WPTS Midyear 2019 AOTY Picks
Listmas is a phenomenon every music fan anticipates like a small tot anxiously awaiting their birthday, or perhaps Pixar’s improbable announcement of Coco 2. We here at WPTS love sharing our music opinions so much that we like to do Listmas in June. That’s right people, even waiting ’til July was too long a wait for these ravenous music staffers. Without further ado, here are sixteen WPTSers’ favorite music releases of 2019 thus far!
VORTEX
Houndstooth
VORTEX is going to rip dance floors to shreds. Nothing this year is as hard as Special Request’s new record, and it deserves appreciation outside of the techno-rave scene it was released for. The album’s most striking tracks have names like “SP4NN3R3D” or “VORTEX 150”, sounding like 4-dimensional, metallic aliens fighting to the death while possibly undergoing nuclear fission. These tracks, the most difficult on the album, are sharply produced and corrosive – they drill into your ear with harsh, slicing efficiency. However, the abrasive noise experiments are tempered by the album’s reverence for the familiar four-on-the-floor beat, and you’ll find yourself raving with the best of them even as your tortured ears march up to your brain to file an official complaint. Other tracks, such as the throwback jungle track “Ardcore Dolphin”, or “Levitation”, go down somewhat more easily, preferring retro, chopped-up drum breaks to the psychotic knife-noise found elsewhere. The album ends with “Fett”, a pounding, harrowing chase scene of a track, and the spectacularly-titled “A Gargantuan Melting Face Floating Effortlessly Through The Stratosphere”, which somehow sounds everything and nothing like how one would imagine it. Don’t miss VORTEX. It’s some of the most interesting dance music you’ll hear all year. —Nate Kovar
The Seduction of Kansas
Sister Polygon
The Seduction of Kansas is not only a masterpiece, but also is addictive to listen to. After the first listen, this album will become your life. You will want to listen to it all the time. It never gets old. Please be careful. This album is a lot more synthy than their older albums (probably due to the departure of their bassist to his own band Flasher), but Priests pull this stylistic shift off to an unbelievable degree. One of the most noticeable parts of The Seduction of Kansas is blatantly political and sharp it is lyrically. One of my favorite (non-political) lyrics here is definitely from the title track “Jesus’ Son”… “I’m young and dumb and full of cum”. I highly recommend listening to this album and appreciating not only its brilliance but how hard it rips. It’s definitely a contender for 2019’s album of the year. —Elyssa Pollio
Nothing Great About Britain
Method
Slowthai is definitely having a moment. His feature on Tyler the Creator’s chart topping Igor definitely helped get him some attention, but his new album Nothing Great About Britain is a jaw-dropping debut that solidified his position as Britain’s hottest up-and-coming MC. Drawing on grime, hip-hop, punk and UK dance music, it is one of the most unique and original albums since the grime revival of the mid 2010’s. Over a diverse collection of beats, Slowthai proves himself to be a versatile and thoughtful MC with a lot to say. Come for the bangers and stay for vivid storytelling and unique personality. —Calder Buisch
2020
Self-Released
With 2020, Shin Guard has crafted an aggressive and intense record. The songs on 2020 are dynamic and show that the band has developed a sound of their own, blending elements of post-hardcore with progressive song structures. They get better and better with each listen, and the band does a great job of transitioning from track to track to create a cohesive and engaging listen the whole way through. Most of the vocals are delivered as shrill screams, with some low growls and cleans thrown into the mix from time to time. The delivery is well-done, and makes for an emotional experience. However, it is evident that Shin Guard paid careful attention to songwriting before emotion when crafting each song, and that makes for such a great listening experience every time. 2020 is a fantastic album, and will be a sure contender for album of the year for me. —Derek Adams
IGOR
Columbia
IGOR, the fifth official solo studio album from enigmatic rapper Tyler, the Creator, focuses on a relationship tailspinning slowly into failure. Tyler effectively places the listener smack in the middle of the emotional carnage that is romantic angst. Drenched in distortion and fuzz, IGOR’s uplifting production fits in stunning dissonance with Tyler’s vision for the album. IGOR is like being caught in a nightmare- each song moves by rather quickly, yet the listener can’t help but feel trapped in Tyler’s panicked heartbreak with crunchy bass and upbeat, booming beats. IGOR’s unique choice of production is complemented with Tyler’s newer, more introspective direction lyrically: the album grapples with themes of longing, realization, loss, obsession, and the dull, ceaseless ache of dying love. These heavy topics, pinned against a background of pastel pinks and blues, creates a juxtaposed and unbelievably engaging listen. The album also features a slew of subtly employed yet impressive collaborators, including Pharell, Kanye West, Santigold, slowthai, Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Cee Lo Green, Ryan Beaty, and more. IGOR is not only another refreshing change of pace for Tyler’s career, but a challenge to both the expectations of his personal sound and the ever-expanding boundaries of hip-hop as a genre. —Dustin Butoryak
