Luke's Top 15 Albums of 2019

By Luke Robinson

2019 is over, and this amazing decade has finally come to a close. While it wasn’t the finest musical year in comparison to ’15, ’16 or ’18, innovation remained a common theme. Everything from pop to electronica to metal saw increased experimentation, and many of the new genres born this decade, from the electronic niche carved by PC Music to the emo rap of the SoundCloud scene, saw artistic pinnacles reached. Most notably this year, commercial rap projects took a backseat for those with more idiosyncrasy, commercial pop auteurs took charge of their respective visions, and death metal had one of its finest years ever. So, without further ado, here are my Top 15 Albums of 2019.

15. Planetary Clairvoyance - Tomb Mold

Absolutely CRUSHING Finnish-style death metal hailing from Toronto. On Planetary Clairvoyance, the HM2 is buzzin’ hard and the drums are thundering through high speed blast beats. Tomb Mold noticeably upped their technical game from their previous effort Manor of Infinite Forms, but they avoid the masturbatory playing that most other modern technical death bands display (*cough Rings of Saturn cough*). The production here is much more cavernous and noisy, which fits the chaos perfectly. The riffs are catchy and grab your attention, while the grooves flow underneath, ripe with fun breakdowns and slow-downs for moshing (especially on mid-point highlight “Infinite Resurrection”). This album does the trick for when you want something bustling with energy to hit those supersets at the gym.

14. House of Sugar - (Sandy) Alex G

The lo-fi dreamboat returns with easily his most captivating and innovative album yet. I can’t say I was a fan of Alex G before, as I always found him to be a generic Duster/Pinback rip off, but he strived to diversify himself on this album and create an identity all his own. Ripe with weird glitchy effects, pitched up vocals that sound straight out of an ’09 Gucci Mane track, and psychedelic guitar leads, Alex G paints amazing vignettes that don’t conform to the boring songwriting he was so used to. “Gretel” should have dominated what is now the crumbling remains of modern rock radio. The quirky Rugrats sounding keyboard melody over the eerie vocal loops in “Taking” is just as perplexing as it is attention grabbing. Stoked for what’s to come for Alex, keep getting weirder and being one of the only hopes of innovation in modern indie rock. 

 

13. thank u, next -  Ariana Grande

Ariana’s sudden album drop with thank u, next was well needed. Home-girl has had a rough few years with the Manchester concert bombing and Mac Miller’s passing. It was time she pour her heart out via music and step away from making her happy-go-lucky whistle-tone pop. The result is an incredible record about being unapologetically yourself, spilling out grief and personal flaws into an empowering record. This contains some of Ariana’s best songwriting; she is straight up catty and letting the world know she can be a shitty partner in a relationship, which that takes an ample amount of bravery. This record shows her calling herself out for serial dating and the need to love/work on herself. Ariana has fully come into her own, fully shedding any Mariah Carey-isms she had been suffering from. This is just amazing pop and R&B record with great beats to match. I mean, the strings at the end of “Ghostin” are the greatest string arrangement I’ve heard this year. With amazing bangers like “thank u, next” and “NASA,” Ariana paints the perfect single anthems for 2019. Sweetener was good, but with that awful Pharrell feature and more forgettable songs, thank u, next reigns supreme. 

12. Bandana - Freddie Gibbs & Madlib

Gangsta Gibbs and Madlib do it again, and prove they’re the best rap duo since Gang Starr (I’m looking at you too, Run the Jewels). Absolute savage beats are what is to expect out of Madlib. His ability to create intoxicating old-school boom bap beats that sound like they’re from 5000 AD on a fucking iPad is absurd. This time, however, they feel more stripped down and meditative. From the subtle calm soul flips on “Practice” to the smooth, rubbery vibe on “Palmolive,” Madlib’s beats lay the perfect foundation for Freddie to reign supreme. Freddie definitely feels more comfortable and collaborative working with Madlib on this project. He absolutely steals the show throughout, with unforgettable choruses and wordplay. Just look at “Crime Pays,” and you’ll hear how Freddie is cementing himself as one of the best MC’s this decade. The features on this album yet again bring it, particularly the amazing pimped-out swagger of Anderson .Paak on “Giannis.” Anytime I hear the dude rap a smile gleams on my face. Please make more albums sooner rather than later, Gibbs and Lib!

