60.
Jessie Ware, ‘Devotion,’ 2013
Jessie Ware’s debut album, Devotion, is a profound exploration of love, vulnerability, and personal introspection. Ware’s songwriting wades through the complex waters of romantic affection, capturing both its euphoria and heartbreak. The album’s title track, Devotion, sets the thematic tone with heartfelt lyrics such as “Enjoying your warmth, like a soft summer rain, I crawl through the grass,” articulating a longing for deep, meaningful connections. Ware’s ability to convey voluminous emotions with minimalistic lyrical expressions is a hallmark throughout the album. Themes of love and fear resonate powerfully, with Ware often questioning her own emotional readiness and vulnerability. For instance, in Running, she sings, “I want to know, is it mutual? / Am I ready to run? / Am I ready to fall?”—highlighting her internal struggle and the inherent risks of deep affection. In Wildest Moments, she drops rewind-worthy lines such as “I’ve been looking at you too much” and “What if we’ve ruined it all?”, articulating a blend of attraction and apprehension. No to Love, on the other hand, provides a candid self-reflection with lines like “Who says no to love?” and “What was I thinking of?” revealing her as the subject of her own lyrical scrutiny. Devotion is characterized by its sleek fusion of genres, from the haunting elegance of R&B to the rhythmic allure of electronic beats. Tracks like Running and 110% exemplify Ware’s knack for blending bass-heavy dance elements with soulful melodies. Running stands out with its stylish horn stabs, big drum beat, and seductive guitar riff, while 110% combines Aaliyah’s effervescent vibe with a Big Punisher sample, adding a playful yet soulful touch. The album’s soundscapes are lush and immersive, with Ware’s voice often taking center stage against a backdrop of throbbing instrumentation and cascading synth-laden ambience. Wildest Moments epitomizes the high production standard, its piano part rooted in the Paisley Park songbook, reminiscent of Prince and Sade. The production wisely refrains from overwhelming Ware’s vocal performance, instead complementing her natural gift with an array of subtle, emotive sounds.
59.
ROSALÍA, ‘EL MAL QUERER,’ 2018
ROSALÍA’s El Mal Querer stands as a crowning achievement in the contemporary music landscape, blending the traditional art of flamenco with modern pop sensibilities and urban rhythms. At its core, El Mal Querer is a concept album based loosely on the 13th-century Occitan novel Flamenca. The album is structured around this narrative, detailing the life and trials of a woman named Flamenca who is imprisoned by her jealous husband. Each song on the album acts as a chapter in this tale, weaving a story of love, jealousy, abuse, and ultimately, self-reclamation. The album explores themes that are both timeless and urgently contemporary. It delves into the oppressive cycles of abuse, gender violence, and the struggle for female empowerment. These deeply embedded themes elevate El Mal Querer from a mere collection of songs to a compelling, socially conscious narrative. In the track MALAMENTE – Cap.1: Augurio, ROSALÍA uses cryptic but vivid imagery to forecast the ill-fated nature of the relationship. MALAMENTE serves as a prologue, setting the tone with a blend of ominous warnings and cultural symbolism. In PIENSO EN TU MIRÁ – Cap. 3: Celos, the lyrics dive deeply into the protagonist’s troubling feelings of jealousy and control. BAGDAD – Cap.7: Liturgia showcases ROSALÍA’s ability to blend flamenco’s deep emotional heft with modern influences. Referencing Justin Timberlake’s Cry Me a River, the lyrics poignantly discuss the feeling of being unseen, evoking a sense of profound loneliness and despair. Musically, El Mal Querer merges flamenco with an array of genres including pop, R&B, electronica, and even trap, an eclectic mix that feels both innovative and deeply rooted in tradition. MALAMENTE blends flamenco handclaps and vocal techniques with urban beats and modern production, creating an immediately captivating experience. The high-budget, visually stunning music video further amplifies the song’s impact, incorporating symbolic imagery like modernized bullfighting to evoke a sense of cultural richness and foreboding. The experimental production includes using a Spanish guitar loop in QUE NO SALGA LA LUNA (Cap.2: Boda), which sounds almost like a synthetic beat, aligning perfectly with the track’s narrative of a cursed procession.
58.
Harry Styles, ‘Fine Line,’ 2019
Harry Styles’ sophomore studio album, Fine Line, is marked by its thematic exploration of personal and relational turmoil. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Styles revealed that the album is “all about having sex and feeling sad,” hinting at the dichotomous nature of the content. Fine Line embodies the toughest and most soulful songs Styles has written to date, delving deeply into the complexities of human emotions, capturing the essence of heartbreak, happiness, sex, and melancholy. From the outset, tracks like Golden set a tone of euphoric reflection, while songs such as Falling and To Be So Lonely dive deep into the anguish and introspection typically associated with heartache. The thematic resonance continues right through to the titular closing track Fine Line, which encapsulates the necessity of finding balance amidst emotional extremes. Lyrics play a pivotal role in giving the album its emotional weight, and Styles employs vivid imagery to express his inner turmoil and joy. For instance, in the track Fine Line, he repeatedly sings, “We’ll be a fine line,” emphasizing the precarious balance between conflicting emotions. Songs like Cherry and Falling are laced with poignant lyrics that reveal his vulnerabilities and the bitter truth of failed relationships. The line “What am I now? What if I’m someone I don’t want around?” from Falling showcases his mastery over emotive songwriting, inviting listeners to reflect on their own experiences. Fine Line is a genre-defying album that melds pop rock, progressive pop, psychedelic pop, folk, soul, funk, and indie pop. This melting pot of sounds makes the album uniquely unpredictable and a joy to experience. The track Lights Up incorporates a soft-touch re-entry into the pop slipstream, which is both reflective and boastful. From the sun-drenched acoustic rock vibes of Canyon Moon to the baroque pop flavor of Sunflower, Vol. 6, Styles tackles a wide array of genres, showcasing his eclectic tastes and musical dexterity. An outstanding element of the album’s production is its nuanced layering of instruments and vocals. The title track starts as a folk ballad and swells into an orchestral piece with strings, horns, and harmonies, embodying Styles’ evolving musical vision.
