50 Best Albums of 2019: 20 to 11
By Epigram Music
Epigram Music give the next instalment of their top albums of this year, featuring the likes of Tyler, The Creator, Lizzo and Nilüfer Yanya.
20. Caroline Polachek - Pang
By Francesca Frankis, Music Editor
As the first release under her actual name, producer, songwriter and former member of Charlift Caroline Polachek contemplates love and loss, on an album fleshed out with a swarm of gleaming synthesisers and poignant solos; Pang is epic, modern, authentic, and perhaps the best pop record of this year. On ‘So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings’ Polachek sings over satisfying harmonies that culminate in a punchy and catchy chorus reminiscent of an 80’s dance hit. Moments of quiet are found too, like on ‘Door’ where she contemplates finding meaning in heartbreak over a soaring grandeur of layered bass lines. Pang is a shiny auto-tuned ode to romance in the twenty first century.
19. Solange - When I Get Home
By Daisy Lacey, MA Comparative Literatures and Cultures
Released on March 1st this year, When I Get Home is the long awaited follow up to Solange’s critically acclaimed album A Seat At The Table. The fourth instalment from Knowles constructs a narrative around her identity as an African American woman. Using the voices of women from the Third Ward in Houston, Knowles interpolates these recordings with chopped up jazz and funk beats. Whilst the likes of Sampha and Tyler the Creator feature on tracks like ‘Time (Is)’ and ‘My Skin My Logo’. Epitomising the sheer talent and dedication of Solange, When I Get Home is a beautifully handcrafted work of art and an important social commentary.
18. Black Midi - Schlagenheim
By Will Snelling, Deputy Digital Editor
On first watching a live version of bmbmbm, Black Midi’s perverse, tense first statement of intent, I was captivated against my better judgement. It doesn’t look great on paper, since the song (if you can call it that) doesn’t bother with chords, melodies, or riffs. Instead, the bare bones are just enhanced: rhythm, dynamics, repetition. It’s the most primal piece of music possible, while simultaneously being a virtuoso display, shown best by how the bursts of atonal noise quickly cut out and the thudding one-note riff seamlessly locks back into place.
The song is a bit of a red herring, since the rest of the album follows a much more maximalist mode. ‘Western’ switches genre from lilting Americana to Swans-style manic breakdown to Remain in Light funk and back again. The link however is Black Midi’s disinterest in relying on familiar sounds and song structures; anything is truly permitted, making Schlagenheim one of the least predictable and most exciting albums this year. Anything ‘math rock’ adjacent would normally trigger my gag reflex, but Black Midi dabble in influences so diverse and in such a carefree manner that their pyrotechnics are never merely indulgent, but actually exciting. Don’t ignore the hype!
17. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising
By Aline Downey, Second Year English
Titanic Rising, Weyes Blood’s fourth album and her most accomplished to date, is characterised by a contrast between subject matter and sound; the singer-songwriter – also known as Natalie Mering - grapples with modern, millennial anxieties through the lens of a retro, soft-rock production aesthetic. In ‘Everyday’ she disparages online dating culture as Beach Boys-esque backing vocals echo her own soulful alto, and in ‘Something to Believe’ she contemplates post-truth society over a jaunty piano accompaniment that wouldn’t be out of place on an Elton John record. Yet the album is far from an exercise in homage or nostalgia, it is strikingly original and cinematic in scope too. With soaring, psychedelic harmonies and incisive lyrics that are both personal and political.
At the forefront of Titanic Rising is the desire to find meaning and purpose in the chaos of contemporary life, to find certainty in a future made inherently uncertain by climate change. One thing is certain though; Titanic Rising is a beautifully articulated, generation-defining manifesto on the cultural psychology of the late 2010’s which displays Weyes Blood’s unwaveringly insightful lyricism and her uncanny knack for catchy, bittersweet melodies. Mering has cemented her status as a tour de force of baroque-pop.
16. Nilüfer Yanya - Miss Universe
By Joe Gorecki, MPhil German
One of 2019’s most anticipated debuts, Miss Universe confirms Nilüfer Yanya as one of music’s freshest new voices. The album fulfils the promise shown on 2017’s Plant Feed EP which introduced Yanya’s uncanny ability to blend the electronic and the soulful while retaining her own distinct voice. Miss Universe’s title and wraparound conceit of a dystopian wellness facility reflect the album’s themes of overcoming insecurity and self-doubt. The album is stylistically eclectic, but it still manages to remain cohesive and fully formed.
It includes a sharp rock intensity of tracks like ‘In Your Head’ and ‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’ but also more grooving, jazz-inflected approaches as in ‘Baby Blu’ and ‘Paradise’. This sonic diversity is one of the album’s real highlights and gives it a unique and genuinely interesting sound. While there are no obvious stand-out tracks, the late one-two punch of ‘Safety Net’ and ‘Tears’ demonstrate the unity of sound and voice which make Miss Universe one of 2019’s highlights. This achievement for a debut suggests Nilüfer Yanya is here to stay.
