Richard's Top Ten Albums of 2019

2019 has been one hell of a year; we’ve seen the return of established acts and some amazing debut records that have really upped the ante. Reducing this to a list of ten albums has therefore been a real tough challenge this year. Some of the returning established acts, such as Bad Religion and Refused, delivered excellent additions to their back catalogues but ultimately miss out. While debuts by bands such as Eat Dirt seem to come from out of nowhere an upset the natural order! As always there is no magic scoring formula for the selection of my top albums, instead its purely which ones I’ve had the most affinity with and ultimately the ones I think everyone should go out and enjoy… and again we’d love to hear what you think of these choices!

10. In Motion by The Run Up

British gruff punk darlings The Run Up had a big ask following up their self titled debut, a real highlight from 2017. Thankfully the constant touring has really helped take the Bristolians to the next level and In Motion contains 12 epically positive gruff punk anthems. With massive melodies, huge sing-along choruses and excellent lyrics, In Motion has it all in spades. It’s also nice to hear the affection with which they are held within the UK scene extends to the continent, where I’m assured by Colin who has seen it first-hand that The Run Up boys are now bigger than David Hasselhoff amongst our German cousins.

9. Anthems by Raised Fist

Coming from Scandinavia and averaging an album almost every four years, you could easily describe Sweden’s Raised Fist as glacial with their output – a statement that can’t be levelled at its content. From the opening trio of “Venomous”, “Seventh” and “ Anthem”, the album really drives home their anger at the state of the world (both politically and environmentally) and their pleas for unity. Raised Fist are one of those unique bands in that you instantly know what you are getting and the standard is always high. Anthems is probably the most aptly named album of the year.

8. Death Is Death by Eat Dirt

London based Eat Dirt’s debut album seemingly came out of nowhere. Filled with anger, vitriol and aggression, it’s a brilliant throwback to late 90s US hardcore albeit with a modern, British twist. Despite clocking in at what seems like a mammoth 14 songs the fact that it barely reaches 25 minutes demonstrates the ferocity of the album. Tracks like “Death Is Death” and “Make Peace” are destined for sweaty dive circle pits and, to show they can mix it up, the slow melody of “Come And See” provides a welcome respite to the frantic carnage of the bulk of the album. It’s a great statement of intent and definitely a release to check out if you haven’t already!

7. Regulars by Dead Bars

CPRW’s favourite Bouncing Souls loving, Seattle based party band, Dead Bars, have returned with a sophomore album that delivers on all fronts. Slightly more polished (particularly John Maiello’s vocals) and maybe slightly more progressive, it’s still unashamedly rammed with songs about ageing punk rockers, misfits and has more sing-a-longs than the Disney channel. A welcome return from one of the best new bands of recent years.

6. Night Shifts by Überyou

I really have to pay credit to fellow CPRW crewmember Emma for introducing me to Überyou; her review back at the start of the year perfectly captured the essence of Night Shifts and I knew I’d love it. Massively melodic, the whole album is a juggernaut of fist in the air anthems. The pick? Personally “Survivors” is huge, “Liabilities” is just brilliant and “Taking Chances” is superb but closing track “Don’t Ever Fall Apart” is monumental with its Timeshares-esque licks and it rounds off a great album perfectly!

5. Thrashing Through The Passion by The Hold Steady

Any new material by The Hold Steady is a joy to behold. After a considerable time away from handing over new material to an expectant fan group, 2018 saw the band release a series of singles ahead of their weekend residencies. Consequently half of the album is comprised of some of these singles and the other half new material. The moment Craig Finn talks through the first verse of “Denver Haircut” you can tell the loud big rock of Teeth Dreams has been toned down to focus on what is really the band’s USP – a lyrical genius surrounded by gorgeous melody, harmony and excellent musicianship. Having Franz Nicolay back in the fold permanently helps recapture that magic ingredient from their early releases. They’ll never be the most accessible, the most obvious or even the coolest band on the planet but they sure as hell have the biggest hearts – and this is rammed full of heart, soul, love and stories… and exactly what we expect from THS!

