#19: Adult Mom – “Momentary Lapse of Happily”

Adult Mom is primarily the project of Steph Knipe, who makes bittersweet indie pop that is reminiscent of early Rilo Kiley. Momentary Lapse of Happily is one of my favorite debut albums of the year, partly because Knipe feels like a fresh, unique voice in music. A self-identified queer, their songs describe how that has affected their life and outlook, while mixing in relatable observations about growing up and not really fitting in with people.

Adult Mom’s strengths really come through in “Survival,” which is one of the songs I ended up playing on repeat a lot this year. Its upbeat sound is juxtaposed with the lyrics, which detail Knipe coming out and the general feeling of confusion and isolation that happened afterwards. The lyric “I survive because I have died” sums up a feeling that is present throughout the album, of being young but already feeling like a hardened survivor.

#20: Veruca Salt – “Ghost Notes”

After so many band reunions the last few years, I’ve gotten a pretty good idea of how they work. First, the band announces the reunion, which is largely met by groans as everyone thinks about how old the band has gotten and how desperate it is that they’re reuniting. Then the album comes out, and everyone listens to it and just hopes that it isn’t totally embarrassing and that it doesn’t make you completely forget the band’s prime. Afterwards, everyone tries to forget that the whole thing ever happened.

Ghost Notes, the first album with Veruca Salt’s original lineup in 18 years, legitimately breaks the reunion album mold. If the measure of a reunion album is how it stacks up against their original material, this might even be the best any band has done yet — Ghost Notes possibly surpasses 1994’s American Thighs as Veruca Salt’s best album. Rather than seeming tired or desperate, the band sounds rejuvenated.

Veruca Salt chose a good time to reunite, as I’ve felt their influence looming over music lately (certainly this list has already had some bands that seem inspired by them). Led by the reunited duo of Nina Gordon and Luise Post, they slide right into today’s musical landscape without sounding out of place. And the songs on Ghost Notes capture what made Veruca Salt popular to begin with — the loud guitars and catchy choruses — while also pushing their music into new places and sounding more mature (though thankfully they still don’t take themselves too seriously).

On the opening track, Gordon sings “it’s gonna get loud, it’s gonna get heavy”, and for 54 minutes Ghost Notes certainly lives up to that promise. That run time is arguably a little too long, but it’s a forgivable flaw after so many years of silence.

#21: Flavor Crystals – “The Shiver of the Flavor Crystals”

I stumbled upon Flavor Crystals at a live show and was immediately a fan of their deep, immersive sound, which translates well to record on their fourth full length, The Shiver of the Flavor Crystals. The band uses droning guitar and throbbing bass to create hypnotizing songs that remind me of early Spiritualized with a bit of Stereolab thrown in. Like most psychedelic music, it’s easy to get lost in and the meanings of the songs are hazy, allowing listeners to project meaning onto it as they see fit.

While Shiver is full of more drone-based songs that are captivating in their own right, the real magic happens when the band uses their sound on relatively traditional song structures. One of the best songs is “Diamond Mine,” a cover of a song by David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights that remains faithful to the original while sending it into space. “Antenna House” is a mellow, dreamy song that fades into one of the album’s many longer instrumental jams.

What I really like about this album is how it has such a defined, consistent sound. Flavor Crystals have been making music for awhile now, and this album is the product of a band who knows exactly who they are and what they’re good at.