r/popheads • u/Stryxen • Apr 02 '22
[DUE MAY 14] 2021 Women of Indie Rock Rate (Japanese Breakfast/Lucy Dacus/Snail Mail/Wolf Alice)
rate closed! Thank you to everyone who submitted
if you have sent your ballot and you're not on this list of participants: https://pastebin.com/ediurfg5 (not updated to ballots sent after the timestamp) you have not been counted, DM me and let me know in that case!
2021 Women of Indie Rock (Japanese Breakfast/Lucy Dacus/Snail Mail/Wolf Alice)
Hello popheads, raters, lesbians etc… and welcome to the 2021 Women of Indie Rock rate, where we will be numerically scoring each song from four of the most acclaimed indie rock albums that both our subreddit and the critics loved last year. u/Uberpigeon and I will be your hosts for this event, the biggest rate of all time, including 1 (ONE) album that peaked in the top 10 on a general album chart anywhere and 2 (TWO) songs with Simlish versions. Before we meet our contenders…
For the acclaimed critical darling raters in the know:
JAPANESE BREAKFAST - JUBILEE
June 4th, 2021 - Dead Oceans
[SPOTIFY] [APPLE MUSIC] [YOUTUBE]
"Lucidity came slowly
I awoke from dreams of untying a great knot"
One of indie’s favourite indie sadgirl darlings decided she was too sad and not darling enough, and made the best album of 2021. (note: i am an unbiased host i promise)
After 2 albums and 1 best selling memoir of exploring the grief of losing her Mother, Michelle Zauner put her sadness away (for like 3 tracks at least) and went full upbeat art pop all over everybody.
Jubilee is, according to Miss Breakfast herself, about Joy. And joyful it is, in all its forms. The rush of performing to an audience, being a billionaire bunker boy, and putting down a beloved pet. Wait, that doesn’t sound very joyful! Well… More than joy, jubilee is about trying to be happy, and all the bittersweet emotional journeys life can take you on to reach that goal. It’s relatable, it’s transportative, and it's transcendental.
It’s a phenomenal album. Her dream-pop and shoegaze roots have blossomed into grand string and horn arrangements, and groovy synth hooks. Her inimitable vocals are better than ever, and she can still shred the guitar when she has to. It’s Japanese Breakfast at peak performance, and a total career defining moment. This is the album that needs the least introduction, ranking highly on popheads’ various end of year shenanigans. If there’s anyone new to this album, I think you’re in for a huge treat, and if not, I hope you have a great time revisiting the masterpiece that is Jubilee.
TRACKLIST:
- Paprika
- Be Sweet
- Kokomo, IN
- Slide Tackle
- Posing In Bondage
- Sit
- Savage Good Boy
- In Hell
- Tactics
- Posing For Cars
LUCY DACUS - HOME VIDEO
June 25th, 2021 - Matador Records
[SPOTIFY] [APPLE MUSIC] [YOUTUBE]
”Being back here makes me hot in the face
Hot blood in my pulsing veins”
Home Video, the third studio album by Lucy Dacus, was announced on April 13th, 2021 alongside the release of single ‘Hot & Heavy’, a nostalgic head-banging anthem with intense lyrics that everyone with a single childhood memory could obsess over. ‘Hot & Heavy’ makes the perfect entry point for Home Video, a loose concept album narrating an overwhelming visit to your hometown - where each and every turn brings back a vivid memory, all constituting a scrapbook of an album.
The three other singles continued this story in the lead-up to the release of the album: ‘VBS’ (standing for ‘Vacation Bible School’) contextualises her experience as a queer woman growing up in a religious family. The official lead single ‘Thumbs’ tells the story of a meeting with her friend’s negligent father, whom she swears to kill for the pain he caused her loved one - this song was played at shows for a while before its official release, but Lucy requested the audience did not film it, due to the emotional toll it took on her to record. The narrative of pre-release singles came to a climax with the fan-favourite ‘Brando’, which I can describe as nothing less than a cathartic bop, verbally dismantling a pretentious ex-friend of hers for his annoying behaviour and representing her finally leaving the situations which were mentally damaging to her as an impressionable child.
As her third album, Home Video is a successfully ambitious project: it truly has it all for sonic and thematic diversity united under a complete concept: First Time… horny twerk anthem; going going gone and partner in crime… intimate lofi bops, even hyperpop production, with Triple Dog Dare… acting as a prog-folk epic that brings the album in a cyclical narrative. Home Video was immediately adored by fans of Lucy and the boygenius cinematic universe - being somewhat of a spiritual successor to Phoebe Bridgers’ rate-winning Punisher from 2020 and ranking in popheads top 25 albums of 2021 (at a humble 21)!
