Best Music of 2019

Odd year. Good releases in a wide variety of genres. Political climate + the new Tool have me dabbling heavily in alt-metal (which I had phased out in favor of punk in recent years). I even enjoyed the new Slipknot-- which is band I have never been a fan of and an album I only checked out because it's sitting at the very tippy, top of Metacritic. Also, it's been a wicked good year for hip-hop.

A week ago I wouldn't have been able to pick anything in the top tier as a clear album of the year. But JPEGMAFIA's new album dropped and holy shit-- I've only listen to it 3 times but-- it's tempting to use the word visionary. It's like James Blake, Frank Ocean and P.O.S. (one of my all-time favorite underground rappers) got put into a GEN Z blender

Here's where I'm at:

*** = still absorbing & liable to move.

Tier 1:

1) Angel Olsen: All Mirrors (indie rock)
2) JpegMafia: All My Heroes are Cornballs (experimental rap)
3) Jai: Paul: Leak 04-13 (art pop)
4) Sharon Van Etten- Remind Me Tomorrow (indie rock)
5) Little Simz- Grey Arena (hip-hop)
6) Kelsey Lu: Blood (art pop, classical)***
7) Tool: Fear Inoculum (alt-metal, prog rock)
8) Jamila Woods: Legacy! Legacy! (r&b)
9) Danny Brown: uknowwhatimsayinn?
10) The Comet Is Coming: Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery (jazz / electronica)
11) Brittany Howard: Jaime (rock, soul)***
12) Nilfer Yanya- Miss Universe (indie rock)
13) Thom Yorke: Anima (indie electronica)
14) Freddie Gibbs: Bandana (rap)
15) (Sandy) Alex G: House of Sugar (experimental folk)***
16) Mannequin Pussy: Patience (indie rock /pop-punk)

Tier 2:

17) Tyler the Creator: Igor (experimental r&b)
18) Anna Mieke- Idle Mind (folk)
19) Billy Woods: Hiding Places (underground hip-hop)
20) Chemical Brothers- No Geography (house)
21) Yugen Blakrok: Anima Mysterium (underground hip-hop)
22) Baroness: Gold and Grey (alt-metal)
23) Karen O & Danger Mouse: Lux Prima (alt rock)***
24) Blood Orange: Angels Pulse (R&B)***
25) Local Natives: Violet Street (Indie Rock)
26) Steve Gunn: The Unseen In Between (singer/songwriter)***
27) Julia Jacklin- Crushing (singer/songwriter, indie rock)
28) Octo Octa: Resonant Body (house)
29) These New Puritans- Inside the Rose (new wave, art rock)
30) Cate le Bon: Reward (indie/art rock)***
31) Blood Red Shoes: Get Tragic! (alt rock)

Tier II:
32) Chromatics: Closer to Grey (Electro-Pop)
33) Kedr Livanskiy- Your Need (house)
34) Slipknot: We Are Not Your Kind (alt-metal)***
35) Chris Crack: Never Hated I Just Waited (rap)
36) DJ Yoda: Homecooking (underground hip-hop)***
37) Black Midi: Schlagenheim (art rock)
38) Solange: When I Get Home (R&B)***
39) Brockhampton: Ginger (left field rap)
40) Rapsody: Eve (underground hip-hop)
41) Craig Finn: I Need A New War (folk rock)***
42) Jay Som: Anak Ko (indie rock)***
43) DIIV: Deciever (shoegaze)***
44) Lana Del Rey: Norman Fucking! Rockwell (indie rock)
45) Jenny Hval: The Practice of Love (indie electronic)***
46) Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest (folk)
47) Foals: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1 (alt rock)
48) Kano: Hoodies All Summer (electronic, hip-hop)
49) Weyes Blood- Titanic Rising (art folk)
50) Stella Donnelly- Beware of the Dogs (singer/songwriter)

Honorable Mentions:
Fontaines D.C: Dogrel (punk)
Little Brother: May the Lord Watch (underground hip-hop)***
3Teeth: Metawar (industrial)
Florest: Emily Alone (folk)***
Show Me The Body: Dog Whistle (art punk)





Edit: Alex G's House of Sugar hit me hard tonight on my 3rd spin. Had been waiting for it to click as Rocket is one of my favs of the entire decade.
 
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debianlinux said:
It's in my top 5
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The first couple times I was listening to it, I was playing a 2d platformer, and I enjoyed it while missing the bursts of noise and chaos that were sprinkled throughout Rocket. It felt too safe. But last night I laid in bed with in on the headphones- and I realized how ambitious and unique House of Sugar actually is via its webbed intricacies.
 
