MUSIC: tec's Top 50 of 2019
I've caught up on everything I think I need from last year, so here are my Top Fifty Albums from 2019, plus five honorable mentions. Descriptions are going to be much shorter than usual, because I've already spent way too much time just compiling this damn thing. Willing to discuss any head-scratching choices (or omissions) in the comments, though! |
| 55 |  | American Football
American Football (LP3)
> HONORABLE MENTION: Knee-jerk tendency is to compare this to LP1, which is totally unfair because it's one of the greatest albums of all time. But this is a great release, and a huge step up from the disappointing LP2. |
| 54 |  | Taylor Swift
Lover
> HONORABLE MENTION: After loving 1989 and aboslutely loathing REPUTATION, this was a welcome return to form. Or at least the form I most prefer her in. Bloated - you could cut about five tracks from this and make it truly great. |
| 53 |  | Deathspell Omega
The Furnaces of Palingenesia
> HONORABLE MENTION: These guys continue to remain consistent and solid. Not as boundary-pushing as I'd like, but you can always count on them for a good release. |
| 52 |  | Collider
-><-
> HONORABLE MENTION: Messy and all over the place, loaded with lots of simple sounds, slightly rough around the edges...Just as shoegaze should be. |
| 51 |  | Rorcal
Muladona
> HONORABLE MENTION: Could do without some of the spoken-word parts, but when this jams, it *jams*. Excited to see where these guys go next. |
| 50 |  | Nilufer Yanya
Miss Universe
> Borderline experimental at times. Catchy but never too sweet. Love the unusual vocal register. |
| 49 |  | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Ghosteen
> One of Nick’s darker records (believe it or not) but incredible cathartic because of it. |
| 48 |  | Oso Oso
Basking in the glow
> Surface level pleasures are all over the place. Sometimes you don’t need depth to be enjoyable. |
| 47 |  | Serpent Column
Mirror In Darkness
> Probably the most brutal album on this list. |
| 46 |  | Ceres
We Are A Team
> Another album loaded with pleasurable ear-worms of the Midwest emo-offshoot variety. I’m okay with that. |
| 45 |  | Thom Yorke
Anima
> Like KID A, KID OF LIMBS, and A MOON SHAPED POOL had a threesome. Yorke’s best solo album so far. |
| 44 |  | Denzel Curry
Zuu
> Short song length works in its favor; great album to toss on and jam for a little while without committing to much. |
| 43 |  | Misthyrming
Algleymi
> Icy cold riffs for days, a bit traditional for these guys but wonderful nonetheless. |
| 42 |  | Copeland
Blushing
> Surprisingly ethereal and more genuinely touching than I would’ve anticipated from these guys. Well done. |
| 41 |  | Epic Beard Men
This Was Supposed To Be Fun
> And it was fun indeed. Most joyous album on the list, I think. |
| 40 |  | Chat Pile
Remove Your Skin Please
> Daughters + The Jesus Lizard + ?????? = this bizarrely transfixing pile of abrasive noise. Muah. |
| 39 |  | Purple Mountains
Purple Mountains
> Some truly great songwriting here; rest in peace Berman, you magnificent bastard. |
| 38 |  | Greet Death
New Hell
> Favorite shoegaze release of the year, wonderful stuff that even approaches slowcore a few times. |
| 37 |  | Mannequin Pussy
Patience
> Once you get past the stupid band name, you’ll find that they actually make really good music with lots of aggression! |
| 36 |  | Yeule
Serotonin II
> Listening to this is like living inside of a dream cloud. |
| 35 |  | Quelle Chris
Guns
> Has grown on me a lot in the past few months. Great, subtle beats and flows. ‘Obamacare’ is quality. |
| 34 |  | Weeping Sores
False Confession
> Never before has the inclusion of melancholy, bellowing strings complimented doom metal so incredibly well. Unique and tasty. |
| 33 |  | Danny Brown
uknowhatimsayin¿
> Nothing will ever beat ATROCITY EXHIBITION for me, but *gasp* I do prefer this to XXX. Blasphemous? |
| 32 |  | Jamila Woods
Legacy! Legacy!
> Goddamn, you go girl. Fierce and jazzy as fuck. |
| 31 |  | Tomb Mold
Planetary Clairvoyance
> Biggest turnaround of the year. Wasn’t a fan on first listen, absolutely adore it now. Beautiful stuff. |
| 30 |  | The Comet Is Coming
Trust in the Lifeforce of Deep Mystery
> The soundtrack to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY if it were made today. |
| 29 |  | The Appleseed Cast
The Fleeting Light of Impermanence
> Harks back to the LOW LEVEL OWL days, which I’m totally okay with. Nice blend of emo and post-rock soundscaping. |
| 28 |  | Chelsea Wolfe
Birth of Violence
> Somewhere between HISS SPUN and ABYSS, with a bit more folky tendencies. A stunner either way. |
| 27 |  | The Great Old Ones
Cosmicism
> This came out of nowhere, but my god it’s great if you enjoy being crushed by sludge. (I do.) |
| 26 |  | Durand Jones and The Indications
American Love Call
> Funky and catchy and groovy in all the right ways; instantly jammable. |
| 25 |  | Carly Rae Jepsen
Dedicated
> Underrated release from Ms. Jepsen. Sure, it’s no E•MO•TION, but what is? Love the synthy/80s vibe this has. ‘Real Love’ is a Year-best track. |
| 24 |  | Cult of Luna
A Dawn to Fear
> These guys are so consistent it’s scary. If you tend to enjoy Cult of Luna, you’re gonna love this. |
| 23 |  | The National
I Am Easy to Find
> I am biased, perhaps, because I love these guys. But really, this isn’t nearly as bad as people are acting. Overlong, maybe, but painfully beautiful, too. |
| 22 |  | Mayhem
Daemon
> Is it okay to call this a return to form? Not as groundbreaking as their debut, obviously, but it’s safe to say they’re finally making good metal again. |
| 21 |  | Big Thief
U.F.O.F.
