(ARGUABLY) THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2019
The decade is ending! 2020 seems so futuristic. I remember being little and thinking "OOoooo 2020 pffft that's not a real number." But alas, here we are - the end of an era. This year was ridiculous in the best way in terms of new music. So - because absolutely no one asked for it, I compiled a list of my favourite albums that came out this year. Honourable mentions go out to Not Waving, But Drowning - Loyle Carner; I Am Easy To Find - The National; Hypersonic Missiles - Sam Fender; Heard It In A Past Life - Maggie Rogers; Maybe - Valley; Jaime - Brittany Howard; A War On Everything - The Glorious Sons; Social Cues - Cage The Elephant; tryhard - The Band CAMINO; Living Mirage- The Head and The Heart; - Brandon Banks - Maxo Kream; BUBBA - Kaytranada, Over It - Summer Walker; Spirit - Rhye; Crushing - Julia Jacklin; Signing Up - BAD CHILD; Kiwanuka - Michael Kiwanuka....OK HELP someone stop me! In no particular order because that's actually impossible to decide - here we go. My top 10 albums of 2019:
1. i, i - Bon Iver (Jagjaguawar)
I first fell in love with Justin Vernon - the mastermind behind Bon Iver - when I heard Volcano Choir's first album, Repave in 2013. Then his next project, Bon Iver happened and the music game was changed forever. Don't tell me you wouldn't recognize a Bon Iver tune when you heard one. Vernon says that Bon Iver is "a sentiment" more than a music project. His fifth studio album, i,i depicts a fantastical world through his signature electronic manipulation of his voice with studio tricks and sounds. i,i takes us on a journey through a digitally enchanted forest with jittery synths and tender lyrics. It's the most lyrical content I've heard in his music and I'm here for it. I listened to a podcast recently where he explained the meaning behind the album's title and where he took inspiration from. I and I meaning we. I + I = we. It's about self care, and caring about each other. It's about all of us together - connected. He ends the album with RABi and sings, "Don't have to have a leaving plan / Nothing's gonna ease your mind / Well it's all fine and we're all fine anyway" and maybe it's because there's nowhere else we need to go. One of those albums that swallows you whole, but still gives you room to breathe.
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: “iMi”
2. STILL - TOBi (Independent)
Hip hop, R&B and soul all in one. The Nigerian-born, Toronto-raised singer-rapper just released his debut album, STILL. He shared that it was years in the making, and an intensely personal piece of work. It's a vulnerable take on the highs and lows of growing up as a black male in North America. He raps about fear and pride, romance and boyhood memories, and everything else between. He sings about incarceration, police violence, living in poverty and the grind of everyday life. "My passionate reds, melancholy blues / These the langston hues I use to paint the canvas with." With soulful instrumentation and heartfelt lyrics he sings, "Self love ain't a joke" in the opening track, Growth. It's an unapologetic 13-song long message to his younger self. He's redefining masculinity through music. Well done. The whole album is fuego.
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: “City Blues”
3. JUICEBOX - Mac Ayres (Dixon Court Records)
His show in Montreal claimed the #1 spot on my list of concerts in 2019. Him and his band had a full on jam session in a small venue for a couple hours way past curfew. It was so fun to witness them bring this already incredible album to life. His stage presence and zest for performing with his best buds made his groovy music that much more enjoyable. Juicebox is a hefty 16-track album with dreamy guitar rhythms and soulful vocals. It's a different take on R&B with its own retro contemporary feel. The album drags on at times, but there are enough gold nuggets that make up a great collection of songs. Easy listening on a chill day where you can't always distinguish when one song ends and another begins. You don't have to work hard to pay attention to the lyrics or meaningful messages, but just sit back and enjoy the ride. Lovely vibes the whole way through. Lend your ears.
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: “Walking Home “
4. MORBID STUFF - PUP (Rise Records and Little Dipper)
PUP (Pathetic Use of Potential) dropped their third studio album in 2019, embracing music's ability to liberate anger and dabbling with a bit of angst in the pop-punk scene. Morbid Stuff is the angriest the Toronto quartet has ever sounded, and it shows in the title itself. They yell, "Just cause you're sad again, it doesn't make you special at all" at the beginning of the album in “Free At Last,” and then continue to give questionable advice throughout. From getting high in a van in St. Catharines to being at Tim Hortons at 5.00am - the album is a funny little homage to growing up in sheltered suburbia. I can't forget to mention Charly Bliss' Eva Hendricks one-line cameo. The album is a 37-minute safe and sweaty space to have a full-blown meltdown. Pun intended (song #9 is called “Full Blown Meltdown.”) They always have the best song titles too - like, “Bloody, Mary, Kate and Ashley.” Genius. PUP will forever be my guilty pleasure that satisfies my teenage angst. A PUP show consists of intense mosh pits, fist-pumping, and crowd surfing with the perfect mix of healthy camaraderie where everyone's there to enjoy the music. When I saw them a few months ago, frontman Stefan Babcock stopped midway through the set to help a kid find his lost shoe in the mess of it all. This one's for everyone and anyone.
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: “Kids”
5. GOOD AT FALLING - The Japanese House (Dirty Hit)
I feel like this is the album that transformed The Japanese House from an indie, hesitant artist to a budding creative star. The androgynous voice of British singer-songwriter, Amber Bain always kept her identity somewhat hidden and her tactic generated quite the hype. Her music is romantic and lush, often using heavy auto-tune and thick harmonic layers. Then, The 1975 took her on tour, and she couldn't really hide behind her songs any longer. Matty Healy is secretly featured on this album in the backing vocals of “f a r a w a y.” She is not this crazy powerhouse of a singer, but it is her lyrics and groovy jams that are just too darn good. The album is deep and heartfelt, singing about the death of her first love, the grief, and her feelings now. This is the type of album that you listen through headphones walking around on a summer night. Her voice cracks and quivers in the lullabies then is honest and content in the bops. She reminds herself that she's "good at falling in love," she told i-D in an interview, "and I can survive falling out of it."
