NO!!!!! (in beyoncé's "america has a problem" voice): the 2022 aoty newsletter

FUCKING NIIIIIGHTMAAAARE (in the wet leg "i don't wanna go out" voice)

I got the warning from Substack about length, so please note: you need to click “View Entire Message” if you’re getting this over email. Thanks.

Alright, so we’re going to jump into this without too much preamble!! You all know why you’re here, I know why I’m here, so we should get down to it. However, I first just want to emphasize that this is, in fact, a “favorites” list, not a “best of” list. Part of the fun of this for me is acknowledging the general consensus picks for The Best Albums Of The Year (insert little trademark logo) — i.e. Big Thief, The Smile, Alex G; all albums I like by the way—which just might not be projects I kept returning to as the year progressed. This is not objective in any way, shape or form, so go in knowing that. You’re welcome to read the publication lists or create your own list, but none of those albums I just mentioned will be featured here.

With that being said, I wouldn’t consider this “top ten” I’m about to get into to be a clear-cut, confident Top Ten. There are a few entries I thought of switching out last minute (like, right before I hit “send,” last minute), and I will mention which ones could’ve probably made that top ten in the following “honorable mentions” section — which consists of two-ish sentences about 50-something albums, just things I would also encourage people to check out.

Even though it’s not a strict top ten, I’m allowing myself to be a little bit superstitious about what I’ve included here. After all, this time last year, I was placing Remi Wolf’s Juno in my top ten, and then a few weeks ago, I actually got to talk to Remi Wolf about Juno. My opinions about these albums might change over time, but it serves as a capsule of this ridiculous year I’ve just lived through and a written record of the art that helped me through it. If it also opens a door to a batshit opportunity, who am I to fight that? Let the universe do its thing.

So, just for reference, everything is alphabetical. There’s no strict number one spot. Each entry will have the release date, record label (if applicable) and genre labels I took from a music aggregator site — so don’t yell at me if you think they’re wrong, I’m just looking for uniformity for people reading this who do not obsessively seek out and review new music like some of us do.

Also, I made a playlist of 160 songs I loved this year (because I made one of 80 songs at the year’s halfway point) with one track by each artist — some of whom put out an album that wasn’t my thing but did make at least one excellent song I feel compelled to share with people. So you can listen to that here.

Okay, so without further ado, let’s get moving.

Elise’s Asterisked (is that how you’d spell it?) Top Ten:

*Beyoncé - RENAISSANCE

(July 29 on Parkwood/Columbia - Dance-Pop/House/R&B)

Here’s the deal: there are a few major pop artists who released albums which made most of the lists. If you know me, you know how I feel about Beyoncé; her career has lasted pretty much as long as I’ve been alive, and Destiny’s Child was probably one of the first musical artists that I discovered for myself as a very young kid. Therefore, I will always want her to succeed, so keep that in mind. Still, I’ll make this statement anyway: from a creative perspective, Beyoncé does the whole “being a pop star” thing the right way, better than anyone else with a new album this year. She’s cracked the formula.

Here are our circumstances: You have more money than god and all the resources in the world. You have the best artists currently working to edit you and contribute their own ideas. You theoretically have the power to make weird shit, damn the trend, and can pull inspiration from any time period, genre or style. Correctly, Beyoncé takes advantage of all of that here. This is a fucking rock-solid, cohesive dance record that like, olympic-level high-jumps beyond the bar for most major pop acts — a bar that’s basically on the floor at the moment. You can say you have issues with certain tracks or production decisions, but I don’t think you can argue that each move feels purposeful. I respect that.

I don’t need to get too deep into the P-word (poptimism) dilemma here, because it’s an argument that we always have in circles with no solution. I think it’s completely valid to argue that it’s bad for mainly alternative music pubs to focus so much on major pop artists now, often at the expense of giving crucial media coverage to smaller acts. However, that seems to all fall apart a bit when you ask some music journalists what they would like to see more coverage of instead: even without meaning to be, the discourse gets misogynistic fast, more often than not. You can argue that a giant conglomerate owning a given site is bad for said site, but I will not listen to arguments about “Golden Age” Pitchfork without an acknowledgment that a varied staff in terms of life experience, identity and taste (which simply wouldn’t have been hired then) is a positive thing. At least without getting the debate stands set up, it’s a no-win argument.

The simplistic version of my take is this: we should talk about this type of pop music if it is the most cutting-edge and successful work being done in the field at the moment. Yes, it’s Beyoncé, but this album deserves its place in the conversation. It’s easily the best mainstream pop album of the year because it doesn’t sound like the rest of the mainstream at the moment. It can be enjoyed by the casual listener, but she’s used those resources and done her homework, meaning critics and overall music nerds like me ate it up. It’s not guilty pleasure material; it dares to be more. Shouldn’t all “great” music do that? From that perspective, and outside of the concept of the pop star as a cult of personality which we cling so tightly to these days, I think it’s disgraceful that the other “major” pop albums that came out this year are even mentioned in the same breath as RENAISSANCE. Those records have their place, but it’s not next to this one. You’ve heard my criteria, and that’s my verdict.

Something else I’ve thought about semi-jokingly, but also semi-seriously: have we ever considered that the album’s detractors don’t know how to dance? Because no other album out this year made me want to dance like this one. You’re all listening to the same “HEATED” as I am, and you don’t feel compelled to move? I’m embarrassing myself anytime I push play, so that all sounds like a you problem.

(Also, someone please come to one of the Baby’s All Right RENAISSANCE dance parties with me. I haven’t gotten to yell this newsletter’s titular “NO!!!!” in a club yet and I’m a little bit ashamed of that. Let me know.)

*Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up Here

(Feb. 4 on Ninja Tune - Art Rock/Post-Rock/Chamber Pop)

To be brutally honest, because that’s what we do here, this is probably the first album I’d switch out of this top tier if I had to eliminate one. This is in part because I understand the main points of critique some of my friends have cited: “Dave Matthews Baaaaaand (derogatory)!!!!” you all cry out with your torches at the gates of the men in music business conference. I’ll admit that I also don’t love a lot of these pop culture reference-y lyrics! Not for me! And yet! I need to sit down every time “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade” comes on. And “Goodwill Hunting.” And “Snow Globes.” And “Bread Song.” But mostly “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade.”

I like this band’s contemporaries too, don’t get me wrong, but I get something from this that I don’t get from maybe, for example, the black midi album — again, an album I really enjoyed! I like how pretty so much of this is. Something in me feeds off how sad-bastard-music-y some of it is! I feel genuinely moved by enough of it that I just need to put it here and not yammer on about it too much.

I respect if some of you do not want to join me in the daily playing of the national anthem where we stand to sing “praise the lord, burn my house, I get lost, I freak out,” like the meme of Meryl Streep yelling at the Oscars, but I will be participating, for better or worse.

*Cate Le Bon - Pompeii

(Feb. 4 on Mexican Summer - Art Pop/Neo-Psychedelia)

When people ask me what kind of music I naturally gravitate towards when doing my own listening, my joke-y answer is “art-pop women screaming,” or more often, “Kate Bush’s children” — which generally means weirdo rock or pop music with an element of theatricality and/or camp and/or kitsch and/or the macabre. If I had to pick one of Kate’s more contemporary “children” to exemplify my taste, Cate Le Bon would probably be up near the top of the ranking.

I officially jumped on the Le Bon train back in 2016 with Crab Day (“What’s Not Mine” is one of the best album closers of the last decade, get into it), but I became obsessed with 2019’s Reward around this time of the year right after it came out — and I remember that because it became my “long, aimless walk album” and got plenty of play when I was taking my strolls around a ghost-town-esque, post-Christmas downtown Manhattan. Her music is her sculpture — smooth, angular and remote — and could seem cold as a result, but it doesn’t. That could be because the quirks never seem weird for weird’s sake: they’re so deeply ingrained into each song’s DNA because it’s just what any sound coming out of her…sounds like. Each lyric evokes a specific emotion, even in its abstract form. She gets on the mic and sings, in that voice that crushes and glides at the same time, “I had the heart of a thunderclap / How about that?” and I’m like, she’s got a point! Everything you need to know about it is contained in the image. It’s a rare and valuable quality — especially for someone like me who has trouble knowing when to shut up in my own writing, if you couldn't tell.

Also, consider that much of this album is just super catchy. Breezy, Avalon-era Roxy Music tribute “Moderation” is just a perfect song, sorry. The fact that she laments that she “can’t beat the ‘Mother of Pearl,’” referencing one of my (and Bryan Ferry’s!) favorite Roxy Music songs on top of that officially buried my love for her in cement so it lives forever. She’s an expert at capturing how she haunts herself, meaning she’s won me over tenfold.

When I saw her at Bowery Ballroom in February, I got some of my favorite concert shots I’ve ever taken — partially because I parked myself right behind a photographer who eventually retreated to the back after his first-three-songs limit, so for most of the show, I had my hands on stage and she towered right over me. I was quite literally just basking in her shadow, if you consider the stage lights. We heard Pompeii in its entirety (plus a few Reward songs and a cover of McCartney II gem “Waterfalls”), and it was one of the most magical concert experiences I had in a year full of magical concert experiences. She seemed overwhelmed by how much we liked her, now that I really think about it — like genuinely surprised! As such, I made sure to yell “she’s got a point!” in my head only. Don’t want to scare her off from coming back.

*Ethel Cain - Preacher’s Daughter

(May 12 on Daughters of Cain/self-released - Singer-Songwriter/Dream Pop/Slowcore)

Listen, if I had to pick one (1) singular album to crown the “best” of the year……it would probably be this one. If you attempted to skim-listen through the tracks and felt you couldn’t get into it, I’m telling you, you have to set time aside to sit down and make it a full album listening experience. This isn’t something you can absorb passively, and I think that’s part of why I’m so impressed by it: though it’s technically “a concept album” — something I'm usually wary of if it commits to the bit at the expense of quality — this creates such an atmosphere that completely wraps you up without getting into full-on plot exposition mode. I am wowed by anyone who can come up with something so fully realized and original right now when, to be frank, I rarely encounter such projects.

Like, I’m kind of afraid of overselling it, so I kind of feel like I have to stop typing and just say: find an environment where you feel prepared to completely immerse yourself in a feat of storytelling. The world of Ethel Cain consists of flies buzzing and girls locked in freezers and the specific delivery of lines that will move you to tears and a god that loves you (but not enough to save you) and the bitter realization that things you love can consume you and may never love you back, but that doesn’t make our fondness for them waver. It vibrates and decays before your eyes (or ears, I guess), and breathes. It’s horrifying. I love it.

*Grace Ives - Janky Star

(June 10 on UMG/True Panther Sounds - Synthpop/Indietronica)

On the opposite side of the “heaviness” spectrum compared to our last entry: if you’re looking for an album where you can throw on any track whenever and have your mood lifted so quickly that you feel delirious, Janky Star is your new best friend, sister, mother, overly-interested neighbor and person in the subway station who assists you in the act of fare evasion. When “Loose” came out, I had to listen to it at least a few times a day. It became like a daily prayer I’d mouth to myself when I didn’t want to think about anything else — fitting for an ode to absolutely not having your shit together and not knowing what to do in order to fix it. I had the same little ritual with each single that followed, and then the same with pretty much every album track when the whole thing came out.

I should start a tally of the moments on here that give me butterflies that make me half-giddy and half-sick. The bones of each idea are just so solid that it gives her room to get weird with it, which is like…less a “part of its charm” or whatever and more like the entire selling point for me. All of these songs will be stuck in your head forever. You will discover a new little production quirk or realize the brilliance of a certain section of a song every time you listen to it in full. It already feels like something I’ll continuously return to without a second thought. It’s great commute music, great work music, great doing-nothing music, great music music.

*Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B

(Sept. 9 on Rough Trade - Glitch Pop/Art Pop)

When I inevitably pivot to DJ-ing and you all show up to my nights opening for another DJ that actually considers their audience and is good at what they do and you’re embarrassed for me but come out to be like, “Well! There were songs, I guess!” just to be nice, several tracks from this will be in rotation on my setlist. Holy shit, I love this album.

Again, I’ll address critiques that I can understand: this is certainly an exercise in everything but the kitchen sink. Georgia Ellery (who is also in BCNR) and Taylor Skye are both classically trained, and part of their work deals in blending some vision of chamber pop with glitchy, electronica-inspired stuff, and it can be jarring, sure! Not all of it works seamlessly, but again, I think that’s part of why I keep returning to it. The balance of deliberate ugliness and pure danceable bliss is interesting.

In my first full-blown year as a professional music writer, I’ve discovered this about my personal taste: I tend to prefer a batshit risk that only half pays off to something that is pleasant but doesn’t strike a nerve. Like, that’s not a hard and fast rule, but let’s be real — I’ve returned to this more than any of the acoustic-y slacker rock albums all made by like…the same kind of guy that everyone has been drooling over. There’s a place for that, I’m glad it brings you all joy, but I’m not yelling “Imagine I’m Madonna…IMAGINE I’M THEEEE MADONNA!!!!” with that guy! He’s not on the dance floor, hyping me up in the bathroom and smearing glitter on my eyes! We're not crying on train together afterwards! Sometimes, I need that from my independent music, so I’m glad I had this to fall back on.

*Leikeli47 - Shape Up

(May 13 on RCA - Hardcore Hip-Hop/Hip House)

Shame on everyone, because this contains banger after banger, and I’ve seen very few people bring it up this EOY. You can’t see it, but I’m waving my arms wildly as I’m venting my frustration! “Gesticulating” is the word, I believe! I do it well, and I’m doing it now!

I’m not a rap expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I know several people who are true experts; they understand the nuances of each sub-genre and the history that preceded it, reminding me I know nothing in comparison. Like, they’re the way I am about the aforementioned screaming art-pop women. I’m realizing now that most of the “credible” music voices who’ve been singing this album’s praises have been, like, those people individually. And they know. The fact that I don’t necessarily understand every reference packed into this but still listened to it nonstop is a credit to Leikeli47’s creativity and delivery. It’s become something I return to and deconstruct — Plenty of R&B-inflected moments! House music — the hot topic of the year done correctly there! Excellent performances!! Count me the fuck in!

Also, I think “Chitty Bang” is one of my favorite openers of the year. It just sits correctly with my spirit.

*Petrol Girls - Baby

(June 24 on Hassle - Riot Grrrl/Post-Hardcore)

Another album that deserved much more attention than it got, in my opinion. I saw one person say their gripe with this is that the lyrics are “too on the nose,” which seems to miss the point of it completely. It’s….protest music, Jared (or whatever his name was). Are you telling me that when you had the opportunity to yell, “I’m a goddamn incubator but baby, I’ll see you later,” along with “Baby, I Had an Abortion,” or “A-C-A-B! They don’t protect me!” with “Violent by Design,” you were like, “You know what the people with uteruses need right now, in this context? Metaphor!”?There are sixty million singer-songwriters around right now writing beautiful songs about Current Events, but this does it in a way that’s confrontational — something missing from a lot of modern punk/punk-adjacent music right now. Or, at least from the artists getting attention.

When the Meet Me in the Bathroom doc came out recently, someone pointed out that, in contrast to other “back-to-basics rock” movements, it was basically apolitical; it was more about reclaiming an attitude and sound than any social or economic motive the first wave of punk might’ve had. That’s not to suggest that American punk in the 70s was all that political, especially not compared to the British punks they inspired, but doesn’t it say something that the most political thing about that 9/11-era indie revival was Karen O just…being there? Being a woman? Because she was like…the only one? I love all of that music, so this isn’t a hit against that, but it did make me think about outwardly political statements in the context of alternative music.

It warms my heart in deeply cold, unfeeling times that any band still does stuff like this. As established in other editions of this newsletter, I am mad about everything all the time. Existence in this time and place is infuriating. Punk is an inherently feminine (and anarchic) incarnation of guitar music, so let people like Petrol Girls reclaim that. Every track here provided immense comfort to me throughout the summer and fall; in terms of specific pull quotes you can use on a daily basis, “FUCK ME, I’m SICK of guys like YOU!!!!!” works in most situations for me nowadays. Take the record and scream wisely.

*Porridge Radio - Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky

(May 20 on Secretly Canadian - Indie Rock)

Okay, so this one is 100% here in the top ten because of I’m in my early twenties and alone most of the time and have no idea what the fuck I’m doing, big picture. This album slides a little bit too quickly into that specific kind of emptiness — very quarter-life crisis-y, especially with all of these studies and books coming out now about how no generation before people my age have had as much difficulty forming and maintaining relationships. I simultaneously know exactly who I am and what I like, but no idea what any of that means in relation to other people in my life. That’s good, because I’m not tied to whatever projection they’d place on me, but it also means I have no idea why they like me or why they’re being kind to me at any given time. It’s confusing and I’m naturally dramatic anyway, so, of course, this album of people yelling direct, repetitive mantras about their anguish within friendships and romances sold me immediately.

“WHAT YOU TAKE FROM ME, I DON’T EVER WANT IT BACK, I DON’T WANNA GO BACK, I DON’T WANNA GO BACK!!!!”

“I DON’T WANNA BE LOVED!! I DON’T WANNA BE LOVED! I DON’T WANNA BE LOVED!”

“DON’T WANT TO MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU! DON’T WANNA MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU!!!”

