2019 has created a conducive environment for up and coming artists. The relative lack of a presence from Drake, Migos, Taylor Swift and other stream grabbing artist has caused a sort of power vacuum. This vacuum has been filled by Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Lizzo and others. All artist who were on the cusp of stardom in the previous years. But there are always artist in a similar situation. The virality and memes of these artists are what allowed them to differentiate themselves and explode.

Lizzo’s exuberant confidence resonated well with many people on social media and allowed her to build up an immense presence. This allowed her to go viral by playing the flute everywhere she could. Billie Eilish was trending upward in a somewhat old fashion style by allowing her interesting music and persona to gain followers. She exploded though, when the music video for “Bad Guy” turned into an unkillable meme. The most obvious of these horses of change is Lil Nas X. He started the year embroiled in controversy surrounding the take down of “Old Town Road” from the country billboard hot 100. After this all eyes were on him and he has yet to slow down. He has stayed valuable in the meme economy by releasing remix after remix of “Old Town Road.” To talk about the best songs and albums of 2019 (so far), we must first understand how the music industry is changing. Lil Nas X and others show a pretty massive shift in the paradigm. Since our attention is such a sought after commodity, the continual virality of an “Old Town Road” proves a more effective strategy than traditional music releases. This change has been incremental up to this point but it will be interesting to see how these songs and albums affect the future of the music industry. Here are the best songs and albums of 2019 so far.

Albums

James Blake, Assume Form

January 18

James Blake seems to always know what is on the cutting edge. The track list from Assume Form reads as a who’s who in recent music. The lead single, “Mile High” featured Travis Scott fresh off of the success of Astroworld and the rest of the album features the likes of Andre 3000, Rosalia, Moses Sumney, and Metro Boomin (most had significant releases in 2018). Assume Form, as suggested by many of the features, is more hip-hop influenced than any of James Blakes other albums. The electronics are also much more broken down and romantic compared to Blake’s usual harsh, overwhelming style. This can be seen most pertinently on the title track, “Assume Form,” where most of the instrumentation and melody comes from a plain piano. The electronics are more part of the supporting cast similar to the track “Forward” on Beyonce’s Lemonade. Assume Form form combines many of James Blake’s talents for an album that is less experimental, but just as enjoyable as many of his other projects.

Standouts: Assume Form, Can’t Believe the Way We Flow, Where’s The Catch

Sharon Van Etten, Remind Me Tomorrow

January 18

Last year Van Etten released the first single from Remind Me Tomorrow, “Comeback Kid.” The backing instrumentation and mood was a pivot of sorts from her patented drab beauty that Van Etten had developed over her last few albums. Replacing this style was a sound bathed in synths. The rest of Remind Me Tomorrow sits on either side of Van Etten’s style. Songs like “Jupiter 4” and “Malibu” are more full of emotion than synths while songs like “No One’s Easy to Love” have similar vibes to “Comeback Kid.” Where this album shines is when Van Etten can meld these two styles like on the magnificent “Seventeen.” This song has all the emotion and vocal range that Van Etten is famous for while simultaneously having the hard hitting synthy production. The sound of the 80’s still reign supreme on Van Etten’s latest.

Standouts: No Ones Easy to Love, Seventeen, Malibu

Read where “Comeback Kid” ranks on our top 20 songs of 2018 here

Ariana Grande, thank u, next

February 8

How does Ariana Grande follow up one of the best and biggest pop albums of the decade? With the release of Sweetener Grande proved that a mostly run of the mill Disney actress to pop star could be something more. The themes of optimism and confidence that run through Sweetener extend into thank u, next. The title track and the song “bloodline” exude confidence that is seldom matched in Grande’s catalog. Ultimately Sweetener gave Grande the go ahead to explore deeper and darker things (for a pop album) on thank u, next. Much of this is distilled into relationship issues like on the songs “needy” and “make up.” This isn’t a bad thing and still leads to compelling and catchy tracks but the true gut punch is the song “fake smile.” The song not only contains sentiments relevant to Grande and the Manchester terrorist attacks but also to entertainers in general. Sweetener and thank u, next represent the one of the best 1-2 punches in pop history.

Standouts: imagine, NASA, fake smile

Read where “thank u, next” ranks on our top songs of 2018 here

Karen O & Danger Mouse, Lux Prima

March 15

Seemingly out of the blue Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ lead singer Karen O and prolific producer Danger Mouse released a collaborative project, Lux Prima. Since her days in Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O has done everything from video game and movie music to her own stand alone projects. Lux Prima stands as an odd blend of what would seemingly fit a movie like Interstellar with Karen O’s silky smooth vocals. The atmosphere created throughout the album can be seen as Danger Mouses’ masterful production. While many of the tracks live in this world of droning synths and popping percussion, songs like “Turn the Light” and “Woman” turn the album into a funky rock opera. This album is surprisingly dynamic as the more you listen the more developed many of these songs become and the more the spacey atmosphere takes you for good.

Standouts: Lux Prima, Turn the Light, Woman

Billie Eilish, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?

March 29

The Proverbial edgelord Billie Eilish had a lot of hype surrounding her major label debut, When We All Fall Asleep…, and did not disappoint. While much of the production on When We All Fall Asleep borrows from trap hip hop and indie pop, Eilish’s minimalist vocals shine through. She almost whispers through most of the album and it is captivatingly intimate. Even on the more upbeat hit “bad guy” Eilish softly sings “I’m a bad guy… might seduce your dad guy.” On the other hand there are songs where her voice is deconstructed or autotuned (“8” and “bury a friend”). While this is a little less unique, it builds the atmosphere of the album to great affect. At only 17 Billie Eilish has a unique corner of the pop landscape where she can develop for years to come.