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: “Lilo”
6. ASSUME FORM - James Blake (Republic Records)
Imagine having 13 songs written about being in love with you. Yeah, James Blake did that. That's all I have to say about this one. Even though every James Blake song kinda sounds the same after awhile, Assume Form is his most coherent album to date and I still can't get enough. Is this marriagecore?
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: “Are You In Love?”
7. REMIND ME TOMORROW - Sharon Van Etten (Jagjaguawar)
Her fifth album is a masterpiece. You'd think by 5 albums, they couldn't possibly keep topping the last one - but Sharon Van Etten has done it again. It's filled with a lot of darkness, and acts like a personal diary of traumatic past experiences, which has defined a lot of her songwriting. The opening song starts off with, "Sitting at the bar, I told you everything / You said, 'Holy shit, you almost died." Like most artists, this album draws on love and loss - but her love songs hit home a little differently. Her music is reminiscent of 80s indie rock with a modern twist. It's filled with synths and keyboard riffs, making for an atmospheric and ethereal sound. It's real and raw. In a few songs she's just screaming and her voice cracks are honest. Then the standout, Seventeen adds that extra punch and confidence that ties it all together. Remind Me Tomorrow is a letter to her younger self as an anxiety-filled, headstrong girl - and wanting to protect that girl from what's to come, and making peace with trusting life's messes. Hence the album art. That's the way she goes.
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: “Comeback Kid“
8. IMMUNITY - Clairo (Fader Label)
Never have I ever heard a voice like Claire Cottrill's - the softest, most delicate, melodic voice. A real-life angel! After a few singles went viral, her first debut album is effortless, heartbreaking and beautiful. She's only 21 and her lo-fi, electropop music took her all over the world on the Immunity tour this past year. Although the album seems super produced, sometimes drowning out her simple voice, it's really good. She's not shy to share her mental health battles and identity crisis in her younger years. It's an album that struggles to ask for assistance, yet doesn't act above it either. It's an impressive take on emotion - a battlefield of young love, falling apart and putting yourself back together again. It's sad girl bedroom music and anti-Instagram aesthetic, which makes it intimate and relatable. Good tunes all around.
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: “Softly”
9. PONY - Orville Peck (Sub Pop)
Not a popcorn brand. He's kinda like the country, male version of Sia in the sense that he performs with a disguise and never reveals his face. But then kinda like Banksy because he's an artist who no one really knows his true identity. And that's his "look" in itself. I've never been a huge country music fan, until I saw Orville Peck at a festival in my hippie hometown this past summer. The up and coming masked musician released his first debut album, Pony in March of this year and it's real good. It's different from modern radio frat boy country music. He sings about heartbreak and loneliness, sleepless nights and life as an outsider, growing up a 'weirdo.' All the country elements of a country album are there - the twang, the banjo and that deep baritone voice. But it's a different kind of country coming from a queer cowboy. Maybe it's the flamboyant fringe he wears on his face that sets him apart. Overall consensus: This is a very good country album.
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: “Dead of Night”
10. WITHOUT FEAR - Dermot Kennedy (Riggins Recording Limited)
A magical human being who absolutely dominated my 2019 Spotify wrap up. Asking me to choose my favourite song on this album is like eating soup with a fork: impossible. The legendary Irish troubadour uses hip hop influences in song production and showcases his powerhouse of a voice all the while wearing his heart on his sleeve. Lyrics like, "I know that love is all about the wind / How it can hold me up and kill me in the end" and juxtaposing a graveside underneath a sky of royal blue - the imagery in his storytelling is unlike anything else. If you want to be transformed into another dimension and have an out-of-body experience, listen to every lyric of every song: pure artistry. One of those albums you have to listen front to back, top to bottom, song after song to fully appreciate it all. Shuffling is a sin. From busking in Dublin, to headlining his own tour within a few years, the guy is thriving and I'm very excited about it.
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: Sorry, next question.
Okay okay fine.. one more for good luck.
11. FINE LINE - Harry Styles (Columbia)
The only part in any One Direction song I genuinely liked was Harry Styles' vocals - and I would fast forward any song just so I could hear him sing solo. His sophomore album showcases his talent and passion for making good music that sounds like good music - and he's not just after a hit radio single. Fine Line is fun and free and emotional. It's the perfect balance of dance songs like “Adore You” and “Watermelon Sugar” and tearjerkers like “Falling” and the title track, “Fine Line.” The strawberry lipstick, golden skin, blue skies, and summer evenings make this album exciting - or maybe it's the evidence of his psychedelic mushroom trips while writing it. It's a whimsical musical adventure! In the middle of the album he sings, "I'm just an arrogant son of a bitch who can't admit that he's sorry," after he says, "What if I'm someone I don't want around?" They are sincere messages of wanting to be a good person, or at least to be seen as one. It is cool to read articles and reviews comparing this high-waisted trouser and chest-bearing shirt-wearing artist to icons like Bowie and The Beatles. Although it's a fine line ;) With sprinkles of the 60s and 70s vibes throughout, Harry Styles makes mystic pop-rock look very, very good.
One of my favourite songs within one of my favourite albums: “She”
I've said it before and I'll say it again - we forget that (most) artists are ARTISTS before they are famous celebrities. Appreciate the art! Worship it! Bow down to it! If 2019 was that good for the music industry, I'm stoked for 2020. We're entering the future...
Bieber 2020. My boy's making a comeback.