best of Madame X’s best of 2019 - Songs 80-61

[SLIME]

Lil Pump - Harverd Dropout

Genre: Trap, Hip-Hop

 

Condensed and read this as "genre: Trip hop" LMAO!

[SLIME]

OK now thoughts on albums thus far.

 

Liz I should probably give more of a try than I have, in any case I'm happy that she was able to acquire a PC-adjacent niche.

Lover I did not hear but I suppose I will at some point. Erika, Ms Nina have been higher priority for me. Chromatics was good, you mostly right about it but I think it does stand out for its harsher sound.

 

Ur right about Fever too but Megan is such a pimp it almost doesn't matter for me. Def better than her first project. I LOVE Simz' album and Jpeg keeps doing his thing. There r new names here for me but ur right about most that I've heard. I thought TR/ST might be higher tho

 

For #32, what's NEO?

[Katamari]

Drag titanic rising!

[Mr. Blue_Shirt]

All the albums so far are served 

 

Also i agree with Titanic Rising description. Personally i like some of the singles but i still can't listen through the album until now

[madonnas]

30.  Sakanaction - 184.194

Genre: Indie Rock, Nu Disco

Thoughts:  This two-part album is full of blissful bops.  They're a japanese indie rock band but this has a heavy disco/dance sound so I guess it's basically a pop album at this point by their standards.  I'm usually wary of male pop albums for various reasons but this is definitely probably the best one of the year. 

Standouts: Match to Peanut, Chabashira, Moth

 

29.  Lana Del Rey - Norman ****ing Rockwell

Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Folk Rock

Thoughts:  Yeah this is Lana's best album and her first album to appear on any of my YE lists!  It's by far her most consistent and I feel like her lyrics have improved so much compared to her Born to Die era.  This album has an iconic set of singles that are all different but gorgeous, and the non singles are something else too! 

Standouts: Venice Bitch, Cinnamon Girl, Doin Time

 

28.  3776 - Saijiki

Genre: Art Pop

Thoughts:  This entire album is like two different bubblegum pop songs being played over each other.  It's really schizophrenic and kinda disturbing.  I like that all the songs are so all over the place that they blend into each other.  For those of you who say like you like quirky music challenge yourself with this because its quite an interesting listen and imo it's pretty good and succeeded at what its trying to do.

Standouts: Tracks 2, 5, 8

 

27.  Hannah Diamond - Reflections

Genre: Bubblegum Bass, Dance Pop

Thoughts: Hannah Diamond takes the PC music sound and turns it inward, focusing on love, loneliness, and sadness.  I think this has been able to separate her sound from everyone else on the label and I thought this album did a great job carving out her own path.  Some songs are like 5 years old already so this sorta feels like a compilation.  The sound for the whole album is a little more minimal however the moments where it goes 100% sound even more fresh because of that.

Standout: Concrete Angel, Fade Away, True

 

26.  Jenny Hval - The Practice of Love

Genre: Art Pop, Trance

Thoughts:  Honestly?  My fave album of hers.  I've been a fan for a while but sometimes she was a bit too esoteric with most of her material but now that she has released an album that has a trance feeling throughout it I found a better way to relate to her music.  I think this release was a great way to please her longtime fans and bring new people into the fold.  As usual the lyrics are morbid and disturbing.

Standouts: High Alice, Ashes to Ashes, Ordinary

 

25.  Dorian Electra - Flamboyant

Genre: Dance-Pop, Bubblegum Bass

Thoughts: Really did not expect to like this album so much.  I always thought their music sounded like RPDR versions of PC Music songs (with a good song here and there), but when it's all together on one album I really do appreciate the songwriting and themes a lot more.  They even go a little more abstract in the last two songs. 

Standouts: Musical Genius, Flamboyant, Guyliner

 

24.  Lust for Youth - Lust for Youth

Genre: Post-Punk, Synth-Pop

Thoughts:  This album is a love letter to the early 80s era of New Order.  It's got that right mix of Post-Punk and edgy Synth-Pop.  If you came here for originality, well, you're not gonna be impressed.  What impressed me is the dedication to the sound and strength of songwriting and replay value. 

Standouts: Venus De Milo, Adrift, New Balance Point

 

23.  Shura - forevher

Genre: Sophisti-pop, Funk

Thoughts:  Shura is really good at slow jams, and this album is full of them.  They're sexy and fresh and her more intimate vocals shine here.  This lacks the standout BOPS of her debut album but replaces it with a cohesive sound that for a whole album works way better than hits + filler.