15. Tyler, The Creator - IGOR
By Dan Elliott, Second Year Civil Engineering
Tyler, the Creator has, once again, managed to switch it up with IGOR, his latest and most emotionally vulnerable album. It follows the story of the character Igor and their experiences of love, heartbreak, anger and acceptance all within melodically compelling and catchy contexts. Tyler, as usual, can’t be pinned down writing behind the guise of this character making IGOR seem more like an art piece than just self-expression. He reaches the far corners of genre, with hard basslines and aggressive rap contrasting soaring synth parts and vocals without losing coherence to the overall narrative.
The lyrics explore themes of homosexuality, hurt and envy, topics not previously common in hip-hop, particularly Tyler’s early, more pointed albums. These themes help make IGOR so fresh and relevant. It is not a throwback or retro piece which rests upon the laurels of other artists’ stylings, it breaks new ground. That’s not to say the album lacks inspiration from the past, with nods in the form of samples and verses to artists such as Al Green and Kanye. Plenty of newer artists feature on the record too including Solange, Playboi Carti and Slowthai, all at the cutting edge of new music in their own right. IGOR more than deserves its place in the top 50 albums of this year.
14. The Comet is Coming - Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery
By Zac Richardson, Second Year Philosophy
Saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings of Sons of Kemet is arguably the most innovative voice in modern jazz. The debut record from his newest project, The Comet is Coming, only further cements that image. At times it feels like Hutchings and co. are pulling from influences in every genre of music at the same time, with the album flicking between: glowing spiritual jazz, hip hop, house, and Sons of Kemet-esque grooves. For being an album that sometimes reminds us of the imminent apocalpyse, Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery is as joyful a listen you’ll find this year.
13. Lizzo - Cus I Love You
By Jessica Li, Second Year Economics and Politics
Lizzo’s unbelievable confidence in her songs is invigorating and terrifying in equal measures, but undoubtedly a political sensation for music in 2019. The mix of rap, classic flute, and soul represents well the diverse musical roots she was brought up around. This combination has allowed Lizzo to excel in her own time from humble flute lessons and singing gospel hymns in Detroit to collaborating with Prince and later, Florence +the Machine, which built up her repertoire and eventually finding Cuz I Love You in April 2019.
The tracks have a shamelessly positive attitude and the highs and lows are dramatic and are experienced in full-force due to a high tempo intersecting with her striking voice, as we tumble with her through a roller-coaster of emotion. Comparative to her previous works, Jefferson has moved away from the niché lyrical events into a more vibrant and colourful style this year.
12. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen
By Zac Richardson, Second Year Philosophy
When discussing songwriting, Nick Cave often answers that the key is mastering counterpoint. Ghosteen is an exceptional show of just that, juxtaposing fantastical imagery of ghosts and galleon ships with brutal sobriety ('Your body is an anchor/Never asked to be free/Just want to stay in the business of making you happy'). The band’s most instrumentally sparse album since 1997’s The Boatman’s Call, Ghosteen’s 11 tracks act as stellar canvases for Cave to bear the scars of his grieving process following the death of his son in 2015. Despite this, Ghosteen is lush and beautiful; with Cave going well beyond his usual smokey growl and into teetering falsettos and gritty whispers. Doubling down on the counterpoint, Ghosteen is at the same time one of the year’s most enchanting and most mournful records
11. JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes Are Cornballs
By Leonardo Proaño, Third Year Sociology and Philosophy
JPEGMAFIA defines a generation of rap that is undefined, experimental and boundless in ways the genre has never experienced. All My Heroes Are Cornballs is a triumph within this soundscape. Spanning 18 tracks over 45 minutes, the album strays from the current trend of sub-half-hour listens, filling the time with more of the grit and chaos that JPEGMAFIA became known for following the release of Veteran. Sublime production, from Peggy himself, that blends broken instrumentals with unfamiliar sounds compliment his vocal performance which at any moment falls somewhere between an auto-tuned croon and impassioned screams, commanding us to ‘pray!’.
All My Heroes touches on a wealth of politically and socially relevant topics, from gun violence and racism, to discrimination within the music industry, it is a stream of consciousness projected through Peggy’s frustrated and erratic flow. His cynicism is cleverly underlined by the sarcastic humor that’s abundant on every track. On 'PRONE!', he raps ‘One shot turn Steve Bannon into Steve Hawking’, on 'Papi I Missed U,' ‘Target practice on an Aryan/Redneck tears, what a beverage.’ The stuff is gold. JPEGMAFIA is one of the most exciting acts in 2019, and All My Heroes Are Cornballs shines within a dense catalog of quality releases this year.
Featured Image: Francesca Frankis/Epigram
What are your top albums of this year?