X-PRESS TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2019

For several years now, millennial playlists have reflected a trend: pop and chart music sitting next to rock, electronic, metal, indie, rap, punk and any other genre you can think of. But for the first time in a long time, some of the best moments of 2019 felt like the ones on the charts. From the Ariana Grandes and Taylor Swifts that narrowly missed this list, to those below who made our Top 20, there’s been a perceivable shift in what we might have previously considered “cool”. And it’s the girls from Lizzo to Billie Eilish to Stella Donnelly to Lana Del Rey that are leading the charge – 12 of the X-Press Top 20 Albums for 2019 are from artists fronted by women. Meanwhile five come from debutants; at least another five from reunions, reworkings and reimaginings of well-loved artists. Welcome to the dawn of a new decade. Happy listening.

20. Michael Kiwanuka Kiwanuka

Produced by Danger Mouse, the third album from British-Ugandan multi-instrumentalist Michael Kiwanuka plunders from 70s cosmic rock, classic soul, Afrobeat and even Hendrix, and yet manages to make all of these sound completely new and interesting again. Totally knowing and self-aware, an analogue postcard from the past that still fits perfectly in 2019.
– GORDON JONES

19. Art of Fighting Luna Low

18. Holly Herndon Proto

17. Tool Fear Inoculum

Expectation for Fear Inoculum grew with every year its release date stewed. This album feels like a swansong, a veritable pick-and-mix of Tool’s older records, each track consisting of throwbacks to your favourite of their songs. With vocalist Maynard James Keenan’s cleaner-than-usual vocal style and the positive messages hidden throughout, this is probably Tool’s most approachable album since Ænima – despite the daunting track lengths.
– MELISSA KRUGER

16. Lizzo Cuz I Love You

There’s a new queen in town, and she’s 100% bad bitch. Right from the big band entrance of opening, title track Cuz I Love You, the album captures your awe, lifting you up. Lizzo herself is like the preacher out front of a feminist choir. Her lyrics are full of sassy, self-affirming, body positive, power anthems. She’s the strong, alternative role model for women (young and old) everywhere that we needed, now more than ever. Well played sister.
– Q

15. Amyl & the Sniffers Amyl & the Sniffers

Have a sniff, relax your rectum and sink into Amyl & The Sniffer’s self-titled debut full length. The pixie-pub-punk rock band from Balaclava, Melbs have lived up to the hype by earning themselves an ARIA for Best Rock Album in 2019. Lead singer Amy Taylor contrasts sweetness with raw aggression as she spits out lyrics like “go fuck yourself”; we’re talking raw production and tight punk rock where simplicity and speed is key with just enough hooks to keep you coming back for another hit.
– ANTHONY JACKSON

14. Sharon Van Etten Remind Me Tomorrow

Five albums deep, Sharon Van Etten is producing some of her most honest music to date. Like the opening stanza of the title track, “Holy shit/ You almost died,” the album is a revelation. Remind Me Tomorrow rips out your heartstrings, but hints at resolution and the future. Full of raw emotion and honesty, the invigorated electronic sounds leads to an album that is begging to be seen live.
– Q

13. Aldous Harding Designer

While it was 2017’s sophomore record Party that took Kiwi outsider Aldous Harding to the masses, it is Designer that has consolidated her brand of eccentricity. Produced by John Parish, the album brims with vivacious alt-pop-takes such as The Barrel, the delicate Zoo Eyes and the hypnotic groove of Fixture Picture. Like Harding, the album glows bright from the start, but it is only after repeated listens that we really glimpse the extent of her creative world.
– MICHAEL HOLLICK

12. Cate Le Bon Reward

Cate Le Bon is this generation’s Kate Bush, a supremely talented musician who can produce simultaneously demented yet catchy hooks like no other. Reward is an art pop triumph, Le Bon’s songwriting taking massive strides, without reigning in her experimental side. Singles Daylight Matters, Home to You and The Light are her biggest yet.
– MATIJA ZIVKOVIC

11. Thom Yorke Anima

The Radiohead frontman returned this year with his richest-sounding solo record yet, one that really travelled through a diverse range of emotions, giving it an almost conceptual or cinematic quality that takes the listener on quite a journey. Yorke brought his composition strengths to the forefront and created an album that’s as satisfying as it is mysterious.
– DAVID MORGAN BROWN

