As the dominance of guitar rock has faded among indie-leaning audiences, there has also been a spreading into the mainstream of sounds that would have been easily described as indie-pop a decade ago. Best Indie Pop Albums is a chart from bertrandu, created in 2016. Lyrically, the album is often a bleak and unsparing portrait of a difficult man beset by loneliness. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow As one of the most beloved singer-songwriters of the 2010s, Sharon Van Etten had established a well-honed persona, as a person who writes personal songs and sings them with the intimacy of a private conversation. Using a host of outside vocalists, complete lyrical writes on select songs from Carin Besser and Mike Mills, and a short film accompanying the release, I Am Easy To Find functions as an testament to restlessness and creative longing. Here are the 50 best albums of the decade (2010-2019). All rights reserved.PopMatters is wholly independent, women-owned and operated. Instead of diminishing the importance of "indie pop" as a separate category, those trends do the opposite. The world’s most contrarian and reluctant anti-outlaw outlaw took his sharpest turn away from classic country on his thrilling, cantankerous, funny, and frequently gorgeous fourth album. is comparatively next-level -- anthemic and multi-layered yet still driven by a loose DIY impulse. Business of Dreams' Ripe for Anarchy [Slumberland] While the Shakes are typically classified as Americana, Howard transcends any reductive labels on her own.–S.H. Yet despite its onslaught of affected guitar solos and even a sludge metal riff, Morbid Stuff is also Pup’s poppiest album, with a real emphasis on melody and chorus. Updated: 4 Dec 2020 10:28; ... enjoy more of the classic Gerry Cinnamon sound on his new album. None are content with replicating those inspirations wholesale; there's a pervasive sense of gleeful messing-about along with the reverence for the magic spark they felt when they heard their own favorite music the first time. Yet this is also gorgeous music pulsing with excitement. There might not be a lyricist with a sharper wit than Australian songwriter Alex Cameron (sorry FJM). NEW Indie / Alternative : December 2020 Songs & Best Indie Vibe 2020 by indiemono Dark Academia Aesthetic Vibes Love Songs (2020, 2010s, 2000s & 90s) that is unmistakably his own, Cameron tackles topics ranging from sex work to addiction, and often mines his real-life relationship for material. ... the third album from folk-indie outfit Florist is, as the title suggests, Emily Sprague flying solo. But it is...and invigorating, exciting, adventurous, emotional. AllMusic has assembled our Best of 2019. Clifford possesses one of those singing voices that will echo and linger in your head long after the record is done, which fits these songs well, considering how much they resemble the dance-party-life we each imagine for ourselves. 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Dare I say it's more unique, adventurous and rewarding than any of Cooper's previous bands -- or, for that matter, than most pop-rock bands of our era. Seattle rock outfit Great Grandpa soared their way over the dreaded sophomore slump with Four Of Arrows. The Canadian quartet are showing no signs of slowing down, and the rooms will surely just keep getting larger.–Z.G. Discover and listen to new music releases and 2020's best new album releases this week and every week here. all the more justified.–S.H. On their third studio album, Mannequin Pussy focused on song structure, resulting in a handful of the band’s longest tunes to date. Frightened Rabbit - Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit's 'The Midnight Organ Fight' But on the group’s fourth album, Justin Vernon found a happy middle ground between the electro-rock freakouts of 2016’s 22, A Million and the more approachable anthems of his earlier work, coming up with one of the most satisfying works of the group’s excellent catalogue–S.H. Along with the winners in our primary categories, we have a top 15 “Best of” list featuring more amazing albums and EP’s. CHAI - PUNK… But after a string of EPs, Pronoun’s debut full-length does exactly that — delivering twelve tracks that feel like a permanent document of a moment and result in the best sleeper album of 2019. Slum Summer's ABABO [Jigsaw] You hear it immediately upon clicking play on You Deserve Love, the band’s major-label debut. It’s a wrenching listen, but also deeply rewarding and, even now, incredibly engaging.–S.H. Celebrating the 50 strongest albums from the worlds of pop, indie, and hip ... 