A decade filled with mediocrity went out with a whimper in 2019. There were a few decent records, but I felt most of the music made this year didn’t merit my attention. I tried. I did. I listened to people’s recommendations and found music that wasn’t bad, but didn’t particularly move me. What does that say about me that I don’t emotionally respond to music that my respected peers do? I think these top five are worth buying. The rest have their moments, but I could live without them. On the other hand, maybe these also-rans are a better list for people to check out considering I feel so out of sync.
The Best: A tidy top-five.
1. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains: Because David Berman committed suicide a few weeks after releasing this record, this album will forever be associated with death. Ironically, no other record filled me with as much joy and life this year. I never liked David Berman’s music before as the Silver Jews. What a great way to go out though. This album is endlessly funny, melodically and lyrically sharp, and rhythmically swings like a drunken, twangy wrecking ball. These songs are open and honest about pain and misery in a way that allows for a wink and a wry smile.
2. Ibibio Sound Machine - Doko Mien: Categorize this however you like. They’re British, but the music is totally modern, afro-funk. I liked their first album, but their second didn’t ring the same bell. This corrects that. I don’t care what your favorite album was this year. This thing steamrolls over it. This record finds out where your favorite album of 2019 sleeps, breaks in, pours gasoline over it, and then sets it on fire. Then eats it. You better start listening to Doko Mien, or it’s coming for you next.
3. Alice Smith - Mystery: It’s a tragedy that she’s not more well-known. Prince may have collaborated with/mentored Janelle Monae and Lizzo, but he covered from Alice Smith (hers is better). She makes exquisite pop-soul and is one of the best melody writers out there. I wish there hadn’t been a six-year wait between this and her last album, She. I wish this was more than just an EP. I wish it had a physical release. But that’s just the state of the cruddy world we live in. Good records sometimes don’t get physical releases because people prefer putting excrement in their ears. They’re fools and don’t deserve happiness.
4. Steve Gunn - The Unseen In Between: Steve Gunn hails from Kurt Vile's band, The Violators. I was never much of a Vile fan. His records are fine, but they never really grabbed me. Gunn's new record, on the other hand, does. A lot of this album has a John Martyn feel to it, kind of a cosmic, twangy jazz-folk. Maybe even a little Terry Callier or Lilac Time in there. It’s confident and loose and doesn’t break a sweat as it effortlessly grooves on. (UPDATE 5/2/20 - I embarrassingly confused Steve Gunn for someone else when I initially posted this. I have edited this review accordingly.)
5. Lingua Ignota - CALIGULA: This woman sounds like she would flay the skin off of me and bury me alive in a barrel of maggots. Which, I’ve got to say, is pretty respectable. This record is not an easy listen, and her project’s name (Latin for “unknown language”) is terribly hard to remember. And yet, here is a record I kept going back to listen to again and again. It’s brutal and compelling. Track two, the nine-and-a-half minute, “DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR,” seems to be a dialogue with Satan that has movements like a classical piece. Heavy Diamanda vibes here. She does well to move beyond industrial and metal rock-isms and produces something close to a hate mass. Very good.
The Rest: Not in any order.
Nilufer Yanya - Miss Universe: The skits are silly and needless - they sound like Saint Etienne airport announcer fluff. The rest of the record is pretty kick-butt though. She’s got a good, deep voice, good riffs, and good guitar tone. The melodies are great and delivered with a balanced mix of grit and detached cool. Most of it is a little too mellow for me. The first real song, “In Your Head,” is far-away the best track, nothing else has it’s push and drive. However, there’s a large musical range in the songs which shows a lot of promise for future records. One to watch.
Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising: This is a well-made record. She has a great voice that reminds me of some 70s AM, soft-pop singer I can’t quite put my finger on (Karen Carpenter, maybe?). “Everyday” is absolutely perfect pop songcraft, very memorable. The rest… it’s pretty good, right? It feels very nostalgic in a hazy Laurel Canyon way.
