I remember a few years ago when a popular internet study reported finding that, on average, people stop listening to new music around the age of 33. That clickbait-y tidbit stuck in my mind, and, ever since, during lulls in my listening, I ponder whether I’ve reached that point myself.
That was far from the case in 2019, a year in which interesting new music arrived at a constant, rapid rate. The diversity of sounds and styles represented in today’s independent scene has no historical precedent. The ubiquity of streaming provides an accessible platform for artists and listeners around the world; Bandcamp, with its lossless audio and user-driven design, holds a dear place in my heart. Any concern I had about losing interest in new music was forgotten. This was a great time to be paying attention.
Forthwith, a list of my fifty favorite albums from 2019, which I’ve dubiously deemed “the best” of the year. One may also find a few mixtapes, reissues, and EPs mixed in, items I considered significant and worthwhile enough to represent. Following the reverse-ordered ranked list, I’ve included an assortment of honorable mentions. Such a bumper year deserves extra recognition.
50. ORO – Djupets Kall
Stream or purchase here.
49. Sada Baby – Bartier Bounty
Stream it here.
48. Warmoon Lord – Burning Banners of the Funereal War
Stream it here.
47. Soilwork – Verkligheten
46. Jessica Kert – DW
Stream it here.
45. Denzel Curry – Zuu
44. Merzbow – Yahatahachiman
Stream it here.
43. Cloudkicker – Unending
Stream or pay-what-you-want here.
42. Young Dolph & Key Glock – Dum and Dummer
Back in 2013, if you had asked me the likelihood of Young Dolph becoming a breakout star, I’d have said slim-to-none. Despite being basically terrible in his early years, Dolph has emerged as a nascent underground king, offering up entertaining raps that are often ratchet and/or ridiculous. On Dum and Dummer, Dolph teams with Key Glock to deliver a joint album of trap bangers. The pair are potent together; I’m looking forward to seeing them live next year when they take their act on the road.
41. Odd Nosdam – Mirrors
Anticon’s Odd Nosdam dropped off this delightful in April, an alt hip-hop exercise in style and form. Entering his third decade in the music industry, the artist born David P. Madson is reflectively thoughtful here, flipping beats that showcase his time-tested skills while remaining forward-thinking. The almost ten-minute “Mirrors II” is a ntoable triumph. Stream the album here.
40. Blut Aus Nord – Hallucinogen
French black metallers Blut Aus Nord have made another enjoyable album. Stream it here.
39. Inter Arma – Sulphur English
Stream here.
38. Murlo – Dolos
Stream here.
37. Czarface & Ghostface Killah – Czarface Meets Ghostface
Czarface is currently my favorite Wu Tang splinter group, featuring Inspectah Deck alongside Boston-based duo 7L & Esoteric. Last year they released an album in collaboration with MF Doom; this year, they’ve teamed with Ghostface Killah for a long-player 1111of old-school boom-bap cold crush cuts. It’s potent, inspired, and raw.
36. Eluvium – Pianoworks
Stream it here.
35. Wiki – Oofie
After cutting his teeth as Ratking’s frontman, Wiki has pursued a solo rap career with notable success. Oofie, his sophomore effort, follows up 2017’s standout No Mountains In Manhattan, and is almost as good as its predecessor. If you only listen to one song, let it be “Grim,” which features Denzel Curry along with Wiki’s former Secret Circle collaborator and ex-Raider Klan affiliate Lil Ugly Mane. Stream the album here.
34. Flume – Hi This Is Flume
Hi This Is Flume is a queasy experimental mixtape from Australian future bass pioneer Flume. Stitching together scraps of EDM-inflected slappers alongside noisy squelch loops and pop jukes, it’s a continuous playlist of intrigue and wonder. After a while, I usually tend to gravitate towards a few favored cuts (“MUD” and the Eprom-featuring “Spring” go absolutely in), though I approvingly note the project’s cohesiveness as a whole. Stream it here.
33. Roc Marciano – Marcielago
32. Nile – Vile Nilotic Rites
Legacy death metal band Nile’s new album Vile Nilotic Rites happens to be one of their best. (While I grew up on Annihilation of the Wicked and Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-ka, I also harbor a fondness for Ithyphallic, which tends to get left out of the conversation.) Rites is a testament to the band’s enduring creativity and is satisfying from start to finish.
31. Rrose – Hymn to Moisture
After a number of teasing EPs, Rrose returns with Hymn to Moisture, a captivating experimental techno album. Stream it here.
