40.
Adele, ’21’, 2011
Adele’s second studio album, 21, is the defining project of her career. The album’s title, 21, references Adele’s age at the time she wrote and produced the record. The album serves as a poignant exploration of the singer’s emotional landscape following a deeply personal breakup with a boyfriend who was ten years her senior. Adele channels her heartbreak into her music, making the album a visceral recount of emotional turmoil and the healing process that followed. Heartbreak is the primary theme woven through the tracks, offering a raw and honest portrayal of Adele’s pain. Her songwriting is intimate and candid, offering listeners an unfiltered view of her emotional world. The lyrics are steeped in pain, anger, regret, and ultimately, redemption. For instance, Rolling in the Deep kicks off the album with a powerful declaration of betrayal and anger: “We could have had it all.” However, unlike typical breakup albums that dwell on sorrow, 21 also celebrates resilience and personal growth. Tracks like Set Fire to the Rain and Turning Tables highlight a pivotal transformation, portraying a woman confronting her emotions head-on and reclaiming her strength. Someone Like You closes the album on a note of acceptance and nostalgia, with Adele singing: “I wish nothing but the best for you.” This progression from anger to acceptance encapsulates the emotional journey Adele undertakes throughout the album. The production of 21 is an intricate blend of modern and classic techniques, blending various genres, including pop, soul, country, and blues. Adele was introduced to the soundscapes of American country and Southern blues during her North American tour in support of her debut album 19. This influence is particularly evident in the piano and acoustic guitar in tracks like Don’t You Remember, which contradicts the powerful gospel thump, swelling chorus, and swampy sound of Rolling in the Deep. The album’s composition often employs live instrumentation, favoring the use of drums and guitar to create a raw and authentic sound. The stark simplicity of Someone Like You, which features only Adele’s voice and a piano, drew initial resistance from her record label but ultimately became one of her most iconic songs.
39.
FKA Twigs, ‘MAGDALENE,’ 2019
Will you still be there for me
Now I’m yours to obtain?
Now my fruits are for taking
And your fingers are stained
Do you still think I’m beautiful
When you light me in flames?
FKA Twigs’ sophomore album, MAGDALENE, is significantly inspired by the figure of Mary Magdalene, a historical and religious icon often misrepresented and misunderstood as a sinful prostitute, despite corrections by religious authorities. FKA Twigs harnesses this figure to explore themes of modern femininity, pain, vulnerability, resilience, and personal transformation. The album serves as a deep reflection of her experiences of heartbreak, physical affliction, and societal expectations. Twigs’ breakup with actor Robert Pattinson in 2017 and her recovery from surgery to remove fibroid tumors from her uterus became the emotional backbone of the album. These personal trials are echoed throughout the album, providing a narrative foundation that moves from despair to rebirth, mirroring the transformation of Mary Magdalene herself. The lyrics in MAGDALENE are vivid and evocative, often blending intimate personal reflections with broader feminist themes. In tracks like thousand eyes, Twigs sets the tone with haunting vocals against a background of distorted synth lines, portraying the intense scrutiny she faced during her publicized relationship. holy terrain, juxtaposes biblical allusions with modern dating struggles, asking if her new partner will stay once she is his to “obtain.” In daybed Twigs sings about her own conflicted feelings and the false pretenses of intimacy. mary magdalene and mirrored heart stand out as poignant explorations of feminine strength and vulnerability, with Twigs finding power in her pain and using it to fuel her art. The album closes with cellophane, a haunting ballad that circles back to themes of scrutiny and vulnerability, asking the recurring question “Didn’t I do it for you?” Musically, MAGDALENE is a fusion of various genres, including electronic art pop, avant-garde, R&B, trap, trip-hop, industrial, opera, chamber pop, and even Bulgarian folk, showcasing FKA Twigs’ penchant for adventurous experimentation. This eclectic mix is reminiscent of artists like Björk and Kate Bush, who similarly defy genre boundaries to create unique sonic landscapes. The album’s production is utterly sublime with skittering toms, oscillating synths, and beats that serve as a proscenium for Twigs’ voice. The track thousand eyes employs a choral refrain that steadily distorts, setting an emotionally charged tone that carries through the album. sad day stands out with its intricate beats and oscillating synths, while home with you blends glitchy electronic production with poignant lyrics about the struggles of everyday people.
I fear before the fire
True as Mary Magdalene
Creature of desire
Come just a little bit closer to me
Step just a little bit closer to me
I can lift you higher
I do it like Mary Magdalene
I want you to say it
Come just a little bit closer ’til we collide
38.
David Bowie, ‘Blackstar,’ 2016
David Bowie’s Blackstar, released on January 8, 2016, two days before his death, delivered a poignant farewell to his fans and the world. Recorded in secret while Bowie battled liver cancer, Blackstar operates on several conceptual levels, merging existential angst with profound narrative storytelling. Facing his own mortality, Bowie imbued the album with a pervasive sense of finality and reflection. The thematic elements oscillate between life and death, and rebirth, drawing from Bowie’s life-long exploration of the mystical, the celestial, and the deeply personal. Jonathan Barnbrook, Bowie’s long-term design collaborator, stated that the album’s artwork, featuring the titular black star, symbolizes this sense of mortality. The star, noted for its simplicity, conveys both the mystique and the dark undertones that permeate the record. The thematic richness of Blackstar is most evident in tracks like Lazarus, which directly alludes to resurrection, aligning with Bowie’s stage play of the same name. Lyrically, Blackstar is a tapestry woven from cryptic symbols, literary references, and personal introspection. The title track, running over ten minutes, is a journey through poetic imagery, blending references to execution, exile, and a transformative celestial event that mirrors Bowie’s own journey from stardom to mortality. The enigmatically charged opening line, “In the villa of Ormen, stands a solitary candle,” conjures a mystical image filled with spiritual undertones, reflecting the introspective and somber mood of the album. The refrain, “I’m a blackstar,” contrasts the brilliance of celestial bodies with the dark, consuming nature of a ‘black star’ associated with death and disease – perhaps an allusion to his own cancer diagnosis. Lazarus, perhaps the most explicit farewell from Bowie, opens with the haunting lyric, “Look up here, I’m in heaven.” The blending of melancholic saxophone lines with Bowie’s evocative vocal performance creates an eerie yet beautiful atmosphere, epitomizing his acceptance and imminent departure. Blackstar represents one of Bowie’s most avant-garde and innovative efforts. Collaborating with jazz saxophonist Donny McCaslin and other jazz musicians like drummer Mark Guiliana, Bowie created a sonic landscape that blends jazz, art rock, experimental pop, and syncopated rhythms. Tracks like ‘Tis a Pity She Was a Whore and the re-recording of Sue (Or in a Season of Crime) exhibit this blend, where jazz elements harmoniously coexist with rock and electronic influences.
