I haven't heard it- I know I know- but that's because I don't have a Tidal subscription and I'm not a fan of "exclusive" rights that artists tie themselves to, since it leaves a large majority of the audience out of the loop and out of luck). Well, Run the Jewels did not do that. Instead, they worked quietly on their follow-up to 2014's "RTJ 2" album, which was absolutely incredible; and then, they dropped the album on Christmas Day, sneaking it in a week before the end of the year. And let me tell you, this is the best album to wait all year for. El-P and Killer Mike have a chemistry as rappers that cannot be denied. They bring in guests only when they know it works, sprinkling them sporadically on their albums. Zach de la Rocha makes an uncredited appearance and it's so worth it.
16. The Hotelier- Goodness
Let's get this out of the way, first, emo revival is in full swing (American Football reunited this year, Modern Baseball and The World is a Beautiful Place... have been rocking for a few years... and then there's this sleeper band from Western Mass. The Hotelier, whom my sister recently got me into, thanks to a few live shows). The singer's voice just emits emotion and his storytelling and the way he crafts a set of songs, on this album especially, is a true gift- but then he howls and growls through many of the lines that really give you a sense of his feelings. Add to that, the percussion relentlessly pounding and the guitars urgently striking every chord and you've got the recipe for a great album. The only thing I didn't enjoy were the interludes of campfire chants and sing-alongs which seem to break apart the urgency of the songs, and in a way distract you- but I understand why they are included, as it all gives you the sense of being out in the wilderness of New England, discussing topics of life and death, the transcendental movement of poets like Emerson and Thoreau (both of whom enjoyed philosophizing out in nature). This album is a great addition to their catalogue as Christian Holden (lead singer) was grappling with dark subject matter on their previous album and on this one he seems to have found the light through the darkness.
17. Margo Price- Midwest Farmer's Daughter
Jack White knows what he's doing when he finds an artist and puts them on his Third Man Records label. Margo Price is certainly no exception. She's a country artist and troublemaker, lamenting about her awful marriage and eminent divorce throughout this album. She lays it all bare on her album in the same way that Loretta Lynn used to (no wonder Jack White wanted to work with her since he also produced a Loretta Lynn album in the recent past). She seems to be an older, and more mature/wiser (due to age and experiences) version of the newer version of country stars like Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris, all of whom don't mix words and are brutally honest about the industry that made them. And, Price's album is a great break-up album, one for the ages, one that you can return to over and over again.
18. Mitski- Puberty 2
With Puberty 2, Mitski really lets us into her head to understand her and where she's coming from, the struggles she's having to be viewed as a real human being. It's interesting because with the title "Puberty 2" and the real-life concept of puberty being that self-discovery and coming into one's own through a series of internal and external struggles, some physical with bodily changes, with emotions and hormones ranging from high to low, every day seems like a constant struggle. Oh, to be a teenager again! Nevermind, I've been there done that, but that doesn't mean it's still not intriguing and interesting to listen to someone else give voice to their struggles. Mitski fills her album with a range of emotions, using her words to give us uncomfortable metaphors. It's a short album, almost just 30 minutes long, but that will make you just hit repeat and listen all over again, let it sink in.
19. Miranda Lambert- The Weight of These Wings
With this new album, Miranda Lambert clearly had a lot to say, mostly about her divorce to another country music superstar- Blake Shelton- because she made a double album containing 24 songs that tackle a range of subjects related to relationships including: the humorous side, the regret, the love and anger in equal parts at times, all in the brutally honest way that seems to be the only way she knows how to write. There's tales of rebellion and lessons from the heartbreak scattered throughout. It's interesting that she named Side One- The Nerve (like one would consider of someone ending a relationship) and Side Two- The Heart (where she takes the time to pick up the pieces and look back with retrospection). Such a great double album, albeit a bit self-indulgent (like most double albums tend to be). By the end of it, you feel like you've gone through the ups and downs of a relationship along with her. It's a catharsis.
