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Emeritus
Reviews 107
Approval 96%
Soundoffs 127
News Articles 30
Band Edits + Tags 62
Album Edits 78
Album Ratings 3493
Objectivity 66%
Last Active 01-12-23 5:14 pm
Joined 08-27-12
Review Comments 20,969
| Ben's 25 Favorite Albums of 2019 Ranked
This might be my least favorite year for music of the decade so far, but there were plenty of solid albums and the very welcome return of Tool. Many of my favorite bands released music which was nice, even if their prime was 10+ years ago. | | 25 |  | Foals
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1
A short, dense, high-energy first half of an ambitious two-part album cycle. It's far from their most cinematic or engrossing work, but keeps things dynamic and has enough detail to be a solid listen overall. | | 24 |  | Hashshashin
Badakhshan
Good stuff | | 23 |  | We Lost the Sea
Triumph and Disaster
Solid post-rock | | 22 |  | Swallow the Sun
When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light
More good stuff from a wonderful band I’ve been listening to for a long time. | | 21 |  | Local Natives
Violet Street
A fun, diverse indie rock album. | | 20 |  | Better Oblivion Community Center
Better Oblivion Community Center
Doesn’t reach the heights of Phoebe Bridgers’ first album, but it’s solid. | | 19 |  | Soen
Lotus
Soen have settled into a dependable place as a progressive metal supergroup to be regarded as more than just the Tool clones they were once known as. The addition of keyboards adds color to their main sound, providing a nice contrast from the heavier sections and some quiet, reflective moments as well. Lotus further establishes a confidence for the band to be themselves and follow their own musical path. They’ve held their own and evolved into something special this decade, being among the best of the genre in that time. | | 18 |  | No-Man
Love You to Bits
A whole embrace of synthpop hinted at by Steven Wilson’s song "Permanating," Love You to Bits harnesses a high concept approach to psychedelic electronic music that sounds like an evolution of their early '90s releases, a gift to fans who love that that era. | | 17 |  | Alcest
Spiritual Instinct
A more metal-charged affair and technical rhythm section are the most noticeable changes in Spiritual Instinct, being probably their most energetic release. | | 16 |  | Flying Lotus
Flamagra
A densely packed collection of ideas that hearkens to each album from Flying Lotus's career. You'll find some of his best material here on Flamagra, even though the first half of the album has some hit-and-miss guest-centered tracks. Thankfully it becomes a sequel to Cosmogramma and Until the Quiet Comes, his two best records, starting with track 14 and begins a blissed-out cosmic journey. Lots of good moments are in the first half too though. | | 15 |  | Copeland
Blushing
Some really great songs, mostly the odd-numbered ones in the track list I noticed. | | 14 |  | Tim Bowness
Flowers At The Scene
Tim Bowness goes for a classic sound here, but in no way is it redundant or a throwback to something you’ve heard before. The album traverses a range of moods, some more successful than others, and is strongest in the last third with highlights like “Borderline,” “Ghostlike,” and “Killing to Survive.” An impressive roster of guest musicians add their talent to the project, including Andy Partridge, Peter Hammill, and Steven Wilson. The diversity is welcome and recalls Wild Opera from his band with Steven Wilson, No-Man. Bowness’s vocals are as strong as ever and the songwriting is immediate and even catchy in places, particularly the title track and “Borderline.” Bowness has proven a remarkable ability to churn out fantastic music this year with this and the new No-Man. He’s created an impressive roster of solo albums this whole past decade culminating with this, an unpredictable record that strikes a fine balance of being eclectic and accessible. | | 13 |  | Opeth
In Cauda Venenum
Renewed inspiration makes Opeth’s latest their best since Heritage, and the band sound self-assured and compelling in an exciting new way. This music feels like it was dreamed up in another time or world, made by musicians that are always intent on exploring new musical realms. A higher level of ambition and a confident balance of the various changes in tone is felt all over the record. While not all of the flaws from new Opeth are gone, the band are giving their full effort and showing off how creative they have always been, and still are without doubt. | | 12 |  | The National
I Am Easy to Find
Like Trouble Will Find Me meets EL VY, The National pursue a lighter direction that magnifies the holes of light in the darker atmospheres of Boxer, Trouble Will Find Me, and Sleep Well Beast; it sounds just as sprawling as those while feeling breezier overall. The band are unhinged in many ways, emphasizing more spacious elements that approach soundtracking-emotional-moments-levels of Explosions in the Sky, like “Dust Swirls in Strange Light” and the enchanting outro of album highlight “So Far, So Fast.” The best they have to offer is where they sound like themselves, with the straightforward ballad “Light Years,” high energy “Where is Her Head,” High Violet-era “Rylan,” and “Oblivions” all providing just as much variety and goodness as Sleep Well Beast. I Am Easy to Find isn't quite as magnificent as The National's classics, but it's clear the band's music is still just as elegant and passionate with rewarding new dimensions. | | 11 |  | Bon Iver
i,i
