14. Swans – The Seer
The first in Post-Rock legends Swans’ “Comeback” Trilogy this decade, The Seer showed that nearly 30 years into their career they could still change the game and break the ground they helped create. Swans is one of my favorite bands of all time, but digging into a new project of theirs is a weeklong endeavor, as I will listen to the same record over and over, digging deep into the gargantuan runtimes and massive backlog. Because of that it took me a long time to get to The Seer, but when I did I knew there was something special on this record. Without a doubt in my mind, Lunacy is one of the greatest opening tracks in my mind, and perfectly condenses the journey about to be taken. I don’t use the word “Journey” in passing, either. This is a story told in sounds, in textures, in drones, and in the indistinct chattering, barking, and howling of frontman Michael Gira. It’s not explicit about its narrative, but with an imagination and an understanding of music as wordless storytelling, a plot structure and theme can be gleaned fairly easily. And man, it is one of the most haunting, beautiful, and devastating plots I’ve heard in music, well beyond any rock opera or musical. The way that the massive instrumentation weaves between crushing heaviness and soft beauty, with droning passages sometimes lasting up to five minutes, it’s all just enough to keep the listener constantly engaged, and never bored. I feel weird saying that I don’t want to spoil an album, but I don’t feel comfortable continuing for fear of ruining the experience. Give it a listen if you have 2 hours to spare, it’s well worth it.
Favorite Tracks: Lunacy | The Seer | Apostate
13. Tyler, The Creator – IGOR
Tyler, The Creator’s career has been, if nothing else, incredibly interesting. His earliest works were weighed down hard by edgy lyrics and topics used only for shock value, but there was always a glimmer of potential in his flow and personality – he never felt natural saying the things he did. Cherry Bomb was a step forward thematically but had irritatingly blown-out production that I could never get into, and ended up whatever good songwriting was there. 2017’s Flower Boy, seen earlier on this list, was a massive turning point and, while I love that record it seemed like a teaser for what was to come in the future. That “thing to come” was IGOR, and it is far and away my favorite thing he’s done. Soulful singing over psychedelic production, retro lo-fi aesthetics used with both mastery and creativity, and a rap flow and vocal timbre that remains one of the most unique in the game. IGOR is a breakup album, but it’s one that tells a story. It evolves through the five stages of grief throughout its 12 tracks in a way that flows impeccably and is quite easy to follow, and by the end there’s a great feeling of satisfaction. There’s not much I can say here that I didn’t say in my 2019 list so check that out if you’d like to read more, but needless to say I think it’s a great album and you should check it out if you’re a fan of any genre of popular music.
Favorite Tracks: WHAT’S GOOD | NEW MAGIC WAND | GONE GONE / THANK YOU
12. Kids See Ghosts – Kids See Ghosts
Two weeks after producing and releasing Pusha T’s DAYTONA, and one week after his deeply personal project ye, Kanye West collaborated with fellow rapper Kid Cudi to reach an artistic peak that neither artist in their current state would have been able to achieve on their own. Condensed to an incredibly short 23-minute runtime, every hint of filler has been completely scrapped for one of the most gripping Hip-Hop projects of the decade, one that leaves no reason to leave before the album has run its course. It frontloads all the “bangers, with the absurd “KRA KA KA” Kanye adlibs on Feel The Love and the mindblowing sample flip of a 30s Christmas song on 4th Dimension. These initial tracks are where they push out some of their greatest lyrics and performances – I laughed out loud the first time I heard Kanye confidently say “If I get locked uuuup I won’t finish this sen-” and then proceed not to finish his verse. After this, however, the duo gets emotionally vulnerable in a way that is rarely seen from either artist. Reborn is the standout of this run of songs, with the uplifting message and powerful singing voice of Cudi, with a powerful Kanye verse to boot. My personal highlight, however, is the closer: Cudi Montage. Lyrically both artists are at peak performance, with genius rhymes and flawless flows. The first four lines of Kanye’s verse are enough to make it one of his greatest of all time, and absolutely devastating. The album closes with a powerful message echoing into silence, one that pertains through the entire project, and the perfect closer to an incredible album. “Stay Strong.”
