The Best of October 2021: Part 2

October brought us so much great music that I had to split our usual monthly roundup into two parts. Read on for paternal pop-punk, soul-rending black metal, and a worthy successor to My Chemical Romance. Click here to read The Best of October 2021: Part 1.

Trace Mountains - House of Confusion

Lame-O Records

I’ve been riding the Trace Mountains Train ever since Spotify served up a single off A Partner to Lean On back in early 2018. In the time since then, “Thunder Trails” has gone on to become one of my favorite songs of all time, and the project has been a consistent source of pleasant country expeditions and killer closing tracks alike. While 2020’s Lost in the Country was curbed by releasing a month into lockdown, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it gave Dave Benton enough time to regroup and create House of Confusion. Pitched as a darker, earthier counterpart to last year’s album, Confusion is a lush and inward record packed with slide guitar and slightly more pensive sentiments than its predecessor. Despite its more inward nature, the third proper Trace Mountains album is just as authentic as everything that came before–a perfect collection of songs to watch the leaves change to.

Virginity - POPMORTEM

Smartpunk Records

Here’s a fun little choose your own adventure: Are you emo? Of course you are. Do you want to make music? Excellent. Are you a dad? Perfect. If you meet all of these criteria, you actually have two options based on your location. If you live in the Midwest, you can take the Mike Kinsella route and make sad, slow albums about parenthood. If you’re from the southeast, then crank your amp as far as it’ll go and get to riffing like Virginity. 

This is a total false equivalency, but I really do see these bands as two sides of the same coin. Both acts lean into the age of their members, taking a more mature approach on all-too-familiar topics like sadness, nostalgia, and aging. That perspective is a proper distinction in a scene where most people creating emo music are in their twenties talking about high school heartbreak and getting stoned. In fact, Virginity addresses this on album opener “We Get It,” speaking both musical contemporaries and fellow members of the DIY scene alike in a blistering 2.5-minute takedown. Throughout the album, Virginity jumps from catchy choruses, breakneck PUP passages, and hardcore screams. Lyrically, the band discusses everything from selfishness, privilege, family dynamics, shifting friendships, and the indifferent impermanence of our world. Together, these songs assemble into an energetic 30-minute excursion that gives the listener punky emo music with a unique perspective–a precious resource within the scene.

Angel Du$t - YAK: A Collection of Truck Songs

Roadrunner Records

It’s kinda hilarious to go back to the first Angel Du$t album and compare that sound from five years ago with what’s found throughout Yak. As a supergroup with members from hardcore bands like Turnstile and Trapped Under Ice, it only made sense for them to start with thrashy songs that felt like familiar territory. At the same time, it’s no wonder why the band so quickly shifted into something so sonically dissimilar; after all, you’d want your side gig to be different from your day job too, right? If I were to describe Yak with one word, it would be emphatic. This album feels like a collection of tracks primarily concerned with being groovy, joyful, and fun to listen to. Some songs sound like Scooby-Doo chase music while others are straight-up Rancid worship, this is all alongside some hardcore-lite sprinkled in for the oldheads. No two tracks sound alike but bear similar levels of effortlessly cool vocal deliveries, sticky choruses, and bouncy acoustic guitar. Yak is a far cry from the band’s hardcore origins but still an engaging and catchy comedown from the fist-balling rage of their earlier work.

Spirit Was - Heaven’s Just a Cloud

Danger Collective Records

Spirit Was is the solo project of Nick Corbo, formerly of the lo-fi pop-punk band LVL UP… However, if you go into this project with that framework, you’re likely to be shocked. If you want a proper introduction to Spirit Was, just start Heaven’s Just A Cloud from the top. That probably sounds like ‘no duh’ advice, but the album’s opening track “I Saw The Wheel” not only doubled as the first single but also single-handedly sold me on the entire project. That song begins with a slow-moving folk music whisper but halfway through vaults up into a Sunbather-style of blackened metal. It’s jarring but still somehow manages to work beautifully, resulting in a combination of sounds I would never have thought to put together. After this cataclysmic outpouring, the band walks the listener deeper and deeper into their rustic world, combining folksy drawls with the occasional crushing shoegaze riff much like Twin Plagues or Dixieland. Heaven’s Just a Cloud is a mystical and awe-inspiring journey that rumbles with a sort of naturalistic holy power. 

Boyfrienders - Midwest Alive in Nightmares

Good Luck Charm Records

I’d say a few times a week I fantasize about moving back to Detroit. Sure the winters are cold, the drivers are crazy, and you’re forced to hear natives refer to soda as “pop,” but you know what makes up for all of that? The music. Seriously, Michigan has, pound for pound, the most creative and inspiring crop of bands out of anywhere that I’ve ever lived, and nobody exemplifies that quite like Boyfrienders. After detailing New York as seen through a series of different J-line stops in 2020’s Scenes of Brooklyn, lead singer Poppy Morawa and co. return back to the frigid landscape of the Midwest for a stunning collection of 11 power-pop bangers. Songs range from boppy Cure-instrumentals on “Johnny Drama” to hard-charging punk on “The Moment.”

Aside from having some of the most fun song titles of the year (“Dudes Rock Twenty Twenty One” and “Post-Commune Glitch Pop” are simply all-timers), the sheer scope of musicality on display throughout this album is impressive. From a vibey build on “Live Like You Exist” to a celebratory send-off on “Permanent Prom Night,” there’s never time for the listener to predict what’s coming next. While Morawa’s distinct croon leads most songs, “Fushigi 45,” “Halcyon,” as well as the aforementioned “The Moment,” cede the spotlight to other band members and voices from the Michigan scene, leading to a beautifully-collaborative sense of ever-shifting musical wonder. Additional collaborations come in the form of Bryan Porter (In A Daydream), Tyler Floyd (Parkway & Columbia), Austin Stawowczyk and Kris Herrmann (both of Shortly and Seaholm), Alex Stoitsiadis (Dogleg), and more. It’s a who’s who of Michigan musicians packed into one LP that makes me miss the collaborative spirit which permeated every corner of that scene. Until I can get back to Detroit, at least I have Midwest Alive in Nightmares.

The War on Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore

Atlantic

Nobody should be surprised by a War on Drugs album in 2021. Since 2008 the group has been cranking out near-flawless heartland rock, and I Don’t Live Here Anymore is no different. While not quite as wondrous as Lost In The Dream and not as breathtaking as A Deeper Understanding, the band’s newest album trades the thoughtful 11-minute-long journeys for more bite-sized songs with killer synthesizers, soulful guitar solos, and compelling narrative flashes. There’s some pitch-perfect Petty-indebted instrumentals, blatant Springsteen worship, and even a few moments of morbid reflection. Everything resolves satisfyingly on “Occasional Rain” for a clean break at the end of 50-some-odd minutes of classic rock. 