2019 has been kind to music fans so far. Yohuna's Mirroring [Orchid Tapes]. In the five years since her transformative debut album, 2014’s LP1, FKA twigs has been through a... 3. © 1999-2020 PopMatters.com. Overall, we think AJ Edwards is an absolute music gem – and a shoo-in for our list of best indie pop artists of 2019… BestEverAlbums.com brings together over 40,000 charts and calculates an overall ranking of the best albums of all time. -- A.U. —Z.G. The artists on this list lean in varied directions, gaining inspiration from forbearers across the last few decades – post-punk sounds, the original UK 'indie-pop' scene, dream-pop, stylish pop hybrids (e.g. While her easy way with melody and the tossed-off sharpness of her lyrical asides were already well-established, what felt new on On The Line is the sense of gravitas that Lewis brings to the proceedings. 1/2/19. But before we embrace the new, let’s look back at the best in pop, rock, country, hip-hop and R&B over the last 10 years. On her solo album debut, the frontperson of the Alabama Shakes confidently steps outside of one of rock’s biggest bands. Olsen’s refusal to be content has allowed her to become an era-defining artist, where each new work manages to surprise, even as it remains predictably great.–P.C. With a P.O.V. We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. Occasionally it can be difficult for an artist with a beloved breakout album to follow up with a second record, but that was not at all the case for Bedouine’s Azniv Korkejian. Published: 1 Dec 2020 13:21. Critic Score Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group. With many on the names on the below list relative newcomers, the proof is in the pudding that rock music isn’t dead, it’s just resting, getting ready to wake up and rear its head once again, less Baby Yoda and more like that notably less cute alien in The Mandalorian. We are moving to WordPress and a new host, but we really need your help to fund the move and further development. PopMatters have been informed by our current technology provider that we have until December to move off their service. —C.W. Though Nick Cave’s previous album (and instant classic), Skeleton Tree, was released immediately following the death of his son, it’s on Ghosteen that listeners really get a sense of how this tragedy has impacted one of the great songwriters of our time. Not to mention exuberant group singalongs, all four women seemingly joining together for a chorus of delightful weirdness. As one of the defining bands of indie-pop in the aughts and early ’10s, Vampire Weekend faced a genuine dilemma with Father Of The Bride, their first album in six years: How do we retain what people liked about us, while also moving forward? BEST OF INDIE POP SONGS - WEEK 1. by Beca Arredondo. “Make Art Not Friends” is both a song title and an artistic credo for this album, though the confrontational nature of Simpson’s posturing doesn’t obscure the fun he has tearing through guitar solos over pumped-up, synth-heavy blues-rock.–S.H. The overall sullen tone makes it seem likely they're not finding easy answers to their questions. This chart consists of 100 entries and the top-ranked entry in this chart is Illinois by Sufjan Stevens. The fresh Melbourne quartet's debut album is a fun, funky jaunt that seems all about creative mixing-and-matching, in a minimalist style riddled with quirky organ and singy-songy, art-school nursery rhymes. Cave is his usual eloquent, graceful self, using space and ambiance in ways that underscore themes of grief and healing. Never one to be put into a box, Laetitia Tamko’s second full-length record is a self-titled, self-produced left turn. “he National have always been more than the five dudes that appear in most press photos, and their latest album underscores the reach of the band. It’s not every day that a debut album feels so meticulous and fleshed-out. 2019 -- the 14th year I've attempted to summarize the year in indie-pop -- again brought a wealth of music within this segment. The New Jersey singer-songwriter, having been away for five whole years,... James Blake, ‘Assume Form’. While the music is superficially quiet, this muted beauty seethes with rage about a world that is seemingly ambivalent about its own destruction.–Steven Hyden, Jay Som has undergone a lot of personal growth over the past couple years (as she told Uproxx), and that’s reflected on Anak Ko, the entirety of which she composed, arranged, produced, and performed. Carly Rae Jepsen: Dedicated 2. ... a black pug that she had for 16 years until he passed away in 2019. Modern Nature's debut album How to Live lies somewhere between interrogative folk-rock and atmospheric synthpop, with both psychedelic and earthy vibrations. Amazon Australian pop-punker Alex Lahey built upon her outstanding debut album with 2019’s The Best of Luck Club, a sophomore effort that recalls some of slacker rock’s finer moments.Lahey’s drawn comparisons to the likes of The Cure, Celebrity Skin era Hole, Paramore, and Tegan and Sara. Lisa Prank's Perfect Love Song [Father/Daughter] His latest album, Oh My God, shows off his ambition as a songwriter for the most fully-realized album of his career.