I did this last year and I liked it. I hope other people got something out of it too... because I'm on that bullshit again.
To clarify, since I didn't last year, this is mostly not music that came out in 2019. This is about albums that I listened to front-to-back in 2019. One of them came out in 2019 but a lot of them are actually arguably pretty fucking old. I am trying to confine the list to stuff that is on Spotify so those of you that use Spotify can also listen to it. I will put a playlist here with a song from each album that I discuss.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4PXiCYZRUVUUtd3c0o8wb5?si=9g5wS6yLRneSNfkVT8KNoQ
Chaos Chaos by Chaos Chaos [2019]genre: indie, synthpop
Don't worry, the rest of them won't be this goddamn long.
Remember that episode of Rick and Morty Season 2 where Rick is sad at the end? Remember that song that plays that made you want to cry? That was by Chaos Chaos (that song is called "Do You Feel It?"). They made a full-length album in 2019 and I really like it. The first time I listened to it, I grinned ear-to-ear for most of the album. It has been a ridiculously long time since that has happened. Something about Chaos Chaos's new album though really struck a nerve consistently. Now having listened to it a few times, I don't love it as much. I wouldn't consider it one of my favorite albums of all time or anything. Easily top 30 for the decade though, probably top 20.
Chaos Chaos is a group of two ladies that make poppy music with a rock edge. They do a lot of vocal harmonies and they are really good at taking simplistic, repetitive beats and changing up just enough to make them interesting. "Committed to the Crime" is the EP with "Do You Feel It?" on it and I think that this EP is a poor representation of what to expect from Chaos Chaos as a whole. "S" is superior in my opinion. More importantly and accurately, it represents what I like about the band. They are great with composition, sound design, and vocal quality when it comes to presenting a mood more than just a tone. "S" creates that variety and carries a unique enough sound to not feel like a stereotypical indie two-person pop group. There is something more serene and eerie about Chaos Chaos though that makes me not want to call them pop, kind of like how St. Vincent and Lana Del Rey fall into a certain category but are way too unique to fall victim to that category. This makes Chaos Chaos difficult to recommend to people. Fortunately, Rick and Morty forced one song onto people so now they at least know who I'm talking about. *dons feathered cap* Yet alas, I still feel like they really don't.
*takes off feathered cap... for now*
What I like about "Chaos Chaos" as an album is that it feels more personable. Like "S", it is very emotionally versatile, which I personally appreciate a lot. The album is never too sad, too silly, too cynical, or too angry. It really feels like a fluid experience despite not being a concept album (or at least I haven't been informed that it is). "S" felt a lot more otherworldly for "pop". That's why I like it and why it is probably still my favorite by them overall. "Chaos Chaos" (by Chaos Chaos) is a bit more accessible and feels more like a rock album with synths instead of guitar focus. Most of the album hits hard for these reasons. There are a few songs that I don't mind having on in the background while I'm driving or typing but they don't really stand out as well as the other songs. I know you can say that about almost any album but I really feel like there are a few songs on the album that take away from the album as a whole. In my opinion, an album with four songs I really like and eight songs that bore me is not an awesome album. Even a half-in-half ratio I would not consider it great. Like "2112" by Rush: "2112" is one of my favorite songs by the band, "Tears" is cool, "A Passage to Bangkok" is fun, "Something For Nothing" is kind of okay, "Lessons" sounds like some AC/DC bullshit. Would I recommend "2112" to someone by that merit? Absolutely, but I would do so with the disclaimer that it's not all gold. Some of it is copper and "Lessons" is that weird deteriorated shit that grows on copper. I guess that's sort of how I feel about "Chaos Chaos" but without the extreme lows. I could say there is a "Lessons" equivalent but it still is not nearly as grating or inexcusably lame as "Lessons". Probably "Berlin" off the top of my head. The worst parts of Chaos Chaos's new album are still fine. The ratio is more of an 80/20 than "2112"'s 60/40 if that makes sense. I'm getting close to numbered score territory so I should move on to another album. Yeeeuck.