Standouts: religion (u can lay your hands on me), flyin', skyline, be mine

 

22.  Caroline Polachek - Pang

Genre: Art Pop, Synthpop

Thoughts:  Yeah.  This album is about 1/3 greatest songs of all time, 1/3 cute material, 1/3 filler.  So I couldn't in good faith put it any higher but just to let you know that the good songs on this album are really really really really really really really good.  And they also sound way different from each other.  This felt like more of a MPG era than a lot of actual mainstream pop girls to be honest with all the visuals she threw at us and every song felt like it was part of the album even if they sounded way different from each other.

Standouts: Door, Hit Me Where it Hurts, So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings

 

21.  Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild

Genre: Industrial, Trance

Thoughts: Somehow an album with a bunch of screaming and loud industrial noises manages to kinda sound blissful to me.  This album also has some ballroom influences here and there that work well.  I think this is probably a gayer more aggressive version of their previous album so if you liked that you'll probably like this album

Standouts: House vs House, Death Drop, No Dice

 

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by Madame X

[madonnas]

On 12/10/2019 at 8:59 PM, Ewan Chaos said:

Same picks for Erika! Love that album.

 

Bat for Lashes, yeah yeah, telling me I picked the wrong song, WHATEVER.

 

REALLY surprised at Paper Rings being in your top listing for Lover (or Lover even being in the top 50 tbh). I like it too though, so it's not shade.

Hm, I like it cause its something different for her and has that teenybopper 60s pop feel.

 

On 12/10/2019 at 10:03 PM, TheWayWeWere said:

Taylor' best song from rep was inspired by Ms. Duff too ugh, impact

Lover is pretty nice actually  

Wait I forgot which one that was but I remember hearing about it at the time too  

On 12/10/2019 at 10:19 PM, Melquiades said:

Sis you got TASTE. Couldn't expect less from a Berniedonna stan

  Are you doing a list?

On 12/11/2019 at 7:41 AM, K$Ellie said:

I liked Lover but I can see why it's this low. It was a cute album but nothing special and as usual, there are a few fillers

Cruel Summer and Miss Amaericana as your standouts tho  Did the LIX album have any serves like WTRTW or Queen of Me?

I liked Kids in the Dark quite a bit  the album wasn't for me though, it kinda bored me nnn

 

I hadn't heard of her until someone recommended Eternal, idk what I was expecting cause Godmother was already out but I thought that was gonna be the odd one out, instead the album was full of them

Listen to Intuition from the LIZ album.  It's a different vibe but it's the best song.

 

On 12/11/2019 at 10:14 AM, Eeveelution said:

Titanic Rising as an HM is controversial

 

I like Lost Girls and Essentials is great too.

I gotta be honest!  I have only listened to it twice and got impatient the second time.

On 12/11/2019 at 11:52 AM, BlackoutZone said:

Glad to see some Planet Y2K stanning though Mickey is the one that got me hooked the most  

Oh that's up there too, I forgot the songs that I wasn't a fan of tbh so yeah.

On 12/11/2019 at 1:22 PM, potent said:

I didn't hear any of the honorable mentions, but I liked a few singles from Beauty Marks, mainly just Level Up though.

I meant to check Bat for Lashes this year, but I listened to Kids in the Dark a couple times and wasn't impressed and then I just kinda forgot

You don't like Dose/Thinkking of You??

Uhm, there are 2 songs better than Kids in the Dark... lol

On 12/11/2019 at 7:04 PM, Tsareena said:

Plant Y2k was kinda mixed bag for me. terrible or amazing songs. no inbetween
Lover (song only) talent
Lost girls   Erika de Casier

 

I will not speak on the elephant in the room ( titanic rising being only a hm)

seethe!  I sorta agree with Y2K though a few were just ok (the one with Aja was great besides having aja on it)

On 12/11/2019 at 7:54 PM, Lazuli said:

lover  wait which song is the hilary duff ripoff  

lost girls >>>>> the bride 

Breathe In Breathe Out = Paper Rings

 

On 12/12/2019 at 11:55 AM, theblackestday said:

Grey Area deserved more rep from ATRL!

I agree, it was sorta forgagaten here, at least RYM likes it.

On 12/12/2019 at 1:09 PM, kelly-clarkson said:

I enjoyed Songs for You but I agree it isn't her best project.

