chérie liquor

This was the first time I looked back at a year's worth of streaming history and realized how much of 2019 was steeped in cyclical listening. According to Spotify's year-end summary, I discovered 200+ artists but had a significant drop in actual playback time. It's made me curious to know the endless factors that determine what changes a person's music streaming habits on a yearly basis. School/job transitions, concert preparations, mood specifics, life-altering experiences... Music is so intricately laced into every aspect of our lives if we allow it to be.

Brushing aside this over-analytical take, without further ado I present to you all my favorite albums of 2019.

Love Poem by IU

Top Track: the visitor

If my track-by-track review was any indication, this was most definitely the greatest gift I could've received this year. Albeit the shortest on the list, the six songs on Love Poem tote a perfect collection of emotions and musical experimentation.

Purpose by Taeyeon
Top Track: Better Babe

How generous of an artist must you be to release a full album, a Japanese EP, 3 singles and a Frozen OST. The more of her own writing that goes into her albums as time progresses the better she gets. Entering her early 30s was a godsend in delivering more sultry vocals, bossa nova instrumentals, and so much more to offer with no breaks in sight. Whereas her previous record Voice encased tracks that highlighted individual points of her personal style, Purpose holds its own as one cohesive powerful stand as a mature woman and not just the leader of Girls' Generation.

Songs For You by Tinashe
Top Track: Perfect Crime

Independence looks so good on you, Tinashe. A no-skip album that can sit right behind Nightride you can tell sincerely was a joy for the songstress to produce. Despite already being her loyal doormat, this really exceeded my expectations and I'm already looking forward to what's in store for future releases.

III by BANKS
Top Track: Hawaiian Mazes

Reached my fangirl peak finally experiencing Jillian's insane performance prowess live and literally in my face twice this year. She's been embedding her soul into this since The Altar and it's so raw and mesmerizing when she croons to either an almost entirely isolated piano or these otherworldly drumbeats.

When I Get Home by Solange
Top Track: Almeda

Solange continues to bring the beauty of what art films do for cinema to the music industry. Her music is intelligent and atmospheric, keying into her own culture and identity while pulling you into a dream. Her growth and prosperity since her early 00s sound are priceless.

RE_vive by Brown Eyed Girls
Top Track: A Common Love Story

Legends returned and no one expected their comeback to be a cover album, but with all the reworks and charm each member of BEG brings, who could possibly complain. The music video for Wonder Woman with the wedding gender role reversal and Jack The Ripper concept floored me too.

Rouge by Yuna
Top Track: (Not) The Love of My Life

Can I say this queen is underappreciated? Her voice is effortlessly impeccable and her R&B style entices fans of any genre. With features like Usher and Tyler the Creator it shocks me that she isn't topping charts everywhere. An international treasure.

Magdalene by FKA Twigs
Top Track: holy terrain

Applause for a woman who had six fibroid tumors removed, went on to get right back to pole dancing, flew all over the place recording and performing at dozens of concerts and festivals to then give us GOLD.

Hidden, Not Forgotten by Waa Wei
Top Track: Since I Am No Longer Pretending Myself a Poet That Is Not Sentimental

Assuming she started working on this during her pregnancy, I think this might be her best album yet. Saccharine vocals lull you to sleep on fairytale acoustic tracks but pick you right back up for electro-pop picks like my favorite listed above.

Over It by Summer Walker
Top Track: I'll Kill You

I wish I would've caught onto her music earlier (have been playing her oldie CPR so much lately) because I've been eating this album up. It's sensual and reminiscent of the late 90s/early 00s R&B I grew up on.

La Linda by Tei Shi
Top Track: A Kiss Goodbye

La reina is back and here to murder me with insane transitions like that of No Juegues and collaborations with the genius Blood Orange. Some might have false assumptions about Latinx artists and their ability to evade the stereotypical sound you get on the radio once in a while, but she is so far removed and in a league of her own.




Far From the Madding City by Oohyo
Top Track: TOKI TALL

K-indie pop ingenuity of the highest caliber. Her voice is hypnotic and the beats are consistently sickening. When Tennis initially released I think I was on the verge of cracking vertebrae throwing my head around during the chorus.

Sunshine Kitty by Tove Lo
Top Track: Really don't like u

The moment you put Kylie Minogue on anything you're begging me to be summoned from the depths of despair to scream about it. My go-to party princess crafts club banger excellence time and again with no brakes on.

