Actual-ass album of the year
Peggy comes across like someone who is both poisoned by the internet and deeply uncomfortable with how they’re situated in the world, so, uh, extremely relatable content. I dug Veteran and eventually did get around to exploring their back catalogue this year, but there’s something welcoming about All My Heroes are Cornballs. It’s a bit like following someone on Twitter because you like their weird jokes and then also following their private account where they’re more relaxed and just kinda bullshitting with their friends and watching in real time as they switch between a persona and just vibing.
It’s an album that seems uncomfortable in its own skin, but also weaponizes that discomfort, champions it, even: The frequent interludes and interjections, where Peggy is just chatting amiably with their collaborators; the way the beats always seem to be on the verge of falling apart, as likely to stop on a dime as they are to transmute into something wholly different in tone and cadence; Peggy’s absolutely stunning vocal performance that vacillates wildly from pop ditties to shouted chaos. No other album I listened to this year has gotten close to capturing turmoil without losing sight of hope within the maelstrom. (Though, goddamn that 100 Gecs album comes close.)
Albums that got me the most in my feels
Up until All My Heroes are Cornballs came out, I figured Charly Bliss’ Young Enough would have been my album of the year. Their last album was almost pure uncut grungy pop punk throwback, while Young Enough sees them expanding their sound to more fully incorporate their pop leanings. There’s an earnestness here and a thoughtful interrogation of love and gender politics that never failed to cut me to the quick.
I loved Some Rap Songs from last year. My buddy Axel called Feet of Clay “funeral rap,” which is incredibly apt (and also why it’s been difficult to listen to this for any length of time). The way Earl has started experimenting with loops is hypnotic and extremely claustrophobic. Even as the samples shimmer with clarity and beauty, the density of imagery and Earl’s delivery makes it feel less like someone opening a window and more like air seeping into a tomb.
The album I woke up to the most in 2019
I always dig Aesop Rock’s willingness to experiment with his sound and work with unexpected collaborators. While the final product isn’t always as consistent as his solo work, these collaborations always yield some interesting work. Anyways, Aes seems a bit lost in some of TOBACCO’s rangy production in some parts, but tracks like “Corn Maze” and “Tuesday” really shine.
The Carly Rae Jepsen Award for Newest Carly Rae Jepsen Album in 2019
Dedicated is absolutely the most recent Carly Rae Jepsen album to come out in 2019 and it has been in heavy rotation since the day it came out. I was also lucky enough to see her live show this year and it was a hell of a lot of fun. Her work has been a source of unalloyed joy in a year when I desperately needed it.
Aw yeah the noisy shit
If you had told me at the start of the year that I would spend a good chunk of 2019 listening to and unironically enjoying a Slipknot album, I’d have been very confused. At this point, the band has shed a lot of the original members but god help me if they haven’t produced some of their strongest material in their entire career. This is probably the first Slipknot album where Corey Taylor has consistently turned away from penning tropey as shit horror film serial killer lyrics and instead focused on articulating a larger, more collective pain. There’s still just enough insularity that I’d struggle to call this a full-on political album, but it makes me curious to see what Slipknot is going to do next – something I honestly didn’t think was possible.
Chris Colohan and crew continue to put out some excellent brassed-off hardcore. That’s it.
I’m so glad that Caina is back and recording new music. Their work is always difficult and uncomfortable. I had to be in the right headspace to listen to it. But every time I did make a point of ensconcing myself in their particular brand of despair, I felt my time was rewarded.
This wasn’t quite the breakout smash I was hoping it might be after listening to their incendiary split with Vein from a while back. Chaotic screamo from the early aughts seems to be having a bit of a renaissance right now, and I’m hard pressed to find a band that’s doing it with more heart and creativity than .gif from god.
The album I wish I spent more time listening to
1000 Gecs was in rotation for most of the year, but it’s not until I really made a point of sitting down and listening to the album from beginning to end that I really found myself latching onto it. Should have done that way sooner.