This album feels sentimental on almost every feel I can think of so if you want to listen to it, here you go:
spotify:album:6hm7Kun6RH4I8KExbTisqG
https://open.spotify.com/album/6hm7Kun6RH4I8KExbTisqG?si=wCsXhFAWSjyta_Mcy9OMeQ
Shaking the Habitual by The Knife [2013]
genre: experimental electronic
When people say "I like some weirder stuff", they usually don't mean this. Even when people say they like "noisy stuff", they usually mean Daughters or something else that is usually just math-rock with a lot of dissonance. Shaking the Habitual is not the weirdest thing that Karin Dreijer has ever done but it's an arguable top 3 (if you don't count Fever Ray concerts). There are definitely beats and occasional melodies here but as far as a general audience is concerned, the rest will melt your brain. However, the versatility of Karin Dreijer's voice and their unapologetic creativity gives this album goosebumps. Also, it's just a creepy sounding album. I'm not talking that Avenged Sevenfold bullshit where the guitarists find out what a harmonic minor scale is and throw in some minor seconds to throw 13-year olds through a loop. Shaking the Habitual sounds like it was created by a specter. This is what demons call Top 40. Does that make sense? And it's not to say it's all noise. A lot of it is pretty catchy. But there's a reason that there's only one relatively popular song in The Knife's fanbase and general notoriety from this album. No, it's not because the album sucks, it's because the rest of the album is just too fucking weird. And for many of you, that will mean it totally sucks. I still love it. I love it a little less now that it's fever dream shock value has diminished but I like that it's a psychedelic trip that can be enjoyed track-for-track and back-to-back. I feel like that's kind of rare.
Have fun living an auditory nightmare while wide awake:
spotify:album:6GWQ6fq8krujlglglMPyPu
https://open.spotify.com/album/6GWQ6fq8krujlglglMPyPu?si=iChWQ7l6SrGN3xrlewwEgg
Plunge by Fever Ray [2017]
genre: electropop
Into Dreijer's less weird (but still pretty damn weird) work, we have Fever Ray. I was remiss and disappointed in myself for never getting around to Plunge when it was new. I feel like an actual jackass for not listening to it sooner. It has so many fun songs on it. The most infamous album by Fever Ray is the self-titled, debut album, Fever Ray. That one was melancholy brooding in music form but not in a lame emo way. It's on that level of weird but more dancey. That's the best way I know how to describe it in a paragraph. I have been a fan of The Knife for about 5 years now and still say Plunge is one of Karin Dreijer's best albums overall.
Join me on the bright side of this hellscape:
spotify:album:3UHMhYzYnfTBEuDxb1JmxC
https://open.spotify.com/album/3UHMhYzYnfTBEuDxb1JmxC?si=iQQOUur9S92Qc4dRfyrK5g
Comedown Machine by The Strokes [2013]
genre: indie rock
Honestly, Comedown Machine is just a sequel album to Angles. There is a more laidback tone toward the end of the album where there are more soft songs than there were on Angles. They have equal tonal variety but overall it teeters on the edge of a formulaic cliff. This is why a lot of people don't talk about Comedown Machine and why a lot of fans frankly don't like it as much. Personally, I don't see "sequel to Angles" as a net negative. Angles was a great fucking album. This one's not as great but it doesn't have to be in order to be another great album.