I kinda think she has yet to release *that* album but I'd say Aquarius is her best release.

On 12/12/2019 at 1:32 PM, Beyonnaise said:

I like your Lover and Songs For You top threes  Agreed that they're not their respective best works but they both have great material in them.

 

Myss Keta sounds interesting, I will have to give her a stream.

 

I can see why you put Titanic Rising as an HM, there are some excellent songs (Movies, Something To Believe) but I find myself struggling to finish songs when I go back to it, I think it's because her vocal delivery is a bit one-note and on the same emotional wavelength throughout?

Yeah I would say that stopped me from really stanning the album.  That's a good way to put it, because it does vary itself instrumentally I did have a har dtime connecting to it though.

On 12/12/2019 at 7:56 PM, Remmy said:

Lover and Songs for You  I see you made some points in both the writeups and your faves

 

"I think for people who she lost after Nightride/Joyride, this will win them back." Kiii this is exactly what happened with me. Nightride just wasn't my style and Joyride was simply below average. Aquarius is still my favorite from her.

Yeah my boyfriend was one of those people.  He was stanning and pretended to like Joyride for a week but got over it and is loving this album.

On 12/13/2019 at 12:53 AM, Lazuli said:

fever is a bop but not really smth that draws me to listen again 

It's one of those that you can just cherrypick your faves from and play on repeat.

22 hours ago, TheWayWeWere said:

I can't say that SFY is her best project since I didn't listen her per-Night/Joyride stuff, but it's pretty cohesive and catchy  

Listen to Aquarius!  I think you would like it.

22 hours ago, K$Ellie said:

I was gonna listen to Fever but I think she came for Cardi so I decided not to  I like Simon Says a lot tho

Songs For You was a really solid album  I wish it were more experimental but it's cute for what it is

The 3 songs you listed are bops but I can't stand the screaming kids in Die a Little Bit

She came for Cardi?  I can't keep up with the drama smh.  I love the kids screaming!!  What is it a sample from?

15 hours ago, Pink Matter said:

Tinashe  Agree with everything your wrote. It's a blend of all the good things she's capable of; has a little bit of everything. Didn't much care for Meg though. I thought her album was pretty boring. She's got a nice flow but I couldn't even finish the mixtape since every song sounded the same  Cash **** is my **** though

Yeah every song is the same... I'm in the minority that doesn't think Cash **** is the best tho lol.

15 hours ago, Kang. said:

Hey friend cute banner.

Clueless made it!

14 hours ago, Kang. said:

Lil Pump - Harverd Dropout

Genre: Trap, Hip-Hop

 

Condensed and read this as "genre: Trip hop" LMAO!

Maybe his next era

14 hours ago, Kang. said:

OK now thoughts on albums thus far.

 

Liz I should probably give more of a try than I have, in any case I'm happy that she was able to acquire a PC-adjacent niche.

Lover I did not hear but I suppose I will at some point. Erika, Ms Nina have been higher priority for me. Chromatics was good, you mostly right about it but I think it does stand out for its harsher sound.

 

Ur right about Fever too but Megan is such a pimp it almost doesn't matter for me. Def better than her first project. I LOVE Simz' album and Jpeg keeps doing his thing. There r new names here for me but ur right about most that I've heard. I thought TR/ST might be higher tho

 

For #32, what's NEO?

NEO is one of their songs from their 2017 album you'd like it.

I don't think you would like LIZ's album aside from a song or ttwo to be honest....

 

There are 2 tr/st albums this year.

1 hour ago, Katamari said:

Drag titanic rising!

 

 

1 hour ago, Mr. Blue_Shirt said:

All the albums so far are served 

 

Also i agree with Titanic Rising description. Personally i like some of the singles but i still can't listen through the album until now

Glad my list is bringing out the TRUTH from people, also ot but I like your avatar.

[Ewan Chaos]

So glad we have the same general thoughts about miss Lana. Can't wait to keep listening to the Hannah Diamond album and loving it even more (never listened to the older songs).

 

Jenny was cute and yes as we discussion Dorian had a great album too! Just wish I'd listened to it more

 

Whew Shura & Caroline TALENT! Totally agreed with your write-ups. However, everyone is so obsessed with HMWIH and I still really don't care for it...

[Katamari]

Omg sakansction :eek

and you cite match to Godnut as a highlight

 

[Da Vinci]

Flume and Lana  

[Eeveelution]

NFR! is too low but you better stan! 3776 was... interesting. I still need to give it a second listen to be honest. Reflections I wanted to like more but it has some amazing songs.