“AND DON’T YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL ME??? AND DON’T YOU HAVE ANYTHING AT ALL????”

“YOU’RE EAAAASYYYYY!!!! YOU’VE GOT TO GO!!!! YOU’RE EAAAASYYYYY!!!!! YOU’VE GOT TO GO!!!!!”

“AND NOW MY HEART ACHES, AND NOW MY HEART ACHES, AND NOW MY HEART ACHES, AND NOW MY HEART ACHES, AND NOW MY HEART ACHES, AND NOW MY HEART ACHES, AND NOW MY HEART ACHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

That should be enough explanation. Also, a lot of these songs have cool, sci-fi-ish/theremin-esque sounding keyboards, which gets a big thumbs-up from me.

*Sudan Archives - Natural Brown Prom Queen

(Sept. 9 on Stones Throw - Alternative R&B/Art Pop)

Okay, maybe Ethel Cain is tied with this one for “Objectively Best Album” of the year. Brittney Parks is brilliant, and we’ve known this since she started making music under this moniker, but holy shit, does this album bulldoze anything she’s done up to this point. Again, “impressive” is just the only word I can think to use. It has a clear focus as a project, but is also so multi-faceted and ambitious that you can’t believe that she’s pulling it off as you’re listening. We’re back to this idea of being compelled by big swings in terms of risk-taking, and I’m not sure whether you could argue that any of the risks here don't pay off. It’s that good.

“NBPQ (Topless)” blows my mind. “OMG BRITT” into “ChevyS10” is best-of-the-year level shit. “Freakalizer” is great. “Yellow Brick Road” is great. Like, it’s another one where I can’t say too much, you just have to experience it. It doesn’t sound like anything else you’ve heard this year and you will not regret devoting your attention to it. Also, as a side-note, I’m kind of over watching late night show musical performances, but the performance of “Selfish Soul” on Colbert felt like a fucking revelation. At least when I watched it, most regular viewers in the comments did not get it, and that’s a shame. I saw and heard pure, joyful exuberance from an artist, and even the knowledge of things like that existing strengthen us in the long run. Every time I remember that was on national television for all to witness, it lifts my mood instantly. Things are bad, but at least there’s a mini-miracle like that every so often.

So now that we got through our tentative top ten, let move on to……

Our Lovely Fifth Alternates (yes, this is an alyssa edwards reference): the 50-something runners-up

Alvvays - Blue Rev

(Oct. 7 on Polyvinyl/Transgressive - Indie Pop/Shoegaze/Noise Pop)

The rumors are true: it’s probably their best full-length project to date. Hook after hook, beautifully layered guitar after beautifully layered guitar. We here on Team Elise are particularly fond of “Easy On Your Own?,” but there are no real misses.

Angel Olsen - Big Time

(June 3 on Jagjaguwar - Americana/Singer-Songwriter/Country)

The outro of “Right Now”? Best outro of the year, hands down. The first time I listened to this, I was unbearably hungover and to be honest, it might be best enjoyed that way. I think I prefer the high drama of All Mirrors overall, but this is lovely nonetheless.

Arima Ederra - An Orange-Colored Day

(Oct. 7 on Arima’s Lab/self-released - Art Pop/Neo-Soul)

An overlooked release this year, for sure. Not reinventing the wheel, but it’s a breezy thing that sounds like Sundays. I can always use more of those. Excited to see what she does next.

Backxwash - HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING

(Oct. 31 on Ugly Hag/self-released - Industrial Hip-Hop/Horrorcore)

(In the Michelle-Obama-making-the-video-for-Beyoncé voice) You have done it again: constantly raising the bar for us all, and doing it flawlessly. Ashanti Mutinta never makes anything passive or less than harrowing and we should give her all of the money in the world to keep making it because she knows what she’s doing.

Björk - Fossora

(Sept. 30 on One Little Independent - Art Pop/Electronic/Post-Industrial)

You all know what I’m gonna say. It’s fucking Björk. Even the weaker songs on this are more interesting than anything most people will put out in their whole career. If it wasn’t her, I feel like it would’ve registered as more of an essential release, and we would’ve talked about it more than we did. She’s god. Sorry.

Black Dresses - Forget Your Own Face

(Feb. 15 on Blacksquares - Electro-Industrial)

Their die-hards seem to insist that this isn’t one of their better efforts, but knowing only the basics of the back catalog, I loved this. Weird as fuck.

BLACKSTARKIDS - CYBERKISS*

(Sept. 23 on Dirty Hit - Bedroom Pop/West Coast Hip-Hop/Alt-Pop)

This is just fun. If there’s any single album here that I feel is done the biggest disservice by the burden of genre tags, it’s this one. How can I cram everything this touches on into parentheses? It should be said, I’m a person who is a little bit sick of the “bedroom pop” thing at this point; I’ve had multiple men at parties tell me, after telling them I write about music, “Oh, I make bedroom pop. Have you ever heard of Jack Stauber? It’s kinda like him.” It’s an epidemic: we as a nation need to sit down and think about the direction we’re heading in. God, the men you created to fight wars are… etc. etc. However, when music in that realm is this well-crafted and playful, I have no qualms. It’s the only album on here that doesn’t have a track on my “top songs” playlist, just because it feels like an experience you just need to dive into head-first, not dip a toe in.

Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul - Topical Dancer

(March 4 on DeeWee - Art Pop/Tech House)

We need more songs that manipulate laughter the way they do on “HAHA” here. What a delight.

CMAT - If My Wife New I’d Be Dead

(Feb. 25 on AWAL - Singer-Songwriter/Alt-Country/Indie Pop)

I keep recommending this to people and the general consensus that’s been coming back is “????” and you’re all WRONG for that! Countrypolitan by way of Ireland written by a lady basically in drag singing about her crippling Diet Coke addiction and how life sucks? And every song has more punchlines than a given track on a stand-up album? Just the title “Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend)”??? This is someone who speaks to me on a soul level. Ciara, I would love to interview you. Get in touch, please.

