My 20 Favorite Records of 2019
Lists! Everyone loves them. Hereās another one.
These are the records I liked the most this year. That doesnāt mean theyāre the *best*, that means I liked them. You might not. Thatās fine! You might be livid that Porpoise Corpseās neo-classical folk prog double LP isnāt on my list because itās an easy top 5 record for you, but maybe electric mandolin solos, blast beats, and harpsichord runs arenāt my thing. Thatās fine too! Itās infinitely cooler and far more productive to let people enjoy the art they enjoyĀ rather than wasting precious minutes of your life trying to convince the entire internet to have the exact same taste in music.
This years list is chock full of the usual, if youāre familiar with my taste at all -- tons of super heavy bummer jams, a handful of Radiohead-adjacent mid-tempo rock of the indie or emo variety, some hearty post-rock, some tried-and-true vets doing the thing they do very well ... again, and a few outliers. The honorable mentions list gets considerably more eclectic if youāre looking for stuff that sounds less like a soundtrack to various stages of the apocalypse.
As always, I welcome your suggestions for records and podcasts I mightāve missed the boat on. Thereās way too much good stuff out there to keep up with, so PLEASE help me out.
Also: When I am not being a lazy pile of crap, I try to haul my dadbod around town for a run a few days a week and will listen to/briefly review a record in the process. Almost every record on this list has been a part of one of those posts, so if youāre interested in such a thing, please check out my Instagram.
BONUS: I put together a playlist on Spotify of my favorite song from each of my top 20 records, and a separate one for the 51 other records I liked this year, so if youāre overwhelmed and donāt know where to start, just needle drop a little and see if anything grabs you. And if anyoneās feeling productive and has time to do an Apple Music playlist, Iāll link and credit you.
Top 20 Apple Music Playlist -- Thanks, Austin!
Other Faves Spotify Playlist
But before we get to the Top 20, a couple of records that deserve a nod ...Ā
Record I Listened To The Most In 2019 Whether I Wanted To Or Not
This is my four-year-old sonās favorite record, and while Iām trying to round out his musical palate by throwing on all sorts of different bands while weāre hanging out, he insists on eitherĀ āno musicā orĀ āThe Basketball Songā (which is āBig Ass Loveā). I have no idea how or why his little amazingly weird brain equates the song with basketball (a sport he doesnāt really play or watch or think about ever, to my knowledge), but it does. He LOVES IT. Iāve got to admit, I didn't care for the song all that much when I first heard it, but itās an earworm, and some 3000 plays later, I love it, and I love the record. Funny how that works out.
Record That Came out in 2009, But I Didnāt Discover Until 2019
Endings was neck-and-neck with my favorite record of 2019 for spins this year. Coincidentally, the it was recommended by someone from the band who made my #1 record, and it has moments where it sounds a whole hell of a lot like my #1 record. Blows my mind that a band that was/is so incredibly in my wheelhouse sonically, that has released nine LPs over an 18 year career, and operates in circles incredibly close to a ton of bands I love and respect and nerd out about music with somehow managed to elude me for the better part of two decades. At any rate Iām incredibly stoked to have finally found them, absolutely love them, and honestlyĀ mightāve listened to this LP 20 times in a matter of a few days when I got my first taste. Itās that good.Ā
And now for the list ...Ā
20) Remote Viewing - Itās Better This Way
Super nasty, dark, sludgy, well-crafted noise rock out of London that fits somewhere in between KEN Mode and early-Kowloon Walled City sonically. Youād think it was pretty crazy to have a band be so locked in and fully formed as early as LP2, but then you find out theyāre ex-members of Palehorse, Million Dead, and I Want You Dead and it all kinda makes sense. Unfortunately, the song on the playlist is from a previous LP (because the new one is inexplicably not on Spotify), but you can and should get the new record on Bandcamp.
19) From Indian Lakes - Dimly Lit
Iāve been a big fan of FIL for years, but have always been at a bit of a loss when it comes time to describe them. Itās hazy and dreamy, but not quite shoegazey ... itās insanely infectious and pleasing to the ear, but not really poppy ... itās forward-thinking and experimental, but not quite art-rock or groggy at all. Itās just excellent. Full stop. If you dig anything from Tycho, to Radiohead, to The Cure, to Slowdive youāll enjoy this.