 

Quote

This felt like more of a MPG era than a lot of actual mainstream pop girls to be honest with all the visuals she threw at us and every song felt like it was part of the album even if they sounded way different from each other.

That's tea actually. She put so much work into the campaign . I wish it had been less drawn-out though.

[smholiv]

You're right about NFR being her best, its her most realized I think.

 

I haven't given Pang a proper chance, I got kind of bored partway and abandoned it, but I'll try to listen to it again  

Shura is interesting - i've seen her pop up on a few lists but I always kind of wrote her off so I'll try to listen to that album!

 

Sakanaction sounds super interesting, i'll give that a try first 

[World Eater]

never noticed the username change and it took me embarrassingly long to figure out that you're you fdjnfdmfdk, ANYWAY, let me catch up

 

re: HMs: Sneaks and Selena's-Kidney worthless fads, Battles and Holly deserved more considering you're doing a top 50, not to even mention the biggest snub of all aka Titanic Rising

as for the main list, really enjoying it so far

Octo Octa, Anna Meredith, Erika De Casier, Tinashe, Chai, Lana , Jenny Hval , Dorian Electra and Caroline Polachek are said f*ck men rights 

you're right about Closer to Grey, also a kii that they didn't perform anything from it on their recent tour

JPEGMAFIA already a fad

need to get around to listen to that 3776 album

[kelly-clarkson]

I need to listen Pang. I've seen a lot of people praising Caroline so I need to check her music!!

[ARTPØP]

NFR was the first Lana album I actually liked since the Born To Die/Paradise era 

[theblackestday]

now wait just a goddamn second. I just now realized you're madonnas. can you revert your name change

 

this is a great set, nfr in particular is too low but I'll take it from an OLDRH <3

[Tom Vercetti]

Hello. Wanna catch up on some things here. I'm glad I like hannah diamond now so I enjoyed her debut. There's some releases here that I just straight up either ignored or just didn't notice ( forevher, flamboyant). I did go through Lust For Youth, Caroline, Lana & Jenny Hval releases tho and liked some things from each. Blanck Mass is hit & miss for me. Nothing on Animated reaches the heights of Please or Rhesus Negative. 

[Remmy]

NFR has some good moments but I wasn't really loving it overall. forevher & Pang back-to-back  Love those 2. We have the same Caroline trinity YUP. 

[Navyofbadgals]

On 12/9/2019 at 11:44 PM, Madame X said:

Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising

Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Indie rock

Why HM:  Got old quick

Thoughts: A nice blend of typical 2010s singer songwriter and 60s beatles sounds.  It just doesn't have that magic spark in most of the songs.

Standouts: Movies, Andromeda

it's on SIGHT now ma'am 

On 12/9/2019 at 11:44 PM, Madame X said:

Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won't Hold

Genre: Post-Punk, Indie Rock

Why HM: Super inconsistent

also yeah chile, the St. Vincent Print was strong on this one and saved it a bit but it was still not that great

 

 

also NFR!  

[Mark Rih]

NFR out already but hey it made the list so better than nothing

[Green]

Norman ****ing Rockwell is a masterpiece.

It deserves to be higher though

[TheWayWeWere]

NFR is not Lana's best, but yeah, it's pretty impressive  

PANG serving more like 1/4 of fillers tho  still, one of my favorite discoveries of the year

Forevher  

[jose168]

 let me get into this

[jose168]

On 12/9/2019 at 11:44 PM, Madame X said:

 

 

ALBUMS:  HONORABLE MENTIONS

 

Caterina Barbieri - Ecstatic Computation

Genre: Progressive Electronic

Why HM: Didn't spend enough time with it.

Thoughts:  This is a super trippy, super minimal album, really sharp and engaging work.  You definitely need the patience to sit all the way through it since listening to just a song here and there won't give you the full experience.

 

Flume - Hi This Is Flume

Genre: EDM, Bubblegum Bass

Why HM: It's sorta inconsistent.

Thoughts:  I've seen people describe his sound as a bro-friendly straight-friendly SOPHIE and like there's an ounce of truth to that.  This is a nice release, but the good songs are good and the rest is sort of just a waste of time.

Standouts: How to Build a Relationship, Voices

 

Lil Pump - Harverd Dropout

Genre: Trap, Hip-Hop

Why HM: lol cause even I can't be that contrarian.

