The Best Albums of 2019
2019 brought albums that continued to push the boundaries of music to a genre-less future. Below are the consensus recommendations by the women featured on passerbuys.
As streaming continued to plow over the existing musical landscape leaving little in its wake, the proper role of the “album” remained precarious but a few brilliant artists shone in the singles darkness and made coherent artistic statements that span multiple songs.
♫ listen to passerbuys favorite tracks of 2019 | find us on spotify
1. Blood by Kelsey Lu
recommended by Jenna Wortham, Mina Alyeshmerni and Fariha Roisin
It feels like a miracle when an album arrives that feels at once entirely new and deeply familiar but our most-recommended album (Columbia) is precisely that. Kelsey Lu’s blend of classical cello, new wave and r&b ascended to a higher level to feel completely essential to modern music.
Listen to Blood
2. African Giant by Burna Boy
recommended by Folasade Adeoso and Fariha Roisin
There are moments on Burna Boy’s fourth album (Atlantic/Warner) that are scarcely intelligible to the English ear yet feel oddly beautiful. His work combining distinctly African instrumentals (even with an assist from a 70s Fela Kuti sample) with a modern hip hop sensibility sounds like someone locked Young Thug in a room with William Onyeabor records for a full year.
Listen to African Giant
3. thank u, next by Ariana Grande
recommended by Holly Liss, Amy Quichiz and Susan alexandra
Times change but some people still think it’s cool to shit on pop music. All of the traditional complaints of artistic vapidity and meaningless songwriting are completely disarmed by Ariana Grande’s masterful thank u, next (Republic). Emerging from the fires of very real danger and very strange relationship choices, Grande crafted a nearly perfect pop record that sounds precisely of this moment and contained powerful bangers and deep cuts alike.
Listen to Thank u, next
4. When I Get Home by Solange
recommended by Holly Liss and Verena Michelitsch
What is there left to say about Solange? She’s more talented than her sister? Some may disagree but with each new album it becomes more readily apparent which Knowles truly reigns supreme. When I Get Home (Columbia) is a singular showcase of Solange’s brilliance in a realm of music that she has been instrumental in defining. Spanning nearly every genre in the course of 39 minutes, the album demands to be listened to all together.
Listen to When I Get Home
5. MAGDALENE by FKA Twigs
recommended by Rachel Nguyen and Natalie Falt
FKA Twigs’ new album (Young Turks) sounds at once baroque yet deceptively simple . Love songs by way of Blade Runner, Twigs’ newest is without question a masterpiece whose sensibilities and sound will filter through to lesser artists in the coming years.
Listen to MAGDALENE
6. Remind Me Tomorrow by Sharon Van Etten
recommended by Fariha Roisin and Naima Abed
Sharon Van Etten’s newest (Jagjaguwar) digs deeper into the seemingly endless emotional well of powerful songwriting. The album floats along across feeling and experience to render a gorgeous picture of life in 2019. She is Bruce Springsteen in a turtleneck.
Listen to Remind Me Tomorrow
7. Titanic Rising by Weyes Blood
recommended by caitlin mcmullen and Natalie Fält
Weyes Blood’s latest (Sub Pop) combines an underlying sense of dread with the classic songwriting conventions and sound of the 1970s. The songs pulse and expand in your headphones with the energy of a virtuoso.
Listen to Titanic Rising
Words by Eric Margulies