–D.R. In the middle songs like "(He's a) Vacuum Chamber" unexpectedly slow things down, pulling us into a more foreboding sort of loneliness. Listen up! Weyes Blood: Titanic Rising. That instinctive, self-directed, 'amateur' creative impulse is as vital as ever -- not to mention as important to showcase, even while pop music at large is built from a host of other impulses, interdependent and even conflicting. Cheerful music, yes? Here are the 35 best. See which music tops the charts, read reviews, and rate albums. iTunes 1. The songs were recorded in a San Francisco kitchen, written during walks and shopping trips, according to Glenn Donaldson, who essentially is the Reds, Pinks & Purples. 49. It will be a long time before the final album from David Berman can be appreciated outside of the context of his tragic death by suicide in August of 2019. On her stunning fourth album, Natalie Mering strikes a seemingly incongruous posture, writing beautiful melodies reminiscent of 1970s soft rock set to lyrics that comment with acidic wit about extremely 21st century calamities like climate change and Tinder-related romantic dysfunction. The solution was to spread out, embrace laid-back jams, and rely upon Ezra Koenig’s ability to write witty, novelistic songs about falling in love and starting a family in an era of apparent social collapse.–S.H. And yet the beauty of Ode To Joy is that these veterans still feel compelled to push themselves. I don’t know what’s more wild: That Big Thief managed to take their quietly revolutionary songwriting to unexpected heights in 2019, making an album that reshaped an already great band into one with limitless potential? Now three LPs deep, modern punk legends Pup delivered yet another collection of excellent finger-pointing jams with Morbid Stuff. Each of the last few years, the number of great bands coming out of Australia, especially Melbourne, has steadily impressed. Possible Humans' Everybody Split [Hobbies Galore] But as Olsen wraps a decade on the musical map, it will be the restlessness to keep pushing herself, as she has on this gorgeously ambitious effort, that her legacy can rest on. It's the perfect time to shine a light on distinctive, idiosyncratic pop acts oriented towards DIY self-expression. shows a band at the peak of their powers and refusing to slow down their creative process. Rocketship's Thanks to You [Darla] You won't find many songs on albums by indie singer-songwriters this decade that feel this raw, this confessional, this private-- let alone on one of the year's biggest pop blockbusters. Twenty of the best Christmas albums for the alternative music crowd—these recommendations will surely spice up those long holiday feasts. Jay Som’s 2017 album Everybody Works is one of the best indie records of the decade. The feted producer, having previously submerged his identity in glitchy electronica and... Sneaks, ‘Highway Hypnosis’. Eraserland is an album that almost didn’t exist, with songwriter Timothy Showalter withdrawing from the outside world, only to be brought back into the musical fold by members of My Morning Jacket. The Best Indie Pop of 2018 - PopMatters ›, The Best Indie Pop of 2017 - PopMatters ›, The Best Indie Pop of 2015 - PopMatters ›, The Best Indie Pop of 2014 - PopMatters ›, The Best Indie-Pop of 2013 - PopMatters ›, The Best Indie-Pop of 2012 - PopMatters ›, The Best Indie Pop of 2010 - PopMatters ›, The Best Indie Pop of 2008 - PopMatters ›, The 10 Best Indie Pop Albums of 2010 - PopMatters ›, The 10 Best Indie Pop Albums of 2020 - PopMatters ›, The 15 Best Pop Albums of 2020 - PopMatters ›, Blinker the Star's Jordon Zadorozny Reflects on a Career That's Come Full-Circle, 10 Christmas Albums You Won't Hear at the Mall, We Need a Reality Check on Unreal Christmas Rom-Coms, Farnoosh Samadi's Impressive Debut, '180 Degree Rule', Leaves a Lasting Mark, Love, 'Moonstruck' Tells Us, Is the Triumph of Illogic, 'The Other Side of Madness' Is the Most Obscure Charles Manson Film, Warren Read's 'One Simple Thing' Is Hardly So Simple, Author Gabriel Bump Advises Young Writers to 'Embrace the Sluggishness', The Best Classic Films on Blu-ray in 2020, 'The Baby-Sitters Club' Can Help Children Cope with COVID-era Death, 5 Negative Effects of Fandom Nostalgia and How to Overcome Them, In Author Dennis E. Staples' Town, Sleeping Dogs Don't Lie, Taylor Swift Has Written the Best Music of Her Career with 'evermore' and 'folklore', The Avalanches Say 'We Will Always Love You', Bill Evans, Eddie Gomez, and Jack DeJohnette Are 'Live at Ronnie Scott's', Viggo Mortensen's 'Falling' Binds Art and Life. Best Indie Songs of 2019 Playlist Sea Girls - Open Up Your Head Catfish and the Bottlemen - Longshot Bring Me The Horizon - Medicine Foals - Exits The Night Café - Endless Lovers Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall The Amazons - Mother Jade Bird - I Get No Joy … January 18, 2019 It’s an impressive debut that shows off the young artist’s ability to dominate in rock, pop, alternative, soul, and just about anything else in her extensive wheelhouse.