Vacillating between urban and pop, this is an album of songs more than raps, where the beats are always at the service of the melody. Fortunately, Rapsody fell in the latter camp, as she thrashed the competition with her empowering effort “Don’t look back” has long been one of rock ‘n’ roll’s rallying cries, but start pushing 40 and it’s not so easy. One thing comes close though, and it's One-time blog buzz bands don't generally age gracefully into middle age -- particularly after Rumors of a joint Balvin/Bad Bunny album circulated for two years before the two friends dropped Though DaBaby muscled his way into the rookie of the year conversation this spring with his Hot 100 scorcher "Suge," he placed a bow on his monstrous 2019 with Two decades after the Highwaymen last rode, the Highwomen took up their mantle with a debut LP that somehow exceeded expectations; considerable considering the stellar-on-their-own forces of Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby.
The other Dublin post-punk success story of 2019 alongside Fontaines DC, The Murder Capital have a bit more monochrome hauteur – but there’s still a touch of lairiness. Big Thief, U.F.O.F. The band’s picture of Dublin is as vivid and impetuous as the Joycean visions they clearly admire, all rough beauty and “ready-steady violence”; the pint-chucking songs have the blithe, amused swagger of someone who enjoys a fight, but the ballads (Roy’s Tune, Television Screens) are equally good, with a bleating, pub-piano sadness to them. Will the format be as alien to us now in 2029 as it would be to listeners in 2010 seeing what it's become today? Alabama Shakes hardly cleaved to one genre, but frontwoman Brittany Howard shows just how astonishingly broad and instinctive her talent is here. Music is filled with no shortage of characters proclaiming how “mad, me” they are, so it’s rare and delightful to come across a genuine oddball.
The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019) 16. The 50 best albums of 2019: the full list 1. Releasing a debut solo album at 66 is impressive enough; that it’s one of the most skilful records of an already iconic career is even more so. Tyler, the Creator, Maggie Rogers, Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Post Malone, Ariana Grande, Miranda Lambert, Bad Bunny and J Balvin Southern Sky, Bad Man, SugarHouse and plenty more make this a future cult classic. That's the ethos powering queer pop-trio MUNA's sophomore album This year, The Raconteurs didn’t just return with their first album in 11 years, the Brendan Benson/Jack White co-fronted rockers also proved they hadn't lost a step: In fact, the album was the band’s first-ever to hit No. Music reviews, ratings, news and more. Over metronomic garage-rock, frontman James McGovern sings like a man reading a list of demands out of a high window, but also modulates into sweeping gothic romance. Whether in grunge ballads (Jenni), front-porch blues (Orange) or the ambient indie-folk that sways reed-like throughout, the mood is as melancholy as it is beautiful. It’s adventurous, beautifully crafted, devoid of filler, packed not just with hooks but finely wrought sonic details.
The Chicago musician flips between them – from Zora Neale Hurston to James Baldwin – with warmth and close attention, her sandy voice full of tenderness and the jazz-influenced backing sun-baked and dazzling. Some breakup albums wallow, but this one carries itself with the strength and tenacity of its namesake.
