1. After Laughter – Paramore
I tried to write a full review of After Laughter but none of my drafts were even close to express my thoughts and feelings about this album. It’s easy, yet difficult, to articulate just how fantastic After Laughter is. It’s such a change from Paramore’s previous releases and I think that Paramore made the best decision by going this route. It’s a gamble to completely change your band’s sound, but I think the gamble totally paid off and that it was the best thing Paramore did. I could hear some of their new sound on their self-titled release, but I never thought that their fifth album would be a colorful, retro dream. Each Paramore album is more mature than the previous, but After Laughter is the most mature and grown up record in their discography. It is a striking reminder that life is not always peachy and that hope can be dimmed. This is the most honest album I have heard in quite a while and it is refreshing to hear it coming from Paramore.
2. Harry Styles - Harry Styles
This is as surprising to me as it is to you. I am not a One Direction fan by any stretch of the imagination and I don’t like any of the other member’s solo work. Except Harry Styles. This is one of the handful of albums that doesn’t have any songs I skip. This album clearly has retro influences and Harry isn’t shy about sharing his love for older bands and artists - he did a fantastic cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” on a BBC Live Lounge, and has talked about being greatly influenced by David Bowie and Pink Floyd. I am excited to see where Styles takes his solo material in the years to come.
3. Science Fiction - Brand New
Note: I began creating this list and writing about Science Fiction well before the news about Jesse Lacey came to light. I’ve wrestled with keeping this on the list and writing about it since then. Brand New, as a whole, mean a lot to me and their music means a lot to me – Science Fiction is no exception. If anybody has issues, comments, or wants to further discuss why I left it on the list, do not hesitate to reach out to me. I would be more than happy to talk about my reasoning.
When Brand New’s ‘Fifth Album’ was announced, I cried in a Michael’s craft store (then the parking lot of said craft store). I immediately purchased the ‘Very Limited’ vinyl and tickets to their Boston tour date without knowing anything about the final Brand New album ever. This album has been on this list since it was released. Brand New has outdone themselves yet again. Every album is more abstract, introspective, and better than the one before. This album is the perfect synthesis of The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me and Daisy. I have listened to this record too many times to count and I find something new with each listen. The lyrics are artfully crafted and paired perfectly with melodies and rhythms. It only seems fitting that this is Brand New’s last release. Science Fiction will never beat The Devil and God for me, but it comes pretty darn close.
4. Good Nature - Turnover
I didn’t think Turnover were going to go full dream-pop on Good Nature, but they did and I love it. This album makes me think of summer and everything that comes with it; sunshine, beach trips, late nights, sunsets, driving with the windows open, the whole nine. It has a super smooth flow from beginning to end and I love that. This album has a much more positive feel both musically and lyrically compared to Peripheral Vision. Turnover means a lot to me, as does this album. Good Nature is like instant happy for me and never fails to put a smile on my face and brings me back to warm summer days that turned into cool summer nights.
5. True View - Stick To Your Guns
It took a few listens for me to really fall in love with True View. To me, since The Hope Division was released, Stick To Your Guns can’t release a bad album. The things talked about on True View are more introspective than last year’s EP, Better Ash Than Dust, and their last full-length album, Disobedient. They have never shied away from putting out records with politically-charged commentary, but I am glad they didn’t go that route with True View. During a year where politics was at the forefront of basically everything, I greatly appreciated this record for not being political. This album has a slightly different sound from their previous albums but it is still the Stick To Your Guns we all know and love.
6. Turn Out the Lights - Julien Baker
I don’t even know where to start with this album. I absolutely loved Sprained Ankle and Turn Out The Lights is like a more grown-up Sprained Ankle. The first time I heard "Appointments," the first single off this album, I cried. Baker has a way with saying things eloquently without sugar-coating the truth. That is a difficult thing to do, but Baker does it perfectly with every song she releases. This album is honest and real. Baker has a way with words and creating music that sticks with you.
7. Waiting for Morning to Come - Being As An Ocean
I fell in love with this album the first time I listened to it. But then I fell out of love with it. Then in love with it again. I love Being As An Ocean and their entire catalog of music but Waiting for Morning to Come is very different from their previous releases (Being As An Ocean, How We Both Wondrously Perish) and it is a complete departure from their first release, Dear G-d. The instrumental tracks between songs helps the album flow unlike others on this list. Joel Quartuccio is a brilliant lyricist and his abilities shine on this record. I’m incredibly glad that Being As An Ocean bought out their contract to release this album because it seemed like Equal Vision was never going to.
8. Melodrama – Lorde
It took a long time for Lorde to grow on me after the release of Pure Heroine. I could not stand "Royals" and hearing that song everywhere turned me off to Lorde completely for a while. Once I came around to liking her, she has become one of my favorite female pop artists of all time. Melodrama is much more mature and has a different energy than Pure Heroine which I love. Lorde has really grown up and matured and this album shows that growth along with the troubles that come with it.
9. A Black Mile to the Surface - Manchester Orchestra
I listened to this album after seeing just about everybody talk about it on Twitter and Instagram and it was like nothing I have ever heard from Manchester Orchestra before. This album is complex, haunting, and rich. With each listen, I hear more and more little things I had missed before. Each song tells a story and the lyrics are incredibly well-written. The record as a whole flows beautifully from beginning to end.
Honorable mentions
1. Ritual (EP) - Envy On The Coast
2. As You Please - Citizen
3. Feel Something - Movements
4. From the Unforgiving Arms of God (EP) - END
Were there albums I completely missed this year that you loved? Tell me! Send me a message or tweet!
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