57.
Clairo, ‘Immunity,’ 2019
Clairo’s debut studio album, Immunity, transcends her lo-fi origins and delves into a polished soundscape that combines indie pop, soft rock, and electropop elements. The album’s title, Immunity, embodies a dual meaning that resonates throughout the eleven tracks. It references Clairo’s struggle with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), an autoimmune disease diagnosed at the tender age of 17; it symbolizes her emotional fortitude and ability to transform negative experiences into something positive. This dual-layered concept is a testament to the artist’s mature introspection and serves as the emotional backbone of the album. Immunity tackles multifaceted themes of vulnerability, self-exploration, resilience, and the complexities of young love. The album’s lyrics are replete with vivid metaphors and richly detailed narratives that touch upon her mental health, sexuality, and identity. Songs like Bags and Sofia highlight Clairo’s explorations of her queer identity and the bittersweet nature of relationships. This alignment not only fortifies the thematic coherence of the album but also makes it a deeply personal and relatable work of art. The opening track, Alewife, starkly revisits a night when a friend rescued her from a suicidal moment, setting a raw and sobering tone for the album. The lyrics throughout the album offer an unvarnished look into Clairo’s inner world, as she navigates through experiences of loneliness, the remnants of past relationships, and the debilitating effects of her autoimmune condition. In White Flag, Clairo reveals her susceptibility to loneliness, while I Wouldn’t Ask You candidly addresses her physical limitations. Musically, Immunity blends the simplicity of lo-fi aesthetics with the sophistication of high-fidelity production, featuring an array of instruments, including guitars, piano, and synthesizers. The use of children’s choirs, inspired by Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, further enriches the texture of the album, adding a layer of innocent euphoria to tracks like I Wouldn’t Ask You. The album’s seamless integration of different musical elements is particularly evident in songs like Sofia, which draws on the staccato strum of The Strokes and the punchy drum beats of Danielle Haim. This track, alongside others like Closer to You, showcases Clairo’s ability to infuse her music with the essence of her influences while still retaining her unique voice.
I don’t wanna be forward, I don’t wanna cut corners
Savor this with everything I have inside of me
I’m not the type to run, I know that we’re having fun
But what’s the rush? Kissing, then my cheeks are so flushedTell you how I felt
Sugar coated melting in your mouth
Pardon my emotions
I should probably keep it all to myself
Know you’d make fun of me
56.
Jamie xx, ‘In Colour,’ 2015
Jamie xx’s debut solo album, In Colour, merges a broad spectrum of sonic influences from the past and present to deliver an evocative exploration of emotion, memory, and the dancefloor. At its core, In Colour channels the sense of longing, nostalgia, and transient euphoria tied to rave culture. Jamie xx, born in 1988, describes a fascination with early British rave scenes, incorporating breakbeats, DJ shoutouts, and crowd noise into his production to evoke those early days. Despite having been too young to experience the rave beginnings firsthand, he manages to reanimate those sensations, not by mere replication but by reframing them through his contemporary sensibility. In Colour is a dazzling culmination of Jamie xx’s last six years of work, weaving together moody ballads, dancefloor bangers, and extensive collaborations, reflecting a keen understanding of the interplay between joy and loneliness, communal euphoria, and individual melancholy. In Colour displays Jamie xx’s eclectic influences, ranging from ’90s jungle to two-step and from doo-wop to trance. The album is structured carefully to maintain a thematic unity; each track flows seamlessly into the next, creating a listening experience that is both continuous and explorative. Tracks like Gosh and Sleep Sound set the stage with their evocative use of breakbeats and minimalist rhythms, while Stranger in a Room, hones in on the softer, more introspective side of the album. Loud Places uses a sample from Idris Muhammad’s Could Heaven Ever Be Like This to craft a rich, emotive piece that encapsulates the sense of isolation one can feel even in crowded spaces. This emotional duality is further exemplified in tracks like I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times), which juxtaposes Young Thug and Popcaan’s upbeat contributions with a backdrop that hints at deeper, more introspective tones. The production quality maintains a balance between the celebratory and the melancholic, capturing the essence of rave experiences that Jamie xx holds dear. Tracks like The Rest Is Noise encapsulate this perfectly, starting with an energetic rave-like buildup before washing into a sea of yearning and introspection. This dichotomy of euphoria and melancholy is a recurring theme throughout In Colour, making it a reflective homage to the complex experiences of club culture.