Top 89 Staff Picks: Emmet Kowler, college contributor
December 01, 2015
Songs
Taste - BRAIDS
The lyrics to "Taste" are plainspoken but effective, like the rest of Deep In The Iris, and the melodic line in the chorus gives me chills every time.
Magnets - Disclosure feat. Lorde
Disclosure have a reputation for being house music dumbed down for the Top 40 set. If this is the kind of sexed-up, can't-help-but-dance kind of music they give us, I'm down with that.
Open Up - Gallant
Part of a trilogy of singles that include Weight In Gold and Talking In Your Sleep, Gallant delivers a soaring, chill-step-infused R&B two-step that defies categorization.
Cafe du monde - Pell
A aggressive, perilous journey into the thrashing inner world of Pell, a NOLA-based rapper/singer with a knack for storytelling.
Stranger Than Earth - Purity Ring
A stop-and-go pounder/drifter that serves as a thesis statement for Another Eternity.
Coffins - MisterWives
I describe this band to friends as indie-sugar-disco-pop, but I think I prefer them when they chill out and sing about sad things.
Lean On - Major Lazer feat. MO & DJ Snake
I had a hard time picking a Major Lazer track for this list - Peace Is The Mission played on repeat in my car for all of this past summer - but I had to go with the one we all know, the only Top 40 track from this past summer worth remembering.
New Americana - Halsey
Though it irks me that she sings of Biggie and Nirvana despite being barely born during their heyday, it's still nice to hear a fellow millennial with such a distinctive voice and musical ethos.
Hell You Talmbout - Wondaland Records
The Janelle Monae-led collective reinvigorates the protest song for the Black Lives Matter era. Simply pounding drums and screaming voices. On par with, if not better than, Give Peace a Chance.
The Way - Kehlani feat. Chance the Rapper
Some songs just make you want to do things with the lights off. Make sure you watch the music video, and find yourself converted to the cult of Lani Tsunami.
Albums
Back In Time - Judith Hill
Back in March when this was unofficially released, my roommate described this record as "perfectly itself." The money note on "Cry, Cry, Cry" will blow your mind.
Another Eternity - Purity Ring
Short, sweet, but masterfully arranged and executed, it's hard to imagine Purity Ring topping this effort.
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful - Florence + The Machine
After a long and treacherous foray into the glitz and glam of Ceremonials, Florence throws it back to the female singer-songwriters of the 70's, and nails it. The demos on the deluxe edition are worth the price of admission.
Born In The Echoes - The Chemical Brothers
The electronic pioneers once thought to be on the brink of extinction continue their upward climb that started with scoring the film Hanna with a complex and maddening journey through what feels like a storm of bits and beeps.
In Colour - Jamie xx
While his band is on a hiatus, Jamie takes us through an exploration of house music that draws you in deep. I can't stop listening to "Loud Places" and "Stranger in a Room."
EMOTION - Carly Rae Jepsen
Nobody does cheesy, hook-driven 80's-throwback pop music like Carly. Not even Taylor Swift.
The Firewatcher's Daughter - Brandi Carlile
I never thought of country music as raw. Then I heard the guitar feedback on "The Stranger At My Door" and I was convinced.
You Should Be Here - Kehlani
Some records contain the heart and soul of the artists who make them. Every cheesy monologue, every corny rhyme, every lyrical cliche is earned tenfold by this upcoming R&B singer-songwriter.
To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
Most of us are still trying to figure out what half of this record means, but we can all agree that it's an instant classic.
The Fool - Ryn Weaver
She blew up the internet with "OctaHate." But together with Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos as a primary producer, Weaver demands our attention with a diverse and defiant record about heartbreak, family, and just getting through.
Album Covers
Wildheart - Miguel
The Epic - Kamasi Washington
To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
If You're Reading This It's Too Late - Drake
Tetsuo and Youth - Lupe Fiasco
Strangers To Ourselves - Modest Mouse
You Should Be Here - Kehlani
Bones - Son Lux
Currents - Tame Impala
Vulnicura - Bjork
Music Videos
King Kunta - Kendrick Lamar
Alright - Kendrick Lamar
Hotline Bling - Drake
Goldmine - Kimbra
WTF - Missy Elliot
New Americana - Halsey
M3LL155X - FKA twigs
Pedestrian at Best - Courtney Barnett
The Way - Kehlani
Final Boss - Doomtree
Emmet Kowler is a student at the University of Minnesota — Morris.