Thoughts:  It's stupid fun dumb rap by someone with probably an iq of 10.  I like his rapping style more than other fads.

Standouts: Too Much Ice, Off White

 

Sneaks - Highway Hypnosis

Genre:  Deconstructed Club

Why HM: Got old fast

Thoughts:  There is a nice balance between the slower trippy songs and the bops, but as the heavy hitters released albums this year I ditched this album.  I have to say their previous album, while less sophisticated, probably was a better sound for them.  Appreciate them trying new things and I think it's worth a try.

Standouts: The Way it Goes, Money Don't Grow on Trees, Beliefs.

 

Holly Herndon - PROTO

Genre: Glitch Pop, Experimental Electronic

Why HM: Inconsistent

Thoughts:  Yeah some of the songs here are super indulgent, go on too long,  etc.  But when it's right it's right.  She's good at loud and dramatic things.

Standouts: Eternal, Alienation

 

Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising

Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Indie rock

Why HM:  Got old quick

Thoughts: A nice blend of typical 2010s singer songwriter and 60s beatles sounds.  It just doesn't have that magic spark in most of the songs.

Standouts: Movies, Andromeda

 

Ciara - Beauty Marks

Genre: R&B, Dance-Pop

Why HM: Super inconsistent

Thoughts:  This has no real awful song, but you can tell what was meant to be a single and what wasn't.

Standouts: Level Up, Dose, Thinking of You

 

Stealing Sheep - Big Wows

Genre: Synth-pop, Indie Pop

Why HM: Honestly not all that original.

Thoughts:  This sound has been done to death, lol.  There's not an ounce of originality here but honestly the music is written well enough for it to be fun to sing along with.

Standouts: Big Wows, Jokin' Me

 

Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won't Hold

Genre: Post-Punk, Indie Rock

Why HM: Super inconsistent

Thoughts:  Damn, for people who thought that NCTL was watered down, I don't even wanna know what they thought of this album   Well it's not like it doesn't have worthwhile moments as its on my HMs but I couldn't in good faith put it in the top 50.

 

Battles - Juice B Crypts

Genre: Math Rock

Why HM: No time with it, just listened to it in the past week.

Thoughts: Prob would be on my list if I gave it more time to be honest.  It is super fun and has some Talking Heads elements in some songs.  The guest vocalists don't overpower their song but add nice flavor.

Standouts: Sugar Foot, Ambulance, Titanium 2 Step

 

Pixx - Small Mercies

Genre: Art Pop, New Wave

Why HM: Not enough standouts

Thoughts: I was a huge fan of her underrated debut, The Age of Anxiety.  She's a very talented artist and I'm glad she went with a new sound but really there weren't enough memorable songs for me to put it any higher.  Still will check for her.

Standouts: Mary Magdelane, Small Mercies, Andean Condor

 

The Center Wont Hold was shockingly boring  Good job picking the best titanic rising tracks

 

On 12/10/2019 at 8:01 PM, Madame X said:

50.  Patience - Dizzy Spells

Genre:  Synth-Pop, Indie Pop

Thoughts:  Nice fun quirky synth-pop album that I always have on the lower rungs of my list.  She has nice vocal delivery and can shift from bouncy to deadpan and it works.

Standouts: The Girls are Chewing Gum, Aerosol

 

49.  Clarice Falcao - Tem Conserto

Genre: Synth-Pop, Art Pop

Thoughts:  This is sort of an artsy fartsy Brazilian pop girl?  I like this album, she shifts between ambient glitchy slow pop and bops.  I prefer the bops as I usually do but the former songs aren't bad by any means!  Check out my standouts, they're underrated this year.

Standouts: So + 6, Horizontalmente, Dia D

 

48.  LIZ - Planet Y2K

Genre: Bubblegum Bass, Dance-Pop, Eurodisco

Thoughts:  I always thought LIZ could never ever ever match the magic of my #1 song of 2015 When I Rule the World, but I finally found a good amount of worthwhile material on this mixtape.  It's sort of a throwback to the early PC music era where everything was just Y2K done super ironically or whatever.  Intuition is apparently a Kylie Minogue demo but it sounds exactly like Mandy Moore's candy and we all love that.  Other songs range from the more trashier club sounds of the early 2000s or the bubbly teen pop.  It's a good collection of songs but, like a lot of mixtapes, there is some fat that could have been trimmed.