10. Weyes Blood Titanic Rising

A move to Sub Pop coincides with a confident new album for Weyes Blood. Natalie Mering sounds positively classic on tracks such as Andromeda, Movies and Everyday, channelling the innocent long-lost pop of Karen Carpenter with uplifting arrangements including strings, huge choruses and new-found dream pop sensibilities. 
– PAUL DOUGHTY 

9. Angel Olsen All Mirrors

All Mirrors makes for a fine case study in exponential artistic growth. Olsen channels the ghosts of Scott Walker and Serge Gainsbourg to make a lush, expansive, dreamscape chamber pop album dripping in grandeur and pathos. She’s gone from gritty lo-fi alt-country to this in just four albums, and even if not everything totally works, you can’t help but respect the scope and ambition.
– GORDON JONES

8. Swans leaving meaning.

leaving meaning. is a blissful yet at times unsettling listen from veterans Swans. Frontman Michael Gira is still present, as are his distinctive vocals, but he joins forces with several new guests from The Necks to Ben Frost, who serve up an expansive and visionary double album. Layered and considered, Gira engages with the current cultural and political era by contemplating the potential for humans to dissipate from history. A tremendous and ambitious artistic statement.
– MICHAEL HOLLICK

7. Fontaines D.C. Dogrel

When frontman Grian Chatten sings “My childhood was small, but I’m gonna be big!” on the opening song to Fontaines D.C.’s debut, you can’t help believing in these boys from the better land. The year’s most exciting rock record comes from a Dublin post-punk band who brazenly ask “Is it too real for ya?” then bemoan the company and its “no future” ethics (Roy’s Tune). Between Chatten’s unmistakable accent and a barrage of hurricane guitars, expect Fontaines to be a highlight a Laneway.
– HARVEY RAE

6. Julia Jacklin Crushing

Julia Jacklin’s stunning voice is always warmly welcome but Crushing provides the listener with something more solemn than previous releases. It focuses on struggling relationships and memories from the past, and Jacklin’s beautiful songwriting captures these emotions in such a raw way, the listener can’t help but consider how Jacklin felt in moments like “Do you still have that photograph?/ Would you use it to hurt me?/ Well, I guess it’s just my life/ And it’s just my body” (Body).
– KIERRA POLLOCK

5. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Ghosteen

The legendary Australian rock band stripped back their sound to an almost ambient soundscape level, establishing a new direction in the process, as frontman Nick Cave battled the painful grief of losing his son in these gorgeous, yet mournful songs. Accompanied by equally stunning lyrics, they delve into prose and storytelling that unravel in perfect time to the album’s emotional intensity.
– DAVID MORGAN BROWN 

4. Purple Mountains Purple Mountains

The late, great David Berman gave us an almost Bowie-esque parting statement with Purple Mountains. As laugh out loud funny as it is unsettling given he took his life so soon after its release, you’re likely to find yourself singing along jauntily to That’s Just the Way That I Feel right before an inevitable lump forms on All My Happiness Is Gone and remains for the duration. The former Silver Jews frontman’s swan-song is certainly bittersweet, but his timeless songwriting and turn of phrase ensures it’s a classic.
– HARVEY RAE

3. Billie Eilish when we all fall asleep, where do we go?

Was it the year of Billie? Almost. Billie Eilish only solidified her unshakable reputation as one of the most influential artists of the modern music scene with her debut full length release. A dazzling journey through restrained, imitable production, and escorted by Eilish’s delicately controlled tone and conceptual storytelling. At just 17 years of age, this record is just the beginning – and a promising one at that.
– CAITLIN NORRIS

2. Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell!

Norman Fucking Rockwell! is so strong that it has cemented Del Rey as America’s finest modern day singer-songwriter. Paring back the hip hop influences and overt darkness of previous records, this is primarily a set of tastefully orchestrated, folk-inflected ballads, and they are all brilliant. Lyrically it’s as bleak and cynical as ever, but Del Rey’s growing maturity and self-awareness imbues these songs with a sadness that is sometimes hard to bear. The broken men, losers and users are still there, but this is as much an album about America itself as it is about its characters. A must-listen, and the best album about California since the 70s.
– MATIJA ZIVKOVIC

