Every year has its own story. For some years, it has to do with one genre that outpaces all the others. For others, it's a battle between the old guard and the young up-and-comers. And for others yet, it's a matter of new sounds being developed and digested. It might not always be clear the whole time, but there is a story to be told through the records we hear. Sometimes it's an interesting story, and sometimes it's not.
This year's story is one of timing. The year got off to a furious start, with a slew of albums coming out in the first three months of the year I was very high on. It looked like the start of an excellent year, and got me optimistic about the future. Likewise, the autumn has been another great run, with yet another glut of really good and great records to fill out the available slots. And then there was the summer.
There was a stretch of multiple months through the last spring and summer where I was barely able to find a record I liked, let alone one that I would be talking about at this point in the year. I was glad to have other things to occupy my mind, because music was failing to capture my attention in any way, shape, or form. There was plenty of attention given to Slipknot and Tool putting out new music, but the decks being cleared out for them was a terrible turn of events, since I hated both of those records. It meant there was nothing left for me to enjoy.
So with such an on/off type of year, how did things fare? It was a bit of a frustrating experience having things play out this way, but the bookends delivered enough quality releases to say this was a decent year. It was far from the best year I've recapped, but things ended up better than I feared they would by the end of August. So with that said, here's the best stuff I listened to this year.
EP Of The Year: Yours Truly - Afterglow
I grew up listening to pop music. I don't feel any shame in saying that, since pop music was very different back then. Yours Truly reminds me of what I consider the glory days of pop, when a band with big guitars and even bigger hooks could be popular. Their first EP was a lovely affair that showed me a lot of promise, and that is built upon with this release. Yours Truly is bigger, brighter, and even stickier than before. When people compare pop music to a sugar high, this is what they're talking about. Yours Truly's music is sweet, addictive, and an absolute blast. They are as good as anyone at this style, and the only shame is that they've only given us five more songs this time. I'm dying for a full-length of this quality. That's the only thing missing.
10. Vanishing Signs - Vanishing Signs
There are a lot of bands that makes classic rock, but few of them know how to write songs, and few of them actually rock. Vanishing Signs does both, with the glorious sound of a roaring Hammond organ, songs that drive the nail in, and a truly exceptional voice. I adore hearing Dilana sing anything, but I didn't realize until listening to the album that I was missing hearing her belt out big, loud rock from time to time. The duet between her and Maggy Luyten is one of the best songs of the year, and if not for the curious decision to not let Dilana sing two of the songs, this album could be even higher up the list.
9. The Beautiful Monument - I'm The Reaper
There is going to be a theme in a lot of the records on this list, and it starts here. The Beautiful Monument makes music focused on the darker and more painful moments in life, but does so with beautiful melodies and powerful hooks. These Australians delivered a record that mixes pure pop bliss with gritty alternative rock, all the while tackling important life issues. I have long been championing bands with strong women singing pop-influenced rock, and The Beautiful Monument is this year's best example of it. This album works as a surface-level pop gem, but also as a deeper meaning bit of introspection. It's layered, and utterly charming.
8. Ray Alder - What The Water Wants
Ray Alder sounds like no one else, so everything he does winds up sounding like him. While Fates Warning is solid, I have always been more a fan of his work in Redemption, and this first solo album of his combines those two into something that is even better. The guitar textures are pure Fates Warning, but the emotion and melodies are more in line with Redemption. Together, it creates an album that is beautiful, emotional, and the sort of music you feel as much as you listen to. Bypassing the prog tendencies of his past, he condensed his career into a more concentrated record that sums up who Ray Alder is as an artist.
7. The Dark Element - Songs The Night Sings
The debut album from this project ended up #2 on my list two years ago, and was one of the best power/melodic metal albums of the last few years. This follow-up is another excellent album, one that finds the duo honing their attack, focusing on the elements of the debut that worked the best. Anette Olzon is still a fantastic and unique voice, and the material she's given is heavy, detailed, and full of rapid-fire hooks. The genre is rather stale, but not when it's done this well. I will say the debut is slightly better, but this record is another wonderful collection of songs that put The Dark Element in the upper echelon of the genre.
