Since it has been a few weeks since my last update of my favorite albums of the year, I decided to give you a bit of a concise rundown about each album, focusing on what I liked the most about each one.
So here’s that assessment, followed by the cumulative list of best albums in 2019.
1. Oh My God – Kevin Morby
- How much it reminded me of my favorite band, Girls.
- The production has a fuzz about it that resonates with me.
2. Raw Honey – Drugdealer
- How the little things stand out in each song, especially in the masterpiece Honey, a top-five song of the year.
3. Dogrel – FONTAINES D.C.
- How from the opening drum crash and filthy bass line, you know it is going to be an audacious debut.
4. Guns – Quelle Chris
- How the album tells a poignant message while remaining cool as hell.
5. ARIZONA baby – Kevin Abstract
- How Kevin juxtaposes the complexity of his ideas with the quaint, personable approach of his songwriting.
6. Anger Management – Rico Nasty, Kenny Beats
- How Rico is cementing herself as one of the most fiery emcees in the world, and how Kenny is solidifying his place on the hierarchy of great producers.
7. Ventura – Anderson .Paak
- How this project embraces the old school and new school. The highlight is Make It Better (feat. Smokey Robinson).
8. Designer – Aldous Harding
- How she is the perfect microcosm for the Australia/New Zealand dynamic. She is similar, both in her songwriting prowess and thematic elements, to the Australian artists Stella Donnelly and Julia Jacklin–but there’s something just a little different and unique about the Christchurch native.
9. Invitation – Heather Woods Broderick
- How much it reminds me of Kate Bush, especially in Nightcrawler. That melody at :29 is beautiful and haunting.
10. CrasH Talk – ScHoolboy Q
- How consistent this project is. Almost every song is a certified Banger™.
11. CORRESPONDENCE – Jens Lekman, Annika Norlin
- How Jens shows he can craft compelling songs regardless of how it sounds sonically. Typically, he has booming drums and shining synths, but this whole album feels intimate and nuanced. It’s a nice album, even if I prefer the older stuff.
12. Warp and Woof – Guided By Voices
- How Guided By Voices churns out music at a seemingly super-human pace. Their previous full-length album was released Feb. 1, 2019.
13. Laughing Matter – Wand
- How Rio Grande resonates with me the same way Belle & Sebastian does. It has a lot of the same elements.
14. Cuz I Love You – Lizzo
- How crazy-talented she is. I didn’t like this album, though. I’m not very high on music where the vocals are so emphatically at the forefront of everything. It got a little exhausting, to be honest.
15. Where Polly People Go to Read – Gus Dapperton
- Famed soft-boy Gus Dapperton has the potential to be really good. I’m Just Snacking, a previous release, is enjoyable. I wasn’t a big fan of anything on here.
16. Life Metal – Sunn O)))
- I get it. I do. But it’s not my thing. Sunn O))) considers themselves to be “a synthesis of diverse: drone, ur, noise, metal, minimalism/maximalism.” I think it’s the drone that doesn’t click with me.
17. Violet Street – Local Natives
- It’s fascinating how hard some bands fall. Their first few albums are really good. This album is atrocious. Totally devoid of personality, this album is an effective sedative more than it is anything else.
EVERY NEW ALBUM I’VE LISTENED TO THIS YEAR, RANKED BEST TO WORST
- Paris – OWEL
- IT WON/T BE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME – The Twilight Sad
- Titanic Rising – Weyes Blood
- PSYCHODRAMA – Dave
- Phoenix – Pedro the Lion
- Heard It In A Past Life – Maggie Rogers
- Sucker Punch – Sigrid
- To Each His Own – E.B. The Younger
- When I Get Home – Solange
- Remind Me Tomorrow – Sharon Van Etten
- In Search of the Miraculous – Desperate Journalist
- LP3 – American Football
- Outer Peace – Toro y Moi
- Beware of the Dogs – Stella Donnelly
- Oh My God – Kevin Morby
- Crushing – Julia Jacklin
- Raw Honey – Drugdealer
- The Big Freeze – Laura Stevenson
- Girl With Basket Of Fruit – Xiu Xiu
- WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? – Billie Eilish
- Morbid Stuff – PUP
- Dogrel – FONTAINES D.C.
- Guns – Quelle Chris
- Ulfilas’ Alphabet – Sundara Karma
- ARIZONA baby – Kevin Abstract
- Anger Management – Rico Nasty, Kenny Beats
- Gallipoli – Beirut
- Better Oblivion Community Center – Better Oblivion Community Center
- Ventura – Anderson .Paak
- Designer – Aldous Harding
- Invitation – Heather Woods Broderick
- CrasH Talk – ScHoolboy Q
- Rap Or Go To The League – 2 Chainz
- The Seduction of Kansas – Priests
- Olympic Girls – Tiny Ruins
- Good At Falling – The Japanese House
- Me You They We – Ages and Ages
- Nowhere Now Here – MONO
- Electric Lady Sessions – LCD Soundsystem
- The Door to Doom – Candlemass
- Tasmania – Pond
- On The Line – Jenny Lewis
- SUGA – Kyle Dion
- This is Not the End – Spielbergs
- Almost Free – FIDLAR
- FIVE – White Lies
- Malibu Ken – Malibu Ken
- Betty – Betty Who
- Assume Form – James Blake
- CORRESPONDENCE – Jens Lekman, Annika Norlin
- LOVE – MARINA
- Everythings For Sale – Boogie
- Future Hndrxx Presents: THE WZRD – Future
- GREY Area – Little Simz
- Warp and Woof – Guided By Voices
- Laughing Matter – Wand
- Five Stars – Higher Brothers
- The World Is Yours 2 – Rich The Kid
- Homebrew – DIRE GNOME
- placeholder – Hand Habits
- This Is How You Smile – Helado Negro
- Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? – Deerhunter
- Vernissage My Heart – Bilderbuch
- Stuffed & Ready – Cherry Glazerr
- AJ Tracey – AJ Tracey
- Death Race For Love – Juice WRLD
- Love Hates What You Become – Lost Under Heaven
- Berkeley’s On Fire – SWMRS
- VOL. 4 :: SLAVES OF FEAR – HEALTH
- Goes West – William Tyler
- What Chaos Is Imaginary – Girlpool
- Zeppelin Over China – Guided By Voices
- Cuz I Love You – Lizzo
- Nothing Happens – Wallows
- Helium – HOMESHAKE
- Groove Denied – Stephen Malkmus
- American Love Call – Durand Jones & The Indications
- Quiet Signs – Jessica Pratt
- XXXTENTACION Presents: Members Only, Vol. 4 – XXXTENTACION
- Where Polly People Go To Read – Gus Dapperton
- Lux Prima – Karen O and Danger Mouse
- Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited – Mercury Rev
- Life Metal – Sunn O)))
- Violet Street – Local Natives
midnight surprise 