My favorite albums of 2019 feature artists that I’ve long appreciated, as well as many new discoveries. When it came down to it, there were two albums that stood out for different reasons as my top albums of the year.
Marianas Trench – Phantoms (edited from a previous review)
I'm not exaggerating when I say Phantoms is a masterpiece from start to finish. Marianas Trench is a band that I discovered randomly on Spotify this year. I had Astoria, the title track from their 2015 album, come on and I decided to explore them some more. Seeing that Phantoms had just come out maybe a month before, I decided to listen to that album first. When those vocals hit on the first track totally a cappella, I had chills head to toe. What was I getting myself into I wondered. More importantly, who was Eleonora?
In my opinion, Josh Ramsay, lead singer and songwriter, is a musical genius, and his vocals are nothing short of incredible, the power behind them is amazing. Each song in this concept album is great on it’s own, and I am currently on record as saying The Death of Me may be the saddest song I’ve ever heard, but this album, without a doubt, needs to be listened to from track 1 to track 10 in order. Skip nothing and do not put on shuffle. By the time you get to the last track, The Killing Kind, you will be fully primed for the epic conclusion that it offers. The song clocks in just shy of 7 minutes, and after the first time I heard it, I sat in stunned silence for a few minutes and wondered what the hell I was ever gonna listen to that would ever compare.
I adore concept albums and Marianas Trench has perfected the art. Phantoms an amazing album that I cannot recommend highly enough.
Surviving - Jimmy Eat World
My most anticipated album of the fall was Surviving by Jimmy Eat World. Last year, in my finally springing for Spotify Premium haze, I rediscovered a lot of bands that I had been a fan of, but lost track of over the years. One such band was Jimmy Eat World. Earlier in the year I was thrilled to see they were going back into the studio to record a new album and I was even more excited when I heard the first releases from the album, “All The Way (Stay)” and a re-recording of “Love Never” ahead of it’s October release.
What I didn’t suspect upon hearing these first two tracks was how powerful, and relatable the lyrics of this album would be. The release of “555”, my favorite song of the year, felt like a punch to the gut in the best possible way (although I wouldn’t recommend the music video to just anyone). Other songs like the title track “Surviving” as well as “Diamond”, are also full of lyrics that ring true to me that it makes this album so significant to me. “One Mil” is another standout track to me, but that’s not to say the rest of the 10 track album isn’t worth a listen. The songwriting, the instrumentation, all of it comes together to produce an incredibly strong rock album. Don’t sleep on Jimmy Eat World, they’ve come a long way since Bleed American, growing beyond their, dare I say it, emo roots.
Other top albums of 2019, in order of release:
Peach Club - Emarosa
Strange Love - Simple Creatures
WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? - Billie Eilish
How to Work a Room - Superet
i’ll show you stronger - pronoun
Barriers - Frank Iero and the Future Violents
Now, Not Yet - Half Alive
Lover - Taylor Swift
Everything Opposite - Simple Creatures
FANDOM - Waterparks
Hallucinations - PVRIS
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