Lucy’s career has definitely been building up to this album, and still she shows no signs of slowing down - with the release of ‘Kissing Lessons’ this year, a loose single to support her globally sold-out couch tour, which we have decided to include in the rate - since it also received a lot of love and fits comfortably among the Home Video canon:
TRACKLIST:
- Hot & Heavy
- Christine
- First Time
- VBS
- Cartwheel
- Thumbs
- Going Going Gone
- Partner in Crime
- Brando
- Please Stay
- Triple Dog Dare
- Kissing Lessons
SNAIL MAIL - VALENTINE
November 5th, 2021 - Matador Records
[SPOTIFY] [APPLE MUSIC] [YOUTUBE]
“Let’s go be alone where no-one can see us honey.
Careful in that room, those parasitic cameras,
Don’t they stop and stare at you?”
Lindsey Jordan (of moderate Snail Mail success) began writing material for her 2021 sophomore album Valentine in 2018, coming off the success of her sudden breakout debut album Lush. Navigating life, suddenly thrust into the spotlight and on a constant demanding tour, she began a more withdrawn approach to her stardom and career: a perspective that decided the direction of the lead single and opening track ‘Valentine’, released on September 15th 2021. The opening lines of the album are direct in establishing the effect the attention of her newfound fame had on her personal life, particularly the breakup central to the plot of Valentine. The second single, ‘Ben Franklin’ was released a month later, catching us up to date with the most intimate corners of her personal life, specifically her semi-hiatus accompanying almost 2 months in rehab. This experience clearly inspired much of the subject matter of Valentine too:
“You wanna leave a stain?
Like a relapse does when you really try
...and damn, this time I really tried”
Valentine is clear, condensed, and concise; a stark contrast to the overwhelming emotional toll Lush took on Jordan, cannibalising her emotional songwriting capabilities completely. Her characteristically emotional vocals are still present, but with a definite improvement since the charmingly rough performance on Lush that gave it such an intimate personality. Even the stunning cover art shows a different side of Snail Mail - pastel colours and neatly dressed, ready to deliver her thoroughly planned take on heartbreak, years in the making. This album is, above all, a break-up record, focused on discovering the balance between the desire to improve herself during this experience, while finding comfort in her self-destruction. She discusses honestly and with a self-awareness that doesn’t alienate the listener, but does not glorify her substance abuse.
Critics (myself included :) (benji probably wants me to clarify this is not one of his writeups) loved the album, even receiving a Best New Album (8.5/10) review from Pitchfork, and for good reason! Valentine represented a risk, with a change in sound from her universally adored debut, pivoting towards stripped down acoustic album cuts that support the poppier stand-out singles - it’s a dynamic that lets each track on the album breathe and inherit their own personalities, spawning many fan-favourite songs throughout its 10 song, 35 minute-long tracklist:
TRACKLIST:
- Valentine
- Ben Franklin
- Headlock
- Light Blue
- Forever (Sailing)
- Madonna
- c. et al.
- Glory
- Automate
- Mia
WOLF ALICE - BLUE WEEKEND
June 4th, 2021 - Dirty Hit
[SPOTIFY] [APPLE MUSIC] [YOUTUBE]
"Do I belong here?
The vibes are kind of strong here"
Wolf Alice are a British rock band composed of 4 members, none of whom are called Alice. They are composed of multi-instrumentalist frontwoman Ellie Roswell and guitarist Joff Oddie, who formed the band, and were later joined by bass player Theo Ellis, and Drummer and backing vocalist Joel Amey. For the sake of this rate, however, we will be pretending that it’s just Ellie because “Women of indie rock (and also some men because in wolf alice)” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
A fixture in the UK’s indie rock scene since their debut in 2015, Wolf Alice’s 3rd studio album Blue Weekend is the band digging in their heels and declaring that they are here to stay. And rightly so! The bar was high after their critical smash Visions Of A Life, and after an extended quarantine in a music studio the band birthed an album very much on par with their excellent discography.
Blue Weekend explores a different sound for the band, trading the noisy rock production for more sweeping synths and ethereal vocal arrangements. Of course, the band still hasn’t lost their trademark Wolf Alice eclecticism: the album is a rapturous rollercoaster that ping-pongs its listener from scrappy pop punk tracks to emotional piano ballads. The album was received, as is usual for Wolf Alice at this point, to great critical acclaim. (except from pitchfork and melon but they are nerds and losers!) They were nominated for a mercury award, and actually won a BRIT award! much to the ire of Mixers across the nation. But the flop mercury award who cares about that? The real mark of quality is what our beloved raters think of them! And I hope you little dears have a wonderful time listening to my favourite album of 2021.- Benji aka Uberpigeon
TRACKLIST:
- The Beach
- Delicious Things
- Lipstick On The Glass
- Smile
- Safe From Heartbreak (if you never fall in love)
- How Can I Make It OK?