Bon Iver decides to look outward now, a nice evolution from the introverted and elusive nature of 22, A Million. His latest is a bit more inviting and less fragmented, while maintaining the unique sounds of 22… More than ever, Justin Vernon sounds more open here, crooning of his belief in album highlight “Faith” and generally providing a brighter musical tone. The vulnerable nature of “Hey, Ma” and “Marion” recall the more traditional nature of Bon Iver’s earlier work, but like many other tracks, they end just as you become familiar with them. i,i feels like a series of vignettes from a certain point of view, a kaleidoscope of moments in time that capture feelings, important events, and revelations with his usual quirky lyrical style and fusing of musical styles and tones. | | 10 |  | Chelsea Wolfe
Birth of Violence
Just the direction I wanted her to take. Very mysterious and occult vibes throughout, similar to her first acoustic album. | | 9 |  | Vaura
Sables
Vaura return with a lighter direction inspired by 1980s darkwave, indulging in a lighter, more chorus-driven direction. Despite the streamlined approach, most of Sables still carries the strangeness of their original sound. Each track moves subtly, rewarding the patient listener with an equally engrossing experience as the finest moments from the band’s previous releases. | | 8 |  | Amon Tobin
Fear In A Handful Of Dust
The first new Tobin in nearly a decade ventures even further into the abstract, creating a paranormal collage of sound experiments. The nocturnal Fear in a Handful of Dust builds on the foundation of Isam. The vibes hearken to the dark atmospheres of his widely known early work. Amon Tobin’s evolution as a writer and producer is felt, having some of the most engaging and depthful moments of his career. | | 7 |  | Amon Tobin
Long Stories
More melodic than Fear, but generally they're pretty similar. It could be seen as a double album since they were recorded simultaneously and have similar vibes. | | 6 |  | Lapalux
Amnioverse
His best album, adventurous and unpredictable. | | 5 |  | Drab Majesty
Modern Mirror
Expands on the debut with rewarding results. | | 4 |  | American Football
American Football (LP3)
A welcome surprise, staying mellow and blissful from beginning to end. The xylophone use is a welcome addition, and the album even sounds faintly like Bark Psychosis in places. | | 3 |  | Thom Yorke
Anima
His most fully realized solo offering to date, Yorke brings the goods with musically progressive songs like “Twist” and “The Axe.” | | 2 |  | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Ghosteen
The band continue from Skeleton Tree with a less dark direction, even more sparse and ethereal by focusing on synths and piano alongside Cave's voice. His lyrics continue to be wonderfully impressionistic, ranging from the surreal and fantastical to some very intimate and personal musings as well. It's another triumph and one of the finest albums of the year. Highlights are "Bright Horses," "Sun Forest," and "Galleon Ship." | | 1 |  | Tool
Fear Inoculum
A massive, compelling piece of music that unfolds beautifully and balances their unique style with plenty of rewarding new elements. The instrumentalists lay down some of their most impressive and technical performances yet, and the magic they create together sounds more transcendent and harmonious than bands half their age. “Descending,” “Invincible,” and “7empest” are the highlights for me. Everything falls into place and flows with a fluidity that Tool is always able to accomplish. Any fears that they would not live up to their past can be abated, being one of the best albums of the decade. | |
TalonsOfFire
12.14.19 | Feel free to your favs, including lesser known albums I might not have discovered yet. | JustJoe.
12.14.19 | i’ve heard none of these | Observer
12.14.19 | Nice.
Glad you took 12, much more balanced take than mine would have been. I rec you Sermon's Birth of the Marvelous and Wheel (FIN)'s Moving Backwards from this year. Given 1 and 18, I suspect you'll like both. | sixdegrees
12.14.19 | im not so sure | hal1ax
12.14.19 | ok now this is a list | sixdegrees
12.14.19 | Basically a double album as far as I can tell.
? | Calc
12.14.19 | I'll try hashashin I think I listened to it when it came out but I done forgot bout it | TalonsOfFire
12.14.19 | The two Amon Tobins share a lot of similarities and were probably written and recorded around the same time, so to me it makes sense that it could be viewed as a double album. | botulist
12.14.19 | a massive compelling piece of... indeed | nightbringer
12.14.19 | Glad someone else is enjoying 24! | Artuma
12.14.19 | "This might be my least favorite year for music of the decade so far"
really? i think this year has been a lot better than the previous few
sweet list nevertheless | ashcrash9
12.14.19 | good stuff, man
a handful of these will be on my list as well | TalonsOfFire
12.14.19 | Thanks guys. This year is probably better than 2018 for music actually, but neither touches the previous three years imo | DDDeftoneDDD
12.14.19 | Yeah! we share quite a few (including #1 is my #1) but I m super happy you included #22 the album is very beautiful and well done! | TalonsOfFire
12.14.19 | Agreed, StS are something special. | Demon of the Fall
12.14.19 | Thom, FlyLo and Lapalux are all on mine, I mostly agree with your Opeth write-up also. The National was so disappointing. Cool list, appreciate the effort. | blastOFFitsPARTYtime
12.15.19 | Lots of good shit here - nice to see 5 so high! | TalonsOfFire
12.16.19 | Thanks, and now that I think about it this year was a little better than 2018. | BlazinBlitzer
12.26.19 | I checked 14 from the staff list and it's now one of my favorite albums of the year. Thank you guys! | TalonsOfFire
12.27.19 | Tim Bowness? Yea he's great. That album especially is a good introduction to his music I think. |
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