The 1975, ‘I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It’ – the barely contained erotic energy and boundless hooks of the 1975 make them INXS for the Snapchat generation.
The band’s take on pop is jittery and malleable – they work with sumptuous synth-pop on the pulsing “The Sound,” cover themselves in glam-era glitter on the posturing “Love Me” and give listeners a taste of their mini-epic ambitions on “Please Be Naked. But leader Matthew Healy’s winking lyrics and his bandmates’ ability to keep their eyes on the melodies, even when they’re flipping through genres, make them especially vibrant. The 1975’s self-aware bravado, circa-1988 retro production and knack for brain-Velcro melodies make this sprawling collection both a rock anomaly and a pop event.
Rihanna, ‘Anti’ – Rihanna’s long-simmering eighth album brought together stinging songs that showcased the pop provocateur’s ever-widening range, both stylistically and vocally. She channelled late-night loneliness and regret-tinged isolation on clamorous club arguments and faithful covers of Aussie indie-psych alike, creating a stark tableau on which she could work out grievances with those who have disappointed her. There are quite a few: The sinewy, dancehall-inspired “Work” is a parry toward a guy who only wanted to connect physically; while the DJ Mustard-produced “Needed Me” is a biting kiss-off to a lover whose flights of romantic fancy proved to be too much. Her torch song “Love on the Brain” proves that she isn’t totally immune to heartache, with an all-in performance that only strengthens the song’s hurts-so-good imagery.
The Monkees, ‘Good Times!’ – Adam Schlesinger, who made his name reviving power-pop as half of Fountains of Wayne, gathers together a crew of clever songwriters – including Rivers Cuomo, Ben Gibbard, Andy Partridge, Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller – to provide top-shelf material for a reunion that lives up to the album’s title and its exclamation point. But though Good Times! updates the Monkees’ sound, it also keeps one foot in the past: A tweaked ’60s demo allows Micky Dolenz to perform a virtual duet with the title track’s composer, the late Harry Nilsson; and Davy Jones appears via a 1967 outtake. Septuagenarians have never celebrated puppy love so winningly.
Britney Spears, ‘Glory’ – after 2013’s more personal, though often tepid, Britney Jean, Britney Spears’ ‘Glory’ felt like a breath of fresh electro-pop air. A star-studded array of pop’s strongest producers and writers – including Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, Cashmere Cat, Blood Pop and more – helped elevate the LP to the levels of dance perfection seen on 2007’s Blackout. Single “Make Me” allows Spears to thrive at her coo-iest, and she shines as a Eurotrash sex robot on the electric “Do You Wanna Come Over?” Even the softer moments like the sweeping “Just Luv Me” and the whisper-y “Better” have Spears at her liveliest in years.