FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2019
100 gecs - 1000 gecs
In a truly absurd and genre-bending debut, 1000 gecs quickly became one of the most unique and definitive projects of 2019. At an incredibly short 23 minutes, Dylan Brady and Laura Les construct and then deconstruct pop music in bizarre track after track. Mixing elements of emo, PC music, ska, electronica, and metal, the album is tightly packed and feels like a sugar rush to consume all at once. -AH
Ariel Zetina - Organism
The latest EP from Ariel Zetina is a visceral, almost surreal trip. The Chicago artist gets a lot of emotion across with minimal lyrics on standouts “Establish Yourself In My Body” and “I Miss the Sea”.-SL
Clairo - Immunity
After her buzzy early singles, critics and listeners seemed eager to underestimate and write off Clairo. She defies expectations on her debut album, diving deeper to deliver a set of songs with topics ranging from her first queer crushes on the crunchy head rush “Sofia” and her chronic pain on meditative closer “I Wouldn’t Ask You”.-SL
closegood - GRAVEN
The debut album from Los Angeles duo Closegood truly feels impossible to pin down, skillfully mixing elements of hip-hop, pop, experimental electronic, R&B, and spoken word. Singer Nyfe’s vocals reflect this genre hopping as they switch from rapping to singing within a verse, like on album highlight “Paperbag.”-SL
Denitia - Touch of the Sky
Denitia Odigie has been making music professionally for years, both solo and as part of the duo Denitia & Sene. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that her debut album would be as strong as Touch of the Sky, a collection of moody and impressionistic pop songs.-SL
Dizzy Fae - NO GMO MIXTAPE
Dizzy Fae’s summer mixtape is as experimental and often surreal as the album artwork suggests. Mixing elements of pop, R&B, hip-hop and dance, the songs defy expectation and convention, especially on the emotional “Gut Talk” or the glitchy closer “Now N’Later”.-SL
Donatachi - Taste
Taste is a calling card for Donatachi’s unstoppable bubblegum sound, which exists within the PC Music and Y2K revival scenes but also completely independent from them . Every song is an unadulterated bop, from the bouncy “Do What I Want” to the propulsive banger “Precious Metal.”
Dua Saleh -
Nūr
Nūr feels like a warning shot. It’s a quick listen at 21 minutes, but the strong musical instincts of Minneapolis artist Dua Saleh are immediately evident in the patter slow burn of “Sugar Mama” and the celebratory flexing on the dancey “Kickflip”.-SL
GFOTY - GFOTV
On her second EP this year, GFOTY takes a diversion from her usual hyperpop style to create a series of songs, most under a minute long, that each describe the basic plot details of a different TV show. It’s baffling and gleefully bizarre, and one of the most unique projects in pop music this year.
Graves - La Luna
Over the course of 8 tracks and 2 interludes, Graves bares their heart and muses on loving others as well as themselves. Their melancholy vocals soar over soft-grunge guitar lines on standout tracks like “Garden State” and “Blooming”. On La Luna, the singer/songwriter’s romanticism and emotional intelligence shines.-SL
Glitter Moneyyy - Binge
Chicago rap duo Queen Trashley and TayyySlayyy make confrontational and political songs with an absurdist bent, at times recalling Run the Jewels. There’s a playful and devilish tone to their performances - tracks like “Nastyyy“ reflect end-times debauchery with the lyrics “Fuck 45/I’ll clap with my ass when you die/We don’t believe in blue lives.”-SL
GRLwood - I Sold My Soul to the Devil When I Was 12
Rej Forester and Karen Ledford aim their explosive energy at multiple targets (including rapists, homophobic parents and Donald Trump) on their second album as GRLwood. Their pop-punky sound is accessible without losing any aggression or edge on standouts like opener “Get Shot” (the first lyrics we hear on the album are “Mama said/Be nice to sad boys or else get shot.”) and the drunk hookup headbanger “Fuck Me Up”.-SL
Jay Som - Anak Ko
On her third album as Jay Som, Melina Duterte delivers a set of introspective songs featuring shimmering guitars and dreamy melodies. The title means “My child” in Tagalog, and in a way the album is about taking care of your inner child, like on the revelatory “Devotion”.-SL
KAYTRANADA - Bubba
A late candidate for dance album of the year, Kaytranada’s second album is all the best parts of his 2016 debut 99.9% with the lights turned down and the sex appeal turned up. The songs feel sleeker, with more shading. As with his debut, Bubba features a buffet of collaborators including Tinashe, Estelle, and Kali Uchis.
