For the second time since 2011, Miranda Lambert released my favorite album of the year. Platinum, like its predecessor, finds her at the peak of her powers, bending country music to her will, practically becoming her own genre.
The best song on an album full of great ones is ‘Priscilla,’ Lambert’s plea to the former Mrs. Presley for advice on how to manage a marriage in the spotlight.
Morning Phase, Beck’s unofficial sequel to his melancholy classic Sea Change, turned out to be every bit as good as its predecessor.
Filled with minor key ruminations on love, loss and rebirth, the record makes for one hell of a wallowing good time.
If I weren’t such a radio-averse music snob, this would probably be my song of the year. It’s a perfectly crafted piece of ear candy — a whole party in three minutes.
Ariana Grande’s voice goes a mile high and an inch deep, and that’s exactly what this song requires. The staccato horn fills serve as a sublime introduction to the verses, and the whispered chorus is a stellar left-field touch.
Taylor Swift dominated the music scene last year with her first foray into pure pop, 1989. The album was the year’s top seller (even edging out the Frozen soundtrack in a photo finish) and showed up high on just about every critic’s list.
It’s tempting to call 1989 Swift’s most superficial record, but I think it’s generally as deep and satisfying as her previous work. It’s not the dessert, it’s the whole meal.
Here’s a quick song from Neko Case’s 2009 album Middle Cyclone.
Not much to this one other than the rustic, majestic sound she captured on this record and its predecessor, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, but I do find a lot to like in the lyrics.
Lines like “I’ve been away for so long I’ve lost my taste for home” and “that’s a dirty, fallow feeling to be the dangling ceiling from when the roof came crashing down” are evocative and sad in the best way.