18) Stray From The Path - Internal Atomics
Furious, mathy, riff-heavy hardcore from Long Island that sounds like a reformed Rage Against The Machine had spent the past two decades doing steroids, mainlining Red Bull, and studying the finer points of Moshology. The breakdowns are massive, the drumming absolutely mental, and the vocals pissed as hell. At my advanced age, itās rare that a record makes me want to pit and/or try to deadlift cars, but this oneās got that magic.
17) Glassing - Spotted Horse
Mostly spazzy, occasionally dreamy, black-metal sprinkled post-hardcore that fits in very well with bands like Portrayal Of Guilt and Respire in the rebirth of traditional screamo. Itās fits and starts of chaos and beauty, and it all sounds and feels like it could completely go off the rails at any time which is what made bands like Orchid and Majority Rule and Saetia so great back in the day.Ā
16) La Dispute - Panorama
Itās no secret that Iām a big La Dispute fan (Thrice has toured the US with them twice in the past decade), and I love all of their records, but Iām pretty sure I can say with full confidence that this is the best record theyāve ever made. Everything is firing at peak performance, and the way the record is arranged and sequenced makes it feel more like a film score than a collection of songs. Itās a complete work -- meant to be listened to as such, which is a daunting artistic task, but they pulled it off in grand fashion.
15) Russian Circles - Blood Year
This band has been in the upper echelon of post-rock bands for as long as I can remember, and Blood Year is another incredible addition to their already stellar discography. These guys are all absolute monsters at their given instruments, and one of the best live rock bands on the planet, so getting to hear them do their thing on a record that manages to actually capture that live energy and ambience really does the trick for me.Ā
14) Greet Death - New Hell
This one kinda came outta nowhere for me, as I (ashamedly) was not familiar with them prior to giving New Hell a spin. It blew me away. Iām a total sucker for bummer jams, and this record is full of top-quality sludgy, sad, shoegazey goodness. If you dig Cloakroom, Oā Brother, or Pianos Become The Teeth this is gonna be right up your alley. Ā
13) Sleep Token - Sundowning
Another record that came out of nowhere to knock me on my ass. I downloaded it before a transatlantic flight on a whim (after hearing about 30 seconds of the opening track), hoping that it would be a nice, mellow companion to ease my in-flight anxiety. And it was, but whoa was it so much more than that. It kinda sounds like a collab between Active Child and Deftones -- poppy, melancholic piano ballads, brought to crushing crescendos via super heavy drop-tuned sludge -- which sounds like a mess, but it works so well. Itās a killer record and probably wouldāve landed higher on this yearās list if it hadnāt come out so late in the year.
This oneās a bit of an outlier, and a damn good one at that. I came across UFOF via aĀ friendās recommendation before the hype train had left the station,Ā and honestly didnāt know what to expect. Said recommendation simply said that it was good and infectious and probably a few other things that I canāt recall, but didnāt mention the folk thing (which is great because I probably would have passed). The friend was right. Itās good (maybe even great), incredibly infectious, and gave me a nice reprieve from the heavy stuff I tend to listen to on the regular.
11) Cave In - Final Transmission
Iām beyond thankful we got any new music from Cave In after Caleb passed. They owed us nothing, and had every right to walk away, but managed to rally to release a killer record that is heavy both sonically and conceptually, and still manages to give me chills despite being live demos recorded in a rehearsal room. There are few bands on the planet whoāve inspired me like Cave In have, and seeing them pull together to grieve and forge ahead to continue to build their legacy is even more inspiring. What a band.
