This is part of Creative Loafing Tampa’s new issue, The Year In Music. See and listen to the rest of our top albums here.
Mitski, Puberty 2 (Dead Oceans) Puberty 2 is the kind of record that takes something fun like “Fireworks” and uses them to describe a violent emotional death, a fiery demise that leaves no trace. Between her new album and the brilliant Bury Me at Makeout Creek (released in 2014), Mistress of Melancholy Mitski Miyawaki has established herself as one of the single most important voices in DIY today. Cold, wiry electro-drum beats skitter above her all-consuming bass guitar, making for super-sad slow jams that you could maybe dance to, but then again, why groove when you can bawl? —Abram Scharf
This article appears in Dec 15-22, 2016.
