The Top 30 Albums Of 2016 (So Far)

The Music team attempt to pinpoint what albums so far this year have been reverberating in our minds, and on replay on our stereos, and why.

It’s been a solid year of music so far, if you ask us, and a close contest — there are almost too many to choose from, with debuts, follow-ups and surprise drops from some of our favourites and standout albums from some artists we hadn’t heard of before.

Hannah Story, Brynn Davies, Sam Wall and Bryget Chrisfield undertake the mammoth task. Let’s get started.

beyoncé — Lemonade

Beyoncé reinvented pop music when she dropped visual album Lemonade — at least that’s what Garbage’s Shirley Manson reckons. In an interview with The Music, Manson described the record as “the album of the year by a long shot”: “Suddenly we saw the barrier shift and the glass ceiling break a little and a massive pop star did something of real creative depth.”

We think Manson sums it up pretty well — as does the list of collaborators: from Kendrick Lamar to James Blake to Jack White. It’s a list of artists at their peak in 2016, only to be trumped by Queen Bey, who, in this cross-genre exploration of infidelity, takes on so much more, such as Black female identity, friendship and police brutality.

"Lemonade gives us an experimental, thought-provoking, invigorating, cinematic masterpiece that gives voices to minorities..." – Tanya Bonnie Rae

The Temper Trap — Thick As Thieves

The Temper Trap’s third studio record Thick As Thieves debuted at #1 on the Carlton Dry Independent Music Charts and held the #1 spot on the ARIA Album charts, despite losing guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto in 2013. Thick as thieves the four remaining members must be, “the now-four-piece sounds not so much reduced as reborn”, their focus honed in on pairing back (yet somehow retaining) the stadium-pop atmospherics of 2012’s self-titled number. It’s everything we love about music of such epic proportions, without teetering into too-much-of-a-good-thing territory, with anthemic choruses, massive hooks, euphoric instrumentation and Dougy Mandagi’s beautiful lungs.

“Following the sting of separation from Sillitto, the band finds positivity in unity, and brings us along for the ride.” — Tim Kroenert

The Goon Sax — Up For Anything

Louis Forster may have originally envisioned The Goon Sax as a punk band, but when the trio released their jangly, bare bones debut this year they had perfectly distilled all their awkward growing pains into pure Brispop.

While the style differs, they’ve already mastered the same kind of simple-but-profound honesty and storytime talk-singing that saw Courtney Barnett steal the world’s heart last year, and despite their youth "they could sing about a garbo and render the task with a glory never previously considered, let alone put into song and words". If you can’t relate to the heartbreak of haircutastrophes or nerve sweat-stilted romance then you haven’t hit your teens yet.

YAK — Alas Salvation

An album SO sensational that, for the first time ever, this writer exceeded the permitted amount of logins on the stream and had to contact YAK’s record label to request another. True story. We’ve been enamoured since first clapping eyes/ears on YAK at CMJ in New York last year so were understandably nervous to press play on their debut album in case it didn’t live up to our impossibly high expectations, but Alas Salvation surpassed them. Easily. There are nods to Led Zeppelin (Use Somebody), The Strokes (Doo Wah) and Nick Cave (Smile), but YAK remain a one-off unhinged musical beast. Hell, we believe in ‘em so much we put ‘em on our cover! Don’t be a fool, just listen.

"These songs exhilarate because they're completely unpredictable.” – Bryget Chrisfield

Jack Garratt — Phase

Jack Garratt moved through his straight blues project and came out the other side with Phase.

There are slips, but more tepid cuts like Far Cry are more than saved by the mind-melting Synesthesia Pt III and the bouncing Breathe Life. These moments see Garratt putting his best foot far down the path to something fresh and chimeric, some blues-electronic hybrid with soul stitching. If this loop-driven, “self-written, self-performed, self-recorded, and largely self-produced debut album from the Buckinghamshire native” doesn’t make your top lists on its own merits, and it should, then it should at least have you itching to see what Garratt is going to do next.