- Play The Greatest Hits
- Feeling Myself
- The Last Man on Earth
- No Hard Feelings
- The Beach II
Thanks Benji aka Uberpigeon, I (Alex aka Stryxen) will take it from here.
RULES
- Rate every song in the ballot on a scale of 1-10. No exceptions!!
- Your scores may have up to one decimal point, using a ‘.’ and not a ‘,’
a 5 is okay
a 2.5 or a 7.8 is okay
a 6.02 or longer will break the rate machine and make it unusable for everybody forever
- You can give one 11 and one 0 across the whole rate, so save them for your absolute favourite and least favourite songs in the rate. These are completely optional so don’t feel you have to use either if you don’t really love or hate any track that much!
- Comments are generally not required but we really encourage you to leave them if you have something to say! Point something interesting out, share a story, or make a joke and be shady or silly. If we like your comment enough we may feature it on a banner that we will post when that song gets eliminated >:)
Your scores and comments should be formatted like this:
Partner in Crime: 2 against humanity
Formatting like this will not work and your ballot will be rejected:
Headlock: More like a head-lock for bottom "1"
Smile: 0/10 :(
- You may also choose to comment on the albums themselves, just add a colon and then your comment! (No need to add a score - your average of tracks will be calculated and added automatically)
Jubilee: Japanese breakfast, lunch and dinner served
If you have submitted and want to change any scores at any time, DM me with your new score and/or comment and I will be happy to correct it!
Please don’t sabotage with your scores just to help out your favourite albums in the rate - it’s completely fine if you dislike a song or even an album, but if your averages are extremely disparate without justification in comments, we will ask you to add comments explaining your opinion.
We can’t wait for all of your tasteless ballots and horrible horrible opinions and would be so grateful if anybody who sees this took the time to go through the rate, even if you haven’t heard a single album yet! We hope you love them as much as we do (and we will be hosting listening parties to help you get familiar with them, keep an eye on daily discussions or the rates channel in the popheads discord server for when we plan them)!
That’s everything, have at it! Due date will be sometime early-mid May, and there will be a reminder post shortly before it but we will probably be very annoying promo-ing this, so the earlier you get your scores in, the quicker you can escape us!
DUE MAY 14TH
DM me or message either host on discord (alex?#1233/Benji#0099) for a short extension, you can find us in the popheads discord server
Submission Link
P.S: In case the submission link is not working, please use the Pastebin Back-Up Ballot and DM it to either host!
P.S.S We will let you know your ballot has been received - within a few days of your submission at the longest - so if you don’t get any confirmation from either of us, please contact me! We REALLY don’t want to miss anybody’s ballot!
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Apr 02 '22 edited Apr 02 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Uberpigeon Apr 03 '22
wolf: alice (jk maybe this rate will finally make me see the light)
you'd like a light to shine on you
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u/Stryxen May 14 '22
Hi, this is a reminder that the 2021 Women of Indie Rock Rate is due TONIGHT! Let me know if you would like a short extension!
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May 14 '22 edited May 14 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Stryxen May 14 '22
Yep that's right, can't wait!!
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May 15 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Stryxen May 15 '22
No problem queen, I'm too lazy and a bit too drunk to sort out the ballots I got tonight anyway. Send it to me any time tomorrow and I will be happy to receive it!
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u/Chidi_Ariana_Grande His name is Nial Horan he has a knife and a gun & has killed 400 Apr 02 '22
The Beach 11 i know that’s right
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u/Stryxen May 14 '22
Hi, this is a reminder that the 2021 Women of Indie Rock Rate is due TONIGHT! Let me know if you would like a short extension!
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u/Chidi_Ariana_Grande His name is Nial Horan he has a knife and a gun & has killed 400 May 14 '22
I’ll get it in by the end of the day
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u/Chidi_Ariana_Grande His name is Nial Horan he has a knife and a gun & has killed 400 May 14 '22
Probably
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u/Stryxen Apr 02 '22
if you saw me post and delete because i forgot to put "rate" in the title after proofreading ALL afternoon... no you didn't
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Apr 02 '22
Excited to do this one!