Standouts: Intuition, Diamond in the Dark, Laguna Nights

 

47.  Octo Octa - Resonant Body
Genre: Breakbeat, Deep House

Thoughts: I would probably have put this on higher if I spent more time with it smh.  Well, it's definitely carved out its niche sound but I think she does a good job delving deep into her influences instead of just focusing on one or two tricks for the album so for an album it's a entertaining listen.

Standouts: Move Your Body, Can You See Me, Imminent Spirit Arrival

 

46.  Taylor Swift - Lover

Genre: Pop, Singer-Songwriter

Thoughts:  Well well, she releasd one of the worst lead singles of ALL TIME, but the album shows many different sides of Taylor Swift that we haven't seen yet and styles that she hasn't conquered yet.  It's still definitely a Taylor Swift album so you are left feeling like she did play it a bit  too safe but hey theres a lot of good material here.  Surprisingly, the best song on here is a blatant copy of a ****ty Hilary Duff song from her last album.

Standouts: Cruel Summer, Paper Rings, Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince

 

45.  Anna Meredith - Fibs

Genre: Art Pop, Synth-Pop

Thoughts:  Well, apparently she's supposed to come from the classical tradition but I didn't hear much of this in this album.  It's nice poppy synth songs with progressive electronic songs mixed in.  She's got a pretty voice and the album flows well considering the range of this album.

Standouts: Ribbons, Inhale Exhale, Sawbones

 

44.  Ms Nina - Perreando por fuera, llorando por dentro

Genre: Neoperreo, Reggaeton

Thoughts: Ms Nina is an up and coming artist from a new sorta sound called Neoperreo.  The best way I can describe it is like... bedroom reggaeton?  It's got great samples and is well produced.

Standouts: Intro, Te Doy, Piscina

 

43.  Bat for Lashes - Lost Girls

Genre: Art Pop, Synth Pop

Thoughts: This album was a disappointment to people and I can kind of see why but there are a lot of fun elements to it and I think she embraced synthy and dance music in a way that wasn't pandering or desperate.  I will say that the pre-release songs were way way way better than all but one or two of the rest of the albums, as usually is the case nowadays.

Standouts: Feel for You, Kids in the Dark, Vampires

 

42.  Erika De Casier - Essentials

Genre: R&B

Thoughts: This is an intimate R&B album that calls on the Ashanti era melodies with current trendy instrumentals.  It's more for the indie/hipster crowd definitely and her vocals are very whipsery but they work well and I think she has a lot of room to grow and become a star.

Standouts: Intimate, Do My Thing, Puppy Love

 

41.  Chromatics - Closer to Gray

Genre: Dream Pop, Indie Rock

Thoughts:  If you were already a fan of them, you're gonna like this but it won't be a favorite.  This won't sell anybody on them though, unfortunately.  It's just a solid project.

Standouts: On the Wall, Closer to Gray, Twist the Knife

Why wouldnt taylor steal from pop excellence The BIBO highs are bops. I like lost girls alot!

 

On 12/12/2019 at 2:49 PM, Madame X said:

40.  La Casa Azul - La Gran Esfera

Genre:  Synth-Pop, Indie Pop

Thoughts:  This is a spanish pop group that sorta graduated from the indie pop/twee scene in the 2000s, and now they'r emaking more electronic music.  I think it's a well produced album that balances more somber sounding songs with fun songs.  You can still hear their indie roots in there but only if you know about that past, otherwise they would sound like a very modern band to the untrained ear.

Standouts: Ivy Mike, Hasta Perder el Control, Podria Ser Peor

 

39.  Megan Thee Stallion - Fever

Genre: Southern Hip-Hop

Thoughts:  This album is basically 14 straight forward southern hip hop bangers.  Megan's bars are solid, her delivery is extremely pleasing to the ear, and the subject matter is pretty limited but there's a lot drawn out of it.  She's a very versatile artist, and this mixtape is her committing to one specific sound so its not necessarily the best  album to showcase all her talents but it is probably her most solid release overall.   Could the fat have been trimmed?  Probably.  Oh well, there's no bad song on this.

Standouts: Hood Rat ****, WAB, Sex Talk

 

38.  Tomasa Del Real - TDR

Genre: Neoperreo, Reggaeton

Thoughts:  This is the second "neoperreo" album on my list and I chose it as the superior release because I think TDR has more charisma in this project and also because while it's less experimental in nature it has BANGERS.  Lots of them.  I wish I could have more input on the Spanish language albums but I honestly don't even speak Spanish (failure of a southern Californian).