Tegan & Sara - Hey, I’m Just Like You: This is probably the most traditional rock/pop record on this list. As a re-write/re-recording of songs they wrote as teenagers, it’s a little more guitar-riffy than their last couple of records, but it’s still very catchy. These two are pure pros and have more good songs under their belts in the last 20 years than most bands that get twice the credit. They are easily as good as The Strokes or Arcade Fire even though the hipster cognoscenti would never admit it.
Nick Cave - Ghosteen: Nick Cave’s teenage son fell off a cliff and died. This album is haunted with the loss. I can’t imagine artistically confronting something like that in public. Nick Cave is probably just stronger than me though. Musically and arrangement-wise this record fits with John Cale’s Music for a New Society, Laurie Anderson’s Big Science, and various Bowie records. However, I prefer all of those records to this one. It’s beautiful, but it sounds like it belongs in a museum or a library rather than on my stereo.
Angel Olson - All Mirrors: Too often it feels like work to listen to this album. It’s slow, turgid, and the songs are too long. Olson sounds tired and far away throughout most of the album - like she’s afraid to even exist. Good tracks: “Lark” (takes a while to get going though), “What It Is,” “Summer,” “Endgame,” and “Chance.” The good bits are obscured by the intricate, web-like production and the mix. A good producer would have lit a fire under her butt a bit more. The melodies are nice, but it’s hard to pay attention to whether the songwriting is any good or not.
The Claypool Lennon Delirium - South of Reality: This was a neat novelty. Both Claypool and Lennon are expert practitioners in their own way. The album’s downfall is that there are no real cracks. It’s a little too polished. It’s a precise homage to the White Album, Syd-era Floyd, and Greg Lake-era Crimson. It’s all canny reproduction. None of it feels new, and there’s no fragility. Listen to Greg Lake sing, “Confusion will be my epitaph,” and try to find the same humanity here. It’s just not there.
Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated: The singles weren’t super compelling, but this is one of the easiest-to-listen-to records of the year. All of the songs are between two and a half to under four minutes. One of the few pop artists who regularly features sax breaks. I hear the Bee Gees in a lot of her music. It’s pleasant.
Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA: This guy is super talented, but this is spotty and sounds contrived. I could tell it was produced by Danger Mouse before I checked. Which means it sounds like every other Danger Mouse record: dark, plush, and baroque with deep bass, fuzz guitar, and organ tones over everything. There are two, separate “intro-tracks” to two different songs and another track named Interlude. It feels like an overly arty producer decision. Just hit record and get out of the guy’s way.
Denzel Curry - ZUU: I was really excited when this dropped. Through the first half of my first listen I figured this would make my top 5 for the year, but the second half lost steam for me. It’s short at only 29 minutes (including two skits), which is usually a plus for me, but it feels slight here. The production still sounds really good though. Maybe I’ll come around on it.
Anderson.Paak - Ventura: This is a warm and friendly soul album filled with good songs, good performances, nice production, rich arrangements, and all-star guests. I don’t know. I didn’t relate to it at all. It was sunnier than I felt. “Reachin’ 2 Much,” “Winners Circle,” and “King James” are all pretty nice tunes. I bet this would have sold some copies on Sunday morning at the Fetus. I should return to this when my mood lifts.
The Comet Is Coming - Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery; The Afterlife: These guys put out two records this year. Electro-jazz group plays psych rock (on Impulse!). Pretty cool, I guess. I kept forgetting to go back and listen to them more, so something wasn’t sticking. The production is a little too compressed and distorted for my tastes. They would probably be rated higher if I was a better person who cared, but I’m not and I don’t. People whose minds were blown by these records should check out Get Up With It, Agharta, or The Inner Mounting Flame.
Reissues/Collections
Prince - 1999: Listen to disc three. The Vault is real and deep. “Rearrange” is just killer.
Marvin Gaye - You’re the Man: Casually great and just as relevant today.
Loose Tracks
Lizzo - “Juice”: This was a nice jam.
Mac DeMarco - “All Our Yesterdays Are Gone”: The rest of the record was kind of blah, but I dug this. A fitting end of the decade.