Favorite Tracks: 4th Dimension | Cudi Montage | Reborn
11. Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked At Me
Death is real
Someone’s there and then they’re not
And it’s not for singing about
It’s not for making into art
Phil Elevrum, former frontman of The Microphones and currently Mount Eerie lost his wife, Geneviève Castrée, to cancer in April of 2016. This event was obviously devastating to Elevrum, and in his grief he began turning his story into songs immediately. He left little to no time to wait and grieve, and it shows in the sheer rawness of the record. You aren’t supposed to take any meaning away from this album, it’s purposeless, because that’s how Elevrum felt about his wife’s death, just pointless tragedy. He delivers every line bluntly, with no poetry or metaphor to hide behind, not a single rhyme in the words, and at times scarcely a melody. It’s just Phil and his story, with soul crushing lines and deadpan delivery that always seems to break down by the end of the song, hurt and confused. It’s reflective of the events of the past few months, and of the events leading up to the passing. Seaweed is the gut wrenching telling of taking his wife’s ashes to scatter in a place special to her, with the hauntingly beautiful closing line of “The truth is I don’t see these ashes as you, you are the sunset.”
The album is full to the brim with haunting passages, too many to name, and each one is equally devastating over the loose and quiet instrumentation, often just a single acoustic guitar. It’s impossible for me to talk critically about this album, because there is no artistic meaning or intent behind it, it’s as pointless and tragic as Elevrum felt the death the album is based around was. There is no silver lining, no happy ending, just the one unifying truth.
Death is real.
10. PUP – Morbid Stuff
I’ve had a long time to sit with this album, a good 5+ dozen listens, and 2 live shows to come to the conclusion I’ve made. This is my favorite Pop-Punk album ever.I don’t make a statement like that lightly, either. Plenty of my all-time favorites are Pop-Punk albums, but this is the one that I resonate the most with, the one I have the most fun with, and the one I can never get enough of. Morbid Stuff has every element I’d want in a fusion of Hardcore and Pop-Punk, with snotty vocals that spit clever lyrics that are consistently funny and twistedly relatable, pounding drums that blast through your speakers in perfect tandem with the grimy bass guitar, and righteous dual guitars that play some of the hookiest riffs in the genre, with some outright fun solos sprinkled in for good measure. It’s the songwriting, however, that really holds the entire album up for me. Every song is an absolute masterclass of the genre, with group-vocal choruses demanding you to sing along (which made for the greatest live show I’ve ever been to, by the way) and punchy song structure completely devoid of any filler. Kids, See You At Your Funeral, and Closure are all pure Pop-Punk bangers, while Scorpion Hill and City show a more melancholy, slow side. Full Blown Meltdown needs no description, the title does it all, a heavy dive straight into hardcore with crusty chainsaw guitar tones and extremely prominent bass. I could go on and on about this band and album, but I’d suggest reading my 2019 list if you want more of that. Give this album a listen and have a blast, you won’t regret it.
P.S. Go see them live if you get the chance they put on an amazing show
Favorite Tracks: See You At Your Funeral | Closure | Free At Last
9. Queens of the Stone Age – …Like Clockwork
It’s impossible to deny that the 2010s were quit to discard Rock music almost entirely, with Rock fans being delegated the title of “boomers” or “oldheads.” Unfortunately, with the state of modern Rock music, I struggle to disagree, but not all hope is lost. Up to this album’s release, Queens of the Stone Age retained one of the most flawless discographies in Alternative Rock and, thankfully, …Like Clockwork continued that legacy with what is probably their best record ever released. The immediate standout feature is the frankly gorgeous production. No sound is hidden in the mix, it’s like looking into a painting and being able to see every brush stroke and color combination. The crisp guitars, prominent bass, pristine drums, and Josh Homme’s beautiful vocals are all given exactly as much room in the mix as is necessary, and nothing ever feels snubbed. The sound of this record is completely unique in Queens of the Stone Age’s discography, ranging from the crushingly moody bass tones of Keep Your Eyes Peeled, to the sun-blistered energy of My God Is The Sun, the David Bowie-esque vocals of Kalopsia, and the haunting beauty of I Appear Missing (my favorite song on the album, and possibly the best song they’ve ever made.) Some incredibly ambitious features dot the tracklist, with huge stars like Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl (who used to drum for the band) and even rock legend Elton John on the track Fairweather Friends. It’s become increasingly difficult to create rock music in the modern era that isn’t immediately dismissed by critics and fans alike, and it’s a huge relief to have a record like this push the envelope in such ways that it truly deserves all the acclaim it’s rightfully received.
