Starting with 2020 and going up through 2023, what were your albums of the year each year? And if you’re willing to expand, what albums you been listening to so far in 2024 that have stood out to you?
I’ll leave my own response in a comment so as to not clog the screen and detract from the question
2024: album that has my attention is Prelude to Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party. Glorious, dramatic chamber pop with many lyrical nods for the History majors in your life.
2023: Javelin by Sufjan Stevens + Expert In A Dying Field by The Beths. Suf is the easy choice but man is it good and, in typical fashion, heart-breaking. I don’t know how The Beths continue to make their style sound fresh, but they do. The songwriting, harmonies, guitar work, all so excellent.
2022: The Festival by Tim Baker + Revealer by Madison Cunningham. Tim Baker just doesn’t miss. Leaning heavily into the horns and soul influence, but still grounded in composed, mature folk-pop. Madison Cunningham on the other hand varies style a good deal but it works every time. Great guitar, interesting compositions, lyrically strong.
2021: Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience + Stunning & Atrocious by Fleece. Kings of Convenience, your modern-day Norwegian Simon & Garfunkel, return in perfect form. Feist returns for a few tracks, every song is strong. Fleece level up from complex guitar-heavy indie-rock to delicious funky indie-pop. The most fun I’ve ever seen a band have together on stage was seeing them play this album.
2020: Half-Empty by The Little Hands of Asphalt + Every Bad by Porridge Radio. Missed Half-Empty until a year ago but wow, it’s such a stellar singer-songwriter album - string arrangements are mouthwateringly good. Begs to be listened to as an album. Every Bad is, to me, pure catharsis in musical form. Vocal performances on tracks like Circling and Sweet are gut wrenching.
Favorite songs not in any of these: Oh How We Drift Away by Tim Heidecker & Weyes Blood (this is what I’d put as my Song of the Decade so far), Feelings Meeting by Living Hour ft. Jay Som, Jackie Down The Line by Fontaines D.C., Your Light by The Big Moon, Hounds of Hell by The Phoenix Foundation ft. Nadia Reid.
Oh and if we’re doing non-album SONGS of the year, I’m gonna have to give that some more thought for the rest of the years, but 2020 is an easy answer for me: Gas City by Cliffdiver
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Gas City by Cliffdiver
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29 by Yaeji would be on my list of singles.
Thanks for sharing!
I’ve also been enjoying the hell out of Prelude to Ecstasy; the chorus of “Nothing Matters” has been stuck in my head since the moment I first heard it a few months ago or so. Great song, and the the rest of the album doesn’t disappoint either.
That’s really the only album on your list I have significant exposure to. I’m familiar with Sufjan, the Beths, and Kings of Convenience, but I haven’t been keeping up with any of them so I haven’t heard the releases you mentioned here yet. So I added basically all of these (with @Sunforged’s recommendations as well) to a playlist to check out over the coming few days; thanks for giving me new stuff to explore!
It’s very not the same thing at all, but I’ve also been listening to Blame My Ex by the Beaches. They sound absolutely nothing like The Last Dinner Party, not even in the same genres, but I kinda feel like they have similar or compatible energy/vibes? Have you listened to that the Beaches album, and if so, any thoughts on it?
edit: turns out I know Madison Cunningham, but really only the single “Hospital,” so I’m still excited to hear the rest of the album