Tis the season of recapping the very best new artists that made the year very bright with their unique brand of music!
TOP OF THE CLASS:
Rosalia:
no real introspection of the year in reggaeton/latin pop can be credible without including Rosalia, who finally juxtaposed the old with the current to swing something none of her peers can come close to emulating.
The rest of the best (in no particular order)...
Steve Lacy:
of all the things people have had to say about Lacy this year, they keep forgetting one crucial thing: he is a member of the supergroup The Internet. That band doesn't miss and here is proving that he is a big reason why.
Gabriels :
while plus-size women in music have been retaking a narrative of themselves in pop music, we don't hear much from the guys. Well, lead singer Jacob Lusk is staking his claim with stunning falsetto tracks and nifty moves.
Grace Ives:
quietly made arguably the zaniest and best pop album of the year by a woman.
Amber Mark:
delivered upon the premise of "Foreign Things" the year before and the future remains very bright.
Ravyn Lenae:
it would have been easy to faulter in this R&B sub-genre that Lenae has chosen but her head is more than up here.
Sudan Archives:
good steady-feet pop.
Ethel Cain:
sounds like the offspring of a good Chelsea Wolfe and Lana Del Rey union.
Jockstrap:
I'm still shocked that this has worked as great as it has. It also proves that Georgia Ellery needs more space to work her magic in her other band (Black Country, New Road).
Scott Hardware:
his emo balance with alternate genres is mesmerizing.