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House of Sugar is sneaky, like most of his stuff, but what you discover once the sneak happens is that this is not only very good but it is also his most focused and consistent album. Nothing really goes to waste and he manages to make instrumental and weird tracks feel as satisfying and complete as his straight forward country-lite/indie rock jams. It's competing for my #1 of the year right now.
 
DownIsTheNewUp said:
The first couple times I was listening to it, I was playing a 2d platformer, and I enjoyed it while missing the bursts of noise and chaos that were sprinkled throughout Rocket. It felt too safe. But last night I laid in bed with in on the headphones- and I realized how ambitious and unique House of Sugar actually is via its webbed intricacies.
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I was actually talking about SVE but I’ll give that a try too.
 
Jake! said:
I've been super behind on new music this year, but these are my top 5 as of now in no order:

1. Laura Stevenson - The Big Freeze
2. State Faults - Clairvoyant
3. Mannequin Pussy - Patience
4. Kishi Bashi - Omoiyari
5. The Tallest Man On Earth - I Love You. It's A Fever Dream.

Also, thanks @wokeupnew for recommending Bodywash, I've been listening to that the last few days! It's really fantastic.
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OMG SOMEONE ELSE ON THE FORUM LOVES LAURA STEVENSON
 
gaporter said:
OMG SOMEONE ELSE ON THE FORUM LOVES LAURA STEVENSON
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YES!! I ranted about her endlessly on the old forum! I haven't been able to be as active here yet but I'm sure more rants will be on their way hahah. Wheel is in my top 10 albums of all time. Her latest is breathtaking.

I also was sooo close to interviewing her after a show once for my friend's local magazine he ran. But it fell through. Still met her and she's just as genuine and lovely as you'd expect!!
 
Jake! said:
YES!! I ranted about her endlessly on the old forum! I haven't been able to be as active here yet but I'm sure more rants will be on their way hahah. Wheel is in my top 10 albums of all time. Her latest is breathtaking.

I also was sooo close to interviewing her after a show once for my friend's local magazine he ran. But it fell through. Still met her and she's just as genuine and lovely as you'd expect!!
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I've subjected the JQBX crew to her on numerous occasions - she's one of, if not the most underrated singer-songwriters currently active. The Big Freeze definitely took me a bit of time to fully appreciate, as its much slower and more intimate compared to her other albums, but it's a fantastic addition to her discography. Her range is incredible, to be able to go from the high-energy power pop of Cocksure to this new one is really impressive!

Interviewing her would be a treat - have you listened to any of the commentary things she did for Spotify?
 
gaporter said:
I've subjected the JQBX crew to her on numerous occasions - she's one of, if not the most underrated singer-songwriters currently active. The Big Freeze definitely took me a bit of time to fully appreciate, as its much slower and more intimate compared to her other albums, but it's a fantastic addition to her discography. Her range is incredible, to be able to go from the high-energy power pop of Cocksure to this new one is really impressive!

Interviewing her would be a treat - have you listened to any of the commentary things she did for Spotify?
Click to expand...

It was the record I hoped she would make. Cocksure really, like you said, focused on that high energy part of her sound, but I really missed the intimacy of a lot of the tracks on previous records. So I was really hoping for something like The Big Freeze and I couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out!

I remember listening to the one she did for Cocksure! It was really cool. I haven't listened to any other ones though!
 
Jake! said:
YES!! I ranted about her endlessly on the old forum! I haven't been able to be as active here yet but I'm sure more rants will be on their way hahah. Wheel is in my top 10 albums of all time. Her latest is breathtaking.

I also was sooo close to interviewing her after a show once for my friend's local magazine he ran. But it fell through. Still met her and she's just as genuine and lovely as you'd expect!!
Click to expand...

