EMA — “Past Life Martyred Saints”
Erika M. Anderson released one of the most uncomfortable records of this year. It’s impossible to get through songs like ‘Marked’ feeling completely at ease, with lyrics like “I wish that every time he touched me left a mark”. Past Life Martyred Saints is an incredibly personal album and makes no effort to hide that; Anderson details abuse, sexuality, and self-harm, among other things. There is this emotional resonance though that makes these situations, despite if the listener has experienced them or not, approachable and even relatable. Impressively enough, what you think would be a complete downer of an album, and despite it being so personal at times, is also one of the most cathartic listening experiences of the year.
mp3 // EMA - Marked
Ponytail — “Do Whatever You Want All the Time”
Ponytail’s music is the most uninhibited I’ve come across. If you are aware of Ponytail, you probably know that lead-singer Willie Siegel prefers to make incomprehensible almost animal like shrieks in place of actual words and of Dustin Wong’s insane guitar playing. This record, however, showcases a much more restrained Ponytail (which is still more out of control that 99.9% of music). There are much more ‘quiet’ moments here as opposed to their previous releases, and Siegel employs far more lyricism than normal. On ‘Honey Touches’ in particular you can make-out “I know it’s not that fun” and “en-er-gy”. “En-er-gy” is a pretty good way of describing this album and Ponytail in general. They’re back, they’re still as free-spirited as ever, and if anything, this entire album revolves around the concept of, well, doing whatever you want all of the time. I can dig that.
mp3 // Ponytail - Honey Touches
Hunx and His Punx — “Too Young to Be in Love”
Hunx and His Punx operate on a simple concept: take the Shangri-Las and replace Mary Weiss with a flamboyant gay man. And it works so damn well. This is, hands down, one of the most fun, catchy, and summery records you’ll hear this year. Surprisingly enough, the vintage girl group shtick doesn’t wear thin at all over the course of the record; they keep the songs simple, short, and fun. Hunx is the perfect lead singer and bassist Shannon Shaw’s dirty growl makes for the perfect backup. Honestly, what else could you really want?
Beyonce — “4”
A lot of people assume my love for pop records is part-ironic. It’s not, and it’s also frustrating. Beyonce’s B’Day is one of my favorite records of the past decade. It’s just a great pop album, big and boisterous in just the right places, restrained and minimal in others. 4 sort of follows in B’Day’s footsteps after the (slight) misstep of I Am…Sasha Fierce, which wasn’t bad per se, but the songs felt unrelated and disjointed (which I guess you get when you invent an alter ego). 4 is a return to form. You get club-Beyonce with huge songs like ‘Countdown’ and ‘Run the World’, the Major Lazer sampling dance-floor anthem. You also get Beyonce at her most vulnerable with songs like ‘1+1’ and ‘I Miss You’. What works so well with this record is that you get the sense that Beyonce believes every word that she’s singing. She may not have written most of these tracks herself, but they were written to fit her image and it feels honest. When Beyonce is saying that girls run the world, she means it. She’s not just singing another song geared to be a Billboard #1 hit single. And that is what makes this record so great, no one song stands out over the others (Single Ladies, Crazy in Love), every song is a perfectly restrained pop song, well-crafted and delivered honestly.
mp3 // Beyonce - Countdown