11. Pang - Caroline Polachek

This album is proof that pop was the most innovative genre in 2019. First and foremost, this album has an amazing diversity of beats, from subtle ballads like “Look at Me Now” to reggaeton rhythms on “Pang.” What ties everything on the album together is the cohesive dynamics and sound manipulations found in every beat. Polachek’s voice dominates in a subtle way, as she sings emotionally from the heart, always declining to over-sing in order to focus on heart-wrenching melodies. It’s both artful and chilling. From the get go, “The Gate” gives goosebumps to anyone hearing it, from smelly crust punks to empathy-devoid start up salesmen. It’s short but undeniably one of the greatest moments on the album, recalling Björk but propelling beyond that incredible influence. The ballad “Look at Me Now” have eerie wavering octave-up guitars, with an amazing swung percussive rhythm. Once again, Polachek’s vocals steal the show, and hearing violins creep in with subtle electronics push the crescendo of the song beyond any boring ass post-rock band. This album has so many high energy bangers like “Pang,” which sound like Enya over a reggaetone beat, and “So Hot Your Hurting My Feelings” with its 80s throwback instrumental backdrop. Not too shabby for your first solo album (under her own name); pumped as FUCK for what’s to come. 

10. Disgorged From Psychotic Depths - Mortiferum

This album elicits one reaction and one reaction only: holy shit, this is gruesome. The death/doom hybrid has never been so evil and so neanderthalic (yeah I made up a word, deal with it). Dangerously low-tuned guitars move at a snails pace, complimented by some of my favorite deep and booming guttural vocals since My Arms, Your Hearse-era Opeth. These riffs are where the band shines, adding in dissonant harmonized guitar leads that make your stomach churn. Just check out “Putrid Ascension” for yourself. You feel every fucking note. The band sprinkles in some great tremeloed-out meat-and-potatoes death metal riffs, which really gives the album the right dynamics and tempo changes to spice it up. But the drums - these fucking drums - are psychotic. The kit sounds completely broken and the result is maniacal, with amazing cracked ride patterns that sound so disfigured they make the sound even more unstable. But the highlight remains the mid-point ass-beating riff of “Archaic Vision of Despair.” Definitely my pick for best riff of this year. 

9. So Much Fun - Young Thug

Young Thug is back and more focused than ever. We needed him to come back with a solid album, especially since the SoundCloud wave of blown-out aggressive rap has become extremely stale, and emo rap has become more atrocious than ever before (tough feat, but damn, suburban white kids can really ruin anything). With So Much Fun, Thugger is crafting his songs with a master’s touch, cutting the fat and delivering his best hooks and vocal switch-ups. Just check out “Million,” where you can hear Young Thug sharply hit upbeats with his voice like an angular noise rock guitar. You gotta give to Young Thug, too; he actually got solid contributions from Gunna (yes, Gunna, the rapper who wrote the low effort headache “Speed It Up”). His instrumental innovation may be more tamed than when he was letting loose and experimenting on older mixtapes like Slime Season 3 or Barter 6, but even then, his wild vocal performances have been perfected. While we have heard the Cookie Monster voice before, never has it sounded as good as on “Cartier Gucci Scarf.” The hook on “Pussy” may be a decline from our modern feminist values, but let’s give him a pass cuz this shit bangs. 

8. WWCD - Griselda

This much anticipated effort from Griselda is not only their first album, but each MC’s best respective effort yet. Putting Buffalo, New York’s frigid climate on the map, rappers Westside Gunn, Conway, and Benny the Butcher spit imagery laden coke n’ murda barz. The only thing is: no one can deny they’ve experienced what they rap about. As a great introduction from Raekwon rolls over a chilling instrumental, you know you’re in for a ride. Conway finally shines on this record with better-crafted rhymes, Westside is extremely smooth with the best ad-lib of recent times (BOOM BOOM BOOM!), and Benny proves he’s the lyrical leader of the pack. The album’s production is incredibly cohesive, handled entirely by Daringer and Beat Butcha. It’s boom bap, but it’s not dated and corny. Also, G.O.A.T. finesse by the group by placing Eminem’s inevitable verse (he signed them to Slaughterhouse Records) at the back end of the closer track. It’s perfect because its like they knew a) it was a dog shit verse, and b) none of their fans want to hear Eminem drop corny edgy bars and try to relive his glory days. 

7. MAGDALENE - FKA twigs

My favorite R&B artist is back, and crushing it yet again. This album was a left hook for me; it is so different from her previous material that I am became connected with it through curiosity. It wasn’t until seeing this performed live that I was able to become enamored with it. This album isn’t the intoxicating, contorted Arca atmospheres like EP2 and this is not the artfully-crafted bangers of LP1. This is a break-up ballad album full of perseverance and triumph. These songs are the most vulnerable and stripped back we’ve seen her, and it’s awe-inspiring how strong and delicate her songwriting has become. For example, she exudes triumph in having conquered her painful ovarian cancer diagnosis, demonstrated by how she cleverly humors us by naming off fruit in “home with u” (the song alludes to her cancer as her “fruit bowl of pain”). There is great diversity in this album’s minimalism, with the sole piano of “Cellophane” making the most harrowing album-closer imaginable. And yet, this album also contains “holy terrain,” twigs’ most accessible and commercialized banger yet. The MAGDALENE tour was the best show I’ve ever seen; I even went viral on Twitter after she retweeted a video of me freaking out about how good the show was (filmed in secret by my wonderful girlfriend Moriah). 