Cola - Deep in View

(May 20 on Fire Talk - Post-Punk)

This is Ought Mark II, for those of you who didn’t know. As such, the announcement had me a little bit nervous about what this would look/sound like, but I had no reason to worry. Most of the record is super solid, and I also got to see them live in September, where they played one of my favorite sets I saw that weekend. “Water Table” and “Fulton Park” are my personal picks here.

Courting - Guitar Music

(Sept. 23 on PIAS - Indie Rock/Dance-Punk)

Based solely on the strength of the few singles I’d heard ahead of release day, I organized an interview with the front person of this band — all me sending out cold emails to publicists, using a contact I had through happenstance at a publication and sweating sheer desperation. Sean, the front person in question, was lovely to me even though I was a wreck, dealing with a whole other professional shitshow I had going on that day. The closing two tracks alone justify this album’s placement here. So unexpected from a first-album indie band “of the moment” right now (you know what I mean) that there’s no way to write it off.

Curtis Godino and The Midnight Wishers - Curtis Godino Presents The Midnight Wishers

(Feb. 11 on Shimmy-Disc/self-released - Psychedelic Pop/Girl Group/Sunshine Pop)

Is this “great”? Probably not! But I love it! If you know me, you know I have an obsessive fixation on the girl groups of the era that this harkens back to – especially the occasionally deranged darkness of it. If you’re going to attempt winking pastiche, this is the way to do it. Live show now, please.

Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork

(Oct. 21 on 4AD - Post-Punk/Indie Rock)

We do fuck with Dry Cleaning here. The name of this newsletter edition was almost “i don’t need to provide blank!!!! THEY can fucking provide blank!!!!!” so that tells you something, I guess. I’m delighted by so many of the little unexpected instrumental flourishes when I relisten, and of course, I love Florence’s voice. The specific lilt of the way someone kinda-sorta sings “Gary Ashbyyyyy” can be so personal.

FKA Twigs - CAPRISONGS

(Jan. 14 on Young/Atlantic - Alternative R&B)

Twigs is another person who can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes. I tend to prefer when she goes full-out grandiose and/or weird, but she’s having fun here, and after the last few years, she deserves to have fun. The bops bop.

Flo Milli - You Still Here, Ho?

(July 20 on RCA - Trap/Southern Hip-Hop/Pop Rap)

100% serious, “Bed Time” into “Hottie” is probably my favorite one-two punch on any album released this year. There are multiple all-timer line readings on this thing. Also, I have to respect that she got a feature from national treasure Tiffany Pollard (a cultural icon who shaped my life so profoundly that I can guarantee you right now there will be a newsletter on her in the future).  Like, I really feel like standing and putting my hand over my heart when that intro comes on. Flo Milli has a stellar album in her, I know it. I will be seated on the day it arrives. In the meantime, we just have this really good album to enjoy.

Florence + The Machine - Dance Fever

(May 13 on Polydor - Pop Rock)

I am quoted on the Wikipedia page of the opening track, so this feels like it needed to be here even if it had come out and not been my thing. We don’t need to pretend though, because this is good. I’ll be honest: the side that the Glass Animals guy produced is more cohesive For Me than the J*ck Ant*n*ff side (cue the audience gasp), but across the board? When the songs here are great, they’re great. Of course, I prefer when she skews weirder. In my ideal world, she would make a full album of ritual chants, a la “Heaven is Here.” We have the technology! Let’s make it happen! (Also, “You said that rock and all roll is dead / But is that just because it has not been resurrected in your image? / Like if Jesus came back / But in a beautiful dress / And all the evangelicals were like / ‘Oh, yes.’” She gets a star sticker from me just for that.)

Fly Anakin - Frank

(March 11 on Lex - Southern Hip-Hop/Jazz Rap)

Super solid. I’m admittedly late to the Fly Anakin party, and that’s on me. Intense delivery that builds something complex, minimal and frequently beautiful.

Fontaines D.C. - Skinty Fia

(April 22 on Partisan/Rough Trade - Gothic Rock/Post-Punk)

And on the third day, the Lord rose again and proclaimed: “I DID YOU A FAVVVVVVAAAAAAAH !!!!! I BLED MYSELF DRYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!!” I’ve always liked Fontaines D.C., but this is the album that sold me for good. The highlights are some of the best songs released this year, easy. Excited to see them (checks calendar) in September. We twiddle our thumbs until then.

Ghias Guevara - There Will Be No Super-Slave

(July 16 - self-released - East Coast Hip-Hop/Hardcore Hip-Hop)

This completely knocked me out in the middle of the year. So entertaining! It’s unashamedly (and correctly) political, but is also just so tightly written on a technical level. A quick internet search tells me he’s younger than me and now I feel like I have to go lay down or something. “I Personally Wouldn’t Have Released John McCain” might be my favorite song title of the year.

Guerilla Toss - Famously Alive

(March 25 on Sub Pop - Neo-Psychedelia)

I sang this album’s praises when it came out, and I remember thinking then that it should’ve gotten more shine than it was getting. I still believe this! We need more absurdly maximal pop music that just swings as big as it can. It’s just what the people want (“the people” being me).

Hatchie - Giving the World Away

(April 22 on Secretly Canadian - Dream Pop/Alternative Dance)

This feels like an album that people had high expectations for, and many writers I respect have expressed they felt let down by it – which is totally fair. Still, there are enough examples of effortless, meticulous songcraft here that kept me coming back to it. I listened to “Quicksand,” “Lights On” and the title track a ridiculous number of times this year, so Hatchie is welcome for the $0.005 I made her with that.

Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance

(June 3 on Matador - Slacker Rock)

My mother has always been into cool music (she’s partially responsible for the Morrissey-sized stain on my soul…let us cower in shame), and she still listens to a lot of college radio (she would die for Caroline Polachek, like maybe before she would die for me, I’m not sure). Whenever we talk about Horsegirl, I usually have to follow the band name by singing “DANCE! DANCE! …..WITH ME!” in order for us to be certain we’re talking about the same band. She was not necessarily a fan until she saw them play at Lollapalooza, and though I was a fan before, the set they played when I got the chance to see them (same weekend as Cola) had me even more on the bandwagon than before. I also didn’t realize they were a good deal younger than me until I saw them in person, which I feel the need to stress to critics who’ve said that they often feel more like a sum of their influences than a band with their own unique vision at this point. That’s totally fair, but it means they’ll have plenty of time and space to grow for when the next project comes around. In the meantime, I like this a lot.

Julia Jacklin - PRE PLEASURE

(Aug. 26 on Polyvinyl/Transgressive - Singer-Songwriter/Indie Rock)

Juila Jacklin is an artist who I’ve admired more than I’ve actually listened to, and I think that’s been a mistake on my part. Obviously, the lyrics on here are beautiful, but so many of these arrangements really stuck with me too. Not a single note falls flat. It all feels so purposeful and considered and vivid in a way that doesn’t always come across in her peers’ work. Also, imagine writing something as good as “Lydia Wears A Cross.” I wouldn’t know how to live with myself.

Julianna Riolino - All Blue

(Oct. 14 on You’ve Changed - Americana/Alt-Country)

Another total surprise! If you know anything about me, straight-up country or country rock isn’t usually my thing unless it’s like...pretty much just Neil Young. Even people who sound exactly like Neil Young are not my thing. But! So much of this is lovely! What a vocalist! What a Judee Sill tribute of an album cover! Even if you think this is outside of your comfort zone, try and get through the first three tracks without throwing your hands up and saying, “Jesus H, how does Elise do this thing where she’s always right? This is excellent.” And I’ll say to mind your business, we all have our professional secrets that we keep.

Julie Odell - Autumn Eve

(Sept. 30 on Frenchkiss - Singer-Songwriter/Americana)

I don’t think I saw any major outlets talk about this, which is a shame, because it’s a delight. I want to say “Cardinal Feather” was the first single I heard, and I think I literally laughed out loud during that first listen because of how delighted I was by each little section shift within the song. I would say that of the three “Americana”-labeled albums here, this is the least twangy. There’s a nice suggestion of a twang that suits me nicely.

Kal Marks - My Name Is Hell

(Aug. 5 on Exploding in Sound - Noise Rock)

I tweeted “I fuck with this Kal Marks album” the first time I listened to this, and everyone who tends to ignores the nonsensical shit I usually tweet about (all of the 30-something male journalists that follow me are at their breaking point with the Bachelor in Paradise live-tweeting, I can feel it) liked it, which means I was probably onto something. The band liked it too, but they would. Anyway, big yes.

Kathryn Joseph - for you who are the wronged

(April 22 on Rock Action - Ambient Pop/Singer-Songwriter)

I actually had the honor of interviewing Kathryn earlier this year, right after this came out. I had written the album up for the Paste Albums to Stream list the Friday it came out, so she and her publicist reached out. She spent the entire time asking about me so I had to keep steering the conversation back to her and we talked about Sufjan Stevens and astrology and it was one of my favorite interviews I’ve ever done. Reading it again now, I’m still proud of the final product, post-edits. So! That plays a role in this being here, but it’s also just a gorgeous, haunting album. I cried listening to it while prepping – I think “of all the broken” was the one that finally wore me down. I plan on holding this close to my heart for a while.

Kill Alters - Armed To The Teeth L.M.O.M.M.

(Feb. 11 - self-released - Synth Punk/Post-Industrial)

I’m gonna be so real: I’m really not sure how to describe this to you. I don’t know why it’s stuck with me throughout the year, but I will say it is equal parts terrifying and daring and danceable. I’ll give you that. That’s probably all you need to gauge if it’s gonna be your thing or not.

Kilo Kish - AMERICAN GURL

(March 25 on Kisha Soundscape + Audio - Electropop)

I fucking love Kilo Kish. Her last album and the really solid EP she put out a few years ago showed promise, and my own personal hype leading up to this album paid off big time. Everyone cool you know likes Kilo Kish, and people who don’t like her are not as cool. Trust me on this.

Little Simz - NO THANK YOU

(Dec. 12 on AWAL - UK Hip-Hop)

Let’s state the obvious: I haven’t had enough time with this to have really honed what I want to express here. It’s much more self-contained and low-key than Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, but still just incredible in terms of craft and creativity. She’s one of the best we have! Protect her at all costs! Looking forward to continue living with this for a while once I’m done with this godforsaken list.

Magi Merlin - Gone Girl

(May 27 - self-released - Alternative R&B)

Another under-the-radar pick. The “Alt-R&B” field is a crowded one at the moment — especially since there’s so much that is sort of accepted under the umbrella term, who even knows what it means anymore — but this, for me, carves out a niche that doesn’t sound exactly like anything else I’ve heard. It’s just fucking cool.

Mallrat - Butterfly Blue

(May 13 on Dew Process - Alt-Pop)

Don’t love the “Fade Into You” cover (feels like too obvious a choice for me), but she delivers on so many of these songs; we call a lot of songs “bangers” just to say we like them, but these are “bangers” in the scholarly definition of the word. Special shout-out to the Azealia feature on “Surprise Me” and the fact that she includes the bar, “Pussy tighter than Nicole Kidman’s face.” She’s…you know…the way she is, but she also a) wrote our city’s official anthem (“212”), and b) lived to tell the tale of (allegedly) being trapped in Elon’s basement, so I’ll welcome a feature whenever it comes. I’m ready for the full aborted Grimes collab exposé too.

Mamalarky - Pocket Fantasy

(Sept. 30 on Fire Talk - Indie Rock)

Full of little hooks that had me smiling until my face hurt. It has more tricks up its sleeve than you think going into it.