It goes without saying IU is the great love of my life. Not even in a romantic sense, but because she so effortlessly captured my heart and eases my soul with her music and smile alone, I call that love. Two years have passed since the back-to-back releases of her self-written and produced Palette along with her second cover album Flower Bookmark 2. She's had plenty of time to experience the transition into her late twenties along with growing as an actress on the big and small screens. Her musical advancements are so incredibly broad for someone who can easily be pigeonholed as a ballad singer, delving into a myriad of genres and sub-genres while staying true to what her vocal color allows. Love Poem is akin to a love letter that writes a thank you to all the projects she's created up to now while introducing whatever she feels is on the horizon. Experimentation is rampant on this album just as it was with her last two as IU shows us she's only just begun to break the surface as a singer, composer, and producer.

Track 1: unlucky

We start off with something reminiscent of dlwlrma soon transition to an acoustic jazz session during the chorus, which made my jaw hit the floor. Her voice goes from this lively chirp to a velvety bar singer without a blip. The song describes the feeling of being a bit lost in life, stumbling over these feelings but still trying to be a positive person. She also tries to come to an understanding regarding those who take out their misfortunes on others with anger and hate comments saying they're probably just as sad and lonely as us at the end of the day. Overall the long is the warm mug of tea or soothing bubble bath at the end of a tiresome week and I'm thankful.

Track 2: The visitor

After working with Sam Kim and admitting to being his fan, I'm not shocked, albeit shriekingly please, that a sultry acoustic number snaked its way onto this album. The last time she dabbled in something like this was on Modern Times which was ridden with Spanish guitars, violins, and accordions to procure a subtly sensual sound like dessert wine for your ears. Even the lyrics are about being addicted to someone who's a human vice. A person who barely humors you or disappears without a call but with one word or touch can have you on edge for hours on end. Maybe this is my favorite track.

Track 3: Blueming

An early 2000s pop anthem? Sign me up! This is 100% a song for first loves or the intoxicating honeymoon phases of a new relationship. A sound completely different from anything she's put out before but perfect for dancing in your underwear and pretending you're Lizzie McGuire or for that girls' trip playlist to blast in the car on repeat until your friends get sick of you. Absolutely precious nostalgia.

Track 4: above the time

A grandiose production that brings us back to Last Fantasy days or as an ending credit theme for a Studio Ghibli film. The orchestra builds and makes your heart swell and brings you right back to earth with a Sogyeokdong-style electronic beat and then obliterates all your expectations with a sudden fiddle (dance as seen in the music video) break. This song especially rings true with the album title in its lyrics that are so beautifully strung together:

 Yeah, I'm crying folks. 

Track 5: Lullaby

Sleep can only ever be peaceful and interrupted with zero nightmares in sight because this song exists. But while you're awake listening to this, you will cry many tears. IU's vocals consistently have the ability to both heal and hurt depending on the particular mood of the song. With tracks like this seeped in tragic endings and last goodbyes, her voice transforms into a Shakespearean sonnet, made to deliver devastation in the most beautiful way possible. I'm beginning to run out of tissues. 

Track 6: Love poem

The album closer was pre-released so I'm well acquainted with how powerful it is. There would be no other song better suited to tie together this EP than this. Uplifting, encouraging... Love poem is an angelic companion to those shrouded by darkness. IU's echoing call of "I'll be there" to whoever's listening is for anyone out there who feels overwhelmed by their demons and aims to bring hope for a better tomorrow straight to their hearts. Even after about a million plays, the message still rings through just as loudly as the first time. 

Love Poem is available digitally for downloading and streaming on all music platforms along with physical CD copies for purchase on Amazon! 

So many talented women have blessed us with new music this year and I've put myself through the grinder trying to narrow my 100+ list of favorites down to a reasonable 25 songs. Without further ado, sit back and enjoy some sweet tunes.

WE GOT by WJSN

The Met Gala is as much a national holiday as any for fashion snobs and those who simply enjoy the act of tearing bitches to shreds for never following the event's annual theme. Nearly a decade has passed since I first became a regular spectator and nothing could interrupt my focus the second a foot steps on that carpet. It's not like I'm trying to live vicariously through the attendees, but rather see what they can accomplish with their extensive contact list of designers and of course, major cash. More often than not, it's quite disappointing to see guests stick to rather conventional evening wear. Whether it's due to fear of the avant-garde or being ignorant to the given theme, I don't see there being a good enough excuse. In celebration of art and fashion, go big or go home. 

Good news, no one dressed downright awfully this year, so I'm going into this post full of positivity, even including looks that weren't necessarily on-brand, but still hot nonetheless. Let's get to it!

BILLY PORTER

Designer: The Blonds