Swim Camp - Fishing in a Small Boat

Know Hope Records

Here’s the recipe: take a dash of Alex G, a pinch of Trace Mountains, a smidge of slowcore, and just a hint of shoegaze. Whisk together vigorously and let sit for two years. The result will be a creation as rustic and gorgeous as Fishing in a Small Boat. Whether through staggering builds, backcountry jaunts, or long rolling instrumentals, Swim Camp never falters in their mission to depict a laid-back lo-fi world in which every man deserves a porch on which to enjoy his beer. 

Every Time I Die - Radical

Epitaph Records

When I listen to hardcore music, I come in search of a few things: heavy riffs, killer screams, and breakdowns that make me want to fight God. For over two decades, Every Time I Die has brought those qualities to their music and then some. It’s rare that a band I listened to in high school ages this gracefully or this cringe-free, but much like a fine wine, Every Time I Die somehow manages to just keep getting better with time. Vocalist Keith Buckley has a scream that could obliterate your chest like a point-blank shotgun blast. Combine that with chuggy drop-D riffs, molar-shattering basslines, and unrelenting drums, and you have a radical grouping of 16 songs that hit like a brick to the face. 

Super American - SUP

Wax Bodega

One of the first CDs I ever purchased of my own volition was Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right…but Three Do by Reliant K. The songs were clean, catchy, and beautifully pop-punk. The tracks got lodged in my head for days on end, using everyday objects like chapstick and mood rings to springboard into observations about girls, maturity, and (of course) God. When I listen to SUP by Super American, I’m struck with many of the same things I felt when I first heard Reliant K. Sure, their songs aren’t as kid-friendly and don’t ladder up to selling the listener into their religion, but the rest of it is all there; snotty pop-punk deliveries, highly-potent power chords, and an exuberant youthful bounciness. Plus, with just ten songs clocking in at a blistering 25 minutes, there’s hardly any time to get restless; all you have to do is chug an energy drink, sing along, and commiserate. 

Save Face - Another Kill For the Highlight Reel

Epitaph Records

The pitch for the newest Save Face album is a slam dunk: this is the closest thing you’re going to get to a new My Chemical Romance record in 2021. On some level, I think that does the music itself a disservice, but it’s easy to see the appeal of this elevator pitch for a certain sect of music fan. While the debut album from Save Face relied on polished shout-along pop-punk hooks, Another Kill For the Highlight Reel dials up the goth meter until it reaches the skeleton-clad upper echelon. The group’s sophomore album leans into the heavier side of their sound, offering up a shreddy bunch of emo bangers that all but revive the long-lost sound of their fellow New Jersey hard rockers in MCR. Don your finest all-black ensemble and journey into Save Face’s world. 

Minus the Bear - Farewell

Suicide Squeeze

I’ve talked before about how important Minus the Bear is to me. I’ve waxed and waned about their discography and delved into why “This Ain’t A Surfin’ Movie” is my favorite song of all time. When the band decided to call it quits back in 2018, I was crushed, but I understood why it had to happen. The members had been at it for over fifteen years at that point, even longer if you count predecessors like State Route 522 and Sharks Keep Moving. Farewell is a career-spanning live album that sees the band breaking out the hits and deep cuts alike over the course of a nearly two-hour runtime. Pulling tracks from their most recent album to their most obscure early EPs, Farewell truly is a celebration; it’s a victory lap for Minus the Bear and a thank you to the fans who have stuck around. The album is also a technical showcase as the band taps their way through a wide range of mathy indie rock hits with as much precision as they do on the studio versions. Perhaps most importantly, Farewell is a testament to a beautiful group that has been making formative music for millions of fans for nigh on two decades. Thank you for everything, Minus The Bear. Farewell. 

Quick Hits

If you’re looking for even more tunes from the past month or so, we’ve published reviews of the new releases from Couplet, Church Girls, Sufjan Stevens, and Pictoria Vark. Alternatively, you can see my favorite songs from every album I listened to in October month through this playlist. 

My Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2021

We’re entering the final quarter of the year, and, spoiler alert: most of your favorite blogs already have their album of the year selected. Not me, though. I have some favorites, obviously, but when I think about my Album Of The Year 2021, it’s still anyone’s game in my mind. 

On some level, it’s easy to get swept up in end-of-the-year festivities and opt-out of the constant swirl of new music, so I wanted to give a little preemptive roundup of all the records still to be released this year that I’m excited about. These albums range in scope from heavy hitters of the indie world like My Morning Jacket and Snail Mail to up-and-coming acts that everyone should be tracking like Snarls and Illuminati Hotties. In other words, I hope you find something new here, or at the very least something to be excited about, because there’s still lots of 2021 left. 

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Explosions In The Sky - Big Bend (An Original Soundtrack or Public Television) (October 1st)
The post-rock stalwarts are back with another soundtrack, this time for a new nature documentary from PBS titled Big Bend: The Wild Frontier of Texas. As someone who has spent their summer hiking the mountains of Colorado, I look forward to this record soundtracking my last few hikes of the season before things turn too wintery. 

Hovvdy - True Love (October 1st)
Simply put, Hovvdy are masters of fall music. Their last record, Heavy Lifter, was an inventive indie rock album that perfectly captures the languid, slow-paced feeling of the season. It’s moody, vibey, inward, and perfect for late nights as the weather gets colder. The four singles released thus far have been absolutely stunning, so I can’t wait to see what the whole album sounds like. 

illuminati hotties - Let Me Do One More (October 1st)
Pool-hopping season may be over, but that fact won’t crush the indomitable spirit of Sarah Tudzin. The “tenderpunk” pioneer is back with another album-length collection of vivacious songs that I expect will counteract the dark days of autumn. 

The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die - Illusory Walls (October 8th)
The fourth-wave emo figureheads return with an epic collection of tracks grappling with a society in decay. Whether taking on a proggy post-hardcore tone or more of an open-ended Broken Social Scene approach, this record is shaping up to be something career-defining. 

Kevin Morby - ​​A Night At The Little Los Angeles (October 8th)
2020’s Sundowner was a flawless fall record. Now, Kevin Morby looks to recreate that success by revisiting the album with a pack of 4​-​Track demos recorded for the project. Hopefully an even more stripped-down version of the record, I look forward to hearing songs like “Campfire” in an even more intimate environment. 

Virginity - PopMortem (October 15th)
Each year, Florida rockers Virginity outdo themselves. 2019’s With Time is a personable emo record with hooks for days. 2020’s Death to the Party upped the ante with even more ferocious performances and relatable lyrics. Based on this trend, PopMortem is set to be the band’s new gold standard. 

