Ever wondered about what Sims-Urbz teas lounge music you'll play in your future swanky apartment with an aquarium, art deco artwork and a beautiful city view? Look no further
34 coffee
Miguel
coffee is probably the best summary of Miguel's reinvention as a carnal, bona fide sex panther. The song boils up with brilliant imagination, Miguel purring "I wish I could paint our love", but it all comes down to simply coffee in the morning. It's not his most vicious, sexual metaphor, but rather it's a small detail which appeals to our senses: or something so vivid in smell, taste and touch, maybe not so much in words.
33 Mascara
Jazmine Sullivan
Jazmine described this song (or at least her album in relation to this song) as a time capsule. From this and looking at this song, it's pretty obvious why Reality Show is titled as such. Mascara is pretty voyeuristic, to the point of discomfort, where Jazmine is obvs being sarcastic about them fake bitches. It's also an amazing smooth jam with references to Freakum Dress and Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe - what's not to like?
32 Annie
Neon Indian
VEGA INTL. Night School is such an eclectic mix of influences am not sure where to look, but I think the best quality of the music is the way it doesn't take retro influences just to fetishise them, but the way it imbues a sense of nostalgia into them, which is captured in Annie's urgency to find the song's namesake.
31 Even If I'm Loud It Doesn't Mean I'm Talking To You
Tove Styrke
Even If I'm Loud is probably 2015's best answer to a The Ting Tings revival. It's brazen, feminist, fun, and probably something best explained by Tove herself: "[it] is a shocking pink **** you to all the people who think their penis bands are automatically more talented than one twenty-something girl on stage."
Honestly, what's not to love about a song that attacks the patriarchy and rockism in one?
It's not just the fact that one of Kiddo's virtues is that of the catchy songwriting from the opener's huge chorus to Even If I'm Loud capturing The Tings Tings wonderfully, but there's an intelligent message which pervades the album too. Tove described Borderline as being about 'burning down the patriarchy', or, even better, describing 'Even If I'm Loud' as being "a shocking pink **** you to all the people who think their penis bands are automatically more talented than one twenty-something girl on stage." This girl is amazing.
I think the most admirable thing about Kiddo is that it aims to be daring and contentious, and, in a way, it knows the best way to do that is by making patriarchy-dismantling pop music. It doesn't care if you slap misogynistic and derogatory labels on pop music, because it frankly doesn't need your approval.
This is one Tove who can make a consistent album!
14 Love Is Free
Robyn & La Bagatelle Magique
Speaking of Swedish people
I was never able to connect with Robyn's music as much as other people (what kind of attempt to kickstart a chorus is 'I'm in the corner / Watching you kiss her') which probably speaks bounds to the pretty transcendent nature of Love Is Free, which is simple, visceral dance music at its most energetic, dynamic, and fun. The most simple interpretation of the 'Love Is Free' idea is probably the age-old 'money can't buy you happiness', but this EP has a weightlessness far from 2014's heavier Monument, which is maybe just celebrating the liberating nature of love and music which makes you want to throw your body around
13 Honeymoon
Lana Del Rey
After being the snide naysayer following her first two albums, to being the casual listener who wasn't sure whether [the good half of] Ultraviolence was a fluke, I guess you could say that Honeymoon was finally the LDR album which converted me.
I've always been aware of Lana's talents for strong pop melodies, but I always wished her lyrics weren't so predictable. I guess it's ironic that the album to convert me would be the one which would continue to ignore my wishes, but Lana stubbornly ignoring her detractors and making the most LDR-sounding album to date is both a testament to her strong branding and her self-awareness.
There's something genuine in Lana's brand of artifice. Honeymoon is self-indulgent, but it freely admits so. It doesn't want to give us the real, human record, because it knows that the real world is ****ed and could never satisfy our inert love for artifice and tragedies, whether we like to admit that or not. You can read more of my thoughts on Honeymoon here
And yes, the UV-stans and the less fortunate BTD-defenders, this is her best album!
Jazmine described this song (or at least her album in relation to this song) as a time capsule. From this and looking at this song, it's pretty obvious why Reality Show is titled as such. Mascara is pretty voyeuristic, to the point of discomfort, where Jazmine is obvs being sarcastic about them fake bitches. It's also an amazing smooth jam with references to Freakum Dress and Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe - what's not to like?
Just listened to the Tove Styrke album yesterday I really liked it especially Even If I'm Loud It Doesn't Mean I'm Talking To You so it's good to see it here.
I like Coffee and Honeymoon as well from this set.
After being the snide naysayer following her first two albums, to being the casual listener who wasn't sure whether [the good half of] Ultraviolence was a fluke, I guess you could say that Honeymoon was finally the LDR album which converted me.
I've always been aware of Lana's talents for strong pop melodies, but I always wished her lyrics weren't so predictable. I guess it's ironic that the album to convert me would be the one which would continue to ignore my wishes, but Lana stubbornly ignoring her detractors and making the most LDR-sounding album to date is both a testament to her strong branding and her self-awareness.
There's something genuine in Lana's brand of artifice. Honeymoon is self-indulgent, but it freely admits so. It doesn't want to give us the real, human record, because it knows that the real world is ****ed and could never satisfy our inert love for artifice and tragedies, whether we like to admit that or not. You can read more of my thoughts on Honeymoon here
And yes, the UV-stans and the less fortunate BTD-defenders, this is her best album!
Wow, you better stan for talent.
Coffee and Mascara are really good too, highlights on their respective albums.
I like all of Jazmine's references to other people's music on Reality Show, it gives the album a lot of relatability, and a modern touch, on a more throwbacky album.
Annie
I'm not sure if I would call Honeymoon Lana's best exactly, but I like it a lot.
I forgot Robyn released an EP. I'll have to check that soon.
After being the snide naysayer following her first two albums, to being the casual listener who wasn't sure whether [the good half of] Ultraviolence was a fluke, I guess you could say that Honeymoon was finally the LDR album which converted me.
I've always been aware of Lana's talents for strong pop melodies, but I always wished her lyrics weren't so predictable. I guess it's ironic that the album to convert me would be the one which would continue to ignore my wishes, but Lana stubbornly ignoring her detractors and making the most LDR-sounding album to date is both a testament to her strong branding and her self-awareness.
There's something genuine in Lana's brand of artifice. Honeymoon is self-indulgent, but it freely admits so. It doesn't want to give us the real, human record, because it knows that the real world is ****ed and could never satisfy our inert love for artifice and tragedies, whether we like to admit that or not. You can read more of my thoughts on Honeymoon here
And yes, the UV-stans and the less fortunate BTD-defenders, this is her best album!