10) Pedro The Lion - Phoenix
My favorite singer/songwriter of my generation decided to revive the project that made me a fan of his in the first place. That project put out a record for the first time in 15 years, and I had unreasonably high expectations for it. Phoenix delivered and then some. I remember sitting at my kitchen table, weeping into my cup of coffee the first time I heard Phoenix, the same way Control used to make it seem like the inside of the Thrice van was getting a little dusty during cross-country drives back in the early 00s. It blows my mind that David Bazan can be such a prolific artist, write such insanely powerful music, and seem incapable of writing a dud song.Ā
9) Coilguns - Watchwinders
This Swiss noise-rock band kicks unbelievable amounts of ass. Their Millenials LP made my favorites list last year, and when I heard they had a follow up coming out a little over a year later, my gut reaction was to worry theyād blow it with a new record that was either rushed and/or half-assed, or lose the plot and take a hard left turn and make something markedly un-Coilguns. They did neither. The made an absolute monster of an album, that was apparently written in the studio, and is full of live energy in rawness that is pretty tough to capture in a sterile atmosphere like a studio. Watchwinders dropped in late October, and if Iād had a bit more time with it, I could see it moving up to my Top 5. Itās that good. I find myself going back to it constantly.
This record kinda defies description, but it reminds me of everything from Pile to Menomena to Interpol to La Dispute to Devo at times. As scatterbrained and incongruent as that might sound, I assure you it rules. It was in verrrry heavy rotation this year -- mostly for the utterly filthy drum groove on the final track. If you like your music catchy, but slathered in weird, this is definitely gonna do the thing for you. Itās an incredible record.
7) Herod - Sombre Dessein
I hadnāt heard of this band before they popped up on a Spotify playlist early this year, and whenĀ āReckoningā hit, it absolutely flattened me. You know that nuclear apocalypse scene from Terminator 2? Thatās whatĀ āReckoningā did to me. It was undoubtedly my favorite ultra-heavy track of the year, and while itās my favorite song on the record by a pretty large margin, the rest of Sombre Dessein kicks ass too. Itās 42 minutes of crushing heaviness that kinda sounds like a blend of Cult Of Luna, Meshuggah, and Gojira. Heavy. Pissed. Unrelenting. And Outstanding.
Every time I try to describe Pile to someone I fail. On Wikipedia theyāre described asĀ āindie rockā, which ... sure, I suppose? Thereās a little post-punk in there, a little post-rock, a little noise-rock, nods to classic rock (maybe?), a little of that southern magic that made Colour Revolt so great (but Pileās from Boston so hmm ... ), some country even? Do you like weird guitars? Freakish musicians? Melancholic crooning? I dunno. Itās all over the place, but in the best ways possible. Theyāre a singular band, and so damn good. Green & Grey is stellar addition to a discography that is already full of incredible music ... even if the album cover gives makes me want to fold those blankets and put them away.
Was this the year that PUP broke? Definitely seems like it, and rightfully so.Ā Morbid StuffĀ is my favorite thing theyāve ever done, but Iāve absolutely loved everything theyāve ever put out, so thatās saying a lot. Per usual, itās insanely infectious and anthemic without being traditionally poppy or relying on tropes to burrow into your skull and take up residence there. Itās uplifting musically, but kinda depressing lyrically, which does this weird push/pull thing in my brain that makes it impossible to stop listening to. The musicianship is fantastic, the guitar parts especially -- like the guitar line inĀ āScorpion Hillā wow. I really needed a record to fill the gaping void between the metal/sludge/noise and the ambient/downtempo electronica I listened to this year, and Morbid Stuff fit the bill perfectly.
4) Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear
These guys belong on the Mount Rushmore of Post-Rock/Metal with Neurosis and Isis. Nobody has done it better than them over the past two decades, and A Dawn To Fear is arguably their best work to date. It, like any Cult Of Luna requires a great deal of patience, but man if they donāt make the wait worth it. Theyāre the masters of the slow build to an absolutely crushing climax, the dynamic shifts that leave you feeling like you got hit by a freight train, the nuanced instrumentation that tells a different story each time you listen to a certain section of a song. Theyāre absolute masters at their craft, and this record is them at their peak.Ā
3) Big|Brave - A Gaze Among Them
Another record that came out of nowhere to completely floor me. I hadnāt heard a single note from this band until a friend recommended I check out the opening track,Ā āMuted Shifting Of Spaceā. I did ... and that plodding drum and bass pulse with dark, swirling, ethereal guitar swells/feedback and soaring vocals building into a huge release of sludgy, drop-tuned goodness checked off all the boxes for me. I was hooked. The atmosphere and dynamics Big|Brave haveĀ built their sound aroundĀ give every song a cinematic feel -- if you close your eyes, can you see drone footage of landscapes too?Ā . If you dig post-rock/metal that is experimental around the edges, moody, absurdly heavy, and has both feet firmly planted in sludge, this is a must-have record.Ā
2) Cloudkicker - Unending
If youāve been following me on social media or reading these year-end lists for a while youāre probably pretty familiar with Cloudkicker by now because any time we get new music I canāt shut up about it and the record invariably ends up on this list. This instance is no different. Unending is the first LP weāve gotten from Ben Sharp in four years, and itās worth the wait and then some. Heās managed to pull from every era of CK and turn it into a masterpiece mash-up of styles without it ever feeling rehashed or uninspired. Iād go far as to say this tops Beacons and Fade for me, and comes awfully close to challenging Subsume for my favorite Cloudkicker record of all time and space. Thereās soooo much progressive and djenty masturbatory metal garbage floating in the ether right now. Hearing the one of the kings do the damn thing properly is incredibly refreshing.
1) Town Portal - Of Violence
No surprise here. Iāve been crapping my pants about this band ever since my good friend Scott Evans shared their music with me a couple years ago. Iāve been unhealthily obsessed ever since. The magical progressive rock/metal these three guys are capable melts and massages my brain in a way few bands ever have. Of Violence isĀ incredibly mathy without ever feeling awkward, itās melodic without being conventional, itās discordant without being abrasive,Ā itās heavy as shit without being overloaded with distortion, itās progressive as hell without ever coming remotely close to devolving into a wankfest, andĀ itās damn near perfect in every way. Songwriting? Great. Tones? Phenomenal. Musicianship? Otherworldly. Execution? Flawless. Mix? Perfect. Replayability? (Not a word, but ... ) PUT THIS RECORD ON A GODDAMN LOOP AND NEVER TURN IT OFF. Can you tell I like it? You might too, so give it a listen. And if by chance you do not like it, please see a doctor. Youāre broken.
OTHER STUFF I REALLY ENJOYED THIS YEAR
Buildings - Negative Sound
Periphery - Periphery 4: HAIL STAN
Employed To Serve - Eternal Forward Motion
Elizabeth Colour Wheel - Nocero
Pelican - Nighttime Stories
Spotlights - Love And Decay
Great Falls - A Sense of Rest
The End of the Ocean - -aire
Vous Autres - Champ du Sang
Glose - The Second Best of Glose
Throes - In The Hands of an Angry God
Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind
meth. - Mother of Red Light
SECT - Blood of the Beasts
Kublai Khan TX - Absolute
Seizures - Reverie of the Revolving Diamond
Dead Kiwis - Systematic Home Run
Chamber - Ripping / Pulling / Tearing
Jimmy Eat World - Surviving
Elbow - Giants of All Sizes
Bad Religion - Age of Unreason
The Appleseed Cast - The Fleeting Light of Impermanence
Microwave - Death Is A Warm Blanket
SWMRS - Berkeleyās On Fire
Self-Evident - Lost Inside The Machinery
B. Hamilton - Nothing and Nowhere
Trade Wind - Certain Freedoms
Square Peg Round Hole - Branches
Great Grandpa - Four of Arrows
Local Natives - Violet Street
Bonniesongs - Energetic Mind
Telefon Tel Aviv - Dreams Are Not Enough
GoGo Penguin - Ocean In A Drop
Bent Knee - You Know What They Mean
The Deadcast (RIP) - sports, culture
Chapo Trap House - politics
The Rich Roll Podcast - health, wellness, endurance sports
Hang Up & Listen - sports
Effectively Wild - baseball
The Gist - current events
The Downbeat - drums, humor
To Live & Die In LA - true crime
FilmDrunk Frotcast - movies, culture, humor
The Modern Drummer Podcast with Mike & Mike - drums (duh)
The Trap Set - also drums
Song Exploder - songwriting