My Morning Jacket - My Morning Jacket (October 22nd)
The first new My Morning Jacket LP in-earnest since 2015’s The Waterfall, the group’s eponymous release is set to be a monument to their two-decade-plus career as some of the most wholesome alt-rockers in the music scene. 

Trace Mountains - House of Confusion (October 22nd)
Over the course of his last two albums, Trace Mountains has evolved from bedroom country-light into fully-fledged indie rock. Dave Benton may not have the audience I feel he deserves, but watching his sound, production, and musical ideas evolve over the last few years has been immensely rewarding. His newest album is said to be a darker, earthier counterpart to last year’s Lost In the Country.

Spirit Was - Heaven’s Just a Cloud (October 22nd)
In his newest solo project, the ex-LVL UP member combines hearty folk sounds with Sunbather-level black metal. This album is probably the one thing I’m most excited about in the rest of 2021 due sheerly to its potential to be uniquely “my shit.” 

Every Time I Die - Radical (October 22nd)
Every Time I Die is back, and it’s time to punch something. Crafting some of the most finely produced metal I’ve heard in ages, Radical looks to be an assemblage of bottled-up rage that’s been mounting for the last few years. A single cathartic outpouring that’s long overdue. 

Parquet Courts  - Sympathy for Life (October 22nd)
Parquet Courts seem to have let their last album do the talking. In the time since 2018’s Wide Awake, we’ve seen fascism, racism, inequality, and death all on a steady rise; all things the band predicted on that sixth album. Where they will go next is anyone’s guess, but I’d wager we will look back on Sympathy for Life in a few year’s time in awe of how prescient it was. 

Angel Du$t - Yak: A Collection of Truck Songs (October 22nd)
Once a hardcore band, now just a band, Angel Du$t aren’t afraid to challenge preconceived notions. Throughout their eight-year career, the supergroup has evolved from Turnstile-indebted hardcore to wildly inventive indie rock. It’s a pivot so flawless that even the most coked-up hardcore bro will have a hard time denying it. Get ready to dance your rage out.

The War on Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore (October 29th)
The modern heartland rock kings return with their newest collection of songs. Seemingly continuing the somber approach of 2017’s A Deeper Understanding, Adam Granduciel and company seem to be crafting a record designed to soundtrack the indigo-colored sunsets and amber-tinted afternoons of late fall. 

Minus the Bear - Farewell (October 29th)
My favorite band from high school (one I saw live half-a-dozen times before I could even drive) is releasing a career-spanning live album. Captured on the band’s final tour in 2018, I simply cannot wait to revisit my final two hours spent with the band as they hit all my favorite songs from a decade-spanning career—a true gift. 

Save Face - Another Kill For the Highlight Reel (October 29th)
New Jersey-based shredders Save Face are unleashing their newest collection of songs on the world this fall. Fittingly releasing in the days before Halloween, the Skeleton-adorned and blood-encrusted record is likely the closest thing we will get to a new My Chemical Romance album, so drink it up, get spooky, and rock out. 

Snail Mail - Valentine (November 5th)
The long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s Lush is almost upon us. Initially heralded as a teenage savant, Lindsey Jordan was poised to be the “next voice” of indie rock music. She’s spent the intervening half-decade touring, discovering herself, and enjoying the final stretch of her teenage years. Valentine will likely be a synthesis of all those experiences and emotions. It will also likely be the soundtrack to your crush’s Instagram Stories for years to come. 

Radiohead - Kid A Mnesia (November 9th)
Sorry, but I love Radiohead. A box set of Kid A and Amnesiac is necessary. It may not be my favorite era of the band, but many people look back on this period of Radiohead as their best. Much like OKNOTOK, I’m eager to hear the songs left off the records and experience an overindulgent celebration of all the demos and recordings that missed the cut on these landmark alternative albums. 

Delta Sleep - Spring Island (November 12th)
A mathy combination of TTNG and Minus the Bear, Delta Sleep look at the world through a naturalistic lens and then filter those observations through prog-tinted indie rock. The band’s first album in three years, Spring Island, is building off the rubble of Ghost Cities into something more organic and awe-inspired. 

Snarls - What About Flowers? (November 12th)
If there were any justice in this world, Snarls would have been the biggest band of all time by the end of 2020. At the beginning of the ill-fated year, the group released Burst, a stunning collection of songs that felt primed for the mainstream… then the rest of the year happened. Rather than get dragged down, the group rallied and recorded What About Flowers?, an EP designed to reignite the spark that they’ve been patiently waiting on for nearly two years. With any luck, by this time next year, they will have the listenership they have always deserved. 

Courtney Barnett - Things Take Time, Take Time (November 12th)
The iconic Australian rocker returns from the shadows of 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel with an album that sounds more deliberately laid-back and easy-going. An excellent reminder to take things at your own pace and that good things will come in time. 

Ovlov - Buds (November 19th)
The Connecticut shoegazers are back with their first record since 2018’s Tru. While members have dropped other projects under the names Stove, Pet Fox, and Smile Machine, the group has announced their reformation in earnest with “Land of Steve-O,” a stunning signal of the album to come.

The 2019 Diamond Platters: Swim Into The Sound’s Ancillary End of the Year Awards

Between end of the year awards that start in November and (this year) decade retrospectives that started coming out as early as October, I’m sure you’re as tired of listicle countdowns as I am. That’s why I created The Diamond Platters; the extravagant, opulent, and hyper-exclusive end of the year list designed for people who are sick and tired of end of the year lists.

The Diamond Platters are designed around categories that you won’t see on your average clickbait music review site. You’ll find no “album of the year,” and no high-minded retrospective attempting to weave these songs into some forced narrative of what this year “represented.” No, these are awards designed to highlight music, people, and events that made this year feel special. What follows may not fit into a website’s typical “Best of 2019” list, but still felt important and worth celebrating nonetheless. 

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Best Cover Song

Winner: Skatune Network - Everything
For the last three years, Jeremy Hunter (aka Skatune Network) has been creating some of the best and most consistent covers on the internet. They’re niche in the sense that every cover is ska, but for me, that merely adds an additional layer of charm. The fact that Hunter plays every instrument makes each video a feat of musicality that’s nothing short of wondrous to behold. Whether it’s Billie Eilish, Blink 182, Pokemon, or half of the Counter Intuitive Records roster, Hunter has a knack for making anything and everything sound wonderful and skank-able.

Runner-up: Denzel Curry “Bulls On Parade”
The magic of a cover song is taking something that belongs to someone else and making it feel wholly your own. Rage Against The Machine had a distinct (and hard to copy) sound, but for his cover of “Bulls On Parade,” Denzel Curry took that famous RATM energy and infused it with his own, resulting in a one-of-a-kind performance primed to become a staple of your gym playlist.

