DalekTurret32

Some clues for the Top 10 10. sounds like a 1980s soundtrack 9. UK rap 8. debut album 7. One of the producers of this record sadly passed away in 2019 6. first album in 5 years 5. you make my earth quake 4. two-in-one 3. see 21 2. lead singer of one of my favourite bands 1. you may have been expecting fish in the top 10, but they didn't show up. So here's my number one pick

ALBUMS 15-11 15. The Cinematic Orchestra - To Believe The Cinematic Orchestra have returned to the concert hall for the first time in 12 years with approximately 54 minutes of a breath-taking ambience. The lyrics pack in an emotional depth that fit magnificently with the tones of the album. Fave Tracks: A Promise, Lessons, Zero One/This Fantasy 14. Sleaford Mods - Eton Alive A humorous, tongue-in-cheek day in the life of a cynical person, with some very pleasing basslines and lots of amusing one-liners ("Can I come back next time dressed in shite and take my place on the landscapes ice"). Unlike most of their previous material, which uses an actual drum kit, this album switches this instrument for patterns from a drum machine. Fave Tracks: Discourse, Subtraction, Kebab Spider 13. Kate Tempest - The Book of Traps and Lessons The follow-up to Let Them Eat Chaos expands on the dark, dystopian vibe of that album, as well as its political and philosophical themes. Tempest’s poetic performance is brilliant as always and the track transitions are really smooth. It sounds more like an audiobook with added music than an album, as it is extremely reliant on the lyrics. Oh, and the 6th track doesn’t contain any instruments at all (except for the vocals). Still, the title states that this is a BOOK of traps and lessons, so this audiobook style enhances it. Fave Tracks: Holy Elixir, People’s Faces, Keep Moving Don’t Move 12. James Blake - Assume Form The first 2019 album I listened to. After giving this a listen, I knew that it would be a big contender for my Top 10, yet it is only at #13. Anyway, James Blake’s tenor tessitura and the moody production of this album are a perfect fit. The instrumentation can back up Blake’s emotionally driven lyrics effectively. His recent studio album deals with the many subjects of love (including the struggles of dissociation). Tell Them focuses on Blake being involved in a one-night stand with him feeling a sense of regret, with Moses Sumney’s soulful vocals playing the role of his conscience. In Where’s The Catch, he (along with Andre 3000, who was also on the Anderson .Paak album that came up earlier) expresses his paranoia from a calculated ‘perfect’ relationship. Don’t Miss It shows his fight against stigmatization, whilst also providing a cautionary tale on missed opportunities. The album closes with Lullaby For My Insomniac, which contains an eerie, cinematic-like feel to it in both the vocal harmonisation and the almost monophonic texture of the synths. Fave Tracks: Assume Form, Tell Them, Where's The Catch? 11. Loyle Carner - Not Waving, But Drowning Loyle Carner is one of the most down-to-earth rappers out there. His personality meshes superbly with the chilled beats and it shines through the music during this album. He talks about his admiration for chefs Yotam Ottolenghi and the late Antonio Carluccio, questions trust in a relationship on You Don’t Know and is thankful for the support he has received from close friends on Loose Ends. Ice Water has some elegant sounding strings that wouldn’t sound out of place on a track by The Avalanches. We are also treated to a heartfelt feature from Sampha on Desoleil (Brilliant Corners), the pedal driven piano on this song serves as a great fit for him. The most deeply felt point on the album comes on both the album opener and closer with the respective titles Dear Jean and Dear Ben, where Carner is writing a letter to his mother about his current life, which is then followed by a reply letter from her on how he has grown and progressed over the course of the years. Fave Tracks: Loose Ends, Angel, Desoleil (Brilliant Corners) Feel free to guess what's in my Top 10!

