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My Favorite Albums of 2019
🕑 Added 2019-12-11 15:17:46 +0000 UTCIt seems like you can't write a piece about your favorite music this year without mentioning the fact that the entire world seems to be going to shit. Pretty understandable! The current social, political, and literal environments are all trending toward collapse, and that absolutely has an effect on the kind of music we produce and consume. Music lets us engage with otherwise overwhelming topics in different ways- directly, obliquely, as escapism, as protest, as hope and despair and every other emotion it is possible to feel about the state of things. Here are my favorite records from this year, arranged in no particular order.
Floating Points- Crush
Probably the most anticipated electronic music record of the year, and it doesn't disappoint. Sam Shepherd goes to town with his modular synth to deliver meticulous, classically-informed pieces arrangled tidily next to some absolute bangers, including the utterly gargantuan "LesAlpx."
Shed- Oderbruch
Nobody does slippery rhythm quite like Shed, and nobody else could take the bassline on album opener "B1 (Anfang und Ende)," a single syncopated note played on an utterly obnoxious synth preset, and turn it into a glorious, propulsive track. The album is full of elements like this- things that shouldn't work, but somehow do. It's remarkable.
Sleep D- Rebel Force
Rebel Force opens with a seven-minute long slice of cosmic techno and then strolls through an entire ecosystem's worth of dance music species, from acid, to dub techno, to irreverent major-key house. The ecosystem simile is apt, because despite the diversity, it all fits together- as if it had been evolving that way for millennia.
Octo Octa- Resonant Body
The ultimate in self-care house music. Resonant Body is an album about loving yourself, loving those who love you, and shaking your goddamn ass about it. Octo Octa is one of the most consistently good artists in music today, and you're doing yourself a disservice if you haven't listened to her work yet.
Barker- Utility
I can't remember the last time I discovered an artist as instantly identifiable as Barker. His gorgeous, thrumming synth programming sounds utterly unique- like if you told an AI to use a Casio to write baroque ASMR counterpoint. There's hardly any beats on the album but you'd never notice if I hadn't just pointed it out.
Efdemin- New Atlantis
Beautiful, eerie experimental techno loosely based on an unfinished utopian fiction piece from the 17th century. If you modded Bioshock to remove all of the enemies and NPCs, this would be the perfect soundtrack for wandering through a crumbling, but peaceful, Rapture.
Upsammy- Wild Chamber
Delightfully off-kilter rhythms, spacious sound design, and mischievous melodies make this a supremely enjoyable listening experience. To use another video game metaphor, imagine if Untitled Goose Game took place in a nightclub. It'd probably sound like this (but with more honking.)
DJ Python- Derretirse
DJ Python takes reggaeton to space. It's pretty chill. It's so chill I'm not even gonna try to describe it more. You should check it out.
Caterina Barbieri- Ecstatic Computation
Ambient post-rock but played on modular synths instead of guitars. If that doesn't sell you, I don't know why you're even reading this. How did you get here? This is not your beautiful house! I am not your beautiful wife!
Lerosa- Bucket of Eggs
Lerosa reminds me a lot of late-2000s minimal techno, only less "minimal" and more "interesting." This is the music they'd play at an AI nightclub in my comic.
Andy Stott- It Should Be Us
I've always loved Andy Stott's work, but this album is my favorite since Luxury Problems. Slow, blown out techno, but with more of a bounce than his previous work, some flashes of humor in the bassline of "Promises," and even a flirtation with footwork on "Ballroom."
Leif- Loom Dream
Gorgeous, etherial ambient music that's equal parts Brian Eno and Steve Hauschildt. Like all the best ambient, it gives back exactly as much as you put in- close listening reveals a huge amount of depth and nuance, but it also works beautifully as true ambiance. I said these albums were arranged in no particular order, and that's true, but I do think this is my favorite record of 2019. It's certainly the one I find myself coming back to the most.
Comments
Es muy amable
Lexi Aniston
Brilliant
Jolie ot
the importance of music in times of crisis..
Nice
Goo Comics
Good job!
Artist, then album. I put them all in a Google Music playlist:
Julia Allen-Hesse
I have heard of none of these. Is the artist name first, or the album title?
I just wish it was available on vinyl.
BobC
Damn, I must be getting old. This is the first time I knew *nothing* on one of Jeph's music lists. Thanks, Cletus, for helping me remedy that.
Hah - I stumbled across the Andy Stott album a couple of weeks back (flipping between radio stations, landed on one that was playing Versi) and thought “this seems like the sort of thing Jeph might like, I shall have to see if he’s mentioned it”. Rather liked it, despite not being my usual sort of thing, so good to see I wasn’t completely off-base!
Jeph Jacques
I've heard they're good! I don't really listen to indie rock anymore, lol
Anna L Goebel
I'm pretty pessimistic, myself, but it did help to read Factfullness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think. It really was an eye-opener. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0756J1LLV/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Forrest Taylor
Sorry but Big Thief owned this year
Anna L Goebel
Thank you for sharing these - I would never have found them otherwise and I'll check them out. You might be interested in this music written for the planet. There are 2 pieces: Walking With Nature and Troubled Planet. Here is the website: https://pennysquire.com/.
Obliviontoad
I use iTunes. If it’s cool, I added them to a playlist... https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/jephbeats/pl.u-9NDlNs1A8dN
nowshowjj
Thank you for doing this!
Mister Cletus
Thanks for sharing! Put together a quick list to reference throughout the working day! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4iEY6ro3dITYebr41AB54I?si=p_SSYzamQjmCpgOyXx5M6Q
Politics notwithstanding (I do not like to discuss my political views)...my favorite album from 2019 has to be Fear Inoculum from TOOL...great music and Maynard took right up where he left off for what seems like an eternity
Ash359
They SEEM to be trying to fix things
Diptych
It is weird how all the politicians who do seem to be trying to fix things and prevent collapse do seem to only be in one of the parties, though.
Ash359
If case people aren't noticing, it doesn't matter which party you after a member of. Politicians on both sides are just trying to stay as much money as possible before the collapse. All governments fail eventually, and the US has one of the oldest in the world. They know they're on a sinking ship and they ate stealing everything they can as quickly as possible.