> Oddly haunting and galivanting with a strength that isn’t usually found in folk music. And to thing this isn’t even the best thing they released this year! |
| 20 |  | Wilco
Ode to Joy
> People who keep expecting/wanting these guys to re-release YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT year after year are weird. Lovely album. |
| 19 |  | Blood Incantation
Hidden History of the Human Race
> Only four songs long and each one of them shreds. The long wait for this was totally worth. |
| 18 |  | Have a Nice Life
Sea of Worry
> As with Wilco, people keep hoping for a DEATHCONSCIOUSNESS PART II and I’m not sure why. Look at what else these guys are capable of! |
| 17 |  | clipping.
There Existed an Addiction to Blood
> Chilling but well executing concept album (something I normally hate). Some truly nerve-shredding beats and flows and lyrical content here. |
| 16 |  | Weyes Blood
Titanic Rising
> Second-half of the album is great, first-half is otherworldly, and ‘Movies’ (in the middle) is the song of the year. |
| 15 |  | Swans
Leaving Meaning
> Doesn’t assume the droning, monolithic form of their previous trilogy of albums, and that’s surprisingly refreshing (despite how much I love those albums). Lots of influence from The Angels of Light here. |
| 14 |  | Liturgy
H.A.Q.Q.
> THE ARK WORK was all over the place. This is all over the place, but in a strangely coherent way. That probably doesn’t make sense, but neither does this album. I thought my speakers broke several times while listening. Awesome. |
| 13 |  | PUP
Morbid Stuff
> Hey, a good pop-punk release?! Unheard of! Catchy and aggressive without being mopey and childish. Tough combo, but PUP pulls it off. |
| 12 |  | Mortiferum
Disgorged From Psychotic Depths
> This is the crustiest, most damning thing I’ve heard in a while. Listen and let it suck you into its black hole of slow, crushing distortion. |
| 11 |  | Big Thief
Two Hands
> Ever-so-slightly more palpable than U.F.O.F., which gives it the edge for me. More emotionally carving, too, in my opinion. Just listen to ‘Shoulders’ for Christ’s sake. |
| 10 |  | Mgla
Age of Excuse
> Pure, unfiltered Mgła at their most Mgła. Some will (and have) complained that they are just releasing the same album over and over. I don’t entirely agree, but said album is fucking fantastic, so maybe I’m just accepting of that fact? |
| 9 |  | Black Midi
Schlagenheim
> Don’t even know how to describe this magnificent beast. Just listen to the opening track and that’ll give you a good idea of what you’re in for. |
| 8 |  | Hatchie
Keepsake
> Like if Cocteau Twins were catchier and more legible, which is actually kind of a good thing?! |
| 7 |  | Kai Whiston
No World As Good As Mine
> Undoubtedly the most undefinable album here. Every song sounds like it was taken from somewhere else, and yet nothing feels out of place. |
| 6 |  | Two People
First Body
> Some weird hybrid of Portishead and… I dunno, Mazzy Star? No, that’s not quite right. Very nocturnal and dreamy, though, with a gentle touch of trip hop beats and elementals. Fantastic. |
| 5 |  | (Sandy) Alex G
House Of Sugar
> All over the place, but in the best way imaginable. Surprisingly refined, given the sprawling nature of the track list. The best album of Alex’s career thus far, and hopefully a precursor of where he’s headed next. |
| 4 |  | Vukari
Aevum
> Imagine if Deafheaven’s SUNBATHER had a baby with any of Mgła’s albums… It’d be something like this, but with a faster, slightly sharper edge. Fell in love with this on first listen and still jam it regularly. |
| 3 |  | Lingua Ignota
Caligula
> Not everyone is sold on Kristin’s bloody hollering and occasionally atonal chanting. But I am. There’s nothing about this album that is subtle, but that’s part of what makes it so bracing. It beats you over the head with a hammer, grinds your ribcage into a fine powder, and then blows it back into your face. Apparently I’m a masochist??? |
| 2 |  | Great Grandpa
Four of Arrows
> The jump in quality from Great Grandpa’s previous album to this is unfathomable. Indie rock without pretension, emo without the sappiness, and alt-country sans the overpowering twang. How they managed such a balance is beyond me. |
| 1 |  | Fire! Orchestra
Arrival
> I cannot say enough good things about this record. Fire! Orchestra have continued to release great, avant-garde releases, but this is gonna go down as their crowning achievement, I guarantee it. Perfect cocktail of their jazzy breakdowns and a harnessed, more rock-centric focus on tone and texture and structure. Like a liquid that cannot be contained. Not only the best album of the year, but this is probably somewhere among my 50 or so all time favorite albums ever. |
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