20. The Jezabels- Synthia
This is grand gesture of bombastic nearly-arena rock-ready synthesized type indie rock, perhaps in the same vein as Metric. There is some heavy electronic pop and white noise mixed throughout the album and singer Hayley Mary's voice can be equal parts coquettish and roars sometimes within the same song or throughout the album. They are no strangers to being outspoken about their feelings in regards to subjects like feminist themes and the politics of gender (or gender politics as you may) and with those subjects comes a wide array of feelings towards both which are conveyed in the lyrics. These feelings range from anger, rage, confusion, lust, embarrassment, familial concern, with a mix of humor to offset the emotions, but even with the jokes, we know Mary is serious and wants to be taken seriously. This album hits hard immediately and forces you to listen again. It's also no coincidence that the band got their namesake from the Bible in which there's a story about a Jezabel being a shameless, powerful woman unfearing of man or God who was feared by man and eventually killed. This album struck me the first time I heard it and I found myself returning to it.
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EPs that, in some cases, made a push to be included in the Top 20 (but I have a thing against including EPs and Live and Best Of albums in any Top List) and definitely left me salivating for an entire album, include:
Kendrick Lamar- untitled unmastered (should've definitely been included on "To Pimp a Butterfly" even if it turned into a double album, perhaps for the sole purpose of including "untitled 7")
Carly Rae Jepsen- Emotion: Side B (should've been added to the incredible "Emotion" album last year)
Vince Staples- Prima Donna (definitely in a class of his own, much like Kendrick Lamar, this young man is on to something)
Nine Inch Nails- Not the Actual Events (just recently surprised everyone with this EP dropped a couple of weeks ago, and it's back to the heavy guitar and it helps that Dave Grohl drums on the tracks and Atticus Ross is now an "official" member of Nine Inch Nails, as a group and not just an idea/collaborator)
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Albums that if I expanded my Top 20 to another number would have definitely made it...
Top _20_ Albums of 2016
1. Radiohead- A Moon Shaped Pool
As a Radiohead fan stretching all the way back to their first album, Pablo Honey, and when they were deemed "one hit wonders" of the '90s, but quickly came out with album after album that just continuously disproved that theory- each album showcasing a new approach to music, in either how they wrote it, how they recorded it, how that packaged it, and even how they sold it- they have continued to impress me, and I can say THIS is the album I've been waiting for, ever since "Kid A" came out. The orchestral sound is just perfect throughout the album, the composition of the band's music and the orchestra that accompanies on most songs is just damn near perfect. It's a reflective album. It's an album flush with romanticism, and in a way, it's a "breakup" album.
2. Chance the Rapper- The Coloring Book
Chance the Rapper does what a lot of rap artists seem to do, make "mixtapes" to get his name out there, but this being his 3rd one, he's already garnered enough attention to become one of Kanye West's proteges. And with this album, I dare say, the student has become the master. The mix of songs on here grabs and keeps your attention. It's nice to hear a rapper focus on "positive thinking" and spreading love and messages of kindness. With all that, it's still an album filled with its own complications, or perhaps because staying positive (especially over this past year) is so complicated, that's where the dichotomy comes in. And still, it's not brash and in your face. The music and samples are light in tone and the whole album just sound beautiful. Where Radiohead's album is reflective and romanticizing, "The Coloring Book" is itself an existential album, one to listen closely to.
3. Anthony Green- Pixie Queen
Here's why I love Anthony Green (and his music): The man has come from rock bottom and picked himself up and returned to near-perfect form in all his musical ventures. He stretches himself near-too-line with several projects. First, he started as the frontman for Saosin, left the band and formed Circa Survive (one of my all-time favorite bands), released several amazing albums with them, toured endlessly, also was part of a collaborative project called The Sound of Animals Fighting (quite an interesting venture, give it a listen), as well as recorded his own mostly-acoustic solo albums. Pixie Queen is his fourth solo record and the most focused and beautifully done. It also happens to be the only record he has recorded completely sober. You see, he struggled for years with addiction, perhaps most frightening was his addiction to heroin. And his wife has stuck by him the entire time (they have three boys, too), and this record is sort of his love letter and apology to her, as well as his confessional record. Every song is great and I had the opportunity to see him tour for it earlier this year (okay, I've seen every project of his multiple times live) and his energy is undeniable and contagious. His wife is his own personal "pixie queen" and you will fall in love with the man behind the music after listening to his album.
