FAVORITE LYRIC
I'll never get over / Not getting under you.
COMMENTARY
Nick's debut album was one of my favorite albums of 2014 (and is my 20th most played album of all-time), so I had high expectations for the follow-up. While Last Year Was Complicated didn't surpass NJ for me, the strongest songs (many of which were preview singles) still helped the album rack up plays and land in my top 10. It's worth noting that one of the very best songs on the album is Testify, a bonus track that should have been on the standard in place of one of the few filler tracks.
FAVORITE LYRIC
Well they said I'm too loud for this town / So I lit a match and burned it down
COMMENTARY
Elle King followed up her Grammy-nominated smash single Ex's & Oh's with America's Sweetheart, a vastly superior song that unfortunately didn't see the same level of success. The song's lyrics are kind of funny when you consider the fact that Elle is the daughter of a famous actor, but I still love the message, the raw vocal, and the singalong chorus.
#9: GEMINI FEED
Banks
FAVORITE LYRIC
Ode to my two thighs / I still want you to kiss 'em 'cause they're lonely
COMMENTARY
Banks' debut album is one of my all-time favorites, so I was very eagerly awaiting the follow-up. While first single **** With Myself was cute enough, Gemini Feed was released in August and instantly got me hyped for The Altar. It sets the mood for the album well, has one of her catchiest choruses, and I love the lyric structure (the first and second verses rhyme with each other).
FAVORITE LYRIC
I remember us, you were a late summer bliss / One of those moments that just slip / But you feel it from your heart to your fingertips
COMMENTARY
One Republic is a band that occupies a weird place in my standom; they don't have any bad albums (only Waking Up is just OK) and even have a few albums that I love from front-to-back, but I still don't call myself a stan despite their consistency. Anyway, that consistency continues here, on the excellent (if somewhat bloated) Oh My My. I think the first few tracks are oddly dull for opening the album, but the middle stretch makes up for it. Now if only Ryan would stop giving all his worst tracks to Adele
Gemini Feed The first song I heard from BANKS and apparently I started at the right place as it's her best one yet.
Oh My My Another awesome OneRepublic album, though they could've trimmed a few songs off. When I saw that there were 20 tracks on it I got super excited, but it's really a lot to go through.
FAVORITE LYRIC
Consuming all the air inside my lungs / Ripping all the skin from off my bones / I'm prepared to sacrifice my life / I would gladly do it twice
COMMENTARY
This entry shares similarities with my last one: like Nick, Shawn Mendes's debut album completely surprised me when it came out and quickly turned me into a stan. It eventually became my 9th most played album of all time (just below Mariah's debut!!). Illuminate is a good sophomore album and develops his sound, but it feels more filler-y than the debut. As you can see from the "Highlights," this album had the issue of releasing most of its strongest tracks ahead of time (I'm starting to tire of this release method). While the album lacks another big TYB-like single (No Promises is coming, eventually!), Shawn sounds great on it and I'm excited for whatever comes next.
But still ready to see what you got 
