Average Rating: 3.55 Rating Variance: 0.39 Objectivity Score: 72% (Fairly Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicAll Better How It All Worked OutSimply the best pop-punk release of 2019. And it's an EP from this obscure British "power pop" trio. Apparently they don't like the label "pop-punk", but that's fine since there is enough experimentation to make the argument this release pops its head outside of the genre constraints of pop-punk. The experimentation mostly manifests as long midsections or bridges of the songs. As a connoisseur of plug-and-play pop-punk song structure, these sections were very noticeable at first. I came around to them quickly as they help the songs individually balance tension and release AND the EP as a whole keeps a more steady vibe. But anyway: 5/5. It checks all the boxes. Great opening? Yes. Great hooks? Yes. Great lyrics? Yes. Great vocals? Yes. Great production (especially considering their relative obscurity)? Yes. And it doesn't overstay its welcome. Top o the morning to ya, British lads. Cuz you nailed it. Best release of the year.4.5 superbHeart Attack Man Fake BloodWhile this sophomore album definitely falls under the Emo umbrella, I struggle to think of another album that has not only this sound but also this general aesthetic. The lyrics are very dark though they are presented with this tongue-in-cheek deadpan delivery that rings of some kind of self-aware murdering nihilist. The literal sound and structure of the songs never gets tired. A few punky bangers here, some nice somber ballads there, and a little of both mixed together in other places. Songs I keep returning to are Cut My Losses, Moths in a Lampshade, Fake Blood, and Out For Blood. No other 2019 album hit such a refined aesthetic note as this one.Wristmeetrazor Misery Never ForgetsWristmeetrazor hit me like a Mac truck at the beginning of 2019 when I was finding it all but impossible to find new heavy bands with an interesting sound. The vocals have an especially raw sound, the guitar riffs feel a bit simple but very honed in. The songs are short and sweet as the 9 songs take just over 20 minutes.4.0 excellentBayside Interrobang I don't remember thinking that a hard rock band could ever doing anything interesting, but I think it is very valid to call this a hard rock album and it speaks to me more than I can remember any hard rock album doing before. The title track is great as well as "Prayers" which comes afterward. There is next to no filter on this album though and the quality never takes a noticeable dip throughout the albums run time.Bring Me The Horizon amoI flip-flopped the hardest on this album because BMTH no longer plays music that naturally lends itself to my taste. But since Amo was such a huge hit for them it was hard to ignore the resulting the noise. This album is just barely qualifies as rock though I would say it has more of an experimental dark-pop feel to it. "MANTRA", "wonderful life", "sugar honey ice & tea", and "heavy metal" are the 4 actual rock songs on the album and I grew into liking all of them a good amount. The remaining tracks are good connective tissue between these 4 songs, and don't usually amount to more than that. But I would say the first half of the album has a better cohesion.I Prevail TRAUMATRAUMA isn't the first instance of an up-and-coming metalcore band incorporating pop. But it's the first time the pop/metalcore combo has caught my eye in years. Bow Down, Gasoline, and Deadweight are metalcore bangers through and through. Those were the three songs that drew me into the album. Normally I'd drop the album after I squeezed out the nuts-and-bolts metalcore, but the poppy tracks do not come off as contrived to me. The versatility just plain works.Knocked Loose A Different Shade of BlueThe best of the heavier metalcore releases in 2019. The singles ("Mistakes Like Fractures" as well as "...And Still I Wander South") are what hold this album together for me. Those two songs are the tightest single-song packages of this album. The opener "Belleville" was also very solid. The rest of the songs on this album fall distinctly behind those songs, but the quality is still there.Masked Intruder IIIIt's a small tragedy to me that Masked Intruder aren't mentioned more often in the pop-punk scene. They write a hell of a good hook and they incorporate enough interesting angles that give these punk bangers some extra personality. And their branding is incredibly on point.Of Mice and Men EARTHANDSKYOf Mice & Men has an interesting history of inconsistency. Their first album showed great potential and the next album The Flood perfected them. After The Flood there was an immediate but definite either dropoff in quality, or attempt to gain new mainstream audience, or maybe a genuine interest in playing a different genre of metal. It got worse and worse until Defy. I saw signs of a new potential with Defy and I hold it in higher regard than a lot of other reviewers. EARTHANDSKY is very close to being a superb record from a band that most metalcore fans once worshipped and now had essentially thrown to the gutter. The heavy tone that returned in Defy is here again but even heavier. The general aesthetic is again cohesive. The riffs are great. The only downside is that it does get a bit same-y by the end of the record. Two of the singles shine through as the best of the record: How To Survive and Mushroom Cloud. Gravedancer is good opener though, it does the job of getting you to engage in the album through a slow open. I also liked the song Deceiver/Deceived.SWMRS Berkely’s On FireA great album to share with normie friends. Has the crunch of a pop-punk album but the production and hooks of a major pop release. Song quality is pretty on point for the first half of the album. After "April In Houston" it gets a little hit or miss, but one of the better "first halves" of