Favorite Tracks: I Appear Missing | Keep Your Eyes Peeled | I Sat By The Ocean
8. Lingua Ignota – CALIGULA
I talked at decent length about this record in my 2019 list that I keep linking, and I haven’t changed my opinion much since then, so I will keep this short. You can read my summary there at #2. I will say, however, that this remains one of the most haunting, beautiful, and terrifying recountings of abuse I’ve see in any art form, with some of the most horrifying and pained shrieks paired with some of the most beautiful singing and instrumentation, torn apart by cascading walls of sound and distortion. Incredibly memorable lyrics fill the entire record (the haunting “Make worthless your body so no man can break it” is just as devastating now as the first time I heard it) and the message of vitriolic hate and pure unbridled rage towards abuse and those who take part in it remains potent and relevant. This is one of the darkest albums of the decade, and an incredibly difficult listen that is absolutely worth the effort.
Favorite Tracks: If the Poison Won’t Take You My Dogs Will | Butcher Of The World | May Failure Be Your Noose
7. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye’s 2010 outing is considered by many to be the greatest album of the decade, and in listening to it it’s not difficult to understand why. Coming off the critically-misunderstood 808s & Heartbreak, it would have been very easy for Kanye to return to his trusted style of mainstream Rap from his first three albums – those albums still hold up as some of the best of their decade. Instead, Kanye doubled down on his artistic mission, completely confident in his ability and vision. He moved to Hawaii and isolated himself in the studio with only his many collaborators, making himself the would-be “CEO” of the project, working with collaborators as employees for the cinematic and game changing record of his dreams. Hundreds of man hours, and millions of dollars were poured into the production of this record, and to what end?
The result is a breathtakingly original and frankly epic project the likes of which have never been seen, and have yet to be seen again. The number of collaborators and features on this project is frankly absurd, from Jay-Z to John Legend, Nicki Minaj to Bon Iver, and so so many more that I don’t have the space to name. The production is Kanye at his most extravagant, with massive symphonies of horns, crisp and precise beats, and flawless mixing. The track All Of The Lights (with its intro) is the greatest example of the grandiose and intense sound the album lives off of, with An orchestral intro, a good dozen or so features, and a switching beat that never goes stale. Monster has some pretty ridiculous verses, but also contains the absolutely stellar Nicki Manaj verse that did a great deal to put her on the map as one of the biggest names of the early 2010s. The true spotlight is Runaway, by a mile. It’s Kanye at his most beautiful, with the grandiose production stripped back to a single piano. One note, over and over and over until dropping one of the greatest beat switches in Hip-Hop history. Some of Kanye’s most vulnerable lyrics appear on this track, and it closes with a long and beautiful solo composed only of distorted autotune what occasionally breaks through to expose the human behind them. As I said in an earlier entry on this list, Kanye remains one of the most consistent artists of all time, and this is him at his absolute peak.
Favorite Tracks: Runaway | All Of The Lights | POWER
6. Daughters – You Won’t Get What You Want
Eight years after the Self-Titled record that was supposed to be their last, Daughters returned with an album that not only lives up to the band’s legacy in every way, but greatly exceeds it. You Won’t Get What You Want is one of the darkest Noise Rock albums I have ever heard, and it honestly leaves me close to speechless. Writing this is an incredibly difficult task, as it’s hard to explain the feeling of unreleasable tension this album provides. It’s what I imagine having a panic attack in public sounds like mentally, restrained as much as physically possible, but still letting loose a horrifying slew of crushing emotion, unrelenting and with no release. The sheer bricked-out dissonant crashing of noise on tracks like Long Road, No Turns and The Lords Song blow straight out of the speakers and through your chest, leaving you exhausted and searching for air. Respite is rare and temporary, and when it does appear on tracks like Less Sex and Satan in the Wait, there’s a looming sense of dread the likes of which I’ve rarely heard. Lyrically and vocally is where You Won’t Get What You Want shines brightest for me, with dark, depressing themes executed in a way that can only be described as pure poetry. This poetry is best displayed on the long, intense, and harsh Ocean Song, with a story that rivals most horror literature in its mere 7-minute runtime. This palpable tension rises and rises throughout the entire album until we’re finally met with Guest House, the pummelling release of everything built up to this point, burning down the house it’s named after with a gut-punch of a vocal delivery. The howlings of “I keep knocking and knocking and pounding and knocking, LET ME IN” pierce the walls of distortion until it finally ceases, leaving you alone with nothing but strings to accompany you as you look back at the horror you just went through. Truly a powerful record.
Favorite Tracks: Guest House | Long Road, No Turns | The Flammable Man
Writing About Music and Games Sometimes 