I’m a blackstar, way up, on money, I’ve got game
I see right, so wide, so open-hearted pain
I want eagles in my daydreams, diamonds in my eyes
Something happened on the day he died
Spirit rose a metre then stepped aside
Somebody else took his place, and bravely cried
37.
Drake, ‘Take Care,’ 2011
Drake’s sophomore album, Take Care, represents a turning point in Drake’s career, a reflection evident from its album cover. The cover features a pensive Drake draped in gold necklaces, sitting at a table with his head down. According to Drake, this imagery symbolizes him at a crossroads, contemplating the future and the toll that fame can take on one’s mental health. The thematic core of Take Care revolves around ambivalence and conflicting feelings toward fame, failed romances, missed connections, friendships, and family relationships. Tracks such as Marvin’s Room and Doing It Wrong exemplify his introspection and sensitivity towards emotional turbulence and relationship dynamics. Marvin’s Room, particularly, is often described as a drunk-dial anthem that captures the melancholy of lonely nights and unexpressed emotions. In the title track, Take Care, featuring Rihanna, lyrical themes revolve around love, pain, and the promise of emotional support. Drake expresses his desire to care for his love interest, acknowledging her past wounds while offering solace and protection. Drake’s promise in the chorus, “I’ll take care of you,” offers a poignant reassurance against the backdrop of complex and strained relationships. Drake continues to explore the dichotomy of fame and personal isolation—a theme established in his debut. However, on Take Care, he does so with greater nuance. Songs like Crew Love, featuring The Weeknd, critically examine the impact of success on personal relationships and mental health, embracing a more mature outlook. The composition of Take Care continues the slow, sensual, and dark sonic aesthetic introduced in Drake’s debut album, Thank Me Later. The album features Noah ’40’ Shebib’s minimalist production style, incorporating smooth piano, muffled drums, deep funk elements, and subtle, sensuous atmospheres. Additional producers like T-Minus, Boi-1da, and Jamie xx contribute to a rich, varied sound palette, introducing up-tempo elements that shift away from the melancholic mood of Shebib’s production. Songs like Headlines, produced by Boi-1da and Shebib, are harder and more hook-laden, providing a stark contrast to the more introspective tracks. The upbeat, four-on-the-floor beat of the title track Take Care showcases Jamie xx’s nimble remixing abilities, while Doing It Wrong features a soulful, downcast harmonica performance by Stevie Wonder.
36.
LCD Soundsystem, ‘This Is Happening,’ 2010
LCD Soundsystem’s 2010 release, This Is Happening, is a significant milestone in the career of James Murphy and his band. This Is Happening is more than a collection of songs; it’s an introspective journey into the emotional and psychological landscapes that define human relationships. The album’s concept seems to grapple with a duality: the celebration and mockery of modern party culture, merged with profound introspection on personal and collective shortcomings. The title This Is Happening itself could be seen as a commentary on both the exuberance of life and the mundanity that accompanies it. Murphy’s lyrics explore topics such as love’s destructive power, exemplified in tracks like I Can Change, where he sang, “Love is a murderer”—a sentiment he didn’t deliver in jest. This is Happening turns into a self-help guide to relationship hangovers, packed with sardonic musings and existential revelations. Murphy’s lyrics are not just witty but also profoundly poignant, often often vacillating between heartfelt sincerity and wry sarcasm and self-deprecation. Songs like You Wanted A Hit, with its sneering tone towards the music industry, reflect Murphy’s dual nature of being both the party host and the disillusioned philosopher. In Dance Yrself Clean, Murphy addresses the bittersweet nature of aging and the inevitable passage of time. Themes of regret, fading youth, and longing for simpler times are dealt with in an emotional depth seldom seen in dance-punk.
This Is Happening stays true to the roots laid out in previous albums but shows considerable growth. LCD Soundsystem maintains its anchor in the dance-punk genre but incorporates elements of electronic, rock, and even some experimental touches. Tracks like Dance Yrself Clean initially feature minimalist beats and melodies but abruptly explode into energetic synths, making it a staple in the band’s repertoire. Murphy’s keen sense of musical composition shines throughout the album. He masterfully uses repetition and layering to build tension and release. All I Want, a standout track, employs a relentless yet emotionally evocative guitar riff that feels almost cathartic. The album’s soundscape reflects both its high-energy moments and its introspective lulls. Tracks like Pow Pow and One Touch are emblematic of Murphy’s ability to blend sardonic commentary with infectious beats, whereas Somebody’s Calling Me takes a bluesy, almost sinister turn, showcasing his versatility as a musician.