Best Album Art of the Year

Winner: Flume - Hi This Is Flume
Album art used to have one job: catch your eye on the shelf of a record store with the hopes of leading to a purchase. Its secondary job was to give potential listeners a visual representation of what the music directly behind it sounded like. Now that every song is one click away, artists have far more flexibility to make album art that fulfills that second bullet point, and this year no one did it better than Flume. The cover to his surprise-released mixtape is not only eye-catching, but it also does a fantastic job of encapsulating the vibrant, violent, and often-clashing elements of his particular version of electronic bombast. Additionally, the way the car was featured in music videos and Spotify visualizers only lent further depth and accuracy to the album cover.

Runner-up: Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won’t Hold
Lineup turmoil and a few mediocre songs aside, the cover to Sleater Kinney’s ninth studio album is a beautiful black-and-white optical illusion, collaging together every member’s face into a mishmash of lips, bangs, and winged eyeliner. It’s an arresting image that also manages to tackle the album’s central theme of being a middle-aged woman in music.

Best Music Video

Winner: FKA Twigs “Cellophane”
When the video for FKA Twigs’ “Cellophane” dropped, you could distinctly feel waves of ‘what the fuck’ reverberating throughout the internet. First off, it’s quite ballsy to release the closing track for your upcoming album nearly six months before its release, but as this video proves, FKA Twigs is a mastermind operating on a level higher than us mere mortals are capable of understanding. Aside from the notable way in which this track rolled out, the video itself is a beautiful and breathtaking meditation split into two main acts. “Cellophane” opens with FKA Twigs embracing her newest passion, pole dancing, in a routine that’s equal parts beautiful and athletic. From there, the video flies into a CGI-fueled acid trip as Twigs ascends into the sky, comes face to face with a robotic version of herself, then comes crashing back to earth in a coat of blood-red paint. This video is unlike anything I’ve ever seen this year, and all we can do is take it in and thank FKA Twigs for being herself. 

Runner-up: The Menzingers “America (You’re Freaking Me Out)”
Much like their music, the lead single off Menzingers’ Hello Exile is at once comedic, self-deprecating, socially-conscious, and pissed-off. Plus, the fact that the music video was filmed in Portland (a fact that I up on based off a strip club in one shot) means that it’s near and dear to my heart. 

Best Album From 2018 That I Missed

Winner: Charmer - Charmer
While I technically listened to Charmer’s self-titled album two times in December of 2018, within the space of a year, Charmer has climbed the charts to become my second most-listened-to album of all time on last.fm. I spent the better part of 2019 listening to the album at least once a day, usually on my way to work, and it single-handedly made my mornings bearable. I’ve seen the group live three times, including a front-to-back playthrough of this very album, and I was there singing along with every word. I can’t quite explain why this record resonates with me so hard, but I imagine it’s a little bit of everything. There’s impeccable emo guitarwork, powerful drumming, and choruses that get stuck in your head faster than you even realize. All of this swirled together into an album that I simply can’t get enough of. I may have arrived at Charmer late, but now I’m glad it’s become a part of my life. 

Runner-up: Guitar Fight From Fooly Cooly - Alpha, Omega, Murphy
Much like Origami Angel, Guitar Fight From Fooly Cooly takes fast-tapping emo and infuse it with nerdom, pop-culture references, and a hearty helping of sincerity. Clocking in at a mere 17 minutes, Alpha, Omega, Murphy is a packed little EP that merely represents the first step of a band riffing their way onto a larger stage as promising up-and-coming members of the 5th wave of emo.

Best Soundtrack of the Year

Winner: Labrinth - Euphoria (Original Score from the HBO Series)
Not only was Euphoria one of the best shows on TV this year, but it also addressed addiction, anxiety, and sexuality with more honesty than anything else on the air. One of the best unsung parts of Euphoria is Labrinth’s excellent Drake-produced score. Whether it was soundtracking a neon-lit high school party or a ten-minute conflict set at the state fair, Labrinth always seemed to know what the mood called for. The result was a soundtrack that perfectly mirrored the emotions poured out on-screen. On top of that, the album is eclectic, containing a range of genres from bumping hip-hop, soaring orchestras, and even some radio-ready pop hits. There’s a little bit of everything in the Euphoria score, and that only ended up elevating what was already one of the best shows of 2019.

Runner-up: Bobby Krlic - Midsommar (Original Score)
Much like Hereditary before it, the soundtrack to Ari Aster’s second feature-length film helps magnify the horror and accentuate the skin-crawling twists. As great at the movie is, it wouldn’t have been half as unsettling without Bobby Krlic’s excellent score lurking menacingly beneath every moment. 

Best Promo

Winner: Prince Daddy & The Hyena “Love Of My Life: Chasing Gold”
Advertising is hard. For bands, it’s a necessary evil to promote their new music. For brands, it’s their bread and butter. Usually any sort of corporate-fueled musical crossover is cheesy as hell, but when Taco Bell asked Prince Daddy & The Hyena to cover a song from their recent biopic-skewering campaign the group jumped at the opportunity (because what emo band doesn’t like Taco Bell?) The result was definitively awesome, true to the band’s style, and hopefully got them a few free Crunchwrap Supremes out of the deal. Really, it’s a win for both parties, with the end result being advertising done right. 

Runner-up: Punk Goes website redesign
The Punk Goes series has always been a stronghold of nostalgia. Sometimes it’s nostalgia for the songs being covered, and sometimes it’s nostalgia for the bands from the listener’s childhood who have resorted to covering an outdated pop song. This year, Punk Goes decided to lean into this aesthetic, completely redesigning their homepage to resemble peak-era MySpace (friends list and all) to promote their third iteration of Punk Goes Acoustic.

Most stank-face inducing song of the year

Winner: Rico Nasty & Kenny Beats “Cold”
The opening track to Rico Nasty’s aptly-named Anger Management is a blistering two-and-a-half-minute takedown of haters and dickriders alike. Backed by a disgustingly-hard Kenny Beats instrumental, the song hits like a ton of bricks. Pair that beat with Rico Nasty’s fast-paced in-your-face rapping, throw in a few screamed ad-libs for good measure, and you got yourself a 100% USDA Certified banger.

Runner-up: Danny Brown “Savage Nomad”
My face every time I hear the opening lines to this song.

What the fuck is this outro????