4. Maren Morris- HERO
I've always been honest for my unapologetic love for catchy, pop music, even when it's found in the country genre, usually it has to be a female country singer (I don't know, I just have a thing for the southern accent, I can't help it, it's very attractive to me). The first time I heard Maren Morris sing, I knew she would become a star. Every single song on this album has single potential, and each single that has been released has been awesome, not to mention catchy as hell. And her ballads on the album are just beautiful. She sort of plays with the country genre and flirts with giving the middle finger to it at the same time. She almost sounds like a gospel singer at times and it's quite entertaining to see where she goes with each song. She can thank Kacey Musgraves for opening this door for her, where a country musician can be quite vocal and unapologetic in their opinions because this is clearly the new wave of country music. I've been on board for a few years. Definitely belongs far up on the list!
5. Touche Amore- Stage Four
I was hooked on these guys when I saw them live, opening for another hardcore band, Everytime I Die. The energy they put into their performance was and is incredible. Then, I listened to their albums and was immediately like "Damn! This is a band that just gets it!" They are asserting themselves as the answer to At the Drive-Ins quick disappearance after the release of their album "Relationship of Command" each album just as equally hard hitting. But, it is with this album, their fourth, where the band gets introspective in their lyrics, as it is a concept album focused on the singer, Bolm's, emotions surrounding his mother's diagnosis and death from stage four cancer. The album is a beacon of light/hope to anyone dealing with or confronted with anxiety, depression, toxic relationships, and self-doubt. Heavy stuff, huh? And you're asking yourself, you get all that from a hardcore album? Hell yes! And it's presenting beautifully and melodically. It is brutally honest and unconditionally empathic.
Grief gathers its strength from fine details: childhood memories, sun-faded postcards, the box of Cheez-Its that never got thrown away. It’s difficult to render those artifacts as universal truths, especially to those who have been lucky (or young) enough to have avoided the experience. Stage Four definitely doesn’t have that problem. Instead, its vivid imagery, anthemic arrangements, and unsuspecting listenability position it as hardcore’s Carrie & Lowell: an autobiographical tragedy that soars in spite of an overwhelming urge to succumb.
6. David Bowie- Blackstar
In the same way that Johnny Cash's "American 4: The Man Comes Around" was a nearly perfect farewell album from one of the music industry's greatest contributors, coming from a man who knew he was nearing his last breath and wanted to go out singing, David Bowie had been quietly holing himself up for months in order to record his finale, his farewell to his devoted fans, and perhaps even gaining a new generation of fans with it. And it's quite a shame that this album will forever be tied to his death, because with it, he seemed to be re-inventing himself all over again, which is quite a feat for someone who was constantly creating personas and re-creating them. You were kind of left to wonder what he actually had left, and then he surprisingly dropped this album in our laps, filled with lots of young musicians, lots of jazz compositions in the music, but the lyrics are definitely more a farewell letter. He never sounds as if he's been suffering, instead, you almost feel a breath of relief and release listening to Bowie's voice as he sings on this album.
7. Julianna Barwick- Will
I don't know how I discovered this, but I am so glad I stumbled upon her and this album because it is absolutely gorgeous. Julianna Barwick uses her voice as the instrument, putting it through loops and effects to create an hypnotizing and intimate experience listening to the album. Her music is deeply and powerfully emotive, without necessarily expressing emotions but rather conjuring them in the listener instead. This album soars among the clouds and brings you up there with it. Along with the vocal looping, the album is filled with synthesizers and piano that remind you of a night at a beach house, sitting on the porch watching the waves and the dark sky. This album was an experience the first time I listened to it and then I found myself getting lost in/with it each successive time I listened to it, mostly while I was writing. It's meditative and romantic.
8. Big Thief- Masterpiece
Big Thief is the main project gathering of the mastermind/singer-songwriter Adrianne Lenker who crafts great folk-acoustic tunes like Joni Mitchell and others before her. The songs are as lo-fi as they could possibly get without sounding cheap or poorly recorded, although you do almost get the feeling of sitting around a campfire with her and the band as these songs take shape and she takes us on a journey of getting to know the people in the songs and their experiences. These songs are each like pages ripped out of her own journal or scrapbook and crafted into nice acoustic songs with the occasional bigger sounding guitars mixed in just when they needed to be. This is a folk singer's attempt at shaping her songs into something bigger, perhaps for a bigger crowd/audience to connect with them.
