ILM Albums Poll 2019: Thread of Stats and Ballots

Was hoping that guitarist/singer Mdou Moctar would place. Oh well.
I wasn’t the only vote for bluesman Jimmy Duck Holmes I see via looking at comments ( haven’t examined stats yet). Also, was 1 of 2 votes for Lady Donli afropop album.

I voted for it in here and as its nommed in the metal poll i'll vote for it too even though it obviously belongs far more in this poll.

Lingua Ignota - Caligula
glass beach - the first glass beach album
Sunn O))) - Life Metal
The Highwomen - S/T
Raphael Saadiq - Jimmy Lee
Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter 4: Memphis
Richard Dawson - 2020
100 Gecs - 1000 Gecs
Opeth - In Cauda Venenum
Zig Zags - They'll Never Take Us Alive
Rapsody - Eve
Glenn Branca - The Third Ascension
Cloud Rat - Pollinator
Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains
Maxo Kream - Brandon Banks
3776 - Saijiki
Radar State - Strays
Charly Bliss - Young Enough
Rustin Man - Drift Code
Liturgy - H.A.Q.Q.
Teitanblood - The Baneful Choir
Tinashe - Songs For You
Burna Boy - African Giant
Chromatics - Closer to Grey

^weighted

X-post - I see Mdou Moctar album got 7 votes here, and 75 Dollar Bill got 5. Fans of heavy guitar should check out both

I don't remember my exact ballot, but I do know that Charly Bliss was the only vote that placed. For fans of their pop-punk stylings, other things that I probably voted for that might be of interest: The Murlocs, Origami Angel, R.M.F.C., Nightwatchers, Sports Team, Stroppies.

Mdou Moctar was very good live and, generally, live music > recordings. (I had to leave early bc it started so damn late but I was sad about it.) Just didn't spend as much time with the album.

Jamila album is fantastic. My favourite discovery of the poll, I think. Saba's verse on Basquiat. Sheeeeiiit.

I haven't been on ILX much this week and I even missed the last day of the album rollout -- but shit, you guys put a tinashe album in the top 10??? Never change, ILX, never change.

Anyways, kept my (ranked) ballot short this year, Oso Oso and Doja Cat were robbed, gec gec gec gec gec gec gec gec, etc

100 Gecs - 1000 Gecs
Big Thief - U.F.O.F.
Charly Bliss - Young Enough
Solange - When I Get Home
Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Clairo - Immunity
Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride
Doja Cat - Hot Pink
Ariana Grande - thank u, next
oso oso - basking in the glow

i didn't nominate or vote so this should not be seen as a complaint but these are albums i loved in 2019 that didn't appear in the poll results:

billy woods/kenny segal - hiding places (ok, i am complaining about this one not making it because it should be on any respectable best of 2019 list)
mope grooves - desire
bogdan raczynski - rave 'till you cry
gong gong gong - phantom rhythm
bill orcutt - odds against tomorrow
possible humans - everybody split
damon locks & black monument ensemble - where future unfolds
pile - green & grey
empath - active listening:night on earth

I'm curious why the Tinashe placement--which was admittedly higher than I expected--is raising eyebrows, when every year surprisingly late-career albums (e.g., Chem Bros, Kim Gordon, Berman, Lambchop, Underworld, Thom Yorke) place without this reaction. What is it about her or her career that makes this more remarkable than ilm loyalty to, say, CRJ?

I think there’s a different career arc here from the other examples you mention. To begin with, I think Tinashe would hate you calling this “a late-career album”. She probably feels like she’s only getting started now.

The thing is, she came out of the gate with a fantastic debut album (yeah, I know there were mixtapes before that) and seemed destined for greatness, artistically and commercially (the imminent future of r&b and all that), but then every album after Aquarius was a disappointment, again both artistically and commercially, (all these increasingly pathetic attempts to recreate “2 On” as if that was all there was to what she had created with Aquarius - Faded Love indeed), until a lot (most?) of us had completely given up on her out of sheer frustration.

Speaking for myself, it took all of the enthusiasm of the posters on the dedicated thread for me to let go of my cynicism and give Songs For You a real chance. I’m still not convinced it’s as good as Aquarius, leave alone better, as some have claimed (it’s certainly not as groundbreaking), but I really really like it now.

CRJ is different in that even though she has never been able to match her initial commercial success, artistically she has been going from strength to strength ever since, at least according to her fandom.

correction: ...but then *everything she released* after Aquarius was a disappointment...

I think Tinashe would hate you calling this “a late-career album”.

I'm not saying Songs For You is itself a "late-career album"; I'm saying ILM frequently has no problem giving artists career-arc leeway and will happily not give up on someone like the Chemical Brothers, who are absolutely a lol-the-90s joke for most people ime.

Anyway, this is something I like about ILM! I don't care about either of these groups, but I thought it was cool that Alfred said The National album is the first he's ever liked, and I think I heard similar sentiments re: Purple Mountains from other posters. So, given how well-known Tinashe's label fuckery was, I found the reactions odd.

Probably a better way to phrase it: SFY is an excellent *comeback* album, which doesn't seem all that remarkable to me in a place where I'm being told the Chemical Brothers and Underworld put out amazing shit in 2019. I agree mentioning CRJ muddied the point