2019 was a year full of great releases. With list season having come and gone, I wasn’t able to write a definitive “best-of-the-year” piece, but I did want to talk about a few albums that I particularly enjoyed. Here they are, in alphabetical order.
Blue Hawaii – Open Reduction Internal Fixation
Blue Hawaii merges deep house and garage with R&B intimacy on an LP that is equally appropriate to play at home alone or in the club. Another step further onto the dancefloor that holds true to the dream pop stylings of their earlier releases.
An Exquisite Selection: “All That Blue”
Open Reduction Internal Fixation can be purchased here
Boy Harsher – Careful
In their episode of Fact’s excellent Against the Clock series, Boy Harsher piece together a track in 10 minutes with their minimalist studio setup. Just like they do on this album, they don’t need much to create excellent atmospheric darkwave. Sparse keys, mechanical drum machine programming and the voice of Jae Matthews are the formula for a cold and sensual sound well-suited for the goth club or a lonesome drive in the dark.
An Exquisite Selection: “LA”
Careful can be purchased here
CFCF – Liquid Colours
Mike Silver’s non-stop mix of glossy new age breakbeats feels like a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the hope of a consumer future expressed by mall muzak of the past. Listen to it in a Hudson Bay department store for a life-affirming shopping experience.
An Exquisite Selection: “Anodyne Industries”
Liquid Colours can be purchased here
Florist – Emily Alone
If I had to describe this album in one word, that word would be: comforting. Emily Sprague’s gentle vocal delivery, poetic lyrics, and delicate finger picking are soothing and reassuring, like a cozy blanket and a cup of tea for your ears. A fantastic record from a fantastic songwriter.
An Exquisite Selection: “Shadow Bloom”
Emily Alone can be purchased here.
Oso Oso – Basking in the Glow
As a massive fan of Oso Oso’s 2017 release, the yunahon mixtape, I was very excited when I found out the Jade Lilitri was putting out a record in 2019. As high as my expectations were, Basking in the Glow still blew me away. Hooks, hooks, hooks! Lilitri’s blend of earworm choruses and catchy guitar riffs is godly. A cathartic sing-along-in-the-car experience that is amongst the best emo-adjacent releases in recent years.
An Exquisite Selection: “The View”
Basking in the Glow can be purchased here.
(Sandy) Alex G – House of Sugar
Alex Giannascoli continues to write fantastic songs as he takes the guitar-wielding singer/songwriter template into new and exciting directions, whether it’s through vocal experimentation or dabbling in progressive electronica. Psychedelic, poetic, and chock full of emotive melodies.
An Exquisite Selection: “Taking”
House of Sugar can be purchased here.
Surfing – Emotion
There are summer albums that invoke sunshine, blue skies, and the beach and there are summer albums like Emotion that project the sweaty heat that melts your ice cream and face. Breathy vocals swim in a smog of synths and hypnotic guitar riffs while the drums maintain a hip swiveling rhythm. If you sip enough iced tea in the shade, you’ll regain the strength to dance along.
An Exquisite Selection: “Hearts”
Emotion can be found in your heart and purchased here.
Toro y Moi – Outer Peace
Chaz Bear is a chameleon in how he can seamlessly move from different musical palettes with each new release while maintaining an aesthetic that is distinctly his. Outer Peace displays his forays into romantic alternative R&B and playful funky house. It is a record of duality, in which we can experience both the emotional weight of the human experience and the catharsis of the dancefloor. It’s not one continuous mood, but we don’t live in a Spotify playlist. We might as well make the most of this 50-50 world and hope we die flying.
An Exquisite Selection: “Who I Am”
Find your Outer Peace and purchase Toro y Moi’s here
100 Gecs – 1000 Gecs
100 Gecs – 1000 Gecs
In a year chock full of fun and forward thinking pop albums, none were as wild and chaotic as 100 gecs debut full-length. Somehow Dylan Brady and Laura Les manage to cram nearly the entire internet into 23 minutes of bubblebum bass that repeatedly destructs and puts itself back together again. Here is a list of the ingredients:
– myspace
– PC Music
– brostep
– big trucks
– ska (pick it up)
– emo rap
– glossy early 00’s dance pop
– Warped tour crabcore
– horses
– rawr XD
– porsches
– little trucks
– that video of you and friend covering Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” that you uploaded to Youtube in 2009
– nightcore
– bass boost memes
– “Teach Me how to Dougie”
– Kushandwizdom.tumblr
Gecgecgecgec. Check it out you little piss baby.
An Exquisite Selection: “800db Cloud”
All 1000 Gecs can be purchased here.