6. Emerson Hart - 32 Thousand Days
As a solo artist, each of Emerson Hart's albums have been distinct from one another, and certainly cut from a different cloth than Tonic. This time out, Emerson's songs tell the story of life, and how much can be packed into roughly ninety years on this earth. It's a reflective album, one that is softer and subdued like an old sepia-tone photograph. I'm not in a stage of life to completely relate to the theme, but Emerson's songwriting is as sharp as ever, creating songs that are impressive for how slyly they become ingrained in your head. This is a record that is simple, honest, and a testament to the art and power of good songwriting.
5. Forever Still - Breathe In Colours
I've been following Forever Still since before they put out their debut, having run across them on social media. I was happy for them when they got signed to Nuclear Blast, and I'm even happier now that this record has paid off so well. Their debut was a good record that summed up their existence to that point, but this record deepens everything that's great about Forever Still. Their sound is still dark and modern, and Maja Shining's voice is the soulful compliment to that, but the songwriting is more consistent, sharper, and more evocative this time around. Forever Still is growing, evolving, and getting better. This record is a testament to how far they've come.
4. Any Given Day - Overpower
This record is simultaneously two things at once; the best metalcore record in years, and a better Tremonti album than what he has put together across his four solo albums. Song after song, Any Given Day delivers massive, arena-ready choruses that make every song instantly memorable. The vocals growl through most of the verses (the album would be better without them, but oh well), and those choruses are sung almost exactly as Mark Tremonti would, only everything about them is better than his solo band. This was one of the most addictive albums of the year, and a completely out of left field surprise. Eat your heart out, Killswitch Engage.
3. Michael Monroe - One Man Gang
It's been a few years, but Michael Monroe's previous album nearly won AOTY accolades from me. Since it was the first album of his I was fond of, I didn't know what to expect this time. What we received is an album that I will admit is probably a hair lesser than "Blackout States", but still embodies everything that used to be good and fun about rock and roll. Michael and his band are on a roll, writing the kind of rock that would have set the crowd at CBGB on fire in the late 70s/early 80s. Though this record isn't as aggressive, it's got mature swagger, and a knack for writing the kind of songs that put a smile on your face as you're singing along. And that is what drew so many of us to this music in the first place.
2. Dream State - Primrose Path
In the spring, "Hand In Hand" was released, and that song changed everything. Dream State went from being a band that was on the periphery of my consciousness, who I would check out if they had something new, to a band I absolutely had to seek out. The following singles kept the anticipation at a fever pitch, and when the album dropped, it managed to live up to all my expectations (minus the snafu where I did not get my promised promo from the PR company, and haven't heard from them since). Dream State have made an album that is about pain, but more about the process of getting past it. Their music doesn't wallow, but instead triumphantly gives pain the middle finger. "Primrose Path" is a catharsis in musical form.
1. Soen - Lotus
This is a first. No, not Soen capturing their second AOTY crown. This is the first time I have actually received and listened to the best album of the year in the year prior. I received my copy of "Lotus" in December of 2018, and for the entirety of 2019 nothing could top it. I kept waiting for it to be toppled, and it never happened. Soen took such a lead that no one could catch them. "Lykaia" was an amazing album, and somehow "Lotus" tops it. Soen have taken everything that was great about "Lykaia", and evolved in every direction. The heavy moments groove even harder. The emotional moments are more stirring. The hooks are absolutely massive. They have made a record that is rooted in the melancholy reality of life in this time, but painted in optimistic colors. Soen's music is the perfect yin and yang, a spellbinding encapsulation of the current day, and an album I'm not sure they can top. I said that two years ago and was wrong, and I sure hope I am again. Whatever comes next, Soen have given us one of the best metal albums of modern times.
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