The Best Albums I Heard in 2019
I had the chance to catch more live shows and listen to more albums in 2019 than last year and for that, I’m really grateful! What follows is not a list of the “best” albums of the year per say, but these are the albums that stuck in my head and that I returned to the most. It’s a pretty ecletic list and I tried to represent a bit of everything that’s been floating around in my mind this past year.
10. Cate Le Bon — “Reward”
This album throws you one curveball after another and a lot of the melodies are obtuse on first listen but really sneak up on you and work their way into your head after subsequent listens.
Standout Track: “Mother’s Mother’s Magazines”
9. Karen O & Danger Mouse — “Lux Prima”
I didn’t see this album on many end-of-year lists but I think it should be reconsidered. I’m such a sucker for Danger Mouse’s lush and layered production style and it’s a perfect fit for what Karen O’s other-worldly vocal stylings on this record. It’s an interesting pivot for both of these artists. I didn’t catch their tour and it’s one of my big regrets this year.
Standout Track: “Ministry”
8. Brittany Howard — “Jaime”
I wasn’t expecting much from Brittany Howard’s solo debut. I figured it would be a rehash of Alabama Shakes’ sound or some flavor of “Alabama Shakes Lite”. She’s surprised us with something totally unique — a mix of soul, blues and R&B that’s really personal at times (the album title is named after her sister that passed away as a child) and it’s a really interesting new direction she’s taking.
Standout Track: “13th Century Metal”
7. Sharon Van Etten — “Remind Me Tomorrow”
I don’t have much to say except that this is simply fantastic songwriting. Bruce Springsteen would be proud. This is by far her best work to date.
Standout Track: “Seventeen”
6. Big Thief — “U.F.O.F.”
Big Thief put out two pretty astounding albums this year and I probably could have put both of them on this list. I chose to list the one I like more out of the two. This band doesn’t feel like a band — it feels like a family. When they play live, they truly feel like one unit. This is a band at the height of its powers.
Standout Track: “U.F.OF.”
5. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib — “Bandana”
This is the best hip hop album I heard all year. Gibbs and Madlib are so locked in sync on this record. It’s a freewheeling effort that pulls from all kinds of past influences (I want to go record shopping with Madlib). The album feels loose and the duo is at east but there’s a lot of intentionality baked into all of it. The beats are gritty. The pace is perfect. Each song flows into the next effortlessly and it’s hard not to listen to this album through to its finish regardless of where you pick up from.
Standout Track: “Crime Pays”
4. The New Pornographers — “In the Morse Code of the Brake Lights”
This is my favorite from AC Newman & Co. since 2005’s “Twin Cinema”. This album feels extremely confident. After 22 years together, the band knows its strengths and accentuates then while the songwriting continues to push into new directions while staying true to what makes this band one of the greatest power pop bands of this century. The songwriting here is really strong per usual and they add melody on top of melody time after time. The vocal melodies are as good as they’ve ever been and the band has orchestral components accompanying them throughout. It’s their most mature album to date and there’s not a weak song in the bunch.
Standout Track: “Dreamlike and on the Rush”
3. Floating Points — “Crush”
This is the best electronic album I’ve heard this year and it is colossal. It builds on everything that made his debut album so infectious. This music is really ambitious and at times chaotic but it’s also pretty accessible. It’s like if Philip Glass and Aphex Twin had a kid.
Standout Track: “Falaise”
2. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — “Infest the Rats’ Nest”
On their 15th(!) album, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard morph into a thrash band and it’s one of their most astounding and successful transformations to date (and they’ve had a lot). This album feels inevitable, like this band was made for this type of music. I look forward to whatever they do next, but part of me wants more of this. It’s post-apocalyptic space rock with garage band production that sounds like a transmission from the future. Every song on this album is stellar.
Standout Track: “Perihelion”
- Charly Bliss — “Young Enough”
There’s no album I listed to more in 2019 than this one, so I had to put it #1. On “Young Enough”, Charly Bliss completely dispels the myth of the “sophomore slump”. The rough edges of the first record are smoothed out. The moods are more intense. The hooks are supercharged. This is pop rock at its absolute best. I liked the record when I first heard it, but then I got to see the band live and they put on one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. They brought the music to life! If you get only one album on this list, make it this one.
Standout Track: “Hard to Believe”