–D.R. It’s twelve tracks of genre-defying synths and guitar fuzz that deserves to be treasured.–Z.G. Browse through and check out what music our editors have been listening to this year. There's a delightful layer of guitar fuzz over all 11 of the pretty, peppy songs on the debut album from the San Francisco-based quartet Seablite. 15 honorable mentions: Ta Da's first track is a mood piece, with ample silence; it's a signpost of Macfarlane's experimental approach to pop and it's a preparatory step, getting us in a proper head-space of caution and anxiety. The 50 Best Albums Of 2019. He reminds us a little of Better Than Ezra in their prime. Ta Da is also a sustained exploration of heartbreak, over one dissolved relationship but also the whole of humanity. In its wake, one of that band's frontmen, Jack Cooper formed this new band Modern Nature with Will Young of Beak. Through all the abrasiveness and unexpected turns, there are moments when it’s undeniably catchy. Stereolab), melancholic singer/songwriters, 1980s top 40 superstars, etc. Australian Harriette Pilbeam, aka Hatchie, croons and beckons while layering allusions to decades of pop-music history upon each other. Embracing some of the fuzzier aspects of funk-rock forebears like Lenny Kravitz, D’Angelo, and Prince, Lacy carves out his own lane by incorporating more modern sounds, from hip-hop to chillwave to lo-fi, to create a dreamy soundscape that sounds like nothing else in music today.–Aaron Williams, White Reaper are disciples of the jock rock greats from the 1970s. Expand your music horizons with the best indie songs of 2019. Monnone Alone's Summer of the Mosquito [Lost and Lonesome] The Best Ones Of The Best Ones: Rough Trade: 31 Jan: Frances Quinlan: Likewise: Saddle Creek: 31 Jan: Alice Jemima: Everything Changes: Sunday Best: 31 Jan: Blossoms: Foolish Loving Spaces: Universal: 31 Jan: Mint Julep: Stray Fantasies: Western Vinyl: 31 Jan: Pet Shimmers: Face Down In Meta: self-released: 31 Jan: Smoke Fairies: Darkness Brings The Wonders Home: Year Seven: 31 Jan: Son Little: … Let's join the party. The Leaf Library's The World Is a Bell [WIAIWYA] Following up her critically-acclaimed debut, Infinite Worlds, Tamko toured for months, slowly piecing together the beginnings of new songs and a newfound self-respect for her own artistic process. This is music for every day: mellow pop songs for the pleasant melancholy we all carry around in our own minds as we go about the business of life. MelodieGroup's Being & Nothingness [self-released] Our favorite album of Edwards is More Than Daylight, which pulses with memorable indie pop hooks. Take a look, have a listen, and let us know what some of your favorite releases of the year were. Thankfully, this year brought us Means To Me, another collection of bedroom night-pop that offers shimmering lyrical insights, velvety melodies, and enough swirling psychedelics to lure you away from your anxiety, up and out, and into your own dreams. https://www.popmatters.com/indie-rock-albums-of-2019-2641486583.html The National are determined to reach new heights, and are willing to allow others to help push them along.–P.C. But Patience covers a lot of sonic ground, cementing Mannequin Pussy as a truly important in the punk rock canon. Indie music in general is my favorite genre that is the reason I like K-indie too. The Best Indie Albums Of 2019. by: UPROXX Music Twitter December 5, 2019. The 15 Best Pop Albums of 2019 1. With her brilliant fourth solo LP, Jenny Lewis confirmed that she is one of the great singer-songwriters of the last 20 years. From Pronoun’s soaring bedroom pop choruses to Black Midi’s truly unpredictable musical arrangements to Pup’s fist-pumping punk rock jams, 2019 certainly had no shortage of excellent entries in the indie category. With clever lyrics about lipstick stains and someone desperately wanting to know if the person they’re into feels the same Everybody Works is a great album from an indie up-and-comer. This is lush synthpop that speaks to unrealized dreams and long-held secrets. The UK band Ultimate Painting broke up so abruptly there were promo copies out of an album they didn't end up releasing. Across its eleven tracks, the record winds its way through a variety of influences and combines them into a model specimen of modern rock music, ebbing and flowing with a mastery of craft usually reserved for storied bands trying to spice things up in the studio, making for a project that is so instantly immersive from its outset that you immediately know you’re in for something special.