The album in at #19 would have fit right in on the 2015 Top 31, when Chvrches’ Every Open Eye was #1 and bands like The dø and Purity Ring were in the top 15. It was the year for indie girl-led pop. Sylvan Esso, a duo from Durham, North Carolina, are definitely in that mode. Their eponymous debut album came out in 2014, but failed to make my radar that year even though it was fairly popular (I can’t possibly hear every good album that comes out, right?).

What Now is their second album, and it is full of treacly indie pop goodness. The best song from the album, “Die Young,” is shown in the video above, but there are a number of other great songs (and videos: “The Glow,” “Radio,” and “Kick Jump Twist”) on this record. If you’ve liked any of the band names mentioned thus far, you’ll love Sylvan Esso. Beyond that, there’s not much more I can say.

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20. 50 Song Memoir by The Magnetic Fields
21. Plunge by Fever Ray
22. DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar
23. Capacity by Big Thief
24. The Tourist by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
25. CCFX EP by CCFX
26. Woodstock by Portugal. The Man
27. MASSEDUCTION by St. Vincent
28. On the Spot by Hot 8 Brass Band
29. A Deeper Understanding by The War on Drugs
30. Planetarium by Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, & James McAlister
31. A Moment Apart by Odesza

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2009-2016 Top 31s

Another Eternity by Purity Ring

Another day on the Top 31, another synth pop duo with powerful female-led vocals. This time it’s Edmonton, Alberta, Canada’s Purity Ring, which has Megan James on vocals and Corin Roddick on the instrumentation. This marks the fourth band on the countdown all with a similar sound — not that anyone is counting.

Much like the dø, which were featured at #15, Purity Ring is a duo that’s all power chords and soaring vocals. Another Eternity, which came out in March, is the band’s second album (Shrines came out in 2012, which I haven’t yet listened to). One of the nicer things about Another Eternity is that it’s actually difficult to pick just one song as my favorite. There are fantastic songs scattered across this album.

“Heartsigh,” shown above, is the opening track. I’ll go on record and state that this video is ridiculous. Thankfully the song is not. If you like what you hear in the video, I suggest devouring the rest of the album, too, because it’s fantastic.

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9. Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance by Belle and Sebastian
10. Return to the Moon by El Vy
11. Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) by Lin-Manuel Miranda
12. Art Angels by Grimes
13. The Horse Comanche by Chadwick Stokes
14. Grace Love & the True Loves by Grace Love & the True Loves
15. Shake Shook Shaken by The dø
16. La Di Da Di by Battles
17. Sky City by Amason
18. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World by The Decemberists
19. Untethered Moon by Built to Spill
20. Viet Cong by Viet Cong
21. The Magic Whip by Blur
22. Savage Hills Ballroom by Youth Lagoon
23. Not Real by Stealing Sheep
24. Beat the Champ by The Mountain Goats
25. Gliss Riffer by Dan Deacon
26. Dark Bird is Home by The Tallest Man on Earth
27. Gunnera by Pfarmers
28. Swimmer to a Liquid Armchair by Ricked Wickey
29. To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
30. Live in Seattle by Moufang / Czamanski
31. High by Royal Headache

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Past years’ Top 31s

#19 on the 2017 Bacon Top 31

#8 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31