ALBUMS 20-16 20. Slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain The title may state that there’s ‘nothing great about Britain’, but there sure are a lot of great things about this album. Slowthai brings a raw, energetic sense of rage in tracks like Doorman and Inglorious, while also covering the issues involving the current political and economical state of Britain. Fave Tracks: Inglorious, Dead Leaves, Grow Up 19. The Murder Capital - When I Have Fears A splendid blend of anger and depression. The way the latter subject is tackled on this LP reminds me of when Joy Division’s 1979 classic Unknown Pleasures did the same. There are a few points in which the lower range of James McGovern’s vocals sound slightly like Ian Curtis. The first two tracks get you pumped up, before we see a dejected side of the album starting from Green & Blue. There’s two more energetic tracks that kick ass in the middle of the album (Feeling Fades, Don’t Cling To Life) to contrast with these feelings. How The Streets Adore Me carries this sombre, avant garde vibe to it with a continuous line of impressionist Debussy-esque piano chords which sound magnificent. Fave Tracks: Feeling Fades, Green & Blue, How The Streets Adore Me 18. Fontaines DC - Dogrel Step into a small town located in Ireland where you get to see how live television twists reality (Television Screens) and how money can drive people to do things that are considered morally wrong (Too Real, Chequeless Reckless). We even get a handful of post-punk bangers like Sha Sha Sha, Hurricane Laughter and Boys In The Better Land. The album closes with a pleasant waltz-style tune that feels like the celtic punk material that The Pogues would do in the 1980’s. Fave Tracks: Boys In The Better Land, Hurricane Laughter, The Lotts 17. Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings I’d like to call this album the night time equivalent to Calvin Harris’ Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1. I say this because both albums carry a 1980s throwback style in their sound. The night time feel really compliments the lyrical content dealing with heartbreak, like with Jungle’s album For Ever from the year prior. The synths sound like they came straight outta Drive and the vocal performances, from Miley Cyrus’ Americana vocal style on smash hit Nothing Breaks Like A Heart to relative newcomers King Princess and the YEBBA triple bill, are pretty great too. Fave Tracks: True Blue, Truth, Late Night Feelings 16. Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind The last time a metal album made it onto my Fave Albums Of The Year countdown was back in 2015 (my very first one) with Motorhead’s Bad Magic and Iron Maiden’s The Book Of Souls popping up on that list (The latter of which was also the album that, for some odd reason, gave me the energy to become a vinyl collector upon listening to it on Spotify back in September ‘15. That or the fact that I got invested into Facebook competition posts held by Warner Bros./Rhino sub-label Vinyl Collector back in the day). We Are Not Your Kind, Slipknot's first album in 5 years, is the first metal album to have made it into my countdown since, and what can I say? It's a roaring, haunting masterpiece. One of the many highlights of metal is that spark of darkness that the electric guitars generate over the frantic rhythms of the drum kit, and this album shows just that. The instrumentation feels both energetic and melancholic at the same time, thus making a sublime sense of contrast. Corey Taylor’s vocals are really good on this as he switches between downcast melodies in the chorus to yelling out his rage in the verses to convey the emotions he feels while dealing with depression, as well as venting his frustration at society for forcing happiness onto people, throughout the tracks. Fave Tracks: Nero Forte, Red Flag, Solway Firth

(from fave to least fave)Kygo & Rita Ora - Carry OnSigala (ft. Ella Henderson) - We Got LoveDominic Fike - 3 NightsFreya Ridings - CastlesCalvin Harris (ft. Rag N Bone Man) - GiantCharli XCX & Christine And The Queens - GoneCamelPhat & Cristoph (ft. Jem Cooke) - BreatheJorja Smith (ft. Burna Boy) - Be HonestJax Jones (ft. Ella Henderson) - This Is RealHarry Styles - Lights UpAriana Grande & Social House - BoyfriendHarry Styles - Watermelon SugarPost Malone (ft. Young Thug) - GoodbyesMiley Cyrus - Mother's DaughterJax Jones (ft. Years & Years) - PlayTiësto, Jonas Blue & Rita Ora – RitualKehlani (ft. Ty Dolla $ign) - Nights Like ThisMark Ronson (ft. YEBBA) - Don't Leave Me LonelyCamila Cabello - LiarJess Glynne & Jax Jones - One TouchMarshmello (ft. CHVRCHES) - Here With MeSigrid - Don't Feel Like CryingJonas Brothers - SuckerMabel - Don't Call Me UpHalsey - NightmareAva Max - TornZara Larsson - Don't Worry Bout MeZedd & Katy Perry - 365Endor - Pump It UpSelena Gomez - Lose You To Love MeShawn Mendes & Camila Cabello - SenoritaAriana Grande, Miley Cyrus & Lana Del Rey - Don't Call Me AngelTaylor Swift (ft. Brendon Urie) - ME!

ALBUMS 25-21 25. The Twilight Sad - IT WON/T BE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME The art rock aesthetic accompanies the themes of heartbreak amazingly on this album, plus there’s some fantastic sounding synths on this. Fave Tracks: VTr, The Arbor, Videograms 24. The Specials - Encore The OG Specials line-up is back! Their first new material with vocalist Terry Hall since the spine-chilling 1981 stand-alone single Ghost Town. The album exhibits the importance of ska music, and how impactful the genre was in the late 70’s in a time where riots and racial tensions were at a point in Britain. The lyrical themes combine the issues that were present in the 1970’s, as well as those that we face today. These include the numerous incidents of gun violence (Blam Blam Fever), the idea of a trustworthy, reliable Prime Minister (Vote For Me), those who abuse the power of freedom to the point where the term is starting to lose its meaning (Embarrassed By You) and a message on how we shouldn’t force happiness on people who are struggling with depression (The Life And Times (Of A Man Called Depression)). The last of which has jazz keyboards in the instrumental beat that sound quite similar to the ones used in The Doors’ 1971 song Riders On The Storm, which might be one of my favourite album closers of all time. But the one that’s the most worth noting about is BLM, a song with guitarist Lynval Golding telling us about a time in which he and his father moved to England and the discrimination they had to deal with while moving places, as well as showing that we are important, no matter the colour of our skin. Fave Tracks: The Life And Times (Of A Man Called Depression), Vote For Me, Embarrassed By You 23. Dave - Psychodrama The Mercury winner of 2019. When I first got a glimpse of Dave back in 2018, I thought he was decent, but I soon started to see a lot of great potential in him after listening to Hangman. And going through this album made me truly appreciate him as an artist. In this album, Dave discusses his emotions and the events surrounding him in a therapy session. According to an interview with The Observer, the idea occurring throughout Psychodrama was inspired by the therapy that his older brother Chris was going to in prison. Psycho is an excellently written song dealing with bipolar disorder. Black comes as an amazing presentation in racial equality. Dave exposes the music industry for the images they fabricate in Environment. Drama talks about his reaction to the news about his brother receiving a jail sentence. The main highlight of this album is the 11 minute long heartbreaker Lesley, which gives out a message to abuse victims on how they should seek help instead of keeping their memories undisclosed. Fave Tracks: Lesley, Drama, Black 22. Flying Lotus - Flamagra FlyLo takes you on a phenomenal, psychedelic 67-minute long experience, filled with cups of hip hop fusion. You also come across some guest features along the way. Anderson .Paak’s performance on More is smooth as always. Denzel Curry expands on his struggles that he talked about on TA13OO on the track Black Balloons Reprise. Thundercat, Solange and Little Dragon blend divinely into Flying Lotus’ jazzy style of production. David Lynch gives off a fantastic narration to blend with the terrifying instrumentation in Fire Is Coming, which becomes more tense as the song progresses. Lynch does so in a similar fashion to Tom Waits on What’s He Building from his 1999 album Mule Variations. Fave Tracks: Takashi, Fire Is Coming, Land Of Honey 21. SEED Ensemble - Driftglass A pleasing fusion of jazz, hip hop and traditional African music. The way it blends these genres together reminds me of when Sons Of Kemet did so on their Your Queen Is A Reptile album from last year. It’s not as good as that album, and it’s not my favourite jazz album of 2019 (we’ll get to that), but it’s still pretty damn great. Fave Tracks: Afronaut, The Dream Keeper, Interplanetary Migration

