Gigwise's 51 Best Albums of 2019

Sure, it’s extremely well-produced and polished, to a point of occasional sickly sweetness, and the sometimes squeaky vocals and cheesy, inoffensive themes might not be to everyone's taste, but Metal Galaxy had me bopping along with a beaming smile throughout its whole 57 minute runtime, which is more than I can say for most metal releases this year.

His previous self-released work featured a lot of youthful optimism, and Pony is a matured evolution of this. He’s successfully maintained his signature spirited and upbeat sound but delivered it in a fresh and un-sickly package.

While every texture isn’t perfect on this record, (Sandy) Alex G has flexed all of his songwriting credentials.

It’s a giant leap from We Slept At Last.

Releasing her fifth studio album Remind Me Tomorrow, she tests the boundaries with what she can do, and has gone further than she ever imagined.

It’s distinctly Two Door Cinema Club but it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen or heard from them before. It’s clever. It’s big-league. It’s ballsy. And most of all it’s fun.

Amo is a record that pushes and pulls you, whether a hardcore fan or a casual listener, into almost every direction imaginable.

Late Night Feelings is a very listenable album with some excellent highlights, but a grand and new sonic statement it is not.

The LP is a declaration of love, a going-back-to-the-roots, a bucolic dream of Australia.

There’s a warmth to the album overall, delicately balanced with vulnerability, making it equal parts comforting and heartbreaking.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard aren’t just exploring their musical capabilities – they’re telling a story.

A tumultuous mix of experimental jazz, psychedelic-infused guitar licks, and a vibrant array of warm tones seep through elements of bass guitar and synth – Jaime is sensational in its depiction of female sexuality, overcoming religious guilt and understanding comeuppance.

It’s triumphant, exciting and eminently listenable.

Social Cues spans 13 tracks laden with honey-sweet vocals and warm synths played over darker, seductive undertones, resulting in their most sophisticated and captivating offering yet.

Despite a few questionable experimental moments (that simply make the albums more Bad Seeds-eque) the highlights soar to towering heights, making the piece a triumph.

This is one of Kano’s strongest albums yet that has seen him take a more extrinsic outlook than on previous record Made In The Manor.

It's this strong songwriting that brings all these new sounds and styles together and is what will continue to set her apart from her contemporaries.

Hypersonic Missiles isn’t just a collection of songs from a talented young man, it’s an education for anyone who wants to know the confusing reality of life in Great Britain in 2019 when you haven’t been handed everything on a plate.

Ultimately, Fear Inoculum is a record that will never lose its potency; it'll be passed down from this generation to the next, and the generation after that. And, crucially, the Tool back catalogue retains its prestige and indispensable greatness.

Dogrel definitely delivers on the tremendous hype, after their singles have done anything but fall on deaf ears. Watch this space.

A truly honest, empowering album of advice to dance, love and live your life by.

Blending a range of influences, sounds and themes to ensure a creative and compelling end result, this is one of the very finest recent R&B records, blending the personal, political, and pure to dazzling effect.