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The Best Albums of 2019

Writer's picture: Luke BendallLuke Bendall

Here's a list of my top 10 albums of this year. It's been an amazing year of music and I've found so many new artists, so this year's musical journey has been a big one.

1. Yorushika - Elma


This album is my personal favourite of this year, with a blend of calming instrumentals to exciting bursts of fun. First song I Heard from this album was "Rain with Cappucino" and was immediately in love with it. An emotional journey and a gorgeous blend of sounds make this one of the best albums of 2019. I cannot begin to explain how much I love this album. If you have the time, then please listen to it and you'll see what I mean.



2. Aimer - Sun Dance


This album is amazing from start to finish, with anthems that made me feel excited and eager to seize the day to calmer and more subtle tones.

Soleil is a beautiful audible welcome into this albums atmosphere and leads into my favourite track "One". With its perfect blend of guitar, acoustic and electronic drums and amazing vocals, this song is one (excuse my pun) of the best tracks on this album. Aimer does not disappoint with this powerful anthem.

"We two" keeps the energy from "One" going. The chorus in this track is my favourite section as yet again, the blend of vocals, guitar and drums just sound gorgeous, punchy and exciting.

"3Min" is a slightly calmer anthem. "You feel world is calling? Gimme just 3 minutes? Even if we face the boring, rhythm and soul will beat it". Absolutely love these lyrics and again, love the blend of instruments.

"Koiwazurai" takes a jump from the pop style anthems to an acoustic, with a warmer and gentler tone, showing how diverse Aimer is with her sound.

The rest of the album is just as amazing, with a reprise of "One" right at the end that has an alternative style to the original track, and Monochrome syndrome that acts as gorgeous pop track that takes my breath away.



3. Aimer - Penny rain


Can you tell I'm a fan of Aimer? I was surprised to find that Penny Rain and Sun Dance were being released at the same time, considering the huge difference in sound. Sun Dance is focused in a more pop direction, where as Penny Rain is a more organic and slightly more orchestral album.

"Pluie" starts the album with a slightly unusual vibe, with some beautiful strings that almost make this track sound fragile.

"I Beg You" immediately reminds you that this album is completely different to Sun dance as the lyrical content feels heavier and darker here.

"Blackbird" was originally released as a single and I loved how it sounded. But placed in this album, it just feels right at home like it belongs here. This track is my third favourite with its haunting vocal delay in the second verse and it's powerful combination of strings and guitar bursting into the chorus.

"Mabayuibakari" is my second favourite of this album, as it resembles Aimers roots with some of her previous work. Loved the vocals and keys in this track.

"i-mage <in/AR>" is the best track on the album. Nothing compares to how powerful this track is. With strings and drums that slowly build throughout the song, the vocals perfectly sit in between. The acoustic guitar helps give the first verse that beautifully rich tone. From the end of the first chorus, the drums start to give the track its heart beat, pushing more layers to reveal themselves as this track progresses. From the second chorus onwards, everything just blends perfectly, The instruments create a rich and gorgeous tone that I could listen to for hours. The lyrics "My day dreams that children hold tight, now you have them in your right hand" feel inspiring and powerful. Although the ending of this track over 1 minute long, I've never wished a song wouldn't end so much. Everything just feels perfect and I can't get enough.

The other tracks continue to expand on Aimers diversity in genres and helps continue the tone of the album from beginning to end.



4. Keane - Cause And Effect (Deluxe)


This album wasn't one I intended to listen to if I'm honest. I had never taken the time to sit down and listen to Keane but that (obviously) has changed. This year has been long, with some things being difficult to deal with both physically and emotionally, which is where this album both relates and heals these difficulties.

"Your not Home" is a delicate slow crescendo that builds up into a beautiful burst of sound. The lyrics on this track feel quite personal and perfect, creating that feeling of an empty home that is missing someone or something. Speaking and dealing with real life issues is something I really respect in music and this track does this well.

"Love Too Much" talks about relationships and how intense they can be. Both positively and negatively. The album solidifies the tone that the first track does, keeping its content both relatable and enjoyable.

"The Way I Feel" talks about dealing with pressures and emotions from mental health issues. Again, with lyrics that people can relate to like your head being a mess, Keane seem to open up in a deep and personal way. The ambience at the end of this track feels almost calm.

The rest of the album covers so much more, from cheating in "Put the Radio On", to dealing with how things may never go the way you want in life with "Phases".

Now, I've always been one for deluxe songs. Which is why the first time I listened to this album, I had to listen to the deluxe edition. Yet again, the deluxe songs were just as good as the standard version of the album. Though I feel that "Difficult Year" is one of the the better tracks of the deluxe songs as it has been a difficult year. Not just for me, but mostly for the ones around me. Next year will be better.




5. Lindsey Stirling - Artemis


I've loved all of her previous work, so it's no surprise that this album is in this top ten this year. Artemis explores elements heavily inspired by the Goddess, Artemis (shocker). The instrumental tone that Lindsey creates in this album brings back everything I love about her. Electronic Synth sounds blended with powerful percussion and Lindsey's amazing violin work create the atmosphere this album demands. Some of my personal favourites from this album are:


"Foreverglow" featuring Lindseys vocals that blend well with the track.