9. Bon Iver- 22, A Million
Each Bon Iver album is completely different from its predecessor and it's quite clear that the man behind the music is working with an incredibly inventive mind. And it's also clear that he inspires other musicians and finds inspiration with his collaborators. He has been tapped for work with Kanye West and James Blake as of late and on this album James Blake's influence shines brightly almost all the way through, in fact, the first time I sat down and listened to it, I could've sworn it was another Blake album, albeit Justin Vernon has a distinct falsetto voice that distinguishes him from others. He seems to make albums that sound like where they were made. Case in Point: For Emma just sounds like the product of a man isolated in the den of a cabin in the middle of the woods. Bon Iver (the second album) sounds like it was made on top of a mountain, made to be heard from distances far and wide. And then, there's this album, which sounds like it was made within a computer and stereo, which makes me wonder how it would translate live. It seems less personal and disjointed and hyperactive, much like Kanye West's work. The album is short, too short, and doesn't really sound like Vernon gave himself much time or opportunity to explore. It's an electro-acoustic obstacle course for your ears, which makes it hard to appreciate, but I definitely listened to it over and over and can appreciate it for what he was doing. It's sort of like his "Kid A" album. It will grow on you.
10. Angel Olsen- MY WOMAN
Angel Olsen got me hooked on her music a couple of years ago when I heard the aching in her voice throughout her album "Burn Your Fire for No Witness." That album was folk heaven. Simple. Easy to listen to. Filled with great lyrics and songwriting. She was clearly coming into her own as a solo artist, after backing Bonnie "Prince" Billy. With this album, "MY WOMAN," Angel Olsen is really stretching herself and quite possibly looking for more mainstream attention, as she attempts to make a "pop" record (kind of in the same way Tegan and Sara turned themselves into pop mainstream successes). And here, Angel Olsen knocks it out of the park. You almost forget it's a pop record as you focus solely on her voice, which steals the show, along with her biting lyrics, telling stories.
11. Car Seat Headrest- Teens of Denial
I see Will Toledo (the mastermind behind the band) as sort of a mix between Max Bemis (Say Anything) and Stephen Malkmus (of Pavement) for a new age of indie rock. This album is a collection of songs that range in emotion and tackle subjects like mental illness, alienation, epiphanies or lack thereof, and plenty of angst. The album is a glimpse inside of the head of a depressed young man who flirts with disaster and happiness equally. It's a great album with excellent songwriting, perhaps in the same vein as someone like Paul Simon. And he allows himself to stretch songs out with no apologies.
12. Lucy Dacus- No Burden
This is indie rock the way Liz Phair used to make with her "Exile in Guyville" record. The songs are slowly crafted with softly-tuned guitar that seems to pour in through the speakers directly into your ears, along with her soft-spoken voice. She offers a good perspective and acts as a voice of reason (for herself) while allowing us permission into her mind as it works itself out through songs. Her voice is really on display here on this album. There is "no burden" in listening to this album and you will feel a sense of relief like there's someone else that gets it.
13. A Tribe Called Quest- We Got It from Here... Thank you 4 your Service
These guys haven't made an album in 18 years, but they've each still kept their hands in the music business separately throughout the years, perhaps they just never felt a need to return to the booth together as a unit, especially after "The Love Movement" back in 1998. It's hard for a rap group to stay together for years when each individual member clearly has talent and could break out on their own, and it's always amazing to see what they can do together. Tribe never disappoints. They've always been innovators in the rap game, the music that accompanies their lyrics always stands out and reminds me of fresh jazz/rap, which we've seen come back with an artist like Kendrick Lamar. With this album, Tribe is welcomed back into the rap game with a comeback album that hits its mark and also writes itself as a goodbye note to Phife Dawg (who passed away this year). It is a great social response to all the African-American killings and mass shootings. It's a bit of social justice, as rap has always seemed to be a great pulpit for.
