A 2019 roundup | Albums of the year and ones to watch

23/12/19

Words | Greta Kaur-Taylor, Editor

@phee_hagen

Phoebe Hagen | Social Media and Playlist Curation Assistant at Subtv \ Promoter at Spooky Kid Presents and guitarist in Television Screams.

The Murder Capital - Greta K Taylor

We'd all be lying if we didn't agree that 2019 has been a rocky one for the wider world and our dear beloved nation.

The UK voted for a man that hides in fridges, Coldplay released another album, Matty Healy made more questionable statements, Taylor Swift was announced as a Glasto headline and just minor things like the Amazon being on fire, all happened and have bought a majority of people great distress.

However, above all what has saved us from complete breakdown you ask? Some banging albums and watching bands that are going to rip it up in 2020, that's exactly what.

A big thank you for the support we have received this year and thank you to all of our writers, readers, contributors and all those who have worked with us to keep this thing going. So here's to more music, art and creative people doing what they do best, easing our ails and gracing our ears. May your 2020 bless your senses.

Here's all our 2019 musical goodness, bought to you by the new music queen Phoebe Hagen for a second year in a row, her predictions for the new year are yet to fail us.

Thanks for supporting DIY x

Greta Kaur - Taylor

Editor

TOP ALBUMS OF 2019

@phee_hagen

The Murder Capital - When I Have Fears

It’s been one hell of a year for The Murder Capital. It’s a testament to the band’s sheer trajectory this past year that they started 2019 with zero music available to listen to online, and have ended the year with a truly incredible album, which has taken a well-deserved place on mine and many others end of year lists. 'When I Have Fears' is as fiercely punk and ferociously hard-hitting as it is shatteringly emotional, and truly deserving of being the album of the year.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Infest The Rats’ Nest

Ahh, King Gizz. Only the Aussie pysch-rockers could release a guitar and accordion-laden album one month, and then follow it up with an epic, thrash-metal odyssey the next. It’s raw, it’s rough, it’s heavy, and it’s King Gizz at their absolute balls-to-the-wall best. Live, the tracks from Rats’ Nest are truly something else - they truly drive the crowd into a frenzy, it really drives home the fact that this is one of, if not THE, best albums the Gizz have ever put out.

Amyl and the Sniffers - Amyl and the Sniffers

I’m not sure exactly what’s in the water currently in Australia, but by god, Aussie punk is truly having a moment - and long may it continue. Amyl and the Sniffers’ debut album was certainly long-awaited, and boy, did it more than exceed expectations. Their self-titled debut is jam-packed with snarling, ‘70s inspired punk anthems that are simultaneously as teeth-baringly aggressive as they are riotously fun, and results in what’s got to be one of the best debuts of the year.

Further albums of 2019

@gretaktaylor

Fontaines DC - Dogrel
Black Midi - Schlagenheim
Slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain
Thom Yorke - Anima
Automatic - Signal
Big Thief - Two Hands
Horsebeach - The Unforgiving Current

BANDS TO WATCH FOR 2020

@phee_hagen

Wargasm

📸 Jessica-Rose Lena

I can safely say that I haven’t had as much fun at a gig for a long time than when I first saw Wargasm play. They’re loud, brash, bold, and above all, incredibly, incredibly talented - tracks like 'Post-Modern Rhapsody' and 'God of War' have rightfully already gained them a rapidly growing following, and in the words of bassit-slash-singer Milkie Way: yeah, nu-metal is definitely coming back.

GURU

📸 Jamie MacMillan

If the Brighton-based punks aren’t already on your ones-to-watch list for next year, then you’re doing something wrong. Their truly explosive live energy transfers almost-impossibly well to recordings, with this year’s double-A Side, Don’t Talk / LTD becoming one of my most listened to tracks of 2019 despite only being released in October. All I’m saying is don’t come crying to me when these guys blow up - because believe me, I guarantee they’re going to.

Talk Show

If you want to talk about the new wave of post-punk bands, you simply can’t afford to leave Talk Show out of the conversation. Their first single, Fast and Loud, arrived earlier, and sums up in its very title the two things that make the band such an exciting and necessary band for 2020. Add on to that a slew of sold-out headline shows and a truly fantastic follow-up single in the form of Ankle Deep (In A Warm Glass Of Water), and you’ve got the makings of something truly, truly special.

Even More artists to catch in 2020

@gretaktaylor