ALBUMS 30-26 30. Jack Goldstein - LOVE, THE ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN EXISTENCE A relatively short album coming with sounds that evoke images of seaside landscapes with an interesting usage of personification in tracks like DUNGENESS. This, Pusha T’s DAYTONA and a handful of EPs I’ve listened to are great examples of what artists can offer in a shorter amount of time than expected. Fave Tracks: Beckon Call, DUNGENESS, We’re Starting Out (Eye To Eye And Hand To Hand) 29. Cate Le Bon - Reward A lyrical technique that can be very useful is “show, don’t tell” and Cate LeBon uses this technique in her songwriting excellently, such as in Home To You where she makes use of it to tell a tale of nostalgic feelings. The album also comes with an artistic atmosphere painted by the instrumentation, which is greatly established in the first track of the album Miami. Also, when the saxes come in, the album becomes elevated, especially in the outro to Mother’s Mother’s Magazines. Fave Tracks: Magnificent Gestures, The Light, Home To You 28. Stormzy - Heavy Is The Head A slightly softer transition from the hard-hitting Gang Signs & Prayer. There’s still a handful of grime bangers like Wiley Flow and Handsome, but we also get a calmer side from Storm, such as in Rainfalls in which he faces his enemies with strength, Lessons focusing on a relationship coming to an end, and Superheroes in which he feels inspiration from his idols (along with a nice interpolation of the Tracy Beaker theme tune at the end of the track). Fave Tracks: Crown, Wiley Flow, Rachael’s Little Brother 27. WH Lung - Incidental Music A wowing, psychedelic debut. Might grow on me in the future as it has some of that power that The Comet Is Coming have in their music. Fave Tracks: Empty Room, Inspiration!, Simpatico People 26. The Chemical Brothers - No Geography It’s no Dig Your Own Hole or Surrender, but No Geography shows that The Chems’ material is still fizzing with electronic energy after two decades of producing music. MAH is catchy as all hell, with the sample from El Coco’s 1977 soul track I’m Mad As Hell, which, in turn, interpolates a quote from the 1976 Sidney Lumet film Network. I love the way the sample is integrated into this track. If their last album Born In The Echoes is an essential listen for the night time for you, than I would recommend listening to No Geography the morning after. Fave Tracks: Got To Keep On, MAH, The Universe Sent Me