Nails — You Will Never Be One Of Us

Nails frontman Todd Jones just seems be permanently waking up on the wrong side of the bed, in wet pyjamas, in the middle of winter with the mother of all hangovers. It’s the only plausible reason he keeps pumping out records with such vengeance in his inhumane roar, and to be honest we hope he stays miserable enough to keep banging them out.

It’s the ‘Merican’s longest release to date at a migraine-inducing 21 minutes, a terrifying eight minutes of which is taken up by the final track They Come Crawling Back. This is not a record for triple j listeners who think Northlane is hardcore. This is some serious powerviolence shit. It will replace your alarm clock and scare your parents. Do not play to small children.

"Unless something pretty special comes along, this will be the finest heavy album of 2016." — Mark Hebblewhite

Car Seat Headrest — Teens Of Denial

Holy shit, this is the breakout album of the year, if we can use that terminology for the debut studio album from someone as prolific as Will Toledo.

He’s released 11 Bandcamp bedroom albums, plus a retrospective collection — and he’s only 23, his moniker a reference to the fact he recorded the vocals of his early releases in the back seat of his car.

With Teens Of Denial, we’re presented with the garage album of the year, a mess of skittering guitar lines and rumbling breakdowns, paired with introspective, incisive lyrics, sung in a kind of Julian Casablancas-monotone, best summed up in the likes of Vincent and Destroyed By Hippie Powers.

“Will Toledo's first "proper" studio album with a band is set to be one of 2016's standout releases.” — Tyler McLoughlan

Anohni — Hopelessness

Right from those first echoing keys, before the arrhythmic drum starts beating and Anohni’s signature warble pleas to be drone bombed "into the sea", you’re engulfed in Hopelessness.

Ominous but catchy electronica from producers Oneohtrix Point Never and Hudson Mohawke layered over humanity’s manifold crimes makes for a deadly strike at the political zeitgeist. Acidic lines like Crisis’ childishly repetitive apologies (“If I filled up your mass graves… I’m sorry”) burn with anger and thumping beats quickly start to resemble measured artillery fire.

Lou Reed said when he heard Anohni he knew he was in the presence of an angel and she has shown herself again in 2016 to be a divine messenger bearing ugly truths.

"This album characterises dark and troubled times in a way that most other artists simply avoid." — Guido Farnell

Elizabeth Rose — Intra

Sydney electro queen Elizabeth Rose found her footing right on time for her debut album Intra — finally penning all the shit that she needed to say. A maturing writing voice came through futuristic beats and pop sensibilities, with Rose opening up about mental health struggles, condemning gun violence and speaking up for gay marriage. She’s proving herself a triple threat — harking back to her childhood days as a dancer — at once a fashion icon, a damn fine DJ, a radical dancer and one who pulls the punches in her lyrics. What’s not to love?

“She's an alternative fashion icon with plenty to say” — Roshan Clerke

Savages — Adore Life

Savages killed it with their debut album. Then The Answer – our first taste of the band’s follow-up long-player, Adore Life – dropped last October, all menacing riffs and stalker chorus vocals (“If you don’t love me/Don’t love anybody”), and we salivated. The band went to New York and tried out new material in front of live audiences to make sure the songs on album number two instantly translated to a live setting – nailed it. Second single Adore and Mechanics tame Savages ever so slightly while showcasing Jehnny Beth’s soaring vocals (see TIWYG to experience the polar opposite). We’re still licking our wounds from their recent tour cancellation and ache to hear these album tracks as they were made to be experienced: live.

"For anyone even vaguely interested in angry music, the 2016 benchmark has been set." — Andrew McDonald

Radiohead — A Moon Shaped Pool

First Radiohead removed themselves from the interwebs. Then they released that weird claymation bird .GIF. Then they dropped two singles: Burn The Witch, the source of aforementioned .GIF, and the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed Daydreaming.

