10. Marchita by Silvana Estrada
Genres: Chamber Folk, Singer-Songwriter
A very beautiful performance and orchestral instrumentation drive the listening experience of this album. I think it has really great pacing and flow as well, the whispy crescendos aren’t so intense that you cant come back down to delicate singing and plucked classical guitar immediately after. Sabre Olvidar is one of my fav songs of the year, this album really took me by surprise despite its language barrier.
9. Flaming Swords by Fievel Is Glauque
Genres: Jazz-pop, Progressive Pop, Jazz-rock
This took me some time to get used to the slick vocal style but once i did, I began to be really impressed by the lyrical gymnastics from the vocalists matching the flashy quick melodies being played on the instruments behind her. The drumming is constantly great and there are plenty of spazz out group solos that are cool (like the competing guitar and sax and bass(?) solos being panned left and right throughout Paging Agent Starling). I really like how quickly they can flash between different vibes, going from a dreamy chorus effect section to a quick burst of drums and chaotic 16th notes into a chill cool jazz bebop section to a smooth pedal steel, all in the span of like 30 seconds. This album demands a baseline enjoyment of jazz and the patience to spend a few listens to dig out the sticky mini jazz hooks that are hidden throughout, but the payoff is worth it
8. Gris Klein by Birds In Row
Genres: Post-Hardcore, Screamo
Stretching my tolerance for screamy vocals with undeniable riffs and great pacing. This album is simply very cool. Reading along with the lyrics really helped my appreciation of this visceral album pairing the emotive singing with interesting lyrics and themes of anti capitalism and nihilism. To combat how difficult most of the lyrics are to parse initially, they sprinkle in a lot of mantra like repetitions that really get me going (ALL MY FRIENDS HATE ME, THEY VOTED FOR WAR)
7. The Forever Story by JID
Genres: Southern Hip Hop
Very highly anticipated. Overall, did not disappoint. There was great blend of trap, conscious hip hop, neo-soul/funk, and a couple wild card beats. This is a super consistent project, with very little fat to trim, that really feels like a concentrated effort. There was plenty of alliteration packed lyrical gymnastics that JID is known for, but the slower flows were just as interesting. It isn’t a perfect album but it is huge that it delivered on my high expectations, especially for a popular hip hop release.
6. Boat Songs by MJ Lenderman
Genres: Alt-Country, Slacker Rock, Countrygaze
There is something comforting about this record to me. Yes, most lyrics are pretty goofy, it doesn’t take itself too seriously but not in an overly meme-y way. I like the americana indie rock borderline countrygaze sounds. It’s like if Pinegrove had a younger brother who always wore a cutoff and had 3 cigs in his mouth at once while making fun of Pinegrove for being so sentimental but was actually a softy himself. An album that may not be much on first go but if you make the mistake of listening to it more than once, especially in the summertime, youre going to accidentally love it.
5. Blue Rev by Alvvays
Genres: Indie Pop, Shoegaze, Jangle Pop
This caught me by surprise, it is extremely pleasant shoegazey indie pop. Very consistent listen with short noisey reverb soaked pop songs that dont linger for too long. IMO it avoids a common (intentional) monotony issue of the dream pop/shoegaze genre, there is plenty of atmosphere but the more drive/less haze approach will keep my attention in more scenarios since I won’t have to be in a complete beach-house-daze mood to listen front to back. This shoegaze that doesn’t make me depressed is doing it for me, such a fun record.
4. MAN PLAYS THE HORN & Working Title for the Album Secret Waters by Cities Aviv
Genres: Abstract Hip Hop, Experimental Hip Hop, Drumless, Sound Collage, Ambient, Hypnogogic Pop
Man Plays the Horn is a long, cloudy, ambitious, effort of hypnotizing experimental hip hop with distorted repetitive beats and extremely clipped vocals. Working Title is its more concise, more straight forward abstract hip hop counterpart with a much cozier mix, walk around NY city vibe and more emphasis on rhythm. I tried for a while to get into MPTH but it ultimately took Working Title to come out and really turn me into a fan. That gave me the patience and developed palette for MPTH. At the end of the year, the existence of each of these records makes me like the other more. This has ushered in a new phase of my hip hop taste for that dusty sample driven lo fi sound. Cities Aviv’s flair for ambient cuts is just the cherry on top.
3. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
Genres: Indie Folk, Folk Rock
This mammoth of an indie folk album is unbelievably consistent. Big Thief incorporates all kinds of different folk experimentation to create something special. The songwriting is truly next level, the lyrics are incredibly poetic and creative, the instrumentation goes from a real yeehaw fiddle to noisy lofi distortion and it all feels cohesive, tied together by a thread of wholesome folk vibes intertwined with psychedelic otherworldly imagery about spacetime. Despite its length, this record grows on you with every listen, a super stand out indie folk record.
2. Aethiopes by billy woods
Genres: Abstract Hip Hop, Drumless, East Coast Hip Hop
From the first listen, I was so intrigued by how raw and dry this project was. The beats are jazzy and wonky and sparse and dark and unique. The tone is sobering. It challenged me to keep playing to understand it and it paid off. The execution from the production, to the lyrical content, to the performances from billy woods and all the features is so top notch. There is a lot to unpack with themes of colonialism, capitalism, the black experience, trauma, and so many other topics. billy woods’ writing is packed with extremely detailed imagery, truly a pause and listen again type of record. Despite its complexity, it isn’t as stiff as it could have been; Remorseless is genuinely packed with emotion and Versailles has a crazy reggae bounce to it coming in hard after the chaotic free jazz piano sample of Haarlem.
1. Ants From Up There by Black Country, New Road
Genres: Art Rock, Post-Rock, Chamber Pop, Indie Rock
This has been my AOTY from the moment I finished listening to a leak in February. This incredible album lived up to my insanely high hopes—all the emotion they strive for, they reach for me. The chamber instrumentation and crescendos all land, and the pacing is just right for such a long grand album. Some of the best songs I’ve ever heard landed this album high in my all-time list immediately. The airtight performances by all the band members to flawlessly incorporate time signature changes and tempo changes is very impressive to me. Issaac’s low, sometimes cracking, imperfect vocals, fit nicely over the beautiful strings and horns on this album. AFUT ends with one of the most memorable 3 track runs I have ever heard. I can’t recommend this album enough to anyone who has the patience to listen to it.