30. Earl Sweatshirt – Feet of Clay EP
After Doris, I started losing interest in Earl Sweatshirt. I Don’t Like Shit…, while well-received by the critical community, failed to impress me. Then came Somerapsongs, an abrasive, ambitious art piece that took numerous listens to sink in. The Feet of Clay EP continues in that vein, enforcing Earl’s current artistic persona which stands in stark contrast with his early Odd Future output.
29. LCD Soundsystem – Electric Lady Sessions
This live album from LCD Soundsystem is perhaps the most stripped-down they’ve sounded since becoming pop superstars. Recorded at Electric Lady Studios in Manhattan, the setlist comprises new and old favorites, with a few covers interspersed among the band’s own well-worn hits.
28. Misery Index – Rituals of Power
27. Fire! Orchestra – Arrival
26. Rod Modell – Captagon
Dub techno guru Rod Modell’s latest, released under his own name instead of the usual aliases, is surprisingly accessible. The song lengths are manageable and the compositions are snappy. Ambient texturing makes the music an almost tactile experience.
25. Serpent Column – Mirror in Darkness
Serpent Column, American black metal band, popped up in 2017 with release of debut album Ornuthi Thalassa. They followed it late in 2018 with a 12″ EP titled Invicta, and now, Mirror in Darkness makes for the proper second full-length. I’ve become as excited for this band as I used to be about Ash Borer or Bone Awl. Definitely not too late to catch up. Stream the album here.
24. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal – Hiding Places
23. These New Puritans – Inside The Rose
22. Fennesz – Agora
Stream it here.
21. Fetid – Steeping Corporeal Mess
Stream it here.
20. Aesop Rock & Tobacco – Malibu Ken
In 2008, when Tobacco and Aesop Rock collaborated on the song “Dirt” off the former’s Fucked Up Friends album, the match seemed made in heaven. A decade-plus later, they’ve seen fit to unleash an entire project’s worth of material, and it fully delivers on the premise. Their chemistry is palpable; Aesop flows authoritatively over Tobacco’s woozy, organo-psychedelic beats, evoking both the producer’s Black Moth Super Rainbow productions and the immediate relevance of early Run the Jewels. Stream, or purchase for just $2.50, here.
19. Apparat – LP5/Heroist (Substance Remixes)
18. Mgła – Age of Excuse
Stream here.
17. Sunn O))) – Life Metal/Pyroclasts
Steve Albini engineered the “comeback” albums from drone doom heavies Sunn O))). If you haven’t gotten to see them perform live in a cathedral or a subterranean grotto, check if they’re touring in your area. The albums are both awesome. Stream here and here.
16. Deerhunter – Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?
I didn’t know indie rock could still make me happy. This new album from Deerhunter showed that it’s possible after all.
15. Action Bronson & The Alchemist – Lamb Over Rice EP
Action Bronson, much beloved food-rap VICE network Buddha baby, teams with Alchemist for a seven-track project that points out what was glaringly missing in 2019: new Bronson raps. While more of a lunch special than a three-course meal, this offering is nonetheless very appetizing, with potent raps over dope beats. Can’t go wrong with that winning combination. Stream highlight “Descendant of the Stars” and see for yourself.
14. 2 Chainz – Rap Or Go To The League
13. cv313 – Glass City Sessions
12. Disentomb – The Decaying Light
Stream here.
11. Tim Hecker – Anoyo
Stream it here.
10. Idle Hands – Mana
Gothic rock may be a niche genre, but it received some attention from me this year due to the strong showing by Idle Hands on their album Mana. It’s enjoyable as all heck. “Give Me To The Light” is an essential cut. Stream it here.
9. Kayo Dot – Blasphemy
Kayo Dot has come a long way from being “Toby Driver’s other band,” and, on new album Blasphemy, the distinction is more pronounced than ever before. Stream it here.
8. Psychedelic Speed Freaks – Psychedelic Speed Freaks
Munehiro Narita, guitarist for Japanese psych-rock outfit Highrise, takes the name of that band’s pivotal live album for his new group, Psychedelic Speed Freaks. Their album of the same name is a raw, aggressive slab of noise rock, played loud and fast. It’s infectiously groovy and deliriously punchy, at times sounding like Motorhead or Speedwolf, while still capturing the essence of what made Highrise and Mainliner so enjoyable. Stream it here.