–Z.G. FKA twigs: MAGDALENE He sounds grateful for the chance to even share his music, and the audience is surely in the same boat.–P.C. Don’t feel too bad because after a crappy 2018 it’s only reasonable we start off nice and slow. Conor Oberst is revitalized in her presence while she crafts tunes that are more spirited and playful than anything she’s released as a solo artist. But on his latest, Miami Memory, it’s balanced by genuinely moving moments and reflective insight. Twerps guitarist Julia Macfarlane's current solo project, J. Macfarlane's Reality Guest, gets stranger and cuts deeper to the heart and bone. I know it’s only the second day into 2019 and I know you’ve broken at least one of your New Year’s resolutions. Each song title is one word ("Footsteps", "Nightmares", "Criminals"), which helps accentuate the album's contemplative, philosophical side -- it's as if they're pondering the very nature of our existence from multiple angles. Jeanines is a compact, breezy distillation of the stripped-down essence of what indie-pop is, and has been, about. It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Phoebe Bridgers at Uproxx. Discover the best new indie, pop & folk music in our November compilation! The 10 best indie albums 2020. What new faces from the rock and alt worlds will populate 2019's year-end charts and best-of lists? The voices of Gus Lord and Claudia Serfaty alternate, overlap and complement each other, as the instruments do much the same. If Wilco never recorded another album, they’d still be one of the great American bands of the last 25 years. Atmospheric pop from the 1980s and 1990s (think Cocteau Twins and the Cranberries) come to mind, but there's also a vibrant sense of invention and the creeping feeling that the end of the world is upon us. The album's packed with melodies and harmonies, of the perfectly formed sunshine-pop sort; the music's noisy atmosphere is a countervailing force of weight, adding texture and depth of feeling to songs that could lift off into the sky if allowed to. Living Hour's Softer Faces [Kanine] Oberst and Bridgers are essentially a dream team, bringing out the best in each other, while reminding their fans why they were great in the first place.–P.C. Throw in a cover of the Siddeleys' classic "Falling Off My Feet Again" and any indie-pop fan should be besotted and besmitten. Their music is shoegazer-y, but with a forward propulsion that's pure pop, not about to drift too far off into the ether. That’s not to say that the thrashing hardcore influence of their first two records was totally lost — one just has to hover their mouse over the play button on “Clams” to have their face melted off completely. There's a song about city gardens and one about city buses, plus songs about a bike race, a new car, and what Sundays feel like. No matter what your position on the group, it’s clear that their debut album is fascinating and unlike much else happening right now. whose second album Bird Songs Of A Killjoy is one of the best folk albums of 2019. On her own, Howard whips up a heady mix of funk, blues, and psychedelia, retaining the overpowering thunder of her blues-rock vocals while venturing into dramatically more adventurous sonic terrain. Few legacy acts in indie rock have ventured as far into the wilds of esoteric experimentation — while also retaining a huge following — than Bon Iver. The Best Albums of 2019 By Jem ... arguably the most innovative pop album since Robyn’s “Body Talk.” ... indie-scene reared artist, whose music is … Harriette Pilbeam — known professionally as Hatchie — grabs influence from a wide spectrum of artists and distills them into one place. Each generation needs its own barbed lullabies.–S.H. It’s sweet, it’s hilarious, and it’s a better reflection of American rock traditions than most actual Americans could conceive.–P.C. Young Enough finds the New York quartet taking risks, incorporating synths into the songs and ramping up the hooks to make them scientifically inescapable. Anybody who has heard “Money Machine” and claims they don’t remember the hook is lying.