why i do this,

why it’s worth it <3 https://t.co/tmtj9r66CM

— FKA twigs (@FKAtwigs) November 20, 2019

6. Hidden History of the Human Race - Blood Incantation

Zach hates this release…

and he’s just wrong. This album is proof that 2019 was one of the best years since 1993 for death metal. Like Tomb Mold, Blood Incantation strive to combine technicality with catchiness. Unlike Tomb Mold, the result is borderline classic prog. Take for example the fretless bass and delayed clean passages littering the track “Inner Species;” this track contains a Middle Eastern influence that is done tastefully for all the Odars (white boyz in Armenian). Blood Incantation demonstrate they are about riffs, and this is riff salad at its most delicious. Most songs have 10+ riffs that are all equally quick and important to the song progression. The band really knows how to make every song an adventure, especially  “Awakening from the Dream of Existence…” It’s important to note that the production has increased greatly from their last record Starspawn; they’ve sharpened up their performance as well, making an album that’s tighter and filled with much more conviction. It’s really how organic their performances are that make this a phenomenal record. So often technical metal sounds like an algorithm assembly contest, from the sterile drums to the compressed guitar modulators, but HHOTHR sounds as human as it possibly can. I have friends who only digest light, inoffensive indie who are gravitating towards and are blown away by this album. If that doesn’t say anything about the power Blood Incantation holds, I don’t know what can. 

5. Charli - Charli XCX

Ripe with bubblegum-bass influences, but made accessible for the masses, this is my pop album of the year. Charli successfully weaves artful experimentation seamlessly with commercial pop. The synths are icy, the beats are bouncing and stuttering, and the result is you’ll be fucking dancing. Honestly, this is like Uniqlo dressing room music meets Marvin Hagler hooks. Charli’s voice is captivating and demanding unlike ever before (she’s come a long way from working with Iggy Azalea). She has a knack for sticky ear-worms like no one else, seen in the choruses of “1999” or “Gone.” “Next Level Charli” is the perfect album opener, containing the frantic, blood-pumping rhythm of Charli rap-singing over ethereal synths. This synth honestly could be the gateway from a Chainsmokers fan to an Arca fan. Her ability to do this vocal line with power and ease, and her insane breath control, is flooring. All the instrumentation on Charli is so cutting edge, and already sounds like it is going to age so well; it doesn’t sound like 2019, as we probably have not evolved as humans to the point where this music is normal. The guests perfectly compliment and push the songs as well, acting as supplements and not the focus. Troye Sivan murdered these tracks, but yo my band’s called Sevan and I think you should change your name. We make like an average of $8 a show so don’t expect a lawsuit, but yeah dude wtf. 

4. Weeping Choir - Full of Hell

Full of Hell constantly blur the lines of power electronics, grind-core, hardcore, death metal, and the avant-garde (i.e. those incredible Body collabs). Instead of throwing a left hook, on Weeping Choir, they’ve decided to perfect their sound by combining their decade worth of genres and styles into an incredibly cohesive and seamless project. Dylan Walker’s vocals are more manic than ever; just when I thought this dude’s voice had to be shot, his vocals knock you the fuck out with his craziest and most energetic performances yet, ranging from the lowest gutturals to the highest fries. To say he’s the best vocalist in modern metal would be an understatement. Furthermore, these songs have much more memorability than previous projects. Take opener “Burning Myrrh.” Although it is a grinding death experience like their last record Trumpeting Ecstasy, it sounds crisper and darker, especially when everything cuts out, and all that can be heard are mournful, dissonant black metal guitars that immediately propel it into an amazing d-beat riff with the full band. The riffs in the death metal fashion by the band demand attention, like the groovy Bolt Thrower-esque slams of “Thundering Hammers.” The power electronics laced “Aria of Jeweled Tears” is insanity (guest feature Limbs Bin killed this, Berkshires reign supreme). The band even treks into new territory - trudging doom metal - in the song “Armory of Obsidian Glass.” On top of it all, this album contains some of their most technical material yet, consistently shuffling time signatures with angular math-y riffs, as heard in “Downward.” This album is a must listen to for any extreme music fan. 