Standouts: Ella Quiere Culiar, Braty Puti, Y Nos Vamos

 

37.  Vendredi Sur Mer -  Premier Emois

Genre: Nu-Disco, Electropop

Thoughts:  This is a French-Swiss girl who releases nice nu-disco songs with a lot of spoken whipsery vocals.  I like that it sorta pulls from Italio Disco but definitely doesn't go into the kitschy/tribute category.   I'd say this is one of the most underlooked albums of the year by the pop/indie nerds here, so LOOK IT UP if you haven't already, most of you would like it.

Standouts: Chewing Gum, Encore, Ecoute Cherie

 

36.  Little Simz - Grey Area

Genre: Hip-Hop

Thoughts:  I'm always a little worried when I see people describe something as "jazz hip-hop" because it usually ends up being a really boring retread of early 90s stuff, but this is definitely not that.  It's hard hitting, raw, and personal.  This is an extremely personal album and I probably the best introduction to her (her other projects are cute).  You get all different sides of her and her rapping ability is pretty good.

 

35.  MYSS KETA - Paprika

Genre: Hip-Hop, Electropop

Thoughts:  This girl is sorta like an Italian Brooke Candy lol, but you know with actual talent and vision.  Some of the songs are traditional clubby tracks, some are more ""experimental hip hop"".  People have described her as deconstructed club, maybe her last album, but not this one.  I overall think this is an extremely eclectic album that has something for everybody without it seeming like she's spreading herself too thin.

Standouts: MAIN BITCH, BOTOX, BATTERE IL FERRO FINCHÉ È CALDO

 

34.  Tinashe - Songs for You

Genre: R&B

Thoughts:  This isn't her best project.  It is however her most consistent and cohesive project.  Instead of focusing on bangers with boring ass filler, The entire album is basically dark sexy R&B with a little Tinashe flavor but there are different moments with Disco, Hip-Hop, Dance, and Soul vibes.  I think for people who she lost after Nightride/Joyride, this will win them back.  She  belts a few times!  It's not successful belting but it's kinda fun to listen to.  I prefer the more harder hitting songs to the smoother ones but they're all sorta good.

Standouts: Hopskotch, Die a Little Bit, Save Room for Us

 

33.  JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes are Cornballs

Genre: Experimental Hip-Hop

Thoughts:  This album doesn't have any Baby I'm Bleeding but it is his best album.  Every song has entertaining lyrics and really really good instrumentals.  The songs are really short and the longer ones have multiple parts, so it's like listening to a bunch of 1 min songs change and I like that because it works for my attention span.

 

32. Chai - Punk

Genre: New Wave, Indie Rock

Thoughts:  Chai are a fun Japanese indie rock/punk band and basically the entire album is full of uplifting and just slightly edgy tracks.  The more traditional pop songs on the album are the weakest but it's good to see them expand their sound from their last album.  If you liked NEO you'd like this album.  I think the album as a whole is an improvement as there are lots of standouts.

Standouts: Choose Go, Great Job, カーリー・アドベンチャー

 

31.  TR/ST - The Destroyer - Part 2

Genre: Darkwave, Synthpop

Thoughts:  He released a two parter album.  Part 2 is the more somber, ballad heavy album and guess what? I LIKE IT.  He's always been better at ballads than most artists and a lot of the songs are designed to be growers as they have a sense of momentum and build up into amazing moments at the end.  This is probably the biggest departure from his traditional sound as there are no clubby songs on this album but everything you like about him is still there.

Standouts: Slow Burn, The Stain, Iris

 

 

Meh at megan. Sex talk though S4U was also a little overrated imo, but a nice album. Need to check out the destroyer!

 

On 12/14/2019 at 2:19 PM, Madame X said:

30.  Sakanaction - 184.194

Genre: Indie Rock, Nu Disco

Thoughts:  This two-part album is full of blissful bops.  They're a japanese indie rock band but this has a heavy disco/dance sound so I guess it's basically a pop album at this point by their standards.  I'm usually wary of male pop albums for various reasons but this is definitely probably the best one of the year. 

Standouts: Match to Peanut, Chabashira, Moth

 

29.  Lana Del Rey - Norman ****ing Rockwell

Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Folk Rock

Thoughts:  Yeah this is Lana's best album and her first album to appear on any of my YE lists!  It's by far her most consistent and I feel like her lyrics have improved so much compared to her Born to Die era.  This album has an iconic set of singles that are all different but gorgeous, and the non singles are something else too! 