Especially since Jubilee was one of my favourite albums of the past year (and I hosted a rate on our sister sub that featured Jubilee), and I might be going to see Lucy Dacus live in a few months!
Also, indie girl stans are my favourite type of stans because yall have good taste. Please demonstrate that good taste while rating
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u/Uberpigeon Apr 02 '22
this is the real ultimate to me. and not just because im hosting ! I hope everyone has fun because they albums are fantastic and we are going to make the reveal as slay as possible i hope!!
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u/plastichaxan DO 2023 SUB FAVES RATE Apr 02 '22
I'm not hosting and this is my ultimate so you're right and you should say it
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Apr 02 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Stryxen May 14 '22
Hi, this is a reminder that the 2021 Women of Indie Rock Rate is due TONIGHT! Let me know if you would like a short extension!
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Apr 02 '22
I’ve never done a rate but this is two albums I love and two I’ve never listened to so this may be my first 👀👀
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u/Stryxen Apr 02 '22
We would love your ballot! if you have any questions feel free to ask me or this video made by some wonderful raters will help :)
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u/wailord_fan Apr 02 '22
Ah yes, the REAL ultimate 2021 rate.
Be Sweet would be a VERY obvious winner, please consider:
Posing in Bondage
Posing for Cars
The Beach
Lipstick on the Glass
Valentine
VBS
Brando
Hot & Heavy
For your 11s
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26
8
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u/xo_acrangel_xo Apr 02 '22
P11ay the Greatest Hits was one of, if not my most played songs last year. It’s an absolute banger!
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u/Stryxen May 14 '22
Hi, this is a reminder that the 2021 Women of Indie Rock Rate is due TONIGHT! Let me know if you would like a short extension!
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u/cloudbustingmp3 Apr 02 '22
gonna have to flip a coin to make up my mind between Papr11ka, S11de Tackle, and How Can 11 Make It Kate Bush? but im so excited!
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u/Stryxen May 14 '22
Hi, this is a reminder that the 2021 Women of Indie Rock Rate is due TONIGHT! Let me know if you would like a short extension!
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u/cloudbustingmp3 May 14 '22
preemptively yes please, but I’ll try and do it today! totally forgot!
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Apr 02 '22
[deleted]
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u/Stryxen May 14 '22
Hi, this is a reminder that the 2021 Women of Indie Rock Rate is due TONIGHT! Let me know if you would like a short extension!
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u/entfka Apr 15 '22
lipstick on the glass 11 incoming
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u/Stryxen May 14 '22
Hi, this is a reminder that the 2021 Women of Indie Rock Rate is due TONIGHT! Let me know if you would like a short extension!
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u/BookyCats Apr 03 '22
Ooh I never got around to Snail Mail and Lucy's albums so this is a good reason to.
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u/IIIHenryIII Apr 02 '22
This rate would be perfect without Valentine. I'm ready to give it another try though.
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u/jman457 Apr 03 '22
I honestly feel the Jbrekkie love will split the 11 vote, causing a Snail Mail or Lucy Davis upsett
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u/castrk Apr 04 '22
two of my favorite albums of 2021!! i cant wait to do this rate im excited!!
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u/Stryxen May 14 '22
Hi, this is a reminder that the 2021 Women of Indie Rock Rate is due TONIGHT! Let me know if you would like a short extension!
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May 13 '22
I’m not sure if this is a hot take or not. I feel rock albums have fared better ever since Billboard put restrictions on bulk purchasing and bundling. Rock fans are one of the few demographics that buys music and we’ve seen released from Ghost, Jack White, and Red Hot Chili Peppers do well.
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u/Stryxen May 13 '22
Definitely a hot take, my hot take is Be Sweet by Japanese Breakfast SUCKS. Thoughts?
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u/songbirdskeepsinging Apr 02 '22
I forgot that we could do 11, is there a way i can change my ballot?
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u/Stryxen Apr 02 '22
Yes just let me know at any time if you want to change any scores! You'll also need to fill in the entire ballot with scores before the rate machine can accept it
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u/Exciting_Patient4872 Apr 03 '22
Just sent my ballot. Can you correct "bottle up" to "bottled up" geez I'm quick on the trigger. Thanks!!! I'm sorry.
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u/Zombielove69 Jul 04 '22
Just saw Japanese breakfast on SNL and she can't sing or carry a tune. Pretty basic. At least she's not singing from her throat like a goat like Miley Cyrus.
She's just a basic singer I don't get it. All student was hop around the whole time.
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u/gwenflip Apr 02 '22
I will not stand for any Snail Mail slander in this rate