3. The Origin of My Depression - Uboa

This is one of the coolest power electronics/ambient projects I’ve heard this decade. What I love most about The Origin of My Depression is that the songs are heavily textured and calculated. Uboa’s songwriting and lyrical themes of struggling with depression, self worth, and identity are chilling and incredibly captivating. Cascading piano chords kick off the album with the harrowing song “Detransitioning.” Her voice is distant, but beckoning. They eventually cease, and the creepiest Gregorian vocal drones start layering on top of each other. Uboa shows her upmost craft in the gradual building dynamics of her songs. Her vocals are simply awe-instilling, as her chilling cleans can lead up to throat shredding screams. Many of these songs could pass as dark ambient songs, but there is so much more attention built on fleshing out ideas with noise, baroque pianos, and even industrial rock. On album highlight “An Angel of Great and Terrible Light”, Uboa diversifies herself from other noise and ambient artists due to her songwriting ability. She creates haunting melodies and rhythms through a repeating glockenspiel, mixed with marching percussive rhythms. The guitars gently strum up, eventually leading to sludgy industrial distortion and heavy percussion towards the end with distant screams. Ultimately, this is a perfect release for spacing out while feeling self-hatred during the holidays with your loser-ass family. 

2. Hiding Places - Billy Woods & Kenny Segal

Billy Woods has always been dense, coded, and distant. It’s partly because he doesn’t want to show his face (this isn’t a schtick like MF Doom - he generally doesn’t want to be seen in public). This album stands out to me as much as it does because of Woods’ sheer hatred of and isolation from the world. He is angry at God and life for his circumstances, often pointing a finger at gentrification for ruining his culture and city. Woods also points out the irony of how while his music receives critical praise, he fails to fill his show with fans. But I find this is the album that will bring him the attention he so desperately deserves. Kenny Segal is the unsung hero of this album, providing some amazing, mind-bending beats. “Spider Hole” in particular has a terrifying, drilling, tape-looped guitar echo seeping through the crispest drum groove. I can’t explain how freaked out I feel when I hear this. Woods’ chorus only portrays his anger at the world and need to pine away from others. “Spongebob” is another highlight, with the funniest bar being “Spongebob the whole operation under water.” In true Billy Woods fashion, he uses humor to offer contrast from the darkness of the proceeding bars of feeling forsaken by God. The closing track “Red Dust” has a Duster-sounding sample in the beat, and carries some of the heaviest lyrics of the record: “I broke bread with killers and rapists. I got money with ****** you should not leave with a child for two fuckin’ seconds.” Billy successfully exposes humanity and its evils on Hiding Places, in truly harrowing fashion.

1. Pornographic Seizures EP - Sanguisugabogg

Say this band name correctly in the mirror three times and creeping, rusty meat will ooze out your mouth (truly the heart and soul of all death metal). This is the most brutal, caveman, beat-you-into-a-coma shit I’ve ever heard. There are no fancy bells and whistles on this EP, as this is a death metal demo. Sanguisugabogg make do with little, using the cheapest crate-amp possible to muster the chunkiest and most horrifying tones that will beat you mercilessly over the head until you are nothing but a bloody pulp. Take THAT loser gear bros, enjoy your shitty 3 chord post-metal that everyone falls asleep to. These vocals are absolutely animalistic, reeking of toilet bowl insanity. The instant the riff  in“Uningest” hits, you are hooked. This is such an ass-beater, and I honestly want this to be my ringtone, specifically for debt collectors calling me. There is not a single down moment, nor unmemorable riff, within these four tracks. The performances are locked tight and played perfectly clear, but they still stay gruesome within the lo-fi recording. The snare drum on this thing will ping its way through any 4th of July firework show. I haven’t seen many people outside the death metal nerd community discuss this, but this is not only my top metal release, but top release of the year. It delicately balances death metal through a sludge metal lens, and if that doesn’t sound ignorant enough to you, just listen to the closer track “Succulent Decedent.” It sounds like the song is dragging you down the staircase to hell, while you keep on slamming your head on every step. I can’t really think of a band to take death metal to a new extreme in a very long time. 

Honorable Mentions

Caligula - Lingua Ignota

Schlagenheim - black midi

Infest The Rat's Nest - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Guns - Quelle Chris

Brandon Banks - Maxo Kream

Overrated LPs

IGOR - Tyler, The Creator

GINGER - Brockhampton

The Correlation Between Entry and Exit Wounds - SeeYouSpaceCowboy...
U.F.O.F. - Big Thief

Sea of Worry - Have A Nice Life

Disappointing LPs

All My Heroes Are Cornballs - JPEGMAFIA

uknowhatimsayin¿ - Danny Brown

Case Study 01 - Daniel Caesar

The Big Day - Chance The Rapper

Fear Inoculum - Tool