7. Cult of Luna – A Dawn to Fear
Swedish post-metal band continues to impress on their ninth album. Stream it here.
6. Merzbow, Keiji Haino & Balázs Pándi – Become the Discovered, Not the Discoverer
Treading the line between free jazz and noise, Become the Discovered, Not the Discoverer is an ear fiesta. Just reading the lineup is enough to evoke curiosity: Keiji Haino, noise auteur and Fushitsusha frontman; Merzbow, the long-running pseudonym of Masami Akita; and Hungarian drummer Balázs Pándi, a regular collaborator and one of the best percussionists in jazz today. This new album follows up 2016’s darling An Untroublesome Defencelessness, maintaining the same basic structure (Haino on guitar and electronics, Pándi drumming furiously, Merzbow fucking around loudly) but with enough experimentation and improvisation to keep things interesting. Occasionally the clamor dies down, and a refined sound rises above the din, only to be swept away and broken apart on jagged rocks. While I highly recommend checking out the two dozen or so other albums Merzbow released this year, if you only hear one of them, let it be this one. Stream and purchase here.
5. YoungBoy Never Broke Again – AI YoungBoy 2
YoungBoy Never Broke Again doesn’t apologize much for his antisocial behavior, and at no point on AI YoungBoy II does he make a concerted effort at demonstrating personal growth. Turns out, by shunning redemption, YoungBoy managed to tap into a deep vein of ignorant, creative energy, scoring his first #1 on the Billboard 200 with this mixtape. “Seeming Like It” and “Make No Sense” will likely see play for years to come. Other standouts include “Head Blown” and “Outta Here Safe.” This mixtape reestablishes YoungBoy as an artist to be reckoned with, even as his sordid personal life makes for easy tabloid fodder.
4. Shlohmo – Rock Music EP/The End
When Shlohmo came out of the shadows in March and released the Rock Music EP, it was well-received by my ears, and, later, my brain. The title track, a spiritual companion to the best sounds of 2015 masterpiece Dark Red, immediately resonated with me. Lo and behold, three songs from the EP would end up on The End, another bleak trip into Shlohmo’s hazy, hungover world. Cymbals crash, guitars screech, synths blare, melodies float and echo and stretch until they disappear.
3. Doja Cat – Hot Pink
Doja Cat is a problematic artist: she has a history of using homophobic slurs, she came to prominence via a viral meme song, and she is also unable to freestyle. Still, hers are small-time crimes relative to those of, say, R. Kelly or Kodak Black, and there’s no denying that she can create catchy songs. That’s particularly evident on Hot Pink, her second full-length (after last year’s Amala), and first on new label Kemosabe Records. (Also problematic is the fact that Kemosabe is operated by grody svengali Dr. Luke, whose disgusting fingerprints are all over this record.) Singles like “Bottom Bitch,” “Cyber Sex,” and the Tyga-featuring “Juicy” are liable to be stuck in one’s head for days; “Bite,” featuring Smino, is even more addictive. “Rules” and “Like That” also bear mentioning. Indeed, I’m hard-pressed to name a song that doesn’t work for me. This is a phenomenal, triumphantly horny pop album with inexhaustible replay value.
2. Blanck Mass – Animated Violence Mild
Blanck Mass, originally spoken of as the side-project of Fuck Buttons’ Benjamin Power, has now grown to eclipse that earlier band. Animed Violence Mild is the best Blanck Mass album yet realized. Drawing inspiration from wildly unexpected sources, it all comes together to create not-so-easily defined music. The fact that it works is a marvel; the fact that it works so well is a miracle. Stream it here.
1. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Bandana
The time between Pinata‘s release, in 2014, and earlier this year, when Bandana dropped, saw a whole lot of shit go down in the life of Freddie Gibbs. Maybe Madlib, too, but the dude’s so reclusive and taciturn, who knows. For Gibbs, it’s been a period marked by growth, redemption, and the refinement of his identity, all of which make for great content on the year’s best album. If Pinata was Freddie and Madlib’s homage to blaxploitation, Bandana is their Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, a studied treatment of Los Angeles that makes you forget, if briefly, that Gibbs grew up in, and still reps, Gary, Indiana. This transformation was unavoidable after “Cocaine Parties in LA,” where a beat originally rapped over by Kanye West gets put to far better use by Gibbs, who makes it his own. Early singles for Bandana were enticing: “Flat Tummy Tea,” with its distorted samples and aggressive, driving tone; “Bandana,” the title track which ended up not even being on the finished album; “Crime Pays,” a song whose pedestrian flow is forgiven because of its hilarious music video. (Also check out the music videos for “Half Manne Half Cocaine” and “Gat Damn.”) The full album is an entirely realized microcosm of self-mythologizing street glorification, internally consistent, with all the moving parts. I recommend seeing MadGibbs live to experience the songs as they’re meant to be heard; when Freddie and Madlib perform “Situations,” the bass is so pummeling it lifts people off their feet. “Giannis” is a personal favorite song of mine, with the tinkling piano line somehow becoming menacing as Gibbs and Anderson .Paak spit gritty, improbable verses. “Cataracts” is the feel good song that fans of “Boxframe Cadillac” have been waiting years for.