Mujeres
Tender Loving Empire
Mujeres by Y La Bamba is my favorite album of the 2019 so far. This bilingual freak-folk album, at a fairly average length of 42 minutes, is one of the most compact albums I’ve ever heard. Led by singer-songwriter Luz Elena Mendoza, Y La Bamba taps into a story of deep, complicated, personal journey of healing without closure. They relay this story with stunning clarity: the language barrier feels totally absent, and a wildly diverse tracklist follows a perfectly natural ebb and flow. By the end of a listen, I always feel cleansed, like some of Mendoza’s own healing travelled through the music to reach me. For its focused-yet-versatile music and its meticulous-yet-sincere storytelling, Mujeres stands at the tippy top of an amazing 2019—and it’s only June! —Sam Taylor
Jinx
Self-Released
A jazz-soul-rock hybrid release may be off-putting on paper but, don’t let that stop you from trying out Crumb, my pick for 2019’s biggest breakout success! The Brooklyn based quartet’s fresh, diverse appeal has excited nearly everyone at the station: indie heads, metal heads, and jazz heads alike. The debut full length continues their exploration of a quasi-chill, synthy soundscape with delightful twists and turns in each track. Lyrically, Jinx is a thinkpiece on modern life’s ennui, self-reflection, and urban living. The album is without a doubt the year’s best debut so far, but more impressively, it does justice to their previous, near-perfect EPs.—Scales
Fake Blood
You Did This/Triple Crown
Heart Attack Man’s first album quickly became one of my favorites when I first heard it, and after hearing about their upcoming album, I was worried that they would fall victim to the dreaded “sophomore slump.” Luckily, my fears were never actualized: Fake Blood delivers a mix of angsty, vengeful, and fun tunes that I found myself wanting to listen to over and over again. The album’s upbeat yet angry style of power pop fits the personality of the band perfectly and was a logical step in their development. Fake Blood captures how the frustrations of millennials only fuel their defiance against what society demands of them today through raw and relatable lyrics about resentment and rage. This album proved to me that Heart Attack Man is a major up-and-coming band in their scene, and I’m certain this album will be one of my top albums of 2019. —Rachel Hines
Cows on Hourglass Pond
Domino
Through the first half of the year, 2019 has been painted with a light navy, a strong olive, and an earthy beige. These tones, the palette of the blah weather of mid-to-late spring, are the seasonal translation of doubt and discomfort, and are also perfectly encapsulated by the latest Avey Tare record. Cows on Hourglass Pond fully embraces this external gloom and faces it head on, as this uncertainty is the thematic backbone of the album. Blending acoustic and electronic textures, Cows has a modern yet natural feel to it. Avey’s impressive vocal range is on full display overtop of the most accessible instrumentals in his solo catalog. These melodies are so soft and sweet, with the occasional frantic scream sneaking out, a catharsis that makes it too easy to scream along to. Cows is a tidal wave of sonic comfort and empathy, and not only is it a phenomenal record, but, in conjunction with Panda Bear’s Buoys, makes me all the more excited to see what Animal Collective have up their sleeves. —Nick Jacobyansky
Assume Form
Polydor
“There is this myth that you have to be anxious to be creative, that you have to be depressed to be a genius.” With the release of his fourth full length album, Assume Form, James Blake has started opening up about his mental health. There were times in his life, especially while dealing with the pressures of touring, where he experienced severe depression as well as suicidal thoughts. With a self-titled debut out by the time James turned 22, the artist was thrust into the limelight at a time when he described himself as only “half-formed.” Almost 10 years on, Blake has a new approach to keeping himself healthy. A balanced diet, a proper sleep schedule, an ability to talk with others about how he’s really doing. What all this really boils down to is the chorus of the album’s title track: “I will assume form.” Blake is speaking directly to those who don’t feel like they’re in their own body, who feel as if life is happening to them, as if they can’t be reached by anyone else. Although his delivery is hidden behind his trademark choppy piano playing and swirling strings, Blake’s message is clear: don’t stay in your own head, come back to earth.