Winner: 100 gecs “745 Sticky”
I entered 100 gecs’ debut album an innocent man. What I heard when I clicked play on “745 Sticky” was a whir of electronics followed by a barrage of autotuned Lil Aaron-esque raps and Brockhampton-like croons. The chorus hit hard, and the instrumental shook my fragile bluetooth speakers, but the pièce de résistance came at the end where a spike of 8-bit distortion makes way for a hyped-up group chant set to a bubblegum pop beat followed by a dubstep drop punctuated by screams, dog barks, screeching tires, and other stock sound effects. By the time the first song ended I was breathless, shaken, and my speaker had literally rattled off the table that it was sitting on. I felt both confused and seen. Like someone took my Spotify account, highschool music library, and favorite Instagram meme account, then blended them together in GarageBand. Suddenly everything made sense. 

Runner-up: Charli XCX “Click”
Someone on the /r/popheads subreddit said it best: “Had to turn down the volume during Click's outro due to feeling like my eardrums were about to blow up and lose a significant portion of my hearing. 10/10”

Hardest Working Person In DIY

Winner: Lex Atchison of Chatterbot Records
There’s something innately admirable about the DIY hustle. Maybe it’s the fact that no one makes money doing this, and there’s very little clout to be had. That means almost everyone involved in the scene is doing this from a place of love. That means they’re spending all this time and energy for the sole purpose of sharing art they love with the world. In 2019, no one did that better than Lex from Chatterbot Records. This year Lex helped artists release dozens of albums, EPs, and singles. She directed and edited music videos, joined bands on tour, produced dozens of merch items, and launched an ARG album announcement. If that sounds like a fulltime job you’re right. Sometimes DIY takes precedence over a sound sleep schedule.

Runner-up: Alex Martin of Short Fictions, Soft Toss, and You've Got a Friend in Pennsylvania Booking
After helming one of the most slept-upon emo projects of last year, Pittsburg-based Alex Martin showed no signs of slowing down in 2019. This year they booked more than 45 tours for dozens of bands through You've Got a Friend in Pennsylvania Booking, and anyone that’s even so much as touched a tour Google Sheet knows what an undertaking it is. Aside from insane amounts of booking this year, Martin also formed a new band called Soft Toss, and just this month released an absolute heater of an emo album with Short Fictions. The fact that Martin did all of this alongside school and a “real” job seems borderline-impossible to me, but the more I think about it, the odds that they have access to some sort of time travel seems increasingly likely to me. 

2019 Time Capsule

Winner - Lil Nas X “Old Town Road - Remix” Video
The animated music video for the third remix of “Old Town Road” almost has almost too much 2019 in it. Aside from being the biggest song of the year, this video contains Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus, Young Thug, The Yodeling Kid, Thanos, Area 51, and Keanu Reeves Naruto running all in under three minutes. This video represents everything 2019 was about, and I love it

Runner-up: SZA, The Weeknd, Travis Scott “Power Is Power”
Unlike the wholesome goofiness contained in the “Old Town Road” music video, “Power is Power” is emblematic of 2019 for all the wrong reasons. Here we have a shallow music video, soulless verses, and lifeless instrumental that ends up feeling like a blatant cash grab in an attempt to pick a Black Panther-esque hit off the bones of a dying TV show. Yuck.

Too Iconic For This World: Most Breathtaking IG Feed

Winner: Sim Morales of Insignificant Other
Some people simply light up your timeline and provide you with an ever-renewing sense of warm fuzzies with each post. Sim Morales of Insignificant Other is one of those people. Aside from putting out one of the best power-pop records of the year, Sim’s Instagram feed is filled to the brim with killer looks and unforgettable fits. They are a DIY Fashion icon, plain and simple.

Runner-up: Aubree Roe of The Weak Days, Get Tuff, Safe Face, and Jetty Bones
Much like Sim, Aubree Roe (better known as RB) is a constant source of glammy makeup pics that make me feel simultaneously impressed and like one of those memes where people are surrounded by heart emojis.

Most Unexpected Celebrity Appearance

Winner: Strange Magic x Gilbert Gottfried
I don’t know what Mr. Gottfried’s going rate is, but the decision to include him throughout Strange Magic’s blistering 14-minute punk album was nothing short of a masterstroke. First introducing the listener to the record, then quickly moving on to heckling the group as the tracks wear on, Gilbert Gottfried’s presence only elevates an already-fantastic release. 

Runner-up: Mr. Moseby x Surely Temple
When you’re a band, getting people to listen to your album is hard. When you’re Mr. Moseby from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and The Suite Life on Deck, getting people to listen to your album is easy. Truly a genius marketing play by Surely Temple. Plus, it helps that their EP is pretty great (seriously, “enough.” is one of the most slept-on emo songs of the year). 

I Hope Someone Fights Me Right Now

Winner: Kublai Khan TX
I’m generally a pretty happy dude, but sometimes you just need to blow off some steam, and Kublai Khan TX has the riffs, lyrics, and attitude to soundtrack your next fight. Shit hits like a steamroller.

Runner-up: Gulch
I feel like this video explains the energy of Gulch pretty well.

Don’t @ Me: Best Social Media Presence

Winner: Eric Egan of Heart Attack Man
If you follow pop-punk twitter at all, then the phrase “Good morning everyone it’s Eric from Heart Attack Man” is probably all-too-familiar. From daily morning selfies with his coffee and Tik-Tok-ready memes to racking up a nearly $100K bid for a beanie on eBay, Eric has proven adept at garnering attention for both himself and his music through consistent and unrelenting shitposting. While most of it is positive (who doesn’t daily coffee-clad selfies from their favorite frontman?), a recent light-hearted beef with Hot Mulligan over the band’s un-verified twitter status brought even more eyes to the group, further solidifying them as the meme-generating centrifuge of pop-punk twitter.

Runner-up: Chris Farren of Chris Farren
Turning yourself into a meme is a risky gambit. However, turning yourself into a promotional tool for your music seems to have worked for Polyvinyl’s Chris Farren. In between writing his own music, designing his own merch, and putting on his own one-man live shows, Farren has been a consistent bright spot on my social media timeline throughout the year.

Best Single of the Year

Winner: Stars Hollow “Tadpole”
Some bands only put out one song this year, and Stars Hollow might have put out the best. As they shitposted on twitter earlier in the year: “Broke: Stars Hollow only released a single this year. Woke: Stars Hollow released a one song album this year.” They may be joking, but “Tadpole” genuinely comes off as a fully-realized entity that stands on its own more than some full-length albums I’ve listened to this year. Almost a postscript to their 2018 EP Happy Again, “Tadpole” is a continuation of the band’s fresh take on midwest emo. In the band’s own words, “It’s about how I want to be young forever and how I’m anxious that people want me to grow up.” It’s tappy, it’s screamy, it’s really fucking good. 