Khxos - The Violent Femme Mixtape
As 2019 ends, it’s clear that Khxos is one of the most promising new talents in the scene. The Durham rapper demonstrates their strong flow and point of view on standout track “Slaughterhouse” while offering commentary on cishet white capitalist culture that is both catchy and astute. The EP is framed by a series of interludes that add depth to the already excellent full songs.-SL
Kevin Abstract - Arizona Baby
The more recent Brockhampton albums can sometimes get muddled by redundant choices and the constant shuffle of personalities. But on frontman Kevin Abstract’s second solo album, he recaptures some of the magic of the group’s first batch of albums (like on the stomping closer “Boyer”) while staying true to the confessional style that won him so many fans in the first place (like on fan-favorite “Baby Boy”).-SL
King Princess - Cheap Queen
Whether you see concerns about her authenticity or family connections as valid, it’s hard to deny the talent of Mikaela Straus. After emerging on the scene last year, King Princess proves herself with Cheap Queen, an album with so many good moments its hard to keep track. Specifically impressive are songs like the wobbly “Watching My Phone” and the obsessive “Prophet”.-SL
Kitty - Rose Gold
Between the launch of her new independent label Pretty Wavvy and recording the second The Pom-Poms EP with her husband Sam Ray, Kitty has had a busy 2019 even before taking into account her incredible second album Rose Gold. Press play and get lost in the totally unique and idiosyncratic electronic pop worlds of “Look Demure”," “Medicine” and “Strange Magic.”-SL
Magda - Evangeliion
Magda is obviously a student of pop, having absorbed the structure and pacing of the genre’s albums. This is reflected on Evangeliion, which is front-loaded with bops like “Underground” and “The Zone” before dipping into the experimental vibe of “Puke” and the more personal material on “The Ballad of Mary Magdalene”. The album is perfectly curated and displays Magda’s talent and attention to detail.-SL
Orville Peck - Pony
The project of Orville Peck was a bit of a reset for it’s mysterious masked creator. In contrast to his former life in a punk band, he would put a gay spin on dirt-road cowboy romance through a set of spaced-out alt countrypolitan songs like “Big Sky” and “Hope to Die”. Whether or not you buy in to the theatricality of it all, you’ll probably find something to love on Pony.-SL
Sakima - Project Peach
The follow up to 2017’s Ricky EP was worth the wait. London artist Sakima has clearly spent a lot of time curating the sounds and themes on Project Peach, and the project is consistent in it’s elastic clubby production and in the warmth of Sakima’s vocals, best displayed on “Sweet Nothing”.-SL
Shamir - Be the Yee, Here Comes the Haw
On his fifth album in as many years, Shamir Bailey solidifies his status as one of the most essential queer voices in music of the decade. In only 25 minutes, the album highlights Shamir’s incredible versatility bouncing from the lilting folk on “Death of a Pastor”, the jangly pop of “Forget You” and the blown-out grunge of paranoid closer “They All Control Us Here”. If 2018’s Resolution was the end of one era of Bailey’s career, this album is an exciting start to the next.-SL
Shura - forevher
When she released her first album as Shura in 2016, Alexandra Denton generated some interest with her knack for synthpop. But on forevher, she’s leveled up, delivering a cohesive set of songs linking queer love and divinity as well as exploring both emotional and physical distance in relationships.-SL
Sir Babygirl - Crush On Me
Sir Babygirl’s “Crush on Me” is a heart-wrenchingly earnest album from a queer perspective. A carefully structured and then rearranged narrative inspired by the artist’s background in theatre, the album has a romantic and summery vibe but tackles dark themes of love and trauma. Standout track “Haunted House” details the anxieties of mentally spiraling through a party while all your friends are forgetting about you, set to an upbeat, glimmering pop track. With a unique and romantic sounding voice as well as sparkling production, “Crush On Me” is a spectacular debut from Sir Babygirl. -AH
SuperKnova - American Queers
In a contrast to the more personal and introspective vibe of 2018’s Splendor Dysphoria EP, Ellie Kim created a set of flashy, vibrant guitar pop songs with queer lyrics and themes for her debut album as SuperKnova. With every track written and produced by Kim, American Queers should be seen as the planted flag of an auteur on the rise.-SL
$WAGGOT - IceMagic
On his second album this year, $WAGGOT presents a set of songs with strong melodies and concepts that grounds his imaginative, maximalist production. On catchy and explicit bops like “Inviting Andrew”, “Guys’ Cars” “Lung Damage” and “Gn Kiss”, $WAGGOT marks himself as one of the most exciting voices in electronic pop as we head into the next decade.-SL
Tayla Parx - We Need to Talk
Her work with Ariana Grande, Janelle Monáe, and countless others had already proven that Tayla Parx was an incredibly skilled writer. But one listen of her debut album is enough to see that she can create her own colorful world filled with playfully romantic pop songs, each catchier than the last.-SL
Tinashe - Songs for You
When Tinashe left her label earlier this year, many of her fans rejoiced. The multi-talented artist would finally be able to release music on her own terms again. But they were still caught off-guard by how strong her first post-breakout independent project was, containing instant classics like “Hopscotch”, “Stormy Weather” and “So Much Better”.-SL
Tyler, the Creator - Igor
It seems like every publication had Igor at or near the top of every publication’s year-end list, and the praise is warranted. Tyler turns in one of the most compelling albums of his career, a hazy trip through his thoughts and insecurities. The tracklist contains some of the best of his career, including “Running Out of Time”.-SL
ZLUTZ - Inferno
On their second album of 2019, the UK duo apply their thrashing electro sound to the idea that capitalism is hell by connecting the rings of Dante’s Inferno to modern sociopolitical issues. It’s an ambitious concept, and ZLUTZ rise to the occasion while also delivering pure pop bangers like “Tell the Truth”.