ALBUMS 35-31 35. White Denim - Side Effects I forgot to add Performance onto my 2018 EOY. I listened to it a few months before that countdown and thought it was a solid candidate for the Top 30 part, but I forgot to add it in to my plan for that list. Fortunately, White Denim’s follow-up Side Effects was one I found to be really good, though not on the level of its predecessor, or even Stiff. Listening to a White Denim album feels like you’re taking a time machine back to the early 1970’s, and this one has a similar production style. There are times where it can get cheesy, but lead singer James Petralli adds a lot of charisma to his vocal performance. Head Spinning has a great chorus. I love how the terms ‘head spinning’ and ‘a spinning head’ are combined to make an interesting variation of the repetitive kind of chorus. Fave Tracks: Head Spinning, Reversed Mirror, NY Money 34. Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles The debut album from this year’s (should say 2019 as we just entered 2020 at the time of writing this) BRITS Critics’ Choice Award winner serves as a great look into the current state of UK politics, as well as toxic masculinity. There is quite a lot to say about this album. The political topics occurring throughout the album are set up with the album opener bearing a similar sound to The Killers’ anthemic rock style. This is followed by The Borders, with a fantastic sense of rock swell to it that reminds me of The War On Drugs. The song also looks at two boys from different upbringings with one hating the other due to their different levels of fortune over the course of their lives. Dead Boys is a heartbreaking song tackling the shockingly high rates of male suicide and how society frequently ignores this issue. That Sound shows the importance of music in general, plus it’s a banger of a tune. But if I can choose a favourite track from this album, it’s definitely Play God. I love how this song paints a dystopian Air Strip One-esque picture to show what a future society would evolve (or possibly devolve) into. Fave Tracks: Play God, That Sound, Hypersonic Missiles 33. Floating Points - Crush I’m a fan of electronic music. But if there is one type of electronic music that I truly love, it’s the type that sounds atmospheric (like Aphex Twin and Boards Of Canada). Floating Points does just that, but also adds some orchestral layers along with it. There are even instruments that you wouldn’t expect to hear in electronic music popping up, like the use of a mellotron in Sea-Watch or the use of bagpipes in Anasickmodular (It’s not everyday you hear bagpipes in music of this genre). There’s also some pulsating cuts on this, such as Bias and Environments, both of which remind me of the energetic sounds that ran through my favourite EP of 2018, Aphex Twin’s Collapse. Fave Tracks: Bias, Last Bloom, Environments 32. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow Remind Me Tomorrow lays out some great nostalgic imagery, while also discussing heartbreak in its lyrics. The album marks a gradual shift from Van Etten’s usual indie folk style to a more alternative synth-driven style with further experimentation involving that instrument. Fave Tracks: Seventeen, Jupiter 4, Stay 31. Kevin Abstract - ARIZONA BABY While BROCKHAMPTON’s latest studio effort does have a couple of tracks I keep coming back to (and the album itself is very good), I still prefer Kevin Abstract’s solo album that came a few months prior that album. The album looks at missed opportunities (Joyride), Kevin’s struggles with the homophobia surrounding him (Georgia) and is even reflective on some of the issues circling round the Ameer Vann shock and how it affected those close to him (Corpus Christi). Joyride has a joyful chorus with a saxophone line that reminds me of the one used in Robbie Williams' cover of Manu Chao's Bongo Bong. We also get some welcome vocal contributions from Dominic Fike, who would soon find success with his hit 3 Nights, on Use Me and Peach. Jack Antanoff seemed to be very busy this year, as he not only produced this album, but also Taylor Swift’s Lover and Lana Del Rey’s Norman f***ing Rockwell. Both of the albums I referred to became big sellers on the charts worldwide, which shows that hard work truly pays off. Fave Tracks: Corpus Christi, American Problem, Crumble

I like PSB too. The way they incorporate 20th century vocal snippets into their work is interesting and unique

Forgot about Javelin. A good dance tune

ROXANNE is a big grower, and an easy one to come back to When The Party's Over is a heartbreaker. I love Blast Off too

ALBUMS 40-36 40. Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA The spiritual feelings from Love & Hate carry into this project, but they now come with a mixture of funk and soul from the 1970’s to spread some unity. I love how the album tackles discrimination problems in a similar vein to what soul music of that decade would usually do. Examples of this include Rolling and Hero, as well as the interlude leading to the latter. It also discourages the listener from giving up, even at the lowest points in life (like on the album opener You Ain’t The Problem). Fave Tracks: Hard To Say Goodbye, You Ain’t The Problem, Light 39. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen I haven’t listened to a lot of Nick Cave’s material, besides his fantastic 2016 album Skeleton Tree and a few other singles from his discography (with Red Right Hand probably being my favourite of them). I have listened to his new album Ghosteen this year and I found it to be a really good studio effort from him. The lyrics have this wonderful sense of poetry to them, and they come with some incredibly atmospheric instrumentation. This is noticeable on the album opener Spinning Song with the boomerang like movement of the synths ascending and descending along with an elegant sounding glass harmonica. Plus Nick Cave is an engaging vocalist in the storytelling of these tracks. The only thing holding it back is that the album feels slow at points, but I might be nitpicking. Fave Tracks: Hollywood, Spinning Song, Bright Horses 38. Vampire Weekend - Father Of The Bride A nice sounding album looking into the idea of love; both the positives and negatives. It’s like The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs in some way but with a much smaller number of tracks. Lead single Harmony Hall left me excited for the album with the song. It blends the acoustic ballads of Paul Simon with the upbeat rhythmic elements of Primal Scream's Screamadelica (particularly Movin' On Up). That anticipation was worthwhile after listening to the end result. Sympathy is to this album the same way Americano is to Lady Gaga's Born This Way (both tracks burst with amazing flamenco flavour), Big Blue is a relaxing guitar tune with a hint of Mac DeMarco influence and the Haruomi Honsono sample occurring throughout 2021 hits me in the feels. We also have some optimistic guitar lines from Steve Lacy, as well as some good vocal contributions from him and Danielle Haim. Fave Tracks: Sympathy, Harmony Hall, This Life 37. Bon Iver - i,i Bon Iver showed in their previous album 22, A Million that they had more to their music than just atmospheric indie folk; they experimented with different elements of sound. This journey of experimentation continues on i,i. We get to hear these unique vocal filters from its predecessor on the proper beginning track iMi. Additionally, the album manages to paint some beautiful landscapes with its sound thanks to the production, and we even get some nostalgic lyrics written into the music like in Hey, Ma. b,r,i,l,l,i,a,n,t a,l,b,u,m Fave Tracks: Naeem, Holyfields,, Hey, Ma 36. Anderson .Paak - Ventura It’s quite hard for me to choose my definite favourite of the Anderson .Paak albums (though I have yet to listen to Venice). Malibu is the one I come back to the most for its smooth, bright sounds. However, Oxnard and Ventura look more into his culture with interesting topics, the latter of which is sitting at this very spot. We get a smooth Motown throwback with some great contributions from the likes of former Outkast member Andre 3000, Neptunes producer Pharrell Williams and even legendary soul singer Smokey Robinson. There’s also an empowering tribute to basketball player LeBron James in King James, which also demonstrates him overcoming his challenges and shows how his journey inspired others to achieve their fullest potential. Fave Tracks: Come Home, Reachin’ 2 Much, Jet Black