14. Thrice- To Be Everywhere is to be Nowhere
Most bands are not given second chances once they hang up their instruments, especially if they do not necessarily go out on top of their game. I have loved Thrice for years, and enjoyed their musical changes, since they started as a fast, hardcore band and seemingly changed overnight with the release of "The Artist in the Ambulance" and then continuously changed their sound with subsequent records, but they decided to call it quits when they realized they'd never receive the same amount of praise that "The Artist in the Ambulance" garnered them. That was their pinnacle of success. And this album is a welcomed return to form, with crushing guitars and piano-driven, softer guitar sounds in their songs. This album is a triumphant return not just because it actually exists as do Thrice as an entity not to be ignored, but also in how it was executed and created. Listen to this album loud and be proud that they've returned.
15 (tie). Kanye West- Life of Pablo
And where Chance the Rapper outshines his mentor with the light tone and sound of his own album and the questions in his songs, Kanye West fails and falls quite short, unfortunately, on this album, which never seemed complete or finished (and he was quite honest about that, and said he would keep adding and mixing it around so it would be like a live-stream event, instead of a stand-alone album). Where that is quite inventive, it is also the album's biggest downfall, though, because it just comes across as an incomplete project, filled with ADD and hyperactivity. It's definitely like cracking open a genius' head and roaming around for over an hour, but it's also like running through a labyrinth of ideas and lyrics and songs, never really focused. It is an overzealous project from one of the greatest rappers and it really could have been so much better if he had focused more. It's just a chaotic experience that leaves your ears almost bleeding, but not in a good way.
15 (tie). Run the Jewels- RTJ 3
This is probably the best and most amazing surprise album drop of the year (besides Beyonce's "Lemonade" but that's a topic I won't discuss, because as you'll notice I strategically left her album off my list, not because it isn't good, I'm sure it is, but simply because I haven't heard it- I know I know- but that's because I don't have a Tidal subscription and I'm not a fan of "exclusive" rights that artists tie themselves to, since it leaves a large majority of the audience out of the loop and out of luck). Well, Run the Jewels did not do that. Instead, they worked quietly on their follow-up to 2014's "RTJ 2" album, which was absolutely incredible; and then, they dropped the album on Christmas Day, sneaking it in a week before the end of the year. And let me tell you, this is the best album to wait all year for. El-P and Killer Mike have a chemistry as rappers that cannot be denied. They bring in guests only when they know it works, sprinkling them sporadically on their albums. Zach de la Rocha makes an uncredited appearance and it's so worth it.
16. The Hotelier- Goodness
Let's get this out of the way, first, emo revival is in full swing (American Football reunited this year, Modern Baseball and The World is a Beautiful Place... have been rocking for a few years... and then there's this sleeper band from Western Mass. The Hotelier, whom my sister recently got me into, thanks to a few live shows). The singer's voice just emits emotion and his storytelling and the way he crafts a set of songs, on this album especially, is a true gift- but then he howls and growls through many of the lines that really give you a sense of his feelings. Add to that, the percussion relentlessly pounding and the guitars urgently striking every chord and you've got the recipe for a great album. The only thing I didn't enjoy were the interludes of campfire chants and sing-alongs which seem to break apart the urgency of the songs, and in a way distract you- but I understand why they are included, as it all gives you the sense of being out in the wilderness of New England, discussing topics of life and death, the transcendental movement of poets like Emerson and Thoreau (both of whom enjoyed philosophizing out in nature). This album is a great addition to their catalogue as Christian Holden (lead singer) was grappling with dark subject matter on their previous album and on this one he seems to have found the light through the darkness.
17. Margo Price- Midwest Farmer's Daughter
Jack White knows what he's doing when he finds an artist and puts them on his Third Man Records label. Margo Price is certainly no exception. She's a country artist and troublemaker, lamenting about her awful marriage and eminent divorce throughout this album. She lays it all bare on her album in the same way that Loretta Lynn used to (no wonder Jack White wanted to work with her since he also produced a Loretta Lynn album in the recent past). She seems to be an older, and more mature/wiser (due to age and experiences) version of the newer version of country stars like Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris, all of whom don't mix words and are brutally honest about the industry that made them. And, Price's album is a great break-up album, one for the ages, one that you can return to over and over again.