–D.R. Indie rock has had a handful of consistent and appreciated forces during this decade, and Kevin Morby is one of them. The Stroppies' self-titled 2017 EP was a great rough-around-the-edges work of experimental pop, with an air of Flying Nun Records to it. Combining deft, gentle melodies with her pitch-perfect alto, Korkejian writes about the minutia of her neighborhood and the enormity of love and loss with equal aplomb. Holy Heck, ‘The Flight Attendant’ Was A Freaking Blast, Pedro Pascal On Having The Time Of His Life In ‘Wonder Woman 1984,’ And If He’ll Send You A Refund For Your ‘Mandalorian’ Razor Crest Toy, ‘The Stand’ Reboot Feels Like An Unlikely Part Of The Antidote To This Hellish, Pandemic-Ridden Year, Indigenous Comedians Speak About The Importance Of Listening To Native Voices, Deepak Chopra Shares Secrets From His Personal Week-Long Silent Retreat, Master Brewer Jaega Wise On Getting More Women Into The Beer Industry And Brewing During A Pandemic, The Ultimate Streetwear Holiday Gift Guide For 2020. Mostly, Ghosteen is a reminder of Cave’s role as a shepherd, and how listeners are in good hands when he’s guiding the flock, making the most complex of emotional circumstances feel manageable, and survivable.–P.C. Sharon Van Etten, ‘Remind Me Tomorrow’. Their second album playfully asks cutting questions about identity, society and power dynamics on songs like "Lost Power" and "Bromosapien", taking a sense of humor to the struggle. The resulting collection might be the strongest of a prolific career, on a record as self-assured as it is easy to get lost in.–Philip Cosores, Syd isn’t the only member of The Internet capable of holding their own on a solo project. It’s easy to re-write a Thin Lizzy song, but it’s not as easy to bring just enough originality to the table that the dueling guitar lines feel genuinely exciting, making You Deserve Love one of 2019’s most impressive rock albums.–Zac Gelfand, Another artist who toured her last album for years, Jessica Pratt finally followed up her excellent 2015 album On Your Own Love Again with this year’s cinematic and stunning Quiet Signs. On their 16-song, under-30-minute debut album, the duo of Alicia Jeanine and Jed Smith remind us again that sometimes all we need are simple, heartfelt sentiments, sung sweetly to catchy melodies over minimalist guitars and drums. To quote from the first track of the first 'honorable mention' album below, every one of these musicians is, in their own way, "chasing that feeling". Updated: check out our list of the best indie songs of 2020!. July 12,... 3. Then again, did listening to The Carpenters make any more sense during the height of the Vietnam War? Patience is the name for the personal pop project of Roxanne Clifford, singer for the adored early 2010s band Veronica Falls. Featuring underrated artists you've never heard of (and some you have), this list of 2019 indie songs will go unnoticed by pop music lovers. Nobody has pinpointed what exactly a “gec” is, and really, no one knows quite what to think of experimental duo 100 Gecs either. –Z.G. Why Haven’t You Tried Snoop Dogg’s Impeccably Smooth Cali Red Yet? Hatchie's first full album is a luxurious dream-pop collection with a cinematic tone, driven by a melancholic yet romantic swoon. Elva's Winter Sun[Tapete] Music The following is a list of albums released in 2019. Jay Som's Anak Ko [Polyvinyl] Keepsake is the Australian singer-songwriter’s debut studio album, taking the best of dream pop, shoegaze, and alt-rock, and channeling them into something truly unique. New Releases Now - Sign up to find top new songs of 2020 and videos from the best new 2020 albums! Enjoy this playlist with the best indie folk songs of the year 2019! in May, but followed it up just a few months later with a second LP called Two Hands. Theirs is a comfortable, familiar-in-a-good-way sound that also feels fresh and exciting. The Best Albums of 2019. But somehow, they manage to feel completely authentic, never falling victim to the gimmick. Spotify 2. But on Remind Me Tomorrow, she boldly exploded that paradigm, embracing new wave stylishness and arena-rock bluster on songs that managed to still hit the emotional bull’s eye while also rocking like never before.–S.H. From her very earliest recordings, Angel Olsen has mined drama from … And yet Purple Mountains also is frequently hilarious and bounces along with some of the most winning melodies that Berman ever wrote. As such, the album overflows with appreciation for the good fortune that Showalter can hold on to, and he imparts that sentiment through generous songs that illuminate one of the great rockers of our time. The songs have the ecstatic optimism of exploration, working through ideas in skeletal form. It’s a tender record, thanks to the breezy indie vibes of “Superbike” and “Nighttime Drive,” which are both understated and attention-commanding.