ALBUMS 45-41 45. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana The Portugese Google Translate feature in the intro is a little distracting, but that doesn’t stop this album from sounding nice and relaxed. The 1970’s soul samples that Madlib incorporates into his production really enhance the experience of this; plus it goes back to the roots of hip hop, as well as the music that influenced the early days of that genre. I also like Freddie Gibbs, his flows and what he raps about on this album. These topics include police brutality on Soul Right, a perspective of a person with a high profile on the streets on Fake Names and discrimination on Education. The guest verses are also really good, with my favourites probably being Anderson .Paak on Giannis as he adds to the soulfulness that was already established by the samples occurring throughout the album. Fave Tracks: Education, Crime Pays, Cataracts 44. Temples - Hot Motion Temples’ last album Volcano is my favourite album of 2017. The Kettering band’s follow-up isn’t as divine, but still manages to pack in that excellently exuberant energy that made their content fantastic from the start. The first two tracks go off with a bang (and are also the ones I often come back to easily). I also love The Howl as it shows the album at its most theatrical point, with its fast 12/8 rhythm and its majestic instrumentation, as well as the great sounding mid-high vocals from James Bagshaw as usual Fave Tracks: Hot Motion, The Howl, Monuments 43. Skepta - Ignorance Is Bliss Skepta returns with some great flows and brags. He also comes with insightful lyrics, which are at their most visible in Bullet From A Gun, a track in which he raps about betrayal, police brutality and even reflects back on his past anger towards his father. Some of the instrumentals are also really good and give a night feel like Going Through It with its 1980s style synth chords and Glow In The Dark with a woodwind instrument blending with a soulful drum kit pattern to create a 70's style combination. The penultimate track Gangsta features a great return from Skepta’s group Boy Better Know; I especially liked JME’s verse. Fave Tracks: You Wish, Gangsta, Going Through It 42. Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars The Boss is back with an album that takes the traditional elements of folk and country and introduces them to a more modern audience. Even as someone that doesn’t listen to country music in his spare time as much as other genres, I can say that there’s some really good cuts on this album with some great songwriting from Springsteen. Fave Tracks: The Wayfarer, Hello Sunshine, Drive Fast (The Stuntman) 41. Pond - Tasmania While we wait for Tame Impala’s next LP to come out, let’s listen to the latest album from a band whose lead singer used to be a touring member of Tame Impala to see what it has to offer. Like with Temples’ Hot Motion, It does a good job at capturing that psychedelic atmosphere that Pond have succeeded in doing so previously. Fave Tracks: Burnt Out Star, Goodnight P.C.C., Shame

+5 Blinding Lights +4 Don't Start Now +3 Dance Monkey +2 Before You Go +1 Own It -1 ROXANNE -2 Someone You Loved -3 The Box -4 Life Is Good -5 Yummy