18. Mitski- Puberty 2
With Puberty 2, Mitski really lets us into her head to understand her and where she's coming from, the struggles she's having to be viewed as a real human being. It's interesting because with the title "Puberty 2" and the real-life concept of puberty being that self-discovery and coming into one's own through a series of internal and external struggles, some physical with bodily changes, with emotions and hormones ranging from high to low, every day seems like a constant struggle. Oh, to be a teenager again! Nevermind, I've been there done that, but that doesn't mean it's still not intriguing and interesting to listen to someone else give voice to their struggles. Mitski fills her album with a range of emotions, using her words to give us uncomfortable metaphors. It's a short album, almost just 30 minutes long, but that will make you just hit repeat and listen all over again, let it sink in.
19. Miranda Lambert- The Weight of These Wings
With this new album, Miranda Lambert clearly had a lot to say, mostly about her divorce to another country music superstar- Blake Shelton- because she made a double album containing 24 songs that tackle a range of subjects related to relationships including: the humorous side, the regret, the love and anger in equal parts at times, all in the brutally honest way that seems to be the only way she knows how to write. There's tales of rebellion and lessons from the heartbreak scattered throughout. It's interesting that she named Side One- The Nerve (like one would consider of someone ending a relationship) and Side Two- The Heart (where she takes the time to pick up the pieces and look back with retrospection). Such a great double album, albeit a bit self-indulgent (like most double albums tend to be). By the end of it, you feel like you've gone through the ups and downs of a relationship along with her. It's a catharsis.
20. The Jezabels- Synthia
This is grand gesture of bombastic nearly-arena rock-ready synthesized type indie rock, perhaps in the same vein as Metric. There is some heavy electronic pop and white noise mixed throughout the album and singer Hayley Mary's voice can be equal parts coquettish and roars sometimes within the same song or throughout the album. They are no strangers to being outspoken about their feelings in regards to subjects like feminist themes and the politics of gender (or gender politics as you may) and with those subjects comes a wide array of feelings towards both which are conveyed in the lyrics. These feelings range from anger, rage, confusion, lust, embarrassment, familial concern, with a mix of humor to offset the emotions, but even with the jokes, we know Mary is serious and wants to be taken seriously. This album hits hard immediately and forces you to listen again. It's also no coincidence that the band got their namesake from the Bible in which there's a story about a Jezabel being a shameless, powerful woman unfearing of man or God who was feared by man and eventually killed. This album struck me the first time I heard it and I found myself returning to it.
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EPs that, in some cases, made a push to be included in the Top 20 (but I have a thing against including EPs and Live and Best Of albums in any Top List) and definitely left me salivating for an entire album, include:
Kendrick Lamar- untitled unmastered (should've definitely been included on "To Pimp a Butterfly" even if it turned into a double album, perhaps for the sole purpose of including "untitled 7")
Carly Rae Jepsen- Emotion: Side B (should've been added to the incredible "Emotion" album last year)
Vince Staples- Prima Donna (definitely in a class of his own, much like Kendrick Lamar, this young man is on to something)
Nine Inch Nails- Not the Actual Events (just recently surprised everyone with this EP dropped a couple of weeks ago, and it's back to the heavy guitar and it helps that Dave Grohl drums on the tracks and Atticus Ross is now an "official" member of Nine Inch Nails, as a group and not just an idea/collaborator)
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Albums that if I expanded my Top 20 to another number would have definitely made it...
- - Frightened Rabbit- Painting of a Panic Attack
- - Saosin- Along the Shadows
- - The Kills- Ashes and Ice
- - Russian Circles- Guidance
- - Explosions in the Sky- The Wilderness
- - The Dear Hunter- Act V: Hymns with the Devil
- -Taking Back Sunday- Tidal Wave
- - Warpaint- Heads Up
- - Conor Oberst- Ruminations
- - Lady Gaga- Joanne
- - Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions- Until the Hunter
- - Pinegrove- Cardinal
- -Everytime I Die- Low Teens
- - Leonard Cohen- You Want it Darker
- - Meshuggah- The Violent Sleep
- - Aubrie Sellers- New City Blues
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