a pop-punk album in 2019. Also "Hellboy" kicks ass.3.5 greatblink-182 NineI was so ready to shit on NINE when the first single "Blame It On My Youth" was revealed. It was pure pop and disgustingly so for a band that has its roots in punk rock. So when the album did drop it fell off my radar for maybe a month, but as I listened it REALLY began to grow on me. "The First Time" was a great opener, and "Darkside" has a catchy dance beat in the chorus. Also "Pin The Grenade" and "Run" Away" are some of my other favorites.Incite Built to DestroyI didn't realize this was groove metal until someone told me. Really didn't know what the hell groove metal and still not quite sure I do. This sounds very much just like metalcore to me. Almost like Slipknot actually. If there were no clean vocals. Just a ton of punishing riffs and fairly low register vocals. Build to destroy is so listenable from start to finish. Not a real dud on the whole tracklist.John Garcia John Garcia And The Band Of GoldQueens of the Stone Age instrumentation meets White Stripes vocals. The grooves on this album hit so good. Album has definitely grown on me. The deep muddy guitars and the dynamic vocal range that goes from grit to squeaky falsetto will keep this record from sounding like most anything else that came out in 2019.Kicker Pure DrivelBrattiest crustiest pop-punk I've heard in a long time. It gets by purely on that ethos. The opening track is a 1.5 minute instrumental. Gets the hype flowing. Mrs Arnold is great. Shit song is so simple but also effective. Oxycotin and Vodka Pills is the best song, and it has the best spoken-word intro of 2019. Wankers on the Bus is weird and good. Closing song sums it up perfectly. Yeah, this album is tight.Pale Lips After DarkJust a really fun self-described power pop band making a tight and robust album from start to finish. A lot of tongue in cheek lyrics here and the most tongue in cheek is my personal favorite "Hanky Panky Franky". A lot of classic rock n roll reference in the guitar. Very danceable punk tracks. A great listen.Rough Dreams Rough DreamsHas emo/punk sensibilities and the vocals are rough around the edges in a good way. Only 4 tracks but a very promising EP. Although the vocals are a bit on the gruff side the occasional vocal harmonies are my favorite part of the release. Can't wait to see these guys put out a full album.Teenage Bottlerocket Stay RadI think this might have been the first solid pop-punk album of 2019. It's very lighthearted, like any Teenage Bottlerocket album. Lyrics are tongue-in-cheek more often than not. Hooks are solid. A good album to put on if you just want that simple pop-punk energy around you. You Don't Get the Joke, Night of the Knuckleheads, Anti-Social Media, I'll Kill You Tomorrow, and Stupid Song are my favorites.3.0 goodDinosaur Pile-Up Celebrity MansionsFirst discovered this band with their previous "11:11" which I loved. "Celebrity Mansions" is getting more commercial attention which makes sense because it has a decidedly lighter and more fun tone. A bit of Smashing Pumpkins influence mixed with drop tuned guitars. And I don't even like most of Smashing Pumpkins but this works pretty well. If you want some legitimate radio bangers listen to this album. If you want something a little moodier listen to "11:11".Millencolin SOSI agree with another commenter that this is dad-punk. Feels like it's on the verge of being a great album but it never fully punches through. It's a good enough release to help get me to the next good pop-punk album. Title track is the best. Rest of the songs are fairly solid.Red Handed Denial RedeemerIf I had never heard Protest The Hero's "Kezia" before listening to this album I might have thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. Laruen's vocals are impressive. The guitars are varied enough to keep your attention. But the overall song structure is a little bland. There are no iconic or even especially interesting moments on this record. And the influence from Protest the Hero feels too direct for me to not be constantly thinking "I like Protest the Hero. And this is like Protest the Hero. I should be liking this more, right?" It's all simply...good. Not great.SeeYouSpaceCowboy Songs for the Firing SquadThis album definitely breathes some new life into heavy music. I would call this metalcore or screamo but Songs For The Firing Squad really invents its own sound. But I see this mostly as experimentation with unfortunately not a ton of gems. The majority of the songs are very close but do not quite sink their hooks in. The exception is "Self Help Specialist Ends Own Life" which I have probably listened to over 50 times since I first heard it.Shrezzers RelationshipsI see the Dance Gavin Dance comparisons very clearly, but honestly I like this a little better. Will have to reconsider this statement when the new DGD album comes out. But back to Shrezzers: DAT SAX THO! Such a novelty but it works. Helps keep my attention more than I would have thought.Sublime with Rome BlessingsThe Bouncing Souls Crucial MomentsI started off really hot on this one. Originally had it at a 4.5. But I've cooled pretty hard on it at this point. Didn't even make my list of top albums at the end of 2019. The title track and "Here's To Us" are the highlights.The Old Firm Casuals Holger Danske2.0 poorGreen Day Father of All MotherfuckersIt's albums this remind me why I started to evolve into more of a blink-182 fan. It is disappointing to hear this tongue-in-cheek farce of an album after Green Day was starting to get back on track to having some actual weight to their music with Revolution Radio. But alas...no. The songwriting is very VERY lackluster here. The album is listenable in bits, but anything past two songs in a row feels redundant and uninspired. Try harder next time, Green Day.
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