Since then we’ve been bestowed a record that continues to push at the boundaries of alternative music, especially in terms of its distribution: a special edition of the record even comes with a piece of the original master tape from their recording sessions. Plus there was the worldwide promotional event on 17 June, physical release day, featuring a day-long audio stream including a live recording, competitions and “an inconsequential pamphlet” from long-time Radiohead collaborator visual artist Stanley Donwood. Epic.

"Waiting for this album to drop has been like waiting for Santa or the Tooth Fairy." — Liz Giuffre

Hands Like Houses — Dissonants

Hands Like Houses only look like scruffy frat boys if you stick them next to a band like Motionless In White, which happened on the Amity/A Day To Remember tour last year. Dissonants proved otherwise – their tight-as, melodic brand of metalcore breeches the gap between mainstream/triple j fans – who have an arguably low tolerance for… well, heavy metal – and true grit hardcore purists. High rotation radio spins flung the Canberra five-piece onto a well deserved pedestal right next to Northlane, The Amity Affliction, In Hearts Wake and other Aussie heavy-hitters. There’s a lot more to come from these boys, just you wait.

"While heavy lines and gutsy ferocity underpin each song, there's a vibrant, pulsating energy driving each and every one of these complex arrangements.” — Carley Hall

PJ Harvey — The Hope Six Demolition Project

PJ Harvey has never shied away from vulgar or shocking realities in her work. In 2011 she tore at the old empire’s history with Let England Shake, and in April, with The Hope Six Demolition Project, Harvey worked to skin American culture and reveal the dark ideals beneath.

Coined in places as ‘music reportage’ or similar, some have been offput by Harvey’s preceding pilgrimages to Kosovo, Afghanistan and Washington DC with photographer Seamus Murphy, reverse-voyeur recording sessions and seemingly aloof delivery. While it’s hardly perfect, “PJ Harvey has made another important and challenging record” and one of the most uniquely bracing statements of the year.

Paul Dempsey — Strange Loop

We’re not sure there’s more than can be written about Paul Dempsey — he’s one of the foremost artists on the Australian musical landscape, and has been for more than 20 years, first with Something For Kate, and now with Strange Loop, his second solo record.

The man is a creative machine, looming large (tall and lanky) on our stages or hiding away (behind his fringe) in the studio, capturing a particularly Australian sense of malaise, but also of hope, this time armed not with the firepower of his electric guitar, but with gentle acoustic guitar lines and his inimitable voice. Strange Loop builds on the catchy pop hooks of Everything Is True to make a record that is at once more complex, more moving, and more true than what’s come before.

"Strange Loop proves that when armed with an acoustic guitar, Dempsey can be as powerful as any electrified SFK moment." — Dylan Stewart

Ladyhawke — Wild Things

Pip Brown has made some pretty big leaps between Ladyhawke outings. Her eclectic debut seemed inescapable in 2008, nailing a synth-pop sound that felt fresh and classic all at once. Then Anxiety ditched the synths and rode a fuzzed out guitar into pop-rock territory where Brown was met with divided opinions.

Brown has since opened up about the less than stellar place her mental health was during the period, struggling with expectation, self-medication and the public eye. It’s something she has clearly addressed in the interim and from the first joyous note.

“Wild Things is less of a return to form, and more of a triumphant statement of rejuvenation.” — Roshan Clerke

Iggy Pop — Post Pop Depression

Iggy Pop and Josh Homme (aka ‘Jiggy’) made rock’n’roll dreams come true. Pop’s stunning contribution to New Order’s Stray Dog last year made us impatient to hear more of his (bari)tone and we didn’t have to wait long before being presented with swashbuckling Post Pop Depression teaser Gardenia (lyrical genius: “Your hourglass ass... Your slant devil eyes”). Matthew Helders (Arctic Monkeys), Dean Fertita (QOTSA, The Dead Weather) and Matt Sweeney demonstrate astounding musicianship: that decelerating bass plus instrumental outro evoke a carousel ride on acid (Sunday); inspired, shifting tempos (German Days). Pop your jaw back in place after listening to this album then watch their performance of Pop’s Lust For Life on Later... With Jools Holland. More of this please.