It may be subtle, but you’ll notice the changes in Blake’s life reflect a change in his music. Listening to some of his older songs like “Unluck”, “Put That Away and Talk to Me,” or even “Retrograde,” you’ll find that they drift in a nebulous of emotional release. Compare that to tracks like “Mile High” or “Can’t Believe the Way We Flow,” and you realize that Blake is beginning to make music that feels much more grounded, and less distant. Who would’ve thought the guy who made “The Wilhelm Scream” would end up on an album with Travis Scott, André 3000, and Metro Boomin? Now, of course Assume Form is in no way traditional pop or hip hop, it still has all the elements of what makes James Blake phenomenal—master production, dynamic percussion, bizarre vocal editing, and layers of synthetic orchestration—but it manages to diverge from his previous path, becoming more accessible to listeners. Mirroring his own life, James Blake’s music has assumed form. —John Peterson
Reddish
Lumpy
Reddish is this mid-year’s best example of “all killer, no filler.” Taking inspiration from Delta 5, Pylon, and other early dance-oriented post-punk groups, The World crafts a unique, rhythmically-centered sound that gets sweeter and sweeter with each consecutive listen. Throughout the record, each of the instruments take momentary turns in the spotlight before passing the baton to the next in line. However, the real highlight on this record is the saxophone work. Every classically good post punk act has a wonky saxophone in it! But The World takes this post-punk trope and tames it to help build their infectious rhythms. This is especially apparent in the song “Jackson 5,” which has the grooviest saxophone riff that is sure to get your foot tapping. Coming in at only 15 minutes, Reddish is the equivalent of a chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven: hot, fresh, and absolutely irresistible. —Davis Kuhn
When I Come Home
Columbia
When Solange’s neo-soul masterpiece A Seat at the Table dropped in 2016, the music world was absolutely flattened by her risky, genreless album packed with transitions, dazzling instrumentals, and inspirational spoken interludes on black pride. When I Come Home is as flawlessly produced as its “older sister” album but maintains an average temperature about ten degrees lower: Solange and co. navigate from track to track with even more poise and swagger than in her previous work, billowing above the minimal, jazz-leaning arrangements. Her unrushed delivery is complemented by flippant verses from Gucci Mane and Playboi Carti, as well as divine production contributions from Tyler, the Creator, Sampha, Standing on the Corner, and Panda Bear. Hearing Solange move from delicate, emotional reveal to insistent, percussive bangers feels like watching an unbroken gymnastics routine in slow motion, and is a testament to her skill at patching sounds, songs, feelings, and artists into a project. —Spencer Smith
Self-Titled
Anti
I’ve noticed that my style of finding new music is extremely random and spontaneous, but I am very happy to run into Ryan Pollie’s self-titled album. This album blessed the ears of members among the indie community with its clever structure and intimate look into Pollie’s life. His album features a variety of different styles that blend well with his soft, high-pitched voice. My favorite part of this album are the unique instrumental solos—I especially enjoyed the use of the casio in the song “Eyes of Vermont.” I also liked the country influence in some of the songs, and I was delighted to hear from Pollie himself that his album was inspired by work from Willie Nelson and other folk and country artists. After listening to his album, I did some research on Pollie’s life and easily made the connection between his life and the message he expressed in his work, and look forward to hearing more music from this kind, talented artist. —Jacqui Sieber
Samsara
Prosthetic
As brutal as it is topically relevant, Venom Prison present one of the best metal records of 2019 in the form of Samsara. The perfect amalgamation of death, grind, and hardcore, the band masterfully tread the line between technical mastery and beat-down brutality. Tracks such as “Megillus and Leana”, “Uterine Industrialization”, “Self-Inflicted Violence”, and “Asura’s Realm” see vocalist Larissa Stupar at the top her game, showcasing a range that puts her in the same breath as the best in the genre. Guitarist Ash Grey utilizes melodic leads to balance out the skull-crushing breakdowns that litter Samsara. In a world where sonic brutality has become slightly jaded from over-saturation, Venom Prison have achieved a record that feels as fresh as it is crushing. —Alex Cohen
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Take This To Heart
I began listening to Jetty Bones only a few months before they released “-,” their third EP. I quickly fell in love with the clear and beautiful voice of the lead singer as she sang of recovery and healing. The EP features six songs. The first track, “better,” brings cathartic listening to a whole new level. The EP stays true to Jetty Bones with themes such as healing while incorporating new elements like the inclusion of a Siri-like voice at the end of “the part:.” This release manages to bring to life experiences and feelings that are undeniably human in such a blunt way. Jetty Bones is unapologetically raw in their lyrics. Through this, they accomplish creating an open and healing atmosphere for anyone in need of help. That key piece is what makes music so important for me personally, making this Jetty Bones EP a top contender for album of the year. —Meghan Zonno
Find Light
Self-Released
My favorite album of 2018 was unquestionable, with no other release even coming close. Less than a month into 2019, Find Light by Cold Weather Company gave it a real run for its money. In a year full of releases I was looking forward to, a band I had never heard of before set the bar for excellence early and has yet to have been overtaken. While there have been plenty of great albums this year, none of them have been able to approach the top-down excellence of this beautiful 16-song album. Amazingly enough, as much as I loved this orchestral folk when it came out, it has continued to grow on me as the year has gone on. There are some exciting releases coming in the next 6 months, but this album raises the bar for album of the year. —Matthew Lawhead