23/01/2020 #98. Celeste - Stop This Flame The Sound Of 2020 Winner has entered the charts. Celeste bosses it with her soulful, passionate voice, as do the gang of instruments. The strings in the chorus make this more uplifting and the old-timey pianos give this a good groove. #94. Lil Baby - Sum 2 Prove There are some synth chords popping up occasionally to deviate the beat from the typical piano trap beat. Lil Baby’s melodic style in this reminds me of Roddy Ricch in some places, and he does a decent exploration of his position in the game. Probs my second fave from him behind Drip Too Hard. Oh, and speaking of Roddy Ricch... #83. Roddy Ricch feat. Mustard - High Fashion I really liked Ricch and Mustard’s last collab Ballin’. It had a nice, carefree feel to it, and the same can be said for this song, which is just as good. Ricch feels laidback and fun on this, and the pedal piano gives this a 90’s R&B throwback vibe. #78. Dappy and RussMB - Splash The watery production adds a bigger texture to the usually expected drill beat. It sounds a bit cluttered in places, but it’s fine overall. However, Dappy’s melodic vocals are something I’m not too huge of a fan of, and the rhythmic lines in the chorus sound a bit too similar to the ones on Keisha & Becky. #77. Becky Hill feat. Shift K3Y - Better Off Without You Ah! Shift K3Y! Now that’s a name I haven’t heard of in a long time! Takes me back to when I was bopping to Touch quite a lot back in the Summer of 2014. Becky Hill seems to be a common choice for a dance singer feature nowadays and it’s not hard to see why. Her vocals blend greatly with these sort of beats. The lyrics are about a girl moving on from a breakup and gaining more self-esteem in the process, and they’re pretty good. Plus the instrumentation in the chorus is a bit Sigala like. #70. Khalid - Eleven Khalid chillin’ with his partner as usual. This scene often comes with some swell material like Right Back and Better, but this… it’s alright. The production is decent, but the chorus isn't too good. There is a love and drugs comparison in one of the lines, but I feel like the instrumentation doesn't back it up effectively #49. Mac Miller - Good News This new posthumous single from Mac Miller has now become his highest charting hit (not counting Ariana’s The Way {peaked at 41} as he was not the lead artist of that song). The acoustic arrangements of this song make it feel reflective, and the lyrics see Miller talk about how society would look down upon him if he feels down. The line in which he sees a lot of things waiting for him in his life is heartbreaking considering he passed away too soon. #37. Halsey - You Should Be Sad A song where Halsey tried her best to support a former partner of hers, but he still took her aid for granted nonetheless. It has a solid sense of emotion and the acoustic guitar has a good folk vibe. The guitar solo in the post-chorus would have elevated this, but it doesn’t blend too well in the mix. Also, the part in the pre-chorus where Halsey wishes she never had a baby with this guy is a weird thing to be saying in a song aimed at an ex. #28. Selena Gomez - Rare Another song calling out a guy who took his lover for granted. I understand where Gomez is coming from, but the chorus rubs in the fact that she’s a hidden diamond underground or, in her words, ‘rare’. I like the drum kit bangs in the verses though. #21. Stormzy - STILL DISAPPOINTED So Stormzy and Wiley are in a beef. The way Mikey J fuses brass instruments with a drill type beat on this reminds me of when TobiShyBoy did a similar thing on J Hus’ No Denying (which came out a month ago). Stormzy goes hard on this and his response to the part in Eediyat Skengman 2 involving his mother’s weave, with him twisting the claims of Wiley moving his mother to Cyprus, was savage. One nitpick I have is that he repeats the ‘Wiley’s mother’ thing quite a lot throughout. #3. Future and Drake - Life Is Good Drake’s part is decent. He blends well with the whimmering synths. Future’s part is weaker, but it’s okay. It’s mostly flexing and nearly every line in the 1st verse ends with “woo”. There is a solid line in which he reflects on his cocaine business in the past though. This was a solid week that leaves me interested in what 2020 has to offer musically. My favourite of the new entries this week is Good News by Mac Miller, with honorable mention going to Stop This Flame by Celeste. As there have been a couple of tracks that I have found to be alright, it was quite hard to pick a least favourite of the bunch, but it would probably be Splash by Dappy and RussMB. #98. Celeste - Stop This Flame [9/10] (FOTW HM) #94. Lil Baby - Sum 2 Prove [7/10] #83. Roddy Ricch feat. Mustard - High Fashion [8/10] #78. Dappy and RussMB - Splash [6/10] (Least Fave Of The Week) #77. Becky Hill feat. Shift K3Y - Better Off Without You [8/10] #70. Khalid - Eleven [6.5/10] #49. Mac Miller - Good News [9/10] (Fave Of The Week) #37. Halsey - You Should Be Sad [6.5/10] #28. Selena Gomez - Rare [6.5/10] #21. Stormzy - STILL DISAPPOINTED [8/10] #3. Future and Drake - Life Is Good [6.5/10]

And I feel like getting #50-#46 out of the way since I'm close to finishing the writeups. Rules: An album must have been released in 2019 The album must be a studio album (no compilation albums or mixtapes, so Hi This Is Flume and Angel's Pulse will, sadly, not pop up) BTW, I may copy this countdown onto my new Blogspot page once it has finished. ALBUMS 50-46 50. KAYTRANADA - BUBBA A bit of a late entry, but KAYTRANADA’s followup to 99.9% succeeds in immersing you into the atmosphere of a nightclub like that album did. There’s also a handful of addictive beats on this. Fave Tracks: Freefall, Culture, Midsection 49. JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes Are Cornballs “You think you know me?”. An experimental album containing some weird and wonderful sounds, vocally and instrumentally. However, there’s more to this than just the distinct production. The lyrical content shows a personal side of Peggy in which he looks back on his past life, talks about facing enemies and obstacles he often encounters, and breaks down the effects of internet culture Fave Tracks: Papi I Missed U, Post Verified Lifestyle, Kenan vs. Kel 48. Tom Walker - What A Time To Be Alive Some good singer/songwriter material in there, such as Angels where it tells us to find hope when we’re down rather than give up, smash hit Leave A Light On in which Walker counsels a friend struggling with addiction and my personal favourite Dominoes, a song showing the negative effects of clickbait-related media such as tabloids Fave Tracks: Dominoes, Angels, Fade Away 47. Mac DeMarco - Here Comes The Cowboy I felt like this didn’t have too much of the mindless fun that was present in his previous work (or to be more specific, Salad Days and 2). Nevertheless, it still offered some pleasing acoustic guitar music. I also give credit to DeMarco for adding some different sounds to this album, such as the gloomy Moog chords that pop up in the 2nd half of the album; they remind me of the chords that he used in his 2015 mini LP Another One. The album’s biggest highlight is Heart To Heart, which serves as a touching tribute to the late Mac Miller Fave Tracks: Heart to Heart, All Of Our Yesterdays, Skyless Moon 46. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising The moment these piano chords kicked in during album opener A Lot’s Gonna Change, I could immediately sense a moving classic. Natalie Mering does a great job evoking feelings of nostalgia in said track’s lyrics. The album also touches upon the problems of the dating side of modern society in Everyday and Wild Times. My favourite track of this is Movies, a song in which Mering sings from the perspective of a person watching a film in the cinema while imagining being in one, with the amazing instrumental arrangements perfectly capturing a cinematic experience. Fave Tracks: Movies, Wild Time, A Lot’s Gonna Change