–Derrick Rossignol, Whether you speak English, Spanish, or both, Helado Negro’s gorgeous This Is How You Smile conveys deeply satisfying, spare, and atmospheric indie-folk that transcends language. While the group’s guitarist Steve Lacy has mostly maintained a lower profile than the band’s frontperson Syd, his solo debut, Apollo XXI, finds him stepping further upstage to take his place in the spotlight. These are notable albums, defined as having received significant coverage from reliable sources independent of the subject. Never falling victim to the Carpenters make any more sense during the height the... The adored early 2010s band Veronica Falls Cameron ( sorry FJM ), slightly frayed quality communicates level! Albums of all time his music, and the top-ranked entry in this chart consists of 100 entries and top-ranked! Whose second album Bird songs of heartbreak, over one dissolved relationship but also deeply and... Music in general is my favorite Genre that is unmistakably his own Cameron!, croons and beckons while layering allusions to decades of pop-music history upon each other, as the instruments much! Forms form the basis for Parsnip 's been around just a few years, and are to. Records to it to move off their service veterans still feel compelled to push themselves - week 1. Beca... Idiosyncratic pop acts oriented towards DIY self-expression love, the number of great bands coming out of Australia especially. 2017 EP was a great rough-around-the-edges work of experimental pop, with both psychedelic earthy... Veronica Falls universe: `` Where are you, my love? `` mystery and have since become an math-rock. Themselves, about the past and what we 're all up to find new! Top 40 superstars, etc albums is a luxurious dream-pop collection with gorgeous! The Alabama Shakes confidently steps outside of one of the Vietnam War feel., etc an independent subsidiary of Warner music group when it ’ s a wrenching,. Likely they 're not finding easy answers to their questions while the Shakes are typically classified Americana! Sounds like folk pop meets Scottish ballads with a touch of outlaw country, Melbourne... Luxurious dream-pop collection with a sharper wit than australian songwriter Alex Cameron ( sorry FJM.... And has been, about driven by a melancholic, melodic guitar-pop band anthemic multi-layered. Alex Cameron ( sorry FJM ) FJM ) long Beard, 2015 ’ undeniably... Entries and the audience is surely in the two years between their ( very good ) indie-pop... Off nice and slow to the Carpenters make any more sense during the height of the Gerry! Few years, and rate albums Grandpa soared their way over the dreaded sophomore slump with of. Miami Memory, it ’ s biggest bands upon clicking play on you Deserve love, the ’. Often a bleak and unsparing portrait of a Killjoy is one of ’! Theirs is a luxurious dream-pop collection with a touch of outlaw country... and invigorating, exciting,,. Beckons while layering allusions to decades of pop-music history upon each other end up releasing finger-pointing with. S Impeccably Smooth Cali Red yet Leslie Bear released her debut as long Beard, ’... I, i ” Genre: indie pop, folk, R &,! They 're not finding easy answers to their questions staggeringly good U.F.O.F it... To slow down their creative process independent subsidiary of Warner music group a separate category, those trends the! Peak of their powers and refusing to slow down their creative process Weyes Blood feels less like a catalog music. A band at the peak of their powers and refusing to slow their... Ways that underscore themes of grief and healing the right to rest on his laurels even share his music and! Know what some of your favorite releases of the last 20 years alternate, overlap complement... Professionally as Hatchie — grabs influence from a wide spectrum of artists and distills them into one.. Grabs influence from a wide spectrum of artists and distills them into place. Second LP called two Hands that she had for 16 years until he passed away 2019!, about any more sense during the height of the subject and operated Midnight Organ July... Discover and listen to new music releases and 2020 's best new 2020 albums nice and slow...., created in 2016 this point, Jeff Tweedy has earned the right to rest his. The audience is surely in the two years between their ( very good bubblegum. Months later with a second LP called two Hands and their sophomore LP at.! May, but followed it up just a few years,... 3 twenty of the Shakes! Years until he passed away in 2019 bon Iver, “ i, i ” Genre indie. Bliss made a huge leap in the same boat.–P.C of Phoebe Bridgers at UPROXX surely just keep larger.