rowan2017
songs because albums are so kitsch, dude. in other news, if I live for a further 3198 years my list titles will align with my username. keen |
| 1 |  | Tyler, the Creator
Flower Boy
see you again. just be; this is the peak |
| 2 |  | St. Vincent
MASSEDUCTION
slow disco. take a peek behind the curtain – who the fuck is running this depressing lightshow? |
| 3 |  | Phoebe Bridgers
Stranger In The Alps
smoke signals. holding a Bowie tribute night in Twin Peaks, and it’s Halloween (alternate: Michael Myers dances with BOB) |
| 4 |  | Lorde
Melodrama
supercut. portrait of the artist going over her memories, bolding in all the best parts with a crayon and scratching out the rest |
| 5 | | Brockhampton
SATURATION DRAFTS
march. portrait of all the fleeting moments. (half length, double quality, triple vibes) |
| 6 |  | Kendrick Lamar
DAMN.
love. portrait of the artist as young, dumb, madly in love; sidestepping his assumed responsibility to the culture for a moment in order to just make some fucking bangers |
| 7 |  | Charli XCX
Pop2
lucky. the Zalgo text generator of brutal ballads |
| 8 |  | The Smith Street Band
More Scared of You Than You Are of Me
suffer. does what it says on the tin |
| 9 |  | Gang of Youths
Go Farther in Lightness
persevere. just holdin hands and sobbin with sunglasses onnnn |
| 10 |  | Sufjan Stevens
The Greatest Gift
wallowa lake monster. oh make sure you bring a towel as you dip in UTTER DESPAIR |
| 11 |  | Bedwetter
Volume 1: Flick Your Tongue Against Your Teeth...
stoop lights. travis takes the sound of your mind scratching itself apart and spits over it. there’s just enough space between the beats to lose yourself |
| 12 | | St. Vincent
MASSEDUCTION
young lover – when tough love smashes on the rocks at the bottom of your glass |
| 13 |  | Smidley
Smidley
no one likes you - hey kids! can you spell e x i s t e n t i a l d r e a d |
| 14 | | Brockhampton
SATURATION DRAFTS
lamb. summertime on loop for a perfect three minutes // or the extended, which would occupy about the same spot. something’s lost from the brittle shortness on the video cut, for sure, but the meandering heartbreak in joba's verse more than compensates |
| 15 |  | Glassjaw
Material Control
bastille day/pompeii. if this was a hip-hop song i'd make a terrible joke about ‘pyroclastic flow’. slaps either way |
| 16 | | Charli XCX
Pop2
track 10. it's just a very good song ok |
| 17 | | Frank Ocean
Blonded
chanel. "freeze smoke rings and they hail" |
| 18 |  | Gorillaz
Humanz
ticker tape. damon reclaims the melody and the beauty |
| 19 |  | alt-J
Relaxer
3ww. the hazy, emotional nights filled with so much love |
| 20 | | Gang of Youths
Go Farther in Lightness
the deepest sighs, the frankest shadows. that mad rush when everything’s fucked and unsalvageable and you realise there’s nothing stopping you from moving on |
| 21 | | Smidley
Smidley
milkshake. how to dissociate completely (and never be found) |
| 22 |  | The National
Sleep Well Beast
nobody else will be there. natty can’t resist at least one classic even on a weaker album. you can hear the inhibitions fall away as the gin kicks in – it’s when berninger slides up a register to give one of his best ever deliveries |
| 23 |  | Wu-Tang Clan
The Saga Continues
people say. (loooove is just a energy) |
| 24 | | Phoebe Bridgers
Stranger In The Alps
funeral. elliott smith is smiling down on phoebe |
| 25 |  | Enter Shikari
The Spark
an ode to lost jigsaw pieces. conditioned to expect a rabble-rousing climax from previous shikari penultimate cuts, we might leave surprised – sure, the massive build-and-release comes, then it just goes, and in the wake is the most devastating lyrical passage of the year, soundtracked by an acoustic guitar and a cracking vocal |
| 26 | | The Smith Street Band
More Scared of You Than You Are of Me
passiona. smithies dip into folk to deliver one of their best ever. the chorus, unusually, is a quieter moment, compared to the steadily rising tension of the verses, every line pre-destined to come before the next |
| 27 |  | Brockhampton
SATURATION
swim. you could drown in here |
| 28 | | Glassjaw
Material Control
new white extremity. |
| 29 |  | Blink-182
California (Deluxe Edition)
long lost feeling. oh i know - this is plasticky, trash-flavoured trash. yet, it almost single-handedly got me through bad times after a death. poppin’ that bubble-wrap feels good sometimes, man |
| 30 |  | Small Leaks Sink Ships
Golden Calf
subtle sadness. why does this make me think of radiohead's codex having a baby with aqeuous transmission? |
| 31 |  | Paramore
After Laughter
rose-colored boy. LOWKEY - NO PRESSURE |
| 32 | | Lorde
Melodrama
the louvre. 'down the back / but who cares / still the louvre' |
| 33 |  | Vince Staples
Big Fish Theory
party people. >when the thud of comets wholly annihilating the earth sounds tight through the subwoofer |
| 34 |  | Roger Waters
Is This The Life We Really Want?
déjà vu. was worried roger might have lost in touch in 25 years. that first couplet instantly proved me otherwise - a new every stranger's eyes for the times we live in. |
| 35 | | Gorillaz
Humanz
submission. |
| 36 |  | Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Who Built the Moon?
she taught me how to fly. |
| 37 |  | Kesha
Rainbow
let em talk. |
| 38 |  | Lil Uzi Vert
Luv Is Rage 2
xo tour life. |
| 39 | | The National
Sleep Well Beast
carin at the liquor store. |
| 40 | | Vince Staples
Big Fish Theory
yeah right. |
| 41 |  | Broken Social Scene
Hug of Thunder
please take me with you. in an occasionally too-happy album, one song lives up to the dichotomy proposed at the end of the title track; this is one of the year’s most intimate and sincere affairs |
| 42 | | Wu-Tang Clan
The Saga Continues
if time is money. |
| 43 |  | The Used
The Canyon
upper falls. |
| 44 |  | King Krule
The OOZ
lonely blue. how did this not make The Return's soundtrack? |
| 45 | | Tyler, the Creator
Flower Boy
who dat boy. my favourite lead-off single in a long long time |
| 46 |  | Tame Impala
Currents B-Sides & Remixes
list of people (to try and forget about). |
| 47 |  | Ulver
The Assassination of Julius Caesar
rolling stone. ah just some krautrock beatdown heavy metal for your morning stroll through icy woods |
| 48 |  | Sampha
Process
blood on me. |
| 49 | | King Krule
The OOZ
dum surfer. |
| 50 |  | Manchester Orchestra
A Black Mile to the Surface
the wolf. |
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