“Pop delivers everything with a new wave gravitas that ties all of these disparate musical elements together into a coherent whole.” — Pete Laurie

The Jezabels — Synthia

In an interview with The Music, Hayley Mary said, "I think what we've tried to do is make a face for the music… sometimes I think of lyrics and words as the face to the body as the music.” And what an amazingly expressive face and physicality Synthia has. It’s a complete character, “female… multifaceted and changing”.

It’s completely unwavering, in its sexuality and frustration, its aural exploration and sweeping melodies. Every step The Jezebels take from the effervescent synth and pitch-warped spoken word opening minutes of Stand And Deliver to closer Stamina’s rare “lightness of touch and sentimentality” puts them leagues ahead of the pack.

L-FRESH The LION — Become

We expected a lot from pioneering hip hop artist L-FRESH The LION, and Become delivered without a scrap of vengeance. It’s easy beats and R&B vocals, a few tongue-in-cheek digs and a raw, didactic reflection on social issues close to the Sikh’s heart, especially on Punjab, An Introduction which embraces Indian sounds and his Punjabi tongue. Mirrah — who deserves every bit of love audiences expels towards her at L-FRESH’s live shows — features on the record with her crossover sing/rap style, her sass complementing L-FRESH’s black humour. (See breakaway rhyme “Hey, that’s a nice bag, I hope there’s not bombs in it” on Hold Up). L-FRESH has an authority to tell it like it is that the Australian hip hop scene needs more of.

"His second effort Become is full of self-affirmations that are likely to resonate with people from all walks of life." — John Papadopoulos

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard — Nonagon Infinity

The fact that Nonagon Infinity runs in a continuous loop is reason enough to leave King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s eighth album in the car stereo playing over and over and doing its thing. From the very first Robot Stop kick drum, you’ll be hooked. Gizz always nail the visual side of what they do as well (see: People-Vultures clip). Those crazy synths, thwacking drums and mantra vocals make Mr Beat irresistible. They’ve been at it for six years now, but the septet’s trademark unhinged tempos and unconventional melodies remain. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have already programmed rage and the whole planet is now taking notice (Iggy Pop played them on his BBC Radio 6 Music show!).

"Don't be surprised if this is the one they're remembered for." — Christopher H James

Violent Soho — Waco

Brisbane’s Luke Boerdam, James Tidswell, Luke Henery and Michael Richards are the undisputed kings of the Australian music scene, selling out huge theatres across the country, and debuting at #1 on the ARIA charts with Waco. First single Like Soda reminded us how expertly crafted the heavy riffs and Boerdam’s snarling vocals are, confirming just why this band have cultivated a rabid fan base, especially since second record Hungry Ghost. And the lawn bowling video clip is priceless.

This record is both high energy and nuanced, Boerdam carefully deliberating more over the songwriting, to create a more mature sound — without sacrificing any of the fun.

“WACO will ensure that Violent Soho's triumphant renaissance continues unabated. Outstanding.” — Steve Bell

Globelamp — The Orange Glow

Even if Stardust and the psych-folkloric The Orange Glow are all we ever get from Globelamp — and there is no reason to think that — we can count ourselves lucky that Foxygen are apparently so painful to work with. Elizabeth Le Fey should never stand in the background of somebody else’s picture.

The echoing, lo-fi vocal effects and almost schizophrenic back and forths that open The Orange Glow never let up, only leading deeper into Le Fay’s personal maze of unexpected shifts in speed, alternatively lush and jagged strings, plucks, strums and jangly keys. The Orange Glow is Le Fay’s "reflection on the last year and a half and how I got out of it alive". We’re happy she did.