I'm currently working on the writeups for the Top 10. Also, I'm ditching the 75-51 for a Top 50 in order for a smaller chance of album overload for the course of the next year. I will be doing it for this countdown as it's the end of the decade. ALBUMS 51-75 51. C Duncan - Health 52. BROCKHAMPTON - GINGER 53. Lana Del Rey - Norman f***ing Rockwell 54. Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? 55. Metronomy - Metronomy Forever 56. Solange - When I Get Home 57. Coldplay - Everyday Life 58. Danny Brown - uknowhatimsayin¿ 59. Harry Styles - Fine Line 60. Jack Savoretti - Singing To Strangers 61. Denzel Curry - ZUU 62. Friendly Fires - Inflorescent 63. Elbow - Giants Of All Sizes 64. Ed Sheeran - No. 6 Collaborations Project 65. Stereophonics - Kind 66. Beck - Hyperspace 67. Iggy Pop - Free 68. Catfish And The Bottlemen - The Balance 69. Lizzo - Cuz I Love You 70. Ride - This Is Not A Safe Place 71. Circa Waves - What's It Like Over There? 72. Liam Gallagher - Why Me? Why Not. 73. Dermot Kennedy - Without Fear 74. P!nk - Hurts 2B Human 75. Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent

Thanks for notifying me. Just edited the post to include the remix as well. ;) Glad to see you join in the ratings fun, Bre! LOL at us both having similar least faves of each week, but the difference is that it's a different song by the same artist for the first of the two weeks. We both have Say So as our fave of that week. That doesn't mean I'm asking you to bump your future ratings up and down to match your taste with mine.

MOSTLY RECENT SECTIONSquarepusher - VortrackMetronomy - InsecurityFoals - Like LightningMura Masa feat. Slowthai - Deal Wiv ItMoses Sumney - VirileMetronomy - The LightBugzy Malone - DecemberBlack midi - 953Hot Chip - PositiveStormzy feat. Aitch - Pop BoySam Fender - SaturdaySudan Archives - GloriousAgnes Obel - Island Of DoomHarry Styles - Canyon MoonVC Pines - BonesMoses Boyd - Stranger Than FictionPlan B - First Past The PostTwin Atlantic - NovocaineRoisin Murphy - NarcissusJames Righton - The PerformerPeggy Sue - MotorcadeInjury Reserve feat. Amine - Jailbreak The TeslaHAIM - HallelujahRichard Dawson - Two HalvesHAIM - Now I’m In ItLIFE - Excites MeThe Districts - Hey JoNorth Downs - Nightlife BluesMumford & Sons - Blind Leading The BlindPVRIS - HallucinationsJehnny Beth - I’m The ManKOKOKO - MalembeFloating Points - AnasickmodularLuke Picasso - Paris Belongs To UsThe Mysterines - Who’s Ur GirlThe Big Moon - Take A PieceEasy Life - Nice GuysSports Team - The RacesKano feat. Popcaan - Can’t Hold We DownBombay Bicycle Club - Everything Else Has Gone WrongCamelPhat feat. Jen Cooke - Rabbit HoleLanterns On The Lake - Every AtomSink Ya Teeth - The Hot HouseGraham Coxon - She KnowsAll We Are - L Is For LoseMustard feat. Roddy Ricch - Ballin’Dan D’Lion - Co-PilotClairo - SoftlyFreya Ridings - Love Is FireDana Gavinski - Catch RETRO SECTION (songs before January 2019) Marie Laforet - Viens Viens (1973)James Bay - Pink Lemonade (2018)The Cars - Heartbeat City (1984)Junior Jack - My Feeling (1999)Bush - The Chemicals Between Us (1999)Harry Styles - Sweet Creature (2017)Stormzy - Mr. Skeng (2017)Jay-Z - Dirt Off Your Shoulder (2004)Jason Derulo feat. Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj - Swalla (2017)Avril Lavigne - Losing Grip (2002)Christina Aguilera - Bionic (2010)24 Hour Experience - Allnighter (1994)Smokin’ Beats - Look Who’s Lovin’ Me (Smokin’ Club) (1995)Paul Weller - Here’s A New Thing (1991)Young Disciples - Get Yourself Together (1991)

+18 Stormzy - Sounds Of The Skeng +15 Logic feat. Eminem - Homicide +13 Bugzy Malone feat. Aitch - Kilos +12 Kanye West - Selah +11 Avicii - Heaven +10 Sidhu Moose Wala, MIST, Stefflon Don, Steel Banglez - 47 +09 Wiley feat. Sean Paul, Stefflon Don and Idris Elba - Boasty (Remix) +08 Drake feat. Rick Ross - Money In The Grave +07 Freya Ridings - Castles +06 Tyler, The Creator - EARFQUAKE +05 Riton and Oliver Heldens feat. Vula - Turn Me On +04 Harry Styles - Watermelon Sugar +03 Ava Max - So Am I +02 Fredo feat. Dave - All I Ever Wanted +01 Post Malone - Hollywood's Bleeding Lose Control just missed out