The girls at my local dispensary were raving about her the other night.
 
wokeupnew said:
Mid-year 2019 update

  1. The National - I Am Easy to Find
  2. Hatchie - Keepsake
  3. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising
  4. Julia Jacklin - Crushing
  5. Eluvium - Pianoworks
  6. The Mountain Goats - In League With Dragons
  7. Beirut - Gallipoli
  8. Titus Andronicus - An Obelisk
  9. Celer - Xièxie
  10. Kyle Bobby Dunn - From Here to Eternity
  11. Wallows - Nothing Happens
  12. Better Oblivion Community Center - Better Oblivion Community Center
  13. Beduine - Bird Songs of a Killjoy
  14. The Tallest Man on Earth - I Love You. It's a Fever Dream.
  15. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
  16. Jenny Lewis - On the Line
  17. The Drums - Brutalism
  18. Big Thief - U.F.O.F.
  19. American Football - LP3
  20. Girlpool - What Chaos Is Imaginary
  21. Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride
  22. Andrew Bird - My Finest Work Yet
  23. Mike Krol - Power Chords
  24. Jess Ribeiro - Love Hate
  25. Pup - Morbid Stuff
  26. Cherry Glazerr - Stuffed & Ready
  27. Lady Lamb - Even in the Tremor
  28. Fawns of Love - Permanent
  29. Cate Le Bon - Reward
  30. Tamaryn - Dreaming in the Dark
  31. Deerhunter - Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?
  32. Bob Mould — Sunshine Rock
  33. The Caretaker - Everywhere at the End of Time, Stage 6
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First update in like 3 months :eek:

  1. The National - I Am Easy to Find
  2. Hatchie - Keepsake
  3. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising
  4. Julia Jacklin - Crushing
  5. Eluvium - Pianoworks
  6. Bodywash - Comforter
  7. The Mountain Goats - In League With Dragons
  8. The Tallest Man on Earth - I Love You. It's a Fever Dream.
  9. Beirut - Gallipoli
  10. Titus Andronicus - An Obelisk
  11. Celer - Xièxie
  12. Wallows - Nothing Happens
  13. Better Oblivion Community Center - Better Oblivion Community Center
  14. Jay Som - Anak Ko
  15. Mannequin Pussy - Patience
  16. Beduine - Bird Songs of a Killjoy
  17. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
  18. Jenny Lewis - On the Line
  19. Black Belt Eagle Scout - At the Party with My Brown Friends
  20. Pup - Morbid Stuff
  21. Long Beard - Means to Me
  22. The Drums - Brutalism
  23. Sheer Mag - A Distant Call
  24. Florist - Emily Alone
  25. Big Thief - U.F.O.F.
  26. American Football - LP3
  27. Girlpool - What Chaos Is Imaginary
  28. Frankie Cosmos - Close it Quietly
  29. Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride
  30. Andrew Bird - My Finest Work Yet
  31. Mike Krol - Power Chords
  32. Jess Ribeiro - Love Hate
  33. Cherry Glazerr - Stuffed & Ready
  34. Lady Lamb - Even in the Tremor
  35. Fawns of Love - Permanent
  36. Ride - This Is Not A Safe Place
  37. Cate Le Bon - Reward
  38. Tamaryn - Dreaming in the Dark
  39. Deerhunter - Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?
  40. Bon Iver - i,i
  41. Bob Mould - Sunshine Rock
  42. The Caretaker - Everywhere at the End of Time, Stage 6
  43. Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won't Hold


Anticipated albums:
  • Angel Olsen
  • A Winged Victory for the Sullen
  • White Reaper
  • Big Thief
  • DIIV
  • Vagabon
  • Pinegrove
  • Cigarettes After Sex
 
Been binging a lot of music the past couple of weeks while doing office work (and playing entirely way too much Stardew Valley) so I updated my list on page 21. It now runs 50 deep.

Albums that I somehow overlooked at the start of the year include:
Kelsey Lu: Blood (which took only a couple listens to bounce to the top of my list)
Cate le Bon: Reward
Karen O / Dangermouse: Lux Prima
Steve Gunn: The Unseen In Between (easily his best work since 2014's Way Out Weather imo)
+ the new Blood Orange and Solange (not sure how, love both artists)

New releases wise, I'm enjoying Brittany Howard's album, Lana's Norman Fucking! Rockwell (though the 1st half of it is hitting me a LOT harder than the 2nd half atm) and, as mentioned previously, JPEGMAFIA's oddball masterpiece.

It's been a great year for eclectic music.
 
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Anyone listened to the new Angel Olsen want to comment on the sound quality? Or at least the two new singles?

“Lark” for instance seems like its mixed poorly. The higher ends of the mix sound muddled and staticky. It’s like you’re blowing out a poor set of speakers. Not sure if this is on purpose or what. I’ve heard it on my computer, my phone speakers and now my headphones and each time is sounds the same. “Impasse” off the second half of the album has the same effect. It’s a very strange choice if that was done consciously.
 
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