1. Stella Donnelly Beware of the Dogs

With sweet backdrops and even sweeter vocals, Stella Donnelley’s “trick” on Beware of the Dogs is making her debut album a confronting social commentary for the ages. Delving into issues including sexual assault, power imbalance and gender inequality, each song reveals the inner thoughts of the Perth prodigy and adds a layer of humour to bring the messages into poetic protest. This 13-track indie pop album expertly juxtaposes charming, melodic tones with harsh realities to create a powerful but playful collection to soundtrack this moment in history, making it not just the album of 2019, but an album for 2019. With standout tracks including Old Man, Tricks, Lunch and Beware of the Dogs, this album would be a deserving number one on any international list, but we’re also proud to call her WA’s own.
– AMBER LILLEY

X-PRESS CONTRIBUTOR & EDITOR TOP TENS
Check out what your favourite writers (in alphabetical order) voted for in one of the most diverse end of year polls we’ve ever seen…

Aidan Lewins

1. Cub Sport – Cub Sport
2. Jack Davies and the Bush Chooks – Cleaning the Dishes
3. Catfish and the Bottlemen – The Balance
4. Rex Orange County – Pony
5. DOPE LEMON – Smooth Big Cat 
6. Two Door Cinema Club – False Alarm 
7. G FLIP – About Us
8. The Night Cafe – 0151
9. Holy Holy – My Own Pool of Light 
10. Press Club – Wasted Energy 

Alfred Gorman

1. Frightened Rabbit – Tiny Changes: A Celebration of The Midnight Organ Fight 
2. The Chemical Brothers – No Geography 
3. Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow
4. Underworld – Drift Series 1
5. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
6. The Cranberries – In The End
7. Stella Donnelly – Beware of the Dogs
8. Tool – Fear Inoculum
9. Fontanies D.C. – Dogrel
10. Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell!

Amber Lilley

1. Ali Barter – Hello, I’m Doing My Best
2. Holy Holy – My Own Pool of Light 
3. Thelma Plum – Better in Black
4. Dean Lewis – A Place We Knew 
5. G FLIP – About Us
6. Catfish and the Bottlemen – The Balance 
7. Stella Donnelly – Beware of the Dogs 
8. Montaigne – Complex
9. Middle Kids – New Songs for Old Problems 
10. Rex Orange County – Pony 

Amy Smith

1. AURORA – A Different Kind Of Human – Step II
2. Stray Kids – Clé 1: MIROH
3. Billie Eilish – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE ALL GO?
4. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – End of Suffering
5. Foals – Everything Not Saved Will be Lost – Part 1
6. Carly Rae Jepson – Dedicated 
7. Alex Lahey – The Best Of Luck Club 
8. Stella Donnelly – Beware of the Dogs 
9. Within Temptation – Resist 
10. TXT – The Dream Chapter: Magic

Anthony Jackson

1. Lana Del Ray – Norman Fucking Rockwell!
2. Tool – Fear Inoculum
3. Giant Dwarf – Giant Dwarf
4. The Disappointed – Escapism
5. Stella Donnelly – Beware of the Dogs
6. Voyager – Colours in the Sun
7. Amyl and the Sniffers – Amyl and the Sniffers
8. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Infest the Rats’ Nest
9. Yomi Ship – Pyramids of Yonaguni
10. Here Comes The Rooster – Heres Comes The Rooster

Brayden Edwards

1. Billie Eilish – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
2. Methyl Ethel – Triage 
3. FKA Twigs – Magdalene
4. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Ghosteen 
5. Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains 
6. Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell! 
7. Jenny Lewis – On the Line 
8. Deerhunter – Why Hasn’t Everything Already disappeared?
9. (Sandy) Alex G – House of Sugar 
10. Julia Jacklin – Crushing 

Britney Coulson

1. Sabrina Carpenter – Singular Act 11
2. Billie Eilish – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
3. Jessica Mauboy – Hilda
4. Zhavia Ward – 17
5. Ariana Grande – thank u, next
6. Taylor Swift – Lover
7. James Morrison – You’re Stronger Than You Know
8. Stella Donnelly – Beware of the Dogs
9. Tori Kelly – Inspired by True Events 
10. Sasha Sloan – Self- Portrait 

Caitlin Norris

1. Billie Eilish – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
2. King Princess – Cheap Queen 
3. Little May – Blame My Body 
4. Lucy Rose – No Words Left
5. Marika Hackman – Any Human Friend
6. MUNA – Saves The World
7. The Japanese House – Good At Falling
8. Bill Ryder-Jones – Yawny Yawn 
9. Me Not You – Already Gone 
10. Cigarettes After Sex – Cry

