The Best of May 2019 & Monthly Staff Playlist
Posted: by The Editor
THE BEST MUSIC OF MAY 2019
On the band’s third and best album to date, the stunning and ephemeral UFOF, Big Thief push their folk-rock sound boldly into new territories. UFOF is an album full of songs that gradually transform from one thing into something entirely different, bolstered by flourishes of synths and vocals so faint in the background that you might miss them if you weren’t completely entranced by the music.
Father of the Bride, Vampire Weekend’s first album in almost six years, is a sprawling, awe-inspiring collection encompassing the band at their most accessible (“This Life”) and most unpredictable (“My Mistake”). Just shy of an hour, the album breezes by thanks in part to some of Ezra Koenig’s strongest songwriting yet.
After the massive critical success of Flower Boy, Tyler the Creator follows it up with an album as bleak as it is unconventional, the wonderfully strange Igor. Tyler continues to dial back on his rapping, favoring instead pitch-shifted vocals and intricate production choices that show Tyler finally settling into his groove as an auteur.
Pi’erre Bourne was the architect behind one of the best rap albums of last year (he produced the lion’s share of Die Lit) and on Slim’erre, his collaboration with Atlanta rapper Young Nudy, he continues to color outside the lines, matching Nudy’s easy going demeanor with a kaleidoscopic palette of sounds and 808s.
Chew Toy, the debut from Sass, is an album full of blistering riffs and sing-along choruses, channeling the anxieties of your early 20s into short bursts of chaotic energy. Tracks like “Role Model” and “Spoiled By Rotten” are manic and undeniably catchy, filled with the same anger and joy of screaming into a pillow.
But those weren’t the only great albums released this month, we also had new releases from Slingshot Dakota, Charly Bliss, and Origami Angel that we’ve covered in some capacity over at the site. We also premiered some pretty great stuff, including Terrible People’s new LP Like Clean Air as well as Shormey’s debut EP Boogie Tape Vol. 1.
This month we got our first taste of Oso Oso’s forthcoming LP Basking In The Glow with “Dig (II)” and to be completely honest with you, I don’t think I could be any more excited about this album. The Yunahon Mixtape was our favorite album of 2017, and if “Dig (II)” is any indication of the rest of the album, I’d say that Oso Oso might be able to do it again.
Strange Ranger announced their new album Remembering The Rockets, sharing “Leona”, the album’s excellent lead single. People might remember “Leona” from the band’s Audiotree session, and thankfully the studio version is able to harness all the energy and catchiness of the track. Strange Ranger have always explored a number of sounds and styles on their albums, so we’ll have to wait and see what the rest of Remembering The Rockets has to offer.
Slaughter Beach, Dog dropped “One Down” and “Good Ones”, the first two tracks off Safe And Also No Fear, which is dropping this August. “One Down” is one of my favorite songs of the year, and every time I hear it I’m reminded of Boxer by The National—the way the song gradually builds into something cathartic and the unorthodox drum beat that catapults everything forward looks to show an interesting new direction for the band.
See y’all next month.
THE PLAYLIST
Written by Michael Brooks // @nomichaelbrooks
Playlist curated by Steven Lalonde // @StevenLalonde
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