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#1 Sorry In the Summer by Impulsive Hearts (Beautiful Strange)
BUY: Reckless / Amazon
Catchy, fuzzy, tuneful pop songs that got stuck in my head for days, from a Chicago band that's super supportive of the scene. There's nothing that makes me happier.
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#2 British Road Movies by Kate Jackson (Hoo Ha)
BUY: Reckless / Amazon
The former frontwoman for the Long Blondes gets the chance to show off her songwriting chops along with her great voice on this long-awaited solo debut. Reminiscent of the best of the first couple of years of MTV.
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#3 Puberty 2 by Mitski (Dead Oceans)
BUY: Reckless / Amazon
Haunting and lovely, with an emotional detachment that counter-intuitively makes the songs all the more powerful. Millennial angst clearly is different from Generation X angst, but I'm OK with that here.
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#4 Coloring Book by Chance the Rapper (self-released)
BUY: Reckless / Amazon
The best ambassador Chicago could hope for delivers a strong, wide-ranging record grounded simultaneously in the secular and the sacred, telling stories of our city, showcasing his friends, and generally doing everything right.
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#5 Love Is the Dealer by Rich Girls (self-released)
BUY: Reckless / Amazon
Read about this limited edition cassette by an unknown NYC band on somebody's blog, gave it a try, and listened to it a million times. A little bit C86, a little bit garage, a little bit new wave, a lot of tunefulness.
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#6 HEAVN by Jamila Woods (Closed Sessions)
BUY: Reckless / Amazon
Powerful, personal, genre-jumping solo debut from the Chicago singer and activist. Multiple listens of this one were endlessly rewarding, with new discoveries each time.
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#7 Livin' On a High Note by Mavis Staples (ANTI-)
BUY: Reckless / Amazon
In a year when we needed some hope, this warm, uplifting record fit the bill, and I reached for it repeatedly when I wanted some comfort and reassurance in the power of music.
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#8 My Woman by Angel Olsen (Secretly Canadian)
BUY: Reckless / Amazon
The record where Angel Olsen comes fully into her own, brimming with confidence and strength. This album feels BIG in the best possible way. Remember when she played that CHIRP Whistler Night?
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#9 Crab Day by Cate Le Bon (Drag City)
BUY: Reckless / Amazon
One of my favorite rock eccentrics of the last decade, and this record does nothing to dispel that reputation. Such an excellent weirdo.
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#10 Malibu by Anderson.Paak (Steel Wool)
BUY: Reckless / Amazon
A rich, soulful record that I originally didn't pay much attention to, but revisited after seeing him at Pitchfork. Paak is a flexible singer and multi-instrumentalist who is impossible to pigeonhole.
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Other musical things I loved this year:
Mercury Girls' Ariana 7"
Van Morrison's Wavelength album, which I'd previously neglected
The You Can't Run from the Rhythm EP from Perfecto (surprising collaboration featuring Serengeti and Anders Holm) which came out late in 2015. I don't think I included it in last year's list, and man, do I continue to enjoy it.
Pretty much everything on Slumberland Records, including the multi-artist Continental Drift co-release with the late, lamented Fontana Pop label
Mac McCaughan of Superchunk's all-too-true send-off to 2016, Happy New Year (Prince Can't Die Again)
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