Runner-up: American Spirits “Retrograde”
This year Bowling Green mainstays American Spirits broke up, played a packed farewell show, and put out two of the best songs of their career. “Retrograde” is merely one half of the one-two-punch along with the cleverly-named “Error 404: Band Not Found.” While these may have been the band’s last songs, there’s also something to be said for going out on top. Plus, the newly-formed Soft Toss and half kidding share many of the same members, so hopefully this won’t be the last we’ve heard from these boys.

Most Goosebump-inducing Moment of the Year

Winner: Bring Me The Horizon “Ludens”
Bring Me The Horizon have transitioned from deathcore to metalcore to metal to rock so gradually I almost wouldn’t have noticed… if it weren’t for fans constantly complaining about it. While I don’t mind the musical pivot, it’s always fun when the band dips back into their hardcore roots whether it’s concert medleys or screams ironically directed at those fan criticisms. Needless to say, when I heard the tight-as-shit breakdown on the Death Stranding one-off “Ludens,” I lost my mind. More specifically, I got full-body goosebumps and my eyes began to water. It’s a flash of old school BMTH that made me feel like I was right back in high school again, even if it was just for 45 seconds. 

Runner-up: Summerbruise “Fricked”
“Well I only get this way after a rough day or if I’m drunk… Well, every day is rough and I’m always DRUUUUUUUUUNK.”

Most Unorthodox (But Noteworthy) Album Rollout

Winner: Bon Iver - i,i
Justin Vernon is an enigma. He puts out albums when he feels like it, and this year’s i,i was no different. Preceded by a bizarre trailer, the album released in-full almost a month before it’s announced date, but that’s not even the weird part. Vernon & Co. decided to upload the album to streaming services one song at a time. Releasing one song each hour, it gave the album drop a notably more communal feel. Instead of rushing through the first listen, Bon Iver gave fans something new to talk about each hour before finally piecing the record together as a whole. 

Runner-up: Lucy Dacus - 2019
Coming off releasing one of the best albums of 2018, Lucy Dacus kept busy this year by putting out a song every month or two. First it was a Spanish cover song, then a song for mother’s day, and finally culminating with a Christmas song, and capped off with an absolutely fantastic original track. Then she was kind enough to wrap up all these singles in a nice little EP for fans. Once again, it’s interesting to see an artist eschewing a traditional “album drop” and opting for one-off loosies every now and then. The difference here is that these weren’t just singles because, in the end, they were all collected in one place for easy listening. This kept Lucy Dacus top of mind throughout the year, and I probably ended up revisiting Historian even more because of it. 

Best Concert Video

industry folk: “what’s a band we should check out”

me: “@macsealband”

industry folk: “nah i doubt they can sell any tickets”

macseal: pic.twitter.com/DJrFxiR2ni

— Counter Intuitive🚀🖼 (@CIRecs) June 23, 2019

Winner: Macseal performing “Next To You” live at East Coast Customs
Live music is inherently hard to translate to any other medium. Sure, you can snap a picture or take a video of a band, but rarely do those snippets capture the energy felt in the room as the songs were unfolding live… Yet this video of Macseal is some of the most contagious energy I’ve seen all year. 

Runner-up: Dogleg performing “Calling Collect” live at Fauxchella III
As I mentioned in my profile on them earlier this year, this video was taken during the performance that single-handedly turned me into a Dogleg fan. It was aggressive, thrashy, and lead guitarist Alex Stoitsiadis capped it all off with a goddamn handstand. After making the rounds on DIY twitter, this video has since been a centerpiece in the band’s Pitchfork Best New Track, hopefully converting thousands more to Dogleg fans. 

Best Headline of the year

Winner: Alex G clarifies he is not Beto O'Rourke, did not piss himself.
Midway through the summer at the preliminary height of the democratic debates, some right-wing nutjob posted a picture of who they thought was Texas senator Beto O’Rourke pissing himself (because I guess that’s the best they can do to bring down Democratic candidates). It turns out the blurry photo was not Beto O'Rourke, in fact, it happened to be indie-folk musician (Sandy) Alex G, who had just released his brilliant album House of Sugar not even one week prior. In a bizarre turn of events that only 2019 can string together, all of this came to light within the space of 24 hours and became the talk of indie water coolers the nation over. What a goofy timeline. 

Runner-up: Celine Dion begs Drake NOT to get a tattoo of her face. Offers to go out with him, do a song together, and hang out with his mother in order to avoid him getting a tattoo of her face.
This headline is runner-up only because this was paraphrased via the /r/hiphopheads subreddit, but still worth mentioning here because it’s an emotional rollercoaster of a sentence.

Porch Beer Album of the Year

Winner: The Berries - Berryland
To be a “Porch Beer” album, you need a few things. Number one: jangly guitars. Number two: a laid-back rhythm section. Number three: a relaxed vocal delivery that pairs perfectly with a warm summer night and a cold beer. All of these elements are found on Berryland in spades. It’s simply a pleasant record; laid-back indie with a twinge of country that makes for a perfect listen on warm summer’s night.

Runner-up: (Sandy) Alex G - House of Sugar
More fitting for the time of the night when you stand up six PBRs deep and the porch starts spinning, Alex G’s House of Sugar is a jaunty indie record that’s occasionally glitchy, jazzy, wandering, and wonderous.

Best Sample of the Year

Winner: Knocked Loose “In The Walls”
The Kojima-helmed PT may have died in development hell, but luckily “In The Walls” makes use of one of the game’s eerie world-building radio broadcasts so that we may never forget. 

Runner-up: 2 Chainz “I Said Me”
I guess this is a good a place as any to admit that The Sound of Music is my favorite movie of all time. Needless to say, when I heard 2 Chainz's “I Said Me” sampling Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things,” I geeked out more than I probably should have while listening to hip-hop about drug dealing and drive-bys. 

Greatest Addition to the Christmas Canon

Winner: Taylor Swift “Christmas Tree Farm”
While she had already made a fabulous contribution to the Christmas Cannon back in 2008, a lot has happened to Taylor Swift in the past eleven years. “Christmas Tree Farm” is a nostalgic original Christmas song that shines with the polish and primp of a 2019 Taylor Swift coming off her sugary-sweet Lover. It swells with a mix of orchestral flourishes, sleigh bells, and harmonized background vocals as Swift waxes poetic about the ideal holiday season that lives in her heart. It’s lovely, cinnamony, and smile-inducing, just like the holidays. 