"Love Goes On And On" with Amy lee providing some gorgeous vocal work and really creating an atmosphere that feels cinematic.


and


"Artemis" with its bold and powerful tone to represent the Goddess.


The other tracks on this album really make this album both phenomenal with its story telling and fantastic at making it sound cinematic. Lindsey has created another amazing album that represents how her creativity is evolving. I can't wait for the next






6. Infant Annihilator - The Battle of Yaldabaoth


So.................Yeah. Pretty much as brutal, graphic and as technical as it gets. This band isn't for everyone, first and foremost. If you don't enjoy dark, graphic stuff, I strongly suggest you look away and scroll down to the next song.


For those who are still here and haven't skipped, why hello there.


I'll be honest, this was definitely not an album I expected to enjoy at all. The lyrical content was the main reason, which is kinda obvious for people who don't usually listen to this kind of stuff. But, after a few listens, the album grew on me and, as graphic as it is, deserves to be on this list.


The sound of this album feels like their last album, polished and taken more seriously. The instrumental elements of this album create a tasty punch, kick and slap to the ears. With dirty dark tones and ridiculous levels of technicality in their playing, the instrumentalists in the band have really honed in on their craft and worked on the tone that they are well known for. (If anyone knows how to play like Aaron, please tell me the secrets).


As for the vocals, they still continue to sound just as insane as they have in the previous albums. Maybe even a little better. The lyrical content seems to show that IA have sat down and taken a serious amount of time to craft this album. The story in this album feels both brutal and intense, but does also show that not every song they make has to be the usual.


The way this album has been mixed is what makes this album sound amazing. The sound throughout the album is relentless and brutal, really showing what IA is really capable of. It's the heaviest album I've currently ever heard and god damn it, it's glorious.


(Though every other metal song out there now sounds like its not heavy enough anymore. May need a therapist to fix that).



7. Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind


What a different step for Slipknot to take. Experimental ambience, different vocal styles and a Choir? This album really changed what Slipknot usually do. So much in fact that I was worried where this album was going to be honest. After hearing the first few tracks out of context from the album, things did not feel right at the start. With promises of "Iowa levels of heavy", this album had a very odd hype around it.

Nevertheless, once the album was out, I listened to all of it and was pleasantly surprised. It was a massive change to some of their previous work but it shows they they have evolved.

The first two tracks lay this albums tone down quite well. With the drummer really evolving since the last record, these tracks feel like just the beginning of how heavy this album is.


"Birth of the cruel" gives a little taster of this albums tone mixed with Iowa. Though not my favourite from the album, it's still a solid track.


"Death Because Of Death" and "Nero Forte" are my favourite tracks to listen and drum to. DBOD gives a nice blend of dark ambience and almost tribal percussion, with an unusual combination of effects on the vocals. "Nero Forte" is just a blast to drum to. The structure of the track is extremely well done and, as mentioned before, the drummer has evolved since the last record. The different vocal style in this tracks chorus hauntingly works well, while the guitar and bass keep the power behind this track going.


Other gems in this album are "Critical Darling", "A Liars Funeral" and "Spiders" as they develop on Slipknots sound even more while "Spiders" adds a new diverse style to Slipknot.



8. Crystal Lake - Helix


Only started listening to them this year, just like with Keane and IA. These guys pack a hyped up punch. "Aeon" just blasts right in, setting this albums heaviness immediately. With punchy blast beats, heavy guitars and some damn good vocals, this track just sets the bar. "Ritual" and "Hail to the Fire" make a pair of exciting, mosh pit enticing tracks that are just as good live.

My personal favourite from this album is "Agony" because of its heavy introduction and calmer outro. Powerful aggressive vocals fuel 3/4 of this track while the last part creates the calm after the storm, with cleaner vocals and an ambient wave that leads you on to the next song.

This album tackles experiences of loss and mental health issues in an extremely honest and creative way. Seeing them live this year really helped understand what they've been through.




9. Orla Gartland - Why am i like this?


This EP is yet another album that deals with personal issues and blends between acoustic and pop. "why am i like this?" and "overthinking" offer an insight into the mind of Orla and to those who can relate. When I first heard overthinking in its first demo, I immediately just clicked with it and almost broke out into tears. It's a scary thing to deal with, let alone talk about, so I felt that "Overthinking" represented the feeling behind it extremely well. "flatline" and "inevitable" deals with other difficult things, like friendships that don't feel equal and relationships that just feel like they need to come to an end.


Amazing EP and Amazing girl to see live!!!



10. Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?


I'll be surprised if you haven't heard of this album yet. It's been quite popular and to be honest, I can see why. Experimental, honest, dark and emotional is the best way to define this album. Billie talks about different points of time in her life, dealing with the hard, awkward and scary parts of life. "Wish you were gay" deals with wanting some excuse to deal with rejection. "listen before i go" deals with depression that almost scares me and gets me emotional. Other tracks like "bury a friend" talk about putting herself in the perspective of monsters underneath her bed, explaining how she feels that she's this monster under her bed because of being her own worst enemy.


The sounds in the album are quite experimental and if you plucked some of the sounds out of the tracks and played them on their own, they would sound so out of place. But they work so well in this album that represents the image that Billie wanted to make in this album.



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