Marina Herlop - Pripyat

(May 20 on PAN - Glitch Pop/Avant-Folk)

My friend and sometimes-editor Jade Gomez gets credit for me discovering this, since she sent “shaolin mantis” over when it came out as a single and she said it scratched an itch in her brain…or something to that effect. I now think about that every time I listen to this marvel of an album: it scratches an itch in my brain that I didn’t even know I had. Strange and gorgeous.

Meat Wave - Malign Hex

(Oct. 14 on Swami - Post-Hardcore)

I’ve always been pretty lukewarm on Meat Wave, but I really enjoy most of the songs on this album. There are levels here, friends. “10k,” “Malign” and “Honest Living” are sick and I’m christening myself a fan. Making things witchy also does not hurt when it comes to piquing my interest, so good move on their part.

Moor Mother - Jazz Codes

(July 1 on Anti - Abstract Hip-Hop/Jazz Rap)

This one took a couple of listens to completely sink in, and I feel like I can’t return to it too often, because I’m scared of missing a single detail when I listen casually or while I’m doing something else. That has its benefits and drawbacks, but my final, overriding opinion is this: I love dissecting this album and piecing it back together. It makes itself harsh and abrasive when it needs to, but by the time everything resolves, the discomfort is worth it.

Nilüfer Yanya - PAINLESS

(March 4 on ATO - Indie Rock)

Everyone keeps saying “Radiohead this” and “In Rainbows that.” I have no beef with Radiohead, but I do have beef with people who know Radiohead and maybe two other bands and check their RateYourMusic account in public and just say, “this sounds like Radiohead,” about everything even if the artist they’re listening to predates Radiohead. In light of that, please help to break my sister Nilüfer free of those shackles of comparison. She’s very talented! This is super consistent! Don’t make me come back here hearing you say the Th*m word!

PENDANT - Harp

(April 8 on Saddle Creek - Indietronica/Dream Pop/Noise Pop)

This is another one of those albums where I have a lot of feelings about it but I’m not 100% how to articulate them. It’s dreamy, sure – but it feels like you’re laying out on a pane of ice and there’s something underneath the surface that keeps pushing up at it from your side, so you just feel opposite force attempting to shake you from the ground but the sight of the ice is so pristine that you feel like you’re stuck there. Does that make sense? I don’t know.

Perfume Genius - Ugly Season

(June 17 on Matador - Art Pop/Experimental)

Okay, so this was the album I considered switching BCNR out for, because this is obviously a departure from what we expect from a straight-up Perfume Genius record (this was recorded for his dance show The Sun Still Burns Here about three years ago, prior to the recording of the last album proper). It’s refreshing for that reason – like letting the experimental bug fly free only complements his poppier side, rather than contradicting it. You might boo me for this, but to be honest: he’s down here and not up on the podium mostly because he makes my top ten every year that he puts an album out and I wanted to give some other people some shine. He has my merch and concert money, so I think that makes up for the highest position on my silly little list. Much love to noted national treasure Michael Hadreas.

Renata Zeiguer - Picnic in the Dark

(April 8 on Northern Spy - Dream Pop)

Wrote a review for this one when it came out, and it might be my favorite album I reviewed this year. Production is perfect, her voice is incredible. As I said in what I originally wrote, it feels like twilight on Halloween in the best way. Spooky and awe-inspiring.

ROSALÍA - MOTOMAMI

(March 18 on Columbia - Art Pop/Latin Electronic/Neoperreo)

When this album came out, I decided to channel world famous drag queen Trinity the Tuck during a particular Drag Race All Stars 4 performance challenge; while her teammate Valentina records a verse for their team song and goes between singing in English, Spanish and some secret third thing, Trinity proclaims, “I don’t know what the fuck she’s saying, but girl, I am living.” I walked around saying “La Rosalíaaaaa” on repeat in my head like it was punctuation for a while. It was embarrassing, but here we are, at list time anyway. We lived through it. I think about that Soulja Boy sample in “DELIRIO DE GRANDEZA” all the time, and the other night when I was walking through Red Hook (long story), there was one car I passed blasting “SAOKO” and it just felt right. That’s the stuff that’s actually important.

Saya Gray - 19 MASTERS

(June 9 on Dirty Hit - Psychedelic Folk)

So ridiculously creative. Feels like a giant collage of sound executed in the most minimal way possible. Every element fits together but it maintains a sense of eclecticism. I just think it’s another one of those albums where nothing I could say could do it justice. So there.

Scott Hardware - Ballad of a Tryhard

(March 4 on Telephone Explosion - Art Pop)

Another sleeper hit! Again, I can’t be mad at beautifully written love songs. I’m a hater to the core of my heart, but not a hater without a heart. All of the singles are killer, but that opener “Summer” unlocks something specific in me that I still don’t fully understand. The moment when the music swells a little bit and the time signature changes and he sings, “you cross the lake, I can’t explain, I can’t explain, I can’t…”? That’s the moment. Sells you within the album’s first two minutes. Not fucking around, as we say in the business.

Shutups - I can’t eat nearly as much as I want to vomit

(Oct. 21 on Kill Rock Stars - Noise Rock)

Again, I’m a simple music fan (don’t mind the laugh track following that), I’m pretty easy to please: write catchy songs, make your synths sound cool, I’m usually at least half-on-board. Shutups do this and more. I like every song here, but “100Punk” makes me want to say “chef’s kiss” out loud.

Sorry - Anywhere But Here

(Oct. 6 on Domino - Indie Rock)

Everything is elevated from last time around. With every single to come out, I said, “Wow, I love these Sorry singles,” which makes for a weird who’s-on-first situation if you’re talking to someone who’s not familiar with the band. A similar conversation might happen right now if I say, “Wow, I love this Sorry album” (you say, “Why is the album sorry?”). But I digress.