Runner-up: Phoebe Bridgers “7 O’Clock News / Silent Night”
Now three years deep, it’s officially safe to call Phoebe Bridgers’ Christmas songs a tradition. Following up 2017’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and 2018’s “Christmas Song,” this newest addition to the dour Bridgers Christmas catalog finds her assembling a Mount Rushmore of indie. Enlisting Fiona Apple and The National’s Matt Berninger, the three craft an updated cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “7 O’Clock News / Silent Night,” which Bridgers dedicated to “everyone whose family has been literally or figuratively torn apart by Donald Trump. And to my racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, hypocritical family members, fuck you.” 

Reissue of the Year

Winner: The Beatles - Abbey Road (Super Deluxe Edition)
Abbey Road is my all-time favorite Beatles album, and that makes this year’s reissue even more exciting. Featuring a full-album remix and over 20 tracks of demos and alternate takes, the Super Deluxe Edition of Abbey Road only gives me more reasons to return to one of the greatest classic rock albums of all time. 

Runner-up: The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed (Deluxe)
This year I discovered that my favorite Beatles album (Abbey Road) and my favorite Rolling Stones album (Let It Bleed) both came out in the same year. Mind-blowing timelines aside, that means that two of my favorite albums both got 50th-anniversary reissues this year. While the deluxe edition of Let It Bleed came with fewer bonus goodies than Abbey Road, hearing my favorite Stones album remastered was a beautiful experience to behold. 

Most Slept-upon Release of the Year

Winner: Virginity - With Time
I’ll admit I first checked out Virginity only because of their name, but With Time is so great that they don’t even need a gimmick. Clocking in at a whirlwind 25 minutes, With Time is a punchy, clever, and self-deprecating bout of pop-punky emo most reminiscent of Jeff Rosenstock. I don’t care how many streams the album has on Spotify or how many followers the band has on twitter, whatever it is, it’s not enough.

Winner-up: He Was An Artist, She Was A Carpenter - I'll Never Be As Happy As I Was Last Summer
Self-branded as “zoomer emo,” He Was An Artist, She Was A Carpenter is a band that just happens to tick all of my hyper-specific boxes. Clever song titles? Check. Obscure pop-culture samples? Check. Catchy, twinkly, and nostalgic emo? Triple-check. I'll Never Be As Happy As I Was Last Summer is already a fantastic emo album, but it also happens to be the single most promising release I’ve heard all year. Now’s the time to get up on this band before they’re the next big thing in DIY.

That’s Why You Don’t Publish an Album of the Year List in November

Winner: Georgia Maq - Pleaser
Single-handedly proving why it’s a fool’s errand to publish a (supposedly comprehensive) list of the best albums in November, Georgia Maq surprise-dropped her synth-pop debut on Run For Cover this December. Famous for Camp Cope, where she defiantly fronts one of the best pop-emo groups in the southern hemisphere, Pleaser sees Maq swapping her guitar for a synth and shedding her anger to don the persona of a pop artist who’s fallen deeply in love. Still bearing her trademarked Melbourne-accented croon, Pleaser is unexpected not only in that it’s a surprise release but also in that it’s one of the best-constructed pop albums of the year. Should be an easy contender for many last-minute album of the year lists. 

Runner-up: Short Fictions - Fates Worse Than Death
This December also saw the release of one of the best emo albums, Short Fictions’ sophomore record Fates Worse Than Death. Bearing horns, impassioned vocals, and tight choruses, there’s a good reason why Fates has been making the rounds on emo twitter, even this late in the year. 

Best Interpolation

Winner: We Came As Romans “From The First Note” 
We Came As Romans was one of my first real concerts. I use “real” in the sense that it was the first concert I went to with people who were my age and not just my parents. To this day, I distinctly remember We Came As Romans taking the stage and playing the first song “To Plant A Seed.” Midway through the song I’d fought my way through the crowd, braved the moshpit, and made my way to the first few rows of fans before the end of the song. The track concludes with a powerful group chant that found the entire band lining up at the front of the stage harmonizing with the crowd. There’s a snapshot in my mind of that exact moment, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Kyle Pavone’s passing in 2018 was a loss for both the band and the genre, but I think that he would be happy knowing that memory will live on forever in me. And now, thanks to “From The First Note,” that feeling has been bottled up for the rest of time. In this song, the group sampled their own song ten years later in memory of their fallen frontman, and it’s absolutely chilling. “From The First Note” is simultaneously catharsis for the band and a reward for longtime fans. Nothing will ever replace the loss that Kyle’s friends and family felt in August of 2018, but this song will forever act as a beautiful memorial. 

Runner-up: Summerbruise “Bury Me At Penn Station” 
Imagine this; you’re already 12 minutes into a fantastic emo EP, vibing out to the last song when suddenly the unmistakable words of Drake Bell’s “I Found a Way” shoot through the front of your speakers. No, this isn’t a dream, you’re just listening to Summerburise, and it’s beautiful. 

Live Album of the Year

Winner: Vulfpeck - Live in Madison Square Garden
Simply life-affirming. 

Runner-up: IDLES - A Beautiful Thing: IDLES Live at Le Bataclan
Gripping, dynamic, and explosive. Exactly what live music should be.

Nastiest Bass

Winner: Russian Circles - “Arluck”
With a bassline that can only be described as “evil,” Russian Circles came out strong in the first half of the year when they released “Arluck” as the lead single to Blood Year. Much like the band’s previous work “309,” “Arluck” features a demonic bassline that thumps through your speakers, rattles the fillings out of your head, and makes you want to set everything around you on fire. 

Runner-up: Varials “Romance”
In what’s essentially a two-minute interlude from a brutal onslaught of metalcore, Varials gave their audience a breather with this Nine-Inch-Nails-interpolating track that allows for some of the most chunky and destructive bass lines of the entire record. 

Biggest Come Up

Winner: Lil Nas X
I think it’s safe to say that no one in the entire world had a better 2019 than Lil Nas X. If his story is to be believed, this time last year he was living on his sister’s couch with less than zero dollars to his name. He bought a $30 beat online and then posted it on Tik-Tok until it became a meme. From there, the story of “Old Town Road” is mostly public knowledge. The song transformed from meme into social cause when Billboard said the song did not “merit inclusion” on the Country charts only for Billy Ray Cyrus to come to the song’s rescue, giving Nas the assist (and legitimacy) to push forward to the top of the charts. Now “Old Town Road” has become the longest-charting song of all time, spending a grand total of 19 weeks at #1. Lil Nas X came out as gay at the height of the song’s popularity and has gone on to chart with songs like “Panini” and “Rodeo.” Now the world waits to see what the 20-year-old wunderkind will do after making the single most defining song of the year. 

Runner-up: Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish was a known entity long before 2019; however, this year marked the release of her debut album, her first #1 song, and countless sold-out shows on a year-long worldwide tour. Not only that, Billie managed to release a legitimately-great album that crossed boundaries and proved pop music doesn’t need to be traditional, sexy, or “normal” to be commercially successful. She’s the face of a new generation, and this year solidified it. 