Chris Havercroft

1. My Life Story – World Citizen 
2. Better Oblivion Community Center – Better Oblivion Community Center 
3. Art of Fighting – Luna Low 
4. Taylor Swift – Lover 
5. FKA Twigs – Magdalene 
6. Joanna Sternberg – Then I Try Some More 
7. Sleater-Kinney – The Centre Won’t Hold 
8. Bonnie Prince Billy – I Made A Place 
9. Lachlan Denton & Studio Magic – A Brother 
10. Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains 

David Morgan-Brown

1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Ghosteen 
2. Kanye West – Jesus is King
3. Swans – leaving meaning. 
4. Saint Pepsi – Mannequin Challenge 
5. Pharmakon – Devour 
6. BROCKHAMPTON – GINGER 
7. Thom Yorke – Anima 
8. The Caretaker – Everywhere, an Empty Bliss
9. Show Me the Body – Dog Whistle 
10. Cherubs – Immaculada High 

Gordon Jones

1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
2. Angel Olsen – All Mirrors
3. Lana Del Rey – Normal Fucking Rockwell!
4. Michael Kiwanuka – KIWANUKA
5. Rustin Man – Drift Code
6. Hot Chip – Bath Full of Ecstasy 
7. Edwyn Collins – Badbea
8. Andrew Bird – My Finest Work Yet 
9. Underground Lovers – A Left Turn 
10. Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains 

Harvey Rae

1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
2. Swans – leaving meaning.
3. Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell!
4. Fontaines D.C. – Dogrel
5. Billie Eilish​ – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE ALL GO?
6. Holly Herndon – Proto
7. Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains
8. Pond​ – Tasmania
9. Art of Fighting​​ – Luna Low
10. Lizzo – Cuz I Love You

Kierra Pollock

1. Hatchie – Keepsake
2. The Japanese House – Good At Falling
3. Ali Barter – Hello, I’m Doing My Best 
4. Cigarettes After Sex – Cry 
5. Foals – Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1
6. Stella Donnelly – Beware of the Dogs 
7. Two Door Cinema Club – False Alarm 
8. Julia Jacklin – Crushing 
9. WAAX – Big Grief 
10. Post Malone – Hollywood’s Bleeding 

Matija Zivkovic

1. Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell!
2. Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising 
3. Aldous Harding – Designer 
4. Cat Le Bon – Reward 
5. Hot Chip – A Bath Full of Ecstasy 
6. Freddie Gibbs  and Madlib – Bandana
7. Fontaines D.C. – Dogrel 
8. Thom Yorke – Anima 
9. Michael Kiwanuka – KIWWANUKA
10. Richard Dawson – 2020

Michael Hollick

1. Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell!
2. Cate Le Bon – Reward 
3. Aldous Harding – Designer 
4. Tyler, the Creator – IGOR
5. DIIV – Deceiver 
6. Girl Band – The Talkies
7. Swans – leaving meaning. 
8. Stella Donnelly – Beware of the Dogs 
9. Mattiel – Satis Factory 
10. Danny Brown – uknowwhatimsayin?

Paul Doughty

1. Crumb – Jinx
2. Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains 
3. Bill Callahan – Shepard In A Sheepskin Vest 
4. JPEGMAFIA – All My Heroes Are Cornballs 
5. SunnO))) – Life Metal 
6. Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising 
7. black midi – Schlagenheim 
8. Kim Gordon – No Home Record
9. Earl Sweatshirt – Feet Of Clay 
10. Holly Herndon – PROTO 

Q

1. Lizzo – Cuz I Love You
2. Sharon van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow
3. Amyl and The Sniffers – Amyl and The Sniffers
4. Sleater-Kinney – The Centre Won’t Hold
5. Karen O & Danger Mouse – Lux Prima 
6. Billie Eilish – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
7. K-Flay – Solutions
8. Angel Olsen – All Mirrors 
9. Sloan Peterson – Midnight Love, Vol.2 
10. Julia Jacklin – Crushing 

Ryan Ellis

1. Crooked Colours – Langata
2. CZARFACE & Ghostface Killah – Czarface Meets Ghostface
3. Starcrawler – Devour You
4. FIDLAR – Almost Free
5. Rammstein – Rammstein 
6. Pixies – Beneath The Eyrie
7. Billie Eilish – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
8. Slipknot – We Are Not Your Kind 
9. Mac DeMarco – Here Comes the Cowboy 
10. Lil Pump – Harvard Dropout