Soul Glo - Diaspora Problems

(March 25 on Epitaph - Hardcore Punk)

There’s been so much insightful writing about this album coming out as list season winds down, so it feels pretty pointless for me to piggyback on that here. This is great, and it deserves the praise it’s been getting! Know that!

SZA - SOS

(Dec. 9 on Top Dawg/RCA - Contemporary R&B)

Again, I haven’t had enough time with this. I mean, I can tell you it’s bloated and has too many ideas and is maybe even more self-loathing than Ctrl — which came out when I was 17 and, as you might imagine, feels now like it changed something in me then. Still, if that album represented who I was then, this is definitely an album that defines me now: older and more confident, but also less resilient, less focused — partially because everything is even worse now, both large- and small-scale. So! None of those descriptors are necessarily negatives For Me! I embrace the chaos here! Because there are flashes of brilliance within it! We get a taste of Solana LAVIGNE??? Solana CROW??? I’ll take it! “Ghost in the Machine” with Phoebe Bridgers is gorgeous (which is good, because as much as I like Phoebe, a whole lot of you are insufferable about her, so it would suck if I had to listen to everyone go on and on about a song that wasn’t good), “Gone Girl” and “Blind” are gorgeous. “Low” is fucking great. Love “Kill Bill.” Looooove the combined x3 Scorpio power of SZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard and our now-established newsletter god Björk on “Forgiveless.” Solana is my sister! I simply have to stick by her! We’ll get through this (probably)!

Tchotchke - Tchotchke

(July 15 - self-released - Pop Rock/Psychedelic Pop)

I keep telling people this, but it’s true: if I were to start a band at this stage in my life, it would probably just be Tchotchke. Maybe with more screaming and darker clothing. So, it’s back to the drawing board for me, but Tchotchke lives on, and we’re better for it. They’re playing with King Tuff at Elsewhere (I think?) in March (I think?) so one of you should come with me to that. I’m a fun date, I swear (as long as you’re cool with the aforementioned screaming and dark clothing making an appearance).

They Hate Change - Finally, New

(May 13 on Jagjaguwar - Experimental Hip-Hop/Southern Hip-Hop)

Okay, so this is the last act on here that I saw the same weekend as Cola and Horsegirl. Either their setup never arrived or they had sound problems or both, because they just stood on stage panicking for most of their scheduled set time. I think we heard two They Hate Change songs in total once they got everything set up and they were about to be booted off for the next act, and bitch, they delivered. Insane energy. They have a clear knowledge of music history and just cram everything they love into their work, but not in a way that feels forced or like an obvious “look at what we’re referencing” moment. This is just a great listen to go into knowing nothing, and if they’re performing near you: run, don’t walk.

THUS LOVE - Memorial

(Oct. 7 on Captured Tracks - New Wave/Indie Rock/Post-Punk)

If you’ve been keeping up with me lately, you know this was the year of THUS LOVE at Elise Soutar LLC. I think, counting the show on the 14th with BODEGA, I have seen them play seven times this year. Insane person behavior, truly — I’m convinced they’re so sick of seeing me at this point, even though they’re always very sweet and say they’re not. But, even if they were over it, I will be there playing Amy Poehler in Mean Girls — dancing with my camcorder in the aisle — for the foreseeable future. The show is always that good! When they opened for Wild Nothing at LPR, it got kind of quiet as they walked off, and a guy near me said, “Oh, that was SICK, dude,” in the silence, and I think that’s really the only review you need to hear. I bought the album with my own money! I encourage you to do the same! It’s great! Also, you should read my profile of them here! Another interview that didn’t feel like work at all, it literally felt like talking shit with old friends! They’re lovely and it was a delight to write the story! Maybe a delight to read! You tell me!

Tomberlin - i don’t know who needs to hear this…

(April 29 on Saddle Creek - Singer-Songwriter/Indie Folk)

Fucking “happy accident”??? “tap”??? Those alone are worth the price of admission. My very specific memory of this album is when I was traveling home from a screening of all-time great music film Velvet Goldmine (there will probably be a newsletter on my love for this movie at some point – it was so fun to see it in a huge crowd, even if Ewan McGregor had to cancel his panel appearance because he got COVID and Tribeca Fest wouldn’t let him Zoom in for some reason….Robert DeNiro and co., you WILL pay for your crimes). I had to get all the way back up to where I was staying in Harlem and I had a really bad migraine, so my thought was to put on something calming and not too abrasive for my ride home. I now have a very clear vision of myself sitting in a half-empty train station in the middle of the night, trying to take deep breaths while Tomberlin says sometimes it’s good to sing my feelings. I like thinking about it now.

Wet Leg - Wet Leg

(April 8 on Domino - Indie Rock)

Yes, I am a person who is still on the hype train. They understand my specific 20-something existential dread and also provided me with the delivery of the line “Fucking niiiightmaaaaaaare!!!!!!” – which was another contender for the title of this post, as you saw in the sub-header. My friend Mo — shoutout Mo — invited me to go with her to the show at Bowery Ballroom while they were here for their mini-New York tour and they were so fucking fun live. You probably don’t need to hear anyone else say anything else about Wet Leg this year, so that’s it. The album’s worth a revisit if you only did a one-and-done listen-through in April.

Weyes Blood - In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow

(Nov. 18 on Sub Pop - Baroque Pop/Singer-Songwriter)

If there’s one thing Natalie Mering’s not gonna do, it’s let me down. Everyone’s arguing about which song is the song, and my personal vote is “Grapevine.” If you see me going into full trance mode when I see her in March, know I’m having a great goddamn time and you don’t need to check on me. I’m ready to transcend.

yeule - Glitch Princess

(Feb. 4 on Bayonet - Glitch Pop/Art Pop)

It feels like I wrote a ton about this album as the year wound down, and I’m exhausted typing into this doc right now, so know that it’s good. yeule is very talented. Take my word for it. Drive safe. See you in January. XOXO Gossip Girl.