10 Albums You Must Hear From 2019 So Far

With a quarter of the year behind us we're all starting to get a little bit of a picture of what music and the music industry is going to look like in 2019. There have been plenty of flawed records but a handful of them have shown off something really special, so on this list I will run through the ten best albums I've heard so far this year and dive into why they shouldn't be missed.

10. FIDLAR - Almost Free

Almost Free isn't a perfect record by any means and it has some experiments that seem a little strange as well as some moments that don't stand out. But at its best the album is one of the most rattling and fun challenges to rock music that's come out all year. Songs like By Myself, Can't You See and Scam Likely sound so different from each other but find common ground on excellent songwriting, exciting performances and a refreshing energy not found in so much tame and lifeless modern rock music.  Review

9. Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt. 1

Foals big return to the spotlight after a 4 year absence could have been legendary, but instead it was just a pretty solid selection of tracks heightened by 3 absolutely brilliant singles. There are some interesting album tracks to be found here like White Onions and I'm Done With The World, but really the albums high points came from its trilogy of singles Exits, On The Luna and Sunday. Hearing the album not quite live up to its hype may have been a touch disappointing but ultimately the project is still quite an enjoyable one. Review

8. American Football - American Football LP3

American Football missed the mark on their 2016 comeback record but this time around they rediscovered why everyone fell in love with their music in the first place. Starting with the brilliant lead single Silhouettes and moving from one compositionally beautiful and gorgeously performed midwest emo song to the next. Pulling from their acoustic and math rock inspired history they put together an album truly worthy of sharing the same title as their 1999 classic. Review

7. Sun Kil Moon - I Also Want To Die In New Orleans

Mark Kozelek's long winded spoken word style is as sharp as ever in this newest entry to the third act of his career. Interesting stories delivered over engaging instrumentals is a formula that wins over and over and over again on this album that is long winded but very much worth it. The coherence of the stories Mark tells and the thematic overtones that work their way into nearly all the songs on this album make it a delightful and interesting album to revisit time and time again. Review

6. Xiu Xiu - Girl With A Basket Of Fruit

Girl With A Basket Of Fruit is by far the most experimental record I've heard all year. Jamie Stewart and an impressive roster of indie musicians assemble an insane, zany and tortured project this time around that is both more personal and abstract than anything I've heard them do before. An absolutely insane blend of goth, post punk, post rock and noise music that wraps it together in a hurricane style assault of instrumental density and extremist lyrics. This can be a tough one to pin down but give is another chance if you passed on it earlier this year and you should find what so many have fallen in love with. Review. 

5. Ariana Grande - thank u, next

It is very difficult for me to imagine a pop album being better in 2019 than thank u, next and it's only March. That is just a testament to how perfectly so much of this album is executed. From big singles like the title track and 7 Rings to core songs like Ghostin and Bloodline Ari and her team assembled a series of sharp tracks that run the gambit from hard hitting bad bitch anthems to touching stories of personal discovery, all soundtracked by some of the sweetest instrumentals you'll hear all year. Review. 

4. Matmos - Plastic Anniversary

Matmos have long been one of the most interesting artists in the world of electronic music and on Plastic Anniversary they deliver on another unique concept. With the album pulling samples mostly from hundreds of different types of plastics the textures strewn across this project are distinct, detailed and engaging with consistent execution. Not to mention some excellent songwriting that makes the way they blend all these amazing sounds together so satisfying. Even though it may not be for everyone if you have any appreciation for electronica or sampling this is a must listen from a band whose discography is full of must listens.  Review.

3. Solange - When I Get Home

Solange returned off of the album that jump-started her career to release a project that goes in a very different direction. For everything that was bright and warm about A Seat At The Table its follow-up When I Get Home is a brooding conceptual and tight series of personal and emotional tunes. The list of collaborators speaks for itself as Solange brings out Panda Bear, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler The Creator, Sampha, Playboi Carti, Pharrell, Gucci Mane and more throughout this albums tight 40 minute tracklist. It has been the can't miss moment for R&B in 2019 so far. Review.

2. Flume - This Is Flume (Mixtape)

Coming completely out of nowhere last week Flume dropped the his third full length project to immediate acclaim. The tape is a brilliantly cohesive series of icy and psychedelic electronica songs that hit one after another with a sharp progression of energy that is completely infectious. With killer features from Kucka, JPEGMAFIA, SOPHIE and SlowThai Flume engineers a vibe tape only the way he can, filled with wavy and blissful psychedelic sounds that simultaneously dip their toes into the experimental while living inside the luxurious.  Review.

1. James Blake - Assume Form

Once again James Blake came around and shook up the world of electronic music with a truly special sound. His poppiest sounding album to date pulls features from Andre 3000, Rosalia and Moses Sumney but also Metro Boomin and Travis Scott. The meeting of worlds from an artist who started off his career as an experimental musician who has all of a sudden made a name for himself in the world of popular music. Song after song James Blake pulls from the realms of some of the most emotional and contemporary elements of modern music and some of the most indulgent and abstract to create a sound all his own that is infectious, unique and brilliant. Do not miss this one. Review.