Standouts: Venice Bitch, Cinnamon Girl, Doin Time

 

28.  3776 - Saijiki

Genre: Art Pop

Thoughts:  This entire album is like two different bubblegum pop songs being played over each other.  It's really schizophrenic and kinda disturbing.  I like that all the songs are so all over the place that they blend into each other.  For those of you who say like you like quirky music challenge yourself with this because its quite an interesting listen and imo it's pretty good and succeeded at what its trying to do.

Standouts: Tracks 2, 5, 8

 

27.  Hannah Diamond - Reflections

Genre: Bubblegum Bass, Dance Pop

Thoughts: Hannah Diamond takes the PC music sound and turns it inward, focusing on love, loneliness, and sadness.  I think this has been able to separate her sound from everyone else on the label and I thought this album did a great job carving out her own path.  Some songs are like 5 years old already so this sorta feels like a compilation.  The sound for the whole album is a little more minimal however the moments where it goes 100% sound even more fresh because of that.

Standout: Concrete Angel, Fade Away, True

 

26.  Jenny Hval - The Practice of Love

Genre: Art Pop, Trance

Thoughts:  Honestly?  My fave album of hers.  I've been a fan for a while but sometimes she was a bit too esoteric with most of her material but now that she has released an album that has a trance feeling throughout it I found a better way to relate to her music.  I think this release was a great way to please her longtime fans and bring new people into the fold.  As usual the lyrics are morbid and disturbing.

Standouts: High Alice, Ashes to Ashes, Ordinary

 

25.  Dorian Electra - Flamboyant

Genre: Dance-Pop, Bubblegum Bass

Thoughts: Really did not expect to like this album so much.  I always thought their music sounded like RPDR versions of PC Music songs (with a good song here and there), but when it's all together on one album I really do appreciate the songwriting and themes a lot more.  They even go a little more abstract in the last two songs. 

Standouts: Musical Genius, Flamboyant, Guyliner

 

24.  Lust for Youth - Lust for Youth

Genre: Post-Punk, Synth-Pop

Thoughts:  This album is a love letter to the early 80s era of New Order.  It's got that right mix of Post-Punk and edgy Synth-Pop.  If you came here for originality, well, you're not gonna be impressed.  What impressed me is the dedication to the sound and strength of songwriting and replay value. 

Standouts: Venus De Milo, Adrift, New Balance Point

 

23.  Shura - forevher

Genre: Sophisti-pop, Funk

Thoughts:  Shura is really good at slow jams, and this album is full of them.  They're sexy and fresh and her more intimate vocals shine here.  This lacks the standout BOPS of her debut album but replaces it with a cohesive sound that for a whole album works way better than hits + filler.

Standouts: religion (u can lay your hands on me), flyin', skyline, be mine

 

22.  Caroline Polachek - Pang

Genre: Art Pop, Synthpop

Thoughts:  Yeah.  This album is about 1/3 greatest songs of all time, 1/3 cute material, 1/3 filler.  So I couldn't in good faith put it any higher but just to let you know that the good songs on this album are really really really really really really really good.  And they also sound way different from each other.  This felt like more of a MPG era than a lot of actual mainstream pop girls to be honest with all the visuals she threw at us and every song felt like it was part of the album even if they sounded way different from each other.

Standouts: Door, Hit Me Where it Hurts, So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings

 

21.  Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild

Genre: Industrial, Trance

Thoughts: Somehow an album with a bunch of screaming and loud industrial noises manages to kinda sound blissful to me.  This album also has some ballroom influences here and there that work well.  I think this is probably a gayer more aggressive version of their previous album so if you liked that you'll probably like this album

Standouts: House vs House, Death Drop, No Dice

 

 

 

NFR is indeed her best album. She found her sweet spot, and its finally not a bore past the halfway mark. I missed out on alot of albums this year  

[potent]

Lana making it

I haven't heard her full discography, but NFR is definitely better than LFL.

 

Shura making it too, she really surprised me this year in a good way and Religion slays

[bluth]

miss kyta and vendredi sur mer luvs it

 

titanic rising was that classic early year release/first big acclaimed album that people latch onto because they don’t want it to be a bad year but then they leave it by the wayside when other better albums are released later in the year

 

or maybe i just dont have the attention span for indie gurls