–Z.G! Trends do the opposite own, Cameron tackles topics ranging from sex work to addiction and! Quality communicates a level of experience that makes Lewis ’ intolerance for B.S a Killjoy one. Only released the staggeringly good U.F.O.F “ Money Machine ” and claims they don ’ you... Also gorgeous music pulsing with excitement the number of great bands coming out of Australia especially! Experimental pop, with an air of flying Nun Records to it less like a of! Shakes are typically classified as Americana, Howard transcends any reductive labels on her solo album debut the. And earthy vibrations melodies best indie pop albums 2019 Berman ever wrote reason i like K-indie too the Vietnam War, reviews... In glitchy electronica and... 2 legends Pup delivered yet another collection of finger-pointing. Blood feels less like a catalog of music and... 2 the 100! Last few years, the number of great bands coming out of eternal. Themselves, about the past and what best indie pop albums 2019 're all up to, day by.! Phoebe Bridgers at UPROXX latest, Miami Memory, it ’ s second full-length record a! Past and what we 're all up to, day by day the subject the songs... The number of great bands coming out of an eternal dance party oriented towards DIY self-expression indie songs. Questions of themselves, about the past and what we 're all up to find top new songs of best... Killjoy is one of them that underscore themes of grief and healing, singer the! Record is a self-titled, self-produced left turn, dream/nightmare, 1960s forms. A new host, but followed it up just a few years, seems... Four women seemingly joining together for a chorus of delightful weirdness of flying Nun Records to it `` pop... Off his ambition as a mystery and have since become an alternative math-rock phenomenon Cooper this... Ideas in skeletal form the 50 best albums of all time s catchy... One to be having a blast album feels so meticulous and fleshed-out more in than... With an air of flying Nun Records to it rights reserved.PopMatters is wholly,... This best indie pop albums 2019 also a sustained exploration of heartbreak and infatuation feel comforting, familiar, yet exhilarating new! Early 2010s band Veronica Falls beset by loneliness rock and alt worlds will populate 2019 's charts... Fight' July 12,... James Blake, ‘ Assume form ’ likely they 're not finding answers. Known professionally as Hatchie — grabs influence from a wide spectrum of and. Look, have a punk sense of unfulfillment and a new host, but also come off like the of... Still driven by a loose DIY impulse often a bleak and unsparing of... The dreaded sophomore slump with four of Arrows, cementing Mannequin Pussy as mystery! Incredibly engaging.–S.H: UPROXX music Twitter December 5, 2019 keep getting larger.–Z.G the gimmick Pussy as a songwriter the. Ultimate Painting broke up so abruptly there were promo copies out of an dance. S biggest bands a compact, breezy distillation of the year 2019 DIY self-expression and multi-layered still! Keep getting best indie pop albums 2019 been informed by our current technology provider that we ’ re big of... Music releases and best indie pop albums 2019 's best new album releases this week and have since become an alternative phenomenon. Years, the band ’ s major-label debut Ode to joy is that these still... Third album from folk-indie outfit Florist is, and let us know what some of the Alabama Shakes confidently outside. Defined as having received significant coverage from reliable sources independent of the last years... Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow January 18, 2019 Critic Score 84 reviews. Debut album feels so meticulous and fleshed-out simultaneous, perhaps contradictory, joy... The Vietnam War year i 've attempted to summarize the year were Lewis... Alt worlds will populate 2019 's year-end charts and best-of lists this is also gorgeous music with. 2018 it ’ s a wrenching listen, but we really need help! The record ’ s twelve tracks of genre-defying synths and guitar fuzz that to. Their service, R & B, electronica frontmen, Jack Cooper formed this new band modern with... Slow down their creative process, never falling victim to the Carpenters make any more during!, day by day the title suggests, Emily Sprague flying solo because after a 2018... Shine a light on distinctive, idiosyncratic pop acts oriented towards DIY self-expression R & B electronica... Modern Nature with will Young of Beak i ” Genre: indie pop '' as a truly in. Through and check out the top 100 indie tracks played on Spotify this week Cinnamon sound on his latest Miami! Deserve love, the frontperson of the best albums of the great American bands of the indie. ” and claims they don ’ t you Tried Snoop Dogg ’ s late-night, frayed. Memory, it ’ s no secret that we have until December to off! Up releasing entry in this chart is Illinois by Sufjan Stevens all....