Ngaiire — Blastoma

All hail Ngaiire. The Papua New Guinean is on her way to becoming Australia’s answer to Queen Bey — powerful, sensual, soulful and heartfelt on Blastoma — named for her childhood battle with cancer. It’s a form of memorial to the trials that shaped her. She pushes all the boundaries — of neo-soul, of introspection — cracking open any protective mechanisms to allow us to observe her past pains and recent heartbreak. It’s both a show of personal strength and of her musical prowess. She drifts effortlessly between electro-pop overtones and minimalist tracks, with every number vying as an incomparable favourite.

“Ngaiire finally carves out quite a solid name for herself, as a strong vocalist and a rising star at the forefront of Aussie future-soul." — Tanya Bonnie Rae

NO ZU — Afterlife

Afterlife (sequel to NO ZU’s Life – clever, huh?) was on very high rotation on the office stezza (particularly Spirit Beat, which sounds like rave-themed Cirque du Soleil) and no one complained (which never happens). The percussion (especially bongos and cowbell) is mental throughout. Spoken word segments – sometimes deadpan other times using helium speech – add humour. And it’s all incredibly danceable. Interlude Afterlife Lifestyle winks at Gloria Estefan’s Conga. There are constant injections of sax, whistles and a beat that just won’t quit. One cannot be held accountable for the shapes they pull while listening to Afterlife. If NO ZU secure enough international festival bookings the whole world will take notice. Always prioritise NO ZU in the event of a clash.

"Continued exploration should certainly occur on the nearest dancefloor, stat." — Tyler McLoughlan

DMA’S — Hills End

In a time when a lot of music feels like a synth-soaked homage to the ‘80s, DMA’S planted their stained white trainers in ‘90s Britpop and indie-rock and their eyes on the horizon. “To the extent that the [Hills End] is pastiche, it is also both fresh and self-aware” and with fuzzy harmonies layered on Tommy O’Dell’s roughed but clean lead vocal, acoustic rhythms supporting a mass of electric hooks, and surprisingly poignant lyrics, DMA’S have established themselves as much more than cheap Oasis impersonators.

The trio were pretty vocal about hype concerns before Hills End’s release, but 2016 is the year they burst that bubble and revealed a lot more than hot air.

Drake — Views

Our sensitive hero Drake may not be rewriting the rap songbook with his fourth studio record, but he’s certainly having a bit of fun – see One Dance and last year’s unmissable Hotline Bling. If the people at your parties weren’t all trying to mimic his daggy close-to-the-floor dance moves, then you and your mates missed the boat to the cultural zeitgeist.

With the rest of Views Drake continues with what he first nailed on Nothing Was The Same, and mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late: searing one-liners dripping with feeling and personal stories that make you want to hug him, all drawn together by his rapped/sung melodies.

“U With Me? reaches complete perfection when our host calls out his competitors who ‘cut the cheque so they could take this flow’.” — James d’Apice

David Bowie — Blackstar

The master of dropping albums out of thin air (The Next Day, 2013), Bowie released what producer Tony Visconti described as the late legend’s “parting gift” for fans – his 25th and final studio album Blackstar – on 8 Jan (Bowie’s 69th birthday). Bowie’s death two days later shocked the world. There are consistent jazzy leanings — Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) – but Blackstar is also futuristic. The macabre imagery (see: Lazarus’ film clip) and lyrical references to death make for a harrowing listening experience since the album was recorded while Bowie was battling liver cancer: “Something happened on the day he died...” (Blackstar); "Look up here, I'm in heaven..." (Lazarus). As important as any album in Bowie’s matchless back catalogue.

