Tag: best records of 2019

Top 30 albums of 2019: #’s 5 – 1

Here we are at the top of the list of the best things I heard and reviewed in 2019.

#5 – The Well – Death and Consolation

Good grief, this album crushes. It’s my favorite stoner / doom metal album of the year. It doesn’t just wallop you with it’s heaviness though, the grooves on it are top-notch and the Well keep a raw edge to it that’s difficult for lesser bands to match.

#4 – Mdou Moctar – Ilana (The Creator)

A beautiful record of Tuareg rock from a guy who, in his spare time when he’s not shredding a handmade guitar, builds schools in Algeria. The album is a spiritual journey and a showcase for Moctar’s amazing guitar work.

#3 – Here Lies Man – No Ground to Walk Upon

These guys make the funkiest psych-doom you’ve heard. Playing psych-doom through African rhythms and jazz flourishes, HLM’s newest explore impermanence, transcendence, and the power of nature.

#2 – Priests – The Seduction of Kansas

If you’re going out, go out on a high note. Priests, who have announced an amicable breakup for the time being, did just that with the excellent album The Seduction of Kansas – a post-punk gem that tackles modern politics, toxic masculinity, bullying, sex, and, of course, rock and roll. This was my #1 album for most of the year until along came an album that should’ve have been good at all…

#1 – Föllakzoid – I

I just realized that my #1 album of the year is called I. This record should not have worked. Föllakzoid’s three members each recorded their own parts (guitars and vocals, synths, drums) separately and then gave all the elements to their producer – who had heard none of them before – and more or less told him, “Make a record out of this.” He did, and the result is an amazing synthwave record that’s like the score to an unreleased Phillip K. Dick film adaptation. I described this process to my wife, who then asked, “So whose album is it?” Is it Föllakzoid’s? The producers? Both? Neither? The band has said they consider it a communal experience for everyone involved and the listener. In these times of fractionated politics and drawing lines in the sand, we need more albums like that.

There you have it. Onto 2020!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 30 albums of 2019: #’s 10 – 6

We’ve reached the top 10 folks!

#10 – Jake Xerxes Fussell – Out of Sight

Jake Fussell sings sea shanties, songs about death, and forgotten ballads and does them with such warm and honesty that every album feels like he’s playing it live in your living room.

#9 – Claude Fontaine – self-titled

Half-dub, half-bossa nova, all good. Claude Fontaine‘s lovely voice blends so well with her powerhouse backing band of seasoned session musicians that this album sounds like she’s been putting out records for years.

#8 – L’Epee – Diabolique

L’Epee’s Diabolique is not only one of the best psychedelic rock albums of the year, it’s also one of the best debut albums of the year. The arrangements drift over your like incense smoke and send you back in time to 1967.

#7 – Thee Oh Sees – Face Stabber

This double album from Thee Oh Sees pushed up the double-drumming percussion and added jazz elements to create a wild record that sounds like a long lost Frank Zappa record, but with more allusions to creepy people in shadows possibly manipulating us without our knowledge. Plus, one entire side of this double album is the incredible “Henchlock.”

#6 – Moon Duo – Stars Are the Light

If you can mix psychedelia with jazz, why not mix it with disco? That’s just Moon Duo did on Stars Are the Light – an ultra-cool record that should be the soundtrack for every chill lounge in outer space.

Who makes the top 5? Come back later today to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 30 albums of 2019: #’s 15 – 11

We’ve reached the halfway point. Who’s in the list? Read on!

#15 – Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won’t Hold

Sleater-Kinney chose to mix their hard rock and punk chops with electro touches, and the result is a great record about loneliness, toxic masculinity, standing up when you get knocked down, and walking away from the past. The fact that drummer Janet Weiss left the band not long after The Center Won’t Hold was released adds a bittersweet edge to the album, too.

#14 – Jacques Greene – Dawn Chorus

This is a brilliant house music record that has a theme of getting ready for, going to, and then dealing with the after-effects of an all-night party. It’s full of great dance tracks and some chill stuff to give you a breather now and then. Jacques Greene spins like he was a DJ in the early 1990’s, even though he was just a toddler then.

#13 – Weeping Icon – self-titled

The image of the two skulls exploding with waves of…something is appropriate for the debut album from Weeping Icon because this album is a tidal wave of sound – guitar fuzz, psychedelic noise, and other things that are better heard than described all team up to make this one of the best debut albums of the year.

#12 – CHAI – Punk

CHAI just keep putting out great records. Punk is full of their wit, excellent musicianship, and pure joy. It’s a record about embracing who you are and not giving a damn what others think. Throw in J-Pop, post-punk, electro, and songs that practically force you to sing along with them and you have a winner.

#11 – Ash Walker – Aquamarine

Holy cow, this is a groovy record. All of the songs have some sort of theme related to oceans or water. Aquamarine blends soul, house, trip hop, dub, jazz, and lounge chill to produce something you might hear on Aquaman’s hi-fi.

The top 10 start tomorrow on New Year’s Day 2020!

Keep your mind open.

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