Standouts: bad guy, bury a friend, ilomilo

Weyes Blood, Titanic Rising

April 5

Sub Pop native Weyes Blood is most famous for many of her one off collaborations with other indie artists (most impressively 2018’s “God’s Favorite Customer” by Father John Misty). Though Weyes Blood’s music could be labeled as indie rock it is much deeper than that. Her sound on Titanic Rising is both sparse and enveloping. Take the first track “A Lot’s Gonna Change.” The sparse pianos and drippy vocals sound like they could be off The Shape of Water soundtrack. The songs instrumentation builds up slowly adding strings and other assorted background instruments into a climax. Many of these songs utilize the space and an echoing sound to create a vast orchestral sound. On Titanic Rising, Weyes Blood displays a very unique style and sound that deserves a genre title of its own.

Standouts: A Lot’s Gonna Change, Movies, Mirror Forever

Read where “God’s Favorite Customer” ranks on our top songs of 2018 here

Lizzo, Cuz I Love You

April 19

After a slew of fantastic singles over the past few years (“Boys,” “Truth Hurts,” “Juice” to name a few), Lizzo was primed for a massive major label debut. Cuz I Love You consist of bangerz that live up to her previous work like “Juice” and “Tempo.” Although this tempo and sound permeates through Lizzo’s discography, she also slows it down for more intimate cuts like “Jerome” and “Lingerie.” The production throughout the album is second to none as can be seen on the title track. The massive horns that fill the chorus of the song sound like they belong on a stadium rock epic. Lizzo’s intense confidence that is on display throughout all her music has allowed her to breakthrough into the mainstream and become one of the artist to watch in 2019.

Standouts: Cuz I Love You, Juice, Jerome

Vampire Weekend, Father of the Bride

May 3

After releasing one of the most important albums of the decade, Vampire Weekend lost one of its key members (Rostam Batmanglij) and went on hiatus. After their comeback album was announced early in the year, it seemed like the pressure was insurmountable. Would the band be able to churn out another fantastic album without their chief soundscape designer? Father of The Bride doesn’t try to emulate or even replace the sounds that Rostam wove into their first three album but instead leans on frontman Ezra Koenig’s songwriting. FOTB takes a lowkey approach to the background instrumentals that is reminiscent of 90’s jam rock bands while outsourcing a lot of production to Steve Lacey and the like. While FOTB is not as much of a paradigm shift as their previous albums were, it is a pretty chill listen with funky guitar riffs and some solid vocals/lyrics.

Standouts: Harmony Hall, Sympathy, Sunflower

Big Thief, U.F.O.F

May 3

Big Thief had a lot to live up to after 2017’s Capacity was a roller coaster of emotions rapped in a soft indie-folk album. Unidentified Flying Object Friend or U.F.O.F. for short doesn’t disappoint. While the album, with Adrianne Lenker’s beautiful vocals, emotionally hits in very similar distant and soft ways to Capacity, the instrumentation and sound hits a little less so. The album is still a fantastic indie-folk concept album that will have you crying in the club.

Standouts: Cattails, Orange, Magic Dealer

Read where Capacity ranks on our top 20 albums of 2017 here

Tyler, The Creator, IGOR

May 17

IGOR is the greatest Taylor Swift album ever made. Following up the 2017’s colorful Flower Boy, Tyler, The Creator could’ve taken his next album in any direction. He could’ve stuck with the glittery production that enveloped most of Flower Boy or he could’ve gone back to his roots and went with a more lo-fi, messy production. Tyler chose the middle ground and much like the album cover, IGOR contains elements of both styles of production. Songs like “EARFQUAKE” and “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS” explore the glittery production with a pop-R&B mashup while “IGOR’S THEME” and “WHAT’S GOOD” embrace the ugly lo-fi aesthetic that griped Tyler’s earlier work. Woven into all of this is one of the most honest breakup albums of the decade. The full life cycle of this relationship is explored with all the varying emotions and moods (which is matched with all the production). IGOR may very well be Tyler’s most significant work to date as it melds in so many musical styles with such great production and a fantastic concept.

Standouts: EARFQUAKE, GONE, GONE / THANK YOU, ARE WE STILL FRIENDS

Read where Flower Boy ranks on our top 20 albums of 2017 here

Thom Yorke, ANIMA

June 27

The Radiohead vet Thom Yorke dropped a surprise solo project (along with a Nextflix Lemonade style film) called ANIMA. This follows up 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool and scoring Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria. Based on those two previous projects, (and Thom Yorke’s other various solo works) it was hard to predict exactly what this new album would sound like. ANIMA sounds like a very dark version of the movie Tron. The electronics pulse throughout this entire album but they create a very different soundscape. One that invokes a post-apocalyptic feel which is only amplified by Yorke’s vocal manipulations. The accompanying Netflix visual experience does even more to developed this mood. This is accompalished by Yorke’s damaged eye and twisted movements. ANIMA is an exciting electronic album that will satisfy fans of both Radiohead’s later work and Thom Yorke in general.

Standouts: Traffic, Dawn Chorus, Runayaway