4. Hello Exile by The Menzingers

In a similar way to the fact that On The Impossible Past had to be followed up so did After The Party and a more mature, confident and skilled Menzingers have adapted to that pressure with the production of an album that whilst their most grown up is also their most overtly political. Sure it’s no After The Party which personally is THE GREAT album of the last decade but it doesn’t try to be, instead having more in common with the heartland rock of The Gaslight Anthem than say the Philly scene they grew out of. Self-assured, honest, slightly broken but self-aware, the beauty of the album lies not just in the (as always excellent) musicianship but in the lyrics which put Tom and Greg at a much more reflective and vulnerable stage of life than we’ve previously seen. In addition you can instantly see “America (You’re Freaking Me Out)”, “Strangers Forever” and “Strain Your Memory” sitting alongside existing fan favourites. Whilst Rented World (off the back of On The Impossible Past) perhaps showed a slight challenge when meeting expectations (it’s still an awesome album so don’t @ me punk people), with Hello Exile the band can put that hoodoo to bed of having to step up to meet the fan base expectations. Hello Exile is absolutely the album they needed to produce and in every sense it’s a success!

3. Thoughts and Prayers by Good Riddance

If at the start of the year you’d be telling me that Santa Cruz melodic hardcore stalwarts Good Riddance would deliver what is a career defining album, I’d most likely laugh at you and send you packing. The reason isn’t to do with their past output – in fact I’d argue that they have been easily one of the most consistent bands to come out of the 90s California scene – but instead they absolutely nailed what is by now a distinct sound and message and delivered a perfect album of what that sound should be like in the late 2010s. Thoughts And Prayers is angry, political, fast, melodic and quintessentially Good Riddance. It proves why they remain one of the most vitally important bands on the scene some 30 years after their inception!

2. Heavy Seas by Misfortune Cookie

I can’t stress how great Heavy Seas by Misfortune Cookie is. Musically it hits all the sweet spots between gruff punk, melodic hardcore and pop punk, whilst retaining the heartfelt folk sensibilities of vocalist Helen Chambers. Every song is brilliantly constructed, nuanced and personal, but with that uncanny relatable ability that makes you want to sing every word as loud as you can. In particular, “Callumbus” and “Alabama” show a band on top of their game, but with a clear nod to suggest there is more to come. I can’t wait to see where the future takes them!

1. I Don’t Like Sports by Screaming At Traffic

The Canadian pop punk crew Screaming At Traffic have produced an album that is almost perfect in every way. From the use of melody, big hooks and the kind of lyrics that range from on the surface being quite twee but on repeated listens fall into equally genius and heart-breaking categories at the same time. Opening duo “They Call Me Thrillhouse” and “Ybf” are the best 1-2 of the year and the type of songs that really hit all the feels. It’s hard not to find their oddly geeky references and life outlook endearing; writing songs about the kids that don’t fit in, cartoons and, as the title of the album would suggest, not liking sports. Screaming At Traffic absolutely deserves your attention and I Don’t Like Sports will hopefully put them on the road to greater things!

Albums of the decade
Lastly, from me for this year, a look back over the last decade… and if this doesn’t remind you that the last ten years have produced some amazing music then nothing will!

After The Party by The Menzingers
Mint by Worship This!
LP2 by Restorations
Desire Paths by Turnspit
Home, Like NoPlace Is There by The Hotelier
Prey by Planes Mistaken For Stars
Schmaltz by Spanish Love Songs
Light On The Lake by Signals Midwest
Handwritten by The Gaslight Anthem
Not Like This by Iron Chic
Spin by Tigers Jaw
While A Nation Sleeps by Boysetsfire
Wildlife by La Dispute
Magic Gone by Petal
Better Whenever by Elway
I Don’t Like Sports by Screaming At Traffic
Dead Reflection by Silverstein
Heavy Seas by Misfortune Cookie
Distance by Heavy Heart
Bearable by Timeshares

This end of year list was written by Richard Mair.