Enjoy Angles Jr.:
spotify:album:4WnkQO4xD9ljQooB3VIxCV
https://open.spotify.com/album/4WnkQO4xD9ljQooB3VIxCV?si=g3uCyPkjQcShReZfbfp2uw
Fragile by Yes [1971]
genre: prog rock
For years, I didn't like Yes because everyone I knew that did like them was a 40+-year-old guitarist. I gave this album a chance because it's seen as one of the big ones. I don't think (and correct me if I'm wrong) that fans consider Fragile to be Yes's Master of Puppets. More accurately, I think they see it as one of the best diving board albums for newcomers to Yes. Again, I could be completely wrong. Overall, I would say this is a great album to dive into for the prog-rock genre as a whole. I still love Rush way more than Yes but I don't think any solitary Rush album would do the genre justice as much as Fragile would into being an accessible prog album that's not too heavy and not too weird while still demonstrating what to expect from the genre. On its own, it's pretty damn good anyway. The vocals are much more impressive than what one would expect from an early 70s rock album and the overall composition is ahead of its time, even considering the genre. Like I said before, it isn't trying to out heavy or out-speed anything. It's also not just "Roundabout: The Album" so don't expect it to be. It all sounds like it fits together purposefully. The album is a cohesive piece of art. I would be more disappointed if it was "Roundabout: The Album". I like having a prog-rock album in my known arsenal that I can recommend to such a wide array of people.
Show the other dad-rock albums that you mean dad-business:
spotify:album:4X6gq5bgpGXcHINlFWzriM
https://open.spotify.com/album/4X6gq5bgpGXcHINlFWzriM?si=LzbwqbAMSOqOxdwDQ8rkeQ
Invisible Touch by Genesis [1986]
genre: new wave
You know Phil Collins and if you don't he's the guy that kept singing over Disney's Tarzan while you were trying to watch funny monkeys swing around. Genesis was the band he did before he became a household name on his own. Invisible Touch is the album with "Land of Confusion" on it and I did not expect it to have so many weird synth choices and a fucking 10-minute prog-rock track that is not just a bunch of Pink Floyd-y guitar wank bullshit. In fact, despite what one would expect from an 80s rock staple album, there is a pretty surprising balance of guitar and synth-based arrangement here. By no means is it the best album I've ever heard, not even close but it's one I have and still will recommend to others without feeling embarrassed. A little boomery, maybe but not embarrassed.
He sings about monkeys on this album:
spotify:album:632b0oXuFpstA4DO2cUKdG
https://open.spotify.com/album/632b0oXuFpstA4DO2cUKdG?si=uFC-hU-BS4yyUJe8EFtwag
Loopified by Dirty Loops [2014]
genre: jazz fusion, pop-rock
Dirty Loops is one of the five-million YouTube bands that do covers of really popular songs that kids born between 1985 and 2010 will recognize, for better or worse. The difference between Dirty Loops and the other 4,999,999 bands is that Dirty Loops has three instrumentalists that are better at playing their respective instruments than I will ever be at music as a whole. Their keyboardist who does the lead vocals is also fucking ridiculous to watch and listen to. After years of a few originals slung about with mostly covers of Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Adele shit, they made a full-length album and it's a good time. That good time is called Loopified. Now recently (2020), they have been putting out more original work and it's good stuff. I hope this means a new full-length is coming soon but I digress. Even if you absolutely despise the song they're covering, the cover is usually much more impressive and listenable. I didn't know "Roller Coaster" was a Justin Bieber song until I researched this album more. This was also after hearing the whole album a few times. This is a small testament to how creative and imaginative their covers are. I recommend them on their own. However, their original work is nothing to stick my big-ass nose up at either. One of my personal favorites by them is their (amazing) cover of the (kind of lame) hit "Circus" by (contractually incarcerated, Google "Free Brittney") Britney Spears. However, "Crash and Burn Delight" hits me just as hard, if not harder because it isn't a silly Britney Spears cover. They clearly know how to make their own pop song too but are just too busy being amazing at jazz fusion to pull a Maroon 5. It took Maroon 5 three albums to become terrible though so I shouldn't count my polyrhythmic chickens before they hatch.
Enough of me gushing about Dirty Loops. Go listen to Loopified for yourself:
spotify:album:4XAAYiLpnRgXBBbBW53C8D
https://open.spotify.com/album/4XAAYiLpnRgXBBbBW53C8D?si=P79W5H__RRSg3lyyc-fwSQ