16/01/2020 #93. Olivia Rodrigo - All I Want [High School Musical: The Series] The first High School Musical entry in the Top 100 in 12 years. This focuses on Rodrigo’s character Nini. She is wanting a love that lasts and has to deal with the fact that a 'happily ever after' ending doesn't come as easy in life as the fairytales make it out to be. The production is a bit basic and the use of the term ‘good guy’ can come out as vague, but the lyrical content is decent for the most part. #79. Saint Jhn - Roses Wow! A song from 2016 charting in 2020! Anyway, Saint Jhn raps with slow melodic flows over looping piano chords. It’s alright, the slow flows and bragging don’t really compliment each other, but I quite liked the aerobics line in the 2nd verse. Edit: So I hear that this song has mainly charted due to a remix from Imanbek. This remix raises the pitch of SAINT JHN's vocals, but the house instrumentation backs it up quite well. #78. BROCKHAMPTON - SUGAR SUGAR looks into the feelings generated from the absence of a partner. The acoustic guitar playing throughout gives a sense of emotion, with Ryan Beatty’s low range vocals blending well with that instrument in the chorus. There’s also some nice layers of vocal harmonisation getting added in Kevin Abstract’s bridge with each repeat of four lines. Dom McLennon’s autotune in the 1st verse is a bit distracting though. It’s not my favourite off of the GINGER album (we may get to that in my Top 50 Songs of 2019), but it’s still a good song. #71. DigDat - 8 Style II Solid drill song. Don't have a lot to say unfortunately. #35. MIST - Savage MIST does sound quite savage on this. The ‘gangster in the morning’ sample works with the beat, even though near the end of it, it sounds offkey. #5. Justin Bieber - Yummy I like the chilled R&B vibe of this, but the parts in which Bieber say ‘yummy-yum’ are a bit cringey. Not a lot this week. My favourite of the six would have to be SUGAR by BROCKHAMPTON, and my least favourite is Yummy by Justin Bieber. #93. Olivia Rodrigo - All I Want [7/10] #79. Saint Jhn - Roses [6.5/10] [7/10 for the Imanbek remix] #78. BROCKHAMPTON - SUGAR [8/10] (Fave Of The Week) #71. DigDat - 8 Style II [7/10] #35. MIST - Savage [7/10] #5. Justin Bieber - Yummy [6/10] (Least Fave Of The Week)

09/01/2020 #99. Jonathan Groff - Lost In The Woods [Frozen 2] [7/10] #95. JP Saxe feat. Julia Michaels - If The World Was Ending [7/10] #92. Noah Cyrus - July [7/10; 8/10 for the version with Leon Bridges in it] #85. Mustard feat. Roddy Ricch - Ballin' [8/10] (FOTW HM) #83. Doja Cat - Say So [GOLD] (Fave Of The Week) #81. Evan Rachel Wood - All Is Found [Frozen 2] [8/10] #78. M Huncho - Bando Ballads [6/10] #72. YNW Melly - Suicidal [6/10] #63. D-Block Europe - Molly World [5/10] (Least Fave Of The Week) #60. JACKBOYS (Don Toliver feat. Quavo and Offset) - Had Enough [6/10] #59. JACKBOYS (with Pop Smoke and Travis Scott) - Gatti [7/10] #57. JACKBOYS (feat. Don Toliver) - What To Do [7/10] #53. D-Block Europe - Creep [6/10] #52. JACKBOYS (with Sheck Wes, Luxury Tax and Don Oliver) - Gang Gang [7/10] #33. J Hus - No Denying [8/10] #28. D-Block Europe - No Cellular Site [6/10] Additional comments; Ballin' is a fun, upbeat jam, and has my fave vocal performance from Roddy Ricch so far. Say So has a smooth disco sound to it. It reminds me of Good Times by Chic Didn't expect brass instruments over a drill beat, but No Denying did that well.

The first film I watched this decade... Spies In Disguise A fun spy movie that reminds me of the action and comedy that was present in The Secret Show. Will Smith gives an enjoyable, charismatic performance as Lance Sterling. Killian made for a legitimately threatening antagonist, but also having a grudge on Sterling and his motives on protecting people, due to how corrupt they turned out to be when that resulted in Killian's own allies being killed. His plan in which he changes his face to look exactly like Sterling's in order to frame him for stealing a drone that he was supposed to return to the agency was fantastic. The comedy is good for the most part, though there are some jokes that drag on for longer than they should and the joke involving the food under the table was pretty gross.

New additions: 13 Reasons Why Mao Mao: Heroes Of Pure Heart Infinity Train Spaced Courage The Cowardly Dog Monty Python's Flying Circus Absolutely Fabulous The Wall with Danny Dyer Atypical Gavin And Stacey Christmas Special 2019 Mrs. Brown's Boy Christmas Special 2019

I remember taking part in the BJSC edition with that Rat City song in it. 'Twas a good opportunity

The Drums, Hot Chip, Bat For Lashes. Some really good acts there