That’s all to say, Bandana is a work of art produced by two of the best to ever do it. The craft demonstrated by Madlib’s productions and Freddie’s lyrics, rhymes and flows, are the work of masters at the height of their abilities. It’s a sublime expression of black thought, and it also happens to feature Black Thought. I feel obliged to mention that Gibbs did an amazing job building hype for this project by spitting an insane freestyle for LA Leakers earlier this year, with his baby son sitting on his lap. It’s up there with his Tim Westwood freestyle, which should be required listening for any enterprising fan. Oh, and if you haven’t watched Freddie and Madlib’s Tiny Desk performance yet, give it a try. The music thus transcends the album, creating a formidable body of work best appreciated holistically. Bandana is the centerpiece, not only the best album of 2019, but also an album out of time.
Honorable Mentions
Arnaut Pavle – Arnaut Pavle (black/death/thrash metal)
Birdman & Juvenile – Just Another Gangsta (hip-hop)
Blac Youngsta – Church on Sunday (hip-hop)
Black Mountain – Destroyer (psychedelic rock)
Blood Incantation – Hidden History of the Human Race (death metal)
Cashmere Cat – Princess Catgirl (pop/future bass)
clipping. – There Existed an Addiction to Blood (experimental hip-hop)
Cloud Rat – Blightseed (grindcore)
Colin Marston & Eliane Gazzard – Parallels of Infinite Perspect (experimental jazz)
Consummation – The Great Solar Hunter (death/doom metal)
Coppice Halifax – Slow Earth Ritual (dub techno/ambient)
Datach’i – Bones (IDM)
Demiurgon – The Oblivious Lure (death metal)
Dust Bolt – Trapped In Chaos (thrash metal)
Entrails – Rise of the Reaper (death metal)
Gomorrah – Gomorrah (technical death metal)
Grant – Fantasy Blues (deep house)
Green Lung – Woodland Rites (psychedelic rock)
Gyu – Sentience (breakbeat)
Inanimate Existence – Clockwork (technical death metal)
Injury Reserve – Injury Reserve (hip-hop)
Jacques Greene – Dawn Chorus (deep house)
Jeremy Denk – c.1300-c.2000 (classical)
Joachim Kühn – Melodic Ornette Coleman (jazz)
J-Zbel – Dog’s Fart Is So Bad The Cat Throws Up (techno)
Ken Vandermark – Screen Off (free jazz)
Krypts – Cadaver Circulation (death metal)
La Dispute – Panorama (post-hardcore)
Lil Keed – Long Live Mexico (hip-hop)
LNS – Recons Two EP (techno)
Lord Mantis – Universal Death Church (death/black metal)
Madest – Glitch (grindcore/crust punk)
Maxo Kream – Brandon Banks (hip-hop)
Nightwave – The Journey (techno)
Obturate – The Bleeding Mask of Dread (death metal)
Papir – VI (rock)
Portico Quartet – Memory Streams (jazz)
Raime – Planted EP (electronic)
Rick Ross – Port of Miami 2 (hip-hop)
Rico Nasty & Kenny Beats – Anger Management (hip-hop)
Russian Circles – Blood Year (post-metal)
Sheer Mag – A Distant Call (rock)
The Number Twelve Looks Like You – Wild Gods (mathcore)
Town Portal – Of Violence (math rock)
Trudge – 100 EP (techno)
William Basinski – On Time Out Of Time (ambient)
Woe – A Violent Dread EP (black metal)
YBN Cordae – The Lost Boy (hip-hop)
Young Scooter – Trap Hero (hip-hop)
Young Thug – So Much Fun (hip-hop)
Opinion of the Court 