13 albums I've loved so far this year with a little mini review, nothing too grandiose imo but some great stuff worth hearing, mostly in the rock category of things on my side of things:
Jeff Rosenstock: POST-, great pop-punk record, makes me want to give this guy's music prior to this another chance, for whatever reason the energy and punchiness of all of the songs on here are resonating with me to a ridiculous degree, can't stop going back to it, felt like he got to the point of these songs way more directly than he has before, but I get that I'm in the minority considering the intense love people have had for WORRY. and WeCool?
Hookworms: Microshift, re-singing thread praises, I love Krautrock and I love songs with poppy inclinations so match made in heaven here, colorful and vibrant stuff going on here.
Superchunk: What a Time to Be Alive, damn-near thirty-year old band feels so reinvigorated on this rawer set of songs than their past few albums they've made when reuniting (of which I actually loved a lot, too), hella liberal if you're the kind of person that gets easily cringed by that, but it's what this band needs to have a sense of genuine urgency in the way they're performing.
Titus Andronicus: A Productive Cough, probably another minority opinion as it's generally been mixed in reception, and I get it in a sense, but since it came out I've been addicted to this thing. A lot of fun, sloppy barroom rock that you can tell is trying to capture the anthemic appeal of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan so hard, even more so than what they've done before. Had a good laugh listening to their version of "Like a Rolling Stone"
Andrew W.K.: You're NotAlone, pop metal that oozes in positivity, nothing new for the man but he is so needed in my life right now, album that most puts a smile on my face so far. If you ask me I think the songwriting is a lot more dynamic than you'd think, too.
U.S. Girls: In a PoemUnlimited, nervy like a lot my favorite new wave-inspired music, so groovy and instrumentally has a lot going on, and lyrically poignant to boot, grows on me more and more everytime I go back
Ought: Room Inside the World, like what's already been said, while a lot softer in approach and I think the most "post-punk" the band has ever sounded, it is an oh so dang beautiful set of songs. Listen to Desire if anything else, good gravy.
MGMT: Little Dark Age, fun catchy synth pop that while yeah not incredibly original in sound is still doing it better than most, another band that some might say didn't put out their strongest material but if you ask me is just as consistent in quality as their past work.
JPEGMAFIA:Veteran, I admit there's a lot more hip- hop I need to listen to but aside from Cupcakke's new album Ephorize (I liked her as a rapper miles more than I liked the beats on that one to tell you that I was "in love" with it, but close!), I haven't been all that impressed by much so far. That said, this is my favorite hip hop album so far, though I don't think will be what people are looking for if they want something more traditional sounding. Noisy, experimental, glitchy, but he flows on it amazingly well throughout.
Lucy Dacus: Historian, rootsy indie rock music, I thought her last album was all fine and good but she's blowing out the doors here, some real epic-sounding moments for something that is nevertheless stripped back.
Screaming Females: All at Once, meaty grunge-like rock with a sharp pop sensibility to it, in another world this band would be way bigger than some indie darlings
The Sufis: After Hours, a great little gamut of psych-pop jams, drum fills to die for throughout
First Aid Kit: Ruins, folk-pop duo with a great ear for some psychedelic country-rock, the songs on here build and change up, never gets to sounding stale.
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