Cozy Album of the Year

Winner: Great Expectations - Figures of Speech
Sometimes an album just feels cozy. As if it’s made for the express purpose of staying in, wrapping yourself in a blanket, and sipping on a hot cup of tea as you listen to it. Great Expectations' Figures of Speech is one of those albums. Filled with lush folky instrumentation, subdued Owen-esque arrangements, and softly-whispered vocals, it feels like the musical equivalent of sitting by a warm fireplace and looking out the window as the snow comes down in blankets outside.

Runner-up: Jack M. Senff - Good To Know You
I guess Michigan bands just know how to make cozy albums because ex-emo frontman Jack M. Senff’s debut solo album is a wholesome and comforting record seemingly designed for easy-morning Sunday listening.

Best Remaster

Winner: Dance Gavin Dance - Acceptance Speech 2.0
Post-hardcore mainstays Dance Gavin Dance have spent a better part of this year releasing instrumentals versions of their entire catalog. That instrumental avalanche (alongside one-off singles, acoustic tracks, and side projects) has kept fans more than satisfied. Not only that, but this year the group also revisited their 2014 album, and my personal favorite, Acceptance Speech for a “2.0 version” that makes the mix less muddy, the instrumentals more full, and the vocals even sharper. Acceptance Speech 2.0 gives fans a welcome reason to revisit the humble beginnings of the band’s current era.

Runner-up: August Burns Red - Constellations (Remixed)
Following up last year’s remaster of their best album, August Burns Red continued forward, touching up 2009’s excellent Constellations to sound much more clean and modern. 

Best Song Title

Winner: closure. “Alien vs. Predator vs. Brown vs. the Board of Education”
Filed under both “songs names I wish I’d come up with” and “joke that would have popped off on twitter,” the discography of closure. tends to lean into ridiculous over-the-top song titles, but “Alien vs. Predator vs. Brown vs. the Board of Education” takes the cake.

Runner-up: Proper. “A$AP Rocky Type Beat”
In a brilliant and culturally-aware meme-worthy move, Proper. turned a search term into a song title. Not only that, this song title fits into the group’s ethos calling into question the space between “emo-ness” and blackness. I can only hope that this song got the band got some runoff streams from confused hip-hop fans.

Split of the Year

Winner: Portrayal of Guilt / Soft Kill
There’s an art to a split. Bands have to find another group that they get along with well enough to coordinate an entire release (even if it’s less substantial than a full-length). Generally speaking, your music would line up stylistically, but that’s not the case with Portrayal of Guilt and Soft Kill’s split from this summer. Instead, we have a brutally-fast deathcore track followed by a synthy 80’s throwback jam making for one of the weirdest, most whiplash-inducing one-two punches of the year.

Runner-up: Niiice / Gully Boys
Here we see two massively-underrated Minnesota artists team up to help the world realize that they should be overlooked no longer. From the emo horns and dreamlike breakdown of Niiice’s “Caffeine” to the post-punky goodness of Gully Boys’ “Little Brother,” this split offers an excellent entry point into both of these band’s already-fantastic catalogs. 

Song of the Year

Winner: The National “Light Years”
I can only describe “Light Years” as achingly beautiful. Written at the same time as “Carin at the Liquor Store” off of 2017’s Sleep Well Beast (probably my favorite song of that year), “Light Years” is a song that adapts itself to whatever emotion you bring into it. Grief? Longing? Heartbreak? “Light Years” is malleable and applies to each and every one of them. Centered around a heavenly piano line and Matt Berninger’s remorseful delivery, the song hits like a ton of bricks and captures raw emotion in a way that very few songs seem to. 

Within the space of three and a half minutes, the song builds from those two core components and slowly starts building a near-imperceptible emotional weight. Gradually new elements begin to emerge as the song wears on. A background singer joins in for the first chorus. A subtle string section accentuates the song’s second verse. By the song’s second chorus, kaleidoscopic swirls of ambient noise in the background subsume the listener, lifting them up into the air. The track ends with a meditative instrumental outro where the piano, strings, and hushed vocalizations give you the sensation of floating off into space as you sink deeper and deeper into your emotional state. It’s nothing short of masterful. 

Runner-up: Slaughter Beach, Dog “Anything”
Closing tracks are hard, but Slaughter Beach, Dog seems to have a knack for them. Whether it’s the breathless one-two punch of their debut album, the wholesome love found on 2017’s Birdie, or the raw humanity seen on the band’s newest record. 

“Anything” takes an entire lifetime and compresses it down into a four-minute song. Jake Ewald jostles the timeline around like a Tarantino movie and then presents this journey to us as a wondrous and awe-inspiring tale. The song begins capturing minor frustrations like car troubles and running out of smokes, then moves on to more substantial looming discomforts like drifting away from friends and loved ones as Ewald flashes forward from ages five, ten, nineteen, and eighty-four. After a short instrumental interlude, the vocals return as Ewald pleads with the listener to swim out to him, finally ending with a message that beams with hope and optimism “Anything you want to know, you can find out / Any place you want to see / I can promise I will be a friend to you / If you will be a friend to me.”

Most Anticipated Release of 2020

Winner: Charmer - LP2
There’s a lot to be excited about in 2020. Long-awaited follow-up albums from indie darlings like Phoebe Bridgers and Japanese Breakfast. Debut albums from promising up-and-comers like Beach Bunny, and Dogleg. Big moves from personal faves like Retirement Party and Just Friends, and The Wonder Years. And of course, big-name releases from people like Fleet Foxes and Tame Impala.  Yet with all of that new music coming at us within the next calendar year, the album I’m most excited to hear is Charmer’s sophomore effort. As mentioned above, within the space of one year, the band’s debut became my second-most played album of the last ten years, so it’s safe to say I’m a fan. I’m both excited to see what the band comes up with next and anxious to see if it connects with me in the same way that Charmer did. Perhaps that collection of songs was just lightning in a bottle, but I’m holding out hope that the group’s new album will surpass it.

Runner-up: Stars Hollow - Debut Album
This year I had an unabashed love affair with Stars Hollow. I fell in love with the group’s 2018 EP, I saw the band live three times, and I even interviewed Tyler earlier this year because I had that many questions about his music. The group is comprised of some of the sweetest and most talented people I’ve ever met in the music scene, and I sincerely believe they will go far. As I (also) talked about above, if “Tadpole” is anything to go off of, the group has a long and fruitful future of goosebump-inducing emo that somehow has a direct line to my emotional core. The prospect of a full album from these guys already has me excited for the next year to start.