2010's
Do It Again by Röyksopp and Robyn
Do It Again
Röyksopp, Robyn
2014
Hey, somebody got their chocolate in my peanut butter! As a fan of their prior collaboration in “The Girl and the Robot," hearing them together again really showcases how strong they sound together. This collaboration limits both acts tendency to produce navel-gaze tracks and more confidently express the best parts of themselves. I can only hope they meet up in this way again.
Recommended Track: Do It Again
Bodyparts by Dragonette
Bodyparts
Dragonette
2012
The exuberance, passions, and myopia of youth. Finally being out in the world, making your own decisions. Your body is new and yearning for you to get out there and use it. You will always have things this together. This can’t possibly end. None of this will end.
Recommended Track: Giddy Up
Limits of Desire by Small Black
Limits of Desire
Small Black
2013
This album feels like the quiet, internal rush of discovering a new love. Even though your head is swirling, your senses are heightened and you can’t keep them out of your thoughts. Have you hit the relationship jackpot? When can you see them next? Have you finally found someone thinking the same about you?
Recommended Track: Free at Dawn
Evergreen by BROODS
Evergreen
BROODS
2014
When the outside world is frozen over with winter, it’s comforting to have music that matches. Evergreen’s icy pop pairs perfectly with long walks through the snow, alone with the difficult thoughts you meant to explore once you had the time.
Recommended Track: L.A.F.
After Laughter by Paramore
After Laughter
Paramore
2017
Never have sad lyrics sounded so peppy and exciting. Like Neko Case and Rachael Price, Hayley Williams has a super-powered voice that transforms and elevates even the most middling of tracks into something special. I couldn’t care less about the drama around Paramore and just enjoy their musical experimentation.
Recommended Track: Rose Colored Boy
Antisocialites by Alvvays
Antisocialites
Alvvays
2017
This sophomore album is a continuation of the same propulsive energy that drew me into their sound. The shoegaze-like distortion from their first album has been pulled back to reveal more of Molly Rankin’s beautiful vocals and the album is all the better for it. I will always make time for earnest pop like this.
Recommended Track: Hey
Beasts of Burgundy by Squirrel Nut Zippers
Beasts of Burgundy
Squirrel Nut Zippers
2018
This album is a joyous celebration of New Orleans and the musical stew that formed the backbone of America’s homegrown musical cultures. Like a Mardi Gras night, high and low share dances through the dangerous strangeness that comes when nobody present is actually from here.
Recommended Track: Karnival Joe (From Kokomo)
Bloom by Beach House
Bloom
Beach House
2012
This is the sonic version of dense white mists quietly obscuring the landscape and unifying multiple views into a moody whole. The view pulls us outward in an invitation to wander and re-explore places we thought we already knew.
Recommended Track: Lazuli
SVIIB by School Of Seven Bells
SVIIB
School Of Seven Bells
2016
This posthumous album wouldn’t exist without the courage of Alejandra Deheza diving back into her lost partner’s laptop to find the musical pieces he left behind and resolve them into a finished album. The process must have been healing because, even though the pain of her loss is evident, an intimate hope permeates throughout.
Recommended Track: Ablaze
Je Suis Une île by Halo Maud
Je Suis Une île
Halo Maud
2018
I enjoyed Halo Maude’s 2024 album, Celebrate, so I figured I needed to give her 2018 one a try and found there’s lots to like. The less “driven” rhythms of this album gives it the pacing of summer; the tracks encouraging you to slow down and bask in them without demanding you pay close attention. As the kids say, “It’s a vibe.”
Recommended track: Du pouvoir/power
Spirit Youth by The Depreciation Guild
Spirit Youth
The Depreciation Guild
2010
This album is a hot drink after coming in from the cold. It would be easy to mistake it for just another dreamy shoegaze album on your first listen but there is a lot more happening musically in each song. This is an album that begs you to live with it long enough to hear all of its secrets.
Recommended Track: Dream About Me
99 Cents by Santigold
99 Cents
Santigold
2016
Santigold is a pop genius who is somehow able to add substance to normally temporal music and give it staying power. 99 Cents continues to outlast the twenty-teen trends it plays with.
Recommended Track: Rendezvous Girl
DSVII by M83
DSVII
M83
2019
I think of this album as M83 providing the soundtrack to one of my Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. An instrumental album filled with both grand, exploratory wonder and intensely intimate moments. Similar to the music of Mort Garson, M83 wants his synths to move you beyond nostalgia.
Recommended Track: Feelings
Whiteout Conditions by The New Pornographers
Whiteout Conditions
The New Pornographers
2017
A prime example of contrasting musicians making stronger music together than on their own. This album has all the fun and drive of power-pop but with the sensibilities of other musical genres bursting from the seams. Neko Case and Kathryn Calder singing in harmony is my ASMR.
Track recommendation: Whiteout Conditions
Bankrupt! by Phoenix
Bankrupt!
Phoenix
2013
My favorite Phoenix album to revisit. I have to admit that it is one of those albums I’ve listened to so frequently that all my objectivity is lost and its sounds live in my bones now.
Track recommendation: Entertainment
About U by MUNA
About U
MUNA
2017
The yearning vocals and driving synth on the opening track instantly grabbed the undying teenager inside of me and pulled him along a whirlwind of hormones and self-doubt. This album is a year of high school translated into music.
Track recommendation: So Special
Hearts by Blackbird Blackbird
Hearts
Blackbird Blackbird
2019
Soft 90’s synths and the courage to mix instrumental and vocal tracks into the same album. It has become a chill and happy weekend companion for me.
Track recommendation: Hearts
The Big Roar by The Joy Formidable
The Big Roar
The Joy Formidable
2011
An intense explosion of joy escaping from gritted teeth. This is for you who turned down drugs at the music festival to be fully bombarded by the sounds the band played just for you and you will go home having met a part of you that you didn’t know existed before that day.
Track recommendation: Whirring
The Pool by Jazzanova
The Pool
Jazzanova
2018
Sampling, hybrid grooves, guest singers, etc. This is one of those bands that I can’t believe I’ve never heard until now. Thankfully, that means I have their whole back catalog to dive into and this album was a great start.
Track recommendation: Everything I Wanted
The Demonstration by Drab Majesty
The Demonstration
Drab Majesty
2017
On my first listen, I fell in love with how this album made me feel and didn’t look back. The high-concept lyrics detract from the whole and, in my opinion, the album shines brighter when they’re ignored. Drab Majesty does their best to push themselves beyond an 80’s pastiche and mostly succeed.
Track recommendation: Dot in the Sky