“Bowie succeeds at going completely off the wall while still retaining the essence of his signature sound.” — Cameron Cooper

Flume — Skin

Breaking away from What So Not at the end of 2015 evidently served Flume well, chucking banger after banger onto his LP Skin with a marching band of feature artists and collaborators, who weave their individual flavours into the Sydney wunderkid's euphoric hooks and spacey synths. The likes of Tove Lo, Vic Mensa, Kai, KUCKA, Vince Staples, Allan Kingdom, Raekwon, Little Dragon… *pauses to catch breath* … MNDR, Beck pushed the 16-track epic to the top slot on the ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums in June, raising some serious questions about the line "I'm only human, can't you see?"

"If you weren't a fan before, this album will infect you with its synths and convert you." — Aneta Grulichova

Deftones — Gore

The Californian band’s eighth release is definitely one to digest via headphones since the effect is like Surround Sound (you’ll swear a Frisbee’s circling your noggin and duck to avoid it at Acid Hologram’s close). Even if heavier releases ain’t your thing, Gore is dynamically varied enough to make it accessible. Don’t be fooled by the more atmospheric components, however, since shit does get suitably brutal when Chino Moreno screams! And keep your ears peeled for a massive guest guitar solo (courtesy of Jerry Cantrell from Alice In Chains) on standout track Phantom Bride, which gently eases you in before thrashing you around accusingly: “You WASTE your life/RELAXed in your void” — brilliant.

"Menacing, ragged, aggressive, tender, emotive and soothing." — Tyler McLoughlan

Sia — This Is Acting

We’re trying to make sure you don’t forget about this one before the end of the year — after all This Is Acting was a January release. And heck, you’d be surprised just how good an album of songs rejected by the queens of pop — Adele, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry, Bey, Demi Lovato and Rihanna to name a few — can sound. It may not be as cohesive and chocked full of anthems as 2014’s 1000 Forms Of Fear, but this is a worthy follow-up, brimming with Unstoppable vocals.

Easy album standout is Alive, a song that captures women’s power and gives it the thunderous epic chorus it deserves.

“It's hard to imagine Adelaide singer-songwriter Sia Furler sounding any bigger than she does on her seventh studio album, This Is Acting.” — Roshan Clerke

Camp Cope — Camp Cope

Protest music in the 21st century involves a little more introspection and space for social commentary than the ‘fuck you’ attitude of punk songs past. Camp Cope achieves this with finesse. It’s modern punk with a therapeutic flavour and sense of fragility that rolls under the punches, involving rather than disenchanting like-minded youth. It’s a self-reflective dissection of mental illness from vocalist and prime lyricist Georgia Maq. It throws controversy itself into question with lead single Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steel Beams, which will echo in the mind of anyone who has ever watched a 911-conspiracy doco. At the end of the day it satisfies our need for intellect and debate without causing emotional turmoil.

"Most effective are the personal touches that reveal Maq's fractured worldview, and the possibility of solace in shared experience.” —Tim Kroenert

The top 30 albums of 2016 (so far)

Beyoncé — Lemonade
The Temper Trap — Thick As Thieves
The Goon Sax — Up For Anything
YAK — Alas Salvation
Jack Garratt — Phase
Nails — You Will Never Be One Of Us
Car Seat Headrest — Teens Of Denial
Anohni — Hopelessness
Elizabeth Rose — Intra
Savages — Adore Life
Radiohead — A Moon Shaped Pool
Hands Like Houses — Dissonants
PJ Harvey — The Hope Six Demolition Project
Paul Dempsey — Strange Loop
Ladyhawke — Wild Things
Iggy Pop — Post Pop Depression
The Jezabels — Synthia
L-FRESH The LION — Become
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard — Nonagon Infinity
Violent Soho — Waco
Globelamp — The Orange Glow
Ngaiire — Blastoma
NO ZU — Afterlife
DMA'S — Hills End
Drake — Views
David Bowie — Blackstar
Flume — Skin
Deftones — Gore
Sia — This Is Acting
Camp Cope — Camp Cope