Another successful rotation around the sun has brought with it another albums of the year list! There are two trends in my end of the year listening analysis which I found noteworthy. According to Spotify, this is first time in five years where the number of minutes I’ve listened to music has decreased from the previous year. The 2+ months of music I played last year was understandably a bit unsustainable. *Sigh* I guess this is growing up. I still managed to rack up 52 days this year which ain’t bad as far as I’m concerned. The second trend is that this is the first time in four years where over 25% of my top albums of the year come from artists making “heavy” music. I qualify “heavy” in this context as any artist who so dares to utter a single scream or yell in their music. Some artists choose to go harder in this endeavor than others. Anyway, with the pleasantries out of the way, let’s jump into it! In no particular order, I present to you, dear reader, my 2019 Albums of the Year.
PUP // Morbid Stuff
Genre: Punk
Location: Toronto, ON
Label: Rise
Release Date: April 5th
Run Time: 37 min.
Words: I got into PUP this year and what a treat it has been! Their latest work is energized, poppy where it wants to be and aggressive where it needs to be. Adept at making listeners feel emotions on slower moments like in “Scorpion Hill” or bang their heads on jams like “Full Blown Meltdown,” the whole record is enjoyably accessible. Cutting lyrics prove fun and relatable for those of us punks who are working to figure things out as we navigate our existence. Keep your heads up and enjoy!
Check Out: “Morbid Stuff” + “Kids” + “Sibling Rivalry”
Turnover // Altogether
Genre: Indie Beach
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Label: Run for Cover
Release Date: November 1st
Run Time: 34 min.
Words: This band has come a long way since they were writing emo pop-punk jams ten years ago. Incorporating elements of jazz and lounge on top of their coastal lo-fi textbook sound has produced a true gem of a listen. It’s the soundtrack to a moonlit walk on an empty tropical beach in perfect weather and it deserves your attention.
Check Out: “Still in Motion” + “Number on the Gate” + “Plant Sugar”
Stray from the Path //
Internal Atomics
Genre: Metalcore
Location: New York, New York
Label: UNFD
Release Date: November 1st
Run Time: 31 min.
Words: Two things have brought new life to this band on their 9th record: Craig Reynold’s drumming and the resurgence of far-right politics. The former has allowed this band to sound incredibly composed and tight while remaining technically intricate while the latter gives plenty of lyrical fodder for this political band to engage with. Kerrang’s Olly Thomas states that this album, “hits as hard as you’d expect from a band who’ve never shied away from a good pummelling, setting about modern ills with appropriate levels of anger. But it also balances the feelings of despair with a streak of positivity, seeks to inspire real change and explores new musical avenues within their solid framework of their brand of metallic, groove-infused hardcore.”
Check Out: “Kickback” + “The First Will Be Last” + “Actions Not Words”
Vivian Girls // Memory
Genre: Beach Punk
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Label: Polyvinyl
Release Date: September 20th
Run Time: 33 min.
Words: Without the help of Anthony Fantano (“the internet’s busiest music nerd”) these talented women would not have made it into my ears and onto this list. Upon first try, I didn’t care much for the record much but I forced myself to give it another try or two or ten and it quickly became one of my most heavily rotated records since its late-September release. I love everything that sonically reminds me of Los Angeles, the beaches and drives up and down Highway 1. Sunny SoCal stereotypes are both my jelly and my jam and this album delivers the nostalgia in hefty heaps! Their first record in eight years, Memory adds tones of dark and gloom to their well-developed palm-tree parcelled sound creating what I found to be a tremendous album!
Check Out: “Most of All” + “Sick” + “Something to Do”
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard // Infest the Rats’ Nest
Genre: Thrash Metal
Location: Melbourne, AU
Label: Flightless
Release Date: August 16th
Run Time: 34 min.
Words: The second of two albums released by the Australian septet this year, Infest the Rat’s Nest truly rips!! One of the most prolific bands currently active, KGATLW refuses to be boxed into a single genre. On their 15th record, the group pays homage to heavy metal pioneers like Motörhead, Slayer, and Metallica in an album all about ecological disaster on Earth and the dystopian journey to settle Mars and other planets of the galaxy in the near future. “Mars for the rich. Earth for the poor.” Fuck Elon Musk.
Check Out: “Planet B” + “Venusian 2” + “Self-Immolate”
American Football // American Football LP3
Genre: Indie Math Rock
Location: Chicago, IL
Label: Polyvinyl
Release Date: March 22rd
Run Time: 47 min.
Words: Whereas their second record was a vehicle in which to wipe off fifteen years of rust, their newest album shows us what this band is truly capable of musically without trouncing on the legacy of their original classic release. LP3 is only eight songs deep but half of those are serious “can’t skips.” In addition to a glockenspiel, this album features guest vocals from Hayley Williams (Paramore), Elizabeth Powell (Land of Talk), and Rachel Goswell (Slowdive). It’s worth your time when you’re feeling peaceful and pensive and serves as a lovely addition to any autumn or winter playlist.
Check Out: “Silhouettes” + “Every Wave to Ever Rise” + “I Can’t Feel You”
Knocked Loose //
A Different Shade of Blue
Genre: Metalcore
Location: Louisville, KY
Label: Pure Noise
Release Date: August 23rd
Run Time: 38 min.
Words: Chuggy southern breakdown after chuggy southern breakdown from these good ol’ Kentucky boys. There’s no shock in me telling you that this album is heavy! One could argue that they’re currently the flag bearers standing alone on top of “hardcore mountain” and I have no issues with that postulation. Outside of guest features from Emma Boster (Dying Wish) and Keith Buckley (Every Time I Die), there’s nothing particularly unique about this record. That really doesn’t matter though when you know what you’re expecting. You don’t go to a BBQ joint and expect a kale salad. “I FOLLOWED THE RABBIT AND I FOUND MY FUCKING ENDING!!! UUUURRGGGHHH!!!”
Check Out: “Trapped in the Grasp of a Memory”+ “Mistakes Like Fractures” + “And Still I Wander South”
The Budos Band // V
Genre: Afro-Funk Rock
Location: Staten Island, NY
Label: Daptone
Release Date: April 12th
Run Time: 33 min.
Words: Five years since their previous record, the Budos are back with another brassy instrumental journey of doom! This record is heavy, funky, groovy, psychedelic and a pleasure to listen to. I played a song off of it with my little niece and she was banging her head right along with me! A review I saw a while back described the record as the perfect accompaniment to a long mystical drive through the night and after doing that myself, I fully agree with that sentiment. All the songs on here are good and, regardless of your musical tastes, this record is definitely worth a listen.
Check Out: “Old Engine Oil” + “Arcane Rambler” + “Veil of Shadows”
QUITAPENAS // Tigrada
Genre: Tropical Afro-Latin
Location: San Bernardino, CA
Label: Counter Culture
Release Date: August 9th
Run Time: 36 min.
Words: One of the most fun bands out there right now! On their second full length release, the group continues to inject sunshine and happiness into the ears and hearts of their listeners. Whether you know Spanish or not, I guarantee that these upbeat, tropical, afro-latin rhythms will make you want to get up and dance! I will be listening to this one for years to come!
Check Out: “Tranquilidad” + “El Curandero” + “Tigrada”
The Menzingers // Hello Exile
Genre: Alternative Rock
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Label: Epitaph
Release Date: October 4th
Run Time: 45 min.
Words: With the release of their sixth album, the Menzingers have certainly nailed down their formula — reflective rock songs ala Americana on growing older and nostalgic tales of their youthful punk past. Some fans may have grown tired of these lyrical tropes but I personally eat that shit up. This probably isn’t their best record in their discography but it’s certainly #3 and maybe even #2. I can also confirm that this is another solid record to take a long drive to. “Ain’t it a shame what we choose to ignore? What kind of monsters did our parents vote for?”
Check Out: “America (You’re Freaking Me Out)” + “Last to Know”+ “Strain Your Memory”
Claude Fontaine //
Claude Fontaine
Genre: Reggae
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Label: Innovative Leisure
Release Date: April 26th
Run Time: 31 min.
Words: A woman moves to London and discovers classic reggae, rocksteady, and other tropical albums at a famous record store conveniently down the street from her apartment. She misses home and gets her heart broken. She then uses this as fuel to record her own reggae album and enlists an impressive contingent of all-star musicians to make it happen. Ignoring all of the unique privileges behind all of this, the result is a darling musical display straight out of left field. Side A is reggae. Side B is bossa nova. Fontaine’s voice is as smooth as fresh gelato and the record is a warm, tropical dream.
Check Out: “Cry for Another” + “Little Sister” + “Pretending He Was You”
The Devil Wears Prada //
The Act
Genre: Post-Hardcore
Location: Chicago, IL
Label: Solid State
Release Date: October 11th
Run Time: 45 min.
Words: This band isn’t going to bluntly beat you over the head with continuous guttural screams and breakdowns like it’s 2011 still. They will, however, find ways to do it — just in more subtle and gradual ways. Vocalist Mike Hranica stated with this record that, “we wanted to do something that actually tests the boundaries…to catch people off guard,” — and that they certainly did! This is their most artistic, genre-pushing work to date and once you come to terms with that instead of wishing for the TDWP of old, this record is quite good! “Chemical” is the accessible, poppy single that fans have been raving about but there are plenty of additional heavier moments to be enjoyed. Upon my first playthrough, I think I might have turned my speaker up a little too high from enjoyment to the point where my roommate came into my room and remarked, “I don’t know what you’re listening to but it sounds very angry…”
Check Out: “Chemical” + “The Thread” + “Spiderhead”
Sessa // Grandeza
Genre: Brazilian Folk
Location: São Paulo, BR
Label: Boiled Records
Release Date: April 25th
Run Time: 30 min.
Words: Sexy psychedelic Brazilian folk. Validating my choice, this record was selected as the world’s 20th best record of the year by Bandcamp. I can’t really describe this album myself because I lack the musical context to compare it to so I will let others do the work for me. Sergio Sayag — aka Sessa himself — stated that this, “is an album about the natural gesture of love and the softness of the human body. It’s also about my love for Brazilian music and its many shapes and colors. I like to think that it exists somewhere among the rituals that celebrate life. It’s a reminder that amongst all the pain, music comes to reaffirm the beauty in living. In his own review, renowned music curator, Andrew Jervis added, “Sessa employs only a minimal palette of instrumentation and vocals, and uses them to craft a worthy tribute to greats like Caetano Veloso and Joyce, twisting his breezy sounds into something new with unexpected doses of free jazz and dreamy psychedelia.”
Check Out: “Grandeza” + “Flor do Real”+ “Língua Geral”
Northlane // Alien
Genre: Metalcore
Location: Sydney, AU
Label: UNFD
Release Date: August 2nd
Run Time: 43 min.
Words: I made the mistake of not putting their previous record, Mesmer, on my AOTY list for 2017 before getting really into it the following year. I’m not making that mistake again. Northlane tends to be ahead of my own personal listening tastes and it’s on me to keep up. With Alien, they went heavier (yay!!) while incorporating synths and a more generic nu-metal sound to match some deeply personal lyrics from frontman Marcus Bridge. While I’m not the hugest fan of the every-big-metal-band-sound, I still can’t resist the ridiculously downtuned guitars. Some of the breakdowns on this record are just absolutely filthy and Marcus’ cathartic low growls send shivers down my spine. There are a couple of misses on this record but there are enough direct hits to make this my favorite heavy album of the year.
Check Out: “4D” + “Talking Heads” + “Vultures”
Forests //
Spending Eternity in a Japanese Convenience Store
Genre: Midwest Emo
Location: Singapore, SG
Label: Sweetness Follows
Release Date: January 1st
Run Time: 34 min.
Words: A last-minute addition to my list, this definitely is not the cleanest, most technical or unique album in the genre. That being said, it’s quite a fun listen if you’re into the riff-laden nostalgia of mathy midwest emo. Add to it that these lads are from Singapore and seem to have a blast playing music together and it’s hard not to get caught up in their infectious joy. I found myself listening to this album too many times over the course of the year to not include it on my list — so here it is!
Check Out: “Kawaii Hawaii” + “Perfect Worst Team, Ya Know?” + “You Must Be Fun at Parties”
Tijuana Panthers // Carpet Denim
Genre: Surf Punk
Location: Long Beach, CA
Label: Innovative Leisure
Release Date: July 12th
Run Time: 39 min.
Words: The beachy sounds of Long Beach and the greater Los Angeles seaside bottled up and spit back out sonically. This is the Panthers’ best work since Max Baker. It’s lively, catchy, and has all of that juicy surf guitar you know and love. The record also features synths which are a nice added touch to the band’s signature sound. Growing up in the 562, this album probably hits harder for me due to the nostalgia factor more than for some others but these garage goons always put together a quality listen. This will be a summertime staple for years to come!
Check Out: “Path of Totality” + “710” + “Little Pamplemousse”
Albums To Round Out The Top 20:
Secret Band // LP2 [Metalcore]
Brijean // Walkie Talkie [Deep House]
State Faults // Clairvoyant [Post-Hardcore]
Ruby Yacht // 37 Gems [Rap]
And lastly, a playlist for your convenient listening pleasure. I hope you enjoy and I will see you here next year!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6E3yoWwarHBss